A Fun, Exciting Way To Decorate Your House Walls With Wall Plates

If you want to do something crazy and fun with your house walls then stick plates on them to make them look beautiful and novel. This might seem a crazy suggestion but you will be surprised how many people around the world do it to decorate their walls.

Many interior decoration experts specialize in this. Decorating your walls with plates is an inexpensive way to beautify the look of your rooms. Plates can be an alternative to using large paintings or wall papers. If you do not like paintings or if you find them too expensive, then plates may be just the thing for you.

Still not convinced? Let us see some pictures below to show you how others are doing it: 

Let’s Get Started:Now that you had a good look at how walls look with plates on them, let us explain a few things you need to keep in mind if you want to implement this idea.

1. Use a lot of white plates while decorating the wall. The white plates look good and are a safe bet for people who are not sure which color would suit their walls better. Moreover, if you have dark-colored walls, the white plates would look super cool on them.

Some people would like to put plates of many different colors together. If you want your room to look lively and colorful you can employ this strategy. This can look very pretty if done properly.

2. Don’t use plates on all walls of a room. If you have a big hall or living room, then sticking plates on one of the walls may give it a good look. It will bring that section of the room into focus.

3. While symmetry is good in design, sometimes being wild and asymmetrical can be fun. This is specially true with the case of wall plates. Having plates of different shapes and sizes can give a lively and fancy look, rather than having all plates of same size and shape.

4. You can use disc hangers or wire plate hangers to hang the plates. The disc hangers are a good option if you want a clean look. You may also use a paperclip and super glue at the back of the plate to stick them to the walls. You can search online for suitable plate hangers and decide which one among the many options suit you better.

5. The next thing to consider is the design in which you are going to hang the plates. There are many ways to go about this. You can form a square, rectangle, circle or diamond shape with the plates. Or you may go for a totally different or fancy shape.

If you are feeling really creative or wild then you may just start hanging up plates on the fly without any plan or pattern. The results can be sometimes mindbogglingly amazing and gorgeous!

6. When you choose a design, take measurements of the plates and trace out the design on paper which you can stick on the wall. Once everything is to your liking, you can remove the paper and put the plates in their place, fixing them with hangers or pins.

7. Make sure, while hanging the plates, that the color on the walls does not come off as it would spoil the whole look. First of all, you have to be careful so that the paint does not come off due to your mistake or rough handling.

Secondly the paint should also be of good quality so that it does not come off easily. If you want your house painting job to be done in a professional and neat manner then you can check out this service — house painters

8. The next thing to be careful about is to make sure the plates are securely stuck to the walls without any danger of them falling. If they are not properly stuck in place, there is a danger of them falling on someone. The plate may fall on the head of somebody or it may fall on a little child. To avoid such unpleasant accidents, take proper precautions to ensure safety.

9. Proper lighting can enhance the effect of the wall plates. Test and experiment with different kinds of lighting to see whether the plates look more beautiful in a bright room or when the lights are dim.

10. Selecting the right kind of plates is an important job. You can select either plastic plates, ceramic or fine china ones. You may go for artistic plates which have intricate designs on them or plain ones with little to no design or pattern on them. Many of the wall plates come in vintage or middle-century styles.

11. If you want any help or assistance you can also check the various online resources at your disposal. For example, if you are unsure of what type and what color plates to use, you can check out different home decoration sites for ideas. You may check out Pinterest where people have shared images of their rooms with plates hanging from the walls.

Explore the various ideas and use them as inspiration to spark your own creativity. Why try to reinvent the wheel when you can check what others are doing. I am not saying to copy them as it is, but at least you can use some of the ideas or modify them to your liking.

While reading blogs and articles related to home decoration, you may come across tips and information which might prove useful. Make a note of these so that you can implement them. Next, you may look at shopping sites like Amazon etc to order specially designed wall plates.

All in all, have fun with decorating your walls with plates. You may impress a lot of guests who come to your house. You won’t find this thing being done in lot of houses, so there is a huge likelihood that people may be very impressed when they see something so rare and uncommon such as this. Have fun!

Eco-Friendly Living: Simple, Practical Tips to Make Your Home Eco-Friendly

Homes are a place for relaxation. We seek comfort, privacy, warmth and protection from our homes. We like to unwind and relax ourselves after a tiring day at work. Our homes provide us with peace of mind, away from the noise and hustle-bustle of the outside world.

