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Wednesday, 11 April 2012

How to decorate and organise your bedroom

When redecorating your bedroom, first clear out all the furniture, except the bed and bedside table. Take the mirrors and pictures off the wall; remove all the clutter from table tops and shelves and take out the soft furnishings. This will give you an empty canvas to work on and allow you to prepare the room for new wall and floor treatments. It also helps you to commit to those items that will help to accomplish the desired look. Bring back only the things that will suit your new room.

Experiment with different furniture arrangements, wall grouping and accessories. You may decide that you prefer bare, uncluttered walls. Live with them for a while – you can always fill them in later when you find the perfect painting or object.

Bedrooms are about rest, relaxation and successful storage. A sensitive approach to decoration, with few soft furnishings, muted colours and clutter-free surfaces will ensure a healthy sleeping environment and will turn your dream of an intimate, private sanctuary into reality.

Start with the basics. Once you have built a solid foundation, for the room that is soothing and versatile you can personalise it with the finishing touches.

Choose a suitable room in the home for yourself. Ideally, your bedroom should be a multi-functional room where you relax, read, listen to music and exercise.

In many homes the bedrooms are located upstairs, close to bathrooms. This may not work for you if you like to sleep late or if the room overlooks a busy street. You might consider having your living quarters upstairs and your bedroom downstairs or at the back of the house, if this is located in a quieter position.

To insulate your bedroom from exterior and interior noise, consider double glazing your windows, or padding the walls with fabric. If you live in an apartment, build a false wall to dampen the sound of your neighbours. Place your cupboards along the connecting walls to absorb noise.

Any efforts to insulate the room from noise will also insulate it from the cold. A bedroom should be reasonably warm at all times, so fit wall to wall carpets with good thick underlay, which will also help with sound proofing. For the ultimate luxury, install under floor heating.

An adjoining bathroom, sitting area or dressing area allows the bedroom to be extended beyond the actual sleeping area. To demarcate the different zones, introduce a screen or sandblasted glass panel that offer privacy without blocking the light. For continuity, carry the same wall andtreatment throughout the space. If your large main bedroom is used only as a place to sleep, it may be more sensible to turn it into a bedroom/playroom for your children, and to take a smaller room for yourself.

At the planning stage, estimate the cost of a good quality bed and mattress. Factor in the furniture you would like, as well as efficient storage, flexible lighting and soft furnishings and accessories that will add the warmth, comfort and colour to create your finished look. Perhaps you can accommodate a small sofa or a hammock on the porch or balcony leading off the bedroom.

HIDEAWAYS
A window seat is still a great option in a seating area. All you need is a low unit or a generous width of plank padded with a thick foam seat and plenty of cushions. Alternatively, place an overstuffed ottoman and chair in an alcove to create a tranquil corner. Alcoves can also be turned into wardrobes or can be fitted with shelves enclosed by doors.

by Marcia Margolius

More decor ideas visit decordirect

Monday, 26 March 2012

DIY decor ideas: Create your own silver vase.

Spread bonding agent on the area of the vase you want to cover with silver leaf. Leave for around 15 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's instructions. Lay the silver leaf on the glue and brush off excess with a dry paintbrush. When you are happy with the covering, coat the silver leaf with shellac for durability.

You will need: plain vase, silver leaf kit, small dry paintbrush, shellac (if not supplied with kit).

Time needed: 30 minutes

For more decor ideas visit decordirect

DIY decor ideas: Ornate mirror frame

You can use a new or old mirror for this project. If possible, remove the mirror from its frame. If it won't come out, cover the mirrored surface with masking tape. Clean the frame of the mirror to ensure it is free of any grease and dirt and place it on some newspaper. Shake the paint can well and spray the frame with even strokes. For best results, follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully and keep an even distance from the frame when spraying. Leave the frame to dry before replacing it or removing the masking tape from the mirror and hanging it on the wall.

You will need: mirror and frame, newspaper, masking tape, silver or chrome spray paint.

Time needed: 30 minutes plus drying

For more decor ideas visit decordirect

Monday, 12 March 2012

Freestanding drawer unit

Remove existing handles and prepare the chest for painting by sanding off all the old paint and cleaning with white spirit. Paint the chest all over with two coats of emulsion and leave to dry. Use fine-grade sandpaper to rub back paint on the edges and corners of the chest to give it a distressed look. Remove the front of the top drawer or, if your chest cannot be taken apart like this, remove the drawer altogether. Put baskets in the top drawer and fix the oyster shell handles on to the lower drawers.

You will need: screwdriver, sandpaer in medium and fine grades, white spirit, cloth, off-white emulsion paint, paintbrush, wicker baskets, brass oyster shell handles.

Time needed: 2 hours plus drying

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Decor DIY: Bathroom wall stamps

Draw horizontal lines on the wall using a ruler, pencil and spirit level, and mark out equal spaces where you want the squares to be. Use a piece of sponge to make the stamp. Drw a square on the sponge with a felt-tip pen and cut out the shape carefully using scalpel. Pour a little of the silver paint on to a plate and dip the sponge into the paint. Practise stamping squares on a spare sheet of paper until you get the hang of the amount of paint and pressure you need. Then stamp squares on to the wall in the positions you have marked. Leave to dry.

You will need: ruler, pencil, spirit level, sponge, felt-tip pen, scalpel, silver paint, plate, scrap paper.

Time needed: 2 hours plus drying

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

DIY decor for your bathroom: Silver wall tiles

Make sure the area you are going to tile is level, clean and free of grease. Apply the tiles to the wall with tile adhesive, starting in the bottom-left corner. Work along the bottom row, placing tile spacers between the tiles.

Once you have tiles the first line, use a spirit level to check the tiles are straight and even. Repeat the process until you have covered the area you are tiling. If your tiles don't fit exactly you will need to cut them to size using a tile cutter.

Leave the tile adhesive to dry for 24 hours, then remove the tile spacers and apply grout, carefully working on one tile at a time. Wipe over the tiles with a damp cloth to remove any excess grout and leave to dry.


You will need:
sandpaper, water-resistant tile adhesive, silver or aluminium tiles, tile spacers, spirit level, tile cutter, tile grout, clean-damp cloth.
Time needed: 30 minutes plus drying

DIY Decor: Crackle-glazed kitchen doors

Remove doors, sand down thoroughly and wipe with white spirit to remove fine dust and any residual grease. Paint with two coats of your chosen base colour. When dry, apply the crackle glaze with a paintbrush and leave according to manufacturer's instructions - usually around half an hour. Paint on your chosen top coat in even brush strokes and leave. As it dries, the crackling will occur - do not brush after the crackling begins.

What you will need: screwdriver, sandpaper, white spirit, 2 coordinating emulsion colours, crackle glaze kit, paintbrush.

Time needed: 1 and a half hours plus drying