Hardwood floors have been around for hundreds of years. Wood floors were probably the first type of floor covering besides dirt. They can be one of the essential elements in designing your home. They offer a level of value and comfort no other flooring choice can. There are a number of benefits to owning and installing a hardwood floor.

One of the best things about hardwood floors is the lack of problem with regard to maintenance concerns. Because technology has allowed for the finish or stain of hardwood floors to require only sweeping for typical cleaning purposes, your floor will stay beautiful without the backbreaking scrubbing hardwood floors used to require. While the use of an appropriately recommended professional cleaning product will be required sometimes, a simple broom will take care of most of your cleaning concerns. It is important to note, though, you should never use anything on your hardwood floors that has not been manufacturer recommended. This helps to ensure your flooring will last a lifetime.

Durability means hardwood floors.

Another great reason to invest in hardwood floors is that they are environmentally friendly. Wood can not only be recycled, it is also a renewable source of material. Many of the products of yesterday like barns and old homes are recycled as hardwood floors. Moreover, wood products are incapable of harboring or collecting dust and other allergy particles. This means your family will suffer less risk of allergies or allergy induced medical conditions. Several health organizations endorse wood floors for people with health risks.

Additionally, hardwood floors are an excellent financial option. While some of the flooring is a bit more costly than the cheap alternative, hardwood maintains its value over time. It does not show the wear and tear that synthetic products do. This will only serve to increase your home’s value in the long run.

There are many great reasons to invest in hardwood floors.

Finally, hardwood floors can come in a large range of shapes and sizes. In the past, there have been few choices in the hardwood floor market. Today’s market, though, offers styles, colors, and species that will fit any décor. Hardwood floors make an excellent addition to any home.

Andrew Caxton contributes adding articles to a free online home decorating and interior design magazine. Your guide on home decorating and how to choose from hundreds of decorating ideas and tips. Andrew will inspire you to capture the look you want. Read further information on how to install hardwood floors

Have you ever wondered why interior designers place slippers on the ottoman in magazine photos? They do it to make the staged setting look as if it’s a lived-in room. Pictures and illustrations in decorating books, magazines, and other advertisements are designed to sell a product or an idea.

But what’s missing in the staged rooms of most interior design books and magazines? People.

When it comes to decorating your own your home, forget the empty rooms you see in the magazines and books. You should design your rooms as backdrops for the people who use and live in those spaces. In order to best utilize the spaces in your home, try these simple techniques:

Leave empty space. Empty space gives you breathing room and allows the most important items in the room to shine, which are the people!

Use small patterns on walls and furniture. Avoid large-patterned fabrics and wallpapers with designs larger than your head. Huge florals will interfere with the appearance of the people in the room. You don’t want to have to compete with bold patterns behind your face. Patterns on sofas and chairs that clash with clothing will also make you and your guests feel uncomfortable.

Use colors that complement people. Finding the right colors to complement your skin and eyes deserves planning. Most people look great when surrounded by color. For light skin colors, use yellows, pinks, and beiges. For darker complexions, yellows, olives, and tans can make people stand out. Since most people no longer have bright white in their eyes, avoid pastels that are whiter than the white in your eyes.

Add textures that feel good to the touch. Support your sense of touch by adding textures that are nice to caress. You don’t have to touch velvet to sense its softness, and soft textures like chenille and satins will visually support your feeling of being pampered, as well.

Arrange accessories to shore up emotions. In one of my rooms, I arranged my mantle accessories to make a statement, and it looked great in photographs, but after analyzing why the mantle didn’t seem to smile, I realized that it wasn’t personal. When I filled it with Mili fiori lamps, crystal candlesticks, and antique vases, the space looked great, but it really began to smile when I added a Mexican Rose rock under the painting.

Think comfort before pretense. Just because a sofa or chair looks fabulous doesn’t mean the piece is comfortable. Remember, when you walk around a showroom, sitting down on any piece feels good, but in order to truly test a piece of furniture, you need to sit on it for a long time, until you feel totally rested. Only then will you be able to feel the real support and comfort level of that piece.

