Tag Archives: decorate

Ways to Modernize Your Victorian Home 

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The best part about older, traditional homes is their character. The aged interior and exterior characteristics often date the rooms and inspire a lovely sense of nostalgia. Victorian homes, especially, are known for their unique features, including complex and decorative interior trims, steep pitch roofing and asymmetrical architectural details. Still, there’s no reason why your Victorian home has to remain fixed in the 1850’s. Instead, there are many simple ways to modernize your old Victorian in a way that brings your rooms into the 21st century. Your new “Modern Victorian” home will look fantastic, emphasizing both the Victorian-era characteristics and some chic, contemporary designs, too.

Bring Your Fireplace into the 21st Century

Fireplaces will either instantly date or modernize a space. Victorian-era fireplaces can make a room feel heavy, dark and extremely traditional, so why not renovate it to make it look a little more contemporary? By installing a wall-hanging model that’s electric or ethanol burning, you can integrate a chic, simple design that will make the space look entirely fresh. Modern fireplaces, even in a room with other Victorian elements, will give the entire ambiance of the space a renewed feel.

Install Modern Light Fixtures 

Another way to showcase the old architecture of your Victorian home in a creative, 21st century style is to install modern lighting. While not all modern light fixtures will fit with Victorian designs, something that is more mid-century modern or Scandinavian modern will do the trick. Remember to mix old with new and new with old. Mixing the styles of lighting and eras will lead to a unique final product that flows together in a contemporary fashion.

Incorporate Cutting-Edge Artwork 

A final idea for modernizing an older home like a Victorian is to incorporate some interesting, engaging, cutting-edge art pieces. Picture this: You have a classic Victorian room that’s square and lined with dark wooden trim, and you add a colorful, abstract painting to the middle of a white wall. The artwork will instantly raise the level of your home’s aesthetic and make it more intriguing, rather than classical or predictably Victorian. Just because the architecture looks one way doesn’t mean that every detail in the interior of your home has to reflect the era.

By installing a wall-mounted fireplace, hanging some modern light fixtures and incorporating cutting-edge artwork, you can revamp your Victorian home and transport its interior design into the 21st century.

How To Choose Furniture For Small Spaces

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Photo from Pexels.com

So you’ve scored a place to live, which is a massive achievement in today’s times, but you still need to furnish and decorate. Maybe you’ve resorted to small space living, or maybe you just have a small room you want to make use of, either way, choosing furniture for small spaces is a difficult task. Here are some tips to furnishing the space you have, no matter how small.

Use the perimeter of your room

It seems obvious, but so many people skip out on this. Mount your television to the wall, so you don’t waste floor space on a cabinet or table to hold it up. You can also find wall mounted shelves which, honestly, are lifesavers.  Another good option is to purchase tall dressers and bookshelves to make the most of your wall space.

 

Go multifunctional


Multifunctional furniture for small spaces is a great way to save room in your home. Your beds and couches are usually the most space-consuming pieces of furniture in your home. It’s an all too familiar scenario: You walk into an empty room thinking it’s reasonably big until you throw a bed into it and realise how little floor space you have. Take advantage of this and buy beds and couches with storage underneath. This way you can re-purpose otherwise wasted space, saving room elsewhere in the house.

 

Though it can be more expensive, modular furniture is also a stellar way to save room. This can be particularly exciting for parents with creative children, as you can teach them about the functionality of space and let them get creative with designing it themselves.


Small Space Solution Sunroom Corner with Built-In Beds.

Photo Source Design Folly, Flickr.

Control your light


A classy and elegant way to transform a space is with light. Unless you’re a photographer, lighting is probably something you rarely think about in your day to day life. But the truth is, we go about the day being constantly manipulated by light. It changes the way we feel. For instance, people tend to feel happy and safe in sunny and warm areas, or suspicious and uneasy in dark and shadowy areas. This is why you can completely change the way your home feels with something as simple as blinds, as you can take complete control over the lighting in your home. On top of that, you can purchase dimmable lamps and various bulbs, small furniture for small spaces that puts you in control of the room’s mood.

