There are many styles of curtains, shades, valances and other window treatments that you can use to dress your windows. Dressed windows add to the charm of your house and make it look gorgeous. The key is to keep things in balance rather than overpower the space with too many contrasting colors. Window treatments can cost a mint these days, especially if the person doing the decorating would like to find something which is not only practical but also aesthetically pleasing. You can create your own window treatment with ideas from the internet, your local library, a craft shop or even book stores. All you need to do the job are a few supplies and a little patience, and if you know how to sew then it’s an added advantage. Custom Treatment By custom treatment we mean the traditional way of doing up the window dressing. Custom window treatments may range from the traditional Victorian, Adirondack or country to contemporary modern or just plain challenging. You might like custom made roman shades to coordinate with your bedspread or a tailored pleated valance that lends itself to multiple fabric combinations. Balloon shades can be used as a valance or a fully functioning shade. Swags and cascades can make your window look classic or casual. Draw drapes or stationary drapes are timeless solutions appropriate to any décor when installed with the right decorative hardware. Upholstered cornices can enhance any drapery while wood cornices can do the same for valances. Whether it’s a gathered panel with valence, lace panels, and stationary drapes or European style sheers teamed with cotton lace it will create an ambience in your room that you will simply love. Bay Window Treatment A window which is three sided or more and protrudes from the outer wall of a house is called a bay window. Far too many people cover up their bay windows with curtains. Graceful and romantic bay windows are windows that everyone likes to have in their house. Very few people know the exact way to treat a bay window. If the view from such a window is outstanding and privacy and light control are not a matter of concern then this wonderful window should be left uncovered. If a bay window features handsome window frames, consider playing them up with individual, inside mounted café curtains, shades or blinds. Roman shades with contrast branding are tailored and traditional. Put simple shades or blinds on closely spaced windows, then add a continuous valence and a series of shallow swags. Plan carefully so the top treatments conceals the under treatments when they are raised. For bay windows with a little space between windows, flank the entire wooden area with a pair of panels and top the treatment with a cornice. No matter what you do the ultimate aim is to make it look appealing. Designer Window Treatments As the title suggests, this has got every thing to do with a designer who is simply going to dress up your window. This is going to be one expensive affair but the ultimate result will just keep your eyes fixed on the beauty of your window. With this type of treatment everything may depend on the person designing your window treatment. Right from fabric to style to color, all of it will be different and outstanding. Not everybody can afford to do designer window treatments but if you are one among those who can, be ready to get loads of compliments for your windows. Kitchen Window Treatments Your kitchen window should be done in such a way that it coordinates with the color and style of your kitchen cabinets. Use window treatments that control light, it is also important to choose a window treatment that is easy to clean. Near gas ranges select a window treatment that cannot blow near the flame and become a fire hazard. The many kinds of treatments include roller shades, bamboo or wood shades, blinds, shutters, curtains and draperies. Some of these will be much easier to clean than others. Do consider the window hardware and placement so that it will not interfere with the window treatment.
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Lighting has been used to great effect on places such as theater and musical stages, making up an integral part of the show. Now lighting is also beginning to spark a rapidly growing interest among home decor enthusiast, who realize that lighting can have dramatic effects on how a room is perceived. Although we are not talking about rapidly flashing disco-lights here, some lighting alternatives are actually used more for their aesthetical than their practical value. The art of employing lights and fixtures for achieving intense effects, designed to achieve a specified mood, have become a hot thing among home interior decoration designers nowadays. Ideally the lighting scheme should be great from both a down-to-earth and stylistic perspective and information show that pendant lights and similar designs are taking up more and more space in stores committed to interior decorating. Various styles of recessed lighting are not really a new ingenuity, but in our time they are appearing in places you may not have encountered them before - such as out on a patio, for example. Seeing a subtle yet, effectual recessed patio lighting, powered partially by