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.

Knockers

Jan29

Discrete knocking instead of noisy ringing

Shutters

Jan28

Shutters outside and inside

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?

Mirrors

Jan24

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.