The European Grand Tour

Oct1

Grand Tour was a part of the education of noble youth in the 17th and 18th century. This meant a couple of months, even 1-2 years European round tour to the cradle of western culture, Italy. Firstly it was important to the English and Scandinavian nobility to directly meet the ancient culture. This was almost compulsory for those who learnt arts (architecture, painter, sculptor etc.) in those days.
They visited several other countries during the tour where they spent weeks or months and studied the ancient monuments and artifacts there. Commonly Paris was the first stop, from there they went further through Switzerland to Italy. Naturally Rome was the final goal, after Florence, Pisa, Torino, Padua, Bologna, Venice and Genova. On the way back, these was followed by the universities of Germany, then cultural heritage of Flanders and Holland, they went home only after these. It is important fact that these tours weren’t led by religion, so this didn’t affect on destinations.
Commonly departure took place in reaching adult age, so when they became about 21 years old. Although servants didn’t go with them (commonly a valet and a cook), the young nobles were escorted by a male family member or a male friend (e.g. their teacher or doctor). At first the tour was taken by a kittereen, then the railway came to the fore after its appearance. Many of them visited also Greece, Austria or even Turkey.
The studied knowledge and artistic learning were taken home not only in their heads. It was a general custom to shop during the tour. Original ancient artifacts, marble statues, coin collections, frequently books for a whole library, paintings etc. were collected there. Naturally they didn’t take them all at once but from time to time they sent them (mail service) home. Commonly a whole room was furnished for the collection in a noble man’s home who did the Grand Tour, but some of them were placed in the representative rooms of the house. It was very fashionable to be painted with a famous ancient ruin or a renaissance building in the background. This wasn’t for flaunting their wealth but spreading this knowledge at home and giving proper reports for those who couldn’t go there (women, less wealthy etc.). But they focused not only on the arts of men but the beauty of the nature and wildlife also. Science went for an elite thing, so it was the aim to acquire proper skills in every discipline of it, so they could minimum talk about it. The more talented of them even wrote a book of their own tours.
Collections of nowadays can be arranged also to give the effect of the Grand Tour. Ask for help of an interior designer for this.

Artificial flower

Sep14

Qualitative and classy artificial flowers look good in every interiors

Barn

Sep5

Old barn transformed to a new home – it is worth to rescue

Upholstery decorations

Sep3

Upholstered furniture is often custom made also, mostly because of the lack of space. In this case, we generally settle for discussing only the sizes, materials to be used and their colors with the manufacturer. However, only a few people think about adding some plus to the planned furniture which makes it really unique and an ornament of the home. In the palette of classic styles there are accessories which deserve to spend the time with.
Bolting decoration is for highlighting the contour of the furniture and for hiding the upholstery joints. Nowadays the metal bolts are not individually nailed in but can be purchased in a band. There is a version in which just every fifth or sixth bolt is real, the others between have no spikes. We can choose among several colors at professional upholsterers (e.g. antique copper, black, matte silver, golden).
Keder is also for highlighting the contours and suggests professional workmanship. This is actually an embossed, sewn hemming. An edge with a different color than the upholstery provides an elegant look. We can even play with it, for example if the sofa and the armchairs are the inverse in color of each other. Namely the upholstery of the sofa is similar to the keder of the armchair and vice versa.
The fringy passementerie on the bottom of the seating furniture hides its legs. This commonly harmonizes with the color of the upholstery. Its length depends on the height of the leg of the furniture. If is the legs are not so decorative, it’s worth to apply this: the sight will be more complex, however the cleaning ability remains.
Trimmings are a woven, maybe embroidered decoration ribbons which are placed on the joining of the wooden frame and the upholstery. They are applied mostly on chairs, having also decorating and covering functions. They usually harmonize with the color of the upholstery except when the aim is to show the contour of the furniture.
Deep buttoning is known by Chesterfield furniture. Upholstery fabric is sewn in the cushion and fixed on the back. Button is sewn after this in the hole. This is mostly a handmade procedure. The button is covered with the fabric of the upholstery. It is very spectacular in the case of leather and fabric also.
Ask for help of an interior designer for similar solutions and designing unique furniture.

