A Look At A Few Popular Decorating Styles Popular decorating styles are always changing. Is your home up to date on the latest fashion trends and decorating tips?

Popular decorating styles are fun, interesting and they just add something to talk about to the rest of the home. If you are considering a redo of your living room, your kitchen, your bedroom or virtually any other room in or outside of your home, consider some of today’s more popular choices. You are sure to find one, or two, that you really love to use.

Traditional: We have to start with the traditional look because it just does not go out of style. Here, the look is furniture that comes from the Kings and Queens of yesteryear, early American trends and a wide range of other formal styled items. You are looking for traditional to come through in the upholstery, in the window treatments and even in the accents that are placed around the room. Traditional is a style that is highly expensive to pull off with exceptional quality furnishings.

Shabby Elegance: Who’s to say that this is not one of the best methods of decorating. The look is that of chic, something that features light toned wall and furniture colorings, old china pattern looks, warm yet comfortable pieces that create a sense of relaxation when you look at them.

Contemporary: Modern contemporary looks have always been in style in the last decade. These looks are influenced by pieces that are bold and bright, different and unique and are functional yet are also more of a piece of art as well. You will find straight, clean lines in the furnishings and walls here.

Art Deco: This popular decorating style is one that seems quite a bit like the modern contemporary yet it has a more flowing look to it. The lines are not as straight, but rather are curved.

Rustic: The look for the log cabin is not gone. In a rustic Southwestern feel, you will have woods used of various types. It will have a laid back feel with warm throws and soft, comfortable furniture. The color scheme here is that of warm, rich colors that complement the woods.

French Country: This is a very popular choice in decorating styles. Here, you will have many bright colors and will have that feel of whimsical dreaming. Wood finishes are done with fruitwoods and cherry. Art work with color is on the walls.

One of these popular decorating styles will work perfectly in your home. There are plenty to select from to help you to transform the look for your home into something that is amazing.

Whether you are working with existing furnishings and fabrics or “starting from scratch” with an empty room, you should always use the elements and principles of design as a guide in choosing everything.  The elements are your tools or raw materials, much like paints are the basics to a painter. The elements of design include space, line, form, color, and texture. The principles of design relate to how you use these elements and are balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion and scale, and harmony and unity.

Element #1: Space
Space defines the boundaries and sets the limits on the functional and decorative things you can do.  Usually you will not determine the space; instead, you will be faced with the challenge of using the existing space effectively.

Element #2: Line
The lines in a room are second only to color in importance when it comes to setting the overall mood or feeling of a room.  The lines of window fashions should support the dominant line of the room. In most situations, the dominant line is straight (vertical, horizontal or diagonal) rather than curved. Your choice of emphasizing the direction of lines will determine the mood you want to create. 
• Vertical lines add height and dignity, creating a more formal atmosphere. Vertical lines also balance the horizontal lines found in most furniture.
• Horizontal lines tend to create a restful, informal feeling. They work well in casual rooms or as relief to the strong verticals of formal rooms.
• Diagonal lines attract attention and lead the eye. They can be disturbing unless supported by verticals or opposing diagonals.
• Curved lines add a softening effect and keep the room from becoming too stiff. Use curved lines with some restraint to keep the room from becoming too soft and overly feminine.

Element #3: Form
Lines that join together produce the form, or shape, of an object, which in turn impacts the overall feeling of a room.  Straight lines create rectangles, square and triangles. Curved lines form circles and ovals. The rectangle is the most popular form and is often the dominant shape in a room. Triangles provide stability and curved shapes soften the contours of objects.

Element #4: Color
More than any other element, color can make a room beautiful. Color can set the mood. It can make a room warmer or cooler, larger or smaller. It can hide unsightly features or call attention to the center of interest. Even with the simplest furnishings, the proper use of color can transform a room.

Element #5: Texture
Texture is playing an increasingly important role in home decorating. Visual texture is a material’s apparent smoothness or roughness. To maintain and enhance a casual feeling, use fabrics that are more heavily textured, nubby or rough visual texture. Smooth, shiny surfaces such as silk, moiré, chintz and silk-like looks support a more formal feeling in a room.  Using several levels of complementary textures adds variety and maintains interest. However, it is a good idea to avoid dramatic contrasts in texture.

Building a home for yourself is the American Dream. For some people, it is important to build something unique.

Alternative Home Designs

You’ve worked your rear end off and reached a financial status where you can do some dreaming. One dream is to buy some land and build a home on it. You’ve found the perfect plot, and now you’re wondering about different styles of homes. Here are some alternative designs to get the creative thoughts flowing.

A very unique home design is the atrium home. An atrium home is designed to emphasize an open middle area, not an exterior appearance. If you’ve been to Europe, you’ve seen this design in larger cities. You’ll be walking down a street lined with bland looking windows. You pop into one of the buildings to find a bathroom and it is like entering another world. The exterior of the building is no great shakes, but the interior is a slice of atrium heaven with an open area covered in a lattice or left wide open. The interior is a collection of sitting areas, plants and perhaps small pools for fish. Not a bad idea, eh?

Taking the design to its full scope, the home is designed…underground. The design can be done in a variety of ways, but it is built below ground to take advantage of geothermal concepts. The primary idea is to use the constant temperature of the ground to regulate the climate in the home. The top of the roof is flush with the level of the ground and everything else is below level. For practically purposes, picture an oasis in the desert, but dug into the ground.

In these modern times, the below ground design has some excellent energy options. You can put solar panels across the top of the roof to generate power and most people will be none the wiser. By being out of the wind, you also cut down on wasted energy.

Going below ground with your atrium home is a pool of creative opportunity. As long as you take care of drainage issues, the design parameters are pretty much wide open.

