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Proper Way Of Using Vintage Finds In Decoration By Diana Smith

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Even though early 2000s and 2010s are the era about which many greatest Sci-Fi authors wrote about, when it comes to decoration, vintage and steampunk are all the rage. One of the reasons behind such popularity of this style is that it is extremely versatile. For example, if you were to decorate your home in a contemporary manner, you would have to get your hands on some purpose specific items like tech gadgets, and furniture mostly made from plastic and glass. On the other hand, vintage allows you to decorate with things you find on an attic or buy at a garage sale. With this in mind, here are a few ways of using vintage finds in decoration.

Shabby Chic and Rustic Home

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One of the greatest aspects of the vintage style is the idea of shabby chic. What this essentially means is that when buying an antique furniture, you should be concerned with it looking authentic rather than it looking undamaged. This led people to stop painting old nightstands, while some took it even one step further. Rather than buying genuine vintage items, some people started painting furniture to look more antique on purpose. Others, however, decided to take a different approach. As soon as they get enough shabby chic items in their home, they start adjusting the rest of the household to this style. This usually included painting other wooden surfaces like doors, window frames and even floorboards white.

All About That Lace

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If a vintage army ever had uniforms, it would definitely be made of lace. In fact, lace is the only thing you just cannot add too much in a vintage setting. There are so many awe inspiring ideas, like making pendant lighting from lace or even decorating your candleholders with it. Of course, making small lace ornaments and adding them to pillows, walls and lamp shades also goes, but don’t forget about your persona as well. Like a fashionista chameleon, try to fit in this vintage shrine of yours and reintroduce lace into your own armoire. Those who take a bit more out-of-the-box approach are even known to make lace jewelry such as earrings and necklaces.

French Country or Vintage Glam

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Saying that you want a vintage style in your home is pretty much like saying that you want it to have walls- it really doesn’t reveal much. How tall? How many? What kind? Sure, you may want your home to appear like from another century, but do you want it to look like a French countryside manor or a Victorian villa. For the first impression, shabby chic in combination with natural hues like lavender, burnt rust and hunters green will do you just fine. On the other hand, vintage glam takes a bit more effort. Here, you will have to exploit all that shimmering metallic color palette has to offer. Your closest two allies are pale gold and cream, while satin is your weapon of choice.

Let There Be Light

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Finally, no matter what you do with the rest of the home, proper lighting fixtures can make or break the entire impression. This is why going with modern lamps or contemporary downlights simply won’t do. The safest choice you have is to go with elegant yet subtle led wall lights. When buying, however, try to avoid looking at them as a separate items and try to focus on what they will look like in your household. In fact, this advice is something you should take in general, not just when buying lights.

Whenever you encounter a perfect vintage item, you need to ask yourself two questions. The first one is  ‘does it fit with your home’. If the answer is no, then you need to ask the following- ‘can I make it fit?’ Some finds are just so perfect that it can be worth your while to redecorate your entire place just to integrate them.

Buy Or Extend – What’s Your Best Choice?

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4It comes a time in a person’s life when the house they currently live in is just not big enough for all their needs. You might need some extra space for the children or a home office, or simply feel that it’s time to invest in a bigger home. Two obvious options are presented here – should you buy a new house or extend the one you live in now? The answer is not an easy one and you definitely have to consider all the pros and cons before you make your final decision that would be best for both you and your family.

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Pros

Buying a new home is always an exciting process and it feels encouraging when you picture your new life there. New houses often have better installations and outlets as well. Fresh paint and sparkly clean floors are always something to look forward to. It also signifies a turn of a new page. By carefully choosing your new home, your desires regarding both interior and exterior can be fully met if you’re patient with your search. You can go for a better neighborhood and a place that’s close to schools, supermarkets and other commercial buildings necessary for your comfort.

Cons

As much as it is fun and exciting, looking for a new house to buy can also be very exhausting and stressful, especially since you have to deal with selling your old house. Selling a home is a lot more difficult than buying one, not to mention all the paperwork that you have to go through. Of course, if you’re looking to buy a bigger house than the one you currently own, you have to be prepared for spending more money on it, both on the purchase of the house and monthly expenses. What’s more, if the house you want to buy is pretty far from your old place, you’ll have to deal with separation from your friends and neighbors, which is especially difficult for children.

1Extending your own house

Pros

There are many advantages of extending your home as well. You definitely won’t have to think about any disturbance in your settled family life in the specific neighborhood. Your daily schedules and activities will remain unchanged during the extension progress. In some cases, extending your home can be done a lot quicker than waiting for a buyer and looking for a perfect new house that’s on sale. Of course, the most obvious advantage of extending your home is the fact that it can be a lot cheaper than actually buying a new property. Moreover, house extensions in Sydney are on high demand since the service can provide you with the best possible realization of your own idea.

Cons

When you decide to extend your current house there’s always a possibility of something going wrong and adding to the cost of your extension plans. You can have the misfortune to hire a shady contractor and have a lot of troubles with obtaining all the permits necessary for construction work in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, this is not all there is to it. While in most cases, the cost of extension is lower than the one of buying a new house, sometimes it can happen that the cost is higher, especially when you include cleaning and landscaping services after the extension work.  Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that you and your family won’t be able to use one part of the house during the construction work.