solar power for the first time is indeed a model that get's the inspiration going for getting into to light up the outside of your home as well. From the purely practical/economical point of view, the solar powered alternatives are of course most interesting. But, in many cases, combining appealing design and some sort of solar panels are not always easy or affordable. Once in place though, you can get literally unlimited energy without paying a cent for it, provided that you live in a location that provide enough sun that is. Among other common lighting trends right now are many forms of accent lighting that may, for instance, be aimed onto a wall in order to complement the illuminate provided by the fixtures in the ceiling or from a range of recessed lighting. Accent lighting is great for attracting awareness to specific features in the room, and often can add unexpected amounts of dimension and depth to the space. For people who want to go really advanced, there is also the option to put in the lighting arrangement in such a way that it can be "programmed" for countless scenarios. Depending on the time of day, the mood you want to set, and which architectural features or articles in the room you want to highlight, all can be effectively accomplished by a well designed lighting system. For lighting official places, professional designers are usually hired. But this doesn't mean that the home improvement enthusiast needs to feel discouraged. Quite the contrary in fact, many rooms in your privately owned house can be virtually transformed by relatively simple lighting schemes. As this won't necessarily cost an arm and a leg either, there is not many reasons for the home decor hobbyist to not make a trip to the store and look at some of the new lighting systems available. Ceiling fan lights The lighting scheme provides the finishing touch to the decoration of your rooms. Accordingly the modern electrical appliances are designed to enhance the beauty of your rooms. In quest for design innovations, ceiling fan lights emerged as a great idea from both functional and aesthetic points of view. As such most of the leading brands nowadays provide for the arrangements of ornamental "fitters" tucked beneath the blades to support lamps and their decorative shades. With a ceiling fan light kit, you can make the most gorgeous decoration statement. An elaborate ceiling fan light kit is ideal for a big hall type room with a high ceiling. A small and simple ceiling fan light on the other hand can lend a stylish look to an otherwise plain interior. So it is always recommended to select the ceiling fan light according to your room size, height of the ceiling, colors of the walls and the type of illumination desired. The ceiling fan lights are available in the wide assortments of neon, glass globes or simple bulbs. Shades are mostly available in glass and crystal materials. If you plan to install a ceiling fan light in the outdoors, go for the weather proof UL rated light kit only, both for the purpose of safety and durability. Most of the contemporary fans are adaptable to the attachment of ceiling fan light kit having a link to the fan’s switch housing and requires only a simple electrical connection. In order to fix a ceiling fan light, first access the wiring by loosening the screws of the fan's switch housing bracket on the bottom. Among the bundle of wires you have to look for two wires meant for ceiling fan light. One will be white (neutral), the other, black, and red or blue (hot). Then attach the adapter ring. In order to make the wiring connections with the two labeled wires, join the two neutral wires with a wire connector and the fixture's hot wire to the labeled wire bracket. Now fix the light kit to the fan with the screws and connect to power. Ceiling Fan Blades A ceiling fan consists of three basic parts, namely the motor; blades and the mounting device. The standard ceiling fans comprises of three to five blades. The numbers and sizes of the blades determine the prices of the fan. The more the number of the blades, the costlier is the fan. Price also depends on the length of the ceiling fan blades which is measured by the full blade sweep they produce. There is no universally fixed size for the ceiling fan blades; length varies with the brands. In the high quality ceiling fans, the spin lengths vary between 30, 42, 44, 46, 50, 52 and 60 inches diameter. The quality of the fans is rated by their performance in moving the air effectively and quietly. This is conditioned by such factors as the pitch, length, and number of ceiling fan blades, and their revolutions per minute (rpms).The angular edges of the ceiling fan blades are termed as the pitches which are particularly important for the effective replacement of the air. This shape enables the blade to apply pressure to the air in front of it and consequently the air is forced downwards. Higher pitches allow more replacement of air. High quality ceiling fan blades have a pitch of 12-14 degrees. A blade pitch as low as 8 or 10 degrees leads to poorer performance. While the short ceiling fan blades with minimum pitches can swirl at a high speed, they do not make for much air circulation and they are noisier