Books Make a Home

Books come in a myriad of different sizes, colors, subjects and even materials. Whether you have hundreds of books related to history and politics or a few dozen novels and poetry books, you’ll be able to gain inspiration for better placement and arrangement within your home. Thompson takes each room, one by one and examines the possible design changes you can make with books and how you can employ a host of techniques for stacking, shelving and closeting your collection of reading material. All this done in a way that utilizes space and also makes the room look much better, and with added personality.

The book is packed with inspirational photographs illustrating decorative solutions for each space and every size of collection. You’ll also find how to make use of existing storage features as well as the creation of new areas that you would not have imagined were possible. Additionally ‘Books Make a Home’ explores how books can be combined with decorative objects and personal effects to create fabulously eye-catching displays. There’s even a section which details how to look after each individual book so its appearance is kept to a high standard. The combination of written explanations and tips together with the beautiful photographic presentations makes this book a great help when it comes to establishing books as an essential part of a good décor scheme.

You can buy this book from here: Books Make a Home by Damian Thompson.

Hardcover: 160 pages

Don’t worry, your kitchen is like many across the nation that have not seen a lick of paint or a new interesting design element since the turn of the century, or even since the war. However, it’s not all that difficult to rejuvenate a kitchen interior and turn it into something inviting and inspiring.

After all, a boring kitchen will inspire boring cooking and this leads to poor diets and avoidance of healthy foods. That’s a shame for cooking should be entered into with the same passion one enters a love affair. Good food is vital for your health and for those of your children.

The following tips present to you a variety of ways you can change the very heart and soul of your kitchen from a boring, slovenly and snore-inducing interior to a lively, exciting and stimulating cooking arena. All this achieved with a relatively small budget as well and no large and expensive refurbishments.

Spatulas at the ready! Let’s proceed.

Add Mirrors

The addition of mirrors in the kitchen can make what was previously a small and dark interior look decidedly lighter, brighter and more spacious. The reflection of ones movements in the space also bring a dynamic element to the scene thereby enlivening what was once a motionless and stagnant room.

Mirrors can be added to cabinet doors or alternatively to spare wall space. Some mirrors come with decorative borders which will appeal to different tastes and can fit in with a general kitchen design theme.

New Wall Tiles

Adding new tile backsplashes is a great way to spruce up a kitchen. Plain white is a good neutral tone that goes with the majority of décor but it’s boring! It’s made even worse if the rest of the décor is so mundane it resembles an autopsy lab.

Tiles come in literally thousands of different styles, patterns, shapes, sizes and materials. With this huge range on offer, it won’t be difficult to find a few tiles that will add some interest to the backsplash behind the cooker, microwave or sink.

Do you like spirals and circle shapes? You’ll find some tiles matching this style. What about dolphins, bears or cats? You’ll find those too. More traditional patterns can also be found, as well as materials you perhaps might not have thought about before.

Transform the Cabinets

The kitchen cabinets are one of the most noticeable features in a kitchen due to their abundance and important functional qualities. In order to add some interest to these doors, a number of possible decorative adjustments can be made which will impact on the rest of the room.

Painting the cabinet doors and interiors different colours can change the cabinets into more contemporary and interesting features that can match other decorative elements nearby. The addition of mirrors, as noted previously, can bring reflective refreshment to the scene. The addition of glass doors instead of standard wooden versions can allow the items stored within to be the focus instead (although it’s important that the storage jars, canisters and boxes are attractive in themselves). You can even remove the cabinet doors altogether and have open shelving.

For artistic homeowners who like to get their paintbrushes out, then stencilling is a creative and highly personal way of decorating the cabinet space with pretty and unique images and patterns.

Add Table Lamps

Let there be light! You don’t want to be confusing those fresh tomatoes with chilli peppers, especially when your elderly mother-in-law is visiting.

In all likelihood, your kitchen will have enough lighting to see what you’re doing in the all-important food preparation areas. That said, the kitchen as a whole can often benefit from more locational and accent lighting which will also boost the overall brightness of the interior. Table lamps placed on space surfaces here and there can add interest and visual stimulation during the cooking process and make the room more appealing.

With a bowl of fruit or nuts nearby and perhaps some stainless steel utensils hanging on a wall behind the lamp, the resulting light will enhance colours, textures and reflective qualities. The kitchen will look like a new room.

