Posted by Dana Burnett
Every year the Christmas season would seem to start out sooner and the 2010 season is no different. Make this year different from years past by coming up with some Christmas decor ideas that are new for the 2010 Christmas season!
Nutcrackers: This conventional favorite can move to the center of your decorating plans thanks to the wide assortment out there today. Set up a group on your hearth or mantel for a fun choice to the common fireplace displays. Another alternative is to group them on tables for a splash of Christmas color. The great thing about Christmas nutcrackers is that they come in a variety of shapes, making it easy to decorate as much or as little as you want.
Snow Globes: A beautiful snow globe always draws attention and a Christmas themed snow globe will steal the show. These collectible globes are great on shelves, tables, and even as a centerpiece for the dinning room table. Because of their shape, glass snow globes reflect the flickering of holiday candles and add even more sparkle to your Christmas decorating.
Musical Christmas Decor: Nothing sets the mood for the holiday season like music. The music of the Christmas season is as much a part of the festivity as Christmas trees and nativity scenes. Add your own notes to Christmas with musical figurines or ornaments. In fact, musical ornaments for the tree are one of the most popular Christmas decor ideas of this year.
Christmas Candle holders: Candles are beautiful throughout the whole year, but especially during Christmas they seem to fit well with the lights from the trees and other sparkling decorations. To bring a touch of the holidays to your candles, use some cheap holiday candle holders in fun Santa or snowman designs.
With these Christmas decor ideas, it's time to get decorating for the 2010 Christmas season!
Dana Michelle Burnett the author of Home Decorating for the Real World. Her site NanasAtticStore.com features fun seasonal items and great Christmas decor ideas to transform your home into the winter wonderland of your dreams.
Tags: Christmas, Christmas decor ideas, christmas decorating, christmas decorating ideas, Gardening Articles, holidays, home and garden, home decorating, Interior Design
Posted by Dana Michelle Burnett
The holiday season is approaching quickly and decorating for Christmas is just around the corner. Now you ask , what will be the seasonal decorating styles for the 2010 season?
Sparkle and Sophisticated style: We're all tired of the overall economy and worrying about the mortgage crisis. This season, the trend is for Christmas decorations to be over the top. Seek out decorations in rich bronze tones, rich wine hues, shinning ruby tones, brilliant turquoise shades, as well as traditional gold and silver. These hues will be in holiday ornaments, garlands, and holiday tableware. Combine glittering finishes with shinning pearls for the most impact.
New Colors: In 2010, seasonal decorating moves away from using only the expected green and red. Think of decorations making use of the common color combinations from 2010 such as brown and blue, brown and pink, silver and turquoise, and animal prints with classic black. Make use of these as accents in your garlands, holiday wreaths, and Christmas ornaments for the tree. This is quickly turning into one of the most popular Christmas decorating trends for 2010.
Light Up: A traditional Christmas light display is typical at Christmas, but this season takes it a step further with energy saving LED lights. These are excellent in outdoor displays and demand fewer strings to light a tree. A Christmas tree lit from within the branches is a beautiful sight, add that with one of the ornament trends, and your tree will be in on the hottest styles.
Tradition Never Goes Out: If you have a tradition for decorating your Christmas tree such as heirloom or handmade ornaments, don't throw it out. The beauty of a family tradition is always in style. Keep true to the traditions, the only thing you need to add this year is new memories.
Now that you've learned the Christmas decorating trends 2010, why not get going on that Christmas decorating so that you can move on to the important things about the season such as friends and family.
Want to learn more about Christmas decorating trends 2010? Check out Dana Michelle Burnett's site NanasAtticStore.com for more holiday decorating ideas, Christmas decor, and much more. Look for her new home decorating book, Home Decorating for the Real World, available now.
Tags: Christmas, christmas decor, christmas decorating, Christmas decorating trends 2010, Gardening Articles, holiday decorating, home and garden, home decorating, ideas for christmas decorating
Posted by Dana Burnett
Haunted houses, bats, ghosts and goblins everywhere! Halloween is an enjoyable time of year for children and adults alike. Do you want some suggestions for decorating your household for all hallows eve? Try these fun and easy and inexpensive Halloween decor ideas.
