The African Decor Influence: How African Decor Inspires Other Style Trends
African decor continues to fuel patterns, styles and designs of interior fashion throughout the world. Year after year the continent of African continues as one of the world’s largest resources of new home decor ideas.
The exotic design motifs has the benefit of complimenting almost any room atmosphere or environment. Multitudes of designers use it to create rooms of spice, excitement and pizzazz to a relaxing room filled with tranquility, peace and calm. The only limit to your mood? Your imagination.
You can confidently use it as the dominant theme for a room ,or as a bold accent piece to add excitement to a dull space. African home decor celebrates its appeal by adapting to large mansion-like rooms to a cramped single apartment. Whatever your bank account, there’s a unique accent piece just right for you.
For instance, In days gone by African art sat idly in stuffy museums throughout the world. Now more people find they can give a cultural lift to their home, office, or apartment – without adding a sense or feel of stuffiness.
The visual impact of Africa themed decor continues slowly impacting more home interiors each day. As a result, African home accessories continue growing toward more mainstream home designers and interior decorators. Many use the colors, textures, patterns and designs to create their own styles and moods.
You’ll often find the African inspired styles reflected in more contemporary design choices. More elements continue to expand and cross into other interior styles, cultures, and themes as a result. Whether it’s the fabrics, the materials, or the hand-made craftsmanship, African interior design tastefully mixes creativity with centuries of culture and history.
The quiet spiritual connection to the continent remains a popular theme of people who favor African decor more and more. “The style quietly grows on you “, said one converted shopper and collector. That’s the feeling of a growing number of people across the globe.
Most of the craftsmen and women who fashion African decor view their skills and talents one-way. They see it not just as a commercial endeavor or idle hobby of leisure, but as a spiritual endeavor and life’s mission or purpose. Because of this commitment they patiently work to fashion the wooden sculpture, the figurine, weave the colorful basket or any other piece to reflect their pride and mastery to the world.
The rich culture of Africa home accents comes from proud generations of people. These working people take the spirit of nature contained in the wood, clay, stone, metal and other natural materials. Next they give back by chiseling, crafting , and polishing beauty from the piece of wood, clay, stone, metal or other natural material they’ve taken.
It’s predicted more will grow to appreciate and use the exotic interior themes and elements to enhance a space or room in their home. More interior designers will continue to receive inspiration and adapt many of the patterns, designs and textures to the growing consumer demand of African decor.
Moroccan decorating ideas
When decorating your home Moroccan style, make sure to use bright natural colors. The colors like green and blue, found in the sea of the area, and the ones like gold and yellow, found in the surrounding desert, should be used as much as possible. You can combine other colors like vibrant red, orange or purple with blue or gold to create an effervescent ambience. Feel free to use of vibrant colors such as pink fuchsia, lavender, and orange while keeping the aesthetics in mind.
Bring Nature Home
For creating the tropical atmosphere seen in Morocco, you can make extensive use of plants. The more exotic the plants, the better look they will bring to your house. At the same time, they will also provide you with some greenery in the concrete-jungle’ world of today. If it is feasible, you can also get textured walls.
Moroccan Lighting
Lighting plays a very important role in adding that perfect Moroccan flavor look to your home decor. Moroccan light fixtures are totally different from those used in the other parts of the world. Moroccan light fixtures include Moroccan sconces, Moroccan chandeliers, Moroccan lanterns, Moroccan hanging pendants, and Moroccan lamps.
Extensive Use of Textures
Moroccans love extensive use of textures in their home. So, if you want to have a Moroccan style look, rule out too much use of smooth and sleek materials. In fact, the fusion of multiple textures and shapes will be best. You can have darkened wood plank floors, which can be covered with natural fiber rugs of sand-ish color. This will not only add texture to the room, but also provide you with some comfort under the feet. You can also try draping fabric from the ceiling.
Some Other Tips
Colorful mosaic tables not only give a Moroccan feel to your place, but also help to brighten up a dull room.
