Rustic Home Decorating Theme

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:01:36 +0200

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Decorating can be fun and a constructive activity (pun intended!) and can lend a new touch to your home with the Rustic look. If you are tired with the bland look that your house presents and get up every morning with the "not again!" look when you open your eyes, its time your house needed a fresh perspective. If you have tried many other decorating styles in the past and want something offbeat or you want a hint of nostalgia and old country charm into your living room, the Rustic decoration is the way to go. The Rustic decoration is best suited to stay by the hill, or a river flowing past.

The word Rustic conjures up certain mental images of lakeside cabins, rough hewn baskets, ironware, rusted metal and wooden household items handcrafted all quintessentially reminiscent of the old western charm. The predominant theme or blend of the rustic involves dark, wooden, earthy colors, copper. Though one would associate the Rustic decoration with unfinished wood and discomfort, its a misconception as today you can replicate the Rustic feel without losing out on comfort.

All you need is some creativity and some designs in hand. If you want to saw the logs on your own, you can do that too without worry. Installing pine and poplar floors and keeping furnishings and accessories to a minimum underscored the primitive look. To blend the new construction with the original log structure, use cedar siding and quarter-sawn oak that weather almost immediately. Inside, leave the logs untreated, instantly achieving an aged effect. Also for the enhanced Rustic look, do not hang curtains. Incorporate handmade things. For recreating the Rustic look a collection of baskets, chandeliers, and other accents gives the house an instant sense of history. Introduce items that evoke memories.

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Window Treatment Ideas

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:44:24 +0200

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Good window treatment can change the appearance of your room and the use of proper fabric to drape your window gives it an elegance and grace. One of the most popular window treatment ideas is to the use of drapery, i.e. fabric to change the layout and look of the window. With proper fabric application over your window, dual purposes can be served. It will not only serve its function of covering up the window, offering you privacy, dimming the outside light but also beautifies the room.

Windows can have structural work or hooks that can be concealed by using the appropriate concealment. Cornices and valances can be used to conceal these irregularities; a valance is an ornamental drapery hung across a top edge or a short drapery, decorative board, or metal strip mounted especially across the top of a window to conceal structural fixtures; a cornice is an ornamental horizontal molding or frame used to conceal rods, picture hooks, or other devices.

Now when considering the fabric for your window ensures that it matches the decor, theme and ambience of your room. Improper coloring and fabric choice can ruin the efforts. For instance, if the fabric for the window is too light or faded, the window treatment will appear ineffective and the whole idea of the window treatment is neutralized. Too bold or dark colors can divert more than usual glances to your curtain which could negate the general theme of your room.

Use colors that are beige or neutral in color as the background of the fabric and sewn or decorated by a myriad of colors in a good pattern. It is also a good window treatment idea to have your curtain fall all the way to the floor and this gives it a nice appearance. When washing, cleaning or ironing the curtain fabric it is important that care is taken about the heat applied or the chemicals used. Look into the fabric instructions and dry-clean it with caution. These days sewing the curtain to the window rod isn’t necessary; there are special fixtures that can be ironed on to curtain fabric which holds on to the rod. As an option you could use spot or focus lights on the curtain fabric.

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