Home Decorating

In interior design, lighting has three major functions. Having a closer look at those functions provides the necessary information on how certain rooms or areas should be illuminated. Light color is another criterion that offer guidance for the selection of lamps. Warm white light is for example distributed by incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps. They give living spaces a very pleasant ambiance. For choosing more energy-saving lamps, fluorescent bulbs and LED lights are available in different colors. Apart from warm white, the colors neutral white and daylight white are common.

Light Functions At A Glance

Experts not only put an emphasis on general and task, but also on mood lighting. While ensuring a certain level of illumination by the means of general lighting, especially for orientation is, the function of mood lighting is completely different. In between, the illumination of targeted individual areas inside rooms, is one of the major functions.

General lighting includes both adequately illuminating stairs and hallways and suitable lamps for the illumination of certain rooms. Primarily, ceiling lamps, depending on the room concept, are combined with additional light sources for a flexible use (eg, wall sconce, table or floor lamps). Task lighting includes the illumination of specific functional areas. For example, for dining tables in the living room a higher illumination level is needed than near the TV. This is supposed to be reflected in the choice of bulbs and lamps. To compensate for high brightness differences dimmable lights are a favorable option for the overall illumination. Finally, mood or accent lighting includes ideas such the use of colorful and stylish lamps in modern design.

Tips For Living Room, Kitchen and Bathroom

Usually, the living room is the center of the home and where most time with family and friends is spent. To put it in the right light, the use of a lighting rod system is recommended for large living rooms. In addition to that, lighting fixtures from manufacturers such as Fabbian or De Majo provide a good illumination level, because many of the lamp models have a movable head or individually adjustable pendants. Depending on the respective furnishings, task lighting varies a lot. For illuminating seating areas in living rooms, wall sconce, floor and table lamps are good measures. Mood lighting is achieved by installing lamps focusing on indirect lighting or by adding an elegant chandelier.

In the kitchen ceiling lamps are again the first choice for having a certain amount of brightness in lighting. For adding even more value to general, task and mood lighting inside the kitchen, the manufacturer Anthologie Quartett offers an interesting series including the Coffee Light lamps. Height adjustable pendants perfectly put large kitchens with a dining set into focus. For an even more targeted kitchen lighting there are also corresponding light sources mounted underneath the wall cabinets. Those recessed lighting fixtures are both practical and design conscious.

If you have ever owned a home, you may plan to have some home improvement tasks for the bathroom after some time of stay. While a lot of us are unfamiliar with how to go about, that doesn’t mean we cannot start our very own DIY projects. Let us take a look at some of the ideas that to liven up that bathroom of yours.

If your bathroom looks old and lifeless, there are actually quick and easy fixes to liven the appearance of your home almost instantly. Consider replacing floor covering, throw on a new paint of coating, or getting new sets of bathroom towels and a new shower curtain. They simply give life to any bathroom instantly.

When getting bathroom towels, you can choose deeper colors or the ones with patterns. Even though white displays some form of elegance, the color is already too commonly used in most bathrooms. If you think out of the box, any bathroom accessories like bath towels, bath robes, bath mats and such can be used for decorative purposes. All you need to do is to match them correctly with the main bathroom decoration and importantly, choose colors that will not make you bored after a while.

If your bathroom is large enough, you can consider placing plants at some corners for a greener and natural look. Take note to get the ones which have higher tolerance to light and high humility. On top of that, install decorative lighting fixtures on the walls and ceiling, putting dimmer light switches and using some beautifully hand-crafted baskets for your bath accessories. Paint the walls or plaster with them with tiles to match your bathroom theme.

On the contrary, if the bathroom is not large enough for so many bathroom accessories, try to create some areas yourself. For example, installing shelves on the walls for larger storage and aesthetical bathroom displays or you could simply place a full-height cabinet at the side showcasing all your beautiful bath sets.

Coming up with bathroom tile ideas is not as difficult as you may think. A little knowledge on tile types, a dash of imagination and a little bit of patience are all you need to create your dream bathroom. First, you need to think about the materials you want for your bathroom. Here is a list of all the different types of bathroom tiles:

- The Ceramic Kind – It’s non-porous, durable and affordable making it a practical tile for the bathroom. It’s resistant to water so it’s safe to walk on when wet. Ceramics are very easy to clean and maintain. When combined with a slip-resistant surface, this makes it the best bathroom idea so far.

- Travertine Tile – This is formed by shifts in the earth’s crust. It produces a uniform surface unlike the other marbles and is ideal for bathroom walls and floors.

- The Granite Kind – This is the most durable and easiest to clean. It can also withstand wear and tear.

- Glass – Once expensive, it is now affordable in the market. It can be used in different bathroom wall styles – as a border or as mosaics. What makes this different from the other tiles is that it has a unique reflection when light hits glass. If you are going for that bold, contemporary look, you might want to use uniform colored stained convex glass pieces. When these are combined in plaster they make a wonderful glass mosaic.

- The Slate – These tiles have an anti-slip finish which makes it an ideal choice for bathroom wall and especially floors. You may also install these in showers, tubs or floors.

- Marble – The Marble is a type of natural stone. It is commonly known for its textured appearance. An advantage of natural stones is that they have their own distinct color and texture.

Bathroom Tile Shapes and Accent Pieces

When it comes to shapes and sizes, there are definitely a lot of choices. Common shapes are squares, rectangles, hexagons and octagons. Feel free to play with accent pieces to make a good design. Accent pieces may sometimes be narrow tiles or small diamond-shaped tiles.

Colors to Reflect your Mood

Another consideration is the color. Each color reflects a certain emotion. Below is a list of some of the most commonly used colors in decorating bathrooms.

- Warm colors such as peach and yellow are fun. This makes your bathroom feel cozier and have a country-look about it.

- Light colors such as beige and white are neutral colors and may make your room appear larger than it really is. These colors are always in style.

- Colors such as blue, green and violet create the ambiance of serenity and calmness.

- Black and red colors are considered bright colors and will add drama to your room. Since it absorbs light, it may make your room appear smaller than it really is. Bright colors are good for rooms that have plenty of windows and natural lighting passing through it. This helps balance the ambiance lighting in the room.

Bathroom Tile Ideas

You can use any of these styles when decorating your bathroom:

- You can use a single color scheme for ceramic bathroom floor tile and pair it with a tile border of a different color. You can use alternate colors if you like for the tile border.

- Another way would be to use the same color of ceramic tile for your floor and wall, you can also use different tile sizes for an interesting visual effect for your room. You may also align the tiles either on your wall or floor diagonally.

- If you want to use a certain color, try experimenting with it. Just add decorative tiles of your favorite shade of color or if you like, use different shapes, textures and borders.