Re-evaluate your furniture

 

How much of your stuff do you actually need? Once you start breaking down the purpose of furniture in your home, you can really start to consider whether you need it or not. I have a cousin that always complains about how little space he has for his kids to play around in. He has a large coffee table right in the middle of the room, taking up an enormous amount of ‘playable space’ but he never actually uses the table. He’s too scared of scratching it up or getting burn marks on the wood. Once I asked him why he even needs the table and his response was so he can store his magazines. I never saw anyone in his family touch those magazines once! Instead of children using the space to play and learn, he decided to waste it on storing magazines he didn’t even read. Your scenarios may not be as ridiculous as that, but I guarantee if you go through your house and mentally break down all of the furniture you have, what it’s purpose is, and whether you really need it, you will most likely find some items you could get rid of. You could even sell them and make some money.

 

Furniture design for small spaces can seem like an almost impossible task. You need to build up, and you need to build smart. Make the most off all of the wall space you have available, and don’t let any area go to waste. Re-evaluate what you need, and if you have items that are hogging half your room, get rid of them and find something else.

Bring In Some Magic In Your Landscape Courtesy Faux Ancient Sequoia Tree

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urlEvery office has its own virtues and story. The landscaping and décor in the offices should convey its virtues to the viewers and it pays a great role in drawing people at the offices and maintaining the environment at office. So, the landscaping at the public places and offices should be done carefully keeping in mind the message conveyed to the viewers. Some modern landscaping ideas like having an entire tall tree in the office can bring in the magic and elegance to your office. Something like the ancient Sequoia tree can do wonders to your office environment and would be a great example of modern landscaping ideas.

Reasons for using the artificial greenery

Using the natural Sequoia tree at your office landscape would be impossible as it is very rarely available and planting an entire tree in the landscape would be impossible. So, the idea of using artificial greenery is useful and it will be advantageous than using any natural plants in the office. The large artificial plants like the Sequoia will be a great view in the office and the item is suitable for indoor use as well as in the outdoors. So, a rare sight of an entire tree in the office will be awesome landscaping idea.

Advantages of artificial greenery

Here are some of the advantages of artificial greenery over the natural ones:

  • The artificial plants, as they are not natural, won’t have a natural growth rate, death and decay. So, once you have invested on it, you need not worry about it going old or dying. You can instead shift it from one place to another as per requirement.
  • As the artificial plants don’t have any death or decay, you don’t have to worry about cleaning up the litter from the office on a daily basis. Talking about the large artificial plants like Sequoia, they will generate a lot of leaves and other waste which will be a major issue.
  • The artificial greenery will not require regular maintenance like the real ones and won’t require regular watering and daily care. It can go on forever without care.
  • Using the artificial greenery, the large artificial plans like sequoia will be possible inside the office for landscaping which will be impossible using the natural plants.
  • A hygienic environment will also be maintained in the office which would not have been possible using the natural tree as it will attract a lot of flies and birds which will again litter the place.
  • The large artificial plants like sequoia will also be best for indoor and outdoor use as natural plants will only be available outdoors where it will get sunlight and other ideal conditions for growth.
  • The artificial greenery is made from fire retardant material which will reduce a fire breakout in the office.

Bring in the magic of the faux Sequoia tree

The office landscape is usually known to be monotonous and a boring one. But bringing in some really interesting landscaping or décor items like the artificial Sequoia tree can turn on the office atmosphere from a dull and boring one to an interesting one almost instantly. It will not only draw more and more people to your office, but will also keep them interested and mesmerized with such an amazing view in the office. Having an amazing and charming landscape in the office will also keep the employees morale high and they will be interested to work more and that will help your company in turn.

