Group items tagged

Outdoor living is booming, and no wonder. Whether you have a deck, a porch, a sunroom, a backyard, balcony or patio, creating an outdoor living area increases your space and lets you enjoy nature. It can be as easy as setting up a gazebo or screen tent and adding outdoor furniture. The deck or patio isn't just for the grill anymore! It is actually an outdoor room. Patio furniture continues to be the cornerstone of all outdoor living items. Many outdoor living furniture sets now resemble an indoor living room with an umbrella. It is not uncommon to see a cushioned loveseat, two cushioned armchairs and coffee table. Chaise lounges may not be common inside, but outside, they add comfortable and fashionable seating. Optional coordinating add-ons might include an accent table, serving cart, outdoor rug, wooden gazebo, and outdoor lamps.

This is the place where everyone ends up! Move over kitchen, the family room has become a favorite communal place in the house. Or is it the living room, or the great room? Whatever you call it, it's a multifunctional room that provides space to lounge on a plush sofa in front of the TV, find solace with a good book, watch children play with toys and entertain good conversation. There is debate over the distinction between a family room and a living room. In homes with both rooms, the living room is usually the more formal room, often reserved for guests, special occasions, and the display of items such as antiques or artwork. In homes with only one, the terms are generally synonymous, though it is not uncommon for someone who grew up calling such a room by only one term to have no idea of the distinction between the two. The "great room" may not be so great anymore. The great room was a big fad beginning in the 1980s, but has recently declined in popularity. The great room of today is not as prevalent, but is still an important part of American home design.

If you just spent a good amount of money on new furniture for your living room, it will break your heart to see the first stain that occurs on your upholstered sofas or chairs. But don't worry; you can actually get some of those stains out, without a lot of problems. The main thing is to choose the right way to clean the piece of furniture, so that you don't make the stain appear worse. If someone has dumped part of a drink on your chair, consider first the fabric, before you try to clean it. If you are dealing with a larger stain, you may want to try your cleaning first on a small area that you can't see well, to make sure it does not cause damage or discoloration. Greasy stains like butter can be cleaned with a dry type of cleaning solvent, available at any grocery store. Place a bit on a clean cloth and blot the stain. Be sure you don't rub the stain, since that could make it worse. Then mix mild detergent with warm water and blot that stain again. Use a towel to soak up everything you have used, and the spot should be gone when the fabric dries. This is a lot cheaper than buying new living room sets after your muddy dog joins you on the sofa. Cheese and crackers are often served as snacks, but when nacho type cheese gets spilled, it's no picnic. But you can get it out. Just mix one teaspoon-full of mild detergent in a cup of lukewarm water, and blot the stain with a clean towel. Blot it once more with a mixture of a half-cup warm water and a tablespoon of ammonia. Then blot up the stain and cleansers using clean water only, and let it dry.

Your mattress is one of the most important pieces of furniture in your home. In fact, you'll spend a third of your life on it. That's more than the time you spend watching television or sitting at a computer. No other piece of furniture contributes so profoundly to your health and well being. Buying a mattress is a decision that you should carefully consider. Since most people replace their mattress every seven to ten years, you'll have to live with your decision for a long time.

From the runway to the living room, hot trends in home fashion can take the style of a room from simple to stunning. Incorporating trendy furniture into home decor is an easy way to add style without having to make costly renovations.

I hope you can help us find a suitable furniture arrangement for our awkward family room. Because the family room and kitchen are open to each other, there is very little wall space to work with. The room is has a major traffic path running through it, as we normally enter through the garage/back door and must pass through the family room to get to other areas of the house. Also, the patio doors in this room lead to our deck and pool area and it is used extensively during the summer months. We have lived in this house for many years and the room is due for a complete makeover, so there will be few restrictions with regard to furniture, built-ins, colour, flooring, etc. We spend most of our time in this room and it is used for watching television and some entertaining.

Its not as farfetched as you think. And you dont have to have a huge house and a million-dollar budget to be able to live in comfort and sophistication. All you need is a keen sense of style and the necessary know-how.. For a more comfortable and sophisticated dwelling, you must design your home so that it has the right element of cheerfulness and style. Yet again, you dont need to have a big budget for this one. All you need is the right theme and elegant yet affordable furniture and home accessories.. You can rely on the basics of interior designing for the know-how that you need. Through interior design, you can manipulate the general feel of your interiors and its perceived space. You can make a gloomy room feel cheerful and small rooms look bigger. What you need is knowledge of the basic techniques so that you know how to use the right furniture and home accessories for a maximized use of space..

Where was your last vacation? At the beach or in the mountains? If you chose mountains, this look is for you. No matter the weather or locale, we are drawn to trees. They provide shade, awe, our kids climb on them, birds live in their branches, and we eat their fruit and syrup. We decorate them for Christmas. If you chose a beach as your last vacation, chances are you took a sunburned breath beneath a palm tree. Infinite variety, different personality, yet there is nothing as lovely as a tree. For hundreds of years we have also used them for shelter, eventually utilizing wood for furniture in many forms: from the crude three legged milking stool to the exquisite fine furnishings of Versailles.

To adequately fill a room with light, ambient and task lighting are needed. Ambient light comes from a single source, like natural light, whereas task lighting is used to light a specific area such as a desk, workbench, reading chair or kitchen surface. Adding a little light to your respective living areas seems like a simple task, provided that you consider some of the factors affecting which lamp fixture you should buy. How to Choose the Right Lamp Many people choose a lamp without first taking measurements and considering both the style and the purpose of the lamp. Size, brightness, and look are very important when purchasing any type of home lighting, but lamp fixtures are especially particular because they serve the dual purpose of providing light and decorating the room. Before you go hunting for a new lamp, be prepared with a few helpful hints. The size of the lamp is possibly the most important matter to determine. This is somewhat dependant on how the lamp will be used.

