Design Trends

Design trends for 2008 are running the gamut from “Earth Friendly” to “Glitz and Glamour.” The trend of coming home to a soothing cocoon at the end of the work day continues to expand design offerings to fit the requirements, varied needs and desires of consumers worldwide. Style also plays a huge role in determining color as well as psychological influences. Rooms are being created as an integrated mix that suits the personal style of the customer, with an end result that is an eclectic mix of pattern and color that is a statement of individuality rather than a grouping of matched “things”.
In the psychology of color we see two historical trends colliding. Normally in an election year we see colors becoming brighter and clearer representing the freshness of change. This is where colors have been predicted to go through 2009. However, with recent economic downturns and the continuing war this could be altered. When the economy is headed in a downward direction, or the country is at war, colors tend to move to grayer more somber shades. Stock market bounces as we saw this week could continue the clear, clean bright predication's for colors and chances are that this will be the case.

Also, watch your fashion design trends, home designs usually copy fabric trends.

Tableaux

If you love the look of wrought iron or leaded glass, but don’t want to replace doors and windows there is a perfect solution – Tableaux faux wrought iron. It’s lighter than real wrought iron so you can hang it like art, use it to decorate transom windows or arches and so much more. Tableaux is right at home decorating doors, cabinet inserts, windows, niches, walls, ceilings, arches, cornices, skylights, sidelights, air conditioning grills, interior gates and shutters.
With 30 designs and eight finishes to choose from, Tableaux faux wrought iron is a great way to add personality to your home. You can even request a design of your own for a look that is all yours. Use it to screen undesired views while allowing sunlight to pour into the room. In homes with large wall spans, Tableaux can add texture and visual interest. This look is particularly great to enhance a Mediterranean style design.

Silk Trees and Plants

You're staying at a gorgeous mountain resort in the middle of a forest of trees. The large lobby is filled with birch and spruce. It looks great and green and you are excited to be there. Everything in the lobby is lush and green. You go to check in and there is a large bouquet of fresh flowers...but wait. There is no smell and usually you're a little sensitive to live flowers, what gives? Don't be surprised. Commercial decorators have know the wonders of Artificial Trees and plants for quite some time. Hotels and offices don't want high maintenance trees that need constant care. They what set it and forget it convenience that comes with high quality artificial trees. Silk trees are available in nearly any size you can imagine and they are available in nearly any tree variety. With the advances in manufacturing that the silk plants industry has gone through, the quality of these artificial plants has gotten to a point where most people don’t notice. Decorating your home with silk plants is a valuable décor tool. The trees are great for filling empty corners or adding warmth to a poorly lit space. Entryways are perfect for fake trees and can save you $100's over buying expensive furniture to decorate a space you don't spend much time in. You can buy evergreens, foliage trees, tropical trees, fruit trees and flowering trees. You can buy trees that are always in summer or always in fall. If you can't find a tree that is exactly what you are looking for you can have one made for you. Custom built tress are more expensive but they can fill exactly the space and decor you need them to fill. Visit my overstock for great prices at

http://www.overstock.com/

Mood Lighting

When remodeling and decorating, we usually look for furniture, paint, carpets and decorative items as pictures. However, the lighting can have a big impact on the overall look of a room. The lighting design is responsible for setting the mood or ambiance of a space. With careful design and planning for the type, color and hue of the lighting, the room can be given a different ambiance. The right lighting can set a mood, improve productivity and contribute to people’s sense of well-being. It can transform unappealing spaces into desirable ones. Bright rooms give a positive and optimistic feeling, while darker rooms are more intimate and romantic. Research had proven that light can make big difference in how we feel.

This is simply, sexy, cozy and serene. Placing floor spotlights below plants will create the soft shadows which adds to a calm peaceful feeling.

http://lightingbygregory.com/

Neutrals/ Purple/Blues/ Paisleys

· Neutrals:
Neutrals are always the safe choice when dealing with color. These combinations are soothing and appeal to those looking for an “uncluttered” feeling. Also look for neutral palettes to pair with metallic accents for an updated blend.
· Purples:
Purples have remained the “new neutral” for over almost ten years, and show no sign of slowing in popularity! This is the color of the mind. Purples will pair with browns for a chic sophisticated combination. Pressing to the forefront are shades of lavender. Soft blue cast lavenders are predicted to be mixed with soft greens for a fresh, clean palette. Think Hydrangeas!
· Blues:
Surprise…spa blue combinations are still in the spotlight! Spa shades are like animal prints they have passed the “fad” stage and have taken their rightful place as a major force in the blue family. Peacock and Turquoise are also making strong fashion statements. Normally, these shades are seen as accents in a color palette, but now they are taking on the primary focus. Blues are being shown in all shades from the lightest sky blues to medium federal and Wedgwood all the way to deep navy.

