1. Door wreaths welcome all to your home and set the stage for celebrating. Make a simple wreath to hang on your front door with Thanksgiving colors–brown, russet, olive green. Use tree branches from your garden; attach a few gourds, nuts, raffia, and ribbons.

2. Place a gorgeous mum by your front door. You can plant it later and get flowers next Thanksgiving to use inside. It just takes one bright spot near your front door to attract the eye of arriving guests.

3. Wrap your front door with gift wrap appropriate to Thanksgiving.

4. Make a “welcome to our home” banner. Add your ribbons, raffia, and fall leaves.

5. Group vines, pumpkins, and mums for display impact near the front entrance. Adjust the vines to add height and movement.

Fall Leaves make great interior and exterior decorations. Be sure to hose off any bugs!

Five Holiday Decorating Tips for Your Home’s Interior

1. Display vegetables and mini pumpkins on a tray. Fill in any gaps with fall leaves, moss, raffia, or wheat. If orange clashes with your home’s interior, use green apples and spray paint the mini-pumpkins your colors.

2. Tie ribbons and raffia around your candle bases and around your floral arrangements.

3. Set fall-color leaves under your decorations. Safety Tip: Keep leaves separated from melting candle wax.

4. Extend your flower arrangements with fall tree branches. Just one flower package makes a huge impact when you divide and spread it around.

5. Use copper, bronze, and gold spray paint to dress up plain gourds. Fill a glass or crystal bowl with the gourds, oranges, and nuts.

Did I already mention gorgeous red, golden leaves? Here’s another way to add fall color: Place the leaves in your green potted-plants.

One beautiful way to kick off your holiday season: Wrap tiny gifts in gold foil; top off with brown and russet ribbons, and place the gifts on the dinner plate. Your table will look fabulous and your guests will love the thought.

Due to the relative ease it takes to make the stones, people have not only made their own garden stepping stones, but they have found other uses for it as well. Pet lovers have made their own pet memorial garden stones. Not only does it include the name of their beloved pet,
sometimes even the picture of their pet is integrated into the stone.

Making your own decorative garden stones does not require creative genius. You just think of what Landscape stone type you would like to
create, and what materials you might need for it. It would be great to be mindful of the tone you have already set for your garden. Are you aiming for a classy, aesthetic feel? Or a funkier, out of the box touch?

Some materials that are great to use would be smooth pebbles, shiny stones, patio paints, pieces of colored glass and tiles, seashells, and big leaves. Even old household items can be used as décor, not only does it save you money, but it will also add a more earth-friendly feel to your personalized garden stones.

Once you have gathered your materials, think over how each décor should be applied on the stone. For stones and pebbles, lay them out on the garden stone 45 minutes after placing the mixture in the mold. Make sure not to press them in too deep so they will still show. Don’t overcrowd them as well. And bear in mind the comfort of your feet if you will be walking on them.Creating a mosaic tile or glass design may be more challenging but it is really rewarding. Some crafts stores also sell mosaic garden stone kits. These kits are already complete with cut out stained glass or tiles; all you have to do is apply them. Using patio paints will also be great for those who are naturally good at painting. Simple designs look just as appealing, so for those who doubt their painting abilities, don’t hesitate to try and paint your own stepping stones.

Engraved garden stones are also quite popular. Remember how you used to scratch on a tree trunk to write your name? Well, this time around, engraving your name (and your husband’s and kids’), will give you that freedom. And will last you longer too! A more subtle touch would be to use your hand or foot prints.

A tip would be to search the Internet for pictures on personalized garden stones. Doing this will help start you up in generating your own ideas for your perfect garden stone!

Kids rooms should be fun as well as comforting and relaxing. When you set out to decorate your childs room, ask them what they like and incorporate some of their favorite themes and colors into the room. At the same time, it might be wise to keep an eye on the future and know that their tastes will change and if you make your decor flexible enough the room can last into your childs teens.

Here’s some tips on decorating kids bedrooms:

1. Use colorful curtains and accents. Show your child some curtain selections and ask them what they would like to see no the windows. Try to stick to bright colored window treatments as these will help the room to look sharper and cleaner.