For this reason, people want to have all kinds of facilities in their homes. They want their homes to look beautiful and have all the comforts and facilities that technology can bring them. However we must not forget the environment and the impact we have on it due to our lifestyle.

We should try to have homes which are environment friendly. Excessive use of technology may provide us with temporary comforts but may adversely impact the environment. I am not against the use of technology in homes. By all means, make best possible use of it, but try to stay away from excesses.

For this reason we should try to develop and live in green homes. Green home is a type of house which is environment friendly. This means that green homes do not harm the environment. Green home, eco-friendly, environment friendly or nature-friendly homes all mean the same thing.

More and more people are trying to build eco-friendly homes due to rising awareness against pollution and other environmental hazards that modern living is causing. The popularity of green homes is on the rise also because of the fact that green technologies are becoming more and more affordable and accessible to the common man.

There are many simple things you can do to make your own home eco-friendly. The most basic thing you can do is to plant more trees. If you have a large ground in your house, make best use of it to plant trees abundantly.

What trees would you plant? The answer to this question would depend on a lot of factors like the climate of your place among other things. You may even grow different plants in different seasons. During warm seasons you may go for cucumber or tomato plants as these are warm season vegetables. During the colder months you may go for crops like lettuce, broccoli, carrots etc.

Harnessing Solar Power
Other things you can do to make your house eco-friendly is to install solar lights wherever possible, like in the driveway, garage, patio etc. Solar lights get energy from the sun and thus can help you save on your electricity bills.

As you know solar energy is free for all. If you install solar panels in your home and try to generate as much electricity for your home needs as possible from solar energy, you can end up paying far less electricity bills than what you are used to paying now.

The initial cost of installing solar panels might be a little high, but the cost is decreasing day by day as we make more progress with utilizing natural resources for our energy needs. You may get incentives, discounts, tax redemption and other facilities from the government if you plan to install solar panels. Try to find out what kind of benefit plans the government in your area is offering for installing solar panels. If you are in Brisbane area, then you may check out this site for Brisbane solar panels installation.

If you install solar panel and are able to produce excess power that is more than your personal requirements, you may be able to sell it to a local utility company and thus make some money. In a few years time, a lot of houses around the world may start using solar power for their energy needs.

There are other sources of renewable, green energy besides solar power. Windmills to harness wind energy is another alternative but it may not be practical for small or medium sized homes as large space is required to install many windmills in order to generate sufficient amount of power.

Reducing Energy Wastage
Green homes are mainly focused on efficient energy usage and less wastage. So you not only have to think about generating energy through natural ways, but also worry about using as less energy as possible without compromising on your necessities. One of the things you can do towards this end is to install lot of windows in strategic locations in your home to let fresh air and natural lighting come inside.

Doing so would mean you won't have to use much artificial lighting in your home as you allow lot of natural light from outside due to the presence of well-planned windows. You may use transparent windows to let more natural light into your house. A smart idea to save more electricity is to install mirror and glasses in your living room and other places so that they reflect or refract light, making the room appear brighter and more spacious.

Anyways, no matter how good your windows setup may be,  you may need to use artificial lighting at night. It is advisable to use flourescent lights as they prevent the emission of dangerous greenhouse gases. Furthermore, these lights are highly energy-efficient, helping you save money on your power bills.

Using recycled water for lawns is another simple thing you can do to minimize wastage of an important natural resource like water. Wherever possible try to re-use and recycle items in order to minimize wastage. Materials like aluminium and iron are limited and their supply may eventually run out. If we want to make these important metals last longer then we should get into the habit of recycling and reusing.

Minimize the use of paper as much as you can as lot of wood is needed to produce paper. Even though supply of wood can be replenished, it is not so easy as trees take a long time to grow. Hence paper also needs to be recycled. Take care not to waste even a simple thing as a piece of paper if you truly care about the earth's environment and the lives of people living on this planet!

Conclusion
So if you have decided to choose a greener lifestyle, then I applaud your decision. It is a wise and morally sound decision as the environment has been severely contaminated and polluted by human efforts in the last 100 or so years. People are now becoming more and more aware of their responsibility towards the protection of the environment. There are many NGO organizations, and even the government is with you. If all of us can do our small bit, it may hopefully lead to drastic improvements in the near future.

A Short Guide To Using Rugs In Your Kitchen

It can be dangerous to have rugs or other items made of cloth in the kitchen due to grease, oil spills, spilling of other things which could leave stains,  and also due to the possibility of the cloth items catching fire.

