Magnolia color became popular as a wall paint. Named after the flower – it is a light cream color with a tint of rose shade. UK standard RGB 244 233 216
Magnolia
Archives
Silhouettes
Silhouette was a popular piece of fine arts in the 18-19th century. It is a silhouette on a light – usually white – base, cut out of black cardboard or painted with black paint. Most often it is a human profile portrait (vignette) but the theme can be also a genre or animals.
This was the cheaper and faster version of portrait miniatures. The most talented artists made a silhouette by freehand in a few minutes, just looking the model sitting in front of them. The inner part of the silhouette is simply black without details, neither the eyes nor other characteristics were illustrated. Their sizes were between 7 and 13 cm. Making it was a kind of show at fairs and even the poorer could afford paying for one thanks to the cheap material. The artists not necessarily had to have a wealthy patron for their job.
Making silhouettes was a popular pastime among nobles also. The easier way was to hang a tensed paper on a mount between the model and the drawer, while the model was lighted by a candle from behind. The shadow on the paper was drawn around and that was used as a stencil for cutting the final one of black cardboard. The painted version was usually also pre-drawn and filled later with black ink.
The silhouettes were framed and put on the wall. Later variations appeared on glass, gypsum and ivory.
They can be easily fitted into fashionable, minimal color palettes thanks to their black-and-white basic colors. Ask for help of an interior designer placing your collection in a proper way.
Degenfeld Castle Hotel
Degenfeld Castle Hotel Tarcal through the eyes of the guest (2018)
Key holders
Somebody just drops the keys onto the shoe cabinet. Somebody puts them in different places and than tries to find them. A decorative wall mounted key holder is the solution.
Before renovation
In case of buying a used property in poor condition, time, money and difficulties caused by the renewal, always have to be considered. If we decide to do it by ourselves, it’s recommended to think some issues over before starting.
Find a constructor who is reliable, working nice and free in the required timeframe. It is not easy, but if we can plan for 6-8 months before starting, it has a good chance. If a construction company is proposed by someone, the situation is luckier since we can go and see their references in the proposer’s home. Quality job means not the same for everybody! That is why it’s worth the time. If we look for a specialist on the internet, always ask for references. It can tell a lot about if it is given wholeheartedly. Ask for proposals from more companies. As soon as the new property is available, take the constructor to a survey and ask for a quote. The latter will contain not only the cost but the contracted time also. Of course, it has a cost (per implementer) but it is worth this little investment compared to the cost of the whole renovation. This way we can choose the best nominee for us. If we don’t want to work with a constructor to reduce costs, be prepared to make coordination tasks, time table, control, and purchasing by ourselves. In this case the renovation usually takes longer time.
Look after the nowadays prices. Costs are continuously rising, so we cannot depend on the paid cost of the new entrance door of our neighbour two years ago, for example. Examine more companies’ websites, where we can buy what and on what price. Obviously, there will be products that might be priced after a measurement (e.g. windows) but we can ask for approximate amounts. If we have an idea of the style and colors, we can choose products in advance fitting for our purse.
An important factor is the delivery time from the order. Only a few things can be bought immediately, from store during a renovation. Shops deliver in 2-3 days from their own stocks, but it could be 2-3 weeks from an offshore store. In case of unique production this can be extended even to 6-8 weeks. These times should be calculated in the order of works and the implementing timetable.
Usually everybody knows the available amount to spend for the renovation. Anyway, we shall count on sudden difficulties which cause plus costs (usually there are) and allocate further 10% for these.
We can ask for help of an interior designer even from the survey of the property before buying until taking the keys of our renovated home. We can save a lot of time, money and worrying with this decision.
Staircase-bench
Dead spaces created by staircases can be useful with a built-in bench, which not only provides comfortable seating but could be focal point in a big but monotone space
Orient Express
When the train was the fastest way to travel continentally, one of them was world-famous. Its name was officially Orient Express from 1891.
It left Paris first in 1883, going to only Wien that time. The passengers were taken to Bulgaria on the Danube, where they got on another train to Varna, then reached Constantinople by ferryboat. The train went directly to Constantinople from 1889. It became so popular in the 1930s, that three trains ran parallel: on the lines Paris-Wien-Istanbul, Paris-Venice-Istanbul and Paris-Zürich-Athens.