Radiant Red

Reds continue to play a starring role in the home fashion color palette. Bright red accents will mix with black and white as we move toward the Olympics. We saw this “world event” influence during the Australian Olympics as well. This is when “mineral” coloration's emerged. Along with true reds, look for a softening in the red family as well to include rich raspberries to soft pinks. Pinks will also mix with the black and white palette as a sophisticated high-end combination. Brown shades of red will mix with chocolate and cocoa to create a homespun look that will influence the American country home style as well as reflecting the “cocooning” and “nesting” instincts. This color combination reinforces a sense of stability.

Going Green

Green may be the most talked about color of the season! In the past when we talked about green we were talking color. Today it can be color or eco philosophy. As a color family, greens are evolving from classic gray-greens to more yellow hued lifestyle nature coloration's. Green represents life, growth, fertility and financial stability. Soft greens are associated with calming influences. When mixed with blues and aquas, greens take on a soothing tropical note associated with rest and rejuvenation. Acid greens will be seen mixed with purples at the upper end. Even old friends like the ever-popular 1970 trademark avocado is re-making itself but this time the colors are called wasabi or gingko! Green is making its way to the head of the class as the new neutral of the season. From an eco standpoint, green Earth friendly products are not only becoming more in demand they are being offered more readily than ever before! The marketplace has seen a resurgence in linen, bamboo, wood, jute and hemp products for the last few seasons. More ecological materials are being introduced as well from recycled plastics and rubber to used x-rays and tires! Design and color must still be right for consumers to purchase these more ecologically minded offerings, but the demand is there. Cost of eco products is high as these items currently are expensive to manufacture. Earth friendly products are still in the early stages of development and can be thought of similar to organic foods just a few years ago and look how far we have come in this area today. The industry is scrambling to address this category of products because inevitably sustainable green is a long-term necessity.

Toiles

This refined dining room features a dramatic and elegant wallpaper, Plantation Silk, in a striking red on ivory color scheme. Full luxurious draperies are in Bellagio Silk Taffeta that have been lavishly banded and trimmed, and Silk Road Velvet upholsters the dining chairs.
http://www.fabric.com/home-decor-fabric-waverly-fabric-waverly-fabric-toile.aspx

Oriental Rugs

During the past century, the Oriental rug has become valued throughout the world as a work of art.With its rich history and color, the Oriental rug often is called the aristocrat of carpets.Although the Oriental rug of today may not soar through the air like a magic carpet of Arabian legend, the Oriental rug does perform magic, transforming interior spaces into extraordinary spaces.
The term, Oriental rug, traditionally has been used to describe hand knotted rugs from the East. The process typically involves stretching warp threads on a loom and knotting the pile to these threads. When a row of knots is completed, a weft thread is then inserted. Once the entire carpet is knotted, the pile is shorn. To a large degree, the precision of the design depends on how tightly the rug has been knotted and how short the pile has been cut.
The rug's density, or number of knots the better. A superb Oriental rug may have more than 500 to 1,000 knots per square inch.
Historically, the great carpet producing areas include Turkey, Persia, the Caucasus and Turkestan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India and China also must be added to the list. Also, under Arab influence, Spain, too has produced hand knotted rugs of distinction.
I have referred you here before and you will find many varieties of rugs, tapestries and more at affordable prices.... http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/control/style-search/~cid=7003

Sensuous Silks

Silk fabric has a soft, lustrous and supple hand. For centuries silk has had a reputation as a luxurious and sensuous fabric, one associated with wealth and success. Silk is one of the oldest textile fibers known to man. It has been used by the Chinese since the 27th century BC. Silk is mentioned by Aristotle and became a valuable commodity both in Greece and Rome. During the Roman Empire, silk was sold for its weight in gold.Characteristics of Silk Fabric Cultivated silk is a beautiful luxurious fiber with a smooth luxurious hand. This type of silk can be dyed and printed in bright colors that are very pleasing to the eye. Silk's abrasion resistance is moderate. However, it is ranked high in strength for natural fibers. Silk fabrics have good absorbency. Fabrics made from silk are comfortable in the summer and warm in the winter.Silk fabrics have only moderate resistance to wrinkling. It is often recommended that silk garments be dry-cleaned. When hand or machine washing washable silk garments, test for water spotting in an obscure place because silk gets water-spots easily.

