Contemporary Style

Interior Decorating: Exhilarating Photos

Collage

Collage is derived from the French word “colle”, which means glue. There are many different mediums that may be used to create a collage, including fabric, photos, wood, newspaper clippings and ribbons. The are all assembled to creat a visually pleasing effect. Decoupage is a way to create a finished collage. Photomontage creates a modern photo assemblage by cutting and joining a number of pictures into a complete whole. All of these techniques have today evolvedinto the wonderful craft of scrapbooking.

Photo Collages

Everyone loves to display their most treasured photos, whether it be from times remembered or their most current events. Everyone can bring their world of scrapbooking to their walls to enhance, decorate and share with everyone their most treasured pictures, whether it be from a wonderful trip or delightful family photos. Simply by gluing your favorites to a sturdy backing, you can create an intriguing design that could even tell a person’s life story, what a phenomenal gift.

Alternatives

Artists have gone a step further by assisting the non-talented segment of us who don’t have the imagination or time to design these works of art. There are many who would prefer the simplicity of just plugging a photo into a decorative frame. There are so many options to choose from, whether it be a solitary frame, all the way up to a decorativ photo collage frame that may provide a dual purpose of either containing a mirror or clock. With so many options to choose from, it’s time to get decorating your home with your cherished photographs.

Pictures compliments of Google Images

Video Compliments of YouTube

Do It Yourself: Tuscan Style

Colors

Tuscany is a region in Italy famous for its beautiful landscapes and its architecture and art. The people of the area are typically hard working farmers or tradesmen and they bring this country style living into their homes. They incorporate the earthy colors of the land, sea and sky, including shades of blue, green and terracotta. They also liberally use many items available in nature,like stone, brick, wood and marble. You can achieve this rustic look and comfortable feel of the Old World in any room of your home.

Walls And Ceiling

Traditionally, the walls of a Tuscan home are textured and uneven. The look can be achieved through faux painting with a color wash finish or for the ambitious by adding a fresco or crumbling wall look as seen in the picture. A Tuscan ceiling typically has wooden beams or is completely wood, which isn’t necessary to attain the Old World feel of a room. Rustic wooden furniture will give the same feeling.

Accents

This is where the real Italian country living is brought to life. Liberal use of wrought iron decorations, terracotta pots and large candle holders are a must in this style of decorating. Fabrics used for the curtains or pillow accents should fall within the earthy color tones discussed above. You can have fun decorating with this style because it is so popular and there is so much available.

Pictures complements of google images

Decorating Trends: Eclectic

Definition

What is eclectic interior decorating? Basically, it is a combination of styles, furnishings, textures and colors, that allows you to select your favorites and create a space that is uniquely yours. While researching this topic, I discovered that there are very few “rules” in creating this look and the results can be as diverse as the individuals that we all are.

Combining

Eclectic decorating is the art of combining different styles into a cohesive unit with the use of colors and textures. So, you just inherited a beautiful antique chair from your grandmother, but how will that piece fit in with your contemporary furniture. It can be done by reupholstering the chair in a coordinating color and adding a throw or a pillow for a colorful accent. That’s a simplified version, the rest of the room will take much more thought.

Conclusion

Pick a theme, choose your colors, arrange groupings, create harmony. These are phrases associated with eclectic interior design. Coordinating it all is probably the most difficult aspect of this decorating style. As seen in the pictures, when the room is finished, it will declare your individuality and you will have your own “funky” chic interior. Anything goes when it comes to eclectic, but coordination and harmony are the keys to it’s success.

Interior Decorating: Transitional

What Is Transitional?

Transitional is an ever-growing and is becoming a more popular way of decorating your home. It is a combination of traditional and contemporary designs. It tones down the stark, straight lines of contemporary designs and upgrades the traditional styles, leaving you with a calming, serene atmosphere that is warm, welcoming and will endure the test of time.

Achieving Transitional Style

Where to start? A warm color palette is a good beginning, using soft taupe, tans, vanilla and beige, usually with dark brown as an accent color, leaving your room open for a wide variety of accessories. Your furniture can combine the old traditional style of elegance with contemporary fabrics and pillows to add durability and textures. By achieving a balance between the old and the new, your room will be inviting and comfy. The walls and floors should reflect the same monotone theme to complete the overall look, by incorporating wood tones and metals with interesting designs and patterns.

Bringing It Together

Mostly bring together the things that you love that lend to warmth and comfort. Steer away from the cluttered look and focus on the combination of traditional and contemporary styles by uniting colors and textures to give an overall harmony between the two styles. When all is said and done, you’ll be ecstatic with the results, and your family and friends will discover the comfort of this fairly new style of decorating that may eventually come to be known as the “New Traditional” interior design.

Images courtesy of Google Images

Video courtesy of YouTube