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

25 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

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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: Decorating Your Home with Original Art

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Art & Design, Guest Posts

≈ 2 Comments

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art, art galleries, color, decorating, design, exhibitions, greece, greek, greek artists, original art, painting, Spiros Amerikanos, Technosfaira, Vasileios Arapis, Vasiliki Tambouri

Why Not Decorate your Home with Original Art?
When you decorate your home, you think very carefully about the color schemes you will choose for each room and about matching furnishings and so on. Then you go out and look for something to put on your wall, perhaps as an afterthought. You go around the usual stores and pick a picture that will suit your color scheme and will probably pay as much for it as you would for an original work of art, which will appreciate in value, if you choose wisely.

Painting by Vasiliki Tambouri

Where Do You Buy Original Art Works From?
You could go to a gallery of course, but you could consider visiting some art exhibitions, where you can talk to the artists who are displaying their works and discuss their paintings with them. This gives you an insight into their thoughts as they were creating a painting and you can better understand the creation that you like. Galleries are good, but you have to pay commission and it is so much better for the buyer to buy works direct from the artist.

What You Can Expect From an Exhibition
Recently I had the privilege to be invited to a week-long exhibition of Greek artists’ works and would like to share some of them with you, in order for you to have a flavor of what you can expect for probably less than 1,000 Euros.

Painting by Vasiliki Tambouri, not in the exhibition

There are usually various sizes of paintings to choose from but the bigger the canvas the more they tend to cost. Sometimes an exhibition will have a central theme, but others will be more diverse, with a mixture of styles to choose from. There could be abstracts, or more traditional types of art, including sculptures and icons, if you are interested in religious paintings.

Painting by Spiros Amerikanos

You will, of course, have your color scheme in mind as well as the type of art that appeals to you. I particularly enjoy having artists explain their works as this gives me a deeper understanding of what it is I am seeing in their paintings. I find this particularly fascinating.

Color Scheme First, or Painting?
Personally, I would go to an exhibition first, and find a painting I liked and then build my color scheme around it. A good painting is always a talking point when you have guests to your home. I have found that people are impressed when they see something original on a wall, and if you care about their opinions, they will probably think that you have spent more than you actually did on an original painting.

Once you have found something that you really adore, you can fit your colors around it. You will probably be living with your choice for a few years, so make sure you actually like the painting and can comfortably live with it.

I have illustrated this article with paintings that would typically cost less than a thousand Euros. They were displayed at the fifth exhibition mounted by “Technosfaira” which is a relatively new association of Greek artists. It encompassed various genres of art, and I apologize for not being able to include the works of all the artists who participated in the exhibition. However, I have chosen my favorites, and the rest may be viewed online at the Technosfaira Omada site on Facebook.

Spiros Amerikanos, Vasiliki Tambouri and Vasileios Arapis on October 1st 2012 deciding where the pictures should be placed for the exhibition

It actually makes no difference where you are, there are always exhibitions which feature the works of good artists, so look for these in your local events page online or in your newspaper. Visit an exhibition and I am sure you will be very pleasantly surprised.

{Lynne Evans lived in Pakistan for four years and worked there as an English and social studies coordinator in an English-medium private school. She has written short stories, has a novel awaiting publication, and has also helped to produce text books for students of English. Lynne has also worked as a writer, proofreader and editor for Hillside Press, Athens, Greece and has travelled widely, both for work and for pleasure. She is currently back in Europe and still traveling.}

Guest Post: A Fitting Guide for Awkward Windows

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 1 Comment

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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.}

Tis’ the Season for Autumn Decorating

13 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

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autumn, Autumn Decorating, brown, corn stalks, crates, decor, decorating, fall, festive, front porch, gourds, halloween, hay, holidays, leaves, nature, orange, pumpkins, red, seasons, thanksgiving, trees, wreaths, yellow

Autumn is officially here and I must say it is the best season for decorating. With holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving and the beautiful fall weather, there are more than enough reasons to get creative and play dress up with your home.

In my opinion, using the harvest theme is always your safest bet. Plus, you can start decorating in September and change it all up in December when Christmas starts to roll in. That’s 3 months of super fun and also a good time span to not have to do anything else! Easy peasy, I say. From pumpkins and gourds to corn stalks and hay bales, there is so much to work with as well. Playing of autumn’s finest colors of oranges, reds, yellows and browns set the tone for endless possibilities.

For our front porch, we combined some of the season’s finest elements; corn stalks, leaves, pumpkins and mums. I used a few vintage crates for height and variety but kept within the fall color palette. I’m also considering adding a hay bale or two and I am waiting for a wreath I ordered for the front door to arrive. When Dan and I go pumpkin picking we will showcase our carved art pieces on the stairs as well. Just in time for the holiday.

I understand Halloween is a fun holiday, especially if you have kids. Incorporating themed decor is fine during the end of the October. Just be cautious to not go overboard, unless you’re creating a haunted house. I notice a lot of people can get a little cheesy with their seasonal decorations and most of the time its what they chose to use, not how they put it together. As long as you go with nicely styled pieces, you should be fine.

Bringing the outside in, isn’t so hard either. Just shower some fall goodness around your home, a little here and a little there, and fall will bring warmth and cozy to your space. From the front door to inside the comfiest of rooms in your home, autumn can come alive. This is one of the most colorful seasons and there are many reasons to celebrate it.

For my dining room table, I just wanted to bring a touch of the season so I dressed it with tiny pumpkins and gourds. I also showcased a vintage crate I had in my office that was sort of hidden so it felt new. Nothing crazy, just a little bit of earthy goodness.

Here are a few inspirations for autumn decorating that I felt were beautiful, fun and most of all, realistic. We can all make a nice statement at our home’s entrance and we can all surely give the inside a seasonal makeover. With the right decor and placement, fall can be celebrated in your one and only home sweet home.

Photo Credit: Pottery Barn