In today’s world Modern style decorating has made its way into today’s designs in a “less is more” attitude. Rapid growth of technology leaves people wanting new, exciting features that look sleek and sexy. Having so many choices in life led people to better determine their wants and needs (from products). Interior spaces have to keep up the pace with real people and their life styles. Offices and workspaces are great places to use modern furniture. A modern approach stimulates a person to keep things neat and tidy in a creative fashion. In other words the office works with the user not against the user. Resulting in higher productivity.
When decorating with modern furniture choose pieces that are odd and irregularly shaped. This ensures keeping your audience interested, urging the eye to look around. Furniture should also have the ability to multitask effortlessly in terms of looking sleek and providing storage. Every aspect of a modern room should look and function like a well oiled machine. Using a furniture piece that has no function will disrupt the appeal and harmony of the space. Make well thought out choices. There is less to decide so spend a little more time choosing each piece carefully.
Using attractive textures adds dimension and comfort to a modern space. Feel free to layer textures that compliment one another. Glass and wood are two elements that compliment each other. The same is true for metal and wood. The different textures create pleasing contrasts.
Color choices should be made carefully. Chose colors that are unusual and exciting. A neutral palette with a splash of color achieves success in a modern space. That splash of color should be used mainly on accessories. Accent pieces are also to be used sparingly (clutter is not allowed in this type of decorating). Remember keep it simple, less is more. Don’t work harder than you have to; the space will come together naturally.

Halloween’s almost here and we’ve got a few tips and tricks up to help add some spook and mystery to your home. Take advantage of the one time a year it is acceptable to give your neighbors the creeps!

1. Dim those lights: Get a spooky glow. Instead of using overhead lighting use battery powered candles. The low light will add suspense to your space. Especially light up those jack-o-lanterns with a battery powered candle that won’t go out. Replace light bulbs with dark bulbs.

2. The haunted look: Watch scary movies and notice what sets the scary tone. You can drape white sheets over furniture to give an abandoned look to your house. Add fake cobwebs to corners of walls, ceilings and baseboards. Red food coloring makes excellent fake blood. Use the dye to add blood to costumes, decorations and edible treats. Dry ice, hidden behind plants, will look like low-lying fog in a graveyard. Adding dry ice to a cauldron will appear to be witch’s potion in the making!

3. Don’t forget the pumpkin: Carving pumpkins is a fun activity the family can do together. Place pumpkins along walkways and by the entrance of your home. After cleaning out the inside wash off the seeds, let dry, apply seasoning and bake! Pumpkin seeds are a healthy snack choice that taste great.

4. Creepy Crawlers: Hide fake spiders, snakes and other insects in common places around your home (for example the refrigerator and bathroom counter tops). The dim light will make these critters look more realistic.

5. Halloween music: No other tactic will set the mood like scary music can. Find inspiration from scary movies. Almost every TV channel plays scary movies during the month of October. You may just find the perfect creepy soundtrack to download and play in your haunted house.

6. Bats Lingering: Attach fishing line to fake bats and hang from your ceiling or tree branches. Fishing line is made to appear invisible. Fake bats can be found at any store that sells Halloween decorations.

7. Blood is a Necessity: Red food coloring makes excellent fake blood. Use the dye to add blood to costumes, decorations, cocktails and edible treats. In the kitchen have some transparent containers filled with peeled grapes soaking in green food coloring water and label “Zombie Eye Balls”.

8. Get imaginative Think of all things that frighten you and incorporate these fears into decorating. It is important to scare all of the human senses such as touch, sight, smell and hearing.

Are you planning for the birth of a child or grandchild? As we are approaching the end of child safety month, and as you prepare for the new arrival, keeping a child safe is one of the most important essentials.

The past few decades have shown a strong emphasis on child safety by manufacturer of home products. Fueled by past problems, consumer advocates and federal legislation, many or the better manufacturers have taken a leadership role in developing products that are safer for children.

Hunter Douglas has a long-term commitment to products that protect both children and pets. Previous shade and blind designs caused a number of inadvertent injuries or even deaths due to the hanging cords, so tempting to children and pets. That situation has been eliminated in a number of ways by Hunter Douglas.

Let’s start by looking at their roman shades, designed with no exposed cords. Their wooden blinds are also much safer thanks to special breakaway tassels on their blinds which split under pressure leaving two relatively harmless cords rather than a loop.

The cord issue has been eliminated completely with two of Hunter Douglas’s newer window products. Their LiteRise^® system enables homeowners to raise or lower shades or blinds with a push or pull. The product then stays at whatever level you place it. Another system involves a motorized lifting operation with a button to raise or lower the height of the window treatments.

Many more children survive because of the many adults who have stepped up and developed products to keep them safe. Let’s take a moment this month to appreciate their efforts on behalf of our children.

