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After a long day at the office or many hours of shuttling around the children, every individual deserves a place to retreat to in anticipation of complete comfort.  With the constant hustle and bustle in today’s world, not only is it difficult to find time to give yourself space and solitude, but it is also challenging to seek out an area that would reflect your ideal solution. 

There are many rooms within the home that serve as communal spaces.  From the kitchen to the bathroom to the dining room, living room and more, there is typically some type of action occurring among several members of a family simultaneously.  Think about it?  How many times have you gone to relax in your family room only to find that one of your children has already staked a claim on what you’ll inevitably be viewing for the next half an hour plus?  Here is where your bedroom can become your savior.  By transforming this space into a much needed sanctuary, you’ll be able to experience the solace that you deserve at the end of each day.

First things first: In order to achieve exceptional comfort, one must initially address the bed.  Adorning your bed with a comforter set ensemble is an easy way to add immediate character into your bedroom.  Fortunately for us, many comforter sets today come complete with a comforter, two standard pillow shams, a bedskirt, and a three-piece decorative pillow set.  Despite your desire for a transitional look or a more modern look, designing your bedroom with your own definition of comfort in mind is the ultimate goal.  Incorporating soothing hues, jewel tones, and simple patterns provides an easy way of creating a peaceful look within your bedroom.

Moving on from the bed, continue to transform your bedroom into your ideal space by adding matching window curtains.  Perhaps you’re one of those fortunate individuals with a window seat?  Including matching throw pillows here will not only spruce up the atmosphere, but will also add another element of comfort to your room.  Having more than one place to relax within your bedroom is practically obligatory.  In addition to window curtains, find a matching valance to tie the entire window theme together. 

As a final touch to your mini-makeover, adding the appropriate light fixtures to your space will really help to accent the mood within your bedroom.  Additionally, consider adding some candles to enhance the atmosphere.  Perhaps these tips will give you some romantic ideas for Cupid’s upcoming holiday.  Transforming your bedroom in time for Valentine’s Day will undoubtedly translate into total relaxation and comfort.

Giving yourself the bedroom that you deserve should help to alleviate the stresses and burdens of everyday life.  Additionally, affording yourself the opportunity of highlighting your creative side will surely enable you to feel more expressive and complete. While we can never totally escape reality, it certainly is the minor improvements that can momentarily lead us to a better place.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Popular Home Collections!  

DECORATIVE DRAPERIES & UPHOLSTERY

Where to Begin Decorating your kid’s bedroom?

I would begin with a main color.  Talk to your child and involve them in picking out their favorite colors.  If they are too young (or you know you won’t like any color they choose) give them a choice of three colors that you like and let them decide which one of the three they like best.  By giving them a choice and going with their favorite color you are validating them and teaching them to make decisions at the same time.  Also, the finished result may be treated with a little more care and consideration then if they were not involved in the decision making. 

What kind of paint do I use in painting my children’s bedroom?

Kids can be hard on rooms so you will want to use a paint that is durable, and easy to clean.  I have found that semi-gloss or high gloss paint is the easiest to clean.  Flat paint tends to rub off when trying to clean it, so I would stay away from that.

After the painting is done what’s next?

After the painting is done, the walls looks great but you still have the same ole’ curtains, rugs, and bedding.  To spark up the room I would recommend looking at krazykidsbedding.com where you can find a variety of affordable kids bedding and accessories in timeless designs that will freshen up the look of any kids bedroom.  Again I would take into consideration your child’s interests and favorite colors and let them help you come up with a theme.  I recommend staying away from the TV characters and movie based bedding as it becomes obsolete as soon as a new motion picture or new character becomes popular. 

I’ve picked a theme now what?

Okay, you have a theme.  Now you want to pick items that reflect that theme.  The main interest would be the bedding.  The first thing you see when you walk in a bedroom is the bed, and you want it to look inviting.  Once you have the bedding I would add a few accessories as your budget permits.  Curtains are a fast room brightener along with window valances. You don’t have to buy everything at once.  Add a themed rug that coordinates with the bedding, or a themed wall border that accents the bedding. Design for fun and practicality and keep decorations simple and easy to look after.  You will also want to make sure whatever you buy is child-safe and does not have sharp edges and are unbreakable.   Kids need a lot of storage space, so you may want to add extra shelves in their bedroom and closets.   Finding containers, storage units and baskets for your child to put their books, shoes and playthings will help keep the newly decorated bedroom neat and orderly.  Also, having hooks on the back of closet doors will help keep coats off the floor.

Summary

Begin decorating by involving your child in picking the colors and theme of their bedroom.  Use good semi-gloss or high gloss paint for easy cleaning.  Replace your kids bedding and curtains and add accessories that coordinate with the theme of the bedroom.  Remember by creating a special room for your child you are creating memories for a lifetime!  Your child is your biggest investment, make it a memorable one.

