Tag Archives: living

How to Decorate Your Rooms in Tartan Plaids for the Holidays

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Tartan plaids are a perennial favorite when it comes to decorating for Christmas and the New Years and they always will be. That is because the decorations can stay in place for quite a few months into the winter and Spring to continue to give the home a cozy look.

One nice touch for Christmas is to add plaid ornaments to your tree. Canadian Tire makes a very nice black, green red and white set of points and balls that are available on line. Many designer ribbon stores also carry gorgeous tartan ribbon that you can use for decorating trees. Wired ribbon looks great tied on a bow and fastened to a Christmas tree branch.

You can also get gorgeous tartan plaid wallpaper that is designed by Vivienne Westwood. They are sold by Cole and Son and come in Red/Brown, Beige, Gray, Red/White and Blue/Brown.

Throw cushions in plaid also perk up the room and make it look more like it is in the spirit of the season. Snoa Rutan is a company that makes throw cushions in red plaid that can be buttoned over your existing pillows and then unbuttoned when you do not want your place to look so Christmas-like anymore.

A single tartan throw rug and a few tartan blankets in your living room can make the place much cozier. Of course nothing says tartan like a big beautiful armchair and footstool in the center of the room. Ralph Lauren makes great footstools. The most popular tartan combos for tartan furniture lately tend to be caramel, chocolate and pea green. The look is very fifties and very Norman Rockwell but the plaids are unobtrusive enough that they are a lovely addition to a room all year long.

You might not have ever thought of dressing up your kitchen in tartan but you can now buy tartan dishtowels, utensils with plastic tartan patterns and serving trays with tartan designs on them. Plaid placemats and tartan napkins also give a nice touch of Scottish Christmas to a holiday table.

Nowadays you can even get candles that have a tartan design on them. For a very Scottish looking spread consider getting a gelatin print of your favorite plaid and have it served as the icing on cake.

How to Decorate a Living Room in the Asian Way

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The Asian way of decorating can create a real sense of serenity in the home. It also works well in smaller spaces, like condo rooms because it is a style that does away with clutter.

Simplicity is at the heart of this style. Keep your lampshades as paper ones. You can get white ones or red ones which are the most authentic. However many China town stores have them in an attractive yellow color that can make quite a style statement. Places like Ikea also have paper hanging or free standing lanterns that add a real sense of atmosphere to a place. Bamboo place mats are also appropriate. Straw mats look very elegant in any room. You can use one to define the seating area of any room.

Oriental parasols can also make very elegant lampshades. You simply saw them to the right length and use them to cover the fixtures. This is a good way of covering over ugly pot hole lighting.

Another classic type of room divider is called a Shoji room divider and using one in a room can really give a room an Eastern flair. These are wood with bamboo paper.

Simplicity and harmony are also at the heart of the window blinds used in this culture. Opt for simple bamboo blinds to give your home a sense of airiness. Bamboo room dividers can also be used to separate one area from another.

To really give your home that Asian look try using an Asia Scroll painting. Hanging a large Asian scroll on your wall gives it a lovely counter point.

You can also make a big Buddha or a collection of Buddha figures the focus of your room. Deerknocker fountains and koi ponds, (fake or real) also make a beautiful addition to any décor.

Another Asian touch is to hang a pair of crossed swords on the wall. This is an ancient placement to protect against evil. Make sure the swords are not that sharp and hung securely on the wall.

Most Asian homes also have an aquarium or fountain of some kind in the room. These can be large or small. A poster of fish, mountains or peonies or a similar type of image printed on your linens can also help.

At tabletop Zen garden is the kind of decoration that also gives your room that Asian Flare. This is just a patch of sand with pebbles in it and a rake. You then use the rake to make patterns in the sand.