Throughout time, light has been the subject of many positive expressions and references. Song titles like “You Are My Sunshine” and “The Sunny Side of the Street” make us happy with their cheerful lyrics. Ironically, sunlight can have a dual meaning — it can allow us to see better, but it also has the power to blind. Giving a room natural light can make it attractive and warm looking. At times though, we want that light to be a little more subdued. We also might want to block the light completely at times. Sometimes, having light pour in is more of a curse than a blessing. Vertical blinds can provide an excellent solution to this problem.

There are hundreds of types of vertical blinds, so it is a buyer’s market with a cornucopia of choices. The most obvious question is which kind of vertical blind is the best one for you? Aluminum vertical blinds are a good choice if you want something basic and attractive that doesn’t cost too much.

Aluminum vertical blinds are simple to install and use. The amount of light you wish to let in can be easily controlled with the adjustable cords. They do a very good job of blocking the sunshine and this saves you money on cooling your home. You can choose from a wide variety of colors or color palettes. You also have the option to choose specialty colors, like wood style blinds and others. Even though they appear rather basic, vertical window blinds have great potential to provide an easy and affordable solution to light control issues.

If you want to keep the natural light in during the day, you may want to look into vertical blinds made of fabric. Made from high quality woven materials, fabric verticals can be esthetically pleasing to the eye and at the same time be quite durable. Beauty is an important feature, but it is essential to mention the lighting features that these blinds can provide. When you push the vertical blinds to one side, you can let almost all of the sunlight come into the room. Then think about how the blinds can be opened across the window, ready to be turned and adjusted. You will be able to rotate your blinds up to 180 degrees. You can shut the fabric vertical blinds in either direction in order to filter the light in different ways. For full control, you can set them anywhere in between.

PVC Vertical blinds, also known as plastic vertical blinds, can also facilitate managing the amount of bright sunlight coming into a room. Blinds don’t have to be plain, ugly hunks of plastic anymore. Those days are over! PVC vertical blinds come in several different eye-pleasing styles. PVC vertical blinds are available in a wide range of colors and textures, as well as decorative designs. These blinds will allow you to block as much or as little of the light as you want. When you pick out PVC vertical blinds, choose a denser plastic design; this can give your more protection from the harmful rays from the sun. Blinds made from thicker plastic will hold their shape and color better. Strong sunlight can be damaging to your eyes, and it can be harmful to the products you use to shield you from the sun as well.

Sunlight gives us great pleasure, but sometimes we just don’t want it to pour into our homes and buildings. When this happens, vertical blinds are a good problem-solver. This choice is foolproof — they are easy to install and maintain, and they give you complete control over the amount of light you have coming into a room. It’s easy to find a high quality set of vertical blinds. So stop shielding your eyes and go buy a set right away.

Even if you have little kids, you still probably want to enjoy a beautified home. This at times can seem to be counter productive as children, especially very young kids, have a way of distracting from the natural flow of completing d?cor projects. One way to solve the problem is to get them involved rather than trying to keep them away. If you are doing something that a younger person cannot do, give them a similar project that they are old enough for. These experiences are ones kids (and you) will remember?and you are giving your children an opportunity to take pride in their endeavors. There are thousands and thousands of ideas with home decor that work with small children. Another tip: decorative items such as tall trees and hanging baskets are difficult for small hands to get to or damage.

Creating a Centerpiece

Centerpieces are a great way to decorate with silk flowers. Centerpieces are usually placed on the dining room table, coffee table, or other prominent area in your home. Hopefully your centerpiece will not only draw attention, it will incorporate elements already in place in your house. If you arrange your centerpiece carefully, you can create a piece that is well-balanced and causes your audience to take in the whole creation. For instance, a flower centerpiece that has an X. pattern or direction causes viewers to their eyes from the top left to the bottom right and vice versa. Some arrangements do this by having long strands crossing in the middle. By using a weaving pattern with flowers or perhaps even a small tabletop shrubbery, you can create an arch-like pattern. If you would like to find out more about centerpiece designs, there are many pictures available on the internet; home decoration magazines also have great ideas.