When space is at a premium or privacy is vital, atrium homes are often the answer. In a large city, an atrium design can help you create an oasis from the noise and madness of daily life.

Here are some easy tips to decorate your home.   Taking a few moments to think about your home will help you fully enjoy it.
 
Think about your home, and answer these questions:  

1.  What do you want it to be?    If you want your home to be a tranquil oasis in a busy world, are your colors soothing or do they shout?   If you want a fun place for friends to gather, do you have plenty of seating?   

2.  What are your main hobbies and activities?   What do you need for these activities?  For instance, if you have a collection that you work on often, get storage containers for it that can be easily opened or put away.  If it’s a lot of trouble to get at your collection, you either won’t spend the time on it, or else might be tempted to leave it out and risk losing or breaking certain pieces. 

3.  Who will be using the space?   How many people will be living there?  What ages?  It’s important for every person to have a space that’s their own.  Whether it’s a special chair, couch, desk or a section of a room, everyone needs ‘their space’.   If you’re planning to do video aerobics, you’ll need room to move around in front of the TV!   

4.  What about your things?   It’s easy to become very messy if things don’t have a place.     A small filing cabinet is a must for many people – it’s a great place to store all the papers that you don’t know what to do with!

5.  How much do you really need?  Too much furniture makes a room seem crowded.  The bare essentials are a couch and chair, a table and chairs for eating, a bed and place for your clothes.   After that, think hard about what you need or don’t need.  Will you really use that computer desk – or would you rather sit on the couch with a laptop?  

6.  Think about the traffic flow.   You want to be able to walk anywhere in the room without bumping into furniture.   Try drawing furniture placement on paper as a first step.

7.  Pick a focal point – your Greystone Properties home has unique features.  What do you want to see when your first walk in the room?   If you have nice windows with great lighting, are you emphasizing it?   Everyone feels brighter in sunshine.

8.  Think about order and organization.  Do you bring home work every day, or mail, or sports equipment?    Where will you put it?   A large bowl or box near the front door is a great place to drop mail until you go through it later.    

9.  Take advantage of free expert advice.  Every store and every product line employs professional designers to put furniture and accessories together.   If you’re unsure of your decorating skills, pick a design you like.   Study how they did it either by looking through a catalogue or going to a store.   It’s all there assembled and displayed for you.   If you like the look, simply do what they’ve done!

Creating a cohesive interior design for you home isn’t that hard if you know some of the basics. In fact, decorating your home so that all the various elements combine to create the look you’ve always wanted can be a lot of fun.

Following are some proven tips to help you turn your house into a designer home:

Taking the first step

As they say, let’s start at the beginning. Chances are good that your home is a mish mash of furnishings, art, accents and accessories that have been collected over time. To create the perfect designer look, you want to first consider the purpose for each room, how you want it to look, your personal tastes, features that can and can’t be changed, and finally, the budget you have available.

Start with the key elements

The success of a room’s design lies in the balance you create. The basics of good design are proportion, balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern/texture and harmony. Knowing how these elements work together will help you design your space so that it’s not only beautiful, but comfortable and functional as well.

Proportion

Scale is one of the most important things to consider when creating the look of a room. A room that is proportioned correctly will feel welcoming while an incorrectly portioned room will just feel crowded and unfriendly. The trick is to match pieces in terms of their scale. A large overstuffed sofa needs an equally large end table or coffee table; otherwise, these accents simply disappear as the sofa dwarfs them proportionally. When considering scale, look to the other rooms in your home for furniture that may be a better fit with the focal pieces you have in your room.

Balance

When creating balance, there’s two ways to go here. The first is symmetrical design, where everything is perfectly balanced. With symmetrical design, there’s roughly two of everything or items are mirrored in the room. For instance, one chair is placed exactly opposite another one just like it. While this creates balance, it can also make a room look static and lacking any visual interest or energy. Experienced designers use asymmetry to create this interest. Objects balance well because they are judged by their visual weight, not pairings. For instance, you may have a large sofa on one side of the room that is balanced by two large overstuffed chairs with an accent table in the middle and floor lamp behind. These pieces balance the sofa visually, even though they aren’t equal in size or shape. The design works because there is balance in the asymmetrical layout of the furniture.

Contrast

Imagine walking into a white room with white carpet and white furniture. Pretty boring, huh? Contrast helps draw the eye around a room through the intelligent use of color. Bold use of colors creates energy while the use of muted shades in complementary tones creates calm. The more contrast you create, the easier it is for the human eye to follow the intended design of the room, moving visually from one space to another, guided by the use of color and contrast.

Rhythm

While creating contrast with the use of light and dark tones can be effective, it can also create boredom. To keep the room connected, you want to use rhythm. This means reusing specific colors, patterns, textures or themes throughout the room. Pick a couple main colors and repeat them in different ways in your paint scheme, fabrics and accents.

Pattern & Texture

As the eye moves about a room, it picks up specific patterns. These are grouped together, so a blue wall is combined with a striped piece of fabric that has the same blue in it. Patterns that don’t fit create conflict in the mind, compromising the appearance of the space. Again, you want to pick one or two primary patterns or textures and vary them within the color palette you’ve already created for the room. Right alongside the elements of contrast and rhythm in home decorating is pattern/texture.

Harmony

If you’ve ever heard three singers sing different parts that sound amazing together, then you already know what harmony is. The same is true for the harmony in your home. Different colors, different designs and different proportions combine to create a new look that was never there before, just as new notes are created by singers singing three different parts. The room is suddenly complete. It has a look that if you remove just one element, won’t have that harmonic feel to it any longer. When you’ve achieved harmony, you’ve achieved your design goals.