Carnival

Feb8

The carnival season starts at Epiphany and lasts to Ash Wednesday, its end is also a winter farewell. This is the traditional period of carnivals and masquerades. In Hungary, it’s used to be celebrated mostly in schools and kindergartens, but costume parties are more and more popular at the adults also. Let’s organize a light and funny evening for our friends in carnival spirit.
We can use many of the New Years scenery: caps, masks, serpentines. As the carnival is also about the cavalcade of colors, we can be quite daring in this topic. Let’s choose three powerful color hues and use it as a base of decoration. They can be e.g. deep purple, turquoise and lime green. The best if we purchase decorations made of shimmering material. Their concentrated effect can be compensated using white, black and silver colors. When having a masquerade party, we can ask our guests to wear the same, ambient colors in clothing (e.g.: white, black, gray), but their masks should reflect the above main colors. If the party will be a costume event, the complete costume should be designed with the given three colors regardless to the theme.
For this occasion, Swedish buffet fits the best. Sweet and salty snacks can be eaten while standing, they also can be decorated fitting the color scheme. Cookies can be colored by frosting or marzipan decorations. Sandwiches can be topped by lime slices, or butter crème roses tinted by food coloring. Napkins, straws and cocktail sticks are easy to be purchased in lots of different colors.
To plan and select the colors for a real elegant style of serving, ask for help from a style expert before sending out the invitations.

Ceiling

Feb2

The ceiling is the sixth side of the room which we often forget. In old times, the ceiling was rarely left white, it was mostly richly decorated or colored. Why cannot we evoke this practice?
The style of the room can be highlighted with the color or decoration of the ceiling, it can complement the sight of furnishing or even can be an additional twist for the mood. For these, the first and most important question is: what is the room height? The dark painted ceiling visually gets lower, while the light colored raises the eye. It can be for example coffee brown with 250cm room height also if a cozier mood is required – let’s say in the case of a library – and it can be painted in light blue with 360 cm room height if an airy effect is desired – for example in a bedroom. Note, that the color of the walls is reflected to the ceiling and vice versa. Besides colors, decoration elements can help in emphasizing the ceiling: stuccos, mouldings, rosettes. These can be made of gypsum, polystyrene or wood. Their basic color is commonly white but can be painted to any desired color. Rosettes usually placed to the fixing of chandeliers and pendants. Its diameter should be a bit smaller than the chandelier’s. But this rule can be broken if the oversized decorating element is designed for attracting the guest’s eye upward as entering. Crown mouldings hide the joint of the wall and the ceiling, this way they visually make the room higher. The mouldings are placed on the wall right below the ceiling. If these are painted to the color of the ceiling, the room seems to be lower. Stuccos can be placed in the corners or even around the rosette. The desired decoration is up to the taste. Their effect can be buffered with painting the whole ceiling to a plain, neutral shade.
A similar effect can be reached with hand-painted decoration of the ceiling instead of decorating elements (stencil, pictures, stripes etc.). This is a much cheaper solution but requires great handcraft. Even faux-beams can be placed if the style of the flat/house allows it. They don’t have to be necessarily painted to a different color as the ceiling to be highlighted. Metal tile is a showy solution also.
Get inspiration from visiting old historical buildings, it can be a castle, museum or a public institution in such a building, then ask for help of an interior designer for implementing these in your home also.

Bird cages otherwise

Feb1

Useful and decorative bird cages

Color pairs 1.