There is no one perfect answer when it comes to the choice between buying a new house or extending the one that you currently own. With all the pros and cons available for your own research, you should carefully analyze what seems like the best investment for your own position and needs. When it comes to the cost calculations, remember to always check the extra money that you’d be spending after selling and buying a new house and compare it with the price of extension as well as added 20% because some additional costs will always be necessary. Of course, you don’t have to make this kind of a decision on your own. Make sure to include all of your family members in the discussion so that you can work out a plan that suits you the best.

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Five Ways To Increase The Value Of A Victorian House By Mackenzie Fox

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victorian houseIn today’s world, most homeowners cycle through a number of different properties throughout their lifetimes. That’s because a person’s needs can vary greatly according to age, income bracket and the total number of people in their household. It therefore becomes paramount for any homeowner to be able to maximize the value of their property at any given time. When it comes to period homes such those dating back to the Victorian era, the benefits of owning such charming abodes are offset by certain time-specific quirks and particularities that can really drive down a house’s selling price if left unresolved. To that end, here’s a list of suggestions that should help you increase the value of your Victorian home as well as improve your living conditions on the whole:

Restore the house’s original Victorian features instead of replacing them

A common mistake that many people make when purchasing period homes is assuming that an older house needs to compete with all the amenities offered by a new one. While older properties do indeed stand to benefit from being technologically up-to-date, this should never come at the expense of their own particular charms. Things like cast-iron fireplaces, sash windows and old-fashioned radiators are a plus in this situation, so take steps to restore or replace them with similar models instead of simply substituting them with contemporary items that are destined to look out of place in this environment.

Convert your loft into a livable space

Converting a formerly unused loft is one of the best ways to significantly increase the value of your period home. It adds an entirely new space that can be utilized by prospective homebuyers, which definitely makes it worth investing in. If your space up there is too cramped to add another bedroom, try converting it into a workout or hobby room instead.

Eliminate outdated plumbing and electrical systems

No matter how sturdy and well-built they are, most period homes will invariably show their age when it comes to plumbing and electrics. From old wiring to lead pipes and a general lack of electrical outlets, there are a number of problems in older homes that can drastically affect their overall livability. Eliminate them for good by hiring quality contractors who can handle the delicate rewiring and pipe replacement procedures that will have to be tackled. This step can be quite costly and time-consuming, but it’s an absolute must if you want to bring your Victorian house into the 21st century.

Spruce up the property’s exterior

First impressions are crucial when it comes to determining the value of pretty much any property, which is why it pays to make some timely investments in your house’s exterior. Some of them, such as repainting your windowsills or tending to the garden, will be cosmetic in nature, but others will have a direct impact on the house’s utility bill. To give just one example, properly insulating your walls and roof can prevent heat from leaking out during the winter, and thus save you a considerable amount of money in the process. As always, be sure to respect the house’s Victorian heritage. For instance, replacing traditional sash windows with modern UPVC windows will only serve to muck up your property’s image and therefore reduce its overall value.

Invest in appropriate furnishings

Finally, no period home would be complete without some truly appropriate pieces of furniture. Luckily, good quality period furniture can be found at relatively low prices if you know where to look and generally tends to enjoy a longer lifespan than most modern furnishings. This doesn’t meant that you have to stick exclusively to one style of furniture, but you’d do well to only look for pieces that fit well together and refrain from modern minimalist items that would stick out like a sore thumb.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to transform a Victorian house into the home of your dreams. By simply applying all of the aforementioned tips and tricks, you’ll be restoring your property to its former glory and helping maximize its market value at the same time. Thus, anyone who ends up staying in it will get to enjoy all the benefits of living in a unique environment with none of the drawbacks usually associated with such places.

~Written by Mackenzie Fox – All Rights Reserved

Tips For Embellishing An Open Floor Design By Diana Smith

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Anyone who wishes to incorporate a contemporary touch into their home design can do so by simply embracing the commodity of an open floor plan. Of course, a layout such as this one also gives you the opportunity to try out your artistic endeavors and experiment with various decoration techniques. These few tips can give you just the amount of inspiration to get you started.

Play With Lighting

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One of the best aspects of having an open floor plan is learning how to implement and play with different kinds of lighting. A design such as this one requires a fair amount of illumination and like that can tolerate a different combination of lighting features. Other than the fact that an open floor plan makes a perfect setting for ceiling to floor windows and skylights, it goes quite well with dramatic and recessed lighting fixtures. A dramatic chandelier can greatly illuminate a space, but also give it a stylish touch, while smaller pendant fixtures can easily draw attention to individual spaces.

Roomception

The idea of creating a room inside of a room might seem a bit uncanny, but it’s actually quite doable and very much desirable in a layout such as this one. An open floor plan gives you the opportunity to combine certain spaces and rooms and create multipurpose areas. This can be achieved quite easily by visually separating the spaces and giving them a subtle transition zone. This way you can easily blend together a family room, dining room and the kitchen while preserving your original sense of style. Another way to achieve this concept is to add levels, i.e. create a split level room.