Remember, your home is a place for people, and when you and your guests look and feel great in your home, you can be sure that you’ve designed a great setting; one that far outshines the staged sets you’ll see in magazines and books.

Joy to you!

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

Color and trends in home fashion are coming of age in wild new hues that echo the sunny days of summer. Colors for 2006 will be warmer, clearer and brighter. Reddened oranges will replace coppery hues; yellows will gain importance; and complex neutrals will add sophistication and luxury to the 2006 consumer color palette.

There will be an extraordinary amount of bright colors. There are always bright colors for summer and outdoor wear, but now you’re starting to see it in home pieces like upholstery and bedding. Forecasted is a palette of Overexposed-electrified brights that are intense and saturated. These include Plasma - a bold, bright blue; Optimism - a sharp tangerine-melon; and Limelight - almost neon green.

The selection of color has become a far more thoughtful and exacting process than before. Consumers are using color schemes as a way to personalize their spaces. These include saturated brights that resemble popsicle hues, as well as some hyper-brights like Blue Splash - a new turquoise; Dazzling Green - kelly-green inspired but brighter and more yellow; and Fabulous Pink - a pink with a red cast.

All this translates well into home décor and accessories. Interesting pieces that pull color from one area of the room to another are essential for a harmonious blend. One company that has been able to maintain “escape within the home” as well as offer bold color opportunities is Home and Garden Party. Showcasing one of the many faces of this spring and summer’s hottest oranges and blues, the online catalog offers prime examples of sherbet sunrise and turquoise dream.

Lisa DeClue is a WAHM and Decorator in the Central Illinois area and owner of Decorating with HGPgal, an informative resource site with ideas, articles, theme rooms, terms and styles, Online Catalog, a DecoForum and the monthly PartyLine ezine. Grab your freebie for subscribing today. She can be reached at the website, http://www.HGPgal.com, or by email at Lisa (at) HGPgal.com. Your source for decorating information and beautiful details for your home at exceptional prices!

Did I get your attention? Sorry, I just couldn’t resist! When I was a little girl, we called them “brains”. We would gather them into huge piles and either throw them into the woods or throw them at each other.

I know what you are probably thinking, “That must have hurt!” It did but it never slowed us down. Still don’t know what I am talking about? I am fondly remembering the grapefruit sized, green, brain-like fruit that my siblings and I used to collect by the dozens each fall.

I ended up having two boys and when they were little they did the same thing I did years earlier; they threw them at each other. Of course I yelled words of caution but it never slowed them down either. Around that time I started to collect the “brains” and used them for fall decorations in my house. They have a pleasant smell and they are said to act as a natural insect repellant, although I am not sure if this is a proven fact.

I would gather several of them and place them into a carved wooden bowl or a natural looking basket. Next came the fun part, gathering the other things to go into my display. It varied each year but I would take a walk and collect natural grasses, colorful leaves or whatever captured my fancy. I would bring my “loot” home and create a unique looking arrangement each time.

They even look great by themselves too. One year I dumped an armload of them into a wooden crate and placed it next to my front door for a colorful fall display.

Fall has always been my favorite season, and collecting my next batch of “brains” is something I always look forward to. Several days ago while I was out gathering some, it occurred to me that I didn’t even know the real name of these funny looking green orbs. After a little bit of searching I discovered they are called Hedgeapples and these non-edible, non-poisonous fruits come from a tree called the Osage Orange Tree.

As you read this article, you are either shaking your head saying, “Oh yeah, I know what she is talking about.” or quite possibly you have never seen a hedgeapple in your life. If you are curious and would like to see pictures, please visit me at http://www.flowers-and-garden.com/decoratingwithbrains.php

This fall collect a few “brains” and create a beautiful fall display of your own!

Visit Candee at Flowers and Garden.com if you would like to read more gardening and landscaping articles.

