To read this section of my website, you might like to turn your phone on it’s side. 🙂
Welcome to my blog, All Things Decorating.
Here I will post things that I enjoying doing or talking about along with my latest projects. Please feel free to email me with any questions you have about what I post or what photos I have on my website. michelle@denovoconcepts.com
Menu –
- * Mood-boards
- * Decorating with plants
- * Symmetrical Balance
- * Rugs
- * Decorating by Grouping
- * Gift Certificates
- * Flooring
- * Dulux 2019 Colour Forecast
- * Flooring – Luxury Vinyl – Loose Lays.
- * Flooring – Vinyl Hybrids
One of my favourite things to do is create mood boards for clients or when I want some down time but still feel creative. They are endless in design and styles and such a fantastic tool to show people how to create a room or space. If you need help at your home or office feel free to email me and ask about my mood boards.
DECORATING WITH HOUSE PLANTS –
Back in vogue at the moment are indoor plants, they never left my house that’s for sure. I decorate with indoor plants and love them. The trick is finding the right plant for your room and the natural light that comes into that room. In fact if you want to decorate with plants, I suggest you only do it if you have sufficient natural lighting otherwise you could be forever out buying new plants and forever being disappointed. As you can see from my mood boards I even incorporate plants into those. Below is a list of the easiest plants to grow in well lit rooms. Now all this depends on the amount of water you give your plants as well. Number one rule, stick your finger in the plants soils before water, if its dry give it a small drink. If your plant, like the Peace Lilly is drooping it’s very thirsty, put it in the sink and give it a big drink and let the excess run down the sink.
I even like to cut foliage from my own plants in the back yard to put into vases to add colour. They last quite a while and are easily and cheaply replaced when they die off. Number one rule with decorating with plants….NEVER put a plant that is not in a water tight pot or saucer on your carpet or floating floor! Have fun decorating with plants everyone.
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE –
How to achieve balance and symmetry to your rooms, one of my favourite elements of design and decorating. Symmetrical Balance. How do you achieve this? Symmetrical balance is basically arranging your furniture to the side of a centre element in your room, like a mirror image. See photos below to understand. This is one of the main principals in design and decorating a room. It creates order. Love it.
RUGS –
Defining a space or large rooms is usually set out by placing rugs in those spaces, here you can define your lounge or dining space without adding walls. Below is a diagram to help you with your lounge room. The most important factor for me is safety! The last thing you want to do is create a trip hazard for you, your family or visitors to your home. The dining area is the most important. If using a rug under your dining table you need to follow certain rules with size and dimension. Your rug needs to be large enough both in width and length for when the chairs are out away from the table. Hooking legs of chairs on rug sides and ends is unsafe for the elderly and very annoying for guest. The first photo of a dining table and chairs is what you need to avoid, this size rug under the table and chairs serves no purpose at all except to be annoying by hooking legs of chairs on it. The second photo is perfect, the rug is large enough to allow movement of the chair legs comfortable while coming and going from the table. The last diagram says it all. Happy decorating.
Decorating by grouping your items and placement –
Its pretty much a given that taller items go to the back and you progress down in size while doing placement of your decorative items. Back to front… you can’t go wrong. Stand back, look at your arrangement, does it look balanced, does it look interesting, do you need to add more? Don’t forget colour while arranging, make your items pop from each other by mixing it up. Don’t be scared to add a little something different in to the mix.
Happy decorating
Gift Certificates –
Wow, Its been a very busy time for me leading up to Christmas! This is always the rush period for everyone and their builders to get their selections sorted. My Books are closed now until mid January I still have projects I am working on which will take me up to Christmas. Don’t forget my Gift Certificates, this is a gift that keeps giving really and a perfect Christmas gift!
Book early for 2019, if you need advice on building selections, paint selections or advice in general, I have a feeling I’m in for a very busy year next year!