Adding a valance can help define the opening of the window and lessen bright overhead light from coming in at the top of the windows. It also opens up the window so the room can be lit evenly during the day. Add a colorful or themed shade for privacy at night.

2. Consider using your childs toys as wall decor. This can serve two purposes – as decoration and to save on storage space. You can create hooks to hang larger toys and add shelves to display the smaller ones. Now if you can only get your kids to put them away!

3. You can always add paintings and prints in strategic places but make sure they are appropriate to the room. If you can afford it, consider having a wall or room mural painted on the walls in your childs favorite theme such as a magical forest, sports or race cars.

4. Decorate with photos of your childs most fondest memories. Family pictures of fun vacations or photos of your child on a day of achievement can add a personal touch to his or her room.

5. Depending on the age of your child, consider adding lifelike statues of his or her favorite cartoon characters or super heroes. This can add a bit of whimsy and make the decor unique.

6. Plants always add softness to any room and live plants help to clean the air. Just be sure you don’t add any plants that can be toxic and that your child is old enough not to dig in the dirt in the pots!

7. Don’t forget about the lampshades when decorating a kids room. Lamps and their shades can be purchased to accent any type of theme. You can also try making your own shades by buying plain ones and embellishing them with accents the compliment the rooms theme. Make it into a project that you can do with your child and they will really feel a sense of accomplishment every time they go into their room and see the lampshade.

8. Select your bedding to match the theme of the room as well as for comfort. Be sure to buy sheets, pillows and comforters that can be mixed and matched and don’t forget to add some extra accent pillows. You can even buy curtains that match the bedding, or if the curtains are not available for the bedding you have chosen, buy an extra set of sheets and make your own curtains.

9. Turn your childs ceiling into a magical night sky with glow in the dark decorations. These can be fun and even comforting for your child to be able to lay in bed and gaze up at the night stars.

10. Don’t forget to put educational and informative things into your kids bedroom. Include books, charts and toys that add to the childs education. Then your children can be learning while having fun.

Decorating your kids bedroom is a great way to give them a place they can call their own inside your home. You might even find your kid spending more time in there!

Provide enough lighting for planned task; never over light. In outdoor lighting, bright places are not always best. Subtle lighting sets the disposition, so go in for lamps with some low level of illumination that meet your needs. Glare, particularly around pools, glazed base is another obstruction in good outdoor lighting design. Use fully protected lighting fixture to minimize glare from any light source. Target the light from the outdoor lighting fixture at the middle of the feature, object, relic you desire to accent. One needs though avoid the light going past your property lines. Use of properly automatic motion detectors to minimize the sum of time the lights are on and notice the trespassing of interlopers is a bonus, which comes with good outdoor lighting design schemes.

When it comes to the arrangement of items in a bedroom, symmetry is the most important factor. The bedroom is your personal space and should not be cluttered with too many objects creating a claustrophobic effect. For a room to seem personal, special touches should be added that reflect your special loves and interests. This includes your favorite colors, books, photographs, etc. Make sure colors are balanced in subtle shades reflecting your lifestyle and interests. The older generation seems to prefer more subdued shades than the younger generation, who opt for bright, textured colors. To maintain balance, the color of a chair placed at one end of the room can be repeated on throw, pillows or carpet. Furniture in the bedroom is of utmost importance. Don’t over do it with too many pieces making your bedroom look overdressed and cluttered. The size of the bed should be in proportion to the size of the bedroom. What matters the most is comfort. Therefore, a bed should offer quality, comfort and a feeling of elegance. Nightstands or side tables should be on either side of the bed for books, medications and telephone. A dressing table comes in handy for women, and dressers with lots of storage space are ideal. Ample closet space is important, as are mirrors and wall decor. Mirrors help to give a room a larger look and also help to reflect light. Lighting should be gentle and relaxing. Valence lighting is ideal for bedrooms, and colored lights can be used for added effects. Subtle light gives a romantic feeling to the room, and focused light is good for detail work like reading without disturbing someone sleeping in the room. Finally, a bedroom should be well-ventilated, designed for comfort and always stocked with a vase of flowers for a fresh feeling.

