That Wood Work

Hardwood flooring usually comes in three varieties: strip, plank and parquet. The individual segments in wood strip flooring are usually about 1 ½- to 2 ¼-inches wide. Plank flooring strips are wider and parquet floors are composed of individual squares that make up a geometric pattern. Unfinished hardwood floors allow the homeowner to finish the product with a stain that matches the décor.
If you are debating whether to install hardwood flooring in your home, first investigate the pros and cons.

Pros of Hardwood Flooring


Easy Maintenance.. They just need sweeping or vacuuming and an occasional cleaning with a wood floor cleaner
Hardwood floors are durable and have stood the test of time.
Houston Flooring offers direct wholesale prices at www.directhomediscount.com

Value
Buyers are willing to pay top dollar for homes with hardwood floors. In addition, homes with hardwood floors tend to sell faster than homes with wall-to-wall carpeting. Think about it: builders consider hardwood flooring an upgrade. They don’t charge extra for carpet. Your accent rugs will pop and make more of a statement on wood flooring.

Baby Love

Swatches from clothes or household items from your own childhood can serve as a wonderful source of color and theme for your child's room. These colorful fabrics sewn into a quilt, used as a swag over a window, or fitted into frames will be a reminder to you of your happy youth and be a source of conversation with your little one. If the fabrics are muted or dull, they might work well in a country or cottage style room. Colorful, bold fabric tones work well in more whimsical rooms.
Stencils are a great source of creating a story or a fantasy theme on a wall. Using bright colors will stimulate a child's mind. No matter the age you can get creative with color.

Touch of Glass

Luise Christensen-Howell of Glasshaus Studio in Hershey has achieved seasonal symmetry. Much of the year she’s outdoors cultivating her latest love, garden and landscape design, but when autumn blows in, she takes refuge in her home studio, nurturing her 30-year love affair with stained glass.
When asked about working with glass, Luise explained:
I like the part where you sit down with somebody, and they have an idea, and you put it together, and then you have the finished product. And glass is gorgeous. So it’s the very material and the way it captures light. Then when the client comes and I see their reaction--I love that part.

When asked about her challenges working stained glass:
The only challenge that I’ve ever had is when (my focus) was cut in half between the store keeping and the creative part.

Every home should have even the smallest special cut glass piece to add romance of a moment or setting. Stained glass is like adding a piece of art in a window to catch the sun rays glistening from it adds a mystic touch on walls and ceilings.

Fun and Funky

Every room may be accented with a fun or funky chair. I particularly love to accent with animal prints, they make great accents on pillows, chairs, table runners and rugs.
If you find an old chair recover it and add a pillow as pictured here for more statement. For an elegant room add an exposed wood chair and upholster it in a fabulous tapestry using a pattern which ties in other colors in the room.

Children's room can be a lot of fun for your imagination adding an accent chair with colors, colors and more colors and will provide a comfortable place for you, allowing those precious moments in your child's environment, for the special bonding moments.

Rugs to Riches

What does a "Real Persian Rug" mean? It means the carpet is hand-knotted in IRAN and is not an imitation made in Pakistan, India, Turkey or elsewhere. This is a significant issue. Even though carpets may look the same superficially, they are not. Carpets that are made in IRAN are dyed differently, usually with vegetable pigments. In addition, the Persian knot is different. If you have a very tight budget, an imitation is probably a reasonable solution, but if you are looking for something that will keep its color and quality for a long time, buy a "Real Persian carpet". Always ask for a certificate of authenticity. I recommend a book titled, "Rugs to Riches", by Caroline Bosley, purchasing authentic pieces is an investment, this book will educate and enlighten most of your questions. I also recommend"Woodlands Rug Gallery which is shown in my links area. Mention your online designer referred you.
A personal favorite is the oriental with a silk wool blend. Always start with size and color choice, then let your dealer educate you and your designer assist in placement and room arrangement, then enjoy this luxurious accent for that final statement of your own style in your home or office.

The Yellow Scarf

Every home or office can add an interesting and intriguing sculpture to fit the theme of a room. This bronze titled, "The Yellow Scarf", by Tom Moss who also painted the, "Prairie Princess", mentioned earlier has created time gone by while you focus on such detail in this sculpture, you wait for him to speak.

A sculpture placed in a room is like adding a rose to a vase, it simply adds the final touch.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Stewart Township, Pa.: Perhaps Wright’s most recognizable design, Falling water perches over a waterfall whose sound resonates throughout the home. More than 120,000 visitors see this renowned home each year. The proximity to water and the ambitious design have forced extensive renovations—they also prompted the home’s first owner, Edgar K. Kaufmann Sr., to nickname the structure “Rising Mildew.”