For Santa Claus Day

Decorate our home for Santa Claus day

Winter

It’s winter again, the season of snow, clod and ice. The garden and the nature is not dull this time neither, since we can get inspiration from them.
Most plants and animals are having rest now. The amount of colors is limited and we can see muted hues. Nature is like an elegant lady in white coat. Characteristic winter colors are black, white, cold greys and browns, pine green, steel blue, cold red, ice blue and silver.
In our home, we can realize a really spectacular atmosphere by these colors. We can balance their coldness by the fire blazing in the fireplace and lots of candles. Use mood lighting instead of general lighting (standing or table lamp, hidden LED lights). Cover the couch with fur or polar blankets. Silver framed mirrors reflect the light of candles. Let’s use curtains made of light, monochrome or patterned material fabric with silky shine. Use middle hue paint on the walls, e.g. steel blue or gray-brown, which provide the background for the romantic and elegant mood. When purchasing decorations and accessories, choose the ones made of glass, shiny metallic or crystal. Using a muted red cushion, painting or vase, we can control the view of our guests creating focus points. Wooden floor, upholstered chairs, christal chandelier and wardrobe made of dark wood is a perfect combination for a winter style interior. White on moldings, doors and mantel can provide freshness in the view.
These colors have to be used with care, since the result can be very rigid. For an elegant winter home, ask help from an interior designer.

Bird feeders

Jan14

A choosy bird feeder gives food for winter to songbirds and nice view to us

Display chinas

Jan13

Display our nice dinner set or other chinaware collection in the mode of old times

Buying antique furniture

Jan12

Purchasing antique furniture is always risky if we are looking for original, old pieces. What can we do before going to a shopping trip, if we haven’t got sufficient professional knowledge?
First read about it. If the style, age and type of the desired furniture is decided, let’s search some comprehensive, furniture history books which detail the specification of a given piece or a given ages. They describe the types of pinnings, the thickness of varnish, or the applied materials specific to the era. Not necessary to purchase all these books, they can be borrowed from a library, but we can find lots of sources also on Internet. The essential pages should be copied or printed to be available at shopping.
If we don’t want special pieces, but simple old furniture, there are also some issues to deal with. Check the piece for possible damages, especially at marquetry and carvings, painting / varnishing and at the corners. If there is any damage, we have to decide to buy it or not, will it be fixed later or left as is for the old feeling. Restoration by the proper expert can be expensive! Let’s search the marks of previous fixes and restoration, e.g. parts made of different wood (like a part of the carved decoration or one of the legs etc.), or metal parts having different colours. In case of drawers, always check the pinning and try to pull the drawer. The weight of the furniture also can indicate if it is a modern copy. If the piece is extremely worn, later it can be renewed by painting, but in case of real old, unique furniture don’t change anything, instead of let them restored by experts, thus keeping or increasing their value. Common pest of wooden furniture is woodworm. Typical signs of it are the small holes on the surface. If these marks can be seen on a relatively great area, the furniture shouldn’t be bought.
If our budget allows, let’s purchase items at an official auction, because the authenticity of an object and its origin are guaranteed, but flea markets and internet auction sites also can be visited, since beautiful old furnitures can be found also there. In case of uncertainty, an expert can be involved when making the deal.
A unique, antique piece can be the decoration element in any home. For choosing the proper one, ask for help from an interior designer.

House numbers

Jan11

Does the house/door number’s style befit to our home?

Inner pool

Jan10

Elegant inner swiming pool for the home recreation

Brown

Jan9

Brown is gained by mixing red and green colours, thus all the three base colours are involved. This is the most liked ground colour. It has warm and cold hues, the laters have greyish tone. Brown is considered as masculine colour.
This colour is associated to force, safety, maternity, simplicity, diligence. According to physiological effect it is relaxing, protecting. It’s also a food colour, first we associate to the fine cookies. In ancient Egypt, good dreams were marked with brown colour. In the medieval and early modern Europe it was one of the basic colour of the clothing of poor people, since they couldn’t afford the dyed fabrics. In England however brown was the determining colour of the wardrobe of the perfectly elegant gentlemen for long time.
Since natural wood and leather are also brown, in interior design this is generally and frequently used. Using as wall paint, it gives depth to the space, as floor cover it gives stability. Dark hues can replace black – as its warm tone alternative – when we would like to emphasize something. It can be used in any room, but in case of dark brown walls, the proper lighting should be also provided. It is regular in historical styles, mainly the deeper hues. Combined with gold, a luxurious interior can be produced. Together with white, cream or beige, the result is classically elegant. Nowadays it is still very popular, it fits to practically any style.
Feng-shui associates brown with the earth element. Light hues are assigned to Jin, the feminine side, while dark hues to the Jang, the masculine side colours.
For advertising, it is used by companies that providing luxurious products or services to their customers, e.g. sweets, wellness, etc.
Most people like brown in their homes, but to avoid “cave like” result, it has to be used with sense. If you would like an elegant and stylish brown interior, ask for the help of a colour adviser.