I want to draw attention to your ceiling. Take a look at it. Ceilings are an often neglected area of the room when it comes time to redecorate (or repair). There are so many things that you can do too, that are inexpensive, yet provide the simple elegance that speaks to your style. Choose decorative ceiling medallions, crown molding, ceiling domes, rosettes, or panel molding, just to name a few. Three of my favorite ways to accent a ceiling: ceiling medallions, ceiling domes, and crown molding.

One of the easiest and least time-consuming projects is the installation of a ceiling medallion. Although in the past they were made from plaster, today these decorative ornaments are made of lightweight polyurethane foam. This makes them much easier to handle. Ceiling medallions are used to draw attention to chandeliers and light fixtures, or to enhance crown molding. They can also be combined with a rosette and used to decorate an otherwise plain ceiling. You can use these architectural ornaments as wall decorations. Use several small ones in the hallway. Ceiling medallions are versatile and come in many styles and sizes. They can be painted to match any room. Ceiling medallions are one of the most popular architectural details.

Ceiling domes are similar to ceiling medallions in that they can transform any room into a work of art. However, they are larger and actually recessed into the ceiling, necessitating that they be planned for at the time of construction. Ceiling domes effectively enhance a foyer, dining room, living room, or even the bathroom.

Crown molding, also referred to as crown moulding, or cornice, is probably THE most important architectural element used to define any interior space. Most of today’s interior designers agree that every room benefits from the use of crown molding treatment. Crown molding smoothes the transition from wall to ceiling and does much to define the architectural style of a room. The size and style of crown molding used may vary widely, from a simple cove in a farmhouse kitchen to a large built-up cornice in a grand entry.

These are just a few of the architectural designs and accents you can use to enhance the overall experience of all who enter into your home. Just don’t forget the ceiling!

Patricia Tomaskovic is the owner of http://www.goceilingmedallion.com. Copyright2005. We invite you to visit and register for the monthly drawing. We look forward to serving you.

We are an on-line store offering home decorating products, specializing in ceiling medallions and crown molding, as well as numerous other decorative ceiling items, including tools and supplies for creating your own custom ceilings.

If you’re not sure where to start or how best to tackle updating your child’s bedroom, you’re not alone. In a lot of families, the baby nursery takes a lot of planning and decorating time but there’s often less thought and energy put into decorating the same child’s room as they grow older.

It’s common for baby toys and furniture like diaper disposals, pull toys and cribs to get removed, but other things often stay around for quite a bit longer than the growing child might wish. For instance a wall paper border with prints more suitable for your baby or young child’s room, may not be as enjoyed by your now older child (or teen?!).

Here are a few tips to help you get started with decorating your child’s room. The best part about this is that your child can help you do it this time around. So this can be a fun project you can do together!

1. Select a new color to paint the walls, a color that your child likes. If you have a strong objection to it, though, negotiate with perhaps a lighter version of that color, or limiting their color choice to only one wall. (Or, encourage them to put up some nice posters to lessen the wall color’s impact!)

2. Mood lighting! Kids of all ages enjoy mood lighting of one sort or another. Together, select either a night light, a small novelty lamp with a low-wattage bulb, or an interesting colored or black light bulb lamp. Other lighting effects kids enjoy include disco lights, dog statues, flowers with light effects, and glow in the dark items.

3. Bedspreads. Get rid of baby blankets and exchange for favorite cartoon throws or bed covers. When they’re teenagers, they might enjoy sports, frilly, or even more adult taste bed coverings.

4. Personalize something for their bureaus or their walls, with their names and/or photographs. Photos can be made into a collage. Exchange those baby and stork photo frames with an upgrade to novelty photo frames. Try one with hearts, a sports theme or a safari look, for instance. Engraved stones with your child’s name or an inspirational thought and personalized acrostic poem name prints are fun and unique decor ideas that kids enjoy. Engraved name stones become long-lasting gifts and keepsakes. Acrostic name prints use the letters of your child’s name to start off self-esteem enhancing phrases that can inspire your child and highlight their special talents and interests.

