Myia’s Renovations and Realty

Andy West our expert of the day, writes:

The trend of culturally inspired decorating has become more and more popular. People use influences from all over the world to decorate their homes. Over time, Asian and Spanish inspirations have evolved to become two of the most popular decorating trends in the world; however, new cultural influences are beginning to pop up everywhere. One of these trends is Moroccan home decor.

The Moroccan style is derived from Hispanic-Moorish style influences. It has appeared as a new trend in design and decoration and has become popular in cities in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. The popularity of Moroccan home décor has increased due in part by the renovations of Riads in Marrakech, a city in west-central Morocco based in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house that accentuates an interior garden. Moroccan home décor is unique in the fact that it brings together influences from Africa, Hispanic nations and Europe.

One of the great things about Moroccan home décor is the fact that most of the pieces are handcrafted. These items are not factory produced. They are individually crafted to make sure they are made of the utmost quality. From handcrafted tables and lamps to unique quilts and rugs, these Moroccan treasures add a touch of culture and historical ambiance to any room.

Some of the most classic pieces of Moroccan home decor would be the various types of hand-woven rugs. These Moroccan style rugs are commonly known as handmade kilims and come in many different designs and colors. Traditional kilims are handmade by women from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. To make these kilims, the women use a variety of stitches and different arrangements of triangles, rectangles and other shapes to make the design. Most kilims come in the traditional black and red Moroccan colors, however there are kilims that come in different colors. A nice aspect of a kilim is that it can be used as an area rug, but it can also be hung on the wall to decorate any room.

To go along with the handmade kilims, Moroccan style furniture is another great feature to add. Moroccan style furniture is not your typical furniture. It is not plain wood stained to match other pieces in the room with a few fixtures. Typical Moroccan home décor is accentuated with bold colors and intricate designs. From ottomans and nightstands, to tables and mirrors, it is difficult to find two designs alike due to the unique and elaborate way the furniture is shaped.

While there are so many aspects to Moroccan themed decorating, it is worth discussing the many Moroccan ceramic pieces that are handcrafted. The ceramic accent pieces, available to accompany any other Moroccan style piece of furniture or rug, have an interesting antique look. The crafters often use metals and mirrors to draw attention to the shape and design of the ceramic piece. Again, bold colors and intricate designs are used making it difficult to find two pieces alike. These ceramic designs can be used as vases, watering pots, jewelry boxes and jars.

Whether you’re an interior designer or want to liven up an otherwise plain room, using Moroccan home décor can be relatively easy because there is no bad decision when it comes to choosing authentic Moroccan pieces. Using a decorative rug or ceramic fixture can easily brighten a boring room. This is why Moroccan style decorating has become so popular in the United States and many other countries.

zhanghousheng our expert of the day, writes:

Shandong Luoyan black pottery workshop was set-up in 1997 by Ms.LuoYan,the vice chmaiman of the Black pottery Research Institution to develop and develop and design new black pottery articles.

Ms. Luo Yan graduated form the China Crafts Dwpartment of China Central Academy of Fine Art.For many years she has been collecting the materials about blackpottery-manufacturing and has been doing some research on the Longshan Culture.her works and products have been exhibited at China Art Galley,Tianjin Art Museum,Shanghai Hanguang China Museum and Shandong Art Gallery.And many of her works were honored to be presend to the foreign guests and collected by some forign museum and collector.Luoyan Pottery are made from the special clay deposited at the lower reaches of the Yellow River. There are over 10 processes involved to make a pottery, all of which are 100% handmade. The whole process will take around one month and some of them will take several months.

Luoyan Black Pottery products are vigorous in carving, classical and graceful in design. They look glistening black. When under different light and from different angles, their color change into black, purple, grey and blue, sparkling. A light knock will produce a pleasant sound. The product has pronounced national characteristics,and as well as it adds something form modern art in decoration,polishing,and coloring.

The old-line contents and techniques, graceful designs, 100% hand-made process make the Black Pottery unique and elegant. It is a very good choice for gift and collection.

Besides the designs in our catalogue, we still have many other kinds of designs. Customization is available, we are able to create black pottery in accordance with your requests and designs as well. Our main products r as follows:all kinds of black Pottery crafts,home accents,antique pottery and porcelain,interior decoration,Flower holde,vase,stem cup,pen holder,jar,pot,bowl,etc…As a symbol of fortune and elegance, Black Pottery was appreciated by nobles, government officials, and scholars in China at times dating back thousands of years. Throughout the dynasties, this craft has developed from a simple household item to a kind of superb, elegant, and precious art form. Due to our products carefully selected materials, using a fine brown sediment from the Yellow River, and by hand shaping, carving, and burnishing, the artists accomplish an art form rich in metallic luster and details.

These non-glazed, hand burnished pottery pieces achieve the finest black glossiness through revived techniques developed thousands of years ago. Combined with the most delicate detailing by hand, these pieces cast no doubt that luoyan black pottery are produced by one of the finest kilns in China, if not the world.

Niall Roche our expert of the day, writes:

Your home should be somewhere for you to fully relax, and not just something that you moved into some time ago and still doesn’t feel comfortable. Regardless of its size or location, a home needs to feel like a palace! The way to do this is not to spend extortionate amounts of money on lavish works of art, but simply to decorate it how you would like, and with today’s home design boom, there are plenty of options for you to try.

