"Choosing Color"

According to "Home & Garden" magazine, the colors of inspiration for this year of 2009 are very bright and beautiful. Colors which are inspired by nature such as soft grays, greens, and browns are the neutral pallets for the more vivid colors of deep teal blues, rich purples, citrus shades, brilliant reds, and fuchsias, which portray differing international cultures. Also, those bright and cheery colors which portray optimism, change, or the hope of a new beginning are very popular.

A leading paint firm's manager of color and design said, "We just want to bring fun back into the home and that's a big part of what we were looking at when we introduced the bright colors of 2009. It's about a new optimism for 2009--there are a lot of new beginnings--political changes, cultural changes--and we want to embrace those changes and express this through our color choices."

So, with all that said, I would like to discuss some pointers to keep in mind when choosing color for your home, whether it is in a gallon of paint for an accent wall in your living room or in adding some new decorative accessories to an out-dated master bedroom. My purpose of this article is to assist you in bringing back that level of "fun" into your home.


2009 Color Forecast

First of all, bringing a splash of a new color or colors into your home can really be a lot of fun and does not have to be a daunting task. Choosing color can be intimidating in the beginning, but I have learned that it can be a journey of personal discovery.

As you begin your "color choice journey," look to your personal surroundings for inspiration. View your clothing closet as well as other items around your house which you are drawn to. Your inspiration can really come from anywhere. Walking outside and viewing nature may bring that sense of inspiration to you when trying to choosing color.

There may be particular colors which you seem to gravitate towards because of the way they make you feel. With those colors in mind, visit your local paint store or search for new decorative accessories which you seem to be drawn to. Because color forecasts are changing from year to year, you may see colors in paint, furnishings, and accessories which may be newer "grayed or yellowed" versions of colors which have appealed to you in the past.

New colors in home furnishings will usually be introduced approximately one year after those in haute couture fashion. Looking for inspiration in fashion may be fun and inspiring; however, be wise in choosing your colors for the dominant areas in your home when looking to these sources. What looks great on a fashion runway may not look so good all over your entire living room. If you absolutely love a new, trendy color, try incorporating it in accent pillows or even an accent wall which can easily be changed a couple years down the road when you tire of it.

Don't be afraid when choosing your color or colors! A splash of a new vivid color may be just what your room needs to refresh and enliven it once again, bringing back that level of "fun," change, or sense of hope in new beginnings. Have fun with your new colors!

"Accessorizing"

Does your room need a "face lift? Sometimes buying just a few new accessories or re-arranging your existing accessories will completely change the entire look of your room. The following are some fun ideas which will "freshen-up" and "enliven" an existing space in your home:

1. There are so many unique decorative pillows in varying sizes, colors, and fabrics. The choices are limitless! It is amazing how much a few new throw pillows will change the entire look of your sofa, love seat, or chair. Try it! When shopping for new pillows, carry a fabric swatch or existing pillow from your sofa to the store with you. Choose pillows which really catch your eye; after all, it is important to create living spaces for ourselves which truly reflect our individual personalities and style. In today's design world, almost anything goes. Have fun with it! Choose some pillows with prints and others which are solid to mix it up. If you are working with a sofa which is a solid color such as leather, this is a time you can really create and manifest your personality into your living spaces by selecting various fabrics and colors in pillows which reflect the person you are. Generally, pillows which measure approximately 16"-18" are great sizes to use on sofas. Sometimes, a shorter, longer pillow is great to use in the middle of a sofa as well.
















2. It is amazing what a new area rug can do to change the look and feel of your living space. For example, a few months ago I decided that I desperately needed a new look in my living room. As I thought about what I could do, I then decided that an area rug would be just the thing that I needed to create the change that I was looking for. Rug shopping can be very fun because there are so many differing styles, colors, and qualities available to us as well. Because of this, sometimes the "hunt" can be rather intimidating. Area rugs can be rather "forgiving" in many ways, so the search for the perfect rug may not be as intimidating as you may think. Again, it is important to bring a swatch of fabric or pillow from your sofa with you when you shop. As you begin, search for similar colors which are currently in your fabric swatch or pillow. As you are doing this, pay attention to lines or geometric patterns which may be common in both the fabric swatch and the rugs. For example, you may see small square or rectangular patterns in your pillow and find a rug which carries larger rectangular or square patterns in it's design as well. If you have a sofa which has a very busy pattern, a more simple rug with a border or interesting texture may be the way to go. The rug which you ultimately choose does not have to be limited only to the colors in your sofa. As long as some of the dominant colors are found in your rug selection, other additional colors in the rug only add interest and dimension to the overall look. Also, get the opinion of a friend or sales associate. This may help relieve the pressure of trying to find the perfect rug yourself!

Design Pointer: Animal prints are very popular in fashion as well as interior design. They are very classic and never seem to go out of style. They seem to go with various styles and colors of home furnishings, whether contemporary, traditional, or transitional. I actually purchased a an animal-print wool rug and threw it in front of my sofa. It added a sense of "high style" to my room, and I was very happy with the outcome.