The ancient sequoia also has a specialty of its own to stand out among the rest as a landscaping item. It is known to be the world’s largest living tree and its cones and seed are also special. So, having an ancient giant faux sequoia in your office will not only seem magical and unreal but will also bring in the elements of ancient nature. You can also create your own theme of landscaping for your office indoors and outdoors. The faux ancient sequoia is available in different sizes from 4’ to 8’ which allows you to choose your own size for your office landscape.

Placing the faux ancient sequoia tree at the office indoors

The office indoors can be a great place for your magical landscaping item or the faux ancient sequoia tree. The advantage with indoors is that artificial greenery, especially the large artificial plants will look more unreal and charming when they are placed indoors. They will catch the attention and draw more people. Here are some of the locations to put your faux sequoia tree:

  • The reception- it is the best place if you want to treat your visitors with the magical view of the ancient sequoia tree in your office. The awesomeness will leave people mesmerized.
  • Near the entrance- it is a great spot if you want people to catch a glimpse of the ancient sequoia tree right after entering the office, placing it near the entrance will be a great option.
  • At the cafeteria- you can also place the ancient sequoia tree at the cafeteria where workaholics meet for refreshment and relaxing. The magnificent sight will be pleasing to the eye.
  • Conference room- the faux sequoia tree can also be placed at the conference room for refreshing the mood at the serious and monotonous business conferences.

Placing the faux ancient sequoia tree at the office outdoors

At the outdoors, having a large artificial plant will seem quite natural but a sequoia tree will always be a treat to the eyes. You can place the faux sequoia tree at the main entrance or at any lawn where maximum people can see it. You can also gain the attention and admiration of all the people by placing it at any party or official gathering. You can also try some of your ideas and look for the best results.

Summary

The artificial sequoia is a great option for indoor as well as outdoor landscaping in the offices as it is magnificent and has an unreal attribute associated with it. You can bring in its awesomeness in to your office by placing landscaping with the faux sequoia tree.

A great source for silk plants for your office space is www.CommercialSilk.com – you will find an amazing assortment of items for all of your needs.

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Artificial Hanging Plants – The Bliss Of Beauty For Your Corporate Spaces

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You may have mastered the art of organizing natural beauty in your thoughts but when it comes to incorporating them in reality, you may find it harder to walk the walk. There are plenty of options with trees, shrubs and bushes to add to your commercial space, parks or resorts and having the right kind of plant is also essential. With real ones, you have to face the drama of choosing the right ones that would go with the climate, the season and what not, which is why artificial plants are your best friend when it comes to easy interior and exterior landscaping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzc1HeiW2A

Faux plants – the right pick for me?

Yes, artificial plants are not the same as real ones, but they have tons of advantage over the real lot, like-

  • With real plants you need a certain photoperiod or light time to help them grow, with these babies you won’t have to worry about that a bit.
  • They don’t make a mess. Neither do they shed leaves not do they wilt out. They will not suffer from water damage or mold either. They do not attract insects as they lack phytohormones.
  • The up-keeping is at an all-time low. You don’t have to prune water or use pesticide. You don’t need to worry about weeds either, so they are very low maintenance.

Getting a better deal than this is getting actual plants which will obviously cost you more time and money and may not give you the desired result even after all the effort. So why go all the way, when you can make sure your commercial space looks as incredible as it would with a hint of green it so deserves, when you can get your hands on these.

But, what about longevity?

Well, these artificial floral arrangements might or might not outlive you, but there are very few things on earth that are fire resistant and these thermaleaf artificial plants are one of them. These beauties come with a foam base with silk polyester leaves and the entire foliage is fire retardant. You get quite a few options with Commercial Silk artificial hanging plants including Peace Lily, Bougainvillea and Grape Ivy. They also come in a variety of sizes and you may take you pick on what suits best. You can go for a variety of planters and different sizes as well. As said earlier, they are made from fire retardant material and hence can’t be damaged in a fire, so every penny you invest in these will be worth it.

Faux flowers, artificial trees,

Mix‘em up!

