Introduction to Home Staging

looking for ideas for my lounge-fancy a New England kind of look but can’t find any inspiration.

The success of any decorating scheme depends on how well it suits all the members of your family. To create a décor that you will be happy with, think about what you want and also what you don’t want.

It’s a good idea to know what you have before you begun to change things. As you begin to pull your design ideas together, think about your preference and what will work in your home.

Color can work wonders… it can change the look of a room and change your feeling about the room. You can start by looking through magazines, and catalogs. Give yourself plenty of time, it will take longer than you think, and your ideas will develop as you go.

Gathering samples is a great way to begin. If you are starting with a color, your samples might include fabric, paint chips, wallpaper, carpet, wood, stone, and tile.

Knowing what you can spend on a project will give you a clearer idea of what you can achieve. If you’ll on a limited budget, mark off those things that will make the most difference, such as a new wall color and a new sofa.

You can set the mood of a room in lots of ways, such as lights, and furnishings. There are no hard or fast rules or must-do sequence for this process.

By that, I mean the tackiest paint (hurts-the-eyes pink walls with bright red baseboard trim), wallpaper (read: fuzzy green patterns on gold coloured curlicue somethings), carpets, furnishing or colour combination you have ever seen.
WoW! All of these answers are marvellous! My father had absolutely zero taste in anything even remotely civilized. When we moved into a house we bought (long ago when I was young), the kitchen came already "decorated" with wallpaper featuring huge yellow flowers, lime green leaves and orange squiggly something or others. My father liked it – a lot! The family room came with a low pile dark brown, yellow, green and orange geometric patterns that would make a goat retch! I asked this question because I was having coffee with a friend of mine a little while ago and she was describing how she was planning on dcorating her new place. She described how her last place looked and it sounds a lot like what most of you have written. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who has had to endure ghastly home decor!
WoW! All of these answers are marvellous! My father had absolutely zero taste in anything even remotely civilized. When we moved into a house we bought (long ago when I was young), the kitchen came already "decorated" with wallpaper featuring huge yellow flowers, lime green leaves and orange squiggly something or others. My father liked it – a lot! The family room came with a low pile dark brown, yellow, green and orange geometric patterned carpet that would make a goat retch!
I asked this question because I was having coffee with a friend of mine a little while ago and she was describing how she was planning on dcorating her new place. She described how her last place looked and it sounds a lot like what most of you have written. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who has had to endure ghastly home decor!

Probably the time I got some paint that was suppose to be a mauve color, it turned out to look like pepto bismol…..I painted one wall for a joke so others could see it. LOL everyone said it looked like pepto. Needless to say I took it back and switched color schemes all together.

You will find that there are a lot of ways that you can dramatically change the decor of your home, but you will find that the quickest and cheapest way to decorate is to find your color schemes.

You will want to go to the local hardware store and just grab a bunch of paint colors and then try to future out what you would like to paint and where you would like to paint. You will find that there are a lot of things that you will want to consider, but you will first want to consider what it is that you are painting.

There are a lot of older homes that have paneling everywhere. You will want to keep in mind that there are a lot of places in the home where you will want to have the wood look and you will find that there are places where you will want to have some color. You do not want to have the whole house paneled, because it will take away some of the ways that you can personalize the home.

You will also want to keep in mind that there are some things that you will want paint so that you can have your own personal space. When it comes to the bedrooms you will want to make each and everyone person feel like it is their own personal space. It is very important that you learn to make your home a home.

When it comes to the color in the bedrooms you will want to make sure that it reflects who you are. You will want to make sure that you add some color to the home, but that you don’t go overboard. You may want to pick some colors that are going to be calming and easing.

You will want to make sure that you do everything that you can to become comfortable with the home. You may want to think about using colors like browns, blues, and lighter shades. You do not want to make any bold statements.

When it comes to the colors of the rooms that you paint, you will want to consider the fact that there are objects in the room that you will want to match. You will want to make sure that you try to match the bathroom towels with the decor of the bathroom, that you match the comforters to the colors of the bedrooms. Everything needs to coordinate.

Bob Bastian
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/color-schemes-and-home-decorating-209527.html

i know that gifts are very reasonably priced. there is seasonal items and i think they also sell candles.

You might check out Home Interiors.com or Southern Living Home.com. Either should be able to give you the name of a representative in your area.

With the huge boom in interior designers and Home Decorating stores and businesses it is easy to feel unqualified to take on the decoration of your own home. The only thing is, people have been decorating their own homes for years, it isn’t until recently that we suddenly needed the help of interior designers and such to make our homes look like we want them to. You just need to know what you want and then think like an interior designer.

You first need to pick a space or a room that you are going to work on decorating. Only do one at a time, spreading your time over several rooms may lead you to become frustrated since the progress will seem very slow. Once you have your area choose a color that you like. If you are going with a bold or bright color it is better to make that an accent color rather than covering the entire wall. An entire room of bright red or deep purple can make the room hard to relax in since your eyes will constantly be trying to adjust to the extreme colors.

After the color, find yourself a theme. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy like cowboys or space ships, but decide if you want the items in the room to be modern or antique. Then head out and find a few items that fit into that theme. It is necessary that you don’t cram the room with figurines. Once you try to fit too many things in one room, whether it be too many colors or too much stuff or more than one theme the room just looks messy and unorganized all the time.

If you can’t come up with any ideas for what to put in your home, walk through a dollar store or craft store or simply search the web for interior decorating ideas.

