Crewel Fabrics

Crewel, also known as wool embroidery, has been around for centuries. The word crewel is derived from an old Welsh term meaning “wool.” The word referred to the wool yarn used for stitching and not the style of embroidery. Traditionally, heavy wools were used for this type of embroidery, but today there is a wide variety of yarns and even threads to choose from, depending on the desired effect.
Although crewel is considered the most difficult stitchery technique to master, it is ideal for pillows, curtains, clothing, and wall hangings. The use of tightly-woven fabrics enables stitchers to create an infinite variety of shapes. There are a great number of stitches that can be employed in crewel embroidery; these stitches add texture and depth to the finished piece. The outlines of the design are often screen printed on the fabric, and the stitcher fills in, or outlines, each area with stitches.

Crewl fabrics add a beautiful touch of elegance to traditional style rooms. Add a pillow with coordinating trim or upholster an accent chair, you will have created a lovely focal point to your room. It is like adding a tapestry to your design.

Tapestry Art

In the middle Ages, tapestries had a purely utilitarian function. They were originally designed to protect medieval rooms from damp and cold weather, to cover austere walls of big castles, or to insulate big rooms into more comfortable quarters. Tapestries used for furnishing big stone castles were very big in size and they required large looms, many workers and high capital investments. Thus, manufacturer's of this type arose in prosperous localities, usually weaving centers. By 1500, Flanders, especially Brussels and Bruges, had become the chief places of production. Due to their size and intricacy, tapestries became investments and displays of wealth and power. In these early tapestries, isolated figures or compact groups stood out against a background that was generally plain or embellished with plant motifs or flowers, those are called , "mille fleurs", tapestry meaning (thousand flowers). Tapestry became equal to the class of paintings, sculpture and architectural design becoming one of the major visual art forms.

You will find lovely tapestries and rugs at http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/control/style-search/~cid=7003

Beveled and stained Class

Stained glass windows in houses were particularly popular in Victorian era and many domestic examples survive. In their simplest form they typically depict birds and flowers in small panels, often surrounded with machine-made cathedral glass, which, despite what the name suggests, is pale-coloured and textured. Some large homes have splendid examples of secular pictorial glass.
See
Art glass
Beveled glass
Cathedral glass
Prairie style homes
The houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
Stained glass lamp / Lampshades
Tiffany lamp
Public and commercial use of stained glass
Town halls, schools, colleges and other public buildings often incorporate stained glass or lead lighting.
Public houses — In Britain, traditional pubs make extensive use of stained glass and leaded lights to create a comfortable atmosphere and retain privacy.

You can add a cut or stained glass piece of art to any window in your home or office, which creates a history conversational piece and simple elegance and that touch of class to any room.

Visit my "How To" videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch_queue?all

Monkey Business

Lamp design reached a whole new level in beauty, design and workmanship in New York with Louis Comfort Tiffany. His elaborate floor, hanging, and table lamps are a good example. Tiffany spared no expense in their creation. His leaded-glass shades came on the market in 1899 and were immediately fashionable. Confident of the quality, he signed most of his work.

Lamps of art are also found which create great conversational pieces such as this one I found which also displays beautiful tapestry fabric for a touch of elegance accented with simple tassel trim.

The art of feng -shui is adding an animal touch to our rooms to create a harmony with nature around us, it brings a feeling of piece and harmony to your home or office setting.

Feng Shui represents the traditional Chinese concept of man harmonizing with his environment. Oriental philosophy proposes that we are a microcosm of a macrocosm—our outer world being a reflection of our inner world—and vice versa. It suggests that our environment affects us more than we realize.
All matter has vibration—the Hindus call it Prana—the Hebrews call it Ruach—the Greeks call it Pneuma—the Japanese call it Ki and the Chinese call it Qi (pronounced Chee).
Qi roughly translates as the life force or cosmic breath which pervades all of life. It is the force of change and transformation that is believed to have created the landscapes of our planet. If we consider Qi to be a current of energy, when we are out of step with the natural flow, it is against this current that we struggle literally. Feng Shui is concerned with overcoming this struggle by harnessing supportive Qi via placement, design, element, color, and much more.
We all know that the impact the moon has on the tides of the ocean, which is an enormous body of water. Well, we are over 60% water, so what impact might the moon have on us? Less well known is the fact that some surgeons are cautious about performing surgery around the time of the full moon because of the impact on the flow of the blood in the body.
It would seem that mankind and the planet are much more connected than we realize.