Interior Design Ideas and Advice

There is something infinitely beautiful about a well shaped candle.  People will pay top dollar for this works of art and I have often found that many people will avoid using them since they are so exquisite. 

If you do use the sculpted candle, you are left with a melted mess, trying to figure out exactly what to do with it now.  Sure you can melt it down to make more candles but why don’t you melt it down to create another sculpture. 

I am not a big fan of abstract art but I have come to really enjoy these wax sculptures.  They are easy to make and you can make them with older children, under supervision.  Actually, the first time I made an abstract wax sculpture, I was only 13. 

They are very easy to make and you only need a few items to create a beautiful work of art.  You don’t even need candles!

What you need:

·         Wax – This is the most important item for making a wax sculpture but I have used everything from store bought wax to old crayons.  Remember that some colors will mix together creating a muddy color but others won’t.

·         Double Boiler – Since you are melting wax, it is best to use a double boiler or a metal bowl in a few inches of water.  Adding a pot of wax to a direct source of heat can cause fires or at the very least, may burn the wax and ruin the pot.

·         Colored Dye – This is optional and sometimes you can just play around with the colors that you have in the crayons or old candles. 

·         Metal Pie Plates – The disposable pie plates work best for this type of project

·         Kitchen Sink – The deeper the better.

Directions:

1.      Before you begin melting the wax, it is important to prepare it.  Remove any wrappers from crayons, and cut out any wicks from the old candles.

2.      Once everything is prepared, fill up the kitchen sink with cold water. The colder the better.  Fill it as deep as you can but make sure it won’t spill over the sides when you submerse your arms.

3.      Melt the wax at medium low on the stove in a double boiler.  If you want to make sure the colors do not blend, use a few double boilers, each with a different color.

4.      When the wax is melted, carefully pour between 2 or 3 inches of hot wax into a pie plate as it rests on the surface of the water.  Play with different levels of melted wax.

5.      Quickly spin the pie plate slightly and then submerge the plate.  The candle wax will billow up into long streaks and you will create a wax sculpture.  Make sure to wear rubber cloves, the longer the better, since the wax is still hot as it is forming.

6.      Pull out of the water and carefully pour out the excess water. 

7.      Remove from the pie plate and if you do not like it, simply remove and place back into the pot to melt. 

Playing with the depth of the wax and how you submerge the pie plate will give you a large range of sculptures you make, from jagged ice sculptures to billowing trees to delicate fairy mushrooms.  Most of the sculptures will have a flat space where a glass votive or tealight can be attached to be used as an intricate sculpture.

8.      Make them long lasting by spraying them with a sealer.

And that is it.  These little sculptures will have guests talking and you will have lots of fun trying to outdo yourself every time.

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If you have your own house, you probably want to have it look the way you choose. You want the look and impression to mirror how you feel inside, be it contemporary, traditional, modern, or simplistic. Your space and its interior decorating should show who you are. It would be difficult to find yourself coming home to a house that does not say anything about you. Below are some interior design ideas to bring out the best of your flare without overwhelming your space.

Tip 1: Personalize

When you are selling a home, any estate agent will recommend you to remove any personality from it. Remove family pictures, pictures of the kids, and personal artwork. Keep the colors basic and the designs refined and classic. But when you are living in your own home, you want to put your personality into it and make it your own. Interior design ideas come in handy when you are planning the look of your home, but you don’t require specialist skills to do a top notch job with your home deorating. One thing you can do to personalize your home is to create an individual painting. You can glue bits of material to a canvas, have your children paint abstract art, or paint your own abstract art work. The objective is that they don’t have to look professional, just intriguing.

Tip 2: Decorate Every Room

Even if it takes you years to do it, make sure that you paintyour entire home. There may be some parts that you do not use frequently, like a home office. Even so, when you are in that space you will want it to be a nice comfortable space. A home office design that is comfortable and pleasant will make you work harder and be more comfortable in your work area. If you decorate each room except that space, it will stick out like a sore thumb. Also, you will not feel as at ease in there as in the other parts of the house and you may even stay away fromthis room. But if you do some interior decorating in there, it will be a nice space to spend your working hours.

Tip 3: You Do Not Have To Paint

Interior design can be completed without the need to change the color of the walls. You may have many reasons not to paint. If you are renting the property you may not be able to paint. Or you could have a lot of furniture in the room and you are not able to move it to paint. Maybe you are disabled and don’t have the ability to paint. Whatever your reason, you can change the look and feel of your home without painting buy purchasing a few key pieces of furniture and accessories!