5. Create a comfort zone area in the room, for cuddling up cozy and reading. You can use big pillows, plush or inflatable chairs, anything your child might enjoy to sit on and relaxing in. You’ll also want to conveniently have some books placed within their arm’s reach. You can also place some music equipment by that area for them to enjoy. And if there’s room, add an additional seating space for you. Then together you can enjoy reading, listening to music, or simply chatting with each other. If you have a teenager, they’ll likely want to have another seating space for you or their friends to use.

6. Together with your child, agree upon a wall paper border that you can use to decorate their room with. This idea can be in addition to or used instead of painting their room. Adding or changing a wall paper border can be a very simple and quick way to change the look and feel of your child’s room.

7. And… here’s an interesting idea my daughter suggested when I asked her for suggestions about decorating a child’s room … (I simply had to share this intriguing idea with you!) She said, "tell them to get an extra thick room door so you don’t hear your kids fighting!"

Can you tell that she shares her room with her sister and something about the noise level in their room at times?

Hmmm… she might have a good idea there after all!

Liz Hekimian-Williams is founder of Giftsprings.com, a home decor and gift shop that features unique personalized gifts including engraved stones and personalized acrostic name prints, as well as novelty decor photo frames and accent lamps. To delight your child with his or her name etched in stone, you are invited to explore the personalized engraved stones available at http://www.giftsprings.com/category/estones

© 2004 by Liz Hekimian-Williams, Giftsprings.com

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Permission to reprint this article is granted as long as you agree to publish it in its entirety (including author byline, resource box with active link, and copyright notice); email only to your own private mailing list of subscribers who have specifically opted-in to receive your emails; and notify the author of your usage.

It’s the accent pieces, the finishing touches, the small but significant items that give a home personality. When you’re decorating a new home from scratch, these things are often overlooked in favor of the major decisions about flooring, wall coverings and large furniture such as beds and sofas.

These little decorative items are what make a room comfortable and welcoming. Toss one or two beaded pillows on your bed or couch, and see how inviting it becomes. Brighten up your kitchen with some ceramic gourmet pigs on the counters, and it will become the place where everyone gathers. Envelop your living room in the grace of candlelight and watch everyone relax in its glow. You don’t have to spend an enormous amount of money to create an inviting atomosphere.

Use Greenery to Give your Room Life
Plants and flowers are among the best ways to make a room hospitable. Use a wide variety of planters, urns and plant stands to suit your decorating scheme that are made from alabastrite, which is an inexpensive material. Select your plants and containers to complement the room, not clash with it. Bright colors are excellent for the kitchen, but pastels might be more restful in the bedroom.

Don’t forget about the outdoor areas as a lead to your interior decorating. Matching lions statues at the end of the driveway give a regal touch to your entrance. Or you may prefer something more whimsical, such as loving frogs on a bench sculpture, to liven up your patio or door entrance. For a romantic atmosphere, choose a Victorian style cherub, or hang candle lanterns in the branches of nearby trees. Inside and out, let your home reflect your own gracious welcome.

Visit your on-line resource for home decor accents at affordable prices.

• Wall Decorations:

Never place a wall hanging, picture, poster, or any other decoration on the wall within the baby’s reach. Remember that once the baby is able to stand and reach up these things can be hazards. They can knock wall hangings or pictures off the wall, and hit themselves with them. If it is a picture in a frame with glass, if they were to knock it down, it could break and shatter, causing severe health hazards. If it is something as simple as a poster, it can still be dangerous, because they can rip off a piece of it, and put it in their mouth, leading to choking.

• Bumpers:

It is always a good idea to use bumpers for a baby’s bed, but it is equally important to make sure that the bumper and all other kids bedding fits the crib properly. Bumpers are used to prevent the baby from getting their arms and legs between bars, or between the crib and mattress, and can provide much safety this way, but if it does not fit properly, it can pose more concerns than before, because not only will it allow the baby to get these appendages in these places, it can essentially pin them there.