Use of handmade Moroccan tiles will go a long way in creating a Moroccan decor.
Use of Moroccan tent as a Moroccan lounge getaway in your own backyard.
Use of Moroccan wood lattice screens also known as Jali Screens in your windows doors, kitchen and bath cabinet doors, or even as a room divider wall
Last but not the least, you can buy silk bed covers or cushion covers, in jewel tones, to create that perfect Moroccan style look.
How to Properly Decorate a Small Bathroom
Few households have a spacious bathroom. In a house, the most common area that is usually put in the least of one’s worries is the bathroom. As long as the area is clean, people won’t really make an effort to do something about it.
However, you have the choice of turning your small bathroom into a pleasing and peaceful place of solitude. It is that one place in the house where you cannot be disturbed and where your business is specifically your business. It is only natural to turn that space into something you can spend a lot of time in.
First and foremost it should be comfortable. If the bathroom is small, decorating it usually is in the bottom part of your priorities. This is the normal way of thinking. What you should remember is that decorating is not about putting a bunch of stuff together. Decorating can also mean taking things out to make something more beautiful.
In the case of a small bathroom, you have to take out unnecessary things and learn what you should keep and what you should not. Compartments are your friends, as well as colors. Get rid of things that are taking way too much space. Let things hang and do not keep things on the floor.
Choose a light paint color for the walls. Dark colors make rooms look smaller than it actually is while light colors create a refreshing and wide appeal. Pick pastel colors for the bathroom walls and something neutral for the tiles.
Mirrors can create an illusion of space so be sure to put up a big mirror in the bathroom. It will reflect the colors and trick the eye into seeing the room bigger than it actually is.
Never underestimate lighting. Natural light works best on small spaces so make sure there’s plenty of it in your bathroom. Consider adding a good window or a skylight. For wall lights, wall sconces add warmth and security appeal to the bathroom.
On a final note, you can likewise utilize accessories in the bathroom by mixing in bright colors to match the neutral tones of the bathroom. Playing with colors add character and depth to the room. Caution should be practiced though since cluttering the bathroom with accessories will only make the bathroom look messy.
The trick to creating the illusion of a spacious bathroom is through the use of neutral colors and natural light. Getting rid of the clutter and adding just the right amount of accessories will make your bathroom spacious yet interesting.
Indoor and Outdoor home decorating ideas for relaxation
When people picture a relaxing garden environment, personal space or home, they usually think of adding some sort of water feature or following feng shui rules. However, if these are not possible for you, you may think of some real cool ideas or be more creative when it comes to decorating indoor and outdoor space of your home for ultimate relaxation.
Here are some ideas to decorate your home for relaxation:
• Bean bags
These are great seating arrangement. These may not be a traditional idea but offer great comfort. These are affordable and also add up some fun. A bean bag is sized to fit one or two people as per the customer’s requirements. Bean bags work towards adding some casual style to your room. These are available either in foam or filler form. This promises enhanced relaxation.
• Hammocks
Hammocks are durable and can be easily used both indoors and outdoors. You won’t believe but it is true that hammocks are better than bed to sleep in. The reason is that they are capable of distributing the person’s weight evenly and reducing pressure points on the body. A hammock will be a great idea to enjoy aroma therapy. It is a total relaxation solution.
• Scented candles and incense
When it is about decoration and relaxation, how can we ignore beautiful scented candles and incense? These are available in a wide variety. You can also make use of elegant oil diffuser. These work really well to decorate the environment and soothe one’s senses.
• Plaques
You can also go for decorative plaques as an integral part of your garden décor. Plaques can easily identify a specific space as yours. This also provides a welcoming touch to your space.
• Gazing globes
These are amazing decorative pieces. Grazing bales would add a touch of magic to your environment.
• Bird bath
This looks great. This adds a unique touch to your garden. You would love when birds fly into have water, when they are thirsty. Bird baths are available in various sizes, shapes and designs.
• Relaxation music
In case, you want some music, go for a CD of relaxation music. You can easily meditate, go to sleep with a CD relaxation music. It will produce a soothing effect to your mind.
