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Home-improvement: Add a Touch of the Country to your Home

Add a Touch of The Country to Your Home

A colorful house with faded walls, wicker and worn furniture – is a distinctive picture you would get whenever you think of a country styled home. Adding a tinge (or more) of the country style to your home doesn’t mean recreating a part, nor does it mean being frozen in time. It is preserving the good old things of the yesteryears and turning them into a mélange by incorporating them with state-of-the-art home amenities.

Living in a country styled home is supposedly very informal and comfortable. It enables the home owner to relax in a rustic setting amidst simple things handmade by skilled artisans. If you are planning to incorporate a country style to your home, don’t imagine it to be a very tedious task. Designing your home in the country style has minimal rules. All you would have to ensure is that the atmosphere is comfortable, both for people living in the house as well as guests who come visiting.

Since the country look has undergone transformation over the years, it has improved and taken in a wider variety of distinctive attributes. Given below are some ideas that would help you while adding a ‘touch of the country look’ and preserving your tradition as well.

Flooring – Always start from the floor, as it is the ‘base’ of the home. For instance, you can add a get a painted gingham-painted border to your wooden floor. The pricing for this could be expensive or affordable, depending on the amount of floor space and the artisan fees. You can also consider oriental rugs and carpets that lend an extra tinge of drama to the entrance of your home.

Walls – In the past, walls were made of brick or wood. You can use wooden or brick walls and leave them unpainted to give the perfect country look. However, if you wish to achieve the country look, you can paint the walls; just make sure you use natural colors, which complement the upholstery and flooring. Also, to get the perfect texture, get the walls evenly plastered and colored in soft lime-wash. You can decorate walls freehand or using stencil, simple designs and motifs.

Upholstery and furniture To give an illusion of space in small rooms use minimally upholstered wooden furniture. To add a rustic, colorful look, a mat, handmade quilt, thrown or draped over wooden furniture adds the extra country charm. Inculcate a layered look in the fabrics you use, to give a serene feel to the ambience. You can use floral, patterned, or striped fabric, as these complement with one another and give a special touch to every room.

Decorations Use wicker baskets for flower arrangements, dried shrubs, potpourri, fruits, and placing bread loaves on the dining table. Wicker baskets are said to be the heart of the country style. They can be kept on the shelves or hung near the windows.

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Decor Art

Large Wall Art Decor Ideas

A room's, house's, or office's interior wall is actually like a blank piece of canvas. Put some artwork on it, and you can add character and details to any place in the house.

There are many ideas on how to creatively decorate your walls. Here are some of them.

1. Pictures

This is a traditional but time-tested way of decorating. Simply hang framed photos on the wall. Photos can be anything-family members and loved ones, memorable places where you went, or themed and carefully composed pictures of a certain subject. It is best if these pictures were blown up, or enlarged. It would probably be good if you keep the frame uniform; if you used a gold-leaf frame on a certain picture, all other pictures should use the same frame. Doing this effectively omits a look of chaos.

2. Paintings

This is another classical decoration. You can do either of two things: hang a large painting, or hang smaller multiple paintings. The two main criteria for selecting paintings are size and color. The painting should be too large that it will overwhelm the wall, nor to small to be lost in all other items.

Paintings should be hung in a way so that its center is at eye level. When choosing a painting for a large wall art décor, choose a bold color in your room or house and choose artwork that has that color in it. If you want muted colors, you may choose a black-and-white art with a light-colored mat or neutral colored frame.

Style should be consistent. For example, if your house or room is filled with antiques, the painting you choose may have antique-style frames.

3. Sculptures

Two-dimensional sculptures are also great for wall decors. Another idea is to surround a larger sculpture or painting with smaller ones. A good way of organizing such is to draw an imaginary rectangle and the part of the wall you want to focus on. Then fill that rectangle with a grouping of related art, in this case, sculptures.

4. Carpet and rugs

Beautifully designed carpets such as Persian rugs can be used as wall decors. Just make sure that it coincides with the theme of your room since these kinds of rugs usually have overwhelming designs. Please note that most Persian rugs are large and can dominate entire walls.

5. Unconventional materials

Do not limit yourself to paintings, photographs, and other classical art. You can use other materials. For example, an old wooden box can be repaired and hanged as a curio cabinet and a wall décor at the same time. Wooden blocks can be used as candle stands. A piece of weathered driftwood can be used to accent a wall. The possibilities are endless.