Honestly, the best way to get bathroom decoration ideas is to look at other parts of your house. We have all been conditioned into believing certain things about certain spaces. The kitchen should be bright, the den should be warm, the bedroom should be relaxing and cozy.

When Spring arrives, it’s a prefect time to think about doing some face work to your home in order to generate a flow of positive energy through it. When you successfully change the surrounding energy, you will also change your life.

Origin of Feng Shui

Feng Shui originated in China, and its beliefs are based upon the idea that both animate and inanimate objects generate energy. The belief is this is caused by placement with the intent to achieve some kind of balance as well as harmony between people, places, and things and the environment.

The five earth elements that comprise Feng Shui and play an integral part in the creation of the flawless environment.

What Is Feng Shui?

When the majority of people think of Feng Shui, they think of moving their furniture or of using Feng Shui interior decorating style, but it definitely extends beyond either of those. The Feng Shui concept is one of balance in addition to harmony, which is a positive energy force. Followers believe it will allow each person to minimize the negative as well as any dangers in your life in order to increase your chances of achieving good health and being successful.

Another concept of Feng Shui is its ability to govern how lucky you are in love, happiness within the family, and romance. Its use has been incorporated into children’s education for centuries, and by following the Feng Shui tips, your study habits and concentration will improve.

The concept also says that if you work extremely hard and are in possession of the proper Feng Shui, you may actually enjoy an opportunity of wealth. You cannot lie back until your chance arrives; only hard work will help you obtain the success you ought to have. Many millionaires exist because of Feng Shui, but it is not a free ride to success. They got there because they worked hard to achieve their goals, using Feng Shui as a guide.

Many people who begin learning about Feng Shui have no idea of its depth of knowledge, but they confess later that it causes positive changes in your life by generating positive energy that is known as CHI.

If you make use of any of the Feng Shui cures or enhancements, you must be able to identify the items that are a part of the environment of the individual whether it’s a home or a commercial building. After all, the Feng Shui concept is to improve all aspects as well as areas within both our daily lives as well as environment to form a more balanced world.

1.) Evaluate Your Space:

Think you know the perfect window treatment for your project? Don?t be surprised to find obstructions or challenges to slow you down. Light fixtures, molding, thermastats,or art work cannot always be moved. Low or high ceilings can be challenging. So pay attention to the immediate wall space and ceiling where the window is located. If the window swings inward or has a hand crank, your design options will be affected. If the treatment is going on a door you will need check for potential problems when the door is opened. Does the window embrace a magnificent garden or lake view? Or perhaps you find yourself looking directly into the neighbor?s bedroom or your neighbor looking into yours! Window treatments can work wonders to hide or emphasize your view. Otherthings to consider: sun control, privacy, kids, pets.

2.) Identify Installation Challenges:

Don?t wait until you are all done with your window treatment to start thinking about how you are going to install it. If you are not familiar with installing window treatments, grab a friend, carpenter, or your husband/significant other to help you. Locating the wall studs and determining if there are any installation challenges up front will save you disappointment and headaches later.

3.) Gather Information:

You don?t have to be a trained designer to think like one. Designers gather all sorts of information about their client early on in the process so that they can design for their client?s personal style. Get a head start in understanding your personal style and design choices. Here are some things to consider: 1.) How does the room function? 2.) Who uses the room? 3.) Do the treatments need to be stationary or functional? 4.) Formal or informal? 5.) What?s your color scheme? Use sources of inspiration if you plan to re-paint. 6.) Sources of inspiration can be a starting point. Heirlooms, pillows, treasured items from travels, nature, hobbies. Your personality should show! 7.) Collect pictures from magazines to get a sense of your style and what you like. Make a list of what you don?t like. 8.) Great design element or design flaw? Some rooms/homes were designed by individuals who don?t know anything about window treatments! Window treatments can camouflage problems or emphasize great details. 9.) What?s the focal point of the room? There should only be 1 focal point. Window Treatments make a wonderful focal point for rooms that lack interest. 10.) What?s the mood I want to achieve? All of the room?s elements including the window treatments will evoke an emotional response. Figure out the feeling ? romantic, whimsical, relaxed, cheerful ? and making your choices will be easier.

