Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Feng Shui for Happy Living

Interior Design Psychology for Happy Living

Design psychology can turn your spaces into happy places, contributing towards your emotional well-being. It requires an understanding of the response of human senses to specific design details.

Sounds like feng shui? Except that it's better because Design Psychology incorporates the proven techniques used in feng shui with the beneficial methods based on physical science.

The elements of space, line, shape, form, texture and color all play an important part in the success of a design, be it a home exterior, a specific room, or a piece of furniture.

Feeling Light

Letting in more light be it natural light or artificial illumination can bring about an instant uplift to any room. Increased lighting does much for us too: improves our visibility, prevents fatigue and makes us happy and calm. It is the easiest and most economical way to bring about a change to any room, aligning it to the rhythms of our daily lives.

Balanced Proportions

Proportions or scale is just as important. A balanced room is an attractive room - a large sofa in one area balanced by a large picture on the opposite wall; or a tall piece of furniture balanced by a standing lamp.

Rooms with low ceilings can give an oppressive feeling, whereas those with a high ceiling provide a spacious and light airy feel. Add expanse to a small room by simply painting a couple of horizontal lines in a bold color across the middle of the wall that you want to lengthen.

Touchy Issues

Textures are of two types: tactile or visual texture, and texture which you can detect with your five senses.

Textures like grass sheets on a wall, or white pebbles embedded in a concrete wall, offer an additional dimension to any surface. Meanwhile, natural materials like stone and wood characterize country decor, along with handmade crafts.

Enhance our sense of touch through textures that are soft and smooth to caress. In fact, we don't have to touch velvet or silk to sense its softness, and textures like satins and chenille are visually luxurious, conveying wealth and comfort.

Keeping the Noise Out

Undesirable noise affects us significantly. The constant drone of the air-conditioner or other gadgets around us, the traffic outside, the construction works nearby and so on, all do little to evoke feelings of well-being.

Simple measures like double glazing the windows, additional sound insulation material built into the walls and soft furnishings like carpet, curtains and fabric panels can help reduce the intrusion of noise.

Fun with Furniture

Furnishing a small space can be challenging. Crowded rooms are more likely to have an adverse effect on our moods, increasing our stress level and general discomfort.

Be sure to choose the right furniture and colors, and take care not to overuse accessories. Remember, less is more for that open feeling. Mirrors and shiny reflective accessories also help create the illusion of more space. Larger patterns should be confined to designs of pillow covers and smaller accessories, rather than a large sofa or love seat.





Once we understand the science of Design Psychology, happy living can be achieved through the correct use of space, light, shape, form and texture. We spend more than half our entire lives at home so it is important that our happiness begins at home.
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Friday, October 9, 2009

Brown and Turquoise Bathroom Interior Design Ideas

One popular contemporary interior design color combination idea for bathrooms is brown and turquoise. Here are some great ideas on creating a brown and turquoise look in your bathroom.

4 Decorating Solutions For Your Bathroom's Brown and Turquoise Tile Floor
By Aja Klenna

While colors can date a room, they can also make it look very contemporary. One color combination that has gained tremendously popularity is brown and turquoise. While the color palette may sound modern and bold, it can also be muted and organic depending on how you accent the space. So, consider a bathroom with brown and turquoise floor tile and all of the possibilities that it offers.

There is Brown and then There is Brown
A wonderfully neutral and organic color, brown can be a perfect wall color to showcase this beautiful color combination in the tile. For a larger bathroom you can go with a rich, chocolate brown and accessorize in a lighter brown. Chrome fixtures will repeat the silver in the mirror, or porcelain fixtures could be used to echo the color of the tub. If your bathroom is smaller you may opt for a lighter tone in your brown wall color with a single accent wall in chocolate brown. To pull the turquoise into the room you have the option of picking up the color in your towels and shower curtain, or you can add a fun cabinet or stool to the room and paint it turquoise.

Contrast and Repetition
If you do not necessarily want to showcase the floor, then you can pull these two contrasting colors throughout the room. For example, you may choose to paint a focal wall brown on the upper half and a shiny turquoise on the bottom. Then paint the remaining walls a pale blue with brown stenciling for border designs. You can pull both colors in through towels, shower curtains and accessories. Since these colors are also organic think about using brown branches in a large turquoise vase, brown pebbles in a turquoise bowl or brown and turquoise beads in a glass bowl.

Retro is In
Turquoise is a perfect example of how everything old is new again. While turquoise can offer a very modern aesthetic, it can also illicit a retro vibe when combined with colors like burnt orange, mustard yellow and avocado green. You can tie all of the colors together by selecting a shower curtain or area rug that contains them all. If you have enough counter space you can embellish with retro accessories like a lava lamp. Fun, geometric shapes throughout your accessories including lighting fixtures and wall art will finish off the look.

Accentuate the Warmth
If you are worried about your bathroom not having a warm feel to it, instead of accentuating the cool turquoise tones, you can play off of the earthier brown colors. By pairing a warm red or orange with the brown, you can actually make the turquoise recede into the background. By having natural wood in your window and door frames, you add an organic and warm feel to the room. With soft warm lighting and luxurious warm tones in your towels and rug the room will feel inviting and cozy. Then you can balance the turquoise in the floor tile by adding a small turquoise vase or candle, and your bathroom will be warm, cozy and balanced.

Home decor specialist Aja Klenna is the top writer for Metal-Wall-Art.com, a wall decorating store offering unique contemporary wall sculptures and metal wall plaque.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aja_Klenna

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