Gabriella Carrera
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/home-decorating-less-is-more-674670.html

The only reason I ask, is because I opened up a Yahoo! store with things I like, such as reproduction art of spiritual and religious icons, amongst other things. But I had never thought of decorating my home with it as well. Thank you.

http://www.mjs-mall.com/collection/

Decorate with whatever makes YOU feel comfortable. And, of course, sell these itms on your web site. Most of the world population has a belief system in one faith or another. It’s not snobby, it’s comforting.

I have had many experiences cleaning and home decor jobs in the past and would like to research how to get into this field. I live in a small town and have limited resources I would like to pursue this occupation for the small town folk.

http://www.interiordezine.com/index.cfm/Products/interior_decorating_ecourse

http://www.homestudycourses.net/interior-decorating-home-study.html

http://lp.aionline.edu/interior-design/landing-61H5-840RL.html?med=ppc&src=PSGSR&ven=PERFORMICS&cid=58000000000100550&keyword=programs+in+home+design+online&publisherSite=DSGoogle+-+K70&DS_KWID=p2461422

http://www.worldwidelearn.com/career-training/interior-design.htm

This should get you started in some research for online courses.

Good Luck

Home Decorating can be a challenge. But, if done properly, very rewarding. Beware though, there can be pitfalls to such a do-it-yourself project. So before you start any home decorating project, weigh up the pros and cons.

Choose Materials Carefully

The variety of materials now available offers you considerable choice when it comes to the style in which you decorate your home. What is practical in your area? Will a decorative wallpaper present a pleasing appearance? Or perhaps you prefer a veneer or a fabric wall covering? You may conclude that a simple coat of paint will provide the look you prefer. Before finally deciding, take into account the practical aspects. These include the cost, the durability of the finish, the ease of installation, and the time and effort needed to maintain and clean the walls. All of this has to be compared with what it would cost to have professionals do the work.

The color of your chosen decorative material is also important. Will it blend with other features of the room? If the room is usually cold, a warm shade of paint will create the sense of warmth. Light blue or green hues will make rooms that are on the warmer side of the house seem cooler. Dark or poorly lighted rooms can be brightened with light-colored finishes.

A kitchen often gets hot of course. Therefore, some prefer a cooler color, to `cool down` the room. A bathroom, on the other hand, is a place where a `warmer` color, a red, or brown, for example, will create a warmer feeling.

Very small rooms suit pale, cool colors. Coat low ceilings with a pale paint, and contrast with slightly darker walls to create an illusion of height. If you choose dark colors bear in mind they absorb heat and have more moisture problems than lighter shades. Dark paint fades quicker, so it’s difficult to touch up.

Planning and Preparing the Key

The secret of successful decorating is good preparation! Professional decorators take time and effort to prepare surfaces for painting, in comparison with the time it actually takes to do the job. If you are doing it yourself, do not skimp on time and effort when getting ready. You should aim for a surface that is dry, smooth, and clean.

Repair damaged surfaces by filling in cracks. Then rub down the repaired surface with glasspaper or sandpaper to achieve smoothness. Before you begin to paint, wash the surface with a damp cloth to remove dust from the wall plaster, and allow to dry.

What about your plan of action? Will anyone else in the family be able to provide help, whether it`s in the preparation, or in the painting, and/or wallpapering itself? And, there`s nothing worse than getting partway through and finding that you have insufficient materials to complete the job. And if the stores are closed you can`t just go out to buy more. So, make sure you have all the tools and decorating materials you need to finish the job.

Correct Care Of Brushes And Rollers

1. Bend and thoroughly work the bristles of a new brush to remove dust and loose bristles.
2. Avoid dipping the brush too deeply into the paint. (Cover only between one third and one half of the length of the bristles to prevent excess paint from becoming embedded in the stem.)
3. Clean the brush after use. Use mineral spirits for oil-based paint and warm water for latex, or water-based, paints.
4. Store clean, dry brushes in clean paper to absorb remaining dampness and help keep the bristles in shape.
5. Follow a similar procedure with paint rollers, making sure to dry any metal parts completely to prevent rust and consequent paint discoloration next time you use them.

Geoff Cummings
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/decorating-your-home-requires-good-planning-723550.html

Is it reading, viewing, gut feel or something else?
For all of you beginning home decorators buy Martha Stewart’s "How to Decorate". You can have a nice home without a bunch of money.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Decorate-Martha-Stewart-Living/dp/0517887800/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4625797-0004161?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180807701&sr=1-1

Because every time somebody comes over they say that they like what I have done and say that I am creative. I just smile and say thank you!!

how many are dangerous to the environment? In production and for use and how many chemicals are dangerous to mammals in the production (including chemicals released by production in factory)?

What chemical does oil paint contain which is dangerous to our skin?

Is Wallpaper and wallpaper waste a better carbon footprint than paint (oil and emulsion)?

add hyperlinks and dissitations… haha. : )

The number of chemical species in paint would be huge in larger and lesser amounts. Oils are very complex mixtures of many indvidual compounds both toxic and non toxic. Paint also contains pigments with are also very complex. Lead compounds used to be used but the main pigment in most white paint is titanium dioxide which is not toxic.

The oils are often renewable such as linseed oil so environmentally relatively neutral.

I think you should email the paint manufacturers for reassurances regarding the nature of the ingredients. They rae more careful now than ever to ensure paints are safe.