Posts Tagged style

Water Gardening – Riding The Wave!

29 October 2009

There are plenty of possible reasons why the water garden has become such a popular landscaping feature in recent years, and different garden design professionals have different theories as to why this gardening style with strong classical roots has suddenly caught on. One of the most widely accepted theories for the explosion in water garden popularity has to do with the fact that life outside the home is getting more and more hectic. In a world where cell phones and laptops keep us constantly on the communications grid, it can be difficult to escape from the pressures of work. A water garden provides the ultimate contrast to the frenzied pace of modern living, and it makes home an oasis where it is possible to get away from the demands of the rest of the world. (more…)

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The Joy Of Water Garden Design

24 October 2009

Planning and creating a water garden is a complex exercise in aesthetics. In the process of constructing a visually harmonious water garden that is pleasant to look at, you will develop skills that will serve you well in many other realms of your life. The process of arranging a balance of different kinds of plants and animals in order to create an overall impression of lushness while still maintaining calm will develop your visual sense so that you will start to look at everything with the eyes of a professional designer.
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Different Grades of Leather Furniture

15 October 2009

Many people who purchasing the leather furniture are not really familiar about it. Actually, if you know the difference between the leathers, you can choose the most suitable for your life style. If you want to buy something, you need to know every detail about it and see if you can get the best your money can buy. There are four grades of leather furniture, the top of the line is full grain, and then comes top grain, followed by split grain and bonded leather. (more…)

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The Furniture For Your Office

9 October 2009

The office should be a room where you can work comfortably. To make a comfortable working room you will need the proper furniture. There are many type of furniture that you can place in your office. The most important piece of furniture in an office is the desk. Desk provides important work surface which is needed to do any kind of writing work. There is large variety of desks available in the market. There are small desks, computer desks, and large executive desks. (more…)

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Tips For Buying The Sleeper Sofas

5 October 2009

It’s very important to get used to make a plan before you go shopping for buying something. There are many people who didn’t make a right choice and having regretted after purchasing something because they not act wisely. This especially applies to sleeper sofas. You want a sofa bed that is comfortable and will last a long time. Here are some tips for buying the sleeper sofas. (more…)

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Use Southwest Bedding To Create Unique Western Home Decor

2 February 2009

Inexpensive southwest bedding is the way to go when it comes to decorating a rustic style home, cabin or lodge. A while ago, I was searching for an inexpensive way to redecorate one of the bedrooms in my home and give it a touch of the old west. I found some Indian blankets at a discount linen store and decided to add them as part of the western decor. I loved the country western style they created in the room so much that I decided to put them in all the rooms of my home to give them that beautiful, southwest style you see in designer magazines.

Since I used these southwestern blankets everyday as bedspreads, shawls, or as lap blankets, I started reading about the history of southwestern blankets and began researching their origin. The more I studied, the more intriguing the story became. I never knew that although very popular today with interior decorators and in modern style homes, southwest bedding for use in southwestern home decor actually grew in the early 1900′s, when Native American trade blankets were put on the market.

Most people I come in contact with, believe that the blankets and throws they commonly use for southwest bedding were originally made by Native Indians. I also believed that, until I began reading about the origin of these southwestern style blankets and discovered that, although American Indians were the main inspiration behind the designs and production of trade blankets, they were not the ones who made them.

In fact, as you research the intriguing history of western blankets, you will discover that they were actually made by machines, and produced by large weaving companies for the sole purpose of supplying the Indians with needed blankets. These rustic blankets were then supplied to the frontier trading posts where the Native Indians would buy and trade them and use them to wrap themselves in instead of a modern coat or jacket.

Something you will also find interesting as you study the history of trade blankets to use as southwest, is that as women became more interested in home decorating in the early 1900′s, southwest decor and western designs rose in popularity. These “Indian blankets” as they came to be called, were sought after by people across the nation who wanted them for southwest bedding and as decorative couch or chair covers to accent Native American home decor. The Indian trade blankets were wonderful for covering exposed legs when riding on a wagon, sleigh or buggy, and in the new horseless carriages. Later on, they were used as throws for camping, sporting events and a new hobby called motoring.