In spite of these risks, there are some advantages as well. Firstly they provide cushion to your feet as you usually have to spend a lot of time standing while cooking. Secondly, if you come from outside and head straight over to your kitchen, you may wipe your shoes or feet on the rug so that the floors are not spoiled with dirt, mud or whatever else might be stuck to your shoes or feet.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, having rugs can provide your kitchen with some added color and style. It looks beautiful to see stylish and nicely designed rugs which blend well with the overall look and theme of your kitchen.

Buy Rugs As Per Your Needs:
If your kitchen has dark colored cabinets, having a bright, colorful rug can give it a nice counterpooint look. On the other hand, it might be a good idea to have dark colored rug in a kitchen which primarily has whitish or light-colored theme or feel to it. Large, dark-colored rugs can add warmth to the kitchen.

You can have a big rug that covers a wide area or a couple of small ones. The rugs are usually rectangle or square in shape but can be of other shapes as well. Circular rugs also look cool and are suitable for wide, large kitchens.

If you have a narrow kitchen a rectangular rug would be more suitable. If you have a small kitchen, using a long, narrow rug can actually make it look bigger!

Take a good look at your kitchen in order to determine whether to go for a bigger or a small rug. Consider how much space you want to cover. Some people just want a little cushion under their feet near the sink area while others would want a larger part of the floor covered.

You need different types of rugs for different areas of your home and kitchen. The high traffic areas which are frequently visited need durable and stain-resistant rugs. Kitchen entrances, hallways, etc are examples of high traffic areas.

For the low traffic areas you may go for rugs which are lighter-colored or made with softer materials. You are the best person to know which areas of your kitchen or house are high traffic and which ones are low traffic.


Natural Fiber Rugs Are The Way To Go:
If you are planning to buy rugs for your kitchen, I would advise you go for natural-fiber rugs as they have an earthy texture to them which makes them the favorite of many interior designers. These are also more durable and obviously eco-friendly.

Let us explore a few types of natural rugs which you may use.

Jute Rugs:

The imperfect texture of jute rugs adds an earthy beauty to them. Jute rugs are mostly brownish in color though they can be dyed in a range of other colors to beautify their appearance.

Among the benefits of jute rugs is its softness. As jute comes from a plant's stalk and not its leaves, it has a super-soft feel to it, almost like wool. That is why it is great to have it in your kitchen.

However, the softness comes with its own set of disadvantages. You need to vacuum clean the rug regularly and make sure to quickly blot spills if you want your rug to last longer and keep looking good. The softness means these are less durable than other natural-fiber rugs. Thus it is a good idea to keep them in low or medium traffic areas.

You need to take good care of jute rugs. In case any liquid spills on it, dry it quickly with a cotton cloth which would absorb the stain before the jute material does so. Keep in mind that vegetable fibers are highly absorbent so you need to act fast whenever anything spills on the rug.

Dirt can accumulate very quickly within the jute fibers. It is recommended to vacuum both sides of the rug, as well as the floor on which it is placed in order to avoid dirt from accumulating and residing in the fibers. Also remember that you should not expose jute rugs too long to high humidity as humidity can cause it to deteriorate quickly. Best way to dry them is to place the rugs in the sun to dry naturally.

Even though this may seem like too much hard work, the payoff is quite good. The jute rugs can look lovely in your kitchen and they may give long service if proper, timely care is taken. They are a much better choice than artificial rugs that it is worth a little extra time and effort to maintain them in proper condition.

Sea Grass:
Another excellent natural fiber alternative is sea grass. It offers lovely texture for your rugs. As it is non-porous, it can be highly water-resistant. Sea grass rugs are usually bound with cotton or leather.

These rugs are stain-resistant and can last pretty long. They are a good eco-friendly choice as sea grass is fast growing and easy to harvest. Though these rugs are durable, you need to ensure you take good care of them and vacuum them regularly.

The big disadvantage of sea grass rugs is that it does not dye well with other colors, so you will have limited color choices while selecting them for your kitchen.


Hemp:
This is another popular choice. People have been using hemp fiber in the textile industry from hundreds of years. In the natural state, hemp is of dark or coppery brown color but can be dyed with different colors and woven into complex designs.

Hemp is very strong, durable and mildew resistant. The texture can be coarse initially but will usually soften with continued use. Over time some shreds may come out of it.

Kitchen remodeling is a big task which may need an expert in order to do it efficiently. Please check us out if you wish to make your kitchen look beautiful and eye-catching.