Guest Post: Choosing Furniture for Public Areas

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

Tags

built-in furniture, customized furniture, Fabio Mele, Functionality, furniture, hotel, interior design, Public Areas

Commercial companies offer a complete consulting activity to help choose furniture for public spaces. This allows counseling from the interior design stage to the complete solution of furniture in order to define opportunities, styles and details.

The customer is supported step by step and the final result is a customized furniture made and installed by the company. This work may involve an architect, especially for the creation of limited series. The company focuses on major projects such as hotels, offices, houses, bars, restaurants, chain stores. The compositions of different furnishings depend on the needs of the place in which they are placed.

There is always a high quality of materials, ranging from wood to synthetic fibers and metals with customizations agreed by the customer and the company. In the images below, we can see a couple of realizations of contract furniture, different styles that preserve their own elegance.

In hotel receptions, for example, the furniture is often placed in functional and confined spaces, in order to create open spaces that don’t block the passageway. In the reception there is always built-in furniture just behind the desk where there are the receptionists. It is composed by small compartments to hold the different keys of the rooms that host the customers.

In the lobby there may be big sofas or little armchairs together with tables and other facilities. It’s important to keep in mind that this area welcomes guests, so we should make it more comfortable for all potential customers too. We can see some examples in this hotel interior design website.

There are many possibilities when choosing furniture for public spaces. It all depends on the defined style and the potential target, but they must blend harmoniously with the environment and be always warm and friendly. Studied geometries are designed to lead the eye towards background symmetry. Horizons of freedom open a unique style where simplicity is synonymous with beauty.

{Fabio Mele is an Italian writer with passion for interior design.}

Guest Post: How to Part with Clutter

28 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 1 Comment

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Allison Moody, cleaning, Clutter, Donate, functional, labeley, money, organization, organized

You’d be surprised how many people have a really hard time parting with clutter. What I mean by clutter are old clothes, old books and magazines, broken-down furniture, hardly functioning appliances, rusty dishes, worn-out carpet rugs, etc.

There are two types of people who can’t part with clutter:
1) Those who keep old stuff but also buy new things, and have a really hard time finding room for everything.
2) Those whose frugality borders with stinginess and keep repairing, sewing, gluing, stitching and painting old stuff, so they wouldn’t have to buy anything new.

Recognizing you have a problem is the first step to making your life easier. In order to bring yourself to a place where you’ll feel good about parting with clutter, you’ll need to sit down and think about this problem seriously. Admit to yourself that you don’t really need most of the things lying around the house and making it impossible to tidy up completely. Realize that these are just material things that should not have any emotional significance to you – at least most of these things. They are replaceable and SHOULD be replaced every once in a while.

Of course, this is not to say that you should be one of those people who go out and buy a new appliance every two months. The planet is polluted enough already and we should all learn not to waste stuff. So how do we make a distinction between wasting things, and parting with clutter at the right time?

Photo Credit: Sane Spaces

Hints That Help You Recognize Unnecessary Items

Clothes you haven’t worn for over a year
Appliances that break down every other time you use them
Dishes that burn food
Furniture that looks run down, peels away, is uncomfortable to sit or sleep in
Rugs that look dirty even after washing them
Books and magazines that you don’t absolutely love

Photo Credit: Audrey Thompson

Once you’ve realized you’ll be better off without things you’re either not using, or you’re better off not using them, you can do several useful things with them:

1. Donate clothes to charity.
2. Find out which stores accept old/broken down appliances, and they’ll maybe give you a discount on new items.
3. Books and magazines can be sold on ebay or any similar website.
4. If you or anyone you know have a summer house where you don’t spend much time and aesthetics are not of importance, any old furniture, dishes, rugs etc. could do.
5. Throw away items that no one needs without a moment’s hesitation.

Now that you’ve cleared away all that clutter, your house and wardrobe are ready for new, functional things. Don’t over-buy or buy hastily. The point is not only to make your house a place you can breathe in and move about easily, but also to learn how to spend money wisely, on things you actually need.

Don’t buy a book the moment you feel like reading it; try borrowing it from a library or a friend. Think carefully about what you will really need and use in the kitchen. As far as clothes go, invest in good boots, jackets and winter coats, but don’t pay too much money for blouses, pants and skirts that you’ll get tired of quickly. Recycle all that you can, and feel good about moving on from old stuff.

