Blinds can be very utilitarian, even industrial as a window treatment. Among the reasons that they have been popular as window decoration in office and industrial setting is because they are durable, easy to clean, filter sunlight effectively and provide privacy. For all of these same reasons they are also popular as window decorations in homes. The trick was to make them attractive.

Types of windows blinds

Designers and home decorating companies have come up with a wide variety of materials and finishes for blinds. Decorators also use curtains and valences to give windows a much warmer feel. The result has been window treatments that are attractive, bright, airy and contemporary. The types of blinds commonly used in homes today include the following.

1.Venetian. These are still usually made from aluminum; however they may also be plastic. The slats may be 1, 2 or 3 inches wide and are slightly curved. The slats are connected by cords and twill tape. They can be opened, closed, opened at an angle or pulled up to the top of the window. These blinds are very versatile, can be used in any room and are available in many colours. The slats close tightly, providing privacy when desired.

2.Wood slat. Venetian blinds made from wood are also called wood slat blinds. The slats are thicker, and when pulled to the top of the window, will create a thicker stack. They may be stained or painted. Like other styles, the slats can be opened or closed to admit or filter sunlight.

3.Miniblind. These have become very popular in the past 20 years or so. The slats on these blinds are very narrow, either 1/2 or 1 inch wide. They may be aluminum or PVC and come in a wide array of colours. These are a type of Venetian and can be opened, closed or pulled to the top of the window. These are very popular because when closed, they give the window a very smooth appearance.

4.Vertical. Vertical blinds are very popular in both offices and in homes. They may be used for both windows and sliding glass doors where they can be open, closed or pulled to one side. The PVC or metal slats hang from a track across the top of the window or door. The slats may either be connected at the bottom with a chain or cord, or simply hung loose. Some models are electric blinds and can be opened and closed with a remote control unit.

5.Woven. Unlike the styles described above, woven blinds do not have slats that open or close. The slats are very narrow and woven together. Narrow spaces between the slats filter sunlight. More light is admitted by pulling a draw string and rolling the blind up toward the top of the window. Woven blinds do not offer quite as much privacy as Venetians.

Not only do blinds come in a variety of attractive styles, they are also available in a variety of materials. The combination of styles and materials give decorators tremendous versatility in putting together extremely attractive windows. This versatility results in windows that compliment and coordinate well with virtually every taste in room decor. Among the materials used in blinds are the following.

Metal
For years metal, especially aluminum, has been among the most popular materials for blind slats. Metal is durable, easy to clean and long-lasting. It comes in a variety of colours and the slats are available in widths from 1/2 inch to three inches.

Wood
Wood is a popular window dressing material because of the rich beauty and sense of strength it offers. Wood gives a room an aesthetic quality not found with any other material. Wood can be stained or painted a virtually infinite variety of colours. The slats in wooden blinds are generally one to two inches wide. Draw strings are pulled to open or close the slats, thus controlling the amount of light let into the room. Wood is used for both Venetian and woven blinds.

Cane
Cane is used in woven blinds. Cane may be either bamboo or rattan. The slats may be either whole or split pieces of cane. The slats do not open or close, but the small spaces between the pieces of cane admit filtered light into the room.

Vinyl
PVC. Vinyl is used in both Venetian and woven styles. It is easily substituted for metal or wood in Venetian or woven styles. Vinyl looks good for years, is easy to clean and is typically much less expensive than metal or wood.

Fabric
Stiffened fabric is sometimes used as slats. This fabric may also be back with vinyl or metal. Fabric can be used to compliment or coordinate with other fabrics in the room.

Blinds can be used as the sole window treatment or in combination with drapes, curtains and valances. As the sole window treatment, they can make a room look larger and contemporary. Used in combination with curtains and valances, the room can be made to feel softer and smaller. The fabric of curtains or valances softens the hard, linear appearance created by blinds. The possibilities are almost limitless for the home decorator.

The decor in almost every room of the home can include blinds as part or the entire window treatment. A traditional styled living room, for example, looks comfortable and homey with light-coloured Venetians in the windows topped with a scalloped valance. A breakfast nook has a bright and airy feel with woven rattan blinds filtering out the full strength of the morning light. Bedrooms are private and attractive with rich-hued miniblinds softened by floor length double tied back and lined curtains. Small bathrooms seem larger with lightly-coloured Venetians providing privacy while admitting sunlight.