Incorporate Color

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The use of color has always played a major role in interior design as it has the ability to transform the complete space, create an illusion of a much broader or smaller space, but also put accent on certain places and connect or divide a room. This is why it’s crucial to learn how to smartly incorporate color into your open floor design. One of the options is to apply a neutral foundation and permeate the whole space with touches of bright and vivid hues. Another option is to use different shades of the same color in separate spaces. This will create a subtle and soothing transition between the rooms, without adding a distasteful and splashy vibe to the space.

Choose a Theme

While a theme surely isn’t a necessary component, it can greatly aid you in the choice of your decorative pieces and other accessories. Placing too much different decorations can create a rather unappetizing setting and make it appear quite confusing. This is why the best solution is to rely on details within the same style or at least the same color, texture or pattern. This way you can easily interconnect the rooms and place items such as vases, sculptures or paintings in similar shapes or sizes. Area rugs are one of the best decorative pieces, as they have the ability to connect or even desalinate the space.

Separate By Zones

While a spacious area with lots of room and lighting seems like a great idea, sometimes these broad spaces can take away the personality and intimacy out of the space. This is why people rely on some subtle but yet effective solutions for separating the rooms into different zones. Some of the most popular options are using transparent divisions such as sliding glass doors or stylish bi fold doors. Another option is to use folding screens, drapes or even creating green walls.

In the last couple of years, an open floor plan has become an essential part of a modern household. Not only does this layout give the household a broader sensation, but it also provides a great space for entertainment as well. With just a few simple hacks and a clever use of imagination, an open floor plan can easily become your fairy-tale palace.

5 Home Decorating Mistakes That Lead To Clutter by Molly Dennis

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Many people tend to fall prey to the common misconception “clean” necessarily bears a connotation of being “well-organized”. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Often things end up in their wrong places and even though the items on the shelves in your kitchen, for instance, are perfectly aligned with one other, something appears to be lacking. Yes, you’ve guessed correctly – free space is never available and your home seems to be overflowing with various possessions, leaving you with the impression clutter reigns all over the place. We have listed five common mistakes, concerning home decoration as well as suggestions how to steer clear of committing them.

Stacked Books on your Coffee Table

Stacking books on your coffee table is not likely to cause your visitors to think you are a “well-read person”. On the contrary, it will produce a far less desirable effect as your guests will experience severe difficulties in finding space for their tea cups and saucers. That is why, it is important to remember books and bookcases agree with each other, so make sure this is where you place your favorite novels. We recommend you arrange yours according to their covers’ color for a little extra effect.

Floating Shelves

Don’t get us wrong, floating shelves are a great way to save some floor space. However, when all four walls of the room are covered in shelves overflowing with memorabilia, it leaves one with an unpleasant, suffocating impression. It would be best to install a few floating shelves in your kitchen where you can keep your spices, cups and a few colorful plates for decoration. Don’t give in to the urge to hoard useless things as this will create a sense of chaos and lack of organization even in the most exemplary home.

Countless Kitchen Accessories

We can’t help but admit kitchen accessories and decoration have a charm of their own, but  there is (or at least there should be) a limit to everything. If the shelves in your kitchen are stacked with piles of stuff that don’t necessarily belong there, it is time for some drastic measures. Feel free to leave some of your favorite decorations on the shelves, but remove all the rest to free some space for your condiments, spices and other kitchen essentials. As far as recipe books are concerned, keep at hand only the one you use most frequently and place the remaining ones in your bookcase, where books rightfully belong.

Way too many “Decorations”

Sure, everyone likes to put on display all the memorabilia they’ve collected on trips across the world. But is this really the best course of action? The short answer to this question is no as it is precisely these “decorations” that leave your home cluttered, not to mention turning your living room into the Tate Museum of Modern Art is tacky and distasteful. Remove some of the figurines, candle sticks and vases from your mantel piece and you will soon notice the difference it will make. This will greatly simplify your Sunday dusting routine as you will not have to move tons of items from your shelves and furniture. Besides, who needs ten Maneki Nekos when only one will suffice to bring your home a good fortune?

Paintings and Photographs

Hanging artsy paintings on your walls can lend your home a nice feel but Tenancy Cleaning Canary Wharf advises to be careful not to overdo it. In most cases, these end up collecting dust and that’s that. Hang a few paintings that share a common theme, color scheme or motifs and lose the rest. Also, there is no need to put all your framed photographs on display. Keep the ones which remind you of moments passed you cherish the most and preserve the remaining photographs in a classy photo album. You will be surprised at how clean and well-organized your home will look.

If you manage to stick to these five decorating rules we have suggested, soon you will find your home looks much cleaner and organized. Without question, the greatest advantage of keeping decorations to the minimum results from the fact it would be much easier for you to perform your cleaning routine as you will be spared the necessity to remove so many items from your shelves. Thus, you will be able to dust and polish your furniture and shelves with a single swipe instead of spending your entire weekend, armed with a duster in hand.

Submitted and written by: Molly Dennis