Why is shopping for a sofa so intimidating? Sometimes customers are more comfortable dropping $30,000 on a car than to pick out a $1,000 sofa (and the latter will probably last longer). Perhaps the biggest hesitation comes from a fear of making a mistake - whether it's about how much to spend, the color, the fabric, the size or shape. Consider these factors before buying to help eliminate some of the buying concerns and make your new sofa truly enhance your living space. Know your budget. Sofas can run anywhere from $299 to $10,000, so the first thing you need to do is set a realistic budget. Sure, they may look all the same to you, but there's a huge quality difference in that range. Consider stretching a little beyond what you think you can afford - in a few years, you don't want a budget compromise to have become the shabbiest piece in your room because it couldn't stand up to your lifestyle.

Have you ever noticed when people are visiting your home that they tend to stay in or around the kitchen? Perhaps that's because that area is where many of us nurture and connect with our own families, and it's a good place to bond with guests as well. Casual dining spaces were thus created as part of the kitchen or closely connected with the kitchen, and they are designed to be used as a part of our daily lives (as opposed to formal dining rooms that most people save for special occasions). Not only is it probably the place you sit and eat with your family, but it also might function as your children's homework zone, a bill-paying center, newspaper/coffee break spot, crafts station, and place to catch up with friends. But just because your casual dining space is a great multi-tasker doesn't mean it has to suffer for style. There are lots of great furnishings that are functional and chic.

It's no surprise that computers have affected all of our daily lives in the way we communicate, handle our finances, do homework, keep up with daily events, and much, much more. While most of us have adapted to the computer age, we haven't been as quick to adapt our furnishings to accommodate this new focal point in our homes. While most family members have a need or desire to use the computer, our computer stations are not very user-friendly for the entire family. The truth is that not every family has the space in their homes to dedicate an entire room as a home office, but almost everyone needs some kind of space that is a center for a home computer, bills, receipts, mail and other important paperwork. For some, that spot is in the kitchen; for others, it is the bedroom or the dining room. So how can you create a workstation that is designed to work just as well for Mom as for little Billy? The key is to get organized! No, that doesn't mean you have to change everything about the way you work or use your desk (the vast majority of us let things pile up and hope to have a day when we can sort out the mess). But it does mean having separate areas for each family member's belongings so everyone has equal use of the space. Here are a few ideas of how to make a family workstation work well.

Decorating small spaces in your home can be a complicated task if you're not quite sure where to begin. But there's good news: It doesn't have to be difficult at all. In any home, especially a small one, every inch of free space counts. Small shelves, tiny niches, and other unique spaces can help accent a home in a tasteful, uncluttered way. By using the small spaces wisely and leaving the larger areas open, the living space will feel larger. You may think because a room is smaller, having large furniture pieces are out of the question. Not true! Oversized furniture will not make your rooms appear smaller, but instead give them a warm inviting feeling. Of course the layout and size of a room will determine how many pieces can comfortably go into it. After all, you may be looking for drama and comfort, but you still need to be able to maneuver around. This also applies to accessories; it's better to have a few large dramatic pieces as opposed to a lot of small items, which tend to turn into clutter and dust collectors. The exception to this would be with collections. But again, you want to have places to showcase them like glass front hutches, cabinets, bookcases or shelves.

Does this fit my family's lifestyle (pets included)? Rethink a chenille sofa if you have a cat with claws. Exuberant, snack-eating football fans don't mix well with dupioni silk. How long do I want to live with this? If you like to stay on top of the latest fashion trends, you may want a change before an item is worn out. Consider how long you want to keep something before you make a sizable investment and plan to update your interior periodically. Will it fit through the door? This often overlooked issue leads to a lot of frustration and many returns. How will I take care of it? Accidents happen sometimes. Who could predict that your infant son would choose to teeth on the cushion of your leather sofa and chew a hole in it? Buying a protection plan, like Protection 1st, will give you peace of mind and the resources to fix problems when they occur. Have I done my research and am I getting the best value? Keep in mind that value doesn't mean cheap. Value means that you are getting the best quality relative to the amount you are paying. To get a good value you need to examine the sturdiness and expected lifespan of an item in addition to its appearance.

Redecorating your home, or just one room, can be a daunting task. Many of us are plagued with unanswered questions from the outset: Where do I start? Am I making the right choice? Is this the right color to pick? These questions can leave us full of self-doubt, indecision and fear. These simple guidelines are intended to help you decorate your home without fear and self-doubt, so you can live your life in a setting that improves your attitude, state of mind and over-all well-being.

Having a beautiful home is a goal for many homeowners, but no one wants a cookie-cutter approach to decorating. Part of the joy of home ownership is the ability to personalize your space, making it a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. And think about it: the more comfortable you are in your own space, the more time you'll want to spend there and share it with your loved ones. Adding a dose of your personality to your living space is simpler than you might think. Here are a few ways you can make your home a place that is uniquely YOU.

Dunder Sofa by Stefan Borselius All we need are pillows! A Section-sofa and Easy-chair range, containing one corner-, one left-, one right-, one middle-section and one footstool. Together they can be used linked or as freestanding units. Innerframe of steel, padding of moulded polyurethane, down filling. Covered with fabric or leather. Dimensions (mm): Seat height 400 Overall height 740 Seat width 850 Seat depth 600 Overall depth 850