6. Wallpaper

Don't forget this simple large wall art décor. Wallpapers can really define the atmosphere of a room. You can choose between plain colored ones for a simplistic design or a patterned one to establish a theme. There are endless styles available in home improvement shops

7. Lights

An artful display of lights is a contemporary wall décor art. Spotlights suspended on the ceiling project beams on the wall. Carefully arranged, the beams can form patterns, lines, and spots that are as effective as any painting. Spotlights can also be used to highlight particular pieces of artwork.

About the Author

Article author Alyssa Davis is the contemporary design consultant and senior staff writer for Metal-Wall-Art.com. Visit the store for a distinctive
candle wall sconce
and
wall art sculpture
.

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Decor Art

Art Deco
Retro’s fun, but keep a balance
By Melissa Rayworth The Associated Press Going retro has never been easier. Whether you love ’50s space-age style, ’20s art deco or design from any bygone era, vintage furniture and home accessories are everywhere today.

How 2 Create a Jazzy Art Deco Bedroom in 6 Easy Steps

This article contains information and tips to help you create your little piece of Art Deco style. The colours, patterns, designs, furniture styles and decorative detailing of the Art Deco era will be revealed. Added to this are lists of where to find more information and suppliers of Art Deco items. If you follow the 6 easy steps you can easily put together your Art Deco master piece.

During the Art Deco era interior design was a main focus. Smooth surfaces, exotic materials and repeated geometric forms characterise this style. The style became part of the ‘Swinging Twenties' part of the ‘Jazz Age'.

Tip: Read through the whole article before you start following the steps

 

Step 1:  Know what makes Art Deco different from Art Nouveau

Art Deco is a jazzy style with straight lines, geometric and abstracted shapes used in buildings, furniture and decorative details. This is the main difference from the earlier Art Nouveau style with its flowing lines, organic curved rounded forms, fantasy themes and gentle pastel colours. In comparison Art Deco is bold, colourful, showy and dramatic.

Tip: Look for

• Straight lines

• Geometric shapes

• Abstract patterns

• Egyptian scarab

• Sun Motifs

• Stepped ziggurat shapes

• Fan shapes

• Aztec symbols

• Stylised flowers

 

Step 2: Become familiar with examples of Art Deco design

You can do this from the comfort of your computer desk. Just use the information below to inform your research. This is the easiest way, but you can also visit your local library or you can research in your local area.

Tip: An easy way to find visual information is to do a Google image search. Please note some images labeled as Art Deco are in fact Art Nouveau

In France

• Emile –Jacques Ruhlmann a leader of French interior design and furniture design between 1918 – 1925

• Paul Iribe

• Andre Groult

• Neuilly Villa designed 1929 by Pierre Legrain

• Eileen Gray in 1920 designed Suzanne Talbot's apartment

 

Art Deco USA

Design in the USA was Influenced by French Art Deco after the 1925 Paris exhibition. The Americans loved the bright surfaces and abstract patterns of the style. The 1933 World's Fair ‘Century of Progress' in Chicago saw many Art Deco motifs, designs and shapes used for example the rising sun motif and stepped ziggurat.

Ely Jacques Kahn designed Art Deco skyscraper entrance lobbies

• Bricken Building

• Chrysler Building

• Empire State Building

• Banking Hall of the Irving Trust Company

 

Step 3: Select floor covering

For a bedroom plain wall to wall fitted carpet would be an excellent choice. This was a popular floor treatment of the time. Although geometric patterns and Sarouk Persian or Turkish carpets in geometric or floral salmon pink were popular in the States. In Britain large repeat patterns in soft muted colours (similar to William Morris designs) were used in hotels and on ocean liners.

French carpets were formal in style with highly stylised floral designs. Brilliantly coloured carpets with abstract patterns were used in theaters and department stores in the US and France.

Animal skin floor rugs could also be used in your bedroom. Zebra skin rugs were popular and placed over the plain carpets. Linoleum continued to be popular as did parquet floors.

Tip: What you choose for the floor will influence all your other choices. Remember this when you make your selection.