Blinds are colourful, functional and decorative. In combination with curtains and other window dressings they add style and a pleasing linear effect to any room. The blinds of today are a far cry from the sterile and antiseptic windows of my childhood physician’s office.

Peter Wilson released a lot of articles for http://www.shades-blinds-shutters-guide.com , a spezialised source on tips and tricks. Amongst his works he is publishing on issues like wood blinds and shutters.

Tips and advise when buying your bathroom suite:

Your bathroom is probably the most intimate space in your home. Many people invest excessively in renovating their bathrooms in the belief that the reflection of their personality can be found in the design of the bathroom. When your guests use your bathroom, they take the time to look around and examine the style and accessories decorating the bathroom. Your wealth and style will be reflected from the perfection of work and the material you use.

Below are some tips and advise when considering buying a bathroom suite or adding accessories.

POTTERY:

Also known as sanitary ware, ceramics, porcelain and ware.

There are four basic areas that affect the quality of pottery and its expected lifespan:

The depth of the glaze:

The glaze is the glass-like surface coating which is fired onto the pottery in the kiln when it is made.

The glass enables the pot to be waterproof and protects it from chemicals, such as bleach etc, over its life.

The thicker the glaze generally the longer the life. Once this glaze goes, wears out, the pot becomes porous, absorbs water and eventually cracks.

The more you use and clean the pottery the faster the glaze wears out.

To make the glaze thicker you have to apply it a layer at a time and each time fire it in the kiln. This process results in breakages within the kiln.

For example, if I fire 100 pieces of pot once I may get 99 back in one piece, so the 99 pays for the 100.

If I then fire the 99 again I may get 80 back in one piece, so now 80 have to pay for 100.

If I then fire the 80 I may get only 50 back in one piece, so now 50 have to pay for 100. You get the gist of this by now.

If you assume that each layer of glaze lasts approximately 5 to 7 years you can soon see how the system works.

If you glaze once you get a less expensive cost to manufacture but the product does not last as long in a house. The thicker the glaze the longer the pottery lasts.

Quality of the clay:

The quality of the clay that is used to make the pottery is very important. The reason for this is that the finer the clay the smoother the finish will be on the item being made.

If you use a poorer grade of clay it will have more grit in it and the surface will have a more rippled appearance.

You may also find that because of the increased grit content the pottery is heavier than an item of the same size made with a finer grade of clay. The finer the clay the more tonnes of rough clay you have to use to refine down to make it.

It is therefore less expensive to produce pottery with a coarse grade of clay.

The overspray or colour:

The white colour, or whatever colour it happens to be, is applied to the pottery before the glaze.

Each manufacturer mixes their own colour to try to match it to the colour of the acrylic baths.

The white colour of the acrylic bath is a worldwide standard set by the acrylic manufacturers.

You need to be aware of this if you client tries to mix and match pottery from different manufacturers.

Its usually acceptable to have a toilet and basin from one supplier made to match the bath but if you put a basin from one supplier and a toilet from another and then the bath together it will stand out like a sore thumb.

The thicker the colour is applied, the less fading on the edges takes place and the colour is even over the whole of the item.

The colour as with the glaze is applied in layers and then has to be left to set before the next coat can be applied.

The fewer coats the quicker the product can be made and the less cost is involved.

The design of the item:

The more intricate the design the more expensive the mould is to make and the more chance there is that you will not always remove it from the mould without damage.

Plainer shapes are usually less expensive. You should also note that basins, toilets and bidets are made as matched sets.

You will often find that the foot of the pedestal on the basin matches the foot of the toilet pan and that the back of the basin matches the toilet cistern lid.

One general point to be made is that pottery is often sold in what is known in the trade as a four-piece set.

That is a basin, pedestal, pan and cistern. Unfortunately the retail customer sees the set as two pieces: the basin and the toilet.

If you use the term four-piece set to a retail customer they may think you mean a basin, toilet, bath and bidet.

So always explain what you mean by four pieces if you should choose to use the term.