Decorative Draperies and Upholstery

Good bedroom design and interiors help in enhancing the value of your house. Bedrooms can be the most important part of a house. Your bedroom is a place where you relax, sleep and spend time with your loved ones. It is a place, which helps you unwind from the stress of day and prepare for a peaceful sleep. In short, you can call your bedroom a resting place or a room where you can relax.

Things Needed In Bedrooms:

Beds

Bedspreads

Curtain rods

Curtains

Lights

Paints

Pictures

Pillows

Plants

Bedrooms Decorating Ideas:

Many people spend most of their time in bedrooms, when at home as compared to any other area in the house. While looking out for a new mattress for your bed, check for factors such as comfort and support. Some may have problems with the new mattresses they choose, and hence may prefer the old reliable one. Choose a basic bed with a mattress on a box spring.

If you have a kid’s bedroom in your house, it becomes obvious that it is not going to be clean all the time. You may cover up for this by keeping other parts of the house clean all the time.

Dress the bed with a simple blocked geometric spread. Use standard bed pillows in plain colors. If you want to cover the box spring, use a flat bedspread.

Use your creativity in designing bedrooms. Use your artistic skills to bring a modern touch to bedrooms. You may hang photographs, different kinds of modern art or paintings on the walls. Use things that make you feel relaxed in the bedroom.

Choose lights that are industrial in nature. People may use halogen lamps to get a dim effect in their bedrooms.

Next, individuals may use furniture according to the size of their bedrooms. Choose small furniture pieces, if bedrooms are small.

If the walls are in good condition, gloss paintings may be the right option. Keep the walls simple and plain with shades such as gray and white colors. If you prefer to have bold colors in your bedroom, go in for bright colors such as pure yellow or crayon red.

For the windows in your bedroom, use vertical blinds or roller shades. Hang the curtains on a simple modern metal rod. The fabric of the curtain may be of geometric design such as stripe or solid fabric with colors on it.

You may arrange for a workplace in the bedroom, so that it does not remain idle during daytime. The podium may be used as the library. Such planning increases the space for various recreational purposes in a bedroom. You may use mattress instead of a bed with the help of a carpet.

Position the head of the bed against a particular side of the wall. If there is enough space, place a wide bed far from the walls.

Bedroom is an intimate space. Generally, outsiders are not preferred to enter this room. Traditionally, bedroom is isolated and away from the noisiest areas of other rooms.

Drapery Decorating from 1920-1939

Christmas interior decorating comes only once a year so go ahead and decorate every room with style. So deck the halls, bathrooms, and bedrooms with holiday style and fun! Elegantly “wrap” (aka: decorate) all your rooms for the holidays and every time you and your guests enter the room, they will feel like they just unwrapped a present (receiving an unexpected design within your room).

It is beautiful and relaxing to be able to fall sleep and wake up in a room full of holiday cheer and elegance. So, how do you decorate your bedrooms with style and fun?

Below are 7 ideas that are simple and yet have a dramatic “holiday cheer” effect:

1.      Place 3 medium evergreen wreaths on the wall where your bed rests and you get an instinct Christmas headboard!  Bonus: the aromatherapy scent of the wreath may be  soothing enough to help you sleep better zzzzzzz!

2.      Decorate the wreaths with the colors of your room. Try decorating them with the color of your pillowcases, or duvet, or window curtains.

3.      Hang above nightstands a cluster of Christmas ornaments from your ceiling at different lengths (visualize – chandeliers made of ornaments!).

4.      Tie your pillow with decorative ribbons (just like you would tie a ribbon on a present), then unwrap your pillows every night before you go to sleep. This decorative look also works wonderful on throw pillows in the living room and family room. As always, make sure that the colors chosen are complementary to the room.

5.      Align your window frames with swags of garland.

6.      Use bows to tie window curtains.

7.      Float white candles in a vase filled with water and cranberries for a romantic Christmas bedroom décor.

It is great to decorate for others (your guests), but remember YOU are the most valuable treasure in your home – decorate for your comfort and wake up every day to holiday cheer! Have a FUNtastic holiday!!!

The above is the excerpt from Christmas Interior Decorating Guide with Ideas that Will Impress Even Santa Claus!’s e-book chapter called Deck the Halls, Bathroom, and Bedrooms. For more Christmas decorating tips grab your e-book copy at www.adasdecoratingsolutions.com/foryou.html

© 2007 Ada’s Interior Design, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Website: www.adasdecoratingsolutions.com 

Drapery Decorating from 1920-1939

Drapery panels can drastically change the look of a room.  They can be used in addition to blinds or shutters to add warmth, character, and color to a space.  They can also be functional and block light, add privacy, control sound, and insulate drafty windows.  However, there are several things to consider when selecting the perfect curtains or drapes for your space:

Light Control & Linings

If you are purchasing curtains in any fabric other than a sheer, I highly recommend that you look for panels that are lined with a quality lining.  The added expense is minimal, and the added value is great.  After all, would you hang your favorite black outfit in the blistering sun for a days, months, years and still expect it to look good enough to wear out in public?  Of course not.  So why do this to your curtains.  Lining is sunscreen for your fabric.  It protects fabric from fading and moisture, therefore protecting your investment.  It also adds a uniform look to the outside of your home.  No one really wants to see your hot pink curtains as they drive down the street.

