Top 8 Things you can put on your Fireplace

If you are wondering about the best way to bring style and class to the fireplace in your home then here are some ideas for making it really stand out and become the focal point of your room.

1) Flowers - use a large vase to have a big flower display on the top of your fireplace. The eye will automatically be drawn towards it, particularly if you use large blooms in bright colours. If you want a more suble approach choose colours that match your room to make them blend in more but still have an impact. If you don't want to buy fresh flowers every week then you can use dried or silk, but make sure you keep them looking clean and be aware that they won't be so eye catching as the real thing.

2) Photographs - if you put family photographs on your fireplace it draws attention to the relationships in your house. The fireplace is usually the focal point of the room, so by putting framed photographs on top of it, it will really help you realise who is important to you in your life.

3) Candles - these are great for bringing out the romance in anyone. If you use subtle lighting elsewhere in the room and light candles on the fireplace it makes for a lovely cosy atmosphere and adds romance to every situation.

4) Ornaments - if you use items that you have picked up at special times in your life, like when you have been travelling or presents for special anniversaries, then looking at your fireplace will always bring you happy memories from the important times you have had.

5) Items made by your children- children often make little pots, candle holders or ornaments out of clay when they are at school. These are a great way to decorate your fireplace, as they are a great talking point when guests visit and show your children that you really value them by displaying their work.

6) Use seasonal decorations - in the autumn you can have a display of pine cones and fruits, the winter you can use holly and ivy, or spray leaves white to look like snow, the spring you can put spring bulbs in pots and have a display of mini daffodils or crocuses, and the summer could allow you to have a beach scene with shells and wooden logs or simply beautiful flowers or roses.

7) A moneybox - this isn't necessarily a pretty item, but it is a great place to put all those odd coins you find when you are cleaning your house. You can save up and give the money to your favourite charity, and they will benefit when you may not have given them anything otherwise.

8) A picture or mirror - a lot of people would hang these above the fireplace, but they can be just as effective propped up on the mantle piece above the fire.

Depending on the piece of art or mirror that you choose, you can change the whole atmosphere of the room. A mirror can make the room look bigger, but equally can make it feel cramped if it is reflecting a lot of heavy furniture or clutter. A picture can make the room feel brighter or darker depending on its subject so choose carefully so you produce the kind of mood you want for your room.

Tanner C. is a writer for HowDoIBe.com. If you are interested in becoming an interior designer, take a look at this site: http://www.howdoibe.com/how-to-become-an-interior-designer/

May I also suggest a beautiful new fireplace mantel ?

Top YouTube Videos on Decorating Your Fireplace

Fireplaces are well known for the comfort, warmth, and relaxation that they bring to a home. They serve as the center around which a family can gather, a common space aside from the ever-present television. Fireplaces can also double as display spaces: mantels are commonly home to pictures of loved ones and often serve as canvases for holiday decorations. Here are a few YouTube videos that show some ways to get creative with fireplace decoration.

1. How to Decorate a Fireplace Mantel for Fall

With summer winding down and fall just around the corner, the time for a change in decoration is coming. This video contains some helpful tips on decorating the fireplace for autumn.

• Use natural elements that give the feeling of the fall season: pumpkins, gourds, warm colors, and berries.
• Use candles for extra color and added ambience.
• Antique books create visual interest, an aged feel, and a nice aesthetic. They can also be used to add height.

There are other videos to keep your fireplace looking great year-round: winter, spring, and summer.

2. How to Decorate an Unused Fireplace

A lot of homes have fireplaces, but not everyone makes full use of them. If you don’t regularly hold fires, you can still make your fireplace a focal point:

• Use your empty fireplace as a display case.
• Use wood, river rocks, and dried flowers for a natural, rustic look.
• Use candles and a mirror to mimic the ambience of a fireplace fire.
• Fireplaces work as a great frame for plants, boxes, and books.

3. Decorate Your Mantel

This video has some general tips for decorating mantels, particularly the best ways to use a mirror as part of an attractive display.

• Make sure that the mirror isn’t reflecting anything unsightly or distracting.
• Add other elements to balance the display.
• Use plants to bridge the gaps between objects.

With these techniques, you can make your fireplace a unique and attractive focal point and comfortable gathering space in your home, even when a fire isn’t burning.

Author Bio:

YTD is a producer of free software that allows you to convert videos into the format that works best for you. So if you are trying to download vacation videos to your iphone, ipad, or other video devices, YTD’s software can take the headache out of video formatting.  

Ideas for Renovating & Remodeling Your Home

When it comes to renovating or remodeling any place in your home, there are a million different things you can do. Of course, what you can actually do depends entirely on your budget and your imagination- not to mention your skills and the amount of free time you have to dedicate to renovating and remodeling the home. Sometimes, all you need is a good idea and some dedication, and your home will be remodeled and renovated in ways that may have never been imaginable before. In case you have a brain drain when it comes to renovation and remodeling ideas, here are some different things you can do in all the major rooms of the house:

Renovating and remodeling the living room
The living room is a great place for a renovation or remodel because it is the primary room that people see when visiting the house, and it is the prime spot when hosting any guests of any kind. Also, the living room tends to be the biggest room in the house, and thus has the most possibilities for renovation and remodeling per square foot. The living room also tends to have the most furniture in it, when compared to other rooms in the house, which adds just that many more renovation and remodeling possibilities.