Written by Neal Baker on behalf of http://www.bathroomsensuite.com and http://www.bathroom-furnitureuk.co.uk, online retailers of bathroom furniture, bathroom suites and bathroom accessories in the UK.

Developers are squeezing more out of their available land area for their new projects by building smaller apartment units. Demographics are also changing with smaller families.

So ,how do you make a small apartment look bigger than it is?

Here are 7 tricks of the trade

1. Using mirrors to cover the entire length of walls has a dramatic effect of making the room look so much bigger and spacious. Mirrors have the ability to create the illusion of space. Instead of seeing the wall your mind is tricked into believing the space of the room is twice as big.

2. In the living room, try to put low sideboards or cabinets instead of tall shelves or cabinets. Cabinets or sideboards with height lower than your study desk and dining table instantly makes your room look so much bigger and neater.

3. Another way of creating the impression of large spaces is to have light colour or white flooring . You should also use light colour or warm colours such as yellow or orange for your walls. Here is how you can use color to make a room look larger.

4. To extrapolate on the earlier point, floors of different areas such as living room and porch with different materials and purpose should have similar themed light colours to create a stronger visual impression of enlarged spaces.

5. If the space outside a particular wall consists of a balcony view or a garden view, consider knocking down part of the wall to construct a window. A window with a exterior beautiful view automatically makes an impact and makes the room feel so much bigger.

6. You can also opt for space saving furniture and appliances. A sofa bed serves the dual purpose of being a couch and a bed and thereby saving space for a bed. A washing machine with a dryer feature also makes it unnecessary to buy a dryer which would take up more space.

7. If you are short of space for sleeping you can exploit your living room for flexible space by erecting a folding screen or installing ceiling mounted curtain to create flexible space.

You can find more Home Decor Ideas at http://www.home-decor-ideas.com

My seven year old daughter’s recent haircut had me thinking, once again, about the age-old "less is more" topic. With the waist-length hair cut to an above-the-shoulders bob, suddenly my little one looked so much bigger (and more grown up, too). All that hair was visually dwarfing her simply because of the ratio of hair length to body height.

With hairstyles being quite a deviation from my field of expertise, I was intrigued by the similar effects of cutting back hair to cutting back on the items within a space. "Cutting back" in a room can mean many things:

» Using smaller scale furnishings to open up the space;

» De-cluttering / removing excess items that create a "busy" feel in the room;

» Using fewer by pieces of furniture by selecting pieces that are multi-purpose, such as an upholstered ottoman that doubles as an occasional table.

Proportion, or scale, is one of the most important elements in good design — interior design, graphic design, and obviously hair "design" too. Something quite big just doesn’t work as well when it’s background is relatively small, unless of course the big item is meant to be the only focal point, as could be the case with a piano or pool table in a home setting.

Although I do like the look of minimalism, I have never accepted it as an achievable style for my own home, or for that of any average family. Most of us are comforted by having some personal belongings visible around us, whether they be books, photos, crafts/hobbies, displays of collectibles, or just a special something that has sentimental value. "Cutting back" too much equates with shaving your head, I suppose. Both are extreme. There is a way to find a happy medium.

In under a day, you can revamp your home in such a way that it is no longer being dwarfed by its contents. Here are some simple (and cost efficient) tips to open up your rooms to showcase the space as well as your belongings:

> Busy prints or patterns, especially on large furniture pieces (such as sofas), tend to make the pieces appear even larger. Cover it with a solid-colour or subtle tone-on-tone print, leaving small areas of the original print exposed.

> Reframe photos in matching frames, or use the frames that accommodate multiple pictures.

> Display collectibles in shadow boxes or on appropriate shelves or in display cases that can be hung on the wall.

> Determine if any of your furnishings can be used as multi-purpose pieces, and do some rearranging if needed. For instance, an old-fashioned desk can be used as a console table, while providing you with an instant place to handle mail and even bill paying.

> Look for hidden storage space. First clear out what you don’t need, and make proper use of the storage space you do have; then look for "hidden" storage areas. Storage solutions can be created underneath stairs, above the washer & dryer, wherever you have wasted space in your home… Depending on your heating system, you may have bulkheads concealing ducting; often some bulkheads are put up just to make the needed ones look balanced. Empty, or fake, bulkheads can easily be transformed into storage space. Don’t leave an inch of space un-thought of if you really are short of room to keep your family’s stuff.

