Window covering

Sep25

It is a common problem in a family home zone that the window of the kitchen or the bathroom is oriented to the neighbor’s garden, so anybody might look in. Here are some ideas how to keep the curious eyes away our private life.
Curtain is an obvious solution. It’s not quite simple in a wet room with a commonly small window. The coffee curtain covers only the lower part of the window. We can look out in standing position, but it hides the room from outside. It doesn’t darken the room and can be made of various fabrics (lace, voile, vintage tea towel, burlap etc.). We can fix it to the window frame without drilling by its rod.
Pleated blind can be ordered of many types of fabrics, even in black-out version. The pattern and color assortment is wide. Its advantage is mobility in both directions, so we can choose the desired coverage of the window. If there is no need to cover, we can simply push it above like an ordinary blind.
Window foil is a good choice if we do not want to use fabric in the room. It is self-adhesive, can be applied easily. It can be ordered with unique pattern or bought ready-made. The main disadvantage is blocking the view. If applied at only the lower part of the window, we can look out above it, just like in the case of sash-curtain. We can also handpaint motifs on the glass of the window using glass-paint and stencils.
An extraordinary solution is using thin metal chains instead of curtain. Hang the chain links (instead of clips) on the hooks of the curtain rod. It can be cut easily to the desired length if it was pre-measured. Chain lets the light through and partially blocks looking out (it depends on the density). The chains can be also applied to a coffee curtain rod by small rings. This solution is used usually for separating parts of a big space, but it’s perfect for windows too. We can choose a fibre of glass beads or crystals instead of metal.
An inner shutter is a clever and unique answer to the problem. If we don’t need any cover, simply leave it open. The window doesn’t have to be opened for using the inner shutter (unlike the outdoor one) which is useful in winter time. It can cover only the lower part of the window either, this way light comes in while it is closed.
Ask for help of an interior designer if encountering such problems.

French balcony

Sep18

French balcony is an additional part of the flat that can be hardly used well. Even we cannot step out on it, actually it is only a balustrade before the (French) door.
It’s a simple solution to dress this part with potted flowers and balcony boxes to get the illusion of a garden. It can be extended a wooden trellis fixed on the outer wall around the window. Creepers will love it. We frame the window with it and add more green to the view. Take care of the size of the pots placed on the floor that we can still close the window. Generally, only a custom-made box fits for this tiny place.
A cozy reading nook can be created near the open window if the weather is nice. Just throw a comfortable cushion on the floor and lean another one to the frame. Add a blanket and a cup of hot tea on colder days. We can comfortably dig into our book, half afield.
If we place a smaller table and a chair at the front of the open window, we can make home working more pleasurable. We gain enough space for using a laptop while enjoying the view also.
Breakfast outdoors. Almost. We can conjure a romantic place for drinking breakfast coffee with a tray hung on the balustrade and two chairs. Don’t forget the flowers planted in the balcony boxes.
Ask for help of an interior designer for clever using of such problematic spaces!

Pass through window

Mar29

When a pass through window is a window indeed

Hiding arches

Mar20

Arch was very popular some decades ago, especially in shaping inner doorways and pass-through windows. Nowadays most of us want to get rid of them while renewal. If these arches were created by drywall, it’s easy to remove them. But it is time-consuming, dirtier and more costly in the case of the arches were built as part of the wall. Not sure if the owner has an opportunity for this. Let’s see some methods to hide or integrate them without demolishing.
Curtaining is the simplest solution. This can be used not only on windows but inner doorways also. Cover the upper, curved part of the arch with drapery and form a rectangular shape by the side curtains. We can apply a blind instead of drapery in the case of windows.
Inner openings without doors can be closed by a rectangular door if the upper part of the arch is built up. If the opening is not tall enough for this, but there is enough space on both sides of it, we can place an outside-wall sliding door also. The door panel should be oversized to cover the curved part. Place it on the side from which the sight of the arch is more annoying (from communal area, front door).
Put a mirror in the unused pass-through window and a console table or a chest of drawers under it. Although the arch remains, the picture in the mirror distracts one’s attention from its shape and makes the space useful.
Inserting shelves into the arched pass-through window results an excellent storage and displaying space. This way decoration objects are in the focus instead of the shape.
Ask for help of an interior designer for further solutions.