Entryway: The entry to your house is the first impression people get of your residence. Too often we overlook how much impact this can have when decorating for the seasons.
* Halloween Display. Make the most of it by creating a simple display of Halloween statuary set on a small table covered with a black or orange tablecloth. The 4 to six inch collectible figurines are affordable enough to even use outdoors if you have enough room for a compact table by your door. Indoors, you can go with this same strategy, even adding scary lights and garlands readily available at dollar and discount stores.
* Animated Items. Animated Halloween characters can add immediate festivity to a uninteresting entry table. These characters can move, have audio, and some are even motion activated. A good way to help make your entrance one to remember! With growing attention, these items are now showing up in dollar and discount stores.
Living Room/Family Room: To dress up the rooms where your family spends the most time, use most of your Halloween decor ideas in these rooms.
* Figurine Display. Use your mantle, a wall shelf, of even your coffee table to display an assortment of inexpensive Halloween statuary. Mantles are typically forgotten until Christmas, but fireplaces are a great place for many seasonal decorations.
* Halloween Drape Tie-Backs. To add a spooky touch to your room, add a garland of skeleton heads as tie-backs to your drapes. These garlands are available at most dollar stores and one garland can be cut into two pieces to use on a pair of window treatments, you can use another garland across the top for just a little added Halloween fun.
* Candy Containers. Halloween is all about candy. Display candy corn and other themed candy in bowls for a decorative and yummy touch.
Dining Room: turn any October meal into a Halloween party with fun and surprising seasonal touches.
* Spider Napkin Rings. Change any napkin ring into a Halloween hit by working with hot glue to place the spiders from inexpensive Halloween rings to a napkin ring. These are very economical and normally sold in bags at discount and dollar stores. A really small expense for a distinctive decorative touch.
* Placemats and Tablecloths. Go ahead and buy either an orange or black tablecloth or placemats. This easy switch brings instantaneous Halloween charm to any table.
* Scary Centerpiece. Add a touch of the unexpected with a large glass bowl packed with tiny skulls. These may be purchased either in a bag or attached to a garland that can be coiled inside the container.
Outside: Only the Christmas season outshines Halloween when considering outside decorations. Be the talk of the community with decorations that rise above the expected pumpkins.
* Gravestones. Transform your yard into a cemetary with headstones made from inexpensive foam board and a bit paint. Thinner than the ones it is possible to obtain in stores, you could individualize these for your family (rather dark), your chosen horror movie characters, or with humorous inscriptions.
* Animated Products. Add a bit of the surprising with animated Halloween objects near your entry way. These characters can move or make noise, but remember that young children are often scared by these. Since gaining interest in recent years, these products are fairly cheap and accessible on the web and in most retail stores throughout the Halloween season.
* Window Decorations. Change your windows into Halloween highlights with ordinary black poster board and just a little ingenuity. Cut out designs of goblins, ghosts, and other Halloween designs (jack-o-lantern carving kits have outstanding templates) from a full sheet of poster board. Tape the sheet over the inside of your windows, when you turn your lamps on inside, they light the cut out to show your creepy designs to people going by.
These tips will help you get started off on your Halloween decorating, get your creative juices flowing and find out what spooky things you are able to design.
Do you want more Halloween decor ideas? Check out Dana Burnett's blog Home Decor Girl for more great tips, informative articles, and great prices on Halloween Decor.