Art Deco Floors:

• Plain

• Geometric

• Zebra skin

• Persian

• Turkish (Sarouk)

 

Carpets Available in Art Deco Style

Stark's Navarre design

Stark's Laseine design

Bosanquet's Ives trellis design

Axminster Carpets' Honeycomb design

 

Step 4: Select the wallpaper and paint colours

You may want to create a modern styled room with an Art Deco twist or create a room to reflect a real impression from the Art Deco times. Strong colours were used as a reaction to the pastels of the Art Nouveau style. However colours did vary between countries and the decades of the Art Deco era.

In a bedroom green, ultramarine, sea green or deep blue could create a peaceful retreat. But black, red, crimson, burnt orange or hot pink could create a dramatic bold statement. Or a sophisticated elegant atmosphere could be created by using white on white, cream, coffee, beige, bluff or chocolate brown.

Tip: Some colours work better in a bedroom. Greens and blues are said to decrease the heart rate. Reds and oranges are said to stimulate and increase the heart rate.

Art Deco colours

• Chocolate brown

• Red

• Black

• Hot Pink

• Beige

• Coffee

• White on White

• Ultramarine

Walls, ceilings and woodwork were often smooth and sometimes glossy. Wallpapers were also popular. If you want drama and excitement in your scheme then wallpapers with bold geometric, Egyptian or Aztec motifs in vibrant colours would achieve this.

The wallpaper designs of the 1930's could create a sophisticated elegant look. The tea stained colours heighted with silver or gold would create a rich, smart interior space.

A truly feminine room could be created using one of the many Art Deco floral design wallpapers. Or a classic modern Art Deco look could be achieved by using geometric patterns in cubist like designs.

Wallpaper

• Stylised Flowers

• Stripes

• Geometric

• Egyptian motifs

• 1930's (tea stained colours highlighted with silver or gold)

 

Wallpaper Sources

Bradbury and Bradbury's Glasgow Panel

G.P. & J. Baker's Rose & Hummingbird

 

Step 5: Select the Furniture

The interiors of the Art Deco era housed furniture with straight (sometimes curved) clean lines. To create a classic modern room glass and chrome could be used. Lacquered furniture was also popular at this time so could be used to create an elegant sophisticated style.

Exotic timbers could be used to create bold statements and rooms with a sense of drama. Upholstery was often designed in geometric patterns, but plain fabrics were often used. Large tasseled cushions of varying shapes covered with sumptuous fabrics were popular. Using cushions in this manner would create a more informal look.

Tip: It is best to make the final choice on paint colour selections after the furniture has been selected

Furniture

• Chrome

• Glass

• Veneered exotic timbers

• Lacquered: Black, Scarlet, Pale yellow

 

Step 6: Select Art Deco Accessories

Ornaments were sparsely used during the Art Deco period. The classical minimal modern look was starting to have an impact at this time and influenced Art Deco design. The stepped profile is considered the shape of the Art Deco era. Abstracted fans, sunrise and Egyptian motifs were also popular.

Lamps with female figurers holding a ball are a well known icon of the Art Deco era. Also cushion were used in strongly coloured rooms, often black and red with red lacquer-work furniture and China pagoda lamps.

So what could you use to finish off your Art Deco room? Fan design table lamps or a girl with a ball lamp could be used with sleek lacquered furniture or with exotic timber or glass and chrome pieces.

A mirror in a fan or step design would work well with most furniture designs. Art Deco interiors rarely displayed paintings however murals were sometimes used. Ornaments in bronze and other metals of the female or animal form were in vogue at this time so could make a nice addition to your Art Deco bedroom.

Tip: One piece of Art Deco; a lamp, piece of furniture or wallpaper could be the starting point of your interior decorating scheme. Everything else selected should then relate to that object.

This article has illustrated there are three main themes you can use to create your bedroom in an Art Deco style.

You could create:

• A bold dramatic room with strong colours, bold geometric patterns and exotic timber furniture.

• Or secondly you could create a classic modern style using chrome and glass furniture, abstract patterns and muted or neutral colours with strong contrast.

• Or a luxurious sophisticated room could be created using lacquered furniture, subtle patterns and tea stained coloured wallpaper with silver or gold stripes.

That is not to say you can't mix some of the items from each style to create a really individual take on Art Deco. The important thing to remember when creating an Art Deco room; the motifs, patterns and designs are basically the same. I will be writing a series on Art Deco on my Sample Board Online blog http://blog.sampleboardonline.com I invite you to visit. It will be loaded with information and images.