Following these basis tips on interior decorating ideas will show you how you can change the look of your home easily.  You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but with a little time and effort you can have the beautiful home you desire very quickly.

For more advice and tips take a look at Interior Design Top Tops

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At one time or another you will want to redecorate your rooms because they get so boring! But what should you do? However the trouble about decorating is that no one person can decide what to do, everyone in the family will have to live with the decorating for quite some time. If you decorate your room as a surprise for your wife then this could cause many arguments.

Flexibility

You might truly believe that you can make your living room look so much better, however you cannot make your own decisions. As I already said this decision will affect everyone that lives in your home. So how can you find ways to decorate your room?

Well one great tool which is available is interior design software, this is a great help because you can use it to try out ideas and see how they will look. You can also make compromises without having to put any paint on your walls!

There are many different types of interior design software, most of these let you create a virtual copy of your room on the computer, and then decide on decorations and move your furniture around without breaking your back.

Interior design software can help you to know how your room will look when it is finished, it also allows you to experiment and try out things that you may have been too nervous to do otherwise. It’s quite normal for people to change their mind part way through decorating their room, however this can be expensive. By using this software you can make sure what you are going to do is the best thing.

You can use such a piece of software to match the colors of the curtains with the walls and furniture. You can try anything you want tout without having to risk making a mistake which will cost money to put right. Moving furniture on a computer is much easier than shifting it around your room physically until it’s in the right place!

Taking down a wall

Interior design software is also capable of more severe renovations including removing walls and completely changing how the room looks. You could use this software to remove part of a wall, or the whole wall depending on what you prefer. The only thing you need to make sure is that any wall you are removing is not a load bearing wall because the software will not be able to tell you that. You can plan to remove walls, however you cannot do so without a professional checking that it is safe to do so.

Another great use of interior design software is to change what your room is used for. You could for example turn a spare bedroom into an office fairly easily. This software can be used to change the purpose of these rooms and see what it would look like. Planning is very important, fortunately this software makes planning even easier!

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When one thinks of a home theater, one pictures the electronics - the big screen TV, DVD player and surround sound but once you are done setting up this stuff, you are not necessarily done with your home theater. In order to give your room the right ambiance, you need to go out and purchase some great home theater decor.

Some individuals prefer a modern look in the home theater, while others like the appeal of vintage movie theater motifs. Although you may think this stuff is hard to find, that is not true, and you may locate fine vintage items if you just look in the right places.

Finding dcor for your vintage theater is not that hard. Many times you can find an old theater under renovation and you might be able to buy theater seating and other theater items from them. Other places to look for these items include: antique shops, online auctions, specialty stores, and classified ads.

While maintaining a vintage movie theater appearance is fun, modern home theater decor offers much more comfort. Many companies make home theater seating which rivals any plush couch, and you may often locate it at any big furniture stores–but if you are on a budget, you may wish to check out a consignment shop nearby where you may be able to obtain the same item for roughly half the price.

Home theaters are not just about seating, however; you will wish to instill a particular ambience, and for that, you will need great accessories. Even if you prefer modern seating, you may give a home theater some vintage appeal by use of vintage movie posters. These are found in antique and collectibles shops, and some are really quite collectible and fetch a high price. You may find some for a bargain, but if you wish to make a good investment, you may want to get one of the more desirable posters, since it will rise in value while it decorates your walls.

There are many things that you can used to make your home theater more appealing. Some of the examples include recessed lighting as well as wall sconces that can make your theater look even more special. With the right research you can find the same modern feel without the high cost of luxury.

Have a clear idea of the look you want before you go shopping for your home theater decor. Checking out a few magazines and books will help you to turn any vague decorating concepts into a list of items which you can then take to your local department store. Knowing what your look is, as well as having a prepared shopping list, will speed up your entire process so you can have everything ready for your guests in time for tonight’s feature film!

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Very recently I had a customer want an entire set of Greek armor and weapons for a 3D collage he was hanging on the wall for his new Greek restaurant. So, what items did he use and what can you use to increase the authentic atmosphere and environment of your Greek restaurant? Below is some useful advice that you should take advantage of.

If you are making a 3D collage, there are a couple of ways you can go about it. Probably the easiest way is to take two Greek spears and have them crossing on the wall. They hopefully will be not very expenseive when compared to some of the armor and they will take up a lot of space, getting people’s attention. You can then add a Greek helmet to the top of the collage to add a little extra spice to the display. Another simple way to add to your decor is having a couple of Greek swords on display. Thought these are going to be much smaller than spears, it will get the main idea into the heads of your guests or customers.