Now days, you can easily buy southwest bedding online and in stores that sell western and southwest home decor. Whether used as a western bedspread, blanket or bed throw, southwest bedding will add great character to your home and decor. If you are looking for authenticity and traditional American Indian values and are searching for a great way to enhance western style in your rustic home decor, then you will definitely love owning and decorating with southwest bedding.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and offers free information online about choosing southwest bedding for rustic style decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

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Try Western Tapestries To Enhance Chic Mountain Home Decor

26 January 2009

Western tapestries are a great way to bring authentic Native style to your home. If you enjoy southwest and western decor, you will certainly love using bright colored tapestries in your rustic cabin, room or home. Truly functional and versatile, you will find that western tapestries, when used as a tapestry wall hanging or tapestry wall art, will brighten your home and give it a true western feel.

A lot of times designers will add floor rugs and runners to their homes but do not think of using wall tapestries made of the same colorful material to adorn their walls. The truth is that a wall tapestry is one of the simplest ways to enhance color and textures in your rooms and bring life to your home decor. In addition, western tapestries work well as beautiful art, worthy of display, because they are hand made.

There are so many colors and patterns available that you will easily be able to come across the best western tapestry style to go along with your interior decorating. Southwestern decor usually uses light colors with turquoise and desert colors like pink and purple. Western styles look wonderful with beautiful accent colors like red, black and grey. For a Native Indian feel, there are numerous designs available including the popular Navajo patterns. You can also find rich and vibrant colors in every style of woven rug, and tapestry designs that continue getting more intricate.

The best thing about decorating with southwest tapestries is that you can use them everywhere in your home. Use them as a hanging tapestry or as area rugs along with western furniture and southwest style accessories. Or, use them in doorways, in hallways, and in the living room to fill vacant floor space. Hang them in hallways or where you might normally put a decorative picture for a different design style. To achieve a more casual style, hang them at an angle to accentuate that it is wall hanging art. You will be surprised at how much they enhance your home design and how they impress your visitors.

When you begin your home decorating, use your color samples to decide which western tapestries and tapestry rugs to use in your rooms, and you will be excited with how they liven up your home. Always choose the best quality tapestries and do not settle for cheap imitations that will lower the value of your home. Look for wool tapestries and tapestry rugs that are well made and crafted by hand since hand made wool is more durable and is great for creating the look you want

Spruce up your favorite room with a touch of the old west, or enhance the decor in your whole home with western tapestries and tapestry rugs to get that great designer southwest style. Today you can easily find beautiful tapestries to use in your home decor. Many people buy them online or in stores that sell southwestern and Native style home decorating items. If you want to add that one of a kind rustic or western style in your home decorating, begin by using the beautiful colors and Native designs of western tapestries.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and offers free information online about choosing southwest tapestries for rustic style decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

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Try Natvie Drums As Rustic Tables For Southwestern Home Decorating

20 January 2009

Looking for a great rustic decorating idea? Native drums used as rustic tables are the best and most inexpensive way to incorporate real southwestern design and enhance Indian style in your home. Along with the traditional use of Indian drums as musical instruments in drumming groups and circles, you can use them to add unique, rustic style to any environment. I recently changed the decorating theme in my home, adding unique pieces of log furniture to give it an interesting southwestern feel, and found that including a Native American drum coffee table and drum end table together with other country style accessories, worked beautifully as accent pieces to my log furnishings.

Maybe you are like me and truly love western style floor drums and log drums to use as rustic tables in home decor and southwestern decorating. Indian floor drums are truly a very unique representation of Indian culture and are commonly used by many Indigenous tribes in powwows and other ceremonial rituals. Indian drums for many years, have always been significant to the Native Indian ceremony, such as the powwow, and have helped lay the foundation of religion and spiritual beliefs for many Indigenous groups.