It is very easy to create a relaxing and soothing environment outdoors as well as indoors via following the tips mentioned in this article above. You may add your own niche touch of creativity in conjunction with following the tips mentioned above.
Happy decorating your home interiors and exteriors for relaxation!
Fantastic budget home decorating tips
Who doesn’t like beautifully decorated home with stylish paintings, ecstatic centre pieces, amazing lighting, elegant flowers and glamorous drapery. Well, all of us do. However, what makes most of us shirk away from our duties toward making the living space beautiful is lack of money. Most people are not aware of the art of decorating home in a stipulated budget that suits their pocket.
Fortunately there are some fantastic ways for decorating home without having to make a deep hole in your pocket.
Here is how you can make the most out of your home decorating budget.
Tip 1: Create a plan
Planning is very essential for any task to be accomplish as desired and successfully. If you don’t have a plan. You would end up wasting your hard earned money that you didn’t actually require or doesn’t fit into your house well. Prior to planning, just imagine your new room, the colors you want to paint it with, the accessories you want to use, the size of furniture that would be accurate and the kind of money you can easily spend on the whole set up. You may change your plan anytime you think that you are not comfortable with the whole thing.
Tip 2: Invest wisely
Here, it is not about investing money. This is about certain things inside your home that represent an investment. This indicates that spending more sometimes will certainly save you some money in the long run. Don’t purchase a carpet that you don’t approve of or is not of good quality just because it’s available at half the price. An expansive one will look beautiful and would last for more than about ten years.
Tip 3: Do it yourself
Some people are not good when it comes to accomplishing certain heavy tasks. However, these days, it’s getting very easy to get into certain remodeling projects at home. There are many useful resources that you can find on the World Wide Web and also in certain stores near your house. It would be a great idea to start with something small and you would be surprised to know what you can actually do.
Tip 4: Keep tabs on sales
Sometimes, you would find great products on sale at very reasonable prices. You must keep an eye on various sales that you come across. Make sure that you visit these sales regularly even if you don’t want to purchase anything. Even if you do, invest your money wisely.
Tip 5: Comparison shopping
If you want to shop for the best products for home decoration, visit more than one shop. Compare the products and prices. This will let you purchase the best at the most affordable prices.
Ideas for kitchen decorating to blow your mind
Kitchen is supposed to be the most used room in the house. There are several kitchen decorating ideas that you can come across, these days. These ideas were not present a few years ago.
When it comes to decorating the kitchen, it can be very difficult to decide on the kind of look that would be better for your kitchen that would prove to be the best. There are different options such as retro and the latest cookery space available on the market, these days.
The modern kitchen style decoration allows you to hide all your appliances behind different cabinets. The clean lines and smoothed out edges look great. You can also hide all your appliances into the walls or place them into countertops.
You can find latest appliances for your kitchen that can easily blend into the décor of your kitchen. It is possible to coat huge kitchen appliances such as ovens and refrigerators with facing similar to cabinets.
Here are some useful tips to decorate your kitchen in country style.
Colors
You must focus on using fresh, clean and warm colors to decorate your kitchen in country style. The ideal colors would be shades of whites, pinks, greens and yellows.
Accents
Try adding some accents to your kitchen such as flowers, vegetables, fruit and plants to give your kitchen the feel that you want to achieve.
Furniture
Try using lighter woods or wicker furniture to make your kitchen look beautiful. You need to upholster the kitchen in either floral or gingham patterns. You can save a lot of money via creating slip covers for your old furniture instead of purchasing new furniture.
Flooring
The flooring of your country style kitchen should be created from natural materials such as tile, wood or flagstones. Incase, these do not suit your budget, try using wall to wall carpeting or lamination. The color of the flooring should be given good importance. The lighter the shade, the betters. You can even use braded or hooked rugs. This will give an authentic look to your kitchen.
Accessories
Accessories would be the final thing to consider when decorating your kitchen design. Try looking for accessories that will work best and suit well. You may try putting your family pictures in wooden frames. A painted rustic scene would be a great idea.
