By Relocation.com
Congratulations on your exciting moving experience. One simple way to add life and freshness to your interiors is to decorate it with plants. Plants not only add a touch of green but also a glimpse of nature. In some cases, a beautiful indoor plant can become the room’s primary accent piece. In others they can be sit discreetly on side tables and pedestals, whatever size they are, adding vibrancy that would not otherwise be achieved by inanimate decor.
If you want to decorate your room with plants, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Do you have the time to take care of your plant?
Plants look best in a room when they look healthy and are well cared for, when the green leaves glow with life and the plant stands proudly lush. Shriveled and withered plants suggest neglect. There’s nothing like a dying plant to dampen a room’s atmosphere. When hiring moving companies, remember to ask them for the best boxes to secure your plants.
Is there natural light in the room?
Plants thrive best with natural light, so it is best to place them in a room where there is ample sunlight coming from your window. In fact, the best place to keep an indoor plant, particularly large and heavy ones, are near windows which are kept open during good weather.
If you place a plant in a room or a place in the room where there is little sunlight, you will need to air and sun your plant often, at least twice daily for some varieties. Even plants that don’t crave as much sunlight would have to be brought outside once in a while.
And what about indoor temperature and humidity?
You also need to consider room temperature and humidity. Most plants thrive in humid conditions. But some plants like cacti prefer dryness. Make sure that the plant you get will match the heat and humidity in your home. But, if you would still like to keep exotic plants that require conditions that are very different, consider buying a humidifier (or a dehumidifier) and be prepared to control indoor temperature during winter or summer.
What size of plant should you get?
It’s a cliché but true: plants come in all shapes and sizes. And when you start looking for a plant for your living room or hallway you will find that there are tens of varieties to choose from. A good rule of thumb would be, first decide where you intend to place the plant — near a window? On a small side table or a big center table? On a desk?—and that should be your guide to size.
Small plants arranged artfully like miniature gardens in a shallow dish will look good on your coffee table. A medium-sized ornamental bush with or without blooms would look perfect on a side table or a pedestal. As mentioned earlier, it’s best to keep big and heavy plants near windows.
You’ll find that decorating with plants is enjoyable, but don’t overdo it! Unless you’re aiming for that ‘tropical jungle’ look, one, two or three in a room is the perfect number.
By Relocation.com
After moving you will have a lot of home improvement projects to work on. One of the easiest is to wallpaper your home. Wallpaper is great way to spruce up a room, especially if you’re tired of boring old paint. Usually, you’ll get wallpaper in sections, which you’ll have to unroll and use to cover entire walls. However, these days, with so many choices in colors and patterns, you’re not stuck with the same flower-and-paisley prints your grandma used to have in her house. Here are some creative wallpaper ideas you can do to spruce up your home.
Selective Use:
Instead of wallpapering your entire room, try doing only some portions to accentuate certain parts and give it a dramatic look. You can choose to wallpaper panels, doors, the wall above the fireplace, or a single wall. You’re not limited to the walls either – a wallpapered ceiling in a bright print can make a room more visually interesting.
Funky Art:
You can create some unique pieces of art to decorate your room by framing wallpaper. Take a piece of wallpaper and slip it into a pre-made frame and hang it on your wall. You don’t even need a frame – hang it from your wall like a scroll for the Asian look. This is also a great way to save on decorating costs, as you can use left over wall paper from your friend’s projects or from home decorating stores. Wallpaper needn’t be limited to your walls, or even your home.
Upcycle:
You can upcycle old things or flea market finds with a bit of pretty wallpaper. Use it to cover and old lampshade, the face of an old clock or even use it to lacquer old trays and tables. If you have cheap waste baskets, wrap them in wallpaper to match your décor.
Other Surfaces:
There’s a current trend where you can find wallpaper just about anywhere in the home. Some people wallpaper ceilings and even floors! But there’s no need to go wallpaper crazy. Think of other surfaces that can use a little jazzing up, like the inside of your closet, your door, tables, or even create your own headboard covered in your favorite wallpaper pattern. Also, instead of buying liners for drawers, use wallpaper instead.
