Decorating Your Home with an Italian Motif

Your home is your dwelling place, and you should be doing everything within your power to make sure that it always makes you feel completely at ease. A wonderful way to make your home feel like it is comfortable and truly yours is by decorating it in a certain style. There are many themes and motifs that you can choose from when decorating your home, ranging from western to Asian-inspired and everything in between. One of the most aesthetically pleasing decorating approaches is the Italian style. Decorating your home with an Italian motif has a myriad of benefits and can make your house reminiscent of an Italian villa. It will allow you to live La Dolce Vita, or ‘the sweet life’ and have you feeling like the world is your oyster. The Italian style home has many attributes, from tastefully utilizing marble to hanging regal paintings; it is quite an incredible style and there are so many options available when decorating. There are many tips that can augment your Italian remodel of your home. A few of these tips are listed below:

Kitchen

Anyone who knows even a shred about Italian culture is aware how important food is to the Italian way of life. Pizza, pasta, meats, cheeses, and so many other delectable ingredients are a part of Italian cuisine. It can all be traced back to the old country, where Nonnas would make food in their rustic Italian kitchens. While traditionally, kitchens in Italy were not as elegant as modern Italian kitchens, you can decorate your kitchen with a mix of old-world and new-age Italian decorating. Beyond the obvious kitchen essentials such as a refrigerator, stove, oven, and microwave, you can try to add some Italian culinary tools, such as a pizza stone, garlic press, peppermill and others. Not only will these augment your kitchen’s aesthetic, they will also come in handy when cooking delicious Italian meals!    

Bedroom

Your bedroom is your chamber within your abode. While the rest of your house may be used for entertaining guests, hanging out with friends, or other activities, your bedroom is your intimate place. It is where you sleep, relax, watch television, and make yourself feel as comfy as possible. To truly enjoy La Dolce Vita, when decorating your bedroom in an Italian motif, there is much you need to do in order to create a peaceful ambiance. This will make you and your spouse feel like you are constantly in a palace! There is much you can add to your room, such as a marble bust, regal paintings, and suave furniture. You should also make your bed look and feel as inviting and Italian as the rest of your newly remodeled room. You can do this by investing in comfortable bedding, plush decorative pillows, and more.

Final Thoughts       

Your home is the place where you spend the majority of your time. Beyond the (hopefully) eight hours of sleep you are spending in your home, you always utilize your home as a place of comfort, relaxation and respite. Decorating your home is an important part of making it feel like it is truly your abode. While there are a myriad of ways to decorate your home, an Italian motif is by far one of the most aesthetically appealing. By decorating your home in an Italian fashion, you will be able to truly get the most out of your home. By decorating your kitchen with a mix of traditional and modern Italian style and your bedroom regally with Italian furniture and art you are sure to have the best and most beautiful house on the block!    

Choosing the Best Flooring for Your Home

Choosing the right sort of flooring is so important and can really give your home the right sort of look and feel. From lounges, to bedrooms, to kitchens and bathrooms; there are so many different choices of materials to place underfoot. So, let’s take a look at the benefits and downsides of the choices you have for your home.

Tiles

Tiled floors are ideal as a hard wearing, attractive option and can last for decades if laid well and if the style is timeless. The choice here is between ceramic and porcelain tiles. Tiles work well in anything from bathrooms, to kitchens and back hallways and are very functional as they are easy to clean and maintain. However, they do tend to be a little cold underfoot and this can mean that they are not so suitable for bedrooms or tv room and other areas where cosines are needed.

Carpets

The carpet is the best option where warmth is a necessity and is ideal for bedrooms, TV rooms and living room. Of course, there is a wide range of carpet styles on offer and carpets differ in their staining, acoustic, colours and maintenance properties. Dark carpets with a short pile are usually best for young families as they are easy to clean and hard to stain.

Stone

Stone offers a beautiful finish and can really be one of the most impressive of all materials in a home. Limestone and granite are commonly used in the home and are finished with either a rough, honed or polished finish and often sealed with an epoxy to ensure longevity.
Composite stone can provide an alternative to the real thing and is made of a mixture of natural stone and other organic items, all of which are stuck together with acrylic resins. This stone comes in a range of colours, finishes and with all sorts of additions included.

Hardwood floor

Hardwood flooring is very classy and gives your home and office a luxurious charm. The hardwood floor has really come back into fashion of late and because of this is very expensive. People love the idea of an old oak floor in the home, though this has increased the price. Recycled options are often more expensive due to their strength and also their character. Modern wooden floor is cut at a younger age and the trees do not grow for as long and therefore aren’t of the same high quality as the hardwood of old. However, taking care of a hardwood floor with a belt sander and some materials does ensure the life is lengthened substantially.

Cork

Cork may seem a little unfashionable; however for families with young children it can be very practical. Cork is very soft on knees and hands and also warm underfoot. It’s also easy to keep clean and also absorbs noise. There is also a choice of colours and styles and all are finished with polyurethane, like most other forms of timber floors.

Timber Laminate

This is a lower costing option to timber flooring and can often be extremely hard wearing and high in quality. It’s also very easy to clean and often comes with decades of a warranty, while is a much lower price than real timber.

Yellow Tongue Flooring

Chipboard has a bad name but can in fact leave a good finish and look quite attractive. If sanded, stained and coated it can work well as a finished floor and also lasts the test of time once it is treated well and maintained. It’s important that a black tint is added to the coating to ensure longevity.