than the types of fans with longer blades and higher pitches though they rotate more slowly. These days ceiling fan blades are available in a range of color and designs. Different materials like solid wood, cross-laminated veneer and less-expensive veneered constant-density boards are used to render the ceiling fan blades a smart and contemporary looks. The trendy get ups include a metal finish, or a wooden looks. The use of woven bamboo and fabrics has also become popular. Contrast or reversible ceiling fan blades are yet another innovative addition to the whole gamut of ceiling fan blade designing. With two different finishes on both sides of the blade, they add to the glamour quotient of your interior. Then there are those stylist outdoor ceiling fan blades made up of washable sail cloth stretched over a frame. Some of the leading brands also offer a replacement ceiling fan blade which allows you to bring a touch of change and alteration to your interiors all round the year. Home air purification systems are being purchased by the millions. Many adults both with and without children are realizing that the one thing they can control in their home is the air they breath. Many have done their diligent studies or took it on recommendation that the air outside is harmful, but the air inside(up to 70 times more toxic)can be made cleaner by purchasing and installing some sort of unit that will help clean the air. And a good choice it was. Several units will filter out the dust, the dander from their pets, and some other particulate that is unseen. Some units can even filter out some of the toxins that float around us while we are in our home. And they work too. But did you know that these airborne toxins, once on the skin, can actually cause as much harm to you, your children and your pets, as it does to inhale them? Most people know this subconsciously, but they neglect to do anything about it. Most of the products that you bring into your home from the store to use for whatever purpose contain chemicals that over time can and will bring harm to you. Most of us think that these products could not be sold to us if this were true. Unfortunately, there is no requirements for testing these products and there is no requirement to even list everything they contain on the label (testing is done as we know, with animals, and many companies have found alternative testing methods. But there are a surprisingly high number of brand name companies that still do animal testing. That is a whole other discussion). I was surprised to learn that, because I live in a country that seems to regulate everything else, why not consumer and personal care products as well. There are countless examples you can take a look at from the products in your home right now. I’m sure you have seen them already. Look at your oven cleaning solution. Does it say anywhere on the container “danger”, “warning”, “poison”? Do the instructions indicate that you should use gloves when applying? How about to have good or adequate ventilation? Look at your floor cleaners, or window cleaners. Did you know that ammonia, which is a good cleaning agent found in window cleaners, can cause an irritated nose: maybe some slight breathing problems? And not to mention the injury you could sustain if you get it in your eyes. Long term, or repeated exposure could have an effect on the lungs, could cause pneumonia, cataracts, glaucoma, kidney damage, the list goes on. And that’s just ammonia. The recommendation when handling ammonia is to avoid skin contact (we are talking about pure ammonia here). Wear protective gloves and chemical-resistant clothing. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends wearing gloves made of Butyl, Teflon or Viton for up to 8 hours of exposure and Nitrile gloves for up to 4 hours of exposure. Keep clothing clean and free of oils and grease. Even diluted, does that give you cause enough to get rid of everything containing ammonia that YOU brought in? In the personal care section, I can tell you first hand that the products you use on your head, by and large contain chemicals that render bacteria sterile (they used to be able to kill the bacteria by adding formaldehyde to the mixture. This was done for many years but has since been changed). The ingredients in use today do not “kill” any bacteria that may have gotten into the mix: they make it so the bacteria cannot reproduce while it is sitting on the store shelf. Otherwise, you would be putting a significant amount of bacteria onto your scalp everyday and if you had a scratch or cut on your head or neck, you would get a serious infection. Unless a company uses a plant extract or herb, a chemical like this cannot be healthy. Man made phosphates and man made chemicals derived from petrochemicals located in your soaps, toothpaste, and deodorant also absorb through our skin and can cause immediate problems and problems over time. Stop and think about where you spend most of your time. How about your kids? Chronic conditions are more problematic in women because women do most of the cleaning in the home. They are exposed to these chemicals for more time, and over time. Pregnancies can be complicated and asthma in children