Crewel Fabrics

Crewel, also known as wool embroidery, has been around for centuries. The word crewel is derived from an old Welsh term meaning “wool.” The word referred to the wool yarn used for stitching and not the style of embroidery. Traditionally, heavy wools were used for this type of embroidery, but today there is a wide variety of yarns and even threads to choose from, depending on the desired effect.
Although crewel is considered the most difficult stitchery technique to master, it is ideal for pillows, curtains, clothing, and wall hangings. The use of tightly-woven fabrics enables stitchers to create an infinite variety of shapes. There are a great number of stitches that can be employed in crewel embroidery; these stitches add texture and depth to the finished piece. The outlines of the design are often screen printed on the fabric, and the stitcher fills in, or outlines, each area with stitches.

Crewl fabrics add a beautiful touch of elegance to traditional style rooms. Add a pillow with coordinating trim or upholster an accent chair, you will have created a lovely focal point to your room. It is like adding a tapestry to your design.

Tapestry Art

In the middle Ages, tapestries had a purely utilitarian function. They were originally designed to protect medieval rooms from damp and cold weather, to cover austere walls of big castles, or to insulate big rooms into more comfortable quarters. Tapestries used for furnishing big stone castles were very big in size and they required large looms, many workers and high capital investments. Thus, manufacturer's of this type arose in prosperous localities, usually weaving centers. By 1500, Flanders, especially Brussels and Bruges, had become the chief places of production. Due to their size and intricacy, tapestries became investments and displays of wealth and power. In these early tapestries, isolated figures or compact groups stood out against a background that was generally plain or embellished with plant motifs or flowers, those are called , "mille fleurs", tapestry meaning (thousand flowers). Tapestry became equal to the class of paintings, sculpture and architectural design becoming one of the major visual art forms.

You will find lovely tapestries and rugs at http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/control/style-search/~cid=7003

Beveled and stained Class

Stained glass windows in houses were particularly popular in Victorian era and many domestic examples survive. In their simplest form they typically depict birds and flowers in small panels, often surrounded with machine-made cathedral glass, which, despite what the name suggests, is pale-coloured and textured. Some large homes have splendid examples of secular pictorial glass.
See
Art glass
Beveled glass
Cathedral glass
Prairie style homes
The houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
Stained glass lamp / Lampshades
Tiffany lamp
Public and commercial use of stained glass
Town halls, schools, colleges and other public buildings often incorporate stained glass or lead lighting.
Public houses — In Britain, traditional pubs make extensive use of stained glass and leaded lights to create a comfortable atmosphere and retain privacy.

You can add a cut or stained glass piece of art to any window in your home or office, which creates a history conversational piece and simple elegance and that touch of class to any room.

Visit my "How To" videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch_queue?all

Monkey Business

Lamp design reached a whole new level in beauty, design and workmanship in New York with Louis Comfort Tiffany. His elaborate floor, hanging, and table lamps are a good example. Tiffany spared no expense in their creation. His leaded-glass shades came on the market in 1899 and were immediately fashionable. Confident of the quality, he signed most of his work.

Lamps of art are also found which create great conversational pieces such as this one I found which also displays beautiful tapestry fabric for a touch of elegance accented with simple tassel trim.

The art of feng -shui is adding an animal touch to our rooms to create a harmony with nature around us, it brings a feeling of piece and harmony to your home or office setting.

Feng Shui represents the traditional Chinese concept of man harmonizing with his environment. Oriental philosophy proposes that we are a microcosm of a macrocosm—our outer world being a reflection of our inner world—and vice versa. It suggests that our environment affects us more than we realize.
All matter has vibration—the Hindus call it Prana—the Hebrews call it Ruach—the Greeks call it Pneuma—the Japanese call it Ki and the Chinese call it Qi (pronounced Chee).
Qi roughly translates as the life force or cosmic breath which pervades all of life. It is the force of change and transformation that is believed to have created the landscapes of our planet. If we consider Qi to be a current of energy, when we are out of step with the natural flow, it is against this current that we struggle literally. Feng Shui is concerned with overcoming this struggle by harnessing supportive Qi via placement, design, element, color, and much more.
We all know that the impact the moon has on the tides of the ocean, which is an enormous body of water. Well, we are over 60% water, so what impact might the moon have on us? Less well known is the fact that some surgeons are cautious about performing surgery around the time of the full moon because of the impact on the flow of the blood in the body.
It would seem that mankind and the planet are much more connected than we realize.

Arrange-A-Room

Do you want to arrange a room in your home or office? Better Homes and Gardens has added a free widget on their site to have a little fun adding furniture, windows, walls and more. You can also change the colors of your walls. Go to the link below. If you want to design your new home you may want to also check http://chiefarchitect.com http://freebies.about.com/od/freeservices/p/aar.htm

Nature in Black and White

I love working with black and white art or photography, it allows you to decorate your walls with subtle messages from the art then splash your rooms with any color of your choice. I found another very talented photographer at http://www.digitalfrenzy.net/. The photos posted on his site are beautiful using nature for simplicity yet his photographs show splashes of color depending on the scene, he is a very talented young man.