Remember that you need to have an open mind when decorating the kitchen. This way, you would be able to follow some of the great ideas available for decorating kitchen in country style.
Home decorating tips to modernize your bedroom
Your bedroom is a personal space. It is a space where you would like to relax, indulge in private talk with your partner and soothe yourself after a hard day’s work. This space must have a cool color scheme, look bigger and relaxing. It should be free of any dirt or clutter and also the most comfortably decorated room of your house.
Here are some great tips to give your bedroom, a modern look. Follow these tips and give a new life you, your personal space.
Color theme
In the past, people use to consider pink, white, tones of yellow and shades of browns as the ideal color choices. However, the modern décor rules are different. You can spice up your bedroom with shades of black, red, orange, and even bright green. Try using dark and rich chocolate color for a dramatic effect.
Pattern
The rugs and patterns used these days in the bedroom décor are quite different from what they were used to be in the past. These days, you will not find fancy patterns. The emphasis is totally on geometric patterns.
Furniture
These days, the furniture are available with simple and clean lines. You need to use darker shades of wood for better effect. Don’t go for rounded lines. This will spoil the whole effect. Don’t go for anything fancy. All you require to do is to stick to straight lines and simple details. You may try to go for brushed metal. It looks great and provide simple hardware look.
Accessories
When it comes to decorating bedroom with a touch of modernization, the idea is to keep it less. Keep the accessories to a minimum. Go for long lined glass vases and single flowers. Don’t use ornate, intricate or frilly materials in your bedroom. You may add modern painting to your modern bedroom to complete the look. Also keep your room free of clutter.
Photos
Purchase some unique photo frames and stick yours, your family’s or your loved ones photo into the frame. The frame should not have any antique design or jewels. Keep it simple and clean. You may also stick your’s and your loved one’s photo as a couple for a romantic effect.
All the tips mentioned above will allow you to provide a modernized look to your bedroom.
Giving a modernized look to your bedroom is not difficult. All you require to do is to keep it simple and clean. Try using your niche creativity for enhanced effect. This will also provide you a creative satisfaction.
Happy home decorating!
Decorating your Home with African Art
Being the second largest continent in the world, Africa is as beautiful as it is diverse and is constantly changing. Believed to be a name originated from the latin word ‘aprica’, which means sunny, Africa is home to a large number of ancient tribes. Due to this, the tradition, culture, art forms, music form and religious practices of each tribe varies from country to country. Scientists also believe that Africa is the original home of the human race and the foundation of today’s civilization.
This vast ocean of culture, tradition and art forms have captivated the attention of lot of people and African art has found its way into our daily lives, especially in the decoration of one’s home. The African theme is a very popular decorating art with its wide range of soothing color options and earthy fabrics and other art choices. Whether a person is looking to decorate a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, a baby’s room or even the whole house, using an African theme can change the look of the entire house into a faraway haven.
African artifacts include subtle animal prints, masks, statues and rich nature-based color tones. Using these tribal treasures, a room or even an entire home can be given a warm and wonderful ambiance. The most popular of African decor art is masks. African tribal masks are available in a variety of colors like bright red, green, orange, blue or dark wood shades. These masks can be placed in the living room coupled with African statues and smaller masks, teak furniture and several animal print rugs. The colors of these masks can be co-ordinated with the sofas in the living room. These masks also look great as the dining room decor with a beautiful nature inspired table linen cloth placed on a dark wood dining table along with an African mask on the wall. The master bedroom can be drastically altered by strategically placing a few ancient masks on the wall and draping the four poster bed with animal print bed linen. This decorating theme can be extended into the bathrooms also.
In case an individual is looking for African art on a budget then there are cheap options available in a large number of shops selling home decor items like antique stores, flea markets or thrift shops. Although, the items that an individual might get at these stores may not be genuine African art. In case an individual is particular about getting genuine African art forms, then the local auction house can help and at a relatively less expensive cost and also in good condition. Another option to ensure that the art is genuine African art is to consult an antique professional.