Add Fun Gadgets

Gadgets don’t have to be electrical or expensive to have an exciting impact on a kitchen interior. Some of the best designs are very simple yet eye-catching with their originality. One of the most renowned companies that make exciting kitchen gadgets is the Italian design factory called Alessi. Their fun kitchen accessories include highly original kitchen timers, cheese graters, orange peelers, tea sticks, citrus squeezers and vegetable choppers, to name but just a few.

Some of these items placed around the kitchen will encourage friends and family members alike to have a go at a bit of cooking and make the interior as a whole more interesting, modern and engaging.

Add Baskets

Is your current kitchen all straight lines and little else? Does a plank of wood have more curved edges than your cooking space? If so, consider the addition of wicker baskets as storage items for dried foods, towels, utensils and the various other bits and pieces found in the kitchen. Baskets bring a touch of the natural world to an otherwise industrial looking kitchen and can transform of atmosphere as a result.

Baskets are also great alternatives for shelving and can be stacked neatly one on top of another in a corner or on a kitchen counter. Some of the most popular materials that baskets come in include rattan, straw, cane, water reeds, raffia, oak and bamboo. You can even find some that are painted in different colours which are perfect for overly white or metal kitchen décor schemes.

Grow Herbs

You don’t need a garden in order to grow your own herbs. Equally, you don’t have to be particularly green fingered to successfully cultivate some delicious herbs for future family meals. There are a whole host of herbs that grow perfectly well indoors. Growing herbs is also a wonderful way to bring further elements of the natural world into the home and the addition of greenery in the kitchen can inspire and awaken creative ideas you never knew were possible.

Different herbs suit different types of settings. For kitchen windowsills and counters that attract a lot of sunlight, then herbs such as chives, oregano, lemon thyme and rosemary will be perfect. For darker and more secluded areas of a kitchen like on the top of a cabinet or next to a bread bin, then herbs such as wild rocket, chervil, French parsley and red mustard will be more applicable.

Be Creative

Turning a boring kitchen in a lively, inspiring and welcoming interior will not be a difficult task with a modicum of creativity. Take time to browse through interior design magazines and websites as well as watch decorating programs on television. Be aware of the world around you whenever you set foot out of the door. In just ten minutes of mindful observation when taking a stroll through the countryside or a cityscape, you’ll come across dozens of images and items that will press a creative switch in your brain.

Don’t be boring! Be aware of everything around you and in no time at all, you’ll have a kitchen to be proud of.

See also: 5 Ways to Stop Your Kitchen Making You Fat.

However, there are a few simple steps to take to find the perfect décor scheme for an individual room or your entire home. The first thing to do is to relax and not to panic. Making rash decisions based on anxiety or excitement can lead to designs one later regrets and that cost too much money. The following is a guide to bear in mind when selecting the interior décor theme and style for any room you need to redesign.

1. Brainstorm any and all ideas that have been floating around in your mind since you decided upon the decorating endeavour. Jot them down in any form you so wish, perhaps in diagram form or purely in a regular shopping-list format. No matter how silly the ideas might sound, write them down. Something will jump out at you as being perfect for the interior you are designing.

2. Explore the surrounding region where you live or alternatively, take a vacation. The point behind this is to gain ideas from elsewhere other than in your street. A hiking holiday in the country where you stay in log cabins can fill you will a whole host of tremendous décor possibilities and none of them need to be linked to frontier design. The same goes for beach, city, cruise and desert breaks.

3. Deciding upon a financial budget for your decorating can be of great help when it comes to making creative decisions. By setting yourself a limit, you can either tick or strike off some of the more imaginative and unique ideas you might have come up with. If you’re budget is small, then you’ll know more simple concepts will be needed whilst is money is not an issue at all, then more ornate, complex and/or wild décor schemes will be applicable.

4. Talk to friends and family about your ideas and ask them what they think will look great in your home. Frequently, a close and trusted friend will see something in your interests, tastes and hobbies that would make an excellent décor scheme, and which you might have missed in your brainstorming session.

5. Browse through interior décor magazines, both online and in print. Watch programs on television related to home improvement and design. Find local furniture stores in your area and have a good look around. Next time you watch a movie, study in more detail the set designs the characters are found in. Just by being more aware when watching television, you can find some great inspiration for your home.

By following these tips you can discover the perfect décor theme for your personality and style. There are thousands of possibilities when it comes to designing a room and the sheer number of options can be daunting. That said, if you select the scheme in a relaxed manner with an eye on the budget and the main use of the room being designed, you will come up with the perfect design for you and your family.

