5 Home Theater Design Tips To Consider When Planning Your Home Theater

By Jared Dawson

A home theater is a great way for you and your family to enjoy the latest blockbuster movie or video game. The following home theater design tips will help you plan your home theater so that you will get hours of family entertainment and be able to impress your friends and neighbors with the sights and sounds of a first class home theater.

1. Location: When thinking about home theater design, consider that an ideal location for a dedicated home theater room is a room that is isolated from the rest of the home, such as a basement. You do not want people walking in and out of the room when you are trying to enjoy your favorite movie. It is also important to keep in mind the surrounding rooms. If you share a wall with a neighbor, your new subwoofer that is the pride and joy of your home theater system may shake the pictures off their wall during intense action scenes. Of course if they have a dog that sneaks over into your yard to do his business this may be a good way to get even.
2. Acoustics - Acoustics are what help determine the sound qualities of your home theater. The goal is to both absorb and reflect your sound. A room with too little reflection would resemble having your theater outside and would be dull and lacking bass. If your home theater design includes too much reflection the sound will echo, resembling an old stone cathedral. The goal is to include sound absorption between the screen and the seating area. This can be in the form of professional sound absorption materials or it could be in the form of drapes, carpet or bookshelves.
3. Shape of Room - The shape of the room is important for a number of reasons. One reason is for sound quality. Bass and mid range sound can be distorted near the walls and corners. Avoid rooms that are cubic such as 8' x 8' x 8' as well as rooms where 2 of the 3 dimensions of the same. Another consideration is for the room to be as enclosed as possible and not have an open space shared with other rooms.
4. Size of Room - The amount of available space and intended use of your room will dictate your home theater design. Some people prefer a small intimate setting for their families, while others want their home theaters to feel like the local movie theater and want to use it for entertaining friends. Neither choice is right or wrong. Just keep in mind that the room should be large enough to comfortably place several recliners or sofas. For those that want to imitate the local theater you will want to design the room big enough for several rows of dedicated home theater seating. The distance between the screen and your seating should be 1.5 to 2 times the width of your screen.
5. Lighting - A home theater with a limited amount of natural lighting is best, especially if you plan on using a projector where it is best to keep the room as dark as possible. Lighting should be placed so that it does not cause a reflection on the screen. Lighting should be soft and comfortable. Keep in mind functional lighting that will allow guests to make it safely to the exits for a bathroom break without having to turn on all the lights.

A home theater that is placed in the right location with the correct attention to sound and lighting will allow you and your family to be immersed in the action

Tips On How Buy A Bathroom Faucet

By Rob Buenaventura

If you want to change the look of your bathroom but you don’t have a lot of money, you can do so relatively inexpensively by replacing your sink and faucet. You’ll have lots of choices on the market, many of which are “retro” and look like the faucets in your grandmother’s bathroom. You can also choose from modern-looking chrome faucets or fancy brass fixtures. You can also still buy the old-fashioned crystal-headed faucets with the snub nosed spout. If you’re so inclined, you can buy the old-fashioned key-shaped faucet handles and can choose from porcelain, brass or brushed chrome finish.

It might surprise and please you to know as well that many of today’s faucets are actually multifunctional units that can convert to showerheads or split into separate streams. You can choose from many functions and can even have multiple functions, if you so choose.

Like just about anything else, bathroom faucets run the gamut in terms of price. You can choose from simple and relatively inexpensive to fancy and quite a lot more expensive. Some things to consider before you buy a bathroom faucet include:

What type of handle do you want on your faucets? Single handled faucets rotate to handle all water temperatures from one spigot. You can also buy faucets and handles separately and make your own unique combination. However, if you do this, you have to make sure that the faucet and faucet handles will fit each other.

Next, what style of bathroom faucet will look best in your bathroom? There are hundreds of styles available, anything from antique to modern, and if you so choose, you can even buy 1970s-style faucets. Believe it or not, you can also buy stone faucets that “spit” water out of the wall or those that look like statues from Rome. However, remember that the more complicated your style is, the harder the bathroom faucet will be to install. It will also probably be a lot more expensive than a simpler one.

Next, do you want your bathtub and shower faucets to match those in your sink? Some people don’t consider this important, but it might make your bathroom appear to have a more uniform design if that’s what you’re going for.

Finally, what do you want the bathroom faucet to be made of? They are available in porcelain, chrome, brass, nickel, plastic or even stone. Some creative designers have even made bathroom faucet spouts out of seashells.