Some Art Deco Sources

USA

Modern Gallery French & American Art Deco

Art Deco Collection

Art Deco Rugs

UK

Antique Suppliers and Reproduction Suppliers Directory

Rupert Cavendish Antiques

The Art Deco Home

Australia

Art Deco Online Store

Art Deco World

 

 

About the Author

Rosena works as an interior design, retail and visual merchandising tutor for Australian College QED. She I has also worked for the Retail Traders Association of Victoria as a Retail Trainer. Rosena has a Diploma in Interior Design, Post Graduate Diploma in Public and Community Health and is a qualified trainer. She also works as an interior design consultant, creates designer art work and is the Australian partner of Sample Board Online a new cool free interior design presentation tool.

Art Deco

Case Wood
A conversation with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz
Carol Bartz talks with CNET's Molly Wood and Tom Krazit on a range of topics, including Facebook's privacy settings and whether Yahoo plans to buy the Huffington Post. Spoiler alert: no swearing.

Accessorising Your Wood Floors

1. Wood Doors

Change the interior doors to matching wooden doors. There are a large variety of wooden doors now available especially oak doors. There is a full range of veneered oak doors, walnut doors, cherry, beech, pine, pitch pine and white doors – almost any colour to match any wooden floor.

Bespoke doors are also available however these are more costly due to the individual manufacturing processes. The doors can complement a wood floor perfectly and come in a variety of finishes. A large number of oak doors are unfinished when purchased so they can be sealed to match the floor with either an oil or varnish – they can even be colour oiled to blend with a similar colour oiled floor. Oils are the most common finish for doors however varnish / lacquer is adequate. The majority of doors are veneered hardwood for both conservation and stability however there are a small number of solid wood doors available.

Most doors have an identical style in half hour rated fire doors which will pass all building regulations where 30 minute fire doors are required. A new line of supermodel doors also contain glazed fire doors which enable more flexibility with style and design. External doors also come in various timbers – usually veneered again for stability due to the high exposure to cold, heat and moisture. A new front door is a perfect finish to the front of your house.

Wood doors range in style from Victorian style, 1930s style to the modern and contemporary – there is a door style to suit all tastes, colours and styles.

2. Skirting, Architrave and Door casings

The best way to complement a new wood door is to accessorise with the matching door frame, architrave and skirting. There is a large range of door casings, architraves and skirtings available to complement the wood flooring and doors you have chosen in many styles and timbers.

The most popular is the oak – there are both engineered and solid door casings. There is very little difference between the solid and engineered casings however joiners will often specify the types preferred or there will be a preference due to location (ie. In below ground applications) There are two types of door casings – rebated door casings and door linings which come with a loose stop. They are both suitable for all types of doors however where a fire rated door casing is required there are ready made door casings with the intumescent strip for the building regulations.

Architraves also come in both solid and engineered timber. Sizes vary from approx 45mm – 90mm or wider depending on the application. A standard size is usually around 57mm for most houses dating from 1900’s. The style of architrave varies and matches most skirting board profiles. It is also possible to have architrave blocks – small squares on the corners – an older design now becoming popular once again. Styles of architrave include original designs such as torus, ogee and lambs tongue, plus other more contemporary styles such as pencil round (bullnose), chamfered and square edged.

Architraves are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors .

Skirtings can make your new floor look completely finished – they enhance the hardwood floors giving clean lines around the edges of the room – the floors look like they have been part of the home for some time. Once again, oak skirting is the most popular timber to blend with the oak floors.

Engineered and solid skirtings are available in numerous sizes. The engineered skirtings are veneered with a top layer of real wood and give the option of more types of timber such as walnut which is very rare in a solid skirting but more widely available in a veneer.

The standard sizes of skirtings range from 95mm to 220mm however the most popular ones are between 95 and 140mm. Often you will be guided by the size of skirting previously fitted as sockets and plaster will dictate the height. Styles of skirting match all the architrave styles – original designs like torus, ogee and lambs tongue along with contemporary designs such as square edge, bullnose (pencil round) and chamfered.

Skirtings are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors. Oak skirtings have often been used to complement light coloured carpets as well as oak flooring to break up the room between light floors and light walls – this is often done in bedrooms where people often want the comfort of carpet but with a hint of wood.

Window boards in the same timber as your floor will brighten up any window and make them look like new – as with the skirting, doors and architrave – the most popular ones are oak. The window boards can come in the original bullnose edging or with a square edge for a contemporary look.