Tags: fall decorations, Gardening Articles, halloween, halloween decor ideas, halloween ideas, home and garden, home decor, home decorating, Interior Design
Posted by Richard Blaine
Do you love to cook? I do! Do you cook for a living? I don't! I bet you work and put in a lot of hours each day to save the money that you will need in order to buy the items that you are wanting for you and your home. This is just human nature to want the best of everything in life. If you are like me then the kitchen is my favorite place in the home. This is where my and hopefully your creativity flows. If you are also like me then you have very discriminating tastes in the kitchen knives that you want and use. I only use the best kitchen knives for me. I a sure that you only want to use the best kitchen knives for you as well. Don't worry, the best kitchen knives are not the world's most expensive, they are just the ones built with a measure of quality and that fit your hand right and give you a good measure of performance in the kitchen. It does not matter if these knives are the Japanese or European style of kitchen knife. They are all good! You just want the best kitchen knives that you can get for your culinary adventures. Owning these knives is one thing, and knowing how to take care of them is another. Knives are tools and are employed for a specific purpose. All tools need to be serviced and maintained in order to give you a lifetime of service and performance.
Here is a list of seven simple and straightforward tips to allow you to the best kitchen knives give you a lifetime of top performance.
1. Do not cut anything on a surface that is not designed to be cut on. An unsuitable surface can damage your knives primary cutting edge. Use a proper kitchen cutting board only. A hard rock maple cutting board is the best.
2. When you are done with your cutting and chopping chores make sure that you wash your kitchen knives in hot soapy water and hand dry them with a lint free towel or cloth. Many people just throw the knives in the dishwasher and this is the worst thing you can do to your kitchen knives. The phosphates from the dish soap and the heat from the dishwasher itself will dull your knives primary cutting edges and destroy the grips of your knives as well knives guaranteed! Wash by hand only and be careful!
3. Using abrasive scouring pads or powders will damage your knives profiles and dull their primary cutting edges as well. Only clean your kitchen knives by hand with hot water and soap. This is the absolutely the best way to keep your best kitchen knives it top performing condition.
4. Knives today are mainly produced from different varieties of stainless steel, although the fact is that no knife is totally stain free or stainless. Knives can discolor or tarnish over long periods of time cutting highly acidic foods like tomatoes, peppers and lemons. This tarnishing or discoloration can be treated with store bought metal polish and a lint free cloth and this will return the knives to the original shine and luster very quickly.
5. "A knife is your best friend." This is what the military teaches about knives. Don't let your knives get dull. A sharp knife is much safer than a dull knife. There are many ways to sharpen kitchen knives such as electric knife sharpeners, hand held carbide knife sharpeners, bench stones, or guided sharpening systems which are extremely popular today. Learning how to sharpen your kitchen knives is a good skill to have. Keep your knives sharp and you will have best friends for life.
6. Cutting frozen foods with your kitchen knives should not be attempted. Always defrost your frozen foods first and don't get impatient. Don't try to use your kitchen knives to cut bone either. If you want to cut the aforementioned then get the proper tool, a cleaver. Attempting to cut bone or frozen foods will assuredly damage your knives primary cutting edges and you don't want to do that.
7. Knife safety is crucial to a safe home. It is important to keep your knives out of reach of children. A great place to secure your kitchen knives is in a kitchen drawer that has a lock on it and each of your knives has a blade guard on it as well. When you are done using your knives, secure them. I like the idea of the secured kitchen drawer as this is what I use in my home. Remember: We are talking about the safety of our children.
If you would like find out more about the best kitchen knives, and related kitchen subjects then visit www.mistersharpstuff.com today!
Tags: Gardening Articles, home and family, home and garden, home decorating, home kitchen, home safety, home security, kitchen accessories, kitchen cooking, kitchen decor, kitchen design, kitchen improvement, kitchen knives, kitchen remodel
Posted by Dana Burnett
Working with autumn candles will make you think about fall decorating in a whole new light. These simple decorative accessories bring the aroma and look of the fall season to your house without the big investment of traditional fall decorations. Discover new techniques to use autumn candles and add a twist to your harvest decorating plans.
Decorating for the harvest season can get pricey quickly and bearing in mind the state of the economy, many of us are striving to discover ways to reduce expenses. This doesn't suggest that you have to dump decorating your house this harvest; it only suggests that you have to be a bit more creative and autumn themed candles and accessories are the ideal answer.