• Musical Mobiles:

These are excellent tools on occupying your baby, and adding decoration to the bedroom, but they need to be used in a safe manner. Once a baby begins pushing up on their hands and knees, the mobile should be placed at the baby’s feet, and once they start pulling up, it can pose a strangulation hazard, so you may want to remove it altogether.

• Pillows, Blankets and Kids Bedding:

Babies only need one lightweight blanket on them while they are sleeping, such as a receiving blanket. The blanket should only reach as far as their chest, and it should be tucked in tightly around the baby, possibly either around the crib. They do not need pillows or extra blankets. A pillow or an extra blanket can suffocate a child, especially an infant that can not move his head away quickly enough. This also applies to stuffed animals in the crib.

• Crib Sheets:

It is very important that the only sheet you put on a crib be a fitted sheet, and that it fits securely around the mattress. If the elastic won’t hold it on, and it comes loose and slides up onto the bed, it can get tangled around the child and suffocate her. Washing all kids bedding:

Do not forget to wash all sheets and blankets before putting the infant in the bed. They can be washed in regular laundry detergent, but to avoid any allergies or irritants on baby’s soft skin from it, sometimes it is best to use baby detergent.

Infants should ALWAYS sleep in a crib which meets current federal and ASTM standards.

• Mattress

It is also important to pay close attention to how the mattress fits into the crib. The tighter it fits, the better it is, because this leaves less room for them to stick a hand or finger, or any other body parts. Crib mattresses may seem rather hard to an adult who is accustom to a soft bed to sleep on, but they are made this way for a reason: safety. This keeps them from suffocating themselves, and is the same reason it’s never good to let an infant sleep on an adult’s bed, or on a pillow, or even a comforter. The only thing that should be under the baby on a mattress is a fitted sheet, and possibly a mattress pad and/or waterproof pad.

• Sleeping Position

A healthy infant should always sleep on their back, unless you are directed otherwise by a physician. Even without a pillow or fluffy blanket in the bed, a baby on their stomach can get stuck face-down and not be able to move their head to the side to get air, leading to suffocation.

• Mini Blinds and Curtains

Just as with wall hangers and pictures, it is very important not to ever place a baby’s bed near a window with mini blind or curtains. The cord from mini blinds pose a strangulation risk, and they can pull on curtains, pulling themselves out of the crib. Either of these can also cause endangerment if the baby pulls on it hard enough to pull it down on top of them.

Article by Avid Amiri - President of The Kids Bedding Company. Please visit Kids First to learn more about kids bedding and find the best styles and prices on the latest kids bedding designs.

Come to think of it, we spend one quarter of our lives sleeping on our bed. So do take the trouble to get as comfortable as possible on that bed of yours.

Here are some tips for your bedroom.

When you are choosing a mattress, the most important thing to note is whether it is comfortable to lie on. And the only way to know is to actually lie on the mattress and roll around on it for at least 10 minutes. Secondly, when choosing the bed make sure you lie down on the bed too. Make sure that your feet do not stick out of the bed. I rather go for a longish bed than a wide bed.

Try not to put your bed in a corner. Otherwise the occupant sleeping next to the wall will have a hard time getting off the bed. He has to crawl on the bed before being able to step onto the floor.

Also don’t position your bed facing your windows. The sunlight will be pouring directly onto your eyes and disturbing your rest. Even if you draw the curtain you can still see the glare and brightness of the sun behind the curtain. Ideally the length of the bed should be positioned parallel to the window.

Are you exasperated by the loose bed sheets disrupting your beautiful sleep? Consider tying the excess bed sheet cloth at the corners of the bed when making the bed so as to prevent the bed sheet from slipping out due to excessive movement on the bed

Is your wardrobe full and unwieldy? Consider putting away seldom worn clothes into separate storage bins. In this way, your wardrobe consists only of things which you need to access and wear daily. It also makes it easier to keep and store freshly ironed clothes and choosing a particular outfit.