So now that you have your “why” answered, you might start getting bright ideas on how to incorporate them in your desired décor. You can either go for “all faux” or mix’em up a bit. Landscape decorators generally tend to mix and match faux plants with their real counterparts or other real plant species while carrying out exterior landscaping. These plants can take the rain, the scorching heat better than any other, so if you choose to have these hanging faux plants up on the exterior wall of your corporate office, theme parks, hotels or any other commercial space go for it. They are meant to add to the interior and exterior beauty of any space of your choice. The fact that they won’t dry up, or shed leaves or grow randomly is exactly why you should have them in open areas as well as closed spaces.

How will my commercial décor be unique?

Worried if you have the same stereotypic mall, waterpark or hospital décor? Well, Commercial Silk can definitely help with that. Apart from all the added benefits like low maintenance, high quality silk polyester material, thermaleaf property and durability another added feature is that you get to customize your own foliage. Yes, if you don’t wish to have the same faux flower arrangement as mentioned you can always order a set of the same hanging pattern with different flowers and sizes as well, this will ensure your décor idea remains as unique as you.

What do the real plants fall short of here?

Apart from the fact that they shed leaves, dry up, wilt out, get infected, have occasional molding issues, real plants have less variety when it comes to hanging plants. Ledge plants generally when real come in a certain size, now this may not serve your purpose well, apart from that they need only a certain light time and since the probability of you having them hung outside on the ledge of your corporate office is more they have high chances of drying out and dying sooner. With artificial hanging plants you need not worry about such instances, you can have then hung in interior walls separating several sections in malls, restaurants, hotels, theme parks or resorts. They bring with them the exotic feel all year round and will live indefinitely as they will neither grow nor die.

Let money do the talking!

Yes, a one time investment will cost you more than real plants, but then you won’t have to replace these because of natural causes either. All you have to do is pick the right ones and you can have the landscapers configure them in no time. Give your commercial space the makeover it deserves with these realistic looking hanging Ivies, Bougainvillea and Peace Lilies. Also you don’t need to add the maintenance cost on top of all this as it requires only a dust off from time to time and the best part is if you wish to have a new décor you can always pack them up and store them away until you need them again for a fresh look.

Description:

Bring a breath of fresh air with these picturesque beauties in you commercial space. Built with fire retardant material these hanging faux plants require very little maintenance but draws a lot of attention to the space they live in.

Content of this article provided/copyrighted and used with permission by: http://www.commercialsilk.com/

Please stop by the above links for a great resource for silk plants for your home or office.

 

 

 

 

Recreating A Victorian Christmas: It’s Not As Difficult As You Think By Eve Pearce

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539770-bigthumbnailA winter festival has been celebrated since pagan times but it wasn’t until the Victorian era (1837-1901) that traditions that are associated with Christmas really took off and the season began to resemble modern-day Christmas.
You may have thought that Christmas cards, Christmas crackers, turkey dinner with too much punch and opulent toy store displays were symbols of the commercialism that comes with today’s festive season, but they actually had their origins in Victorian times.

Christmas Cards

The Christmas card was born in 1843 when wealthy business man, Henry Cole, hired an artist to design a card for Christmas.  The artist drew a family around the dining table and it contained a festive message.  The cards were sold for an impressive one shilling each, putting them out of the reach of most ordinary people.  The expense meant that children were encouraged to make their own, before mass printing techniques in the 1880’s brought the price down.

To make your own Victorian Christmas cards, just follow these simple steps:
1 Create lace effect paper using strips of ordinary plain paper and cut out a scalloped edge.  You can do this via a template or draw your own.
2. Place a folded cloth under your paper to protect your table and then use a pin to make lots of tiny holes in your paper – this will give it the appearance of lace.  If children are making the cards, please ensure you supervise them.
3. Stick your ‘lace’ paper along the edge of a piece of white card.
4. Stick a Victorian picture onto the front of your card – or if you want to have a go at recycling you could use pictures from last year’s cards or cut them out from leftover Victoriana gift wrap.  Examples of the types of illustrations that adorned Victorian cards can be found from an original collection at the Library of Birmingham.
If you are unsure, you can also watch an instructional video by the BBC.