Whatever you decide, there are plenty of choices out there available for you to pick something that exactly fits your lifestyle, budget and needs.

Furniture Slipcovers - The Cheap and Easy Way to Give Your Furniture a Makeover

By Caroline Smith

Are you tired of the look of your furniture? Do you fancy changing the appearance of your room, but don’t want the cost and hassle of buying a whole new suite? Well, the good news is that giving your home a makeover can be as simple as adding some furniture slipcovers. If you have some pieces of furniture with mismatching upholstery or you simply want a change, then some new slipcovers could work wonders.

So, what exactly are furniture slipcovers? They are a cheaper alternative to re-upholstering your furniture. Re-upholstery can be an expensive option depending on the amount of work needed to make your furniture look as good as new. It can involve replacing the existing fabric, replacing worn out cushions and in some cases fixing the frame and springs. It depends on the value of the furniture as to whether it is worth the effort and expense. Furniture slip covers on the other hand are basically fabric covers that can easily be fitted over existing upholstery.

There are many benefits of using fitted slipcovers over re-upholstery, not least the lower costs. Sofa slipcovers are an excellent way to disguise unattractive upholstery on your existing sofa as well as transforming the look and color scheme of a whole room. You can use sofa slipcovers to create a completely different feel. For example, careful choice of the right slipcover patterns can help add a welcoming atmosphere of warmth to a room. Or maybe you want to create the illusion of space in a small room by adding some lighter colored sofa slip covers.

Another advantage of furniture slipcovers is that they can protect your existing fabric from becoming dirty or worn, prolonging the life of your furniture. Whether you have pets or small children or just want to prevent damage caused by accidental spills, slipcovers are an ideal solution. Slipcovers are made from durable, hardwearing materials. Cotton fabrics are common, but all sorts of other fabrics are popular too such as leather, suede, corduroy and velvet. They are designed to be easy to remove and clean, which means they can be changed as often as you like. Many are fully machine washable.

These days furniture slipcovers come in a huge variety of designs and colors. Many people like the ease with which slipcovers allow them to change their décor with the seasons or just whenever they fancy a change. And slipcovers can be found for furniture of all shapes and sizes. There are slipcovers for sofas, wing chairs, recliner chairs and ottomans. In addition, you can find fitted slipcovers for kitchen and dining room chairs, futons and loveseats. So, when home decorating, rather than rushing out to buy brand new furniture, consider slipcovers as an effective and inexpensive way to give your room a facelift.

Kitchen Island Design

By Jason Albright

Kitchen islands have been part of kitchen design since the medieval times, where cooks used a large worktable to do preparation work for making meals. Having a custom kitchen island in your home will make your kitchen more functional and comfortable. When you choose a kitchen island, you’ll need to pick a design and size that are appropriate for your kitchen space and your needs.

Kitchen islands serve several purposes in the home. While they, of course, function as a good place for doing prep work, kitchen islands also make a good gathering area for friends and family. A kitchen island can even serve as additional eating space.

If you are planning your own custom kitchen island, there are a few considerations that you need to address. Keep in mind that kitchen islands work best in larger kitchens that have an L, U, or G layout shape. Using a kitchen island in a kitchen that is too small is a sure way to make the kitchen a terrible place to be. Small to medium sized kitchens can benefit from the use of kitchen cart for extra workspace, rather than a full-sized kitchen island.

Kitchen islands with a cook top need to include a ventilation hood to reduce smoke and cooking odors. A range hood should extend at least three inches beyond the cook top on each side so it can properly remove all smoke. Besides a cook top, another popular choice for kitchen island additions is a second sink. You should choose a kitchen island sink that is deep enough to wash large pots and pans. It should also include a garbage disposal so it can be used as a prep sink for vegetables and fruits.

Countertop materials for your kitchen island should coordinate with the rest of your kitchen, but it doesn’t have to match exactly. Countertops of butcher block, granite and marble are all popular selections for kitchen islands.

© Cookgroup Marketing LLC – All Rights Reserved. This article brought to you by http://For-Your-Kitchen.com/kitchenislanddesign/. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice, author name, and URL remain intact.

Jason Albright is a contributing editor at Cookgroup Marketing LLC. His background is with lifestyle topics including: Gardening, Outdoor Living, Home Decor, Travel Destinations and Food and Wine.

