Your Home Is Your Symphony
|
"Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Although Dr. Sagan was commenting on the wonders to be found in the vastness of outer space, there are also incredible design possibilities just waiting to be discovered right in your own home. In fact, your home's overall design represents a symphony, and the individual design details are the musical notes you use to compose the melody and harmony for the symphony of your living space.
Your home should always bolster feelings of happiness, serenity, and comfort, and once you're aware of a few simple rules, composing a home symphony that supports positive emotions and encourages joyful living is easy.
Begin composing your symphony by choosing the color of your walls. All of your home's colors should harmonize, both inside and out. Once you've chosen your exterior colors, bring subtle shades of those same colors inside, using them as accents throughout your home. Harmonize your colors with ones you see in the natural world surrounding your house. Use colors that blend with the lighting from the natural environment and support a feeling of serenity and cheerfulness.
Next, add carefully-crafted lighting, which is an important factor in all residential design. Well-designed lighting is both a science and an art, and when used in conjunction with color, sets the emotional atmosphere for the home. Too little light in a room can cause people to feel depressed, while rooms that are too bright can cause uneasy feelings.
Like the color of your walls, your lighting choices should also harmonize with the natural light that surrounds your home. The amount of light should vary, just as it does in nature, to give rooms a more natural feel and to evoke a note of harmony and peace.
The next movement in your symphony involves the textures you choose to employ throughout your home. Studies have shown that emotionally pleasing patterns based on nature encourage feelings of happiness and contentment. Undulating patterns, combined with gentle swags, lend an upbeat, natural feeling to a room, while rooms with no patterns feel boring because people are accustomed to the multitude of patterns displayed by Mother Nature.
Many other design details in your home also come into play when creating your home symphony, such as sounds, furnishings, and furniture arrangement. But regardless of which movement of your symphony you're working on, always keep in mind that balance is the key. And just like the combined elements of a symphony, your home must have some sections that promote quiet and rest--remember, it's the vacant spaces between the notes that make the music.
If you look at decorating your home as if you were creating a symphony, in all of its complexity and harmony, you'll be able to make design decisions that are always in concert with your overall concept. If you continue to bear the complete work in mind, you'll choose design elements that resonate in harmony with each other, and your home will make joyful music for all who enter.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
For more information about Jeanette's "Joy to the Home" eNewsletter, see http://www.joytothehome.com/
For information on Design Psychology, visit http://www.designpsych.com/
|
|
|
Luxurious Whirlpool Baths Aren?t Just For The Rich And Famous
A Jacuzzi has been popular since the 40's. We stopped taking the evening bath and are now taki...(related: Home Improvement)
New-age Paint Thickening & Rheological Additives : Solvitex & Solvizen
For Paint Manufacturers worldwide, there has come a radical new development in the legion of Thickening Agents & Colloidal stabilizer for Aqueous Latex Paints. So far most of the companies producing aqueous Paint emulsions, the most preferred thickening agent was Hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC). The HEC based thixotropic additives is produced by some of the renowned multi-national companies such as Hercules, Akzo Nobel & Dow.Here we refer to a Biopolymer based on Polysacchride derived from controlled derivatisation process from plant origin. The product developed by Asian Trade Link Chemicals Division in India has already been a successful venture for replacement of HECs for many paint companies. The Product is known a...(related: Home Improvement)
Strapping A Ceiling
Prior to hanging sheetrock to ceiling joists it is important that strapping first be installed.Strapping helps prevent cracks from showing up later in your home's ceiling, as well as provides more surface area for securing the sheetrock to the ceiling.Strapping typically consists of 1"x 3" boards that are nailed perpendicular to the ceiling joists. Strapping can be purchased at any home improvement center as individual sticks or in bundles of 10, and comes in lengths from 8 to ...(related: Home Improvement)
Conventional Steam Saunas Vs. Infrared Saunas
The health benefits of steam saunas have been recognized for centuries, beginning with sweat lodges, traditional Finnish saunas, and other methods of heating the body and producing perspiration that cleanses the cells and pores. Typically, a heat source such as a wood, electric or gas sauna stove is used to produce the heat in a sauna. But in recent years, a technology known as far infrared has been used to replace the traditional steam sauna with infrared saunas, and some people feel that the result is superior.How Does A Far Infrared Sauna Work?Manufacturers say t...(related: Home Improvement)
Colors: Their Connotations And Perceived Meanings
Throughout the ages, colors have been used to evoke certain emotions, and an examination of the history of color offers fascinating insights into the human condition, as well as showing how different cultures have developed different attitudes about color. Here are a few examples of what various colors have come to represent over the years:RedRed has traditionally been associated with courage and love in Western culture, but in China, red is the color of happiness and good fortune. In ...(related: Home Improvement)
Top Ten Air Purifier Questions
1. Do I really need an air purifier in my home?It depends on several factors, including your own comfort level and what the indoor air quality is in your home. There are several factors to take into consideration, however.
Mommy, Mommy, Theres A Caterpillar On My Bed
Chenille has been used for bedspreads since Catherine Evans revived the craft in the 1890's. She applied raised tufts of yarn to cotton sheeting and these spreads were often referred to as chenille products. Chenille is the French word for caterpillar - the yarn looks like those fuzzy little creatures. Thick pile of yarn ends stuck out all around at right angles. Stamps were created into a pattern and the yarn was stuck on to fill in the pattern. Bedspreads from this craft were all the rage in the 20's. The demand was so high that new warehousing systems were developed to put out these products. This truly developed from a cottage industry in that haulers would deliver stamped sheets to the women of north Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. They would then pick up the spread, pay the women and take the spreads back to the warehouse. A f...(related: Home Improvement)
Bathroom Designs Idea - Can I Design My Own Bathroom?
A bathroom designs idea -- can I really design my own bathroom? Why not! Today, the bathroom is much more than just a room for grooming and a place to read. Bathrooms can be a good place for home exercise equipment and a good music system or TV, for example. What better way to unwind from the day than a soothing shower or warm soak in the tub with candles and relaxing music. So start a notebook. When you get a bathroom designs idea, wr...(related: Home Improvement)
Allow Me To Introduce You To The Fungus Family
What exactly is mold? There are over 100,000 different kinds of mold in the world so it is literally e...(related: Home Improvement)
Electric Radiant And Floor Coverings
If the decision of what type radiant heating system to use was left to the floor-coverings, it would choose electric radiant. Eliminating the risk of water/glycol leaks, standard floor-heights, simple retro-fits, almost unlimited choice of carpet padding, uniform heat flux, easier installations and superior floor or space temperature control are only a few of the advantages of electric radiant heat. This isn't to say that there aren't disadvantages of electric radiant, but then I'm a sparky not a plumber, so I'm here to espouse the benefits and desirable features of electric radiant heat and its loving relationship with any and all floor-coverings. Oh, wait a minute, how could I forget, electric systems cost a fraction what hot-w...(related: Home Improvement)
Removing Your Old Wood Double Hung Windows
Last week I told you how to measure your wood window openings to properly order your new vinyl replacement windows. This week I'm going to explain how to remove your...(related: Home Improvement)
The Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Shopping For A Mattress
Buying a new mattress is a daunting task that few relish. The range of prices, features, and stores can make your head spin. It doesn't have to be this difficult. Bearing a few things in mind while you try and find that perfect place to sleep can ease that big purchase tension.1. Don't limit your mattr...(related: Home Improvement)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved | Free Articles and Information | Home Improvement