When you start researching the interesting history of rustic drums, you will see just how significant they are to the Indian people. For many years, leaders of the tribes have used the drum beat as a bridge to connect with the Great Spirit and with the Spiritual world. Native Americans think of their drums as sacred and show great respect for the spirit they believe dwells within each drum. The Spirit of the drum is thought to communicate to the drummer and signifies not only life, but also Mother Nature.

Now days, many decorators are bringing these beautiful Native drums into their homes to be used as southwest style furnishings such as rustic tables, coffee tables and end tables. There is something very inviting about adding a beautiful piece of furniture such as a drum table to your western decor, to enhance Native style in your home. You will appreciate decorating with rustic tables because of the unique look they bring to their setting. Each drum comes from a rich historical legacy that literally enriches the environment where it is placed. One of the things you will love most about adding a decorative table drum along with your rustic wood furniture is that it is a very authentic icon of Indigenous culture.

If you are fascinated by southwestern style home decor, you can easily buy rustic drums to use as coffee tables, floor drums and rustic tables, online and in stores that sell Native American and American Indian home decor. No matter which way you choose to use them, it is easy to find Native style drums that will add true western style to the rooms in your home. If you are fascinated with the rich traditions of the Native Indians and wish to enrich the western furnishings in your ranch style home, you will truly enjoy using Native drums as rustic tables.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and author offering free information online about how to use Native Drums As Rustic Tables for drumming circles and for chic southwestern home decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

Ten Ways to Decorate Your Bathroom on a Budget

16 January 2009

You may think that you don’t have enough money in your budget to decorate your bathroom. But, it can be done without spending too much money. Just changing your bathroom accessories out to new (or to accessories that you’ve found at garage sales), can’t make a dramatic difference.

First of all, take everything that can be moved out of your bathroom so that you can start with a clean slate. This means everything on the countertops, and in drawers and the medicine cabinet.

Now, make a plan. Decide what you really need to have in the bath and where you are going to put it. Clutter is something that can ruin the look of any bathroom design. Try to find places for toothbrushes, hair care supplies, and the like. Find some organizational systems that will fit in your cupboards and drawers. The more storage space that you have, the less you will be tempted to keep on top of the counters, and ruining the looks of your new room.

Here are some ideas that you can use to beautify as well as cut down on bathroom clutter:

1. Start with a fresh coat of paint. Painting a room is the quickest way to change the decor of a room. You can also paint your cabinets if they are damaged or in poor shape. Make sure that your paint will stand up to the humid conditions that all bathrooms have.

2. If you are really ambitious, you can remove the mirror above the sink and replace it with a new one. Two smaller decorative mirrors over a double vanity instead of one large mirror will bring your bathroom into a more modern style.

3. Add a nice looking hook to your bathroom door to hang up bathrobes and plastic pouches which can contain other bathroom items.

4. Change out the knobs and drawer pulls on your cabinets and drawers. Try something with a little more color or in a different style than the original knobs.

5 Replace your bathroom hardware such as bathtub and sink faucets. A new, shiny faucet will work wonders for your bath.

6 Now, change your bath towel racks and rings. Also, think about where you will keep those towels that you aren’t using. There are many decorative options like baskets and shelves that you can use. This way, you can have the colors of the towels to accent your bathroom but still keep them neat and tidy.

7. Use bathroom accessories to add color and style. Purchase shower curtains, a waste basket, liquid hand soap dispenser, soap dishes, new towels and a toothbrush holder.

8. Buy new throw rugs for the floor. They come in almost every color imaginable so try to match them to your towels and other accessories.

9. Add one or two moisture-loving plants. This will bring life to the room.

10. Finally, add a few fancy candles to add warmth.

These inexpensive ideas will beautify any bathroom without the need to totally demolish it and add all new cupboards, counters and bathroom fixtures. Give it a try and you’ll have a whole new bathroom!

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Using Antler Lamps For Beautiful Rustic Home Decor

1 January 2009

Antler lamps are wonderful for enhancing western home decor. Much more than a lighting fixture, antler lamps bring charm to your environment. If you have a mountain cabin or western style home, the elegant character of antlers with their beautiful shapes and variations in natural color will give your home the distinctive rustic style you are hoping to create.