And planning the various aspects of your rooms first before you even enter the paint store will guarantee you the results you can enjoy and be proud of.

Tile, Countertops and Carpeting

Always start your home color design with the permanent, or fixed surfaces. Tile, countertops and carpeting will form the basis for your final color scheme and will ground the room. Determine if you want a soothing, neutral background or you want to go with something with a little more pizzazz.

When choosing natural stone, such as granite, marble or man-made ceramic tiles, note the underlying background color. This will set the tone for the next layer of your home color plan.

Fabrics and Soft Finishes

Choosing fabrics and soft finishes for your home may seem overwhelming at first, but go back to your permanent surfaces for clues. What undertone of color do the fixed surfaces have? If you are not sure, ask the vendor that you purchased the product from.

If you find a chintz or pattern that you love, check with the manufacturer to see what other colors you can choose from.

Accent Pieces

The cake is not done yet, but it’s time to add the icing! Determine if your accent pieces will blend into the decorating scheme or will add a pop of bold color. Think of very modern rooms that use lots of black and white with one strong accent color, such as orange. Remember that repeating a color throughout a room or even your entire home, will reinforce your color theme and add continuity.

Wall Paint Colors

When you have all your permanent surface choices in place, settled on the fabrics and soft finishes in the room and found the perfect accent pieces, then and only then, can you start shopping for the wall paint colors.

Find the common factor in the home color scheme you have put together and decide how you want the box (the walls) that displays your design, to look. You can paint all the walls one color, or you can pull a secondary color out of the scheme and use it to paint an accent wall in one room.

Follow this sequence for choosing colors and finishes for your home, and your remodeling and redecorating projects will go smoother, resulting in a more coordinated and pulled together look.

And if you need more ideas, advice and inspiration for your painting and decorating projects, see “Choosing Interior Paint Colors” and “Creating Room Color Schemes”.

The Novogratz duo have been designing and decorating homes for over a decade and their unique style has found wide and positive acclaim. This book is the result of years of experience as the pair present a guide on how to create elegant and beautiful interiors from scratch. Part of the book is comprised of practical guides whilst the rest is filled with inspirational images, tips and humorous anecdotes about their past experiences in home decor.

For anyone who loves to find bargains in flea-markets, garage sales or boutiques, the book gives advice on what to look for and how to use what one finds in the room design scheme. You’ll also want to add your own distinct personality to your interior decor and again, ‘Downtown Chic’ goes into this. You’ll also discover the best ways to update old furniture and how to appeal to children when decorating their bedroom or playroom.

The book features ten projects which cover a variety of different interiors ranging from a New York City town-house to a beach home in the South American country of Brazil. The very popular ‘before and after’ pictures show the reader what the room looked like before and what it looks like afterwards when the intended design has been achieved. It’s often hard to believe how such an unpleasant little space can become a stunning and light-filled sanctuary. For inspiration and practical guidance, this book is very much recommended.

Unfortunately, this type of information is relatively unknown due to his tender age of 16 and parental privacy. After all, he most likely still lives at home and thus the decor in his house will be decided by the parents or professional interior designers and decorators. That said, people still like to imagine and construct what Justin Bieber’s interior styles and settings will look like in a couple of years time when he’ll have his own place and be fully in charge of fitting his surroundings to the way he wants it.

Some clever people have offered some suggestions and possibilities in relation to Bieber’s probable design style in the home. These are based partly on his fashion style and also his noted interests from magazine interviews and television appearances.

Check it out here: Designing Justin Bieber’s House.

There are also some posters Justin Bieber fans might like as well as directions to fan clubs and biographies on the web.

The broad spectrum of this new website offers shoppers in the United Kingdom a wide variety of products for the home interior. No items are actually sold from the site but rather helpful categories and direct links to places where the buyer can discover what they are looking for. Most of the regular domestic home interiors are included such as the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Also present are categories covering cookware, bakeware and related kitchen accessories.

Further categories cover dinnerware, kid’s furniture, home decorative accents and even flooring as well as various miscellaneous spheres such as wallpaper, clocks, bars and lighting. If you live in the United Kingdom and are looking for tasteful additions to your home, then why not pop on over to my new Décor and Furniture Shopfront and see if you can pick up a bargain via the categories and gateways provided.

There’s also a small blog section that accompanies the new interiors website which is being and will continue to be regularly updated regarding interesting and eye-catching designs and products based in the United Kingdom. Any news from the world of British interior design will also be highlighted. Bookmark now to stay up-to-date.

