I am loving the simple elegance of these fences...

images from AD

Modern home office furniture and decorating ideas

Modern home office furniture and decorating ideas

How Does Your Garden Grow ? ...

Of late, I've been eating, sleeping, breathing all things garden related. This year I've doubled the size of last year's garden ... and added a new separate section. I cheated a bit and ended up buying my tomato plants. With last year's poor production and short season, I got a head start with some nice four inch pots. In the photos you will notice the blue/green tents in the garden. These are my wall 'o water plant covers that help to get the plants growing quicker. Today, I was able to remove them as the plants have grown to the top. I replaced them with wire cages. We planted eight tomato plants this year. Several varieties.

Here's what is growing:

tomatoes
potatoes
red & Spanish onions
walla-walla onions
scallions
turnips
radishes
thyme, Italian parsley, basil, cilantro, tarragon
mint
carrots
sugar peas
rhubarb
strawberries
asparagus
blueberries
raspberries
corn
cabbage
peppers
garlic
watermelon
cantaloupe
cucumbers (two varieties)
zucchini & yellow crooked neck squash
pumpkins (two varieties)
green beans
lettuce
apples
sour cherries

later we will plant

rutabagas
winter squash

Most of my 'babies' have at least sprouted. The radishes are ready to eat ... but then, they are always the earliest to harvest.

Lest we have hail or pests, this year is off to a good start ... LORD WILLING AND AMEN!

Bedroom Interior Design | Bedroom Interior Design Photos

A bedroom is a place in a home that a person spends an average of 5 to 8 hours each day. If you think a little at this, you’ll find out that actually you spend a lot of time in the bedroom
. It is a place you can unwind and relax at the end of a long hard day, whether taking an occasional catnap or sleeping at night, a bedroom has to be as comfortable as possible. Now for those of you who are searching for pictures that will help them design their own bedroom, here are six new pictures with bedroom ideas.

Williams Sonoma at Home

Williams Sonoma at Home

I was leafing through the March 2008 issue of House Beautiful when I saw a photo of chairs on a stair landing that reminded me of the new Williams-Sonoma Home store in New York. When I looked closer, one of the names of the designers, David DeMattei, sounded familiar. Then I realized that he is the group president for Williams-Sonoma and I actually met him at the opening party last fall. The home has a Williams-Sonoma feeling but is not a literal translation of the store. I'm swamped with work so for more information, you can check out the details at House Beautiful online. Bon Weekend!

Photos by Jose Picayo

Interiors Decorations

Home decoration is the art of decorating a room so that it looks good, is easy to use and function wells with the existing architecture, The goal of home decoration is to provide a certain "feel" for the room, it encompasses applying wall paper, painting walls and other surfaces, choosing furniture and fittings and providing other decorations like artefacts and sculptures. There is a very thin line between designing and decoration. Interior decoration is generally focused more on finishes, such as wall paper, paint, window covering and furnishings. Interior design leads to be more integrated with the architecture and might also be involved in room layout, cabinet designs, windows and door placement and so on. But whatever is the term, one thing in common is the Design ideas, without which none of the above is possible.

Spacious rooms

If you love the wide open spaces and want the light and airy atmosphere, here are some tips on achieving that sense of spaciousness in your rooms.

- To create a feeling of largeness in your room, eliminate the shadows that tend to slice a room up into smaller spaces. Work on lighting the room with a soft, even light. Avoid ceiling lights as they tend to make the ceiling feel lower. Diffused, ambient lighting will tend to enlarge the room.

• Keep the surfaces free of heavy textures. Smoother surfaces tend to reflect more light and make the room feel larger.
• Avoid heavy textured flooring. Choose tile over patterned or textured carpeting. Reflective and shiny surfaces such as mirror and chrome also can be used effectively.
• Soft colors and monochromatic color schemes. Use cream, beige, gray or cool pastels on your walls and floors to make them recede. The ceiling should always be the lightest color in the room.
• Limit the use of patterns in the room to create a more airy feeling. A typical application of a pattern might be to reserve it for an accent piece.
• Selection and placement of furniture in a room is crucial in defining the space. Keep the largest pieces against the walls whenever possible.
• Choose furniture colors that are the same or similar to those selected for the walls and floors.

Cozy rooms
If you want a cozy and comforted ambience, here are some points to consider a more intimate space.

• Create spaces through the use of directed light. Lighting from the ceiling will seem to lower it. A reading lamp or down-shaded lamp will cast light only in its relative vicinity. Use incandescent rather than halogen or florescent lamps for a warmer glow.
  
  
• Choose strong colors for your walls and floor. They will tend to bring them in closer towards one another.
  
  
• A dark floor with walls of brown or deep red, blue or green tones will help create the feeling of a smaller, cozier space.
  
  
• Heavy, soft textures add warmth to a space. Use rougher textures for the hard elements in the room; iron instead of chrome, brick instead of glazed tiles.
  
  
• The use of pattern in a room can also lend a sense of coziness to the space. The subject of mixing patterns in a room will be covered at some future time.
  
  
• Choose dark finishes and fabrics to create a sense of the piece being larger than it actually is. Heavy textured fabrics and large patterns will add a cozy feeling to a sofa or chair.
  
  
• Place pieces away from the wall and use tall pieces to divide and define smaller spaces within a room for greater intimacy.

Room corners
The corners of our rooms can be decorating assets or just a boring space. With a little imagination you can make the corner space work for you and create a beautiful area in your room.

• The void corner of the room can be fill with natural or artificial tree.
• An uplight addition will give a beautiful look.
• Pedestals of varied sizes look good in corners.
• A table top with a beautiful fabric and a couple of chairs to each side with coordinating fabric on the seats can give a very dramatic look. Add a lamp, your favorite pictures and collectibles for a gorgeous tablescape.
• A corner cabinet or hanging cupboard is a handsome solution and adds needed storage and display areas as well.

Storages
One of the most important basics in decorating a small space is to purchase furniture that does double or triple duty for storage. Purchasing multiple purpose accessories and furniture allow options that give your living space character and flexibility.

• Sofa cum bed : A sofa for your living room area might contain a bed for yourself or unexpected visitors.
• Tables containing drawers or shelves give you other options further storage.
• Bookshelves with or without doors, can be appropriate for entertainment centers, home offices, kitchen storage or bedroom storage.
• Bathroom storage units are great for under sink storage. These units increase your storage capacity in a small area.

Theme room

A well-decorated room can still lack personality. To give your room a personality, choose from among these basic design elements, modify them to suit your tastes and implement them in a way which is just right for you.

A Theme - A 'themed' room says something about you, the person who has done it, your family or the place where you live. A theme will also provide you a place to showcase your collections, prized possessions, arts and crafts.

Artifacts - A piece of artistic value will always give your room that special touch you have always wanted. It can add texture and depth to a room.

Collections - It is the most effective way to display your collections in a special arrangement. Whether you collect shells, dolls or trinkets, arrange them tastefully instead of just lining things up in a row. Lining things looks even worse when objects are small in size. Instead, group them together to project variety within your collections.

Color - Color does not get limited to painting the walls of your room. Use colors that make you feel good about them in fabrics, linen, pillows, shelves, curtains etc. Blend colors to suit your style.

Fabrics - Add fabrics to liven up your room with a print that contains the color of your upholstery. To maintain harmony in colors, use the same accent at least thrice around the same room.