For decades, ranch style home owners as well as those building more sophisticated cabins have used antler lamps as beautiful rustic lighting to complete their western or southwestern home decor. Because of the natural shape of antler lamps and chandeliers there is a rustic charm inherent within the antlers that wonderfully enhances any type of rustic furniture. There is something distinctive about antler lamps that combines all the elements and gives off a sophisticated western feel in the area. Antler lamps have a quality about them that easily enhances balance and focus in any environment.

Antler lamps also accompany many other western elements in home decor. In the Northwestern states or “north woods” antlers may be attached to snow shoes and complimented with rawhide lamp shades to make beautiful wall sconces. The light wood and rawhide lacing on the snow shoe, together with the leather binding and pleasant glow of the hand stitched shade, make it a wonderful harmony. Weather you choose to adorn your antler lamp with rustic light rawhide shades or country style dark rawhide lampshades, the choice is yours and the effect will be fabulous.

Smaller antler chandeliers are made from whitetail deer antlers while large chandeliers sometimes have many tiers of huge elk antlers. Weather your area is large or small an antler chandelier will bring the spirit of the old west alive in your home.

In Jackson Hole, WY the town’s square is decorated with arches made from Elk antlers. It is certainly unique, and you can create the same look with antler lamps. Small lamps are made from whitetail deer antlers while large light fixtures such as chandeliers may have tiers of elk antlers with rawhide lampshades. One of the most popular lamps is created using moose antlers, unmistakable with their great dark palms and beautiful dark rawhide lamp shades.

Throughout the year, organizations like the Boy Scouts will search for the prized sheds. If you ever find antler sheds outdoors, it is an amazing occurrence. Antler lamps enhance that same style in your home and can change your setting’s ambiance in a most exciting way.

Antlers are found in different qualities that are categorized like rare coins. The best quality is awarded an “A” grade. The grading system, indirectly, has to do with the length of time the sheds lie outdoors before found. The more time they are left in the wild, the more they break down. New antler sheds are a darker brown color. Sheds that are not found quickly will start to bleach in the sun until they become a chalky white. Another factor they loose their quality is because of chew marks from small animals and stains from wet ground or moss.

There are also different ways of making the antler lamps themselves. Some lamp makers use glue to hold the antlers together. Others may fasten them together with a rawhide thong for a rustic Indian look. And some of the most attractive antler lamps may use a combination of being glued, drilled and screwed together, with the holes closed up for a natural look. High end lamps will almost always include rawhide lamp shades.

Each antler is somewhat varied than any other, so each antler lamp is a unique treasure and is great for rustic lighting. Enhance western decor in your home and compliment your rustic home furnishings with the beautiful, rustic antler lamps.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and offers free information online about choosing Antler lamps for rustic decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

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Use Ceremonial Drums For Beautiful Western Home Decor

16 December 2008

Because I love southwest decorating, I recently added ceremonial drums as part of the rustic, southwest decor in my new home. I was so happy with the beautiful, rustic feel that the Native American drums brought to my home, that I started learning about the history and the influential role they play in tribal cultures.

If you are like me, you have probably seen how significant ceremonial drums are to the Native culture but do not understand their significance in Native ceremonies or how exactly they are used. Each tribe is unique in how they use ceremonial drums but one similarity between each tribe is that the Native drums are very symbolic and part of the main focus of the ceremony.

Throughout my research, I have come to find that learning about these drums truly gives you a great appreciation of the Native American culture and their customs. As you begin learning about ceremonial drums, you will find it very intriguing that the Native Americans consider the ceremonial drum to be sacred.

They are usually used in powwows, Shamanic ceremonies and honor ceremonies to call on the Spirits and to connect with their creator. It is believed that each drum has a spirit and that the drum beat signifies the heart beat of Mother Nature. Since the drum is believed to connect the people with the spirit world and direct the a healer in helping his people, you will find that they are commonly used by the healers to enter the mind state, known as the Shamanic journey, needed to connect with the Spirits.

