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Selasa, 15 April 2014

Create a Livable Yet Stylish Home By Candice Olson

Comfortable and chic don't have to live miles apart. Find simple tips for designing a home that's functional and beautiful.

By Candice Olson

It's important to make your home both stylish and livable. There is one word that designers either love or hate: function. Personally, I love it. I really believe you can have the right balance of both style and function.
The one thing you need to do when embarking on a design project is to be realistic. Think about this question: How does your house have to work for you and your family? If you're like me with a young, busy family full of kids and pets, you should never have anything white in your house unless you're sure the material is stain resistant.

However, you can find the right mix of function and style. Just make sure you think your design decisions through carefully. If you're a large family that spends all your time doing homework in the kitchen and family room, then a large kitchen island or an open-concept kitchen and family room will probably work really well for you. If you're a retired couple who loves to cook and entertain, your priority might be gorgeous kitchen appliances, so you splurge on a chef's dreamy (and stylish) gas range.
It's important to know what makes the most sense for your lifestyle and home, so don't choose colors, fabrics or even materials that won't work for your family, children or pets. Be realistic about what you can and can't live with because there are some things you might love the look of, that are very stylish, but just aren't practical with a Great Dane. For example, I absolutely love the look of white Carrara marble countertops, but they can be stressful in a kitchen because they stain so easily, especially by red wine or coffee. You don't want to always be on high alert for spills, or be the crazy lady saying, "Don't touch the counters!"

That's not to say if you have a busy lifestyle with kids and pets, you can't have a gorgeous, stylish home. Companies have caught on and now function can be stylish, too. For instance, there are great-looking, durable fabrics that are made to handle extreme wear and tear. Some are even made with Teflon. Sometimes you might pay a little more for a high-performance material that looks great and can stand the test of time. Be smart about it, and if you get a light color sofa (or you had one before the kids came along), consider having a slipcover made that's in a dark, machine-washable fabric.
If you have a hectic home life with lots of activity, think about your choices and always go with the most durable materials you can find. Or tell you kids to stay in their rooms until they're old enough to go to college.

How to Create a Spooky Halloween Bar 2012 Ideas from HGTV

Create Halloween ideas Spooky

Are you entertaining this Halloween? Turn your cocktail bar into a "mad laboratory" by serving scary potions and dressing up the bar with spiders, blood and dismembered hands.

By : Joanne Palmisano

Halloween Cocktails

We used old utility car as a beverage bar for a Halloween party. We covered the cart in spider webbing then filled the bar potions, magic spells and some spooky decorations.

Make Concoctions

Download and print labels to turn your beverage bottles into serums, potions and magic spells. Our labels are editable, so customize them to your desired poison. Use a glue stick to adhere the labels to the bottles. We used wine and liquor bottles.

Add Flesh & Blood

Cut a piece of cardboard to fit on the bottom shelf of the cart. Make some bloody handprints on the cardboard using red craft paint. Add a little oatmeal to the paint if you want a little more flesh and gore. Let the handprints dry then lay the cardboard inside the bottom of the cart.

Web It

Stretch the white webbing over the cart, use a hot-glue gun to attach it the corners and underneath the edges of the cart. Stretch it out to make it look like a spider web, leave a little room to get to the bottom shelf of the cart

Add Giant Arachnid

Place large spider on the web to make it look like it is crawling up the side of the cart. Use a little hot glue if necessary to attach its feet in place.

Lend a Helping Hand

Place the cut off hands at the end of the cart (preferably if there is a handle) to make it look like as if they are pushing it. Use hot glue gun on a couple of the fingers to keep them in place.

Set Up Bar

Place the bottles, glassware and a candle on the top of the cart. Then arrange the little spiders in and around them.

Senin, 24 Maret 2014

How to Create Different Mood Areas in a Studio Apartment

Apartment Areas Create Different Studio

A studio apartment is one those things that can only ever be as great as you want to make it. If you are determined to sulk and feel down about the lack of space, your house is never going to reach its full potential. Let's face it - though there's nothing wrong with a studio apartment, it tends not to be a first choice. If you are living in one, it's probably because you can't afford to pay for a bigger space.

To reiterate, a studio apartment can only ever be as stylish as you want to make it. Fortunately, two keen eyes and a little bit of imagination can transform this tiny space into something remarkable. It doesn't matter whether you're going for the classic bachelor pad, or the open plan Friends look - it's all possible with a dollop of creativity, says Buzzfeed.com journalist Peggy Wang. Here's a guide to creating different mood areas in your studio apartment.

Stick To Neutrals

When it comes to creating different moods, we tend to use lots of different colours. Unfortunately, this is only going to make your little flat seem even smaller than it is. What you've got to do is create those moods in another way, a way that doesn't rely on ten contrasting paint colours. If you are bent on opening up the space in an apartment, you have to stick to neutral colours - white, grey, tan and stone are good choices. You are advised to use just one colour for all of the walls in the apartment. Yes, it's a little bit boring. However, it will really add some extra dimension and breathing space to your home, say the experts at HGTV.com. If an open plan area is painted in a single light colour, the entire thing starts to look spacious and airy.

Perfect Furniture

If you can't add flair with bright colours, what can you do to open up a studio apartment? Well, it's all about the furniture. When it comes to creating different mood areas in a small space, you have to think carefully about the colour and the design of your chosen pieces. This can be a tricky thing to do, because you don't want to end up with a disjointed set of rooms that don't match one another, say the experts at WikiHow.com. Try to use different materials to create different moods - soft and sumptuous furnishings in the lounge, and light oak pieces in the kitchen. It's important that you can take advantage of the discrepancies between soft and hard, practical and comfortable.

Lighting It Up

If there's one thing that's even more important than the furniture, it's your choice of lighting. For top quality advice on how to pick the perfect light fixtures, visit http://www.bltdirect.com/. You can do anything with the right kind of lighting, so make your decisions carefully. Unlike paint colours or furniture, the light fixtures don't necessarily have to match. You are free to use a host of different lighting fixtures across the apartment, because they can be used and then turned off at will. It is a good idea to avoid spotlight fixtures in a small space - they pool light and create a lot of shadow. However, uplights are a good idea because they spread light evenly across the room. It's a good idea to use wide and open fixtures in an area like the kitchen. For more relaxing spaces, try slightly recessed wall fixtures and have a lot of different lamps spread across the room.

Author Bio: Simon Armitage writes for a home and lifestyle magazine. He recommends BLT Direct for high quality light fixtures and fittings. Simon can usually be found reviewing new products, or interviewing industry experts.