Decorating a Room with Disney Cars Room Decor

With the popularity of the recent Disney Pixar Cars movie, chances are that your little boy is wanting Lightning McQueen, Mater, and all their friends to now grace every surface of his bedroom. Decorating a room with a Disney Cars room d?cor is fairly easy and inexpensive. Merchandise is available all over the web and if you are lucky, you may also find an item or two in the stores. Because of the popularity of the movie, all Cars merchandise has been extremely popular so I have learned that when you find an item you want that isn?t sold out, you have to move quickly and buy it.

So what is available for decorating a Disney Cars theme room? Well first, you will have you choice of a couple of beds. A Disney Cars toddler bed is available as is a Lightning McQueen Race Car bed that comes in a twin size. You will also be able to find Disney Cars toddler bedding and twin size bedding sets.

It doesn?t stop with just beds and bedding though. The amount of Disney Cars room d?cor available extends to wall art, room decals, lamps featuring Lightning and Mater, and even dresser knobs featuring many of the movie?s key characters. You will also be able to find Disney Cars furniture pieces including toy boxes and table and chair sets for your Disney Cars theme room.

So if your little boy has been dreaming of a Disney Cars themed bedroom, you will have no trouble coming up with enough Disney Cars room d?cor to create the Lightning McQueen room of his dreams!

? Copyright Rebecca Johnson, All Rights Reserved

Rebecca Johnson is the mother of a three year old son who is a Disney Cars fanatic. She owns a website about decorating rooms for babies and young children. Visit it for more information about decorating a Disney Cars theme room including the best places to find Disney Cars room d?cor.

Home Decorating: Where Are My Surfaces?

Many of you probably remember visiting your grandma's house as a child. I can still see how my grandmother had decorated her home. Every inch of surface and space was filled! The mantle, the kitchen counters, and of course the floor. She was a self-proclaimed pack-rat! When you walk into a home drowning in stuff, it immediately bombards you and creates overwhelming vibes. So, how do we show every little nick knack we love, without going overboard?

I have a very strict rule with myself that every surface in my home should be clean and almost completely cleared. I enjoy showing off my candles, vases, and other items. However, I have learned when it becomes too much. As a teenager I had covered every inch of my dressers and desk with decorations. My bedroom had become more of a showplace then a home. My decorations were nicely placed as sort of a retail window display, but I could never find a place to set something down.. Which of course meant the floor was the only other option. As you can imagine, my old room never stayed clean for very long. Years later, when I got my own place, I was finally sick of my beautiful items appearing more as clutter then as strategically placed home decorations. I cleared my surfaces and started fresh!

I now place only a few of my can't live without decor pieces on my desk, dressers, dining table, and kitchen counters. The rest have been stored away. If you don't think you can part with your treasures, remember these great benefits to the minimal design:

1. Once you have items stored away, you can replace which items you show off each season, which will give your home a new and fresh look. Mix and match and it will look as if you redecorate every month, just by switching which items you have out!

2. When you place a ton of distinct and unique items together, they each lose their charm and eye-catching appeal. If you want people to notice your great design sense and adorable treasures, make sure they can actually see them amongst every other item you have in your home.

3. Your home will appear more spacious and much tidier with this method. Plus, now you can see that beautiful wood table you've been covering up!

4. You can actually set stuff down! And to make sure you don't get in the habit of making a mess, set designated decorative baskets for items such as car keys.

It is easy to get caught up with buying every little nick knack you can find and covering your dressers with jewelry boxes and the dozens of perfume bottles you simply have to keep. But, keep in mind that a cluttered home can infringe on your efficiency as a home business owner, full time parent, or simply a person who needs to find their shoes! But remember, you don't have to throw these items out. Spend some time today removing half of the things you have displayed on your surfaces. Neatly store them in an easy access linen closet for future use. In a few months, when you feel like you need a change, replace the decorations with your stored items and voila! It will look as if you just redecorated. By using the minimal design you will be surprised out how much better your home will look and feel!

Please keep hyperlinks active and content as is when reprinting this article. Keller Hawthorne is the owner of http://www.kbhoutlet.com, which specializes in Elegant Home Decor Accents, Outdoor Garden Decorations and Wood Furniture. Find more home decorating and gardening ideas at our Home Decorating Resource Center. Copyright ? 2005 The KBH Outlet

Using Bamboo Blinds to Decorate Your Home

Bamboo blinds are excellent and classy way to decorate your home. In oriental culture bamboo has been always used at homes as partitions, window blinds to allow cool breeze to come in. bamboo blinds or bamboo shades provides a relaxed and cool look to any room. It adds to the ethnic ambience and charm of your interiors and definitely environment friendly.

The distinctive grass weaves; the natural colors and fine bamboo selection used in the manufacture of finest bamboo blinds gives an elegant and inviting look. In tropical countries in Asia like India and Indonesia, in olden times people used roughly cut bamboo woven together which could be rolled up and down using thick ropes. This was essential to keep the scorching sun out and the torrential rains during the monsoon period.