Photo Credit: Ken Lauher

{Allison Moody writes about parting with clutter from her experience. She works much better in a tidy space, and she enjoys writing and reading about useful tips. Allison is a freelance ghostwriter and currently she’s working on promoting her new FREE online tool, Labeley. She can be reached at allison.moody@labeley.com.}

Guest Post: Tips of Selecting a Bed Frame for Your Bedroom

25 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bed Frame, bedroom, classic, decorating, faux leather, footboards, French style, furniture, Headboards, leather beds, metal, mid century, redecorate, rustic, sophisticated, Wedo Beds, wooden bed

Your bed no longer has to be a boring piece of furniture. Liven up your bedroom by choosing great bed frames designed with original footboards and headboards that will make a statement in your room. If you are about to redecorate your master bedroom you deserve a stylish and large bed that will dress up your room for years to come.

Some of the most in vogue beds at the moment are leather beds designed with padded head and footboards. We also love them because they look comfy and sophisticated and on the plus side there is no need to break the bank to buy one as you can go for a faux leather one. Faux leather beds come in a wide array of different colors and look as good as the more costly made in genuine leather.

There are more style options with a wooden bed if you want your bedroom to look classy while remaining classic. Wood is a more flexible material that can made into almost any shape, so whether you like your room to look a bit like those in the mid century or give it a bit of a rustic style there is a wide array of wooden bed frames and headboards that will meet your decorating expectations.

Metal beds also go nicely with any kind of bedroom style. Whether you have set your heart on a wooden table or fell for this huge French style wardrobe, rest assured that any metal bed will compliment your bedroom.

{Camille is a bedroom furniture enthusiast and writes on behalf of Wedo Beds. If you want to browse more bed styles, Wedo Beds offers a wide selection of superking bedsteads for your master bedroom.}

Guest Post: A Fitting Guide for Awkward Windows

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blinds, decor, decorating, diy, home, measuring, window treatments, windows

It can be a real struggle when trying to measure for blinds on difficult shaped windows. Two of the most awkward types of windows to measure are the Recess Windows and Bay Windows. Have no fear the experts fitters of Wooden Blinds Direct have made some clever visual guides to help you measure up your own windows without having to get someone in.

Recess Fit
There are two major ways to fit a blind to the average recess window. The first of these ways is the recess fit which is when you want to fit the blind into the recess of the window rather than on the outside. When measuring for the Recess fit take three separate measurements of the height and three for the width. See the diagram below.

Take the smallest measurement of each of these and deduct about 1.5cm from the width for account for clearance. You don’t need deduct any height unless you are measuring for a vertical blind and then we suggest deducting around 2cm.

Outer Fit
The other way to measure a blind for a recess window is to measure an outer fit of the recess for your blind to cover. As shown in the diagram: simply measure the areas that you wish your blinds to cover. When measuring for vertical blinds we recommend deducting around 2cms to allow for clearance.

Bay Windows
Bay windows can be hard to measure. You are often left with overlapping blinds that don’t fit together well. There are three types of bay window blind styles to choose from when deciding to measure your windows so decide in advance before starting.

Type A – Full Front
Use this method when wanting maximum coverage of your front window to stop unwanted light and people being able to see in. This is often the most popular choice when buying blinds for bay windows. Usually the small gaps in between the front and side blinds are obscured by the window frame.

To size up the front blind first measure the recess in which the front blind will go. Make sure you follow the Recess fit guide above as the recess size may vary from top to bottom. Deduct around 1.5cm for clearance from the width and height.

For the side blinds measure each side recess individually as they might be slightly different. Again remember to use the Recess fit guide above. However you then need to minus the depth of the front blind from the width of each side. Also deduct around 3cm for clearance to make sure the blinds aren’t overlapping.

Type B – Full Sides
Imperial Windows for windows and doors in Toronto suggests to use this method when wanting maximum coverage of your side windows to stop unwanted light and people being able to see in. Usually the small gaps in between the front and side blinds are obscured by the window frame.

For the side blinds measure each side recess individually as they might be slightly different. Also deduct around 1.5cm for clearance to make sure the blinds aren’t overlapping.

Type C – Symmetrical Corners
Use this method when not wanting your blinds to overlap in the corners and give you more symmetrical look. Usually the small gaps in between the front and side blinds are obscured by the window frame.

To size up the front blind first measure the recess in which the front blind will go. Again, make sure you follow the Recess fit guide above. Deduct around 1.5cm for clearance from the width and height and also remember to deduct twice the depth of the blinds you are using for the side windows.

For the side blinds measure each side recess individually as they might be slightly different. Deduct the depth of each from each of the side blinds and around another 1.5cm for clearance to make sure the blinds aren’t overlapping.

{This was a guest post by Sam Fisher on behalf of Wooden Blinds Direct for more information and a more in depth guide to blinds fitting see their website.}