2013 Christmas Tree Inspiration from HGTV

If you are open to new ideas, just about anything can be a Christmas tree because it's all in the presentation.


Funky and fun miniature trees are perfect in a grouping on a sofa table, buffet or even the kitchen counter.

They're made out of ribbon or fabric-covered foam topiaries that are hot-glued into containers and adorned with anything from Christmas light bulbs to feathers to glittery beaded garland.

Since the best gifts come in small packages, these are just the trees for those items!

Here are some other tree-inspired ideas:

• Make a hanging ribbon tree for a corner, the center of an entry or even above the folding counter in a laundry room.

• Use ribbon to tie macramé rings in a variety of sizes together. Wrap each with low-wattage, UL-approved white holiday lights that don't generate heat. Drape beautiful ribbons over the rings to create the foliage streamers, which cover the structure but allow the glow from the lights to shine through.

• For just a whisper of the holidays in your home, purchase several cherry blossom branches from a florist. The flowers give the impression of tufts of snow along the branches, and when placed in a very large glass container, the bouquet can be high enough to allow plenty of room for stacks of beautifully wrapped Christmas packages underneath.

• Use carefully wrapped surprises as part of your holiday decor. One of the best ways to do this is to use paper in colors that either stand out or blend in with the existing decor of your home. A collection of pink and silver packages is certainly eye catching. If the packages look too good to unwrap, use empty boxes and display your creations again next year.

• Turn a white Christmas tree into a snowman (or an elf, Santa and even a reindeer) using felt and fabric for his eyes and nose, top hat and a scarf to keep him warm. 

Make a Citrus Table Runner Spring 2013 Ideas

Layer Ultrasuede circles and triangles to create a refreshing table runner. Using two shades each of yellow and green suede, cut circles, triangles, and leaves.

Materials: 

1/8 yard Ultrasuede Fresh Lime #4575 for eight 8-inch lime circles and 4 leaves (2 large and 2 small)
1/8 yard Ultrasuede Green Apple #4512 for 48 lime segments and 6 leaves (3 large and 3 small)
1/2 yard Ultrasuede Tulip #5227 for ten 7 1/4-inch lemon circles
1/2 yard Ultrasuede Tulip #5228 for 60 lemon segments

How-To: 

1. Cut Ultrasuede circles and segment pieces in two colors of yellow and two colors of green following the pattern. Cut two sizes of leaves from the two shades of green Ultrasuede following the pattern.

2. Glue segments to circles and assemble as shown in photo (or randomly) and glue the pieces where they overlap.

3. When dry, flip over and glue unsecured sections.

I hope you like this Runner ............. enjoy it .

Country Style Kitchens 2013 Decorating Ideas

A country style kitchen is warm, cozy and inviting. It's evocative of a country setting.
The furnishings and decor remind you of the countryside, the outdoors and the gathering of people. Because of its welcoming ambiance, it's currently a popular kitchen style. Always comfortable, it's usually large (although smaller country kitchens work as well).
Decorating a country kitchen involves the selection of furnishings, walls, flooring, windows and accessories.

These English country style kitchen sets from County Kitchen predominantly reflect a traditional style but not without a modern twist on tradition.
I hope you like this collection .....  enjoy it ...!

Home Interior Design Ideas

If you like the idea of coming up with your own home Interior design, you are not alone. Lots of folks these days are planning out and then executing their own interior designs. But how do you come up with great home interior design ideas? Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Even though you may get some great home interior design ideas from these television shows, ask yourself whether or not they will fit well in your particular home. Just because they look great on television in someone else's home does not mean that it will fit in well in your home. So try to visualize the whole project from beginning to end in your house. And plan, plan, plan. By taking extra precaution in the planning stages, you can ensure a more problem free application.

If you begin right away to assemble this archive of home interior design ideas, it won't take long for you to have a really sizable reference guide to help you come up with almost any idea that you could ever need.

So as you can see, gathering information and ideas from several different sources and compiling them all together in an easily researched form can be one of the best ways for you to get great home interior design ideas quickly and easily.

Patio Decorating Tips For Summer 2013

A charming patio filled with amenities can be a warm weather getaway, right in your backyard. Create a patio you can enjoy with these tips.

In landscapes that include lots of different plant types and textures, too much additional pattern can be overwhelming. Small doses are a good way to provide visual relief as well as interesting contrast to furniture. This patio set's solid-red seating cushions are paired with red and white pattern accent pillows for a pop of style.

Patios that are shielded from the elements can also, unfortunately, be shielded from cooling summertime breezes. If you have a structure overhead either a real roof or a pergola you may be able to include a ceiling fan, which can help drop the temperature up to 10 degrees. Outfit your ceiling fan with a light and you'll have a reliable source of overhead illumination, too.