If you really want to go all out and have a full display of armor and weapons, then this is what you’ll need to do. The first thing you should is that most Greek armor cuirasses you can buy today by default do not hang on the wall, so some customization might be required. The Royal Greek Muscle Cuirass is perfect for this. This type of armor is made by the world renowned company Deepeeka, and it is carried in many brick and mortar stores as well as online. This armor set also comes with a Royal belt, which you can hang from the armor. The next thing you’ll want to do is make sure you construct a sturdy stand for a Greek helmet that you will be purchasing in one of the online stores. However, if you wish to match your armor, you’ll need to get the Royal Corinthian Helmet. Add a Greek shield (any one will do, but the Trojan war shield will look best), and a sword or a couple of spears hanging behind the armor and you’ll have a good looking 3D collage.

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To make the home furnishings decor run more smoothly, you should begin your project with a plan. Your decorating is bound to have problems if you do not start with a plan. As you are planning, you should determine the color scheme and the furniture pieces you wish to use.

Be careful to select a color scheme that matches your home furnishings decor if you do not plan to replace anything but the color. Despite the fact that you think you have a paint color that will go brilliantly with your house, you should not rely on one color alone. Browse and pick many swatches and take them home. To better see how the paint would look in your home, get a jar or two of sample paint and actually paint small sections. You should allow yourself time to see how the colors look over a few days worth of different light settings.

Practice reason when selecting your home furnishings decor. Consider what you will need for the room and purchase furniture accordingly. You would likely put different types of furniture in your formal living room, for example, than you would in a family room. Avoid getting the wrong size furniture by measuring carefully and avoid getting the wrong shape furniture by designing a small diagram that shows the placement of all the windows and doors. When choosing furniture, make sure your design plan and measurements have allowed room for the floor and wall decorations.

Despite being a great planner, you might still be stumped on how exactly to begin. One of the most difficult parts of your design process can be figuring out which home furnishings decor you want. Always begin with goals to avoid picking the wrong furnishings, because magazines can be deceiving. One of the most important parts of goal-setting will be defining a budget for your home decorating project. By doing this, you can better choose a decorating project that will not be beyond your budget.

If you become stumped for ideas or have budget problems, the internet can be a great resource. Purchasing your furniture through discounted online stores is one way to save money. Another feature of internet buying is that it allows you a greater variety of merchants to chose from, which can be helpful if you are looking for unique items.

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The ancient Egyptians first used the power of scent to heal over 3,500 years ago. They would burn fragrant woods and herbs, believing the smoke rising into the air would carry with it their hopes and prayers to be answered by the ancient gods.

Today, the use of aroma to heal is deeply entrenched in the art of aromatherapy. It is now one of the most popular forms of holistic medicine. Used not only to help soothe and relax, there are now documented benefits of aromatherapy in helping control chronic disease and illness.

Aromatherapy is most often described as the use of plant oil essences to achieve physical, psychological, and emotional healing. This art takes on many forms, such as the use of massage and applying essential oils to chakra points. Candles also play a prominent role in this healing art, which helps teach the body to achieve internal balance. Aromatherapy reduces stress and strengthens the immune system, providing lasting health benefits. Candles are perhaps one of the easiest and least expensive ways to discover the healing powers of scent in the comfort of your own home.

Candles used in aromatherapy come in special combinations of fragrances designed to achieve specific goals. Eucalyptus is used to energize, while lavender is used to calm. Taking in these scents alters the psychological state, allowing the body to follow suit.

Enjoy Sweet Dreams

If you have difficulty falling asleep, try lighting a few of these scented candles before bedtime:

·        Chamomile - Long used in teas to promote sleep, chamomile has a sweet, fruity aroma. In addition to helping you achieve a peaceful slumber, chamomile is said to have properties that promote psychic awareness and hone intuition.

·        Lavender - An aroma that promotes inner calm and peace, lavender has a fresh, floral scent. It will free you from emotional stress, promote inner stability, and can even be used to relieve headaches.

·        Patchouli - This rich aroma has long been connected with love and passion. Not only can it ignite your inner fire, it is known to have properties that help you achieve rest.

·        Sandalwood - Bring on those sweet dreams with the sweet, woodsy smell of sandalwood. Perhaps its clairvoyant properties will help you see into the future, while it’s calming properties help you dream the night away.

·        Ylang-Ylang - This scent known to enhance love and relationships will surround you with an intoxicating mixture of sweet, floral, and fruity aromas.

Lighten Your Mood

Many scents have been known to ease depression and relive anxiety. Try one of these if you find yourself with the blues.