As with all big projects, home decoration needs a bit of thought put into it, which includes some good research. You need to decide on a theme that you like, as all homes are centred around some sort of theme even though you may not realise. You can do this by reading through decorating magazines and books, and watching programmes about decorating on TV, and soon you will find that one style sticks out to you more than the others.

All themes are linked very closely with a colour scheme, which is the next thing that you need to consider when decorating your home. You will be aware that for example an Indian theme has many reds, dark blues and blacks, whereas a Mediterranean theme would have mainly whites, yellows and oranges. Whichever theme you choose, you need to link it with some particular colours to avoid your home looking disjointed and out of place.

Creativity is vital in the decoration process, and you need to play around with possibilities. If the house was originally built with a dining room and a huge kitchen, that doesn’t mean that you have to use the dining room for what it was intended if you plan to eat in the space you have in the kitchen. Think about what else you could use that defunct dining room for; a study perhaps, or a home library.

Ok, so you’ve decided exactly how each room is going to look and what you are going to use it for. The next step is to decide which room you are going to decorate first and what you need for it. So empty the room, as you won’t want to be climbing over furniture to paint the walls, and head down to your local DIY shop, where you can buy supplies. First you will need paint or wallpaper.

With regards to applying the paint, you will need some sort of brush, pad or roller. If you go with brushes, buy decent quality ones that don’t shed bristles. If you don’t you will end up with just the handle of a brush left, and a wall textured with all the bristles, which is why for larger walls pads or rollers are recommended, so you don’t need to worry about bad brushes. Pads and rollers also make the job much quicker, although rollers can be very messy, so anything in the room, including you, needs to be fully covered up.

But don’t jump straight in with painting the walls, make sure that you know exactly what is going to go in the room first, as you wouldn’t forgive yourself if you had just finished painting the walls, were out buying a new tin of paint, and spotted a lovely table in the furniture shop next door, that really didn’t go with the colour.

The most important thing about decorating is to make it enjoyable. Not only will the task be much less arduous, but you will also end up with a better product. So have some fun, do it with a friend, and then when you have finished a particular room, use it for a couple of days and enjoy your creation before starting on the next one.

Robert Goldsmith our expert of the day, writes:

Garden lighting makes gardens attractive and accessible long after dusk and allows gardens to be enjoyed after a hard days work when the sun has set. Lighting adds atmosphere to an evening garden, allowing access at anytime. At night your landscape can wear a different face and have a totally different look from its daytime appearance.
Beauty
Give your garden an elegant look by adding lighting to it. To enjoy your garden at night, the lighting must be just right. Beautiful glass oil lanterns will add a sparkle in daylight and a magical glow in the evening. Landscapes emerge at dark under subtle lighting to create wonderful shapes in hauntingly beautiful sculptured drama. Whether glowing with an inner light or outlined in an elegant tracery against the night sky, landscape lighting paints the beauty of natural and cultivated forms, a pool, fountains and pathways with subtle shade, shadow and colour.
Benefits
Lighting has a number of benefits including, Safety – illuminating pathways, indicating hazards, such as steps, or marking safest routes. Path lighting provides a safe walkway and adds to your home’s security. Atmosphere – The loss of daily enjoyment is solvable through garden lighting, by transforming darkened patios, decks and flower beds into a welcome fantasy of light.
Safety
Lighting steps for safety is an obvious requirement in any garden, but functionality can be coupled with decorative merit if the lighting is subtle. Safety is always the key consideration. All lighting units need to be certified as suitable for outdoor use, which generally means they must be weather proof. There is perhaps nothing more beckoning than a well lit garden path.
Different Techniques of Garden Lighting:
– Up lighting is the most commonly used technique to illuminate trees, walls and sculptures and down lighting is a mimic of natural light – the fixture is located overhead with the light shining down from above.
– Moonlighting can be achieved by placing the fixture high above the ground and to produce a broad, moonlight effect.
– Shadowing techniques require the strong shape of plants such as yucca’s, and surfaces such as a wall or lawn to create the most powerful effect.
– Spotlighting is used sparingly to pick out larger plants, trees, statues and architectural features.
– Floodlights are a broad light beam that covers large areas and can create dramatic silhouettes.
– Accent Lights are small fixtures placed close to the ground which provide a subtle source of decorative lighting almost anywhere in the garden.
– Spread lighting uses wide beam angles to light larger features such as lawn areas, flowerbeds and borders and low shrubs makes strolling around a garden in the late evening very pleasurable.
– Cross technique is used to pick out and highlight the statue, urn, gnarled tree trunk, bonsai, archway, etc.
– Silhouetting technique is often used to highlight the outline trees, palms or archways.
Garden Lighting ideas
To create a balanced and interesting atmosphere in the night time garden, use a variety of fixtures and lighting angles, placing fixtures in the foreground, middle distance and background. A really quick and easy way to add light to the garden, without wiring, is a kit that uses solar cells to collect power during the day and lights up at night. Kits are available at most discount stores and also with discount online shopping.
Up lighting, down lighting and side lighting are the three basic forms of garden lighting. Use a combination of all the three for the most pleasing result. Lighting systems come in low-voltage and standard-voltage configurations. Use standard voltage for large areas and for security, low voltage to accent individual plants.

mga1550 our expert of the day, writes:

Can you give me a good website for interior decorating of a new home. We are really into Asian themes, and bold colors.