Festive Harvest Mantle Display: A quick and simple update for the 2010 autumn season is to take out all your accessories from your mantle and put a simple harvest garland over the top and place candles in deep harvest tones within the garland. To be safe, think about using battery operated candles that still give that flickering ambiance only without the hazard of an actual flame.
Flirty Fall Bedroom: Nothing sparks romance more that the gentle glow of a candle. To provide a touch of autumn luxury, use candles in fun fall themed holders. You not only get the amorous mood, but a reminder of frigid nights to come that will make you wish to curl up close.
Wonderful Autumn Table Accents: Why use a predictable centerpiece when you can use a spectacular display of autumn candles in the middle of the table? Candles of different dimensions on a glass candle plate are both simple and elegant. Light those for dinners and it will turn any meal into an autumn special event.
When decorating for autumn, often it is the basic features that produce the most impact. Now that you have a few ideas, why not add some autumn candles to your decorating plans?
Do you want to learn more about using autumn candles in your fall decorating plans? Check out Dana Burnett's blog Home Decor Girl for FREE decorating tips and useful articles.
Tags: autumn candles, candles, fall candles, fall decorating, fall decorations, Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decor, home decorating, Interior Design
Posted by Dana Burnett
Fall table decorations get a whole new look for 2010 with exciting maple leaf tableware. Take this chance to get away from the expected table setting with these trendy and fun tableware that that give the harvest table a totally new look.
The fall season is drawing near and with it comes the offer of fall festivities. Get your season off to the right start by following one of the latest dinnerware designs of the season with maple leaf themed tableware. This exciting new design will turn your fall table into a masterpiece of design without the usual themed dinnerware that lacks personality and color.
This autumn season, fall decorating trends have moved more to traditional designs with more emphasis on colors and textures. When using colorful maple leaf dinnerware, you can ditch the standard fall table decorations such as flower arrangements, vibrant table covers, and so forth. This style makes setting up an autumn table swift and very easy.
To make the most out of this trend, play with the colors and sizes. One example would be to use the earthy brown plates with mugs of a contrasting color and bowls of still another color. If you have a treasured autumn tablecloth, you can still use this style and design, but go instead for matching the tableware pieces in a color that contrasts to your tablecloth. The concept is to make your fall table decorations vivid and eye catching.
These fall table decorations are not just for the dining room, appearing in the family room as fun containers for pinecones or harvest goodies. The understated style makes it very simple to relocate these pieces from room to room and function to function.
You now know all about the hottest trend in fall table decorations, where will you use it?
Do you want to learn more about the newest fall table decorations for 2010? Stop by Dana Burnett's blog Home Decor Girl for FREE home decorating tips and useful articles.
Tags: autumn decorating, autumn decorations, autumn dinnerware, autumn table decorations, fall decorating, fall decorations, fall dinnerware, fall table decorations, fall tableware, Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decor, home decorating, Interior Design
Posted by Dana Burnett
I love animal prints and safari decor, but was unsure about decorating my small bedroom in this theme. The intensity of the design had me worried that it would be overpowering in my small room. It took me a while, but I came up with a design that was understated but true to the theme. Here are the same steps that I followed to create an understated and elegant safari themed bedroom
Step 1: Wall Color. Good news! If you have walls that range from off-white to shades of beige you're in luck. If not, grab your paint brush. The best backdrop for a safari theme is a warm neutral.
Step 2: Bedroom Furnishings. Dark woods and metals work best with this design ranging in tone from dark oak to shades of black. If you have light wood or white furniture, give it a quick coat of paint to deepen the tone.
Step 3: Bedding. The tone and intensity of you design will be set by the bedding that you select. If you must, you can use actual safari themed bedding, but it is normally too overpowering for smaller rooms. If you are worried about that happening, try using cream colored bedding instead like a simple comforter set that includes the bed skirt. To add that safari touch, purchase three sheer window scarves in your safari print of choice and using heat tape, add them as an overlay to the bed skirt. To really add that safari touch, add an accent pillow or two and a throw in the same pattern.