·        Sage- Powerful for removing negative feelings, this earthy yet fruity herb will clear your mind and cleanse impure thoughts from your system.

·        Frankincense - This spicy, woody fragrance frees your mind from impure thoughts, releases you from destructive habits and obsessions, and has protective qualities.

Tighten Your Focus

Perhaps your thoughts are wandering or you cannot remain focused on a task or assignment. Burn one of these candles at your desk to help improve your concentration.

·        Bergamot - This citrusy yet floral aroma provides mental clarity, as well as protective qualities.

·        Peppermint - Another aroma known to increase intuition and psychic awareness, this famous scent is strong and minty.

·        Basil - A sweet, slightly medicinal-smelling herb that promotes overall well-being

·        Lemon - This citrus scent not only will clear your mind, but will call upon protective spirits to aid you.

Reduce Stress

If you just need to relax and unwind, light one of these scented candles while enjoying a hot bath or some quiet music.

·        Jasmine -Exotic and floral, this scent promotes psychic cleansing, assists with creativity, and has powerful qualities for attracting love.

·        Geranium - Providing qualities that promote success and well-being, this floral yet slightly fruity scent will relax your mind and spirit.

·        Apple - The aroma of this sometimes-tart, sometimes-sweet fruit brings relaxation and peace of mind, as well as aids wisdom

If one of these is not quite your cup of tea, here are some of the protective or spiritually enhancing qualities of some of your other favorite scents:

·        Cinnamon - Increases your spiritual awareness, focus, and concentration.

·        Citronella - Attracts friends and neighbors, while repelling unwanted insects.

·        Clove - Protects from evil spirits while enhancing memory

·        Musk - Long associated with passion, this strong scent also boosts self-confidence and strength.

·        Rose - The deep, floral smell of roses brings tranquility, inner peace, and harmony.

These fragrances have long been found in spas, combined with soft music to provide the client with a feeling of total peace and relaxation. You can achieve the same experience in your own home by following suit and filling it with scent.

Combine these fragrances together to achieve the mental and physical balance you are looking for, or to gain the spiritual awareness you desire, and allow the healing benefits of aromatherapy to work for you.

Use scented candles, fragrant oils, or wax burners and transform your home into a soothing, healing place of refuge.  Allow yourself to indulge in the total relaxation of mind and spirit, and then feel the healing essence fill your body as you reach a heightened level of tranquility and well-being.

After all, if it worked for the ancient Egyptians, it may be able to work for you too.

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I have been in this business long enough to have received some odd requests for items to be covered, more than just pianos. Most of the ideas are either for items that are odd to have covered or for unique ideas for covering a regular piano. I took the liberty of writing some of my favories in the spaces below, I hope you enjoy them.

Dog House Cover. A woman in Wisconsin called and asked if we could make a custom fitted, waterproof cover that could fit the specifications of her dog house. She and her husband were having a disagreement about their ability to keep their dog as an inside dog because of the damage the dog had done in recent weeks to their belongings when they were both at work during the day. The solution was to leave the dog outside all day but she was concerned about the winter weather (both cold and rain) and wanted us to make a cover that would enclose her dog house. We were able to talk her out of it and to get her to upgrade her dog house to one that is more weather appropriate and we did not hear back from them again.

Team Logos. We have lots of requests to put team logos on covers. We can put them on the front part of the cover, directly above the keys, we can put them on the side cover and we can place them in a larger setting directly on the top of the piano. The logo requests are relatively easy to do because most of the time we can get pretty good artwork. The tricky part of the request is when people ask us to dye the cover to match the team colors. We have done them in Black and Red, Blue and Gold, Red and White and even Purple and Yellow. Dyeing a piano cover can be pretty expensive, but the piano covers did look terrific.

The Decor of the House Must Match. One of the most often heard requests is because a customer wants the cover to exactly match a portion of a room in their house. These clients tend to not care as much about the money they will spend as they do about getting the look and feel of a room just right. I have worked with requests to match furniture, some cool family plaids, some very large and high-tech music rooms, and even some odd pink and greens to match a little girls room.

Portrait of a loved one who had passed on and loved to play the piano. I have had this one a few times in my career. We are able to take a portrait and have it blown up to the size of a piano cover. We can then have the portrait embossed right into the fabric. Every time you sit down to play the piano you will be reminded of Aunt Minnie and her love of playing the piano. She will be looking at you with a four foot by five foot face. Hopefully she is smiling.