3. This is a trick which will give your living space a whole new look! Gather up your existing accessories in your home, such as greenery, candle holders, statuary, picture frames, decorative boxes, etc. After making a clean sweep, begin re-placing these objects around your room again. Try clustering your accessories in groups of "three" or in odd numbers. Try placing objects with varying heights together in one grouping, which will create a sense of "oneness" or balance within the grouping. For example, begin this exercise with a set of three candle holders with the sizes of large, medium, and small in height. Creating this balance with like-objects first will assist you when pulling together groupings of accessories which are not like-objects but seem to look good together. This is where the fun begins! Experiment--there are so many possibilities!

After you have rearranged your existing accessories around your room, you may decide that you still may need a few new and exciting pieces. Again, as you shop for those special pieces, make sure that you buy those items which truly catch your eye and capture your personality.

Now, go and have some fun!

Wendy Wittwer
Decorative Accessory Buyer
Boulevard Home Furnishings

Installing Laminate Flooring

Installing Laminate Flooring

1. Take off baseboards and moldings all around the room and remove any doors in the room.

2. Fasten down any loose or squeaking floorboards and use leveling compound to get rid of any dips in the floor. If you have taken up carpet, make sure you remove any nails or tacks that might be left.

3. Install the underlay - it usually comes in 36" or 42" wide rolls - by rolling it out in rows butted against each other (not overlapping). Tape the seams with duct tape. If you are putting the laminate directly on top of a concrete floor, first put down a plastic sheet to act as a vapor barrier, before putting down the underlay.

4. The height of the new laminate flooring may mean your doorframes need to be modified. Check by laying a piece of the flooring on top of the underlay and see if it fits below the jamb. If not, mark the jamb and cut it so the flooring can slide under it.

5. Starting at the far side of the room, measure across the room to determine out if you need to rip the first plank. You want to end up with the pieces on both sides of the room approximately the same width.

6. Lay the first boards against your starting wall, groove side towards the wall. If you do need to rip the first row of boards to width, cut off the groove side. Use spacers (or a piece of flooring on edge) to ensure you leave a 1/4" gap between the flooring and the wall. You need to leave this 1/4" gap between the flooring and the wall all around the room to allow for minor seasonal variations in the boards themselves.


A specially designed pry bar helps lock tongue-and-groove laminate boards together. 7. Lay out the first three rows as follows: The first board in the first row needs to be a full board. The first board in the second row should be 2/3 of a board and the first board in the third row should be 1/3 of a board. Fill in the rows with full boards and boards cut to fit the remaining space. Repeat the pattern as you move across the room, ensuring that joints are always at least 8" from each other.

8. Join the boards together by inserting the tongue into the groove at a high angle and then pushing down. The boards will click together. Tapping gently with a hammer and the tapping block may be necessary to make sure the boards lock together.

9. When you are working close to the wall, the pry bar specially designed to work with laminate flooring helps pull the boards into place end to end (see photo). Never use the hammer directly on the pieces of laminate - you could damage the edge of a piece so badly nothing will be able to fit with it.

10. Cut laminate flooring with a circular saw with a fine tooth blade or a jig saw. Using a power saw, cut laminate good side down, to reduce tear out on the cuts.

11. Once the floor is down, reinstall your baseboards and moldings, making sure you nail them to the wall and not the laminate flooring. This will cover that 1/4-inch gap you left around the perimeter of the room.

The HDTV Install Basics

Once you have your LCD TV home, you now have to concern yourself with how to install a wall mounted LCD TV. Wall mounting, because of the space saving factor of it and the way it prevents your television from dominating the room, is a very popular way of displaying it.

One way to get it installed is to use a professional. Obviously, someone from the store or an electronics store is going to be able to install the TV efficiently and correctly. However, that will cost you a great deal of money, and since you just spent all that money on an LCD TV, it may be a good idea to install it yourself. It is not that hard, so you may as take advantage.

First Things First
Once you have an idea of where you would like to mount your LCD TV, you need to get a stud finder. How to install a wall mounted LCD TV doesn’t matter if you don’t put it in the right place. Use your stud finder to make sure the wall mount is put into a stud. This is the only way you will be able to make the television safely stable on your wall.

Anchors Away
Once you find the studs and have marked the mounting location, you are ready to put up the wall mount. The wall mount will need to be screwed into the wall at as many points as possible. The more points of anchor, the less weight is on each individual mounting spot. Once you have the wall mount anchored to the studs in the wall, you are almost done with how to install a wall mounted LCD TV.

Hide Cables
Once you have the studs located, the wall mount anchored, and the LCD TV attached to the mount, you need to plug in and hook up your television. You will need to find a way to hide the lines. That can be done either by drilling into your wall and running them through it, or by finding other methods of “hiding” them on the outside of the wall. Certain conduits and sheathes available in your local home improvement store can really help with this process.

Have Help
Finally, no matter how sure you are that you know how to install a wall mounted LCD TV, it is still a good idea to have help around. Whether it is to hold up the TV as it is mounted or to bounce ideas and suggestions off of, having a second person there will make the process safer and more efficient.

Learning how to install a wall mounted LCD TV is the last step in the long process of getting your perfect television. You did the research on the types of technology, found the place to buy, found the model you wanted, and installed it in your wall. Now, all that is left to do is sit back and enjoy your new LCD television on its newly installed wall mount.

Welcome to the Boulevard School Of Design

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