1000 interior details for the home and where to find them by Ian and Geraldine Rudge is the perfect book. It’s published by Laurence King, is available in softback and can be found on Amazon.

It’s designed to be dipped into and browsed through since there is so much to look at and enjoy. In fact, there’s far too much to absorb in just one reading.

The book is divided into seven chapters, covering walls and floors, doors, windows and stairs, heating and cooling, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting and home technology. This book however is by no means your usual interior book. Designed to appeal to anyone interested in improving their home environment, this book will appeal to amateurs and professionals.

There’s one page of text introducing each category, in the form of an interview with a leading architect or designer who has specialist knowledge of the chapters subject.

The best feature about the book is that the products selected all come with a where to buy website, which ensures that all the products can be easily sourced. The book was published in 2009 and includes some of the newest and most inspirational ideas for every space in your home.

This was a guest book review by Nerys Irving-Jones.

Country interiors that are successful often have an organic ambiance about them. By organic I don’t mean piles of fruit or vegetables stacked in a corner but rather a natural growth of possessions and collected objects that seems random and rather akin to the way flowers grow outside in places you do not always plan. There is a pervasive quality to the rural interior theme which makes the designs timeless. For a true country interior, regardless of locational style, this haphazard feel needs to be nurtured and encouraged.

This is not always easy to do. The homogeneity is based upon a number of equally important factors. These include a roughness of finish, simplicity and the colors chosen which should depend heavily on subtle choices of earthly hues. When it comes to the finish of walls and furniture, there are a variety of techniques that can be employed to render a surface looking older than it really is. Distressed paintwork techniques can be used on wooden chairs and stairs, whilst painted walls can be weathered through various means.

As well as this, the colors and pigments used in the country room themes should ideally be influenced by the surrounding landscape. A home in a chalk region might mimic the whites and light grays of the local area while forest regions could go for more brown and green combinations. Farm houses surrounded by wheat fields have the rich yellows, greens and early browns to play with. Wall stencils, perhaps portraying country life, that look as though they have been drawn freehand are ideal additions.

Surfaces of objects and decorative art should reflect the rural theme. Marble will not suit the style and will not be an honest representation of true rural living. Terracotta and rough pitted glazes work well as do a large variety of fabrics and raw materials. Raw being the important word. This doesn’t mean there should not be beautiful colors and patterns, far from it. Stencilled fabrics can be used to great effect if it looks home-made and inspired by nature and traditional country decorating.

The final touch is to bring the outdoors, indoors. Bowls of fruit, nuts, baskets of vegetables, hanging plants, dried branches and canes will all make wonderful additions to a country interior and will be a treat to the senses. Having a cat helps too.

As one would expect from a movement that began to spread across the European continent, the art and ideas began to vary as new cultures and peoples were influenced by the Renaissance. For example, in Northern Europe, the styles and designs became heavy in form whilst in England, a more whimsical and fantastical style merged with the national architecture and furnishings of the period.

However, whilst cultural influences meant visual Renaissance design varied across Europe, there was one universal characteristic that remained uniform. That of geometry. From architecture and wall décor to fabrics and flooring , geometric patterns were employed as often playful devices. Astrological images, spheres and obelisks as well as knot patterns were highly popular and can be seen in all four corners of Renaissance Europe.

For anyone considering decorating a room or house in the Renaissance style then there are a few considerations and components to bear in mind. Firstly, the designs of the period were highly influenced by images that harked back to the ancient world. These included geometrical patterns mixed with mythological imagery that were often wild and fantastical in appearance. The sun which can be seen in the image, is a prime example which can be used as a stencil in a Renaissance inspired living room or kitchen.

Secondly, Renaissance Europe was notable for its exquisite craftsmanship. When seeking furnishings that reflect the style and spirit of the period, look for fabrics and materials that highlight this important aspect. These could include silks, fine damasks, thick tapestries, polished oak, real of faux marble (simple painting techniques can be used to achieve the faux effect) as well as worked leather.

Thirdly, where at all possible, pick bargain items from second hand shops that enhance the ambiance of age and the aura of the period. These might include hidebound books, stone ornaments, classical maps, furniture which has been delicately carved, old pewter, old glass and even urns. Along with these, focus on the use of colors that symbolise the Renaissance such as the earth colors of leather and wood, plus the deep hues of Italian marble floors. You’ll be able to find more great color combinations for this style in books on the period which can be found online.