Scrapbook with Scrap:
Finally, if you have some leftover wallpaper, you don’t have to thrown them away. Keep them for scrap booking projects and use them to cover books and notebooks or make cards and notes. You can even use wallpaper as wrapping paper for gifts.
By Relocation.com
After moving, you will have to think about how you will decorate your home. This starts by choosing proper lighting conditions for your home. Choosing lighting for your living room isn’t as easy as installing a single light bulb in the middle of the room, but neither is should it be a complicated task. The living room is your home’s most visible and public area and decorating it completely also means taking lighting design into consideration.
Lighting design considers the uses of the room and how lights may be placed to get an effect that is both functional and decorative.
When illuminating the living room, the key thing to remember is the living room is an area with so many uses, and its design and lighting must fit each of its different functions. The living room is primarily for entertaining, but people also go there to sit and relax, read, or maybe watch a movie or listen to music.
Main Lights:
The focal point in lighting this room is the main lights. These are usually found in the center of the room. They are decorative and dramatic, adding flourish to what would otherwise be a bare ceiling. If your ceiling is high enough, consider getting a chandelier, whether modern or traditional in design this type of lighting adds more than a dash of elegance to your room. You can also opt for simpler main lights but remember that eye-catching main lights really do make a difference to the finished look of the room. Main lights are good to turn on during parties and other festive occasions.
Dimmed lights/mood lighting
Watching a movie in the living room calls for dimmed lighting. This can be the recessed bulbs in the corners of the room, operated with a dimmer to keep glare out of the TV screen.
Lamps:
On the other hand, reading a book requires additional light and this is where lamps, and reading lamps, come in.
Lamps can be placed in corner tables, or right beside the reading couch, and provide focus spot lighting. Alternatively, stand lighting, similar to floor lamps but with bulbs facing upwards. Lamps can also provide area lighting around the living room. You can create a softly dramatic look in your living room by turning off all the ceiling lights, including main lights, and keeping the lamps on.
Spot Lights:
If your living room has paintings or shelves, etc, consider small spotlights that draw attention towards these. These lighting fixtures add accent to the room’s special highlights. You can also use spotlights, properly dimmed also as mood lighting.
Area Lamps:
You would also need area lamps to light up particular sections of the room. This is both energy saving and practical. Mood lighting is dim and soft, and if done right, transforms your living room into a cozy cocoon.
Coming up with the perfect lighting system for your living room means creating a combination of any one of the above. But first you have to consider what uses your living room is more frequented for and decide from there. Of course having all these elements together is ideal and creates the most dramatic lighting effect.
By Relocation.com
After moving, there are many fun ways you can spruce up your home. If you love to entertain and you love to drink, then you should think of investing in a great home improvement project like purchasing your own home bar. True, you can mix drinks in your kitchen or your dining table, but if you’re planning to serve more than vodka mixed with juice or soda, a bar will allow you to store and mix your own liquors, and keep you organized. It’s also a good centerpiece for any occasion, and it’s simple to organize and create your own bar nook.
First off, you’ll need the actual bar. If you want to save money, you can build your own, but you should also have some sort of building and crafting skills to make even a simple bar table. There is plenty of pre-built bars in stores and online, so you should do your research. It should be the right size to fit your designated bar nook, and should be able to fit all your bottles and accessories. Some bars have additional parts, like an overhead bottle holder or shelf, so you can display your bottles and have easy access to them as well.
Next, you’ll have to fill up your bar. If you have the cash to burn, then you can fill it up in one go. Of course, if you don’t have a lot of money, then you can slowly build it up over time. What sorts of things should you get? It’s hard to decide what to buy first, but a good way to choose is by buying things for your favorite drink or drinks and build it up from there. So if you like a good martini, then a bottle of gin, vermouth, and some olives should be your first buys. It’s also good to stock up on some basics, like vodka, rum, gin, tequila and soda water, but unless you’re having a party soon, you can always add these bottle by bottle. Later on, you can add some more mixers and liquers like Baileys, Khalua, Cointreau, Brandy, Pimm’s, Vermouth, Campari, Grenadine Syrup, etc.