can be traced back to the chemicals and chemical products we use everyday. What should you do? You started out by purchasing and installing a home air purifier. That is a start. Now, you really need to either get more education on the various hazards you continue to bring into your home and expose you and your family to, or, make the decision to change to products that are much safer to use. They may be hard to find, but don’t you think that you are taking a great risk just to save a couple of dollars for a product that is on sale or that you have used all of your life, therefore it must be good? Make the change. Start today. You are working hard for everything else in your life, now you need to make your life (your body) stop having to work so hard to save you. Owning a fireplace can be a lot of work but it really does pay off when you can cozy up to it with a magnificent book on a cold winter night. When you are investing in the acquire of one or when you are looking to begin using yours, youll want to insure a multitude of things before you get started just to make sure that all goes well. Buying Time. Attaining a fireplace for your home will take a good number of considerations. First, youll need to meet the fire code for your area. Youll need to select the proper spot, have ventilation put in and hire a professional to do the installation work. This will insure the safety of your fireplace from the start. Clean Out Time. If you have a fireplace but have not used it, it is critical to have a professional to come out and check it out. Youll need to insure that the top is vented properly, that nothing is blocking the vents and that it is safe enough to use. Buying Wood. Once you attain the fireplace working, make sure to purchase only quality wood for it. The wood should be aged at least a year from being cut in order to make sure that it will not overly smoke. Often, your landscaping locations will sell it to you but make sure you shop around to get a good price. It's not all the same or the same price. If you go for store bought bundles of wood, you are likely to pay quite a bit more. Burning Properly. When you place wood into the fireplace, youll need to make sure it fits properly and that the fireplace doors will close. If you do not have doors, a screen is needed to keep sparks from hitting carpeting or other flammable objects. Keep the draft vent open. When you are using the fireplace, it needs to be open to allow for the smoke to escape. If you leave it open when not in use, though, youll feel a cold wind. Make it a habit of reviewing to insure it is open before lighting any matches. What You Burn. It is also central for you to watch what you burn. Not all offerings that can burn should be burnt because they will give off harmful toxins. Only burn wood and newspaper like items in there. Keep It Clean. Keep the fireplace clean by removing ash after each fire. And, once a year, youll need to have it professionally cleaned. An alternative is to use a fireplace cleaning log once every other year, but you still need to have it professionally completed to remove build up. Taking better care of your fireplace is essential to keeping it in good working order. And, if you do not do so, you are risking the family members within your home. Using your fireplace correctly can help to lower heating bills and provide a fulfilling atmosphere. I'm starting to age I guess in that I'm enjoying more the sounds of my youth like a simple clockwork cuckoo clock. The timeless sound of the cuckoo bring back many memories. When I was a child, both my uncle and grandparents had cookoo clocks. I remember they were dark colored cases with ornate carvings but the bird that came out was brightly colored. I was told these were from the black forest in Germany. I guess the Germans have a lock on authentic cuckoo clocks as when I got older, I went shopping for one and they were all German made clockworks. The new ones however were just like I remember. Darker carved woods on the outside with ornate carvings. My parents had both a mantle clock and a wall clock that struck the quarter half and hour times. They were wonderful. Many people have fond memories about growing up. Foods, holidays, smells, and even sounds. I remember how our home was always breathing the sounds of our clocks. Even as an adult, going for visits brought me in many respects back to childhood days when hearing the constant patterned sounds of those time trackers. It was home! Today, I have a grandfather clock, cuckoo clock, and several other clockwork type clocks all around my home. Yes, they aren't as "accurate" as quartz timepieces or as fancy as the latest technology has to offer. But there's something about their even pace, pendulums, weekly winding and yes, the announcement that time is marching on, that is somehow soothing. Almost melodic. In the night, when every is asleep, I sometimes go down to the living room and just think. The clocks are busy, as always, pacing out time and announcing yet another quarter hour has past. It's recognition of mortality, that some things don't last, while others, like the cuckoo clock seem to last lifetimes. |
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