Would you like to sleep later in the morning?  Then consider adding blackout lining to your curtains to make your room dark and cozy.  Not only does blackout lining block light, but it also insulates your windows which is especially nice in bedrooms.  Also, be sure to order drapes that are wide enough to cover your entire window when closed.  When we pleat curtains (i.e. pinch pleats), the top width of each panel is reduced to about 25 inches; whereas unpleated panels (i.e. rod pocket panels) are a full 50″ wide across the top.

You may also want to consider panels that have an added layer of interlining.  Interlining is usually a 100% cotton flannel that is placed between your face fabric and lining, adding fullness and weight to thin fabrics.  It adds a luxury feel to your curtains and a good bit of insulation.  Think of it as a blanket for your windows.  It is especially recommended with silks.

Privacy

If privacy from neighbors is important to you, then you will also want to order curtains wide enough to cover your entire window (as noted above) and lined so that they are not easy to see through.  Draperies can also be used in conjunction with blinds, shutters, or shades for a beautiful layered look that also provides maximum privacy.

Fabric

Curtains these days can be made in just about any fabric imaginable from the roughest burlap to the softest velvet.  It really all depends on the mood you are trying to convey within the room.  Of course, you should also keep in mind how the panels will be used.  If the panels will be pulled closed on a daily basis, then a white silk is probably not the best choice as you will quickly notice that our hands can leave dirt and oil behind on delicate fabrics when we pull curtains closed.  The same holds true for households with small children and pets.  I would probably not use a delicate silk in a high traffic area with kids, cats, and dogs.  Many fabrics today come with stain guard protection to help with everyday mishaps and busy families.  These fabrics are usually cotton, polyester, or a blend thereof – just look at the curtain tag or selvedge of the fabric to see if it has been treated. 

If you are ordering custom curtains through the internet or a designer, be sure to ask for a fabric sample before you purchase panels.  Tape the fabric sample to your wall next to the window an live with it for a few days.  How does it look in the morning light and evening shade?  Many fabrics look quite different when held at different angles; by fixing it to the wall in the direction it will hang you will get a good idea of how it will look in the room.

Style

Along with your fabric choice, the style of panel you choose can greatly affect the mood your curtains will create.  Styles vary from simple rod pockets to elegant goblet pleats to modern grommeted panels.  Look through some current design magazines to see what styles you are attracted to.  Typically the more pleated the panel, the more formal it appears.

Length

First, you probably need to decide where you would like your curtains to end in relation to the floor. 

Floor length curtains sit directly on the floor (order them 1 inch shorter if you would like for them hang slightly off the floor).

Trouser length panels “break” on the floor much like a trouse breaks over a shoe (add 1 -2 inches to the order length of your panels)

Puddle length curtains form soft folds on the floor (add 6 – 7 inches to the order length of your panels).

In addition, you will also need to consider your drapery hardware.  For example, if you already have a drapery rod in place and would like floor length panels, simply measure from the base of the ring to the floor.  For rod pocket curtains (no rings), measure from the top of the rod to the floor.

If you do not have a rod in place already, remember the higher you mount your rod, the higher your window and ceilings will appear.  I prefer to mount drapery rods several inches above the window.  In most cases I will take the distance between my window frame and crown molding (or ceiling), divide it in half, and go a few inches above my half mark as I do not like even spaces above and below the rod (just a designer pet peeve I suppose).  Of course, if you have extremely high ceilings, this rule changes.  Try taking a long piece of blue painter’s tape and making a line above your window on your wall where you think you will hang your rod, how does it look?  Move it up a bit and take another look.

Additionally, I like my rods to project at least 4 -6 inches beyond the window frame on each side (if there are no obstacles) to allow my curtains to hang completely outside the window if I choose and give the appearance of a larger window.

When installing curtain rods always be sure to mount your corner brackets in a stud (they usually run vertically along the frame of your window) or use a heavy duty toggle.  Heavy panels or curtains that are often pulled on can quickly pull away from drywall.

Resources:

http://www.idreamofdrapery.com/Selecting_the_perfect_curtains_s/78.htm

http://www.idreamofdrapery.com/Choosing_drapery_length_guide_s/81.htm

Interior Decoration