Gothic style

Mar13

Gothic style was born in France at the turn of the 13th-14th century. It was characterized by buildings bursting to the sky and light coming to the fore. Walls became thinner thanks to the herringbone quadripartite and fan-like ribs, this way, bigger windows could be built in. Elements of sacral architecture got into secular architecture, so houses and palaces followed this style also. Comfort became important, but living spaces weren’t separated yet. Board, as building block, which is the base of framed structures, appeared thanks to sawmills. Sizes of furniture rose, first wardrobes were created (chests were used as storages before). Colored glasses were put into the gothic and rose-windows which told the stories of not only saints, but kings and knights also.
The revival of Gothic style appeared in England in the 18th century and reached the top in the 19th century during the era of romanticism. It used gothic features but in an idealized way with glorification of medieval values (fidelity, faith, chivalry, courage etc.). Many castles and houses were built in this style, for example the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge were built in that time also. Decorating elements were adapted too: statues, laced gable, finials and gothic windows with color glasses. Not only the buildings but furniture was made thus. Dark brown wood dominated in the interiors, heavier fabrics were used for upholstering (leather, velvet) and other colors were darker hues also (claret, dark green, dark blue). Niches were re-created by using wallpapers which was a much cheaper solution.
Nowadays Gothic style appears in Goth/gothic form which also uses dark colors (black, deep blue, dark purple) and it is mixed with frightening elements thanks to the popularity of vampire stories, in which films this view dominates. Dark color shame is not obviously kept during transformations of old churches and Gothic revival buildings to homes. Gothic features are perfectly highlighted by light painted walls, comfortably upholstered seats, proper created lighting and separating of spaces and they perfectly harmonize the sight.
Gothic style can be realized in a common home also with considering the scales and proper amounts. Ask for help of an interior designer for this.

Door wreaths 6.

Feb8

Valentin’s Day door decors – even DIY

Color pairs 16.

Jul6

Color pairs: green-orange

Paints

Jun13

Several base materials were used throughout the history for making different paints. There are two main groups of them: artificial and natural based. In the latter case we discern mineral, floral, animal and fungus origin paints. They were used equally for paintings, fabric dying, wall painting, ceramics, and even make up.
Prussian blue is an artificial color also. It was first created about 1705, with mixing potash, ferric sulfate and grease. Mountbatten pink was named after the famous general about 1940 who used this as camouflage color to hide the destroyers for the enemy at twilight and dawn. It was mixed from mauve, light pink and grey. For example, white lead, cadmium yellow and Tiffany blue are artificial colors also.
In ancient Egypt copper carbonate was ground, mixed with grease or resin for making malachite green and used as eye shadow make up, around b.c. 2500. Verdigris was also a paint material in Greece since b.c. 300. The green patina was scraped from copper and used as a pigment. It can be created by soaking copper in vinegar or vine also. For example, galena (greyish black) and raddle are mineral colors too.
Turmeric is a floral based paint which is created from the root of the plant. It was used since about b.c. 3000 in India, the dresses of Hindu brides were colored with it. Julius Caesar mentioned the blue paint made of woad in his description of his campaign in Britain, where the enemy used it as a deterrent war make up. For example, the red of mudder is a floral paint also.
There are less animal based paints. Purple was made of a species of lice, they were dried and ground. Montezuma I. got this material as tax. The red coat of British uniform was dyed with this paint until the 20th century. For example, Tyre purple is an animal color also.
Litmus lilac was made of a species of lichen by drying and grinding. It was very popular about 1300 in Florence. Several species of fungi are used for making paint with ammonia or vinegar, which encompass the range of colors from pastel yellow, through rust red and brown to deep dark green.
Nowadays more paint factory keeps on producing paints based on natural pigments, just as several textile factories work only with these kinds of dyes – since they don’t emit pollutants. Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing one.

Cafe curtain

Apr15

Traditional cafe curtain reborn

The entrance

Apr11

Welcoming guests begins at the front door of our house not just when they step in. That’s why it is important to have a nice, inviting and clean surrounding of the entrance and the pathway leading to it.
The front door should be decorative! It can be a perfect focal point if painted in a bold color. Let’s strive to keep it immaculate: the peeled painting, hardly working handle and dirty glass panel is not an attractive sight. Naturally vintage, rustic and country styles are exceptions; a shabby wooden door nicely fits to them.
The mat is an important element of the general effect, don’t neglect it. Let it be decorative, fitting by its color and not sleazy or ragged. Sometimes clean it also.
Clean the pathway leading to the house and the stairs regularly. Pay attention to the latter’s safety: the steps should be undamaged, immovable, just like the rails and they shouldn’t become slippery in wet weather.
Symmetry always pays off, it’s very easy to achieve an attractive sight with this trick. The front door is the center. The aim is to decorate both sides of it in the same way. This works even in that case if the door is not opposite with the leading path and we have to turn to step in. The simplest solution is placing some kind of potted plants on both sides of the door. Their style has to be matched with the style of the house. We can complement the given parts with a prudent choice of color.
The look can be made unique with a smart street number. If there is a space near the door, we can create a small sitting area. The success is certain by season decors.
The proper lighting is important! Let’s light not only the space before the door but the pathway and the stairs also for avoiding accidents. Maybe the motion sensory lighting is the best solution for this.
Ask for help of an interior designer creating an elegant an inviting outdoor space!