Jan31

Color pairs: purple-green

Flower decorations

Jan30

Flower decoration always makes a cheerful mood in the home. We can bring in the nature to our home with it.
The most effective way is to use seasonal flowers for decoration, this way the actual season can be seen in the interior also without the need of complicated changes. The cut flowers can be put in a jar covered with color paper or fabric, in an old metal kettle or those with shorter stems in a decorative mug or glass also. If the present bouquet is wilting, untie it and place the flowers one by one in soft drink or beer bottles which are already washed. The sight will be stronger using color bottles if they are rowed on the mantelshelf, dining table or windowsill. The flowers with soft stem can be strengthen with a thin green wire rolled over the stem, this way they will keep their poise. Let’s cut off the flat or smaller flower heads (campanula, daisy, marigold etc.) at their base: they will be a nice table centerpiece putting in a glass bowl full of water, even combined with floating candles. Inner doors can be decorated with door wreaths as well. Potted succulents, ornamental cabbages and topiaries fit to every interior thanks to their moderated colors.
In case of some flowers, care should be taken to the stamens because pollen can stain the cloth under the vase. For example: lily or tulip. Lily never should be put in the room of a pregnant lady, an ill person or babies because its strong fragrance might cause headache or feeling of sickness. On the contrary, the fragrance of lavender and chamomile not only calming but they are perfect moth hunters also.
Instead of flowers, catkins and budded branches can be collected in spring, grasses and big leaves in summer and berried branches or color leaves in autumn. In winter, the patio, the place around the front door or the garden itself can be decorated by frozen flower heads or berries in ice. Only an ice cube tray and water are needed for this. They freeze in the freezer in an hour or two. Put in a pyramid, they will be vivid dash of colors on the top of the outdoor table, under the bold trees or near the stairs. Ice wreath can be made in the same way in a tube-pan. The ready pieces should be tied with a ribbon on the branches of trees, the garden gate or the stair-rail.
If you wish a classy flower decoration in your home, ask for help of a style adviser for implementing your ideas.

New Year’s Eve

Jan27

New Year’s Eve is the time of the year’s greatest parties. Let’s spend the first minutes of the New Year with our friends and – as we did it in the whole year – let’s celebrate in a classical stylish way.
Decorate our home with the help of golden, silver, white and black colors to make it invitingly friendly but glittering at the same time. Almost everything can be a decorating element which is made of metal, glass, mirror or crystal. The most important job is setting the table. The golden framed dinner set, the crystal goblet set and the white damask tablecloth provide a proper base. Let’s use the globe Christmas ornaments also: put them in a glass bowl or vase, it will be a perfect table centerpiece. Sprinkle bigger beads or decor pebbles on the tablecloth to reflect the lights of the candles even more. Write the New Year’s number on the top of the cakes. Bows made of wired ribbons can be tied on the candles, necks of the bottles of champagne, at the bottom of the cake stand etc. Decorate the dresser, the mantelpiece and console table for example with old clocks, black top hat, golden/silver/black masks and branches sprayed with glittering paint. Fill a large, slightly deep bowl with water, sprinkle glittering confetti in it and place sparklers inserted in plasticine, so the latter shouldn’t be visible. It will be a wonderful sight at midnight. Hang serpentines, bead-festoons and garlands from the ceiling, stair-rail and chandeliers. Stick the letters of Happy New Year on black or white balloons and tie them in row on the rail, above the door or on the curtain rod. Let’s buy glittering napkins, cocktail sticks and straws for the buffet after midnight. Color punches should be kept in metal bowls instead of glass. Don’t forget the flower decoration also: white rose, white poinsettia and white amaryllis greatly fit for the New Year’s Eve mood.
If a more colorful but still elegant solution is desired, use shiny blue, turquoise or purple instead of black.
If you would like your friends to remember your party for a long time, ask for help of a style-adviser for the preparations.

Grey

Jan26

Who says that grey is unfeatured and boring?