Only first-class tickets were available, it was specifically a luxury train. The company used wooden framed, teak wood covered carriages until WWI, and dark blue steel framed carriages after it. Its kitchen was brilliant. One of the leading shareholders of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits succeeded to enlist the Belgian King. Thanks to this, they could use the lion coat of arms. It could keep tally on sovereigns, spies, diplomats and business magnates as passengers, among others. The interiors of the carriages were luxurious. The original train contained five carriages and one engine. There were one baggage wagon on each end, two sleeping wagons and a restaurant car in the middle. The interior decoration after the WWI is a nice sample of Art Déco. Wall panels and doors were decorated with glass insets, works of the famous glassmaker, René Lalique. A bar and a salon were created beside the dining area. Every cabin had a small lavatory part. The beds were transformed to sofas for the day. The whole looked like a hotel for all your needs, not rolling on wheels.
Agatha Christie also travelled on the world-famous train. Probably this experience and the 11 days stand because of the snowdrift in 1929 gave her the idea to write one of her best detective stories (Murder on the Orient Express).
Brick floor
Old and sliced bricks can be reused as floor covering – perfect solution for classic country styles
Parquetry patterns
The history of parquet flooring goes back to the Renaissance. The wooden floor tiles were laid in V-shape since the middle of the 16th century. The two oldest patterns are herringbone and chevron. These are the most popular today also but they are frequently mixed up.
Reputedly herringbone patterned parquetry was first laid by Italian craftsmen in 1539 for the French king Francis I. In this classic pattern, the pieces are in right angle so that the short side of one piece gets to the end of the other’s long side. Actually they show a zigzag pattern but its line is broken.
However, there are pointed peaks in chevron pattern (named after the V-shaped rank sign), this way the chock-shape is created. The pieces are cut in mitter, the ends are joined this way, so the pattern will be continuous. Nowadays ready-made floor and wall tiles are available.
The two patterns mentioned above are frequent not only as floor but as wall decorations also. They can be created from wall tiles (e.g. subway tiles), floor tiles or even vinyl flooring, not only from wood parquetry. They look good both in classic and modern interiors.
Luckily, parquetry is fashionable again, more and more people want to save the old wooden flooring of the building being renovated. It is really worth to spend money and time for it unless it is in too bad condition, since it will be beautiful and valuable part of the interior. It will look as good as new with gap-filling, grinding and lacquering (probably changing its color by burnishing).
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper patterns.
Dark brown furniture
Light, painted furniture are more and more fashionable nowadays thanks to the popularity of shabby chic, vintage and country styles. Most of us immediately think of painting the antique and inherited dark(er) brown furniture to make them fit in the white, grey or cream interior where only the very light shades of wood are used for furnishing. But old pieces can be fitted in a stylish way without painting them, in their original pomp.
A showy piece of furniture can be a real focal point in a fashionable „white” interior. In fact, the dark color doesn’t fade into the view, on the contrary, it strikes the eye and underlines the light surroundings. So it’s expedient to choose a beautiful or a valuable piece of furniture which we gladly show to our guest also.
Using an antique piece will show a much more integrated view where the floor is made of darker wood. We can unite the sight by brown picture frames, upholstered chairs with dark legs, antique brass/black lamps, dark stair railing – depending on the purpose of the room.
Pastel colors (light blue, light green, powder etc.) used by the styles mentioned above don’t preclude placing dark, even lacquered furniture in the room. Naturally this is true in case of any color hue, if the colors of the furniture and the room are matched. If the surrounding remains light (proper lighting), the upshot will be truly sophisticated and invitingly cozy.
Really dark painted walls are braver but more and more frequent solutions in homes. An inherited piece of furniture can prevail here, in its original condition. If we choose a cold shade of color, for example dark blue, dark grey or even black, the piece of furniture will mark out from it by not only its lighter shades but its warm brown surface contrasting with the cold color of the walls. Maybe this results a more masculine style, but the coziness remains.
If we are doubtless sure of painting it white, it’s worth of combining them: leave some parts of the furniture in original color, namely dark brown. This can be the top of it in case of a chest of drawers, the tabletop of a table but any other combination looks good. This way we can show its beauty beside integrating it in its surroundings.
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper antique furniture.