Using Landscape Bricks in Your Garden

By Bill McRea

Bricks were the first manufactured building materials. Today it is the most popular building and designing material in the world, thanks to its unparalleled versatility, durability, warmth, and aesthetic richness. And nowhere are these attributes more evident than in the designed landscape. Landscape bricks give one the opportunity to exploit one’s full potential in garden design work.

Landscape bricks provide a rich base for all technical aspects of landscaping including materials and properties, finishes and bonds, classifications and shapes. It also familiarizes the designer with virtually all known bricklaying and masonry methods and techniques. Landscape bricks give creative vent to the inspiration and ideas that give fruition to amazing landscapes.

Landscape bricks are an indispensable tool for landscape architects, landscape designers, and architects who provide site-planning services. They exploit and innovatively apply the unlimited potential of landscape bricks to enhance their designs. Brick is used for patios, walkways, driveways, pool decks, and edging.

Landscape bricks come in various colors and sizes for every need. It adds to the archetypal beauty of any landscape. These are not only eye-catching but durable and long-lasting as well. Landscape bricks are clean and also very easy to maintain.

Some of the important uses of landscape bricks are:

Brick Patios:

It is easy for almost everyone to transform a backyard into a wonderful brick patio with the help of landscape bricks. One may lay the bricks in a row one by one all in the same direction. Basket weave is also another scheme and gives the patio an artistic look. To do this one has to alternate the bricks in a vertical and horizontal way.

Brick Gardens:

Landscape bricks are the essential materials for brick gardens. It is used to border the flower garden or build a small retaining wall around the flowerbed. These can also be used to encase the area around the water in water gardens. It adds warmth and added stability to the water feature.

Brick Pathways and Sidewalks:

Landscape bricks are used to make brick pathways and sidewalks. In order to prevent the brick particles from getting lost into the soil, the bottom of the walkway is lined with landscape fabric.

Landscape bricks are also wonderful alternatives to line flowerbeds or any area that has no edges as they work as a magnificent border. . Landscape bricks can also be used in high traffic areas where the grass may wear down easily. One can also use brick in any area just to create a visual attraction.

The best thing about landscape bricks is that it can be stacked or laid flat so that the land can be mowed over the edge with no problem. There is a lot of information available on landscape bricks on internet as well as news papers. Landscape bricks are easy to avail but one can always take the help and guidance of a professional landscape designers.

6 Recommended Living Room Decorations

By Albert Lee

If your problem is with regards to how you would address the need of your living room to get pumped up from the usual boring way, then you need not be problematic anymore since there are plenty of living room decorations. Below are some of the most recommended living room decorations and accessories to purchase and use.

1. The living room carpet. The living room carpet is an important thing to use. It could be of any color of your own choice whether you prefer to match or contrast it with the wall colors of your living room. Most homeowners go for the neutral color of the carpet as it is easy to blend along with the rest of the living room decorations.

2. The curtains for the windows. The use of window curtains always determines the character of the living room. They are the ones which designate a luxurious, elegant, or simple appeal to the living room. The window curtains should of course be relevant with that of the size of the window. You could turn to professionals for the tips in purchasing and designing the right curtains for your windows.

3. The mantels. Mantels are best to use especially if you've got a fireplace in the living room area. Naturally, there has to be something on top of the mantel. It could be a vase, candle set, or other ornaments.

4. The plants or greeneries. Plants basically provide more oxygen in the living and it could bring you closer to nature. There is a certain ambience created by the use of plants as living room decorations. You may choose from herbal, potted, and hanging plants.

5. The chairs and sofas. These living room decorations must very well blend with the rest of the designs employed in the area. They are important furniture in the living room since the primary use of the area is simply for entertaining visitors and your family members as well.

6. Candles. Whether they are scented or unscented, they never fail to bring about romance and ambience in the air. They are best if your living room does not have a fireplace.

As you go and shop around for the living room decorations, do not be surprised at all if you spot several of them. Do not end up confused since they could always be harmonized with one another. These living room decorations, when handled well, could definitely add up a beautiful personal touch to your living room space.

Home decoration is the art of decorating a room so that it looks good, is easy to use and function wells with the existing architecture, The goal of home decoration is to provide a certain "feel" for the room, it encompasses applying wall paper, painting walls and other surfaces, choosing furniture and fittings and providing other decorations like artefacts and sculptures. There is a very thin line between designing and decoration. Interior decoration is generally focused more on finishes, such as wall paper, paint, window covering and furnishings. Interior design leads to be more integrated with the architecture and might also be involved in room layout, cabinet designs, windows and door placement and so on. But whatever is the term, one thing in common is the Design ideas, without which none of the above is possible.