Innovative ideas for choosing color Schemes for your Home
An expensive sofa set with high end products to spice up the interior look of an your home can all go to waste if the correct wall colors are not selected to offset the decorative look. Color co-ordination with the style of home, look of home, personality of the people who live in that home is necessary to achieve that picture perfect look for your home. Choosing a color scheme can be confusing what with all the different colors and the textures available in the market. It can be an imposing task to choose the right wall color that matches with the decor you have chosen for your home. A few but innovative ideas can help you choose the correct color scheme for your home.
In the event you are moving into a new home and have the option of decorating your home from scratch then, starting with choosing the style of your home can give you a good idea of which colors might best suit your decorating needs. Next, you can get on to choosing the fabrics to suit your sofa sets, table linen, bed linen etc. Out of these, fabric should serve as the anchor fabric. The background color of this fabric can be used as the wall color. The brightest color in the fabric can be used for accessories and the mid tone color in the fabric can be used to make large furniture pieces or even the flooring. However, a choice of 3 colors will suffice for the living room. To get the maximum effect for a brighter room, you should use the background light color in 60% of the space available including furniture and accessories, the mid-tone color in 30% of the space and the brightest color in only about 10% of the space.
Another way to decide the color scheme of your house would be to decide the geographical direction of each and every room, the amount of natural light allowed in the room during the day time and size and the utility of the room. For example mild or light colors can be used for a room facing north as this room receives the minimum of natural light while a west facing room can have a side wall with a bright color as the natural light in the room during the day would be the maximum. However, again if this room is the master bedroom or the guest bedroom a bright color might be too strong and create too much visual stimulation.
Also, if the size of the room or the house is small then using bright shades can make the room look even smaller. Use of lighter colors gives the illusion of space. The color of the furniture and accessories can then be decided to suit the color of the walls.
New Decorating Trends
As people’s lives get busier and busier, a home is not just another place to sleep at night. A home has become a place of peace, a place to relax and rejuvenate for another busy and stressful day. With this in mind, more and more people are looking to decorate their homes in a way where a home is simple, functional, low maintenance and yet elegant, warm and inviting.
As with everything else, people’s demand sets the trend on decoration and some of the latest decorating trends ensure that a home gives maximum functionality, minimum maintenance and looks warm and creative without being loud and opulent. Hand crafted furniture and accessories like intricately carved statues and metal with detailed scroll work is in high demand this season. Leather furniture combined with different fabrics to create different textures is also in high demand.
Another trend that has caught on with homeowners are do-it-yourself projects like home made lamp shades, self woven curtains, hand made sofa throws and even hand knitted table cloths. A traditional decor which looks colorful and elegant is also in this season. Furniture pieces reflecting nature like bamboo flooring, and rattan furniture have also caught attention. Along side this, ethnic furniture from different countries, traditions and periods are in demand. Mild wall colors like beige and gold with warm browns and pumpkin spice or even shades of blues and greens offset in a neutral background are the choice of the season for their soothing feel.
As far as furniture is concerned, huge bulky furniture is out and multi-purpose and space saving furniture is in, which gives maximum storage. Narrower sofas, coffee tables doubling as dining tables or small dining tables with stool chairs are in to save space. Functional art like design lighting has become a popular option for small homes where different light sculptures serve the need of lighting as well as add a decorative piece of art to the room. Most of the home decor making a come back this season is artistic with curves rather than straight lines and clean cuts.
Another decorative and functional item making a big comeback this season is room divider screen. With homes getting smaller, making wooden doors can substantially reduce space. A room divider screen can be put into place when the need arises to separate two portions of a home and can be removed to enlarge the space and make it look like a big room. Another popular functional decor is the counter height bistro table which adds a casual touch to the dining atmosphere allowing the family to relax and have a quick meal.
With these new decorating trends, a home can be made multi-functional and multi-purpose while at the same time giving it a spacious and clutter free look.