Step 4: Curtains and Drapes. For added impact, we can use the same method from the bedskirt to create the window treatments. To add a custom touch, place a sheer boarder at the top or bottom of a pair of plain cream colored drapes. This understated touch brings the room together.
Step 5: Accents. The bedroom accessories will finish off the theme and don't be afraid to go wild since we have kept things so understated up to this point. Think about animal figurines such as tigers, giraffes, or elephants, and don't underestimate the impact of pillar candles that now come in a variety of animal prints.
It's easy to keep to a decorating budget by following these steps to create a safari themed bedroom. Let out your wild side and get going on your new decorating project!
Want to know more about creating a safari themed bedroom?Check out Dana Burnett's home decor blog for more great decorating tips!
categories: safari themed bedroom,safari bedding,safari decor,home decorating,home and garden
Tags: Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decorating, safari bedding, safari decor, safari themed bedroom
Posted by Dana Burnett
Your bedroom is your escape from the stresses of your day, your private retreat from the rest of the world. Why not make your bedroom into an exotic getaway? A moroccan inspired bedroom can do just that. Create your own exotic hideaway by following these steps.
Step 1: Wall Color. For this you need to say goodbye to those white walls! The paint colors for this design are a vivid mix of bright jewel tones and rich earth tones. Select a deep jewel tone for the walls and a deep warm tone for the trim and door. This far different from what we have all been taught about wall colors. Without making this important change, you will have a bedroom theme that appears incomplete.
Step 2: Bedroom Furniture. It is an eclectic mix of furniture that is used in moroccan designs. It is usually furniture in darker tones that is used, but light colored furniture can be given a quick coat of paint or stain.
Step 3: Moroccan Bedding. The bedding used in moroccan bedrooms is usually very luxurious. Consider velvet and satin-like materials in solid colors and layer it on. Use many pillows in many shapes and sizes, add a solid throw in a lush material, and perhaps even a canopy in another rich color. It is the constant use of different colors that make up a successful moroccan design.
Step 4: Window Curtains. The curtains used in this theme should be long and flowing, again mixing bright colors and luxurious textures. Consider rich jewel toned sheer curtains under velvet or satin-like drapes. Remember, you can add an edging of fringe to the drapes for added imapct.
Step 5: Decorative Accents. A significant point to keep in mind here is variety. The moroccan design uses a variety of accents such as carved wood decor, metal wall decor, candle lanterns, pottery and vases, and bright rugs. Add decorative accessories a little at a time until you have the balance and feel just right.
Now you have created your Moroccan inspired bedroom, sit back and enjoy the benefits of your hard work. It's like taking a vacation without ever leaving the house!
Do you want to learn more about creating a moroccan inspired bedroom?Check out Dana Burnett's home decor blog for more great decorating tips!
categories: moroccan inspired bedroom,moroccan bedding,moroccan decor,home decorating,home and garden
Tags: Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decorating, moroccan bedding, moroccan decor, moroccan inspired bedroom
Posted by Dana Burnett
All little girls dream about being a princess and perhaps your daughter is dreaming of a magical bedroom that will make all of her little friends jealous. She's wanting something unique, that no one else has, and you're wondering how on earth to give her what she wants without resorting to the predictable themed bedding available on the market. Well, the answer is to get creative and make your own princess bedroom theme.
Step 1: Wall Paint. Try to think outside the norm when selecting a wall color for your daughter's room. There is always pink, but can you get anymore predictable than that? You could still do deeper shades of pinks, but also consider minty greens or pale lavenders. If you are really creative, let it show by masking off stripes with painting tape and using each of these colors.
Step 2: Bedroom Furniture You might be able to still use the current furniture in your daughter's room depending upon her age. You can change the look of the furniture by giving it a quick coat of white paint, or if you're more brave, a shimmering coat of silver. A custom headboard can be designed by enlarging a clip art picture of a crown to the size headboard you want. Use that as your template to cut her new headboard out of plywood and attach it to the bed. To create extra sparkle, use cheap rhinestones or plastic jewels from the craft store and asttach them to the furniture with craft glue.