If you have limited backyard space, you may want to screen your seating area from your neighbors. There are a variety of visually pleasing ways to do that, including attractive fencing, tall trees (which also supply shade), shrubs, or a hedgerow.

Exterior lighting has many functions ensuring safety along walkways, offering ambience as natural light fades and should be an integral part of any patio design. A pendant fixture above this table can cast light on diners lingering after the sun has set.

A paved or bricked patio space that ends abruptly will feel out of place with a larger landscape around it. A better solution is to use materials to gradually transition  and reinforce a connection  between the two. Here, irregularly shaped pavers provide a pathway from patio to lawn, and mulch and containers segue neatly into planted areas.

A deck that's created with materials that are in polar opposition to a house will look out of place indeed. Use your home's architecture for cues as to color and type of construction. Here, stucco walls supply the neutral base, while stonework adds welcome visual complexity to the intimate fireplace area.

Small shifts in color or material supply welcoming visual interest underfoot on a patio. Consider a border, or use different sizes of stones to delineate seating or eating areas like this red brick helps designate the dining area and warms up the blue flagstones.

Decorative elements certainly have a home on a patio, particularly if they're either outdoor-safe or protected from the elements. If your style is a bit eclectic, or favors a theme like this woodsy one, let the decorating scheme reflect that, with sculpture and centerpieces.

In the absence of a change up of fabrics or hardscape, plants can be a welcome way to add living décor to a patio space. Intermix grasses and foliage-focused plants for variety in both hue and style.

Even a small fountain or birdbath lends a soothing sound or draws birds and butterflies. Petite water features can also act as a charming focal point, like this birdbath centered in a small circular brick patio.

Luxury Interior Design

If you love your home, you'll no doubt have put a great deal of thought and effort into getting the interior design just right. Sometimes only luxury will do: it makes all the difference to an interior, and makes you feel rather special. And rightly so: after all, if you've worked hard for a beautiful house, it's worth investing in an interior design that creates a feeling of luxury.

Exclusive design is about much more than paint, wallpaper or ornaments. It's about creating an atmosphere of genuine luxury; a feeling of sheer opulence that makes you want to spend as much time in your interior as possible. exclusive design appeals to all the senses; it makes you feel alive; honoured to be there. No surprise, therefore, that many design experts opt for high-quality metallics and natural fabrics when designing for luxury residences. Furniture that is embossed with gold and silver; exclusive fabrics and genuine animal skins; antique objects d'art from high-class auctioneers: the work of an exclusive interior designer is very detailed, and will focus on creating the precise atmosphere and ambience that you want from your home's interior.

Consider some of the best-known interiors in the world. The Palace at Versailles, for example, is a shining example of exclusive design. The finest French designs, the most opulent furniture and carpeting; rare pieces of art and intriguing ironwork... all combine to create an interior that is sheer luxury; quite unmatched anywhere in the world.

The Newport Mansion, too, are a superb example of exclusive design. These fabulous homes were once owned by the Vanderbilts - a family whose wealth and status meant that they could afford phenomenal enhancements to their interiors. These mansions, perched on the edge of the Atlantic, are a hymn to interior design: a veritable monument to the world of luxury and status.

Cities such as London, New York and Paris are an excellent hunting ground if you're seeking design ideas to create an exclusive interior of your own. Head for hotels such as The Ritz and The Savoy in London: both fabulous examples of design. If you ask politely, the concierge may even allow you to take a photograph or two. In New York, The Mercer is a wonderful example of luxury interior design. Fabulous furniture, stunning artwork and high-design ornamentation all add to the feeling of opulence and luxury. 

Luxury Home Interior Design

Of course we all want to have a nice house and we all want it to look 

luxurious and elegant that is why we only buy what we think will give a great 

look inside our homes. Things like lampshades, chandeliers, paintings, modern 

home appliances, and nice, comfortable sofas are what we usually put inside our 

homes but as we all know this requires a lot of money.

But we can have a design without breaking the budget 

because there are simple ways that we can easily follow to live in a luxury. 

Here are some tips or ideas that you may want to consider when you want to have 

a luxury home interior design that is affordable, economical, and very elegant.

Elegant Ideas

One of the best tips that you must follow when achieving a 

luxury home interior design is to make use of what you have. This does not necessarily mean that you will have to throw away all your old stuff just to achieve the look of sophistication and class in 

your house. Do not hide away your china, silverware, and crystal because what 

are you saving them for? It is time that you make use of those things and you 

will see that they will add a great deal of luxury in your own home.

Another tip that you can take note of when achieving this kind of design is by 

adding affordable elegance in your own home. What you can do is to buy throw 

pillows or a tapestry that has elegant designs and you can focus on those things 

to avoid upholstering your entire living room just to achieve the effect.