Petrol blue

Aug31

Petrol blue is a dark, greenish hue with a tint of grey, named after petroleum.

Far East

Aug27

The Far East always seemed to be a mystical world for European people. The very different cultures were highly attractive at the same time. Many people desire for enjoying the mood of an oriental holiday in their home also.
Japanese style is based on Zen which is a type of Buddhism. It is characterized by nature centered, calm and undisturbed harmony. There are no surplus things in homes, everything has clear lines and is practical. Walls can be slided frequently, this way the spaces can be separated or opened up again. Furniture is low (futon, seating cushions), lighting is modest. Neutral colors give the base: beige colors of bamboo objects, dark browns of wooden materials, off white of rice paper. Pop of colors can be applied to them but only in a small amount. Bonsai trees and living bamboos bring in the nature. The total effect can be accomplished with a mini Japanese garden. For breaking neutral colors, a cherry-red kimono as wall decoration or traditional household objects (e.g. tea set) as decoration elements are good solutions.
Indian style interiors will impress you first with their vibrant colors. The bold spice-colors (curcuma yellow, cinnamon brown, paprika red etc.) and colors of precious stones (e.g. emerald, sapphire and ruby) are daringly used together. Richly carved, dark brown furniture mirrors and brass accessories, colored wall are typical of this style. The four-poster bed is a good choice for creating this mood at home. Symbols are deepening the anyway stirring sight: Buddha, elephants, lotus flowers. The big cushions embroidered with beads and small mirrors are used instead of chairs also. Curtains can be made of traditional saris but they look good as bedspreads also. Modest lighting fits for this, it can be a lantern or many candles.
Balinese style brings a real tropical island in our home. It is a calm and modest style. Houses are open to the forest or to the ocean. The space is big and airy. Brown of teak dominates the interiors. It is used not only for floor covering and furniture but for making marvelous statues also. Nature has primary role here too. Water and plants are essential accessories for creating the style. White fabrics break the monotony of neutral colors. Four-poster bed, soft muslin curtains and natural stones in the bathroom complete the sight. Tropical flowers provide bright colors.
These above can be implemented in our home also. However it is important to customize the styles to the features of the estate or else it can be easily overwhelming or scenery-like. Ask for help of an interior designer for implementing.

Before renovation

Aug13

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.

Home theater

Aug8

Comfortable and stylish movie-nights at home

Advertising objects

Aug6

Advertisement has thousands of years history. For example Egyptian papyri, a Chinese bronze plate, wall and rock paintings in Africa and South-America certify this. The bigger part of the population couldn’t read in Europe in the medieval ages, so their attention was attracted for the services and goods by pictures (e.g. trade-signs). The first newspaper advertisements appeared in England in the 18th century. Thomas J. Bratt was the father of the modern advertisement who used Bubbles painting of Sir John Everett Millais for the advertisement of Pears’ Soap. The first advertising agency was founded in Philadelphia in 1842. Ads were already on the radio from the 1920s. Television got the leading rule in advertising from the 1950s. Separate channels were started for advertising and immediate shopping by the appearance of cable television (1980s). Internet gave new perspectives in this field from the 1990s. Of course, there are still many printed advertisements beside these, for example on vehicles, giant placards and leaflets. Original packaging of products is among these also.
Ads on TV, internet and e-mail are spectacular but not touchable. However, ads of „old times”, first of all placards, trade-signs, sandwich-boards (wood, metal, cardboard) are already very valuable and even sought after by collectors. A rarer piece is not only a good investment but a great decorating possibility at home also: hanging on the wall as a picture, standing on the mantelpiece or on a shelf, being a part of a vintage collage, getting a new function (e.g. tray, top of a table) etc. They can be focal points by their sizes or colors.
Ask for help of an interior designer for perfect displaying of your collection.