Essential Elements To Interior Design

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Essential Elements To Interior Design

· Home Design,Interior Design,Kitchen Remodel,Window Coverings,Skylights

Important Factors To Consider When Designing The Interior of Your New Home

Whether you are working with existing furnishings and fabrics or “starting from scratch” with an empty room, you should always use the elements and principles of design as a guide in choosing everything. The elements are your tools or raw materials, much like paints are the basics to a painter. The elements of interior design include space, line, form, color, and texture. The principles of design relate to how you use these elements and are balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion and scale, and harmony and unity.

Element #1: Space

Space defines the boundaries and sets the limits on the functional and decorative things you can do. Usually you will not determine the space; instead, you will be faced with the challenge of using the existing space effectively.

Element #2: Line

The lines in a room are second only to color in importance when it comes to setting the overall mood or feeling of a room. The lines of window fashions should support the dominant line of the room. In most situations, the dominant line is straight (vertical, horizontal or diagonal) rather than curved. Your choice of emphasizing the direction of lines will determine the mood you want to create.

Kitchen Remodel Must Do's

If you’ve shopped for new kitchen cabinets recently, you know that it’s often much more economical to refinish your old cabinets than to buy new ones. Here are 8 tips that will make your kitchen cabinet refinishing a huge success.

1. If your cabinets are painted, remove the paint with a chemical stripper. If your cabinets are stained or varnished, either clean the surface well or remove most of the stain or varnish with a chemical refinisher.

2. Take the doors off your cabinets and remove the handles and hardware. It will be much easier if you lay the doors flat to work on them.

3. Check to see how much damage there is to the cabinets. If there is only minor damage, such as dark stains around the door handles, just clean these areas. Use a synthetic steel wool pad because it won’t hurt your fingers or get caught on the wood grain.

4. Dip the pad in paint thinner, mineral spirits, or turpentine, and scrub the stains. Then lightly scrub the whole surface, cleaning and dulling it so the new finish will stick.

5. Once you’ve cleaned the surface and removed the dark stains, wipe on an oil-based, clear finish such as Minwax. All clear finishes are low-odor and most are available in either glossy or satin finish. Apply several coats for a thicker finish.

6. If you find you need to redo more than just a few stained areas, use a chemical refinisher – a strong solvent cleaner that dissolves and removes part of the old varnish. Ask an expert at your local paint store to suggest a good quality refinisher.

7. When you’re using the chemical refinisher, work in small areas, and scrub the finish with a synthetic steel wool pad. The chemical refinisher will remove the finish and even out the color of the wood and stain. Rinse the pad in more refinisher when it gets clogged with dirty finish.

8. The cabinet’s surface should be smooth and evenly colored after you’ve scrubbed the whole surface. If you find it isn’t, just wipe the entire cabinet in long, overlapping strokes with clean refinisher and clean steel wool in long, overlapping strokes. Most of the stain color will remain, and the wood will be very smooth.

It’s extremely important that you wear protective clothing and make sure that your work area is well-ventilated when you’re refinishing your cabinets. And don’t forget to follow all safety precautions on the refinishing product labels.

By following the 8 tips above, you’re sure to enjoy your newly-refinished, beautiful kitchen cabinets for many years.

Choosing The Right Window Covering To Accent Your Home

There are many ways that you can decorate your windows. You have the choice of horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, custom wood shutters, or even roller shades, and that is just to name a few. Before you head down the road of confusion you should begin by asking yourself a few questions.

What kind of space are you working with?

Do not only focus on the window space but take a look at the whole room. It doesn’t matter if you are doing one room or a whole house. Look at the room by itself. Consider the location of the room. North facing windows bring in consistent light but could subject your house to the coldest exposure. For this you would want to consider energy-saving window treatments. They will also help with the heating and cooling bills since 40% of heat escapes through windows. That is something to consider in each room of your house.

