Tag Archives: bedroom

Windows are not only used to regulate the indoor temperature, let in natural sunlight and block outdoor noises from coming inside. They can also be used to create a multitude of decorative designs. The trick is knowing how to use them to their best advantage.

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The window itself can be aesthetically pleasing, through its shape (circle, half-moon, quarter-moon, octagon, oval), its material (wood, PVC, metal), its glass (frosted, stained) and its coverings (curtains, textiles, blinds, sheer fabrics, shutters).

The French door fits into an interior wall. It provides more light to a room or adds a beautiful element to the decor, acting as an interior window. It can also slide into an exterior wall, which we, Canadians, call the patio-door.[……]

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The title might surprise you, but it’s the truth. Just a touch of black can make any spring colour, like yellow and green, pop in a room thanks to the magic of contrast. See how.

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Even a hint of black can improve the look of any room by providing more depth to the dominating colour. Orange, yellow and pink are all the more vivid when paired with black.

Others will say, on the contrary, that a touch of black will tone down any overbearing colour. It helps to soothe plenty of bold colours that can be irritating over time. It’s a fact. Black will mellow down any colour proclaiming to be overpowering.

This trace of black can be a trim molding halfway up the wall or a crown molding, a door, an entire staircase or parts of it, the woodwork, a curtain, the upholstery fabric, the ceiling beams, the den, a lampshade, a wrought-iron structure, a strip of wallpaper or a screen.[……]

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We’re not trying to scare you or turn you into an environmental fanatic. Although many of the following recommendations are based on scientific evidence, others are just assumptions. The assumptions are serious, but they’re based on probabilities. The thing to keep in mind is to do your best according to your budget.

Children are in contact with their bedroom floor quite often, so the choice of floor covering is crucial. It’s best not to use vinyl-based covering because it contains PVC, an irritant that can cause allergies. It’s may also cause cancer. If you really want to use it, make sure you ventilate your children’s room as often as possible.

A haven for mites, traditional carpeting is to be avoided. If not, choose carpets with natural fibres. Wool is known for its resistance and durability, two essential qualities given how rough children can be.

Cork is the almost perfect covering. It prevents noise from the bedroom from spreading to the ground floor and doesn’t contain any toxic substances. Natural latex is used as a glue. Some leave it unchanged, while others apply a coat of paint or a biological varnish. [……]

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Most people decorate their child’s bedroom in one of two ways. Either they do something fancy to show people how much they love their children, or they focus on the child’s development. We chose to focus on the second one for this article.

From an educational standpoint, decorating a child’s room is not an expense, it’s an investment. It must stimulate the development of intelligence and imagination in order to make the child resourceful and curious, which cannot be accomplished with an endless pile of toys. Keep in mind the fact that practical doesn’t mean rejecting esthetics. Quite the contrary actually.[……]

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We see it as outdated, obsolete, even tacky at times and yet each time it is reborn to become even fresher and richer. Ceramic never ceases to amaze us. It’s the phoenix of decorative materials.

We were originally seduced by the practical side of ceramic: shock resistant, watertight, not affected by changes in temperature, easy to wash, perfectly hygienic. It was the ideal material for the kitchen (floor and work space), the bathroom (floor and walls) and the vestibule (floor).

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Years have passed and designers have recognized the potential of ceramic in terms of aesthetics. They have embraced it enthusiastically. The days when ceramic was associated with being poor are long gone. Today, ceramic offers almost infinite possibilities when it comes to decorating.

Ceramic imitates natural stones, wood, marble and concrete. Sometimes the designs are quite surprising, such as snakeskin. This explains its astonishing ability to make a floor come alive. And even make it sophisticated. Ceramic comes in so many colours, textures and motifs that you have an abundance of choice.[……]

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Patio is a Spanish word that means inner courtyard. Anyone who travels in the Caribbean, Spain or South America has already encountered these outdoor spaces, often covered, which run the length of house or direct people to the centre of the property.

In Quebec, patio means most outdoor structures: large gallery, big balcony, deck. In general, a patio is on the ground while a deck is raised above the ground.

To get a taste of the great outdoors, the patio is a great choice if you have a small budget or if the space is too narrow. Sometimes it’s just a simple set of steps or a staircase leading to the yard. You can place plants, flowers and decorative pots there.

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The great thing about patios is that you can set them up any way you want, thus the importance of determining its use before you start the work. Do you extend it to the bedroom so you can have your morning coffee or a candlelit breakfast? Do you extend it to the living room for the pleasure of a cocktail in the fresh air? Do you extend it to the kitchen to benefit from outdoor meals or to organize receptions?  [……]

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A red purple, a blue purple, a slightly purple sunset, the purple of the mountains on the horizon, the purple sheen caused by intense cold: all of these examples evoke something dark and cold. But is there any other colour in decoration that is richer and more sumptuous than purple?

A mixture of blue and red, purple is the ultimate luxury colour. A room with an omnipresent purple adds splendour to a room, making it brighter. Crimson is its only rival in terms of royalty.

Have you ever seen a padded purple wall or furniture? It’s luxurious, imposing, almost royal. In a bedroom with a four-poster bed and chandeliers, any purple fabric is even better.

Combined with black, purple provides an unsuspected wealth, as long as a river of natural light can enter the room. If not, multiple recessed floodlights provide minimum lighting to avoid a dark and heavy atmosphere.[……]

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