> Strategically hang mirrors to reflect windows and doors. Although this doesn’t affect your layout, it creates a sense of more area. On the other hand never hang a mirror at the end of a long corridor or hall as the "long and narrow" will be emphasized, giving a bowling alley feel.

> Use contrast to define space. Make sure there is a contrast between your wall colour & doors and window frames. Have a stronger contrast between your walls and your small furnishings than between your walls and your larger pieces whenever possible.

> Emphasize open floor space with a simple rug that fits within that open space, leaving a border of visible floor exposed.

> Establish a furniture layout that has your largest (highest) pieces of non-focal-point furniture furthest from the entry to the room. For example, a tall dresser opposite a bedroom door will accentuate the size of the dresser, while a small piece of furniture in that same location will accentuate the space your room has to offer.

A trip to your local library or bookstore can provide you with even more inspiration for you home.

Karen S. Weiner is the owner and principal interior designer of Idealspace Design in Montreal, Quebec (Canada). http://www.idealspacedesign.com

Even though there is a huge number of window coverings to choose from, window blinds continue to be one of the most popular choices. They include mini blinds, wooden blinds, vertical blinds, and vinyl blinds. They all offer a number of advantages as well as a look and feel they provide to any room in your home. For budget minded consumers, aluminum mini blinds offer a low cost, durable solution. They offer different slat sizes ranging from ½” up to 2”. The great thing about them is they come in over 100 different colors. You want make sure you buy the right gauge of aluminum. The higher the gauge of the slat, the more durable and the less likely they will bend or dent permanently. You don’t have to worry about this if you select wooden blinds or vinyl blinds.

Wooden blinds also come in a variety of slat widths usually ranging from 1 inch to 3 inches. They too come in a variety of finishes and can really set off a room when they are matched with the wood trim of the baseboards and doors. They add natural beauty, class and warmth to any room that aluminum mini blinds fail to do. They are also available in faux wood that resist warping, fading and chipping. If this is a concern, you may want to check faux wood or vinyl blinds out as the products continue to get better and better every year. The battle still continues about real wood or faux, just remember both have their advantages and disadvantages. It will all depend on your budget, preference and lifestyle.

The recently introduced combination of wood and vinyl blinds or wood/vinyl alloy offer some great advantages to traditional wooden blinds. They tend to cost less and they also resist moisture which can cause warping and bending. A number of the leading manufacturers like Levolor, Comfortex and Hunter Douglas offer these types of products. The disadvantages of these include limited color selection, size limitations, are less sturdy but heavier than wood and they may fade over time. Because of the wide selection of products on the market, we recommend you do your research first before you head out shopping.

Amy-Jo Strutt is a successful home decorator writer and regular contributor to window-blinds-shades-shutters.com an online resource to help you find the very best window treatments and coverings. http://www.window-blinds-shades-shutters.com/blinds.html

This article is not your basic primer on selecting your “dream home”. Nor does it contain the list of “items to ask your designer” - these things can be found on any designer’s website or Google search. As important as those items are, what we are going to do here is drill-down into the design a little, bypass the fan-fare and talk about some specific concepts that will really make a difference in your life.

Matching your house to your lifestyle begins with an exploration of your needs and wants. Most home designers will have some type of “discovery process” that will help identify the basics for your home design. It will start with the configuration of your lot and proceed through items such as privacy requirements, work areas, outdoor spaces, etc. Although this process is critical to your project, it rarely drills down enough to transform your design into a home that will serve your needs for a lifetime.

Here are two keys of good home design that must be addressed up-front: a) assessing the homeowner’s current needs; and, b) anticipating the future needs of people living in the home. Before you say “Yeah, yeah…I’ve heard this all before!” let’s take a closer look at what “current needs” entail.

Almost all “discovery processes” used by home designers focus on the use and space requirements of the rooms in the house. This is good, but too little attention is given to the personal needs of the people actually living in the home. Without performing a comprehensive assessment of the client’s functional abilities, identifying areas of the home where modifications are necessary is often overlooked.

