Living Room Interior Design Ideas Inspired by the Sea: Oceanic Hues
With a mix of oceanic blues and sea greens living rooms with a coastal theme don't have to be based on blue and white stripes, sea shells or the beach! These beautiful colour combinations can be used to create a living room which is vibrant, and yet not glaring or gaudy, making a welcome change for those who love the ...
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Cool Contemporary
It goes without saying that contemporary dining rooms need window dressings which are in keeping with style and décor of the room. Sleek, clean lines are the norm with a choice of blinds, curtains or going naked! Undressed windows are fine it you live at the back of beyond and don't have to worry about privacy. Invisible window dressings are available ...
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Cottage Charm
Quintessential cottage charm is, for many, a dream of living in the country and getting away from the hustle and bustle of hectic city life. The trend for 'bolt-holes' and country retreats isn't a new phenomena – think back to country estates, hunting and shooting parties, salmon or trout fishing and country pursuits. These were the get-a-ways for the wealthy ...
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Go Global
Having a global theme to your home is something which has been used for decades to create or replicate interiors from around the world. In the Victorian era dining rooms were used to show off hunting trophies, usually mounted on the walls, or collections of exotic butterflies house under glass domes, in fact taxidermists was kept busy throughout the Victorian ...
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: A Touch of Formality
With a classical style which suits both traditional and modern interiors dining rooms are becoming one of the most prominent rooms on this year's interior design agendas. Like any room you need to keep the style and design of your table and chairs in proportion to the size of your dining room. This doesn't mean that you can only have ...
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Relaxed and Casual
In this mini-series we're going to take a look at some gorgeous dining room interior design ideas to get your style taste buds tingling and inspire you to re-vamp your dining room or eating area this Spring. With the trend and advice from all sorts of nutritionists and relationship gurus telling us that we should return to eating as a ...
Living Room Interior Design Ideas Inspired by the Sea: Oceanic Hues
With a mix of oceanic blues and sea greens living rooms with a coastal theme don’t have to be based on blue and white stripes, sea shells or the beach! These beautiful colour combinations can be used to create a living room which is vibrant, and yet not glaring or gaudy, making a welcome change for those who love the ocean for its natural beauty rather than human ideologies. The key to the success of these colours is to get the balance right. Use plenty of white to make a marked distinction between the blues and greens which marries them together rather than making each try and vie for attention. Of course white can also be seen to represent the white foam and spray from waves making the trio of colours compliment each other. So that the room doesn’t become bland and uninspiring make use of patterns on walls, cushions, throws and curtains. Tactile textures and material will also help to give the room depth and character. It’s also a good idea to make as much use of natural... [Read more...]
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Cool Contemporary
It goes without saying that contemporary dining rooms need window dressings which are in keeping with style and décor of the room. Sleek, clean lines are the norm with a choice of blinds, curtains or going naked! Undressed windows are fine it you live at the back of beyond and don’t have to worry about privacy. Invisible window dressings are available in two basic ways – blinds which are completely hidden behind or inside header rails during the day or sheer lightweight voiles with concealed tracking give the impression that the window isn’t dressed. While the thought of undressed windows may seen an unlikely prospect for the vast majority of us, we can still choose stylish ways in which to dress our dining room windows. Full length eyelet curtains which form natural wave effect pleats are ideal for contemporary dining rooms, adding elegance and refinement to even the largest of windows, as well as being perfect choices for walls made entirely from glass. You make like to... [Read more...]
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Cottage Charm
Quintessential cottage charm is, for many, a dream of living in the country and getting away from the hustle and bustle of hectic city life. The trend for ‘bolt-holes’ and country retreats isn’t a new phenomena – think back to country estates, hunting and shooting parties, salmon or trout fishing and country pursuits. These were the get-a-ways for the wealthy aristocrats. Today people may not have country estates but may have cottages down leafy lanes and some even go as far as to go without televisions or mobiles, essentially cutting themselves off from their usual lifestyle. Or maybe you’re one of hundreds who have a country cottage as a holiday rental or if you’re luck (in my opinion) you actually live in a rustic cottage all the time. Irrespective of how, why or when you use a country cottage from an interior designer’s point of view you have to sympathetic to its roots to get the correct style and ambience. As the dining room will probably be... [Read more...]
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Go Global
Having a global theme to your home is something which has been used for decades to create or replicate interiors from around the world. In the Victorian era dining rooms were used to show off hunting trophies, usually mounted on the walls, or collections of exotic butterflies house under glass domes, in fact taxidermists was kept busy throughout the Victorian era as people loved to show off the fact that they’d been on safari and travelled the world. Today we see global influences in a different light all together, and while animal print rugs are in-vogue, this interior design theme is more concerned about retracing our roots and using the colour palettes, patterns and materials linked to a specific country than having animal’s heads mounted on our walls. Global means what it says and allows you to be inspired by any country in the world, however, when a global interior design style is talked about it typically has associations with Africa. Using the natural colours of the... [Read more...]
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: A Touch of Formality
With a classical style which suits both traditional and modern interiors dining rooms are becoming one of the most prominent rooms on this year’s interior design agendas. Like any room you need to keep the style and design of your table and chairs in proportion to the size of your dining room. This doesn’t mean that you can only have a square table to fit into a square room! Circular tables are perfect in small and medium sized dining rooms and like King Arthur round tables mean that no particular person sits at the head of the table – this in itself suits modern lifestyles and protocols perfectly. If you like a touch of formality rather than too relaxed and informal there are ways to get the look which don’t take up too much time or cost a small fortune. The biggest saving you can make is the cost of a dining room table and chairs – it may be nice to have real wood or the latest contemporary design but these usually have a high price tag attached. Wooden tables don’t... [Read more...]
Dressing-Up Dining Rooms: Relaxed and Casual
In this mini-series we’re going to take a look at some gorgeous dining room interior design ideas to get your style taste buds tingling and inspire you to re-vamp your dining room or eating area this Spring. With the trend and advice from all sorts of nutritionists and relationship gurus telling us that we should return to eating as a family, and sit up to the table to help digestion and engage in conversation, it’s never been a better time to let your dining or eating area have some tender, loving care (TLC). We start with a relaxed and casual style which will suit both traditional and modern houses to a T. This style allows you to add your own personal touches as well as enabling you to use salvaged tables and chairs if you wish, and still achieve a beautiful dining area which is inviting and homely. We mustn’t forget that although the table and chairs are the focal point in the room the remaining décor and accessories have to coordinate. Light colours are ideal for... [Read more...]