4.) Narrow Your Choices:

Okay, so now you?ve got some ideas about what will work and what won?t work for your space. Now it?s time for the hard part ? making some decisions. With so many choices today, making a final choice can be difficult but if you followed the steps outlined, at least you can narrow your choices for design and fabric to 3-5. Your final design should fit all of your criteria from the information you?ve gathered. Remember the feeling you want to create. Which of your final selections strikes that emotional response the best? If possible, purchase a half to a full yard of your fabric choices and view them at different times during the day and evening. Like paint, fabric colors will look different under different lighting conditions, so take your time.

5.) Plan Your Project:

There is no doubt about it, you will spend more time planning than sewing. With final decisions made, take measurements. It is important to take accurate measurements. Outside mounted treatments can accommodate measuring mistakes better than inside mounted ones. Choose the right fabric for your project. For example, don?t choose a stiff fabric for swags which require fabric with drape. Consider if the fabric design will get lost in the folds of your treatment. Very small patterns can look great up close, but can look muted from a distance. If your fabric has a design repeat, decide design placement and plan on enough yardage. Check your pattern or resource books on how and where to measure, calculating yardage, and for more information about fabrics. It?s a good idea to sketch out your yardage layout. Miscalculations can result in not enough fabric or too much fabric, both money wasters. By sketching out your yardage layout, you can not only be assured that you?ve anticipated problems, but you can sometimes save on yardage by doing this.

6.) Find the Best Methods for Fabricating Your Window Treatment:

If possible, check your fabric for flaws before you purchase it or at least before you cut! Put a piece of blue painters tape on them and then determine how you can work around them. If too many flaws, return the fabric. Research how-to books and other resources for the best fabrication methods. If you are an experienced sewer, you?ve undoubtedly collected several tips and techniques that work well for most situations. Finally, cut, sew, and install. Congratulations! You?ve just created the perfect (?) window treatment! Of course, there is no such thing as perfect. Don?t hesitate to rip things out and start over, but only to a point. Unless it is very obvious to the eye, chances are most people will never notice your mistake. Remember, mistakes are opportunities to find creative ways to correct them.

When maximizing a small space, think simple. A room that has a lot of pieces of furniture and artwork can start to get crowded quickly. At this point, you have a living room that feels, looks, and is small. The trick to maximizing the space that you have is to think simple. Include the necessary items in this room such as a couch, maybe a television, maybe at least one coffee table. Do not overdo it. Furniture comes in all different shapes and sizes. For a small living room, do not get the overstuffed pillows to accent the overstuffed couch. Think simple. A standard couch with seating for three and possibly an accent chair are really enough. No room for the accent chair? Then a couch will have to do.

This is not to say that the walls have to be white and there should be no artwork or other knickknacks on display. If you want to paint your living rooms walls, keep to the brighter side of the color palette. Do not choose dark colors because they will only close the living room in and make it seem smaller. When choosing paintings to display, take your time and choose only a few. The artwork that you choose should also have lighter tones to further enhance the illusion of space while adding a decorative touch to the room.

Again, a cluttered wall will make the room seem smaller. When decorating a small living room, it is best to choose a few items that you really like and display those; likewise with knickknacks. Corner shelves are wonderful for small pieces that you’d like to display. They do not take a lot of room and you can display pieces on them with relatively little trouble. Do not, however, overload these shelves. This will still be clutter. Choose a few pieces that match the current decor and display those.

Usable items can be blended with the decor to enhance it as well as serve a practical purpose. Instead of having three or four remote controls placed randomly throughout the living room, buy a remote caddy in the shape of a boat to enhance the outdoor decor throughout the room. This is only one example, but usable items are often incorporated in decor if you shop in the right places. Craft stores or local craft sales are famous for carrying items that you might not find in the chain stores. Use this to your advantage. Remote control caddies are not all. You can find pitchers that are decorated several different ways that can act as vases for flowers that will enhance your decor among several other things.

A small living room is ripe for creative decorative solutions. They can be decorated to add space, enhance aesthetics, and promote usability. More than any of these, they are a cozy, intimate area in which a family can create strong bonds.