Silk Grass Arrangements

As you decorate your home, one consideration you may not yet have made is to use silk grass arrangements. This decoration tool will work especially well for you if you live on a ranch, in the West, or in a desert-like environment. Grass arrangements are typically smaller than plants and can be compared to silk flower arrangements. Silk grass goes easily around plants and trees, living or artificial. Silk grass works very well with water fountains or in windowsills. A benefit to silk grass is that they provide a fresh change from more ordinary flower arrangements. Silk grass is just one more way to add new elements and designs to your beautiful home.

Storing your Silk Wreaths

A simple but festive way to prepare your home for holidays and special occasions is to hang a wreath on your door. Since there are so many fun and pretty wreaths for so many occasions, those who try to keep their home decorated for the seasons may be frustrated with where to keep all of their wreaths! That does not need to be the case, as there are several options for storing your wreaths. In fact, one of the best ways to store your wreaths is to simply reuse them. Reusing wreaths simply means placing different flower commendations on the same wreath with the changing season. You will need to sure that the base is a good sturdy one. Simply tape or lightly glue your decorative pieces to the base. This technique allows you to cut down on storage space without throwing away or wrecking your wreaths. All of your decorative pieces can be kept in a single box, and often you can keep them organized in the pattern or design you like for them. On the other hand, if you enjoy having several different wreaths, we recommend getting either plastic containers (there are even some built specifically for wreaths) or a simple shelving system so that none of the wreaths get crushed or damaged.

Pots, Urns, and Other Containers

When decorating with flowers and other greenery, don?t underestimate the importance of the pot! Based on the styles and types of greenery you use, one pot may work well for your plant while another one does not compliment it at all. One example is the bonsai plant: look for a pot with warm, rich colors and an Eastern style. Since bamboo plants are quite trendy right now, using metallic materials and fashionable designs works well. It is better to have a good idea about the entire selection of pots available to you before making a selection?and in all reality, there are about as many pot designs as there are plants. There is no rulebook as far as pot size. A gigantic pot often steals the show?which may be exactly what you want?while smaller pots give all the limelight to the greenery.

Desert D?cor

Bringing some elements of local nature inside the house makes for great interior decorating. Home decorating can take a unique approach in desert areas. When decorating in a rural or dry area, consider some plant varieties such as grass horsetails, bear grass, or cactus. Sand or stone arrangements look great in certain areas of the home. Most of these combinations will have a light red or orange feel. Consider choosing an artificial cactus instead of a genuine one, especially if young ones are around. Though there is nothing life-threatening about a cactus, unknowing children still wouldn?t appreciate touching them!

Using Artificial Grasses as Decorations

If you are just beginning to delve into the world of interior decorating, it might be worth your while to study some of the different arrangements and styles of silk greenery that exist. If you plan to have a Western or desert-like element to your house, or to one of the rooms, you might want to consider silk grass arrangements. Grass arrangements are typically smaller than plants and can be compared to silk flower arrangements. Not only do silk grasses work well on their own, they also make great ornaments for bigger plants and trees. Window ledges and water fountains also look nice with a silk grass arrangement. A benefit to silk grass is that they provide a fresh change from more ordinary flower arrangements. Silk grass is just one more way to add new elements and designs to your beautiful home.

How to Take Care of Silk Plants

There are some important steps you should take to make sure your artificial plants last a long time. First, the silk, plastic, or other materials used in most artificial plants can fade if placed in direct sunlight. However, as long as you occasionally rotate the placement of the plants, some exposure to sunlight is nothing to worry about. Another step you will want to take is to dust your plants on a regular basis?too much dust causes flowers and plants to lose color. Since many plants and flowers are pretty delicate, make sure to keep them away from the grasp of youngsters. If you do have an accident, see the manufacturer about repairs. Most repairs can be made with a hot glue gun. For more dramatic breaks or cracks, use wire to wrap, tighten, and seal.

