Useful Stuff

There are many different types of mirrors that you can buy depending on the décor that you want to match in your home. A bathroom mirror is going to look a heck of a lot different to a mirror that is required over the mantelpiece in the lounge room. For this reason there is a vast array of mirrors in all sorts of finishes, sizes and shapes so that you can use them to match your individual sense of style.

One of the great aspects of a good mirror is that it can be used as an accent piece, particularly a decorative mirror that has been framed with an ornate frame. An intricately carved wooden frame will suit an old country style room and a silver frame will give a room decorated primarily with antique furniture a real lift.

The mirror doesn’t necessarily have to stand out as an accent piece but it should suit the rest of the furniture. You don’t really want a piece that is there for function of decoration to become the main focus of attention. It would reflect poorly on the rest of your deco if that was the case. By and large you would simply like your decorative mirror to reflect the beauty of your other pieces around the room.

If you are putting in a new kitchen there will be the requirement to come up with a new kitchen design and possibly, a new configuration for the layout of the floor plan. One of the best uses of space is a kitchen island, either permanent or mobile so that there is an extra preparation area where you didn’t have one before.

The number of different kitchen island designs available to you is limited only by your ingenuity, the size limitations that are specific to your kitchen and the functionality you want to introduce. You might also want to turn the kitchen into the centre of activities in the home and placing seating around the island will help to achieve this. Actually, in many cases the kitchen is already the hub of the home, adding an island will simply enhance the room’s functionality.

Some of the options that may be open to you includes placing the sink on the island which will involve getting the necessary plumbing altered, assuming that you neither had a pre-existing island nor a sink in the middle of the room. Alternatively the option might be to locate the oven and stove cook-top on the island along with added bench space. This will require a little less work to get it set up but safety considerations will have to be taken into account with a potential burn hazard placed in a spot where people may be gathering.

As suggested, the possibilities are virtually endless. The kitchen island does not need to be an oblong shape in fact a curved island would add an extraordinary design style to any kitchen/dining room. If you’ve got the extra room a new kitchen island is going to open up all sorts of opportunities for ways to use your kitchen to its fullest potential.

One of the big styles that seem to be making a comeback in the world of interior design appears to be the retro style. That funky semi-modern look that was largely about experimenting with brand new breakthroughs in technology during the 1950s, 60s and 70s is making a comeback in a big way. The style extended from large pieces of furniture such as lounge chairs and tables through to soft furnishings and small items such as lamps.

The retro style was eclectic too with something that looked dated and traditional just as likely to be placed in a room with a space age Arco floor lamp. The fact is that pretty much anything goes when it comes to using retro furniture in the home. The style is carefree and daring and willing to challenge the eye without too much concern over whether anyone is impressed or not.

Another part of the retro era, apart from the furniture itself, is the artwork that can make a bold statement when used in sensible proportion. In other words, don’t completely overcrowd the room with retro hangings or sculptures. Less is very much more when it comes to the funky appeal that an odd piece will have on a room.

Co-ordinating this kind of a room can be a lot of fun. You get the feeling that the gloves are off and your creative energy can be let off the leash. Mixing and matching with all kinds of retro furniture and accessories can throw up some very interesting combinations and unusual results.

Storage space is an eternal problem that seems to plague everyone. It doesn’t seem to matter how large your wardrobes are, they eventually cannot handle the growth in the number of clothes we own. An ingenious, but very simple answer to a possible lack of hanging storage space is a product known as a Hanger Cascader.

The Hanger Cascader is effectively a hanger that, when hung horizontally looks like a set of 6 normal clothes hangers. But when you drop one end the cascade effect comes into action and the result is 6 items of clothing hanging in the space that is normally taken up by a single hanger. Effectively you can hang 6 shirts in the same space of 1.

For a tiny sum you have increased your wardrobe storage capacity by 600%. The Hanger Cascader is capable of hanging any types of clothing such as shirts, skirts, pants or belts as long as you have the height to accommodate the longer clothes that will now be hung from a lower height.

For those worried that the hanger will not be capable of holding heavy or bulky items of clothing, people have reported that they have stored 6 bulky hoodies on the Hanger Cascader and it has remained solid throughout. Although they’re available in plastic, you really want to get a steel set so that you can be sure they will hold up under heavier clothes.

You can buy the Hanger Cascade in packs of 2 for under $10 which is an absolute bargain given that you’d pay a lot more if you had to buy a larger wardrobe.

When looking for a new wardrobe for the bedroom, the obvious choice is to buy something that will be sturdy enough to stand up to daily use. Second on the list of needs for the wardrobe of choice is that it will have to look nice enough to adorn your bedroom. I mean, who wants to look at a piece of junk last thing before you go to sleep and first thing when you wake up in the morning?

A solid pine wardrobe will give you the sturdiness you’re after as well as the type of material that will look good and can be easily decorated. You can get these wardrobes in either 2 door or 3 door configurations or they can be part of a complete bedroom suite.

Not only will you get a piece of furniture that will look good and will last for a long time, the price of pine wardrobes is very reasonable compared to wardrobes made from other types of wood. It is also a light enough material that the wardrobe will be able to be manhandled around the room without too much fuss. For some people this is a significant feature to have in a major piece of furniture.

The grain and look of pine is interesting enough to use as the feature of the exterior. A light varnish or stain will be enough to bring out the natural colors and contours within the wood and will add its own detail work.

A final point about wood as a material that is good for the environment. Pine is grown in renewable plantations that have been especially grown for the purpose of supplying timber. After the trees have been cut down they are replaced with new seedlings ready for the next growth. By using pine you are reducing the demand for slower growing wood that often come from wild forests.

One of the most rewarding pastimes I can think of is searching for old furniture with a view to restoring it or renewing it before either adding it to my own collection or putting it up for sale at auction. It takes a little bit of experience to pick out something like an antique wardrobe, deciding that even though it may look a little worse for wear it can still be freshened up and then making a tidy profit on the deal.

If you enjoy wandering around the many antique stores and charity shops looking for eligible pieces of furniture then the challenge of turning something over is almost too good to refuse. There is an endless supply of material to work with and if you are the slightest bit handy with the carpentry skills, then the restoration is a doddle.

To ensure that you are able to bring the best out of the pieces that you buy, it would be a good idea to have some sort of training in the restoration business. This doesn’t amount to a whole lot. Some French polishing or basic staining techniques should be sufficient. As I mentioned earlier, cabinetry, woodworking or carpentry skills will stand you in a great position. Failing that there is always the option of outsourcing the parts of the job that you feel is too much for your skills. This, of course will eat into any profits you might hope to make, but that’s a decision you may make from one job to the next.

What you are going to be left with is the satisfaction of knowing that you have turned a tired old piece of antique furniture into a vital, fresh looking piece that people will fall over themselves to own.