Lets Talk Flooring –
For those that don’t know or haven’t read my “About Me” in the menu, I also work in flooring, 10 years all up and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Unless you are actually looking for flooring for your new home or renovations you would not give this subject too much thought. Well, let me tell you, this is a product that needs a lot of thought and discussion with the right flooring consultant. Is your home 2 story? Is your sub flooring timber? Are you building on a concrete slab? All very important questions for the right outcome of your chosen floor. The next questions come are, do you want a timber, laminate, vinyl or carpet flooring? There are so many flooring products on the market now it is mind bending for the consumer. Gone are the days you can just walk into a flooring store and see a possible hand full of selections. No….its huge, and you need to ask the right questions and give the right details so your flooring consultant will know which way to go. I personally take the approach that most don’t, and that’s only because I’m a decorator and see the outcome differently. Over the next few days I will outline the different types of flooring you can use for your sub floors. Keep watching! 🙂
Flooring 1 – Carpet
No matter what your sub floor, carpet and underlay will pretty much go over anything! It is the perfect sound proofing for second and 3rd story flooring in housing and high rise apartments. It’s also the most preferred flooring for bedrooms and home theatres also due to the sound proofing properties. Nothing is better than carpet for any build that is multi story. The properties of underlay will take up any sub floor imperfections. I have even seen and walked on carpet laid over the top of slate tiles, did it work, NO. Was it comfortable, yes, not too bad but I could tell it was a slate floor underfoot. Sometimes, you may need to take that slate up! Carpet can be laid over the top of ceramic and porcelain floor tiles with no issue at all. The photo’s below are of my renovation and my new carpet install over concrete. I chose to upgrade my underlay to the top grade, this will last me a very long time and support my new carpet with what I call “GUTS” for many years to come. I also recommend if installing new carpet on stairs you up grade to the top quality for stairs are they seem to get the most heavy footfall to any other area of the home. Your underlay is very important, NEVER skimp on it! Never lay carpet, or any other flooring, if you have moisture issues with your slab, get it stored before laying new flooring.
2019 Dulux Colour Forecast –
It’s refreshing to see colour that is uplifting and calming at the same time returning to our worlds! All of these colours were being used and very popular 24 years ago when I first started out in my business as a decorator and were used to produce some very colourful and interesting colour schemes. I don’t think people will go all out with colour again like we did back then, the use will be more controlled and may add that punch that colour can do to a room or space. But isn’t it exciting to hopefully see the GREYS disappear!
Below is the link to Dulux site with more information and colours
https://www.dulux.com.au/colour/colour-trends/2019/consumer-emag-2019
Flooring 2 – Luxury Vinyls – Loose Lay 4.5 mm Planks
There are many of the 4.5 mm planks on the market from many suppliers, but for me, it’s Karndean as the supplier and brand all the way. The backing system of Karndean Loose Lay is designed to take up more imperfections of the sub floor than most others. (photos of the backing below) The planks and …also comes in a tile, can be laid over ceramic tiles, other vinyls and timber sub floors. A thin layer of Ardit/concrete compound may need to be laid over tiles to even out the grout lines before installing the Loose Lay’s. Other 4.5 mm planks will need hardboard over timber floors before installing, but not Karndean due to the backing of these boards. Karndean is slightly more expensive than other brands but if you have a timber floor you won’t need the extra preparation to your sub floor with hardboard. The planks come in 2 lengths, a short plank at 1050 x 250mm, the long boards at 1500 x 250mm. These are popular for high rise complexes for noise reduction on the sub floors.
If you have a not so perfect concert slab, chipboard, tongue and groove or yellow tongue sub floor, Karndean Loose Lay is your best flooring to reduce your floor preparation and noise. Karndean planks are also warmer due to the backing/rubber.
The last pic is a mood board I made with Choices Flooring own brand of vinyl flooring Gernero, from Signature Floors. Also a 4.5 mm and also totally waterproof.
https://www.karndean.com/en-au/floors/easy-fit-ranges/karndean-looselay-longboard
Karndean backing
Vinyl – Hybrids
The Hybrids are new, and are picking up in interest from the consumer. They have their own acoustic underlay as their backing system, so no underlay needed with this flooring, which is around 6mm. Karndean have brought out their new Hybrid range with a locking system. It’s very good, clips and locks planks into position. All Hybrids need to be installed as like a floating floor, you will need to leave at least a 2mm expansion gap around the perimeter of every room. You either remove your current skirting, then lay floor, or in a new build keep skirts off, lay flooring and put skits on. If it’s a renovation and your skirting’s are old and not up to removing, a Scotia will be install after flooring is down to cover the gap. This is a total water proof flooring, but be warned if you need to replace a board, you will need to start from the outside wall and work in, just like a timber or laminate flooring. Benefits? Water proof, quiet and softer underfoot.
https://www.karndean.com/en-au/floors/easy-fit-ranges/korlok-by-karndean
Wow, I can’t believe how fast we went from Christmas 2018 to April 2019, it feels like just yesterday! I will start on my blog again very soon.