Christmas Crackers

In 1847, a confectioner called Tom Smith was looking for a new and inventive way to sell sweets with a bang.  He had discovered the sugared almond ‘bon bon’ in France and wanted to make it more popular with his customers in Britain, so he began by wrapping the bon bons in paper tissue with a love moto. The idea for the cracker was inspired by the sound of a log crackling in the fireplace. Tom thought that to combine the wrapped sweets and motto with a crackle would make them more appealing for Christmas.  He experimented with chemical compounds until he found one that made a bang when the paper was torn. The iconic cracker had arrived.

You can make your own crackers:
1. Take the cardboard inners of three small toilet rolls and measure out some tissue paper the same length as the cardboard rolls.
2.  Place double sided tape along one edge of the tissue paper, roll up the toilet rolls and stick down.
3. Roll up a second sheet of paper tissue that is slightly shorter than the first sheet.
4. Tie a ribbon at the neck of your cracker and remove the end toilet roll, then place a cracker snap inside, with double sided tape at both ends to secure it to the tied end of the cracker.
5. Place sugared almonds and a love motto in your cracker and tie up the remaining open end with another ribbon, sticking down the second piece of tape on your snap.
6. You can decorate your crackers with bows, pieces of fabric or Victoriana images.

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Turkey Dinner

Turkey was the meat of choice for upper class Victorians on Christmas day and it gradually replaced the more traditional choices of beef and goose, until by the start of the 20th century, it became the most popular seasonal dish.  You could opt for goose if you want to try something both traditional and different.
Charles Dickens described a Christmas dinner of roast goose with sage and onions, gravy, mashed potatoes and apple sauce in his famous novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’. It’s really easy for you to have the same.

1. Preheat your oven to the temperature suggested for your goose.
2. Remove giblets and excess fat from the cavity – you can use this fat to spread over the goose to enhance the cooking.
3. Stuff the neck cavity with sage and onions – slice your own onions to add to the mix as this tastes far more superior than packet sage and onion.
4. Pierce the skin with a fork, add a small amount of salt and pepper and rub butter into it. Place on foil on a meat tin in the center of the oven.  You will need around 2 hours, 45 minutes of cooking time for a 4.5kg goose.
5. Transfer to a serving dish and leave to stand for 20 minutes before you carve as this will retain more of the flavors.
6. Add home made mashed potatoes with butter and a spoonful of apple sauce.

 Christmas Trees

Pagans used to decorate fir trees in their winter festivals but the traditional of the Christmas tree began when Prince Albert got one for Queen Victoria. The Illustrated London News published a drawing in 1848 of the prince and Queen and all their children surrounding an elaborate Christmas tree decorated with candles, home made decorations and sweets. After seeing the drawing, the public followed suit.
You can go traditional by choosing a real Christmas tree and decorating it with handmade paper ornaments and sweets you can hang from the branches. If you want to go all out, you could even try real candles.

1. Get clip candle holders so you can safely attach your real candle to your tree
2. Don’t place any other decorations above your real candles
3. Always light your candles from those at the top of the tree down, so you don’t accidentally set fire to your clothes
4. Make sure you count the number of candles you place on your tree and what position they are in
5. Have candle snuffs and a fire extinguisher in case of an emergency
6. Only have your candles lit for short periods of time and never leave your candles unattended
7. For a safer option, you could use LED tea lights in your clip on candle holder – while not strictly Victorian, LED’s are a no flame light.

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Christmas Presents

Macy’s Department store in New York was one of the first to create a Christmas toy display in their window in 1897, the first time themed displays had been tried.  However, as toys were handmade they were expensive and out of the reach of most parents so the average Victorian child received a stocking containing fruit, nuts and if they were lucky, sweets.  You could try this by choosing a traditional knitted stocking (or knitting your own) and adding fruit and nut selections and some sugared bon bon’s.  You might want to include some back up presents too and diffuse any Christmas drama.