The sizes of the window boards are available between 100mm – 350mm in both a solid board or veneered oak MDF board. The window sills are available unfinished or prefinished in a lacquer / varnish, oil or colour oil to complement the room.

These boards can also be used as stair cladding to clad over an existing staircase. The bullnose is perfect for the tread of the stair and square edge can be used for the riser – no need to rout out the existing overhang as the stairs can be packed first for the cladding to go over. A perfect accompaniment for all wooden floors.

About the Author

Ruth Shann has been an expert in wood flooring installation and finishing since 1999.

Case Wood

Folk Art
Arts notes
Moraga Art Gallery's group show "Summer Hues" features local artists showing watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings, ceramics, photography, mixed media, jewelry and glass designs. It begins June 8, followed by a reception from 3-5 p.m. June 12.

Ethnic Embroidery of Qiang – a Miracle in Chinese Folk Art (1)

Embroidery is one of traditional Chinese folk industrial arts styles, is an integral part in China's folk culture. Qiang's folk embroidery art is the image carrier of Qiang nation's culture, it is a direct and aesthetic symbolic performance of customs and lifeways of the minority nation with a long history.

Qiang people's folk embroidery art has passed down from generation to generation for its own traditional folk style, rich exotic moods and sophisticated artistry, which combines the practicality and beauty in one, is one of people's favorite articles used for decorating and beautifying the life.

When the new China founded, the Qiang people's folk art developed further, become more attractive and dazzling. In July 1959, embroidered waist belt created by Mrs. Wang Yuhua named "Happiness Ocean" from Wenchuan County in Sichuan province was sent to Chengtu city to attend the State Industrial Art Exhibition and won the first prize.

Containing simple and rich ancient rustic flavors and superb artistry, in 1978 Qiang people's folk costumes won lot of national academic reputations at home and abroad. At the end of same year, Japan's National Museum of Ethnology purchased the Qiang nation's folk apparel for collection.

In 1980, carpets produced by factories in Aba county were exported to the United States, Canada, India, Nepal, the Philippines and other countries, thus Qiang nation people's folk art won wide reputations and praises.

To the Ming and Qing Dynasties, embroidery has become very popular in the region of Qiang minority. Qiang nation's embroidery art has 16 kinds of embroidering stitches, there are pick embroidery, 'Nahua' embroidery, fine flower embroidery, chain clasp embroidery, emboss finish embroidery, jacquard embroidery, applique embroidery, crocheting embroidery and hand embroidery mainly.

Among them, the pick embroidery is the most favorite technique practices used by Qiang nation's women. The pick embroidery's images drawn from the reality life in nature, such as flowers, birds, fishes, animals, and so on, which are familiar in people's daily life. These natural beings full with rich biological spirits, through skillful pick embroidery processing, have been created into various colorful patterns and images, they mostly symbolizes people's blessings of auspicious fortunes, fine aspirations for bright future, such as "Bouquets of Flowers and Piles of Brocades ", "Harmony in Water and Fish", " Phoenix Flying in Peony."

Pick embroidery also called "cross embroidery", is a sort of embroidery technique which strictly in accordance with the fabric's latitude and longitude lines, through a set of tight embroidery stitches and bring out cross patterns in equidistance and same length, thus embroider out a variety of patterns of visual forms, which have regular, symmetrical, distinctive features. Through this method, images of all natural beings are formed of cross right angles and cross straight lines, and formed unique styles of geometric deformation, it's fancy and interesting.

Qiang minority nation's women mostly using cotton threads in their embroidering work, sometimes silk color threads applied too, the colors in which mainly are black and white in vivid contrast. Colors in embroidered image are commonly bright and varied to create clear, simple and generous visual effects.

Qiang nation's embroidery patterns are clean, exquisite, and contained rich implications. For example, the colors in flower design embroidery and fine flower embroidery are distinctive in great contrast, while flying belts' patterns have very strong decorative impressions, coupled with the embroidery techniques of chain clasp and so on, the Qiang people's wild, uninhibited but delicate characters were open out fully with rich connotations.

About the Author

I'd like to introduce and display an excellent selection of China fine art products and gifts - www.123giftfactory.com to you, also give you great suggestions about gift ideas and the latest fashion art trends in China.

Folk Art