For example, the needs of a child and his / her ability to live comfortably in the home are rarely addressed at the design stage. It’s necessary to evaluate the child’s current abilities and design an environment that works and grows with the child. Some easy adaptive design elements would include adjustable shelves and rods in the closet. As the child grows, the shelves and rods can be moved to better accommodate their reach. Appliances present a similar situation as it is necessary for the controls to be accessible. Front mounted controls on washing machines and dryers enable their use. Safety also comes into play. A child trying to use a microwave placed overhead is a recipe for disaster!

Of course, the above example is very simple, but it illustrates the point that design needs to be done from the perspective of the individual and his / her ability to carry out daily routines in the home. This is why a good designer will perform an assessment of the client and specify the needed design modifications.

There are a couple of tools that a designer can use to evaluate the needs of their clients. One of those tools is the Comprehensive Assessment and Solution Process for Aging Residents (CASPAR). CASPAR was designed for healthcare professionals to evaluate their client’s ability to carry out routine activities in the home. This is also useful in determining the requirements of people who have disabilities.

Anticipating the future needs of individuals may prove a little trickier, but we can start by understanding the process of aging. Whether we like to think about growing old or not, it is inevitable, and people’s functional abilities diminish over time. A well designed home will easily adapt to these changing needs and allow people to stay in their homes longer.

Fortunately, “universal design” is beginning to take root in modern home design. Ron Mace, Founder and Program Director of the Center for Universal Design (NCSU), give us the following definition of UD: “The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities.” Because the principles of universal design are inclusive for people with disabilities, the application of UD in home design is appropriate and addresses many of the needs of people who wish to “age in place”.

Adaptable design is different in concept from universal design. Where universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities, adaptable design allows the home to be modified for a specific need. An example of adaptable design would be designing a two-story home with “stacked closets” (a closet on the first floor directly below and aligned with a closet on the second floor) so that a residential elevator or lift could easily be installed in the future. In contrast, a universal design item might be the installation of lever door handles that are easier to use for people who have lost the ability to grip a standard round door knob. These lever handles also benefit anyone who may have their hands full with groceries and want to release the door latch by using their forearm or elbow, for example. Children also have an easier time using lever door handles.

Distinguishing between universal and adaptable design may seem difficult at first, but when one realizes that these principles have less to do about the installation of specific items and are more about a designer’s perspective, it all begins to make better sense. And the designer’s perspective is heavily influenced by a thorough client assessment.

Does this level of service cost more? Yes, probably. But a couple hundred dollars up front to hire a qualified designer who will accurately assess your lifestyle and evaluate your future needs, pales in comparison to leaving your design to chance. The number one secret to good home design is to avoid cutting costs at this stage of your project and find a home designer who is an expert in assessing your needs and applying the design criteria that will make your house a home for a lifetime.

Thomas Hewitt is the President of Falcon Homes, Inc., a home design company located in Albuquerque, NM. Thomas is an aging-in-place specialist certified by the National Association of Home Builders and specializes in universal and adaptable design. The company’s website can be found at http://www.FalconHomesInc.com.

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.

Dear friends, the emergence of architecture in human society has taken a wide and distinct role in itself. Starting from early eras where man used to live in caves, we have seen a remarkable growth in architecture and allied fields, which includes landscape and interior design

The recent being the use of computers and "Computer Aided Design" in architecture, which allows a kind of perfection in design and execution process of any building and its interiors.

In spite of all the technological advances, the primary function of any building structure remains the same, protection from outside environment and natural calamities.

Starting from a place to "protect yourself’ from nature, interior design has become a "status symbol". Today’s interior spaces have a two way channel, first and the obvious one is the function and second one is aesthetical, which is a little complex one.

It is quite obvious that the interior design of a space is directly related to the function of the space. This means that two spaces like a home and an office have two well defined functions, hence it will reflect in every aspect of the interior design solution.

But apart from the there is one more important factor that will affect each and every aspect of the final design solution, and that’s the geographical location of the architectural structure.

A hotel building at seashore and the other one at a hill station will have a completely different sets of problems to deal with. Lets see in a short way what are the external factors that can affect an interior design solution

1) Amount of direct sunlight.

Locations on the far northern or southern hemisphere receive less amount of sunlight than those at the equator. That’s why here the building with more use of plane glass are used. Also artificial lighting is given much importance.