Spacious rooms
If you love the wide open spaces and want the light and airy atmosphere, here are some tips on achieving that sense of spaciousness in your rooms.

- To create a feeling of largeness in your room, eliminate the shadows that tend to slice a room up into smaller spaces. Work on lighting the room with a soft, even light. Avoid ceiling lights as they tend to make the ceiling feel lower. Diffused, ambient lighting will tend to enlarge the room.

* Keep the surfaces free of heavy textures. Smoother surfaces tend to reflect more light and make the room feel larger.
* Avoid heavy textured flooring. Choose tile over patterned or textured carpeting. Reflective and shiny surfaces such as mirror and chrome also can be used effectively.
* Soft colors and monochromatic color schemes. Use cream, beige, gray or cool pastels on your walls and floors to make them recede. The ceiling should always be the lightest color in the room.
* Limit the use of patterns in the room to create a more airy feeling. A typical application of a pattern might be to reserve it for an accent piece.
* Selection and placement of furniture in a room is crucial in defining the space. Keep the largest pieces against the walls whenever possible.
* Choose furniture colors that are the same or similar to those selected for the walls and floors.

Cozy rooms
If you want a cozy and comforted ambience, here are some points to consider a more intimate space.

* Create spaces through the use of directed light. Lighting from the ceiling will seem to lower it. A reading lamp or down-shaded lamp will cast light only in its relative vicinity. Use incandescent rather than halogen or florescent lamps for a warmer glow.
* Choose strong colors for your walls and floor. They will tend to bring them in closer towards one another.
* A dark floor with walls of brown or deep red, blue or green tones will help create the feeling of a smaller, cozier space.
* Heavy, soft textures add warmth to a space. Use rougher textures for the hard elements in the room; iron instead of chrome, brick instead of glazed tiles.
* The use of pattern in a room can also lend a sense of coziness to the space. The subject of mixing patterns in a room will be covered at some future time.
* Choose dark finishes and fabrics to create a sense of the piece being larger than it actually is. Heavy textured fabrics and large patterns will add a cozy feeling to a sofa or chair.
* Place pieces away from the wall and use tall pieces to divide and define smaller spaces within a room for greater intimacy.

Room corners
The corners of our rooms can be decorating assets or just a boring space. With a little imagination you can make the corner space work for you and create a beautiful area in your room.

* The void corner of the room can be fill with natural or artificial tree.
* An uplight addition will give a beautiful look.
* Pedestals of varied sizes look good in corners.
* A table top with a beautiful fabric and a couple of chairs to each side with coordinating fabric on the seats can give a very dramatic look. Add a lamp, your favorite pictures and collectibles for a gorgeous tablescape.
* A corner cabinet or hanging cupboard is a handsome solution and adds needed storage and display areas as well.

Storages
One of the most important basics in decorating a small space is to purchase furniture that does double or triple duty for storage. Purchasing multiple purpose accessories and furniture allow options that give your living space character and flexibility.

* Sofa cum bed : A sofa for your living room area might contain a bed for yourself or unexpected visitors.
* Tables containing drawers or shelves give you other options further storage.
* Bookshelves with or without doors, can be appropriate for entertainment centers, home offices, kitchen storage or bedroom storage.
* Bathroom storage units are great for under sink storage. These units increase your storage capacity in a small area.

Theme room
A well-decorated room can still lack personality. To give your room a personality, choose from among these basic design elements, modify them to suit your tastes and implement them in a way which is just right for you.

1. A Theme - A 'themed' room says something about you, the person who has done it, your family or the place where you live. A theme will also provide you a place to showcase your collections, prized possessions, arts and crafts.
2. Artifacts - A piece of artistic value will always give your room that special touch you have always wanted. It can add texture and depth to a room.
3. Collections - It is the most effective way to display your collections in a special arrangement. Whether you collect shells, dolls or trinkets, arrange them tastefully instead of just lining things up in a row. Lining things looks even worse when objects are small in size. Instead, group them together to project variety within your collections.
4. Color - Color does not get limited to painting the walls of your room. Use colors that make you feel good about them in fabrics, linen, pillows, shelves, curtains etc. Blend colors to suit your style.
5. Fabrics - Add fabrics to liven up your room with a print that contains the color of your upholstery. To maintain harmony in colors, use the same accent at least thrice around the same room.