Saturday, June 14, 2008

General Interior Design Tips

General Interior Design Tips
If you just bought a new house and will start decorating, keep the walls simple and majority of the walls plain especially if you are the typical Filipino who keeps accumulating things over the years and can't throw away anything because of sentimental reasons. So that when you move in your furniture, wall decors and accessories, the rooms will not look cluttered.
● If you are buying new furniture, measure your room and the furniture. Scale the room & furniture on cutout newspaper: 1 feet = 1 inch and see if the furniture are proportionate to the room. Make sure there are ample spaces to walk around your furniture.

● Feel free to mix and match different styles of stuff, like contemporary furniture with oriental pieces. Just don't over do it. Make sure they blend together.

● One way to beautify a room even if the walls are plain white is by putting moldings or cornice on the ceiling edge and baseboards.


● If you want to make a room look bigger, use mirrors. they give you an illusion of more space. Colors too affect the illusion of space. A monochromatic color scheme (one/similar color with different shades) like off whites, cream & beige will give you an appearance of more space while warm colors like red and yellow will give an impression of a smaller space. On the other hand cool colors like blue and green will give an openness appearance.

● When choosing a new color for a wall, paint a section of the wall and observe it for a few days at different times. It is a good idea to paint one shade lighter than your sample swatch. Almost always, the color on your sample will look brighter on a big wall than on a small swatch.

● Don't use gloss paint on ceilings, they will show imperfections specially at night when you open the lights.

● It is advised that you don't use strong colors on areas that you frequently use. But you can be more daring with colors on hallways and staircases where you just pass by and don't really stay as often like your bedroom.

● Install your picture frames on eye level, putting them high on the wall makes your ceiling seem lower. Aside from the fact that people will have to gaze up to look at your picture.

● If your floor is made of concrete, tiles or any stone material, put area rugs to make your room cozy and rotate your rug /carpet once in a while to even out the wear and tear.

● Use inexpensive garden pots as indoor planter by painting and decorating them.

● Your garden affects a great deal in beautifying your home but be cautious with big plants, shrubs and trees. They can be hiding places for burglars.

● It is also a good idea to put gravel near windows so you (or your dog) can hear if somebody is trying to peek inside.

● Lights are deterrent to thieves. Light your house exterior more than the inside of your house when going to bed.

● In designing, the overall look of your home is paramount. From your furniture, wall colors, to lighting fixtures, everything should be proportional, balanced and harmonious. A small and delicately carved side table may be beautiful as a piece of f
General Interior Design Tips
urniture but it may not blend well next to a bulky and oversized living room set. Always consider other elements in a room when choosing your furniture, drapes, etc. Ask yourself it is the right size & scale, color and style. If the answer is yes, go ahead and trust your instincts.

● Your home should reflect your personality. You can hire an interior designer or decorator, but in the end it should be you and your family's character that should reflect in your home. Go along only with suggestions that is pleasing to you. Remember that a beautiful home is a home that is beautiful to it's owner.

Friday, May 30, 2008

French Consoles




Curved Empire Desk & Bookcase Desk: 94" wide x 25" deep x 29 1/2" tall Bookcase: 136" wide x 46" deep x 105" tall Very unusual 19th century French Empire curved mahogany desk with six drawers, bronze d'ore and patinated bronze stylized cheetahs, and leather top. With matching curved mahogany bookcase with open shelves above 4 doors and 4 drawers decorated with bronze d'ore Empire mounts.

Louis XV Desk Signed by "H Dasson" 78" wide x 37 1/2" deep x 30 1/4" tall French 19th century Boulle Louis XV Bureau plat with ormolu mounts and gold tooled leather top. Signed by "H Dasson"



Louis XV Center Table 64 3/4" long x 38" deep x 29 1/2" tall French 19th century Louis XV carved gilt wood center table with contoured marble top


One of a Pair of Louis XVI Painted Consoles 47 1/2" wide x 20 1/2" deep x 35 1/2" tall Pair 19th century carved and painted Louis XVI consoles with marble tops



Painted Regence console with marble top 83 1/2" long x 21 1/2" deep x 36" tall Painted Regence console with marble top



Napoleon III Gold Leaf Console 59" wide x 18 1/4" deep x 37 1/2" tall Beautifully carved Napoleon III gilt wood console with breche violet marble top. Circa 1870



Chinoiserie Chest Stamped "Dasson" 55" wide x 23" deep x 38 3/4" tall Exquisite black laquer Chinoiserie Louis XVI commode with bronze d'ore mounts and Amarillo marble top; stamped "Dasson" Circa 1890

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Metal Display Shelves

Sturdy and Stylish, Great Shelves That'll Last

Metal display shelves combine style and grace with strength and durability. It used to be that metal shelves were only built to be boring, gray storage units. We've come a long way, though, and today you can find great eye-catching metal shelving units that would look great in your living room or den. Metal shelves have another advantage, though over wood or glass shelves, many models can be put outside as well. Metal display shelves are being used more and more in gardens and on outside decks for decoration and display.

Whether you are interested in all-metal display shelves, or a metal unit that incorporates glass, metal shelves are built to last, and also enhance your home.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Perf Boxes

Designer: Eric Pfieffer







Flexible storage made nice! Stack two to four rotating boxes "Perf"ectly. A permanent item at the SFMoMA and defining contemporary furniture.













Description:



A flexible solution to your storage needs, these finely crafted Perf boxes stack and rotate independently and are free from hardware. It is birch plywood and available in two, three, and four stack towers with casters.



Fits books and LPs too!


Materials:


Birch plywood

Ideas for shelving 2011

Designer: Plushpod





The Float wall shelves are wall mounted shelves with no visible hardware or brackets. They are thick and substantial and define "less is more" - a pleasant design element!






Description:




The modern floating wall shelves are a fantastic design solution for modern shelving needs. These shelves hang off the wall and create a floating impression and are very pleasant to the eye being 2 inches thick and quite substantial. The shelves are available in 3 different widths which allows you to create your own personalized shelving space. It is very simple in design and yet very functional.Float modern floating shelves consist of a metal bracket that is anchored to the wall with screws.


The brackets stick out and the shelves slide onto this bracket and holds very firmly.


Materials:


wood with wood veneer and metal interior brackets


Domino Shelving Units

Designer: Plushpod




The Domino shelving units are functional, stacking, and modular shelves that stand alone or can stack at varied heights and width to create unique shelving units and versatile configurations.




Description:


The Domino Shelving Units from the Tema Collection are modern shelving units with one L shaped unit as pictured above on the rightside thumbnail. One Domino measures one domino: 63" long x 27" high (at the highest point) x 17" deep - this may be layed on its side or stood upward. Stack 2, 3, 4, or more to create varied room-scapes to house your shelving needs. They are priced per piece below and in general configurations. You can create a regular shelving unit with varied compartments or a space for a flatscreen and other media components. This is modern versatility at its best. Clean lines and minimal design create a modern atmosphere in any living space.


Materials:


wood veneer on fibre board



Options/Finishes:



Cherry - (natural light brown), Wenge - (dark chocolate brown), White - (true paper white)

Conceal Bookshelf

Designer: Miron Lior for Umbra








Hey dude, are your books floating? No, it is just a unique and attractive wall display called the Conceal Bookshelf!







Description:Conceal bookshelf in powder coated steel. Your books will appear to be floating in mid-air, because this bookshelf is invisible behind a stack of books.Screw the Invisible Bookshelf into a wall stud with the included hardware. To stack your books, place the back cover of the bottom book between the bottom of the shelf and the small lips beneath the shelf, then organize the rest of




Materials:




Powder coated steel