Custom covers take extra time and money to complete, sometimes as much as five to eight times what a regular cover will cost. Myself, I tend to like a regular old brown or black vinyl piano cover, but then I have never thought of myself as a flashy person.

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Steam saunas have been around for centuries, but infrared saunas are a relatively new invention that blows them out the water. The list of infrared sauna benefits is huge and many people really enjoy the addition of this technology to their daily routines. Infrared technology is unique in that it allows for light to heat the body and can be aimed at very targeted areas. There are even portable infrared saunas that make it possible to continue your routine while on the road for vacation or business.

Infrared Sauna Benefits

Here we will look at just a few of the most popular reasons people are using infrared saunas.

- Safety. The heater in a steam sauna, as well as the steam, can be dangerous and it is quite possible to burn yourself. This poses a particular danger if you have children in the house. On the other hand, infrared saunas allow for a gentler heat and aren`t as likely to burn anyone.

- Time. The amount of time you can stay in a sauna greatly depends on how much heat you can take. The average steam sauna is only bearable for up to 20 minutes, with many people unable to take more than 10. This means there is a limited amount of time to sweat and rid your body of toxins. The infrared sauna uses a gentler heat that penetrates about an inch and a half into the body, meaning greater benefits for a longer period of time.

- Health Benefits. There are a huge number of health benefits that are a direct result of infrared saunas. In fact, you`ll find that the infrared heat can cure many skin issues like eczema and acne, get rid of candida, and even relieves pain in the joints, making infrared saunas pretty popular for these reasons.

- Weight Loss. It`s no secret that saunas can help with weight loss. They do this in a variety of ways, breaking down toxins and fat cells and also by helping you sweat out excess water.

- Stress Relief. Today`s average adult suffers a lot of stress. There are bills to pay, prices are ever climbing and it just gets to be too much. A relaxing sauna treatment allows people a little time off to sit with there with their thoughts, no laptops or cell phones allowed and they can feel better.

- Energy. Thanks to the toxin releasing actions of a sauna, you`ll often have more energy afterwards. That, combined with weight loss makes for some added zip to your step and an extra bit of energy.

- Better Skin. Not only does the infrared sauna help with curing many common skin ailments, it`s also great for giving you that healthy glow. Since you will be eliminating nasty toxins that tend to clog up pores and make sink look dull, you`ll find that after a few treatments with an infrared sauna, your skin will really be brighter and healthier looking.

- Immunity. Did you know that infrared saunas can actually help boost your immune system? Getting rid of toxins and knocking out those bacteria that the immune system is normally fighting will allow your body to turn to things that really matter, invading viruses and bacteria.

Infrared saunas have proven their worth on the market and more and more people are finding that they enjoy using them and have also experienced many benefits and even cures for common problems like skin issues and yeast infections. Whether you use a public infrared or a home sauna version that you can install in your basement, infrared saunas have plenty of benefits that you won`t want to miss out on.

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There are many ways that you can have your home decorated in. The style of your dcor can vary from contemporary to Oriental to Victorian and so many others. This means that you can choose synthetic area rugs or man made rugs. As the styles and shapes vary you will be able to select one that is right for your home.

Some of the types of area rugs that you can buy are contemporary, Persian, Oriental and Braided area rugs. They are also made in varying sizes so that you can select one that is perfect for even a small area. However you should decide on the size of your area rug before you even go window shopping. In addition you will be able to get an idea of the various decorating elements that you can use in your room with this area rug.

Now just in case you are thinking that since you already have carpeting in your home there is no need to buy any area rugs, you might want to rethink that. In addition they are an inexpensive way to decorate your home. The different area rugs that you can buy are excellent to use as a way to cover up stained and worn out areas in your carpets. They can bring warmth to a dull and boring looking area in your home.

With all of these reasons in mind the only main thing that you will need to remember is not to go overboard and buy every area rug that you come across. All of the Capel rugs are made from the same family business as the original Capel rugs. As a consumer you have the right to expect high quality products and in this regard a Capel rug stands for excellent quality items. There are many different types of rugs that you can use in your homes today.

Capel rugs came into existence during the 1920s. For this reason the quality of a Capel rug was seen to from the beginning stage of production all the way to the hands of the consumer. Later these braided Capel rugs began to be made in varying sizes and shapes.

Capel rugs are now made from wool, acrylics, rayon, and nylon to name but a few. All aspects of making a Capel rug are carried out under the family business. This includes the spinning, weaving, dyeing, braiding, as well as the parts that deal with the customers’ satisfaction. In the braided rugs range you will be able to select from over 200 different Capel Braided rugs and American Originals.

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