As you decorate your home, one consideration you may not yet have made is to use silk grass arrangements. This works especially well in homes that have warm or desert-like colors and Western styles. Much smaller than artificial trees, silk grass decorations are comparable to flower displays. They also make great accents for some of the larger greenery. Another place you may put silk grass is by indoor water fountains and along windows. You will be credited with choosing a unique and refreshing decoration for your home. The more you play with different ideas and elements, the easier it will be to find the perfect look for each room in your house.

Decorating with Greenery

When you are decorating your home, it is important to establish a pleasing ambiance You can achieve this ambiance by combining tasteful styles, textures, colors, and furniture pieces. When you are decorating with more natural tones and textures, greenery is an important element that helps unify and give life to the room. When adding greenery, make sure you know the size and positions of the areas you will utilize so that you choose pieces with complementary shapes and styles. A good rule of thumb for tree height is to get a tree that is at least one to two feet shorter than the ceiling. You will also want the branches to be able to fit naturally in the area. You may want to choose a smaller plant, such as a bonsai tree, if you plan to have your greenery sit on a table. One way to spruce up the corners of your rooms is to hang a plant from the ceiling. The benefit to silk plants is that they can be placed in areas that do not receive direct sunlight, yet they still retain a natural look.

Silk Wedding Bouquet Arrangements

Silk flowers are great for wedding bouquets. Silk flowers are meant to mimic real ones, and silk bouquets should do the same. The traditionally romantic flower is the rose, and as you look at bouquet designs, you will find that most incorporate at least some roses. Great bouquet ideas don’t have to be elaborate?many exquisite bouquets are simply multicolored roses formed into a ball shape, tied with string, and enhanced with simple leaves. The shape of the bouquet, the types of flowers used, and the decorative pieces are three main elements you can play around with if you want a more unique look for the bouquet. The bride, of course, should be presented with a bouquet that she will adore. You can show the bride her bouquet many days or weeks before the wedding day since you are not using real flowers; this gives you the opportunity to change anything if necessary and to have one less thing to worry about as the big day approaches.

Arranging the Perfect Flower Display for Every Occasion

As you create flower arrangements, it is important that you try to match the look of the area in which your creation will be placed. When setting out to create flower arrangements, first think of what the arrangement is for. For example, when you are designing an arrangement for a funeral, there are some flowers that are natural choices because of their look and meaning, such as tulips and daisies in gentle colors. Casual flower arrangements with fun inclusions, like silk grass, can be great for a housewarming gift or neighborly gesture. For a more romantic or classy arrangement, use roses. In the end, it is all about understanding your audience. If you are aware of their favorite or least favorite flowers, colors, and overall styles, incorporate the ones they like best into your design. If it doesn?t look right the first time, just try again. This is an advantage of using artificial flowers: it is easy to pull out what you do not like and add something else without risking injury to one of the flowers.

Summer is quickly approaching and you’ll want to spend some down time out in your patio or front porch. Before you go out and soak up the sights while enjoying a cool glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, where will you be sitting? On your porch steps? Or perhaps even your lawn? Before doing any of that, consider investing in some lawn and patio furniture. Two environmentally friendly and sturdy types of lawn furniture include teak furniture and Poly-Wood products.

Popular back in the 1960s, teak furniture has always been known to be solid in construction and quite weather resistant. Protected by its natural oils, teak furniture doesn’t need any added varnish or shellac, further adding to its appeal. Being that teak requires minimum maintenance, its natural beauty will add to your landscape. Another benefit about teak furniture is that it’s usually harvested in sustainable growth plantations, making it a very eco-friendly lawn furniture piece.