Step 3: Princess Bedding The bedding can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, this is your princess bedroom theme and you are making the rules. Keep it practicle, satin and lace might fit the theme, but for smaller little girls it may not be a good choice. Use your imagination, even simple solid bedding can be transformed with a few tassels or fancy edging. Unless you really like to sew, use heat tape to save yourself some time and trouble. Hanging an inexpensive tulle canopy can add an instant royal touch that can be improved upon further with a few more of the jewels that you used on the furniture. Hint1: Use a bejeweled window scarf to surround the doorway for a royal entrance.. Hint 2: A plain bed skirt can be given the royal touch with a few more jewels scattered over it.
Step 4: Accessories Get creative with the accessories for this theme! Why not take a pair of high heels that have seen better days and give them a spray of silver glitter paint? Add a small piece of florist foam and insert gift bows and ribbons attached to floral picks and you have a very unique accent piece (preferably placed out of reach). A fuzzy rug and accent pillow and you're done!
These steps will help you create a princess bedroom theme for your daughter that none of her friens will have. Let her help with the project and you will not only create a beautiful bedroom, but beautiful memories with your little princess that will last forever.
Want more information on creating a princess bedroom theme? Check out Dana Burnett's home decor blog for more great decorating tips!
categories: princess bedroom theme,princess bedding,princess decor,home decorating,home and garden
Tags: Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decorating, princess bedding, princess bedroom theme, princess decor
Posted by Dana Burnett
Our bedrooms are our sanctuary, a place for rest and relaxation. The simplicity of modern bedroom designs creates a serenity that makes that feeling even more prevalent. The tips below will help you create a modern bedroom. These five steps will help you create a contemporary bedroom.
Step 1: Wall Color. This is very important because the color of the walls is the key to a modern bedroom theme. Neutrals are always a good choice, but think outside the box and consider neutral shades of gray and green. These create a soothing background for contemporary bedrooms that is more interesting and trendy than boring shades of beige. Another option is red, a daring choice that works well with the Asian themes that founded the modern bedroom designs of today. If you are not up for painting the room, you can always just keep your current wall color. No matter what it is, the selection that you make for the rest of the room can be altered slightly to work with any wall color.
Step 2: Furniture. This is a very important step. Furniture is kept to a minimum in modern designs and it is always sleek in design. The color is usually darker wood or metal. You can recycle your old furniture by simply giving it a fresh coat of paint. Why this will be significant is that modern bedroom furniture is not the focal point in contemporary designs. In modern bedrooms, it is the look and feel of the entire room that creates a successful design.
Step 3: Bedding. What we are going to do here is to select bed linens with a hint of simple luxury. Remember that the current trend is to bring all of the bed linen out into the open. It's not just your comforter or duvet that will be seen, but also your sheets and throws. Look at pictures in catalogs or check out some decorating television shows to get ideas for staging your bedding in the contemporary "unmade" fashion of today.
Step 4: Get Rid of the Clutter. Modern bedrooms are known for their clean simplicity. It's impossible to achieve that look and feel when it looks like a yard sale exploded in your room. Get rid of all nonessential items and put shoes and clothes back in the closet where they belong.
Step 5: Decorative Accessories. The home decor accents in modern bedrooms are kept to only a few key pieces that have a big impact such as a large framed print or an elegant vase. The room should not be crowded with accents that draw your attention in every direction, it should be clean and clutter-free. Just a few carefully chosen pieces complete the room.
When searching for modern bedroom ideas, the internet is a great place to start! You will create the bedroom of your dreams in no time if you create and solid design plan and follow through. Happy decorating!
Want more modern bedroom ideas? Check out Dana Burnett's home decor blog for more great decorating tips!
categories: modern bedroom ideas,modern bedding,modern decor,home decorating,home and garden
Tags: Gardening Articles, home and garden, home decorating, modern bedding, modern bedroom ideas, modern decor