Of course, a good bar will also have the right accessories. You can get full bartender gear in sets, but you can also build it up as you go along. Shakers and jiggers are essential for mixing, especially if you like your drinks “shaken, not stirred.” A strainer will help you get the drink into the glass without the ice you used to shake it in. If you do like your drinks mixed, then you’ll need a long bar spoon for maximum efficiency. There are other bar tools you may need as well, such as muddlers, zesters and ice crushers. Also, good glassware is important, as you don’t want to just serve your drinks in plastic cups. Shot glasses, short old-fashioned glasses and tall highball glasses are good to have around. Martini glasses or cocktail glasses are also some essentials you can’t live without.
Once you’re done with your preparations, you can now mix your own drinks, and invite a few over’s for a fun evening!
By Relocation.com
After you have settled in with moving you may be thinking about some ideas how how to decorate your room. A fun way to do so is with mirrors. A well-positioned mirror in a rooms can brighten it up, as well a giving it an illusion of space – perfect for diminutive spaces! So, if want to use mirrors for your home, check out these unique and creative mirror decorating ideas.
Create your own Design.
You can purchase mirrors cut out in different designs, but why not make your own? A sunburst mirror design will be perfect for any room, and you don’t have to break the bank (or a couple of mirrors) to do this. Take a large circular mirror, and several rectangular ones. Place your round mirror in the center, and then position the rectangular mirrors around it, making it the “rays” of your sun. You can also make other designs from pre-cut mirrors, just use your imagination!
Bathroom Decor.
Your bathroom should have at least a small mirror, usually over the sink. But, you’re not limited to that. If you have a small shower stall, you can install a full-length mirror inside to help create an illusion of space. You can also put a mirror on the walls or on the door, so you can give the bathroom a more open feel.
Light up Your Living Room.
If you have a small, cramped living room, placing mirrors inside will help you create that illusion of space. However, a more creative use would be help you light up the room. You’ll have to position the mirrors in such a way so that it catches and reflects light. One way is to take several full-length dressing mirrors and hang them horizontally in panels across your living room. This position catches the light and reflects them in interesting ways. Another would be to cover on side of the room with mirrors, and then place a couch in front of it. This creates a seating area and focal point for your living room.
The Bedroom.
A mirrored headboard is an interesting focal point for your bedroom. You can find several types in the stores or you can simply make your own. Of course, don’t just get a full-length mirror and turn it sideways. Do something unexpected, like taking small mirrors and positioning them to make a headboard. Or, you can take up the entire wall as the headboard and place mirrors all over. If you want something simple, a decorative round mirror placed above your bed can make an elegant statement.
Showcase your pumpkin carving and decorating skills this Halloween.
By Faith Teel
Special to Relocation.com
Halloween isn’t just a time for people to dress up… houses like costumes, too! This year, why not try a few spooky decorating ideas that will scare your friends and flex your crafty muscles, without putting too many holes in your pocketbook.
Pumpkin Alternatives
Carved pumpkins are the classic Halloween decoration, but who has the time and really, who wants to clean up that mess? Luckily, there are lots of easy alternatives that won’t require you to threaten an innocent pumpkin with a huge, serial-killer-style knife.
Painted Pumpkins – All you need is a little bit of black paint to make silly or spooky faces… or get a can of glittery spray paint and paint the whole pumpkin to make the ultimate statement in Halloween glam. This is great for small kids, too, who can use as much paint or as little as possible and go wild with their Halloween pumpkin.
Squash – Next time you’re in the supermarket, look for a few pumpkin alternatives. Painted butternut squashes make fantastic ghosts and goblins… and if you keep them in a cool, dry place, they could last until it’s time to make squash casserole for Thanksgiving.
Lumpkins – Many supermarkets offer pumpkins and squashes that are so strange that they don’t need carving. Look for “peanut pumpkins,” which are covered in funny “warts” resembling peanut hulls.
Balloons – Your local card store, gift shop or florist probably sells helium balloons. Skip the pricey, shiny Mylar balloons and opt for inexpensive orange, white or green rubber balloons instead. Take them home and draw faces on them: jack-o-lantern faces for the orange ones, mummies or ghosts for the white ones and witches for the green ones.
