Decorate Ideas

Your guest room is a place to make your guests feel welcome and what better way then to add some sunny and warm Tuscan decor!

Regardless of your budget you can get the look of Tuscany in your guest room by making a few changes such as wallpapering and coordinating your bedding and pillows to give the room a look of old Italy. A budget remake can encompass simple changes to accessories while a top notch remodel can include alterations to lighting fixtures, flooring, wall coverings and decorative accessories as well as new bed and bureaus.

Great lighting is a must in most rooms and the guest room is no exception. To enhance your Tuscan home decor theme, you might want to keep in mind the style of light fixtures as well as the type of light. Most guest rooms can make good use of night stand lamps in addition to overhead lighting. When you are decorating with a Tuscan style, try installing rustic ceiling fixtures with alabaster wall sconces and avoid any lighting that is too modern or shiny like chrome or stainless steel.

The flooring can make a big difference, but if it costs too much for new floors for your guest room then work with what you have by covering them with area rugs that have a Tuscan look. If new floors are in your budget, consider using aged hardwood floors or Italian tile or marble.

Decorative items are vital to pulling your Tuscan home decor design together. You can even totally alter the appearance of your room by simply changing the accessories! Concentrate on choosing bedding, pillows and artwork, in colors that compliment your Tuscan design. You’ll be amazed at how easy and inexpensive it is, and what a huge difference these changes make! Make sure to incorporate plenty of antiques in conjunction with majolica pottery which can be purchased either new or old. You could even try some country wooden items mixed in with a few shabby chic crystal accessories with drippy prisms to get a professional look for your guest room. Extra touches like lots of silk flowers and plants can help give your room a picture perfect designer appeal.

One thing to keep in mind when decorating your guest room with a Tuscan home decor theme is your wall color. For this design style the colors are important - consider using golden mustard yellow and earthtones as a paint color. Try using a faux plaster with an aged patina on the walls, or use faux painted walls that look antique and resemble old cracked plaster. You don’t have to get too fancy or spend a lot of money and if you are afraid of too much color, simply paint the walls a neutral shade and play up the color with accents.

It’s not necessary to have a coordinating bed, bureau, and side table but the guest room should have plenty of antique or reproduction furniture. To really compliment the Tuscan theme, bring in furniture that has a hand painted or antique finish.

What you put on your windows can enhance your Tuscan home decor theme. There are a variety of window treatments that go great with this style, particularly if you use coordinating fabrics, but be sure to avoid anything too cutsey or frilly. To get a nice look in your guest room you should try using panel drapes or sheers.

One vital area that is frequently overlooked when decorating your room is the wall space. Any wall can look wonderful with great accessories and wall art. Try adding antique paintings or perhaps a wall mural of a Tuscan country side to your guest room walls to enhance the warmth of your Tuscan decorating style. An interesting addition could be a mural of a small vignette or nook with an Italian flair.

Achieving a great Tuscan look in your guest room doesn’t have to be difficult if you pay attention to detail and match your accessories and furniture. You may find that you’ve done such a great job with your Tuscan home decor that your guests don’t want to leave!

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.decoratinghowto.com where you can learn more about decorating your house in your favorite decorating style.

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The Victorian decorating style is one that combines antique accessories with modern methods and can really make your house stand out. Whether you have an old Victorian mansion or a new home, you can decorating with a Victorian style by changing small things, for instance painting and hanging vintage accessories to bring some of the Victorian age to your home.

A major component in victorian decorating is what you put on the walls. For this style the room colors make a big difference - you should contemplate putting reds and dark colors and anything with vintage appeal and depending on the particular style many colors either in your wall color or your accessories. Try using an antique style wallpaper and border sets on the walls, or if you want something different go with paint and stenciling. You don’t have to get too fancy or spend a lot of money and if you are afraid of a bit of color, merely paint the walls a neutral shade and let the accents in the room do the decorating.

The floor covering can make or break your decor, but if you can not buy new flooring then just use area rugs with a Victorian design. Oriental rugs are perfect for this type of decor and you can buy genuine antique rugs, or reproductions if you are on a budget.

