Design Your Own Window Treatments

An easy way to improve the look of your room is to update your window treatments. If you have basic sewing skills, you can make your own very easily. The key to designing a good window treatment is to keep the balance and use colors that already exist in your room to tie in all the elements already there.

Use the size of your room as a guide, light fabrics will expand a room and dark fabrics will bring a room in closer. If you're looking for a way to lighten your room or make it seem more cozy, choose the fabrics accordingly.

If you choose to make your own curtains, they don't have to be extravagant affairs. Just cut pieces from the fabric that are large enough to cover the windows. Always cut the fabric a bit larger to account for seam allowances. A half inch to one inch on each side is sufficient for most general window treatments.

Sew along the top edges and both sides. Using ribbons, make loops across the top and they can be hung simply by running a cool curtain rod through the loops. Best of all don't worry if you sewing skills aren't the best. You don't to be a professional seamstress to make your own curtains. If your seams are a little crooked across the top or you didn't space your ribbons correctly; it can all be hidden through the use of a cornice board. A cornice board is just a large - usually square - item that is made from wood, metal or sometimes fabric covered to match your curtains. The cornice board will go over the curtain rod area of your windows and will give a clean look to the most rudimentary sewing job.

You can save a lot of money and get exactly the look you want for your room by taking a little time and designing your own window treatments.
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals   

Choosing a Picture Frame

Along with your window treatments, upholstery, colors and general feel of your room you might have a French Country or a full blown Shabby Chic look going on in your room, however after the decorating is done, you need to add personal touches that make the room your own.

A collection of your own photos whether they are family members, favorite pets, favorite vacation spots captured on film or any other treasured photos can be displayed in small groups or on their own using stylized picture frames.

Choose your frames to match your decor. You can choose to highlight one color or go for basic black if you aren't sure. It will make your displayed photos or small artworks real eye catchers! If your decor is modern use clean lines, if you have a more traditional style of decor you can get away with frames with gold or silver leaf on them. If you went rustic - go for rustic type frames as well such as tin, distressed wood or any "rough" or raw style of frame.

For added charm, display your photos in small groups. A geometric arrangement such as a square of paintings or photos displayed three per row in three rows will look sharp and help balance your room. You can also display in a circle or a diamond shape, all will look great on your walls.

Photos and artworks are not the only thing you can put in a frame; don't forget memorabilia from special events. You can tastefully display tickets, photos, or even autographed playbills in a way that will add elements of "you" to the room making it truly your own.
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals   

Which Type of Dresser is Right For Your Bedroom?

Next to the bed, the dresser is the most important piece of furniture in your bedroom. Some people like dressers with drawers for ease of organization and other people like a dresser with a large surface for displaying collectable items and treasured photographs.

Most dressers either come with a mirror attached or a wide enough space to hang a mirror. If you don't have much space, a tall skinny dresser with numerous drawers will save space and allow you to store all your items in one spot without giving up a lot of space. If you have more space in your bedroom, you can opt for a larger sized dresser with room to display your precious items and plenty of room within to hold all your clothing and other items.

A Victorian style dresser will encompass many of the features found in both large and small dressers. It has ample storage space, plus a mirror with shelving on either side of the mirror. The shelves are wonderful to display items and the dresser has a good number of drawers and is ideal for siblings or a husband and wife to share.

Some women have a large dresser they share with their spouse and then one tall slender dresser that is just for lingerie, jewelry and other personal items. In a baby nursery, a small, short dresser can serve as a changing table when you just place a pad on top to cushion the area for the baby to lay on. Keep diapers, the pad, and other baby accessories in the top drawer. Put your baby clothes and blankets in other drawers and you'll save space from having a dresser and a changing table in the nursery.

Dressers never go out of style and are a truly functional piece of furniture that many people use for years upon years.
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals   

Outdoor Entertaining

No matter if you have a deck patio, porch, sunroom or garden area - if you do any entertaining outside you need outdoor furniture.

Outdoor furniture comes in many varieties and price ranges to suit any budget. It's just a matter of finding the pieces you need to make your set as functional as possible for your own individual needs.

Most outdoor furniture is made from wrought iron or wood, depending on your personal choice you can get the type that most appeals to your individual style. If you entertain outdoors on a regular basis, you'll want plenty of comfortable seating. A curved piece of furniture is great for making a cozy conversation nook where you can gather any time of year for a little impromptu get-together.

Outdoor fabrics such as duck cloth make great pillows for your outdoor furniture, add cushions and back rests for a very comfortable place to sit for your guests. You can make other fun additions to your patio. For cool nights or cold day get-togethers you can add a chimnea for a charming way to have a warm spot. The low fire burning inside will add an air of coziness and the soft glow from a chimnea at night can be very romantic. Add urns with plants and even a column with a garden sculpture to complete the look of your outdoor entertaining area.

Mix and match pieces, a blend of wood and metal furniture can make an interesting setting for entertaining. Remember, although your outdoor furniture is durable, covering it when you're not using it will give it an even longer life providing a place for you and your family and friends to gather and enjoy each other's company.
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals   

Go Nautical!

If you're looking to change the decor of your room around and Shabby Chic just isn't you and French Country is way to plain and simple for you, look towards the ocean blue and go nautical in your design.

Consider some of the elements on a boat and use them in your room. Portholes are s great starting point for your interior decor that will immediately create a nautical feel to your room. You can make your own porthole mirror by putting a round mirror on a round board. Cut another piece of wood in a donut shape to fit over the mirror so it shines through the middle. You can hand paint or use buttons to resemble rivets.

Another way to make your interior decor have a nautical feel is to obtain portholes that have been salvaged from old decommissioned and junked ships. They are usually very affordable and need very little besides a good cleaning. You can route out a wooden door and add a porthole to it to further bring your look along.

Use round frames for your artworks and if you're even slightly artistic you can paint your frames to resemble portholes. You can also add other nautical accents such as life preservers, anchors, small lighthouse replicas, fish and sea life images and sculptures, diving helmets, ship compasses and even bird houses to complete the nautical theme.

Stick with blues and off-whites as main colors and use complimentary colors around that spectrum and you'll have a fun nautical look for your room!
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals