Those 50s…
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Color pairs 3.
Color pairs: blue-red
Selective waste collection
Selective waste bins at home
Photos for selling our home
When selling a property, the most important part of the advertisement – beyond floor map – are the pictures taken of it. According to the experience, it’s not quite obvious how to take some such quality photos, which will “sell” the property for us.
Before we start, let’s clean up! It’s a great mistake if we think, that the several weeks old mist or the lack of mopping will not be noticed on the pictures. Another essential task is tidying up. Everything should be put to its place and let’s check, how could be the space even more spectacular. Let’s look at a few interior design magazines and get some ideas from the photos in them: there is no mess, color- and style cavalcade or too many decorations. It’s advised to move from room to room and always prepare the given room for the perfect photo. This can be quite difficult task when the property is inhabited, since the amount of personal objects and furniture should be decreased to a level acceptable by an outsider. If necessary, move the excess chair or commode to another room during taking pictures. Most of the decorations should be placed behind closed doors and the remaining should be arranged nicely. Let’s turn on all the lights even in daylight! Use wide angle lens to catch the most of the room in one frame. Emphasize the good features, such as large window, cozy alcove or the beautiful hardwood flooring. At bathroom and kitchen, the feeling of hygiene is the most important. Here the metal surfaces should be shiny, glass doors and mirrors should be freshly cleaned to show the glamour. If possible, let’s provide a picture of all the rooms to the advertisement.
Some disincentive examples that are regularly appear among property advertising: drying underwear in the bathroom, full trash bin in the kitchen, unmade bed in the bedroom, or dirty clothes on the floor. Although the prospective buyer will purchase the property not our personal objects, yet all this counts a lot with him when deciding, whether he comes to see the apartment or house, or not. In case of a house, choose a shiny day for taking outdoor pictures for the sake of real bright colors. The principle of order still should be valid: tidy up the garden, trim the grass, even stairs and paved parts should be washed up. Take several photos of both the house and garden from different angles.
If you would like to distinguish your advertisement among the lots of others, ask home staging advices from an interior designer for the preparation.
Ceiling
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.
Color pairs 1.
Color pairs: purple-green
Grey
Who says that grey is unfeatured and boring?
Mirrors
In old times mystic power was assigned to mirror, frequently it was thought as a door to other worlds. It still has an important role in our lives, not only in dressing but as a useful element in interior design also.
The main feature of mirror is reflecting the light and doubling the sight of the objects. This is exploited when a space is furnished with it. If light can’t be brought in a room, for example an inner corridor or hall, hang bigger mirrors on the wall, even opposite to each other, this way the light will be reflected to and from between them. This is the solution if the space is narrow also. Even one single big mirror can multiply the sense of space. They can be used as decorations instead of pictures. Let’s hang old faceted mirrors in different sizes on the wall in a desired arrangement. They will be as elegant as paintings.
However, some things have to be considered when placing them. In a bedroom a mirror should be placed only if it is not visible from the bed because in the other case we would react to every single movement of ourselves and falling asleep would be harder. In the dining room it should be placed on such height that the guests sitting at the table couldn’t see themselves in it while eating. It is practical to hang a full size piece near the entrance door, this way a last checking glance on the dress can be done when leaving.
It is a decorative solution in a kitchen to put antiqued mirrors in the doors of the upper cabinets instead of glass. This can be a good option for the backsplash also between the two cabinets instead of tiling. Pieces in floor to ceiling size can be placed in the gardrobe, home fitness room or bathroom.
If you think that some mirrors could renew your home also, ask for help of an interior designer for choosing and placing the proper pieces.
Red
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!
Brown
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.