Bamboo is extensive used in building houses, fences, bridges, utensils, paper, toys, musical instruments ?bamboo flutes, furniture and floors. In interior decorations, bamboo has been used for centuries to accent houses and gardens. The Chinese believed that bamboo brings long life, and in India, it is a mark of friendship. Japanese used it around their places of worship to ward off evil spirits.

Today this traditional art form of bamboo blinds have evolved into a classy style statement that has its own elegant look as well as functionality and exceptional reliability. Now bamboo and bamboo based products are a great rage in the Western world. Different varieties of bamboo blinds, shades and floors have found their way into some of the blue chip companies and sprawling villas worldwide.

Bamboo blinds are catching up as the latest trend and fashion in hard window treatments. They add that eco-friendly flavor and special touch to home d?cor. This versatile natural product can compliment the interior furniture, which incidentally could be made in bamboo too. Bamboo blinds in their stained or varnished to embellish their natural look are more preferred than artificially colored bamboo blinds.

Bamboo blinds are relatively easy to clean and maintain. Just dust them regularly with a clean cloth and use wood polish or just plain soap and water when necessary. The cost depends on the quality, the brand and the shop from where you buy. Typically a bamboo blind of 27 x 64 inches in a walnut stain or other stain of your choice without varnish may cost upwards of $60. If you plan to buy some unique or unusual stains then it may cost more. The natural appearance of bamboo blinds and shades are retained with the grain and color irregularities visibly enhancing the natural look. Depending on the shade you choose, it can change the d?cor of your room to exotic, rustic or even casual in appearance! Whatever the style bamboo blinds seems to be growing in popularity and people are slowly opening their eyes to this all new natural beauty and elegance of bamboo!

Bamboo HQ http://www.bamboo-hq.com/ has articles about bamboo including how to grow bamboo and uses for bamboo.

Decorating Small Spaces

Decorating and furnishing a small apartment or studio can be challenging, but when done correctly your small spaces will look and feel more spacious. When selecting furniture for your small space always choose smaller pieces that have a more open design. A love seat with exposed legs, two small side chairs, and a small round glass top coffee table, is a better choice than a large sofa with hidden legs, love seat, and a large solid wood coffee table. When arranging your furniture be aware of traffic patterns, all traffic should flow uninterrupted through your room. In a living room, start decorating with the sofa or love seat. When arranging your furniture, start with the largest piece on the largest wall and facing your focal point. Then create a conversation area by placing a side chair on each side of the love seat. Place your coffee table where it can be reached from all three sitting places.

However, in small spaces, be careful not to over use accessories. Remember, less is more, if you want to create that open feeling. Mirrors and shiny reflective accessories help create the illusion of more space. Larger patterns should be limited to pillows and smaller accessories, rather than a large sofa or love seat. When choosing color schemes, select soft and monochromatic colors. Use the same or similar colors for your large pieces of furniture and walls, and keep your ceiling lighter than the rest of the room. Use a soft even light and eliminate shadows that tend to slice a room up into smaller spaces. Incandescent lighting will also soften a room. Avoid ceiling lighting, as this will visually lower your ceiling. Keep your apartment simple and clean.

Decorating provides detailed information on Decorating, Home Decorating, Bedroom Decorating, Bathroom Decorating and more. Decorating is affiliated with Web Site Design.

Beach Decorating for Adults and Kids

One way to bring back memories of a summer at the beach is through beach themed decorating and crafts for the kids.

I like to start with the bathroom (for me the most obvious room to start with); there you can add pictures, either sketches or framed photographs to the walls. I think enlarging your own picture (especially if it includes the family) looks best. Towels with starfish, seahorses, seashells, of fish look great. Again, as with the picture, I think it can be more enjoyable for the family if you start with plain towels and wash clothes, then sew on or embroider your own beach or ocean themed designs.

Soaps can also have a beach theme. Place your soaps in a shell container, or even make decorative soap by carving your own designs in them (Ivory soap works great for this). A fishing net embedded with starfish (or even a puffer fish) hung near the tops of the walls really brings home the beach theme for me. Then there are decorative shell baskets (which are easy to find on-line). These seashell baskets can be placed on shelves or just the toilet reservoir. A final touch to the walls would be a shell night light to add evening illumination to the bathroom. One more suggestion if one is feeling industrious is the flooring. You can find linoleum tiles that have fish, shells, or anything beach related and place these on the floor to finalize your bathroom.

As for the kids; the shell baskets I mentioned earlier are an inexpensive way to get the kids involved. These baskets usually come with many different seashells that can be used to make all sorts of design, murals or beach diorama.

The diorama is my favorite for kids. Use the shells, some fine sand, maybe some starfish (there are inexpensive dried starfish available on the internet), and even some plastic fish. Use blue plastic film to represent the ocean, cotton balls for clouds, maybe a toy boat too. The little drink umbrellas are great to use as beach umbrellas. You can glue broken shells together to form a reef too. This project could also be used for the kids to make inexpensive Christmas gifts for family members that show a little more thought than the average gift.

The garden is where my wife likes to add a little more ocean themed flair. She enjoys the Pangansin shell wind chime with the urchin spines that make musical notes. I personally more like the flowing beauty of a stairway (spiral) shell wind chime.