Some rooms ooze style and a refined feeling that makes you want to stop and try to analyze the components of the room that create its sense of sophistication. The photo shown is a prime example of the Tuscan style of designing from the stone tiles to the generous use of wood. The room has a finished and formal look that would be difficult to rival.

?What makes this room work? There’s no one thing that is solely responsible for the look this room has, but rather it is an amalgamation of everything you see there, all those finer details you might miss individually, which lend the room its unique look and feel.

The room is at once both formal and warm. It is in harmony with nature; with greenery in all the right locations. The randomly placed stone tiles disregard any need for continuity or evenness and the result is beautiful. Each tile stands out individually and the combination renders a rustic look to the room.

The generous use of wooden furniture and the dark green window treatments are in striking contrast to the light colored walls. The cushioned seats lend the room a warm tone. The large dark artifacts and picture placed on the mantel are in perfect proportion to the fireplace.

The room is full of wonderful contrasts, dark wood against light walls, formal and an informal all at once, the brightness from the doors against a cozy darkness from the dark wood ceiling. Is it any wonder that it looks as good as it does?

If you are one to move on with the times, and even if you aren’t, you’ll appreciate the contemporary style of designing. A clean chic minimal look encompassing the late 20^th century, this styling incorporates natural materials such as wood, wool and stone. The picture shown, a perfect contemporary styled room, will draw your attention again and again and not without reason.

The charm of the room lies in its dark flooring. Try imagining it with any other floor and it will lose all its appeal. The rest of the room has been designed with the flooring in mind. The white walls contrast well with the dark hardwood. The white carpet below the sparse furniture of the room is also very simple in appearance, without an elaborate design. The slipper chairs on the carpet have a contemporary structure and fabric. The dark table provides contrast to the white carpet.

The white sofa, however, is designed to at once complement and contrast, which it does beautifully. Consider the design of the dining chairs and table to the right. These also maintain the contemporary tone, contrasting and complementing the floor at the same time. The straight staircase and clean-lined railing also emphasizes this style’s no fuss attitude.

The room is a play on complements and contrasts and comes off beautifully. Everywhere you look the overall effect is…”WOW.”

It’s getting close to that time of year! Pumpkin carving time!! This year, before you get started – take a few moments to bookmark or print this page so that in the event that you have a pumpkin mess during your carving, you won’t have to worry.

Below are some easy to follow instructions for removal of pumpkin stains from carpet.

Detergent Solution - Mix one fourth (1/4) teaspoon of a liquid dishwashing detergent per one (1) cup of lukewarm water. NEVER USE A STRONGER CONCENTRATION! Thorough rinsing is necessary to remove detergent residues that may cause rapid soiling. It may be necessary to rinse with warm water several times to completely remove residues. (See Residue Precautions.) Care should be used in selecting a detergent. Never use a laundry detergent of any type, because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners (flourescent dyes) that dye the fiber. Do not select an automatic dishwashing detergent because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibers.

Vinegar Solution - Mix one (1) cup of white vinegar per two (2) cups of water. White vinegar is a 5% acetic acid solution. It is used most often to lower the alkalinity caused by detergent solutions or alkaline spills.

Warm Water – Lukewarm tap water should be used in most cases to rinse the cleaning solutions from the fiber. Failure to completely rinse the solutions from the fiber may cause accelerated soiling.

Ammonia Solution - Mix one (1) tablespoon of household ammonia per cup of water. Please note: Be aware that ammonia, if used improperly, can cause a color change. Be sure to test a hidden area.

When in doubt , Call a Professional – Professional cleaners have the ability and the equipment to use more aggressive cleaning solutions to remove stubborn spills. Always consider consulting a professional cleaner regarding any spot removal question.

Are you ready to redecorate a bathroom and having trouble finding an inspiration? Here’s how one woman ended up creating a remarkable and memorable guest bath.

One afternoon as the woman’s children ran around their yard making oversized bubbles, her youngest came over and said, “Can’t we have bubbles all the time?” She suggested they take photos to remember the bubbles, and looking at them later had her inspiration for turning her downstairs guest bathroom into a “bubble bath” in memory of that day.

When she came to visit us, the first discovery was the sink – a perfect image for a bubble-focused room. The circular mirror came next. Paint, flowers and towels echo the colors found as those soap bubbles hit the sun.

Shiny fixtures and paint work well with the bubble theme. With a lot of creativity and a firm focus on her inspiration, this mother created a bathroom that really gives her family the opportunity to “have bubbles all the time.”

Are you daring enough to take an inspiration and carry it through your bathroom redo? Why not take a risk? You may end up with something as eye-catching and charming as this woman did. Let’s get started, together.