For an alternative to wooden lawn furniture, one should consider Poly-Wood products. A unique company, all of Poly-Wood’s lawn and patio furniture pieces are made out of recycled plastic milk jugs, and like its teak counterpart, are weather resistance. Made of nonporous “plastic lumber” and with most products available in six colors, this eco-friendly lawn furniture will make a presence in your yard for many years to come. Perfect for the poolside, patio, lawn or even the sand, all of Poly-Wood’s lawn and patio furniture pieces also require little maintenance other than a quick rub-down with soap and water.

In a perfect world, it would be summer all year round and lemonades would always be freshly squeezed. As long as you have the perfect patio furniture, you’ll believe that the world is in perfect order. And considering the fact that you’ve invested in environmentally friendly furniture, you can enjoy sipping on your glass of lemonade knowing that you just gave back to the world.

Antique stores in OldPlank road Chicago, stock a wide range of European antique furniture which will surprise any antique lover or bargain hunters. Antiques are imported by OldPlank from all over the world especially from France & England.

Earlier, shopping for French & English antique furniture was too difficult, if you live elsewhere in the world. Now, there are lots of online antique stores where you can see images of antiques & buy antiques online which they sell in their local store.

Buying antiques furniture also has its won disadvantages like images on websites and in brochures do not show up weaknesses and scratches. Images can hide all manner of defects, but the human eye can find them easily!

But sometimes images on websites are really helpful & time saver because, you can easily choose the look you want and select some more antiques. After that when you visit their local store you can just ask for that particular antique, check for any imperfections or flaws & save your time in selecting your antique from hundreds of antiques available there.

If you buy an antique online without proper check and then if a damaged antique is delivered to your doorstep you would be angry and disappointed. So it is highly advised that when you are searching online for a antiques furniture dealer, keep in mind that they have a local store within your reach so you can visit, check & then buy antique furniture.
Anyone looking for French antique furniture in the Chicago area can take advantage of antique dealers like on old plank road. They are selling antiques since 1992 and have stock of around 25,000 antiques and reproductions are constantly changing. They are so popular that Chicago Magazine named oldplank the best antique store in the area.

Tips for Harmonizing the Colors in Your Floral Arrangements

Bringing together the colors within your floral design is key to having a beautiful creation. If you stop by a flower shop and study how colors are synchronized in your favorite floral designs, you will gain some ideas of how you want your own floral arrangements to look. Also, due to today?s wonderful technology you can find a vast selection of flower arrangement pictures online. As you explore different styles, remember that there are two major categories for arrangements. The more natural style uses flowers from matching areas or times of year. The inherent beauty of a garden or flowered meadow is captured in this technique. A different style focuses on the color or the shape of the flowers used. This style is commonly found at events, like weddings, and other celebrations. A tip when arranging these flowers is to arrange within the same color but use different hues of that color.

Silk Grass Arrangements

One less well known but interesting and attractive way to decorate your house is to use arrangements with artificial grass. This decoration tool will work especially well for you if you live on a ranch, in the West, or in a desert-like environment. Grass arrangements are typically smaller than plants and can be compared to silk flower arrangements. Not only do silk grasses work well on their own, they also make great ornaments for bigger plants and trees. Another place you may put silk grass is by indoor water fountains and along windows. You will be credited with choosing a unique and refreshing decoration for your home. The more you play with different ideas and elements, the easier it will be to find the perfect look for each room in your house.

To Buy or to Rearrange? That is the Question

While I am shopping, I am often tempted to buy yet another decorative piece for my home. This mode of thought not only leaves me constantly wanting for the next available item but also leaves my wallet empty. All too often that purchase ends up leaving my home at the next yard sale. I have been surprised to discover that rearranging my furniture and decorations is often more satisfying?and flattering?than adding something new. Sometimes I do something drastic (rearrange an entire room), and sometimes the change is more subtle (swapping this picture for that painting), but it still gives me the feeling of having a nice change in the house. This way, I am expanding my artistic ability and sparing my wallet!