East-facing windows offer bright light early in the morning. That means that the room will heat up quickly. There are options that will help capture the heat so it diffuses it before it comes in, such as cellular or pleated shades. Also, the traditional drapery would work well, although, it is not appropriate for every room.

West-facing windows are the worst for letting in the most light that is harmful. Rooms with these windows should be ones that block out the UV rays. You would want to consider energy-saving window treatments.

South-facing windows are the best for consistent, natural light. You want to have window treatments that let in light but also have the option for protection against the light.

What is your style?

The next thing you need to do is consider your style. You need to consider your likes and dislikes. Styles are always changing. What you like one day you will hate the next. You need to consider what will make you happy overall. Also, fashion in the world changes, so find something that you are comfortable with. Some categories are; Old American Style, Casual Style, Contemporary / Modern / Simplistic Style, European Style, Formal Style, Traditional Style, and the Rustic Style. These are the most popular styles that people usually go back to and are safe.

What are your needs?

Is there only adults in the house or are there children running around. As simple as a question this is, it will make you stress out if you pick the wrong one. When there are children around you need to think safety first. This doesn’t have to limit you but there is definitely the wrong choices out there with children in the home.

Another major factor is pricing. What is your budget? For the top of the line, most in-style window treatments out there, you could be spending a lot of money.

What is the shape of your window? If you have a awkward shaped window, this could limit you on what you choose.

Do you need it sound absorbent? Do you need it energy-efficient? Do you want it easily cleanable? These are all important questions to ask yourself. In the next article, I will go into each of these questions in more detail to help you know what kind of window treatments work for you.

Don't Neglect Your Skylight

Don't Neglect Your Skylight When Remodeling Your Home

A definition and description of the different types of skylights vinyl windows that can be installed in a home.

Skylights vinyl windows are a familiar architectural sight in most modern day homes. They are usually situated in smaller rooms that don’t have a lot of light because of a need for privacy (such as a bedroom or bathroom) or in larger rooms that are leant a sense of majesty from having the sunlight pour in through a vast gap in the roof.

The reason it is important to have skylights that are seamed with vinyl is that they help keep cold air out and warm air in. However this can be a drawback if you live in a hot climate and the sun is beating down through your skylight vinyl windows all day. In hotter climates tinted skylight windows or ones equipped with automatic shades are more useful so that the cost of your air conditioning does not rocket sky high. Skylight vinyl windows are best utilized in colder, damper climates where insulation from the elements is needed.

The larger they are the better skylights vinyl windows look in any room. The usual size of skylight vinyl windows is between one and four square feet. Cubbyhole sized ones just look tacky unless they are highlighting a sculpture or a plant.

However sometimes you only have room for a small vinyl sealed skylight in which case it is recommended that you buy one that has a funnel shape that is wider at the bottom. This allows more light than normal to be filtered into the room from the skylight and then be spread and reflected over a larger area. Light adds heat. Make sure that this type of skylight is also vented to allow heat to escape if you live in a hot climate.

In essence there are three different types of vinyl sky light windows:

Vented Skylight. The vented skylight is more of a modern entity, as before the late eighties most skylights did not have the ability to open or close. These types of skylight vinyl windows can be opened either electronically or manually. The vinyl stripping around the frame of the window prevents them from leaking rain.

Sun Tunnels. Sun tunnels are essentially holes that are about a foot wide that allow sunlight through to dim areas of your home. They are installed to allow more natural light into bathrooms, basements, attics and even closets!

Skylight Window Shades – These are skylights that come with a lid. Sometimes it isn’t always ideal to have the sunlight brightening your room especially if you want to take a nap or view a movie in the dark. These types of skylights come with a remote that allows you to adjust the amount of light in the room.

Skylight vinyl windows are so secure and water proof that the need to frame the skylight with wood is no longer necessary. If your sky light is damaged, then don't forget to call a skylight replacement expert The vinyl also prevents double paned windows from sweating. However if you prefer the more elegant, finished look of wood wrapped windowpanes they can be easily fitted around skylight vinyl windows to achieve a more traditional appearance.