Accessories are key to pulling your Victorian decor together. You’ll be surprised at the impact a few alterations can make! Concentrate on buying old photos, artwork and mantle clocks that match your Victorian decor. Be sure to add in plenty of antiques as well as Victorian era curios. Additional touches like vintage fabrics and vases filled with flowers can add that special touch that gives your home a professional look.

You might want to consider light fixtures in terms of both style and type to go with your Victorian decorating style,. Given that you are trying to get a Victorian look, you might want to take a look at using old fashioned ceiling lights with lamps with silk fringe shades but remember to pass up anything which is primitive or country looking. Don’t forget to include table lamps as well as wall sconces.

Furniture should be Victorian in style but you don’t have to use genuine antiques. For the sofa especially, you should consider a reproduction. This is because vintage Victorian sofas are very uncomfortable! Wooden pieces like side tables and curio cabinets would look best if you can buy real antiques - the new stuff is just not as beautiful as the old pieces with a rich patina. Always make sure you buy pieces that are in tip top condition.

How you dress your windows are important to your victorian decorating design theme. For a fantastic design in your parlor go with working with layered drapery or velvet curtains or heavy draped curtains with different fabrics. There are a lot of window treatments that can be paired with this design theme, particularly if you match fabrics to your window treatments, but you should avoid contemporary style window coverings.

One decorating area that is frequently overlooked when decorating is the wall space. Even the ugliest walls can be made to look good with great wall decor. Try adding vintage paintings and old photos to create an interesting look to your parlor walls to really bring out the charm of your Victorian Interior Design.

Putting together a perfect Victorian look in your home can be as basic as just buying new decorative accessories or as involved as replacing everything. Either way, working on the details and making sure to coordinate your furniture and decorative accessories will help you achieve a great new Victorian decorating look that you will be proud to claim you accomplished all by yourself!

Lee Dobbins writes for decoratinghowto.com where you can learn more about decorating your home in a variety of decorating styles.

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There are two main reasons people take on home improvement projects: for their own pleasure and in hopes of increasing the resale value of their homes. As long as you spend time and money for the first reason, you’ll be okay. It’s when you start thinking more about the second reason that you may be in for a disappointment. Even if improvements add value to your home, few recoup the money they cost. For example, a swimming pool, which costs tens of thousands of dollars to install, adds little to no resale value to a home. People are turned off by the maintenance aspect, and parents with small children will worry about safety issues.

So, what improvements do add enough value that you’ll come close to making back what you spend? It’s the highly visible improvements that will help most. Unfortunately, the less visible ones don’t impress. Replacing the roof or furnace, while they may need doing, won’t convince a home buyer to pay more. Likewise, new energy-efficient doors and windows are not likely to recoup the cost of installation (However, if you are going to continue living in your home for the next few years, $1,000 spent on insulation and caulking existing windows and doors can help you save on your energy bills).

The biggest home improvement you can do to impress homebuyers (and make them want to pay more) is one of the cheapest. Paint. As long as you pick colors that will appeal to a wide audience–and you do it right before you list (before it has time to get mucked up)–you’ll increase appeal. Likewise crown molding is relatively inexpensive to install but adds the wow factor to otherwise regular rooms.

So, what else is worth doing? You may have heard that kitchens and bathrooms are what sell a house, and this is true, but don’t think you have to spend tens of thousands on a whole-room remodel. Getting rid of outdated wallpaper or paint will help tremendously. Also sand and paint/stain old cabinet doors to make them look new. Switch out the dated cabinet hardware for something stylish and modern.

Any time you can take dead space (i.e. an attic or basement) and turn it into functional space (i.e. bedroom, office, media room), you stand a good chance of recouping much of the money you invest in the project (85% of the cost returned at resale is the national average).

If your house only has one bathroom, you can recoup about 90% of the cost by adding a second. (Adding a third gets you back less).

Landscaping can also improve curb appeal and salability of a home, but don’t spend thousands on hiring a professional (it won’t increase the value anywhere near that much). Tackle landscaping projects you can do yourself instead.

Keep this advice in mind before you open your pocketbook to hire contracts and buy materials for massive remodeling projects. If you’re going to spend a lot, make sure it’s–first and foremost–for you and your family, with resale of the house a distant second consideration.

TC Thorn writes for Home Improvement Ideas, a blog with pictures and descriptions of new products and trends. This article may be reprinted as long as the link is left in place.

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