Archive for the ‘Living room decor’ category

Concrete Floors Don’t Have To Look Drab

January 17th, 2012

Concrete floors sound like the most boring things in the world! However you can be wrong, if they are done properly they can look absolutely fantastic. When you first think of concrete flooring you may just think of boring grey floors, however using the right solutions can make it look amazing!

I’m not suggesting you use normal concrete floors, you should use floors that are specially treated. By employing a professional to lay a concrete floor they can treat it to look like marble or stone. This means you can get the look of marble at a fraction of the cost. It is possible to paint concrete floors, however you can get much more flexibility with the state of the art dyes.

Concrete flooring is professionally treated with dyes in order to transform the ugly concrete forms into wonderful beautiful floors. The concrete is mixed with dyes which can create fantastic looking floors fairly cheaply. You can use these floors for a number of different themes. Concrete floors can be used to make a very elegant marble looking floor in a beautiful living room. Using a number of different stains can get fantastic results.

Concrete Flooring is Great Value

Concrete floors are extremely durable and will last a very long time. Although these floors can be a little expensive, as they will last for a long time the costs will be spread out for a number of years. You will not have to replace a concrete floor for a number of years which will provide substantial savings.

a href=”http://www.insidewoodworking.com/flooring/bamboo_flooring.html” target=”_new”>Concrete flooring is hygienic compared to carpets as they don’t collect dust or mites. It’s easy to clean concrete using a vacuum cleaner and a mop. It’s easy to clean concrete floors and keep them healthy.

You can easily stain concrete with a number of different colors in order to create beautiful floors. You can apply textures to make it resemble marble and stone, it’s a very versatile material. Shades of terracotta can also be used to create fantastic unique and expensive looking floors at a fairly low cost.

5 Design Tips For a Beautiful Home

January 17th, 2012

A beautiful home is somewhere you will want to spend time: to relax, to socialise and to entertain. Creating that beautiful home can seem like a never-ending challenge however; there are so many things you can do to improve the place you live. But focusing on a few key areas, you can be sure to make the biggest possible impact. After that you can take your time touching up little details at your leisure, safe in the knowledge that you already have a beautiful place to live.

Light

Sun control solutions such as roller blinds are a simple way to start improving the feel of your home. Whatever you do in terms of interior design, if you don’t control the amount of light coming into the building it is not going to be a very comfortable place to live. Too much light and the glare will be harsh and unpleasant; too little and your living space will be gloomy and depressing. Roller blinds are an excellent way of controlling the light in a simple, easily adjustable and stylish way.

Colour

Choosing the right colour scheme is a great way of putting your personal stamp on your home and will have a surprisingly great influence on the usability of each room. Use soft and gentle colours for the bedrooms. Harsh or bright tones are not conducive to relaxation and will make it harder for you to get a good night’s sleep. Conversely kitchens, which tend to be a hive of activity, benefit from bright and light colours that encourage action and dynamism.

Flooring

If you want a beautiful home, then getting the flooring right is essential. Soft materials such as carpet and wood are ideal for bedrooms and living spaces. Ceramic tiles, vinyl and even marble are more suited to bathrooms and kitchens. You might decide to choose a different flooring material for each room, but it can be a good idea to use a single material to connect otherwise different areas of your house. For example you might design each bedroom and living room quite differently, but use the same polished wood flooring throughout, to bring the designs together and make them coherent.

Kitchen

The kitchen is more often that not the heart of the home, so you should focus a lot of you energy on getting this room right. There are kitchen cabinets and units to suit any tastes, so you can really go to town. Make sure though that you match your style to the home itself — a wooden country kitchen might look beautiful in your bush retreat, but it will be less successful in your trendy inner city apartment. The other thing to remember with kitchens is that function is absolutely critical. No matter how beautiful it looks if there aren’t enough cupboards, or the oven is too far away from the fridge, it will be less of a pleasure to use.

Exterior Landscaping

When thinking about beautifying your home, it is important not to forget about the exterior. Balconies and verandas can be transformed with the right furniture or by installing a retractable awning. Landscaping your backyard will have a powerful effect, making your outdoor space a more appealing place to be and your home feel much more spacious.