2) External temperature.

External temperature directly affects the comfort level of internal spaces. Since external walls act as a "buffer" between internal and external climate, it is necessary to use the right construction material for walls. Depending upon the wall material the internal finishes also have limitations. This is especially true for structure that face extreme climatic ups and downs, such as locations in the gulf countries.

Hence selecting materials that can sustain heavy climatic changes on a daily scale is challenging.

3) Humidity and Rainfall.

Because of the salty nature of air around coastal areas extra care is taken for building construction materials, which can directly affect the entire budget of the project.

4)Wind Direction.

Wind direction and wind speed also has direct affect on the interiors. Heavy winds exert a load on the external walls of the structure, thus affecting the construction technology.

5)Land Structure and Topography.

Land structure is the nature of land on which the structure stands. Various types of land structures include rock solid, marshy land, etc…Topography of land is classified as plane or a site with slope. If the site of the structure is on a hill slope, extra precautions are taken to allow the natural flow of rainwater that the structure might block. Depending upon the quality of land surface the construction technology will change.

As far as interiors are concerned a well planned structure with properly thought spaces is a must because internally the spaces get divided into various floors.

From the above short discussion it can be said that external factors and environment greatly affect the way structures are built and thus directly affecting the interior qualities of the structure.

Technological advancements have allowed us to artificially control the internal environment of a building irrespective of what’s happening outside. But a carefully studied and well planned architectural space can easily cut the extra cost of air conditioning and other ventilation services.

I hope this article was informative to everyone.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster of Bedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .Here you will find some great concept level design tips for bedroom design, bedroom sets and bedroom decorating ideas.

Does your home have indoor or outdoor steps and staircases? Have you spent much time cleaning and maintaining these on a routine basis, or are you trusting to luck that they will hold up indefinitely, or at least until you have more time to give them your attention?

Steps perform a vital function in our homes. Although some people install faux staircases for a designer look, most steps are used to connect different levels of a home and facilitate passage between them through a series of easy-to-climb wood, steel, or vinyl footholds. Except for physically disabled people, these are generally safe enough for any age person to navigate, from toddlers to the elderly. But if they are not, you can do some things to make them more conducive to save passage for all your household members, as well as occasional guests.

Make a rule that the steps cannot have any clutter on them. Assign the task of clearing them each day to one of the kids, or make each person responsible for removing shoes, newspapers, coats, books, and other items they may set down there instead of leaving them laying around for days at a time. It may help to have someone vacuum the steps to remove dust, dropped pins or hairclips, and anything else that could stick someone’ bare foot.

Check every few months or so to be sure each step remains solid. Loose boards or torn carpeting can lead to nasty falls. Get your hammer and nails to fix any broken areas promptly to keep someone from falling and getting hurt. While you’re at it, check the banisters and railings to be sure they’re stable, and that no spokes are splintered or ready to stick out and give someone a splinter. If you don’t have a handrail, this might be the time to install one. One on the right-hand side or two for both hands is your choice, depending on family members’ needs. Make sure these fit tightly to the wall, and discourage kids from playing on them.

If your steps are carpeted, check for loose strings that may be unraveling, and clip them to prevent their getting caught in people’s shoes or in a trailing robe or child’s toy. If your steps are bare, consider adding stair treads with thin grooves to help keep users from slipping. This is especially important for steps that lead from the outside to the inside of your home, but they will be useful for any staircase in your house. Make sure the treads are firmly nailed or glued in place, and check periodically for loose ends that could flip up when they catch on someone’s slipper or shoe and cause a fall.

Lighting is another important feature of safe stairways. Wall sconces or table lamps on the landings could be helpful. Overhead lighting works, too, although bulbs may be harder to change when they burn out.

You might want to place an area rug at the bottom of the steps, making sure it is secure with a rubber backing that grips the bare floor or adheres in place to the carpet. The rug will catch debris from people’s shoes before they take the steps where dried mud and accumulated dust can come off and fill stair treads or coat carpet fibers.

Learn from the stair building pros all you will ever need about caring for your household steps for both safety and appearance from Staircase Step at http://www.staircasestep.com Staircase Step