Red

Jan18

Red is one of the three elementary colors. The most striking member of the color wheel, that’s why it is beloved by many people. Its complementary is green.
As a physiological effect, red increases blood pressure, has exciting effect on nervous system, fasten metabolism, it’s activating effect increases vitality but causes stress and makes one nervous at the same time. It is the most noticeable at daylight. We associate to love, sexuality, fire, blood and war by it. It means danger and prohibition in symbolism, that’s why it is used for danger signals in traffic. It is frequently used at groups of disaster protection and healthcare companies, just think about Red Cross and fire departments. In old times red was one of the most expensive clothes dyes which was made of cochineals or dye-murexes, thus only the rich could afford it, so it was connected with wealth also (e.g. carmine edged togas of ancient Romans, robes of the cardinals). The red lamp quarter got this name not by chance also.
Red has the most intensive narrowing effect among warm colors, that’s why we feel the room in this color much smaller. It is a food-color, so fits well for dining room and kitchen but it can be used in home office too because of its stimulative effect. Many people paint the walls of their bedroom red because it is the color of love. But this is not a good solution for a long term, it causes sleep disorders and nervous tension. The bedroom should be calming, if red is desired to bring in anyway, it shouldn’t be seen from bed. For example, lay a red carpet, paint red only the wall behind the bed, put a bedspread or cushions on the bed which will be put away before sleeping. Handle it cautiously anyhow, because it is a very intrusive and aggressive color. Use it rather on accessories or as a focal point at home. Its strength can be blunted with white or cream. It looks very good in combination with black, dark brown or grey. Its deeper tones are more elegant, for example claret or burgundy red. These were frequently used as background color for gilded framed paintings as a gallery.
Feng Shui assigns red to fire element. It is the color of Jang, the male side. It belongs to the 1st chakra (root). This is the color of good luck in China.
It is used by very dashing, fast-expanding, mass-producing companies in business life as color of their logos or products. It comes into view immediately on the shelves of the shops or in the advertisements.
It’s not an easy task to create a real elegant red interior, so ask for help of an interior designer-color adviser already for planning!

Shaker style

Jan6

The shakers are a religious community established in the 18th century. The members moved from England to North America. They are famous about their love of peace, puritanism and the equality between the genders.
Shaker style is simple, practical and thrifty. All household objects are produced by themselves. Forms are determined by function. Ornamentation hardly used, if they do, they are most often the heart, hand and star motif. Paints are made of natural materials. Most characteristic colors are rust brown, aquamarine, ocher, sage green, claret and beige. Most of the fabrics used are made of wool, cotton or linen, which are simple and monochrome textiles, sometimes with a small chequered pattern. From warn fabrics they sew patchwork blankets or rag rugs.
Furnitures are simple, wooden ones. Door panels of wardrobes have frame insert structure. Ladder backed chairs can be hanged up when out of use. They make wall-mounted hangers on which almost anything can be hung securely. Also characteristic item is the thin sheet box, which has a round or oval shape and requires high skills to prepare.
The function and simplicity oriented way of thinking of shakers can be actual even todays modern world. Kitchen furnishing in shaker style can be a definitive element of classic or rural style kitchens. Placing some shaker storage boxes can decorate a work room, living room or bathroom. Using their color palette we can realize a warm, friendly interior with natural feeling.
Ask an interior designer to help implementing shaker style in your home.

Pictures

Jan3

When decorating our home, walls are important issue. The simplest way is hanging paintings on them. But what can we do if we cannot afford really expensive paintings in our classic style apartment or house?
First possible solution is using empty frames. We can purchase several, decorative old frames in different sizes (e.g.: blondel or Florentin style) in the same color. They can be placed on the walls together, visually acting like several pieces of one artwork. Symmetry is not a perquisite; they should only look nice together. Don’t be afraid to repaint the less valuable frames if required.
Remaining wallpaper or fabrics can be also used for decoration. Cut them into the frames best fitting to the interior, and hang them up covered with glass. Since the same wallpaper or fabric already has been used at another point of the flat, the view will be reflected making the space much more organic. Old newspapers, handworks, nice wrappers, postcards, dried flowers or maps also can be framed such a way.
If we have the talent for painting, we can create some paintings ourselves as well. Defined topic or expression form are not required, the essence is the color harmony with the style of the room. We can paint even single stripes, squares or patches. With the proper frame, we can get a perfect DIY accessory.
Family photos are also available for decorating a classic interior. Have your favourite photos being processed in black and white or sepia, not to disturb the mood of the room with their bright colors. Montages can be assembled from them fitting into a bigger frame, or they can be arranged in several different smaller frames side by side, covering a larger surface.
Nowdays many companies provide large scale, quality printing of any picture. We can chose photos from their database that are fitting to our home. There is a huge selection of color, theme, size as well and they even offer framing too as a service. Blind framed canvas print is also an available solution. Ask help from an interior designer for the selection of pictures, paintings fitting perfectly to your home.