Photo-Collage

A collage using any form of art always creates an interesting focal point in any room. Pick a theme for the collage, i.e. if you enjoy photography and love to take nature photos or city landscapes, enlarge your pictures and frame them or put them on canvas. Collages are great in high ceiling areas particularly, using different sizes will also create interest. If you take photos of your travels and display your photographs it will also create an interesting conversational piece to tell the stories of your travels.

This could be a fun project for your child, using his or her art project mixing their own personal photos into the collage, they will have fun sharing it with their friends. Visit this link to discover how to make a little extra spending money with your photographs http://www.expressdigital.com/products/prstorefronts.shtm
http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/control/search-art?prod=ART
http://canvaspress.com/

Designer Showcase

I was lead designer in this showcase of homes project. My project was the master suite, consisting of the sitting room, bedroom and master bath. Proceeds went to support the local symphony.

This was quite a large bedroom, I selected this floral print which showcased 26 colors in the pattern. I then used red, green, yellow and purple as my accent colors. A small room could not handle this large pattern, this allowed the room to have a warmer feeling. First I choose a pale yellow and faux painted the walls which were originally white. I added the light fixture, replaced the carpet from a dark brown to an off white bringing out the background of the fabric. The table skirts and drapes are lined in a pale yellow and green stripe creating a garden escape feeling. There was a surrounding patio which displayed a flower garden making this room feel an extension of the garden.

The sitting room sofa was upholstered in the same yellow and green stripe and the floral pattern lined with the same stripe was then carried through on the half draperies which were displayed on a swing rod giving the room a three dimensional look allowing more view to the garden.

When working with a large room, as you can see, color and a lot of it works!!! The room has a clean fresh yet romantic feel with a softness to reflect a mellow yet fun mood.

Elegant Exposure

Appreciating Nude Art
The subject of nude art has long been in most societies. Nude art is still, however, considered as taboo or a controversial topic despite its artistic value. Though most cultures are generally becoming adaptable and appreciative of this particular form of art, one can say that the holistic acceptance of nude art in most societies has yet to be established. The key to this acceptance is by making people understand what nude art really is all about.

Nude Arts History

Nude art has been around for so long a time, as long as the early civilizations of Greek and Egypt. Nude art back then was established as a form of appreciation of the human body. Although the same definition can be said nowadays with regard to nude art, the art has been so well extended that it not only includes the study of the human body in general but also its specific body parts. The study of nude art was all the more furthered, thanks to the Renaissance and Baroque periods both periods in time that dealt with the discovery of human nature. With this discovery came about the high importance accorded to nude art. Until now, nude art is widely practiced, especially in generally liberal countries such as American and European nations. In some countries, nude art is not as accepted but is on its way to being popularly established.

Real Nude Art

However, nude art has been debated upon by many people because of its controversial nature. After all, nudity is commonly associated with pornography. Real nude art, however, is anything but pornography. In fact, most nude art scholars and critics generally define nude art as a piece of art that provokes emotional sensuality not erotic sensuality. Furthermore, nude art refers to the study of the human body and its specific parts not of the nude person portrayed in the art. The nude person is merely a representation on behalf of humanity in general.

Also, real nude art prefers human in its most raw form. As much as possible, a nude artist would do away with embellishments which are deemed as mere accessories to the beauty of the human body. These accessories do not really beautify the human body in the process of depicting art. Rather, it sullies the beauty of the human nature. For some nude artists, however, this is perfectly acceptable. Tattoos are also accepted in special cases, depending on the nude artists vision of nude art.

In this canvas, which is my favorite, there is a mystery of realizing what it actually is at first. As you focus on the lace, only then does it seem to become apparent that this is a partial nude with grace and beauty.

Shaun Parker is an avid art fan. He has an extensive collection of photos on canvas and he shares his extensive knowledge on the topic to help people find the right artwork for their homes. You can view ideas for putting photos on canvas at http://www.mangoart.co.uk/

Create and Update

This was a comfortable room before, however, it lacked POP. The palette was good but plain. The colors I had to work with, were moss green, beige and purple. First I added purple fringe to a few of the sofa pillows, then selected a moss green, beige and purple stripe fabric which I covered a traditional chair with, creating a focal point along with half draperies on a swing rod for even more dramatics. A painting of moss greens and purple completed the balance.The frame was chrome which brought out other accents in the room.

I then carried the color scheme into the dinette area, introducing a new color and small floral print on the chair cushions. This was a white background with small flowers of purple and of course the green leaves. Fresh flowers were placed in a white vase completing the fresh feel and completing the redesign. Simple changes, yet cost effective.