1. Change the carpet- this can be costly, but can do wonders in the room.
2. Rearrange the furniture- a simple switch-around can do a lot to change the feel of a room.
3. Rugs- a new rug can really liven up a room, you may be surprised by the result.

Renovating and remodeling the bathroom
The bathroom may be one of the smallest rooms, but it is also one in which you may have a lot of guests- and is therefore a great place to renovate and remodel. The space may be limited, but the possibilities are not nearly as limited as you may think- there are all kinds of things that can be done to make a bathroom sparkle.

1. Cabinets- changing up the cabinets can make a bathroom look brand new.
2. Toilets and tubs- getting a new toilet or tub can change the whole feel of a bathroom, and will really make it sparkle like new.

Renovating and remodeling the bedroom
The bedroom is the most private area of the home, and the goal of a bedroom design should be to make you feel comfortable and at ease as much as possible.

1. Cleaning up the closet- The closet tends to be the most cluttered part of the room, and maybe even the most cluttered part of the house.
2. New dressers- a shiny, new dresser can really liven up a room and breath fresh air into it.
3. The walls- Putting up a nice piece of artwork or something on the walls can add a whole different level of peacefulness to a bedroom.

Alexis is an interior design maven. She writes for a variety of sites and loves looking at preferred builder floor plans.

Keep The Dirt In The Garden And Out Of The Home

No homeowner wants dirt, dust, mud, leaves and other debris to be carried inside their home after a day out in the garden. Luckily, there is one item that can prevent just about all of that - a simple floor mat. One excellent way in order to achieve this is with the use of a dirt trapper runner strategically placed in areas where you will be walking before you go in the house. There are actually many different brands of doormats out there that can effectively do this job for you. Most dirt trapper runners are made out of 100% cotton pile. They are machine washable, highly absorbent, dries up pretty fast and, perhaps the most important feature of all is that, they are highly capable of removing stubborn dirt, dust and moisture. Most mat variants also have a non-skid, very flexible PVC underside which makes the

Maintaining them is pretty easy and perfect to be used as an entry mat to be placed along your main front door, porch, patio, changing room, bathroom, conservatories, and office. There are plenty of new doormat designs readily available online. They will help prolong the life of your flooring, regardless of what kind it is, and are extremely hard wearing. A true must is the non-skid underside since safety is most definitely your number one concern.

However, an also equally important factor of the runner is that if it can be machine washed or not. You may have a difficult time keeping the mat clean unless it is machine washable. Dirt trapper runners are great for all areas in your abode; however, they are most ideal as entrance mats and excellent to be used in utility rooms, kitchens, and caravans.

It is really amazing the quantity of extra dust and dirt particles that you can carry into your house whenever you avoid wiping your shoes after spending some time in your garden. With this in mind, you can just picture how filthy your runner can get, so it would surely be great if what you have is a machine washable mat.

Make it certain that your dirt trapper runner or doormat is more than capable of accomplishing its job. A lot of different options as well as sizes are readily accessible at your local home improvement stores. In case you are searching for something bigger then a slew of machine washable dirt trapper runners or mats can be seen online in an array of designs and colors.

So, if you want to prevent dirt, dust and other unwanted debris from entering your home, then start using dirt trapper runners or doormats now!

Bio - Ruth Rogers is an avid gardener and also a bit of a house cleaning fanatic as well. She recommends having dirt trapper runners at all entrances to your home.

How to Decorate Your Fireplace For The Season

Just because you only turn your fireplace on during the winter months, does not mean that is the only time people pay attention to it. A fireplace is a major part of whichever room it is in. It can make or break a room. Fireplaces are now seen as a luxury rather than being built into every house. Fireplaces are great to have in a room because of the number of things you can do with them. They are a decorator’s heaven. Here are some great ways to decorate your fireplace this summer.

Lets summer-ize that fireplace!

During the summer why not add a little pizzaz to your fireplace. It’s all about using the entire fireplace, and not just the mantle. The fireplace isn’t going to be turned on during the summer, so make use of the inside of the fireplace as well as the mantle. Why not place a sculpture or two inside. Is there a sculpture or knick knack taking up space on one of your end tables? Why not replace it with a lamp or your favorite book and make better use of that sculpture. After all, the fireplace is one of the first places in a room to be noticed, it should be the first place you put your key decorations.

Want to add some color to your room this summer? Do so by using your fireplace. Visit your local florist and pick up a colorful, bright and shining bouquet of flowers, and this time instead of placing them just on your kitchen table, split up the bouquet. Put half on your kitchen or living room table and place the others in a matching vase in your fireplace. Surround it with other greenery or decorations and it will give you that extra pop you’ve been looking for.

Don’t want to change the meaning or original look of your fireplace by adding flowers or decorations? Keep the original look of your fireplace by adding candles rather than running it this summer. Adding different colored candles can add dimension and if you feel so inclined you can light them and give your room that cozy atmosphere it possesses in the winter months.

The options are endless. Pick your favorite decorating idea and go to town. It’s time to summer-ize that fireplace.