Also, as you research the importance of ceremonial drums in modern culture, you will see that Native Indian drums play a significant role in the livelihood of native tribes such as the Tarahumara. Making and selling these rustic style drums allows them to earn a living, by selling and trading their cultural hand crafts, and helps them disperse the knowledge and traditions of their culture to those who purchase them.

The drum making knowledge, passed on from generation to generation in these tribes, teaches the drum makers how to make durable and long-lasting ceremonial drums with elements from the Earth and the environment around them such as pine wood and natural rawhide.

Today, American Indian drums are not only used in Indian ceremonies such as Native American drum groups and as Indian musical instruments, but they are also gaining popularity as pieces of decorative art, instruments used in school music classes and even as canvases for Native American art projects and southwestern paintings. Some types of ceremonial drums are also used as southwest style furniture and Native American decor, such as the larger powwow drums and pedestal drums that are used as rustic tables.

Today, it is very easy to buy these unique Native American ceremonial drums online and in stores that sell southwestern, western and rustic home decor. However you choose to use your ceremonial drum, whether for drumming groups or in home decorating, you will definitely be drawn to the rustic charm and western style of ceremonial drums.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and author offering free information online about how to use Ceremonial Drums for American Indian drumming and for chic southwestern home decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

Try A Southwest Table Runner For Native Style Home Decor

6 December 2008

A Southwest table runner is an excellent way to enhance that one-of-a-kind western, rustic or Native American style in your home decorating. Because of their growing popularity, many designers are choosing to buy their southwest table runner online. Used as western accents and also southwestern accessories, in kitchens or when decorating a cabin or log home with a rustic or western theme, southwestern table runners give your home character and a definite authentic Native American look.

When buying American Indian style table runners, you will find a large selection making it easy to buy a western table runner and you will definitely want to add a few of the most popular and sought-after runners or table rugs in your home decor. These table runners have a long history that has grown over time and can truly be considered as pieces of art.

Among the most popular southwestern and western table runners, in Indian patterns, each different runner uses a combination of beautiful colors and characters, symbolizing spiritual or historic events and a variation of colors and designs.

Not only is a southwest table runner known for its great beauty, but the skill and hard work needed in making Native table runners is also greatly appreciated. The makers of hand woven table runners are highly skilled and start the runner making process by kneeling in front of a vertical wooden-framed loom. The designs are then placed by using a shuttle to weave a variety of colored yarn together, making geometric characters and designs.

In the beginning, Navajo rugs as well as those of some other Southwest Indian tribes were weaved of hand spun cotton thread. However, after the wool of domestic sheep was introduced to the area by the Spanish settlers, the people mainly used wool to weave their colorful rugs, table runners and other traditional weaving.

Today, many of the modern southwest table runners are made in areas where Spanish and Native American histories have melded together to create unique designs. Southwestern table runners, with their warm earth tone colors and unique southwestern designs make them a great choice for rustic home decorating.

If you are searching for great southwestern decor, you will most likely purchase from American companies or directly from Native American weavers. Purchasing western table runners from Navajo or other American Indian tribes not only allows you the satisfaction of owning a southwest table runner that is woven by Native Americans but also helps to support the Native American heritage of rug weaving, and the people who themselves sell their rugs, runners, and Native American art.

The table runner you choose will greatly depend on what your tastes are and what kind of decorating you decide on. You will find that a southwest table runner is the perfect southwestern accent when combined with rustic or western home decor. Whether you are changing your home decor or decorating an entire house using a southwestern theme, you will find many designs and colors available to choose from. Among these options you will be able to choose from Zapotec runners with no two alike, to southwest table runners with southwestern style.

Designers love hand woven wool table runners because of the rich colors and textures. Whatever your decorating style and whatever your decorating needs, you will no doubt enjoy the richness of color and warmth brought to life in your home by decorating with a southwest table runner.

Craig Chambers is the director of Mission Del Rey and offers free information online about choosing a southwest table runner for rustic decorating. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com

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