Scarecrows – Creating a crafty scarecrow is a great way to showcase your decor skills, while also enhancing your front lawn.
Subtle Scares
One of the best kinds of Halloween decorations are the subtle ones that take a minute to notice, but really creep your friends out when they finally see them.
Things Under Glass – Save your old spaghetti jars, wash them out and remove the labels. Now fill them with mysterious-looking things and add a stick-on label with a scary name on it. For example, you could put an old rubber mask in a large jar and label it “Granny’s Pickled Heads.” Or try spiny chestnuts labeled “Poison Urchins” or dried leaves labeled “Deadly Nightshade.”
Are You Going to Eat That? – Try the same trick with jars still full of food. Tomato pesto, black olives and pickled garlic take on new meanings when labeled “Frog Hearts,” “Eye of Newt” and “Werewolf Teeth.”
Apple Crones – Peel a few apples and carve them to look like an old woman, with slits for eyes, a big nose, and a straight line for a mouth. Let the apples wither for a few days, and soon you’ll have a row of little witch faces.
Weird Family Photos – Scour the internet for old film stills of Dracula, the Mummy or Frankenstein. (Try to get high-resolution pictures.) Print them out in black and white and slip them in with other family photos. You can even make a game out of this where the first person to notice will receive a Halloween treat.
Mysterious Bloodstains – Fake blood aren’t just for costumes anymore. Squirt it on old pillowcase and then pull the pillowcase over a throw pillow. Put it on your couch for a scary touch. Just be sure to use fabric that you don’t mind putting a few stains onto!
Graveyard Trees – Now that your container garden is dying back, why not pull out a few dead annual plants and replace them with bare branches stuck into the soil like trees? You can use them as-is or drape them with cobwebs and plastic spiders.
Big Statements
Subtle can be fun, but if you’re hosting a party, you’ll want to make big changes that affect the whole atmosphere of your home. Here are a few ways to make the whole room look delightfully spooky.
Orange or Red Christmas Lights – Now is a good time to raid your bucket of Christmas lights. Orange, red or white lights all make great lighting for haunted Halloween homes.
Paint It Black – Need to make a major statement? Raid your attic, closet, garage or local yard sale for anything that you can spray paint black. Old chandeliers are great for this, and so are candlesticks and artificial flowers.
Black Bed Sheets – Are you planning to buy more bed linens soon? Why not get black or red bed sheets? They can double as quick covers for chairs and small sofas whose floral prints or bright colors might otherwise distract from your scary décor.
Cheesecloth, Cheesecloth, Cheesecloth – Cheesecloth is another inexpensive alternative for covering large furniture. It has a white, ghostlike color and an open weave that makes it look like a shroud. It’s also good for covering a Halloween table, wrapping over a mop head for an improvised ghost, or bandaging over an old hat form to make a mummy head.
Silhouettes – Black paper is your friend! Your local craft store may offer it in sheets or even big rolls. Use it to make silhouettes of mice, bats and cats, or cut larger shapes such as witches, werewolves, vampires or ghouls. Don’t limit yourself to the wall; try putting them in your baseboards, climbing up your steps or peering out of the windows.
In the Bathroom – Why not write something scary on the mirror in red lipstick, or use your spooky silhouettes or fake blood to make a great effect behind a translucent shower curtain?
Invitations – For inexpensive (yet scary) invitations, pick up some parchment paper from the same craft store and use a scary font to make your invite. (Or try a handwriting font and make your invitations look like a letter from Dracula!) Seal them up with the stick-on red wax seals used for wedding invitations.
Food Centerpieces – Halloween food is another subject entirely, but we couldn’t resist mentioning a few of our favorites. For a great centerpiece on the food table, try a mysterious green punch labeled “Love Potion.” If you’ve got a little time on your hands, adapt the classic gingerbread house with black frosting, licorice, candy corn, pumpkin candies and gummy worms to make a “haunted house.”
There’s no holiday like Halloween to bring out your inner decorator. Give a few of these tips a try… you’re sure to have a screaming good time!