In the garden next to a hammock or just lawn chairs is a good place to hang the shell wind chimes. You can even construct a more life-like ?out door diorama? using a small pond with a fountain head, beach sand or whatever similar is available, again some starfish and seashells and you have your own personal beach space. This can be a little more difficult in colder climates, but the pond can be turned off in the winter, and/or covered with a tarp to prevent damage from falling leaves or whatever else fall and winter bring.

For more ideas and interesting posts, Ocean Decor also may be off interest.

Enjoy!

By Carl Strohmeyer

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Shells.html

Country Home Decorating Country Style Home Decor the Way Life Used to Be

What is the lure and appeal of country home decorating? Maybe it?s the desire to escape the rush and demands of a hectic lifestyle. It could be the need to return to a time when life was simpler, perhaps even happier. The necessities of rural life are what influence today?s country style home decor.

Country home decorating can be defined as a style featuring rustic simplicity and tradition. Home decorating country style is viewed as welcoming, unpretentious, friendly and practical. Country style home decor is flexible enough to include timeworn antiques, reproductions, crafts and handmade products all together. Country furniture is usually made by craftsmen and has a sturdy, rugged appearance. Country style furniture seldom uses delicate designs. Country home decor may feature unfinished beams, floors with natural finish, rough bricks and unpainted or undulating plaster walls.

Here are recommendations for specific rooms when country home decorating:

Country Kitchen D?cor - use open shelves, buffets, plate racks and cupboards for storage. Country kitchen storage is usually crammed with stoneware pots, plain glazed earthenware and glass jars. Country kitchen pots should be made of copper, steel or cast iron -- country cookware tends to be large and plain. Country kitchen cabinets that are made of aged surfaces, natural materials, rough finishes and round knobs will keep the country style. Open shelving in the country kitchen is perfect to display plates and dinnerware collections. Kitchen cabinets or kitchen furniture made of pine or perhaps even painted can be a beautiful key element in the country kitchen.

Country Kitchen Countertops and Floors - country kitchens countertops have ceramic tiles or even hand painted tiles, slate or marble. If you want to use laminate materials, go for plain colors for coverings. Terracotta tiles, brick, stone and wood are very popular in country kitchen floors. If you decide to add some antiques to your country kitchen, they don't have to be perfect -- even chips and scratches will add to the charm and un-restored look of the antique. Adding a bit of wear and tear to maintain the country flavor is fun and it works!

Country Dining Rooms - dining rooms are once again popular. Many years ago, meals were eaten in large country home kitchens. Today, the kitchen continues to be the hub of the home and the place where you can have less formal meals. However, when entertaining guests, a dining room is the place to be. Country style dining rooms can have a large rectangular table made of pine, oak, walnut or mahogany with wooden chairs or old benches that are similar in style and material. A corner cupboard, plate racks, dresser or sideboard will provide perfect storage and serving area for the dining room as long as they match the style and the materials of the table and chairs.

Country Bathrooms ? the characteristics and styles of country bathrooms take us back to our simple life and roots. A bathroom with neutral tones or soft colored walls, antique looking lighting and wooden antiques or antique reproduction cabinets and vanity will give the country bathroom a calm and elegant atmosphere. Clawfoot tubs, country style antique brass faucets and old-fashioned country home decorating cabinets will give your bathroom the kind of atmosphere that invites you to spend time there.

A country bathroom should have wood, ceramic tile, linoleum, vinyl or natural cork floors. To have carpet in the country bathroom is not appropriate. Wood and brass accessories are perfect materials to use in a country style home decor bathroom. Plain white towels are recommended instead of patterned or bright modern patterns. Use wicker or wire baskets to keep your sponges, loofas and shampoos handy near the tub or shower.

Country Home Furnishings - decorative items associated with country style home decor include adirondack chairs, Windsor chairs, fresh or dry wild flowers, vintage baskets, quilts, yellowware bowls, blue and white ceramics, wicker or wire baskets, floral tapestries, linens and paintings, wool blankets, duck decoys and teddy bears. Floral patterns and candleholders also remind us of the country-style life.

The colors used in country home decorating are neutral tones ranging from white to bone, earth tones, red barn, blues and green which are the most appropriate colors for country style. Stenciling and wallpaper are frequently used in country home decorating. Stenciling originally was cheaper than wallpaper. Stenciling can be used around windows, in areas where the walls meet the ceiling or on the floors. Oftentimes, stenciling is even used on furniture. Done correctly, stenciling adds a great deal of charm to a country home decor.

While country life in the old days was often very difficult, it?s now possible to recreate the pleasures and peace of a nearness to nature without having to endure the adversity and hardship of everyday rural life. In general, the knowledge and abilities needed to create a country style home are achievable by nearly anyone. Read all you can. Inspiration will come if you understand the basics for creating a country style home decor that provides the look and feel of the way life used to be.

Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing

David Buster is Vice-President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.yourdreamloghome.com - visit the website to learn more about home decorating and remodeling, backyard living, home plans, kitchen and bathroom design and decor tips, home storage, fireplaces, log cabin rentals and more.