Next is to always remember that you must reward yourself by sleeping in the most 

comfortable bedroom and you can achieve a luxury home interior design by just 

adding pair of silky soft covers in your pillowcases or bed sheets and you 

instantly get the feeling that you are living the glamorous life. If you can, 

you can splurge on a whole set of beddings just to get the desired effect that 

you want on your bedroom plus, when you come to think of it, it is one way of 

treating yourself after a long hard day.

You can achieve a luxury home interior design by just following these great tips without breaking the bank. But the most important thing to remember is that, find as many items as you can from your old 

things and make use of them. Also it will help it if you will take a few trips 

to the flea market or garage sales to find an item or two that can add a touch 

of class in your home.

White House Interior Design

There is a lot of mystery surrounding the interior design of the White House. Many articles have been written in relation to this subject but no one really knows the aspect of the hundreds of rooms belonging to the Presidential house, except for the members of the first family and the national security agents.

The interior design of the White House is subject to constant modifications as each President tries to bring an improvement to the decoration. Nevertheless, it is only the private area of the house, that is, the rooms on the top two floors that can be freely decorated. The rooms where political affairs are usually discussed occupy the ground and the first floor and they preserve the historical aspect that was created by the first Presidents of the United States.

Visitors are not allowed to enter the private section, whereas the famous Oval room, Blue room and other similar chambers are often displayed to the entire public, especially during televised transmissions. Despite the different styles of the offices, the elements of the luxuriously aristocratic style seem to prevail throughout the entire house.

Royal chandeliers, natural fabrics and Oriental or Persian rugs are the elements that may be found in the decoration of every White House room. Since changes rarely occur in the public part of the house, many furniture pieces have been preserved since the beginnings of the White House, thus there are many interior ornaments and furnishings belonging to the Victorian age.

The only elements that are frequently changed in these offices are the curtains and the draperies. The officials choose to replace these items because this is the best method to change the aspect of the room without affecting the other elements of the interior decoration. It, nevertheless, takes a lot of effort to create new curtains for the Presidential house. Decorators use satin materials to create custom made curtains that can impress even the most luxurious Presidents of the world.

The White House is an example of stylish and refined interior decoration for conservative people who would like to arrange their house in a similar manner. People who can't afford expensive pieces of antique furniture may at least resort to one of the many fabric stores and order custom made curtains and rugs that preserve the aristocratic style worthy of Presidential houses.

New Zealand Interior Design

In terms of architecture and interior design, New Zealand is a relatively young country when you compare it to the likes of America and England. The design choices, both interior and exterior, have traditionally mirrored that of the countries where most migrants originated from - predominantly the Pacific and Europe. However, over the last few decades New Zealand has developed its own tastes and architectural design elements that blend together the built environment and the unique surrounding natural environment. To compliment this style, interior design has also changed. New Zealand has created its own style that celebrates its heritage, and combined it with modern touches and creative flamboyance.

If you look back to the first half of the 20th Century, New Zealand homes were decorated very sparsely. Traditionally interior decorating included antique furniture, floral print fabrics, fine bone china and sparsely decorated rooms. By the 1940's state housing was predominant and interior decorating remained minimal.

Post-war immigration during 1950's could be seen as a starting point for subtle changes to our interior design choices. New Zealand experienced a large influx of immigrants leaving post-war Europe, including architects who brought with them the principles of the 'modern' architectural movement. At this stage Scandinavian designs were also taking the world by storm - both for exterior design and interior wooden pieces.

The 1960's and 1970's saw the beginning of more Pacific influences in design. Colourful and adventurous fabrics started to make their way into New Zealand homes. These fabrics complemented the new 'open plan' living and 'indoor-outdoor' flow of homes that started to emerge during the 1970's. At this stage New Zealand's distinct design tastes began to emerge.

By the 1980's there were a broad range of architectural styles available - colonial, American colonial, Cape Cod, Ranch, Swiss, Japanese and English country, Mediterranean, to name a few. As a result interior design also started to become more creative, and many consider the mid-1980's as the coming of age of interior design in New Zealand.

Over the next three decades New Zealand homes became truly international. All designs were tried, and architects also started to construct houses to fit New Zealand's unique environment. Homes were built to maximise sunlight with main living areas facing north, allowing more natural light. The open-plan look became the most popular with less internal walls and better flow, again taking advantage of natural light. And New Zealand's popular pastime of entertaining around the barbecue meant the popular indoor-outdoor flow was here to stay.

As a result, interior design changed also. Over the next three decades designers mixed all the cultural influences of European and Asian migrants with Maori and Pacific design, to emerge with what has become a distinct New Zealand style. Many homes started using fabrics and patterns that mixed outdoor elements with indoor décor colours. Interior designers combined different patterns and textures to bring homes to life.