Lastly, go for a duvet rather than a comforter as it is easier to clean . You can also slip on different duvet cover to match the new bed sheet or curtains. Lastly, the duvet can be used as a substitute for a blanket too.

My last tip is to put on the mattress protector to protect your mattress against dirt, dust mites, liquids like urine and sweat and stains. It will not only be more hygienic but will improve the lifespan of your mattress too.

Here is where you can find duvets. You can also find bedding sets and bedroom decorating ideas at http://www.beddingsets.net.

The Basic Role of Pictures

Wall art plays an important role in interior design as it helps create the ambience of a room. By cleverly placing wall pictures in certain ways, you can change and create a new look and feel in a room.

The role wall pictures play in interior design are:-

• pictures, mirrors or other ornamental accessories on walls help make the room look ‘lived in’ and they also inject your personality into the room;
• color pictures and prints help connect with the rooms accent;
• pictures help absorb noise in a room, otherwise a room with totally bare walls will sound empty and will have an echo;
• pictures and prints can help enhance or change a room’s ‘look and feel’.

How to Lengthen a Room

If you have a small room in your house, you can easily achieve the illusion of length. This can be done in two ways. If you like bold statements then simply paint a couple of horizontal lines in a bold color across the middle of the wall in which you want to lengthen. These lines then naturally create the illusion of increased length in the room. An alternative way to do this, and a more subtle way, is to use pictures.

By strategically placing art pictures or photographs with any kind of strong horizontal line in the print, can accomplish the illusion of length. For example, if you chose two or three long rectangular pictures with horizontal panoramic prints such as ocean & beach pictures, fields, or scenic mountain pictures, then this will help extend the length of the room naturally.

Two, three or more of these horizontal landscape pictures will give the maximum impact you are looking for to help lengthen a small room. Also bear in mind not to overdo the room with furniture. Too much clutter makes a room appear smaller.

How to Broaden a Narrow Room

If you have a room which is a bit on the narrow side, there is a simple strategy to make the room appear broader. All you need is a tin of paint, a wall mirror and a large colorful wall picture.

Get your tin of paint, which should preferably be a darker contrasting color to your other walls, and paint one of the walls with this darker paint. Find a colorful and lively large painting and hang it on the wall you have just painted - colorful flower pictures are ideal for this.

On the wall adjacent to your picture, hang a decorative large mirror. What has happened here is that the mirror reflects on the large picture, and the additional darker color on the wall has immediately given the room some much-needed depth. This combination will then make the room appear wider.

By adding these simple additions to your narrow room, you have instantly created a balance in the room’s dimensions giving the sensation of additional space.

How to Heighten a Low Ceiling

Rooms with low ceilings give an oppressive feeling, whereas rooms with a high ceiling give a light and airy feel with a large amount of space. To overcome the problem of a low ceiling, there are a couple of interior design strategies to use.

First of all put down a darker floor covering, whether it be a wooden floor, carpet or lino. Paint the walls with a lighter color than the floor, or use light colored wallpaper. If you can, use white paint for the ceiling as this always gives the room maximum light and instantly draws the eyes upwards.

Hang up wall pictures with strong vertical lines as this then gives the impression of height. Use portrait prints such as vertical landscapes, i.e. lighthouses, trees, cityscapes, or floral prints such as flowers in a vertical vase or tall long stem roses. Therefore, by combining the dark floor, light walls and ceiling and portraits prints, all adds to the sense of height in a room.

Summary

Art pictures and prints play an important role in home decorating for several reasons. They do not only reflect and put your own personality into the room, but they can also help as a solution to change the look and feel of a room by giving the illusion of height, width and length. This can easily be achieved by combining wall pictures, contrasting colors and decorative mirrors.

Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of Online Home Improvement Ideas.