Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies

Patio furniture is often the 'afterthought' in a patio design. Ideally, however, your design plans should incorporate basic ideas about patio furniture. A well-coordinated look is possible only if the patio itself, the patio awning or canopy, and the patio furniture complement one another.

You have a diverse range of choices available. One of the most popular is cast aluminum patio furniture. As long as you steer clear of tubular framing, these furniture pieces are extremely functional on a patio. In spite of being fairly lightweight and easy to move about, solid cast aluminum chairs are sturdy enough to withstand the wind and weather to a large extent.

In contrast to wrought iron sets, cast aluminum patio furniture won't rust. It is preferable to buy furniture with welded joints. If bolts are used, they should be stainless steel or aluminum. A solidly crafted aluminum chair, that is powder coated, will withstand years of weather extremes, and family fun.

Just make sure that you follow the maintenance instructions to the letter, or you may find that you have voided your warranty! Usually all your aluminum patio furniture asks for, is to be spruced up with a bit of water, to which a gentle detergent has been added. This if often followed by a light coating of car wax as a sealant.

The Telescope Sling Collection is an example of aluminum patio furniture, with styles to suit any patio design.

Wood patio furniture is a popular choice, because of the warm atmosphere it creates. Western Red Cedar is frequently used, because of its well-known weatherproof properties. As the wood isn't prone to warping or cracking, it is highly usable outdoors.

Cedar is oil-rich, an important factor as far as wood preservation is concerned. It also has an inbuilt insect repellant! A Cedar set has a richness, which can be further enhanced with your choice of fabric for the patio furniture cushions.

Another category you may consider, is plastic and resin patio furniture, such as the Kettler Outdoor Furniture range. A wide variety of chairs, chaise lounge designs, and tables are available. Resin patio furniture is superbly suitable for outdoor use, because of its weather-resistant characteristics.

Resin has the ability to go with the flow, so to speak. It expands and contracts with changing weather conditions, and doesn't fade. The Kettler range of patio furniture use a double-injection molding process, which adds to its quality and explains why these pieces have such a long life.

If your patio design guides you to choose a Sunbrella Awning, you have the perfect partner for your patio furniture, as discussed at Awnings-and-Blinds.com. Sunbrella fabrics are well-tested for outdoor use. Creating a perfectly coordinated look is painless, with such a classy range to choose from.

Your patio furniture cushions, decked in Sunbrella's fashionable fabrics, will be unlikely to fade or stain. Your patio is there to add to your quality of life, and to facilitate effortless entertaining. Every aspect of it should therefore be easy to maintain. By choosing Sunbrella fabrics, you choose carefree patio living.

Your extra living 'room', has to be comfortable and relaxing. Your choice of patio furniture is important enough to justify careful deliberation!

Traditional Interior Design

Traditional interior design encompasses a great variety of elements in a home. From the ceilings to the floor; including the trim, the wall finishes–all the way to the window treatments and the furniture. The careful designer must focus attention on each of these items in order to create the ideal design. Lighting, wall treatments, flooring, and furniture are all fundamental steps in creating a smooth design. Each of these elements should tie in carefully with the last, creating an interchanging staircase of design. Theme, color, texture, and placement are the tools with which you are to design this delicate stairway.

Themes of traditional interior design vary from traditional to modernistic, from eclectic to yes–even retro. The decision of theme should (in my opinion) be left entirely up to the individual homeowner or business owner. Each person has a message they would like to convey to the world through their space. It is your job, as the designer, to listen to their wants and needs and to develop a solution that suits them perfectly. If the client is having difficulty in assessing his or her design needs, provide them catalogs or magazines to browse through. Traditional interior design is a concept that is simple and everyone should be able to understand. After browsing through magazines and determining what appeals to them visually, it would be a good idea to ask them about their lifestyle needs. Most clients with children will definitely need to keep the cost modest of their furniture. If the person is active socially and plans on entertaining, you will want to be sure to organize any recreational spaces in a way that is ideal for that type of entertaining.

Once the basic theme has been decided upon, the next major set of choices will be what colors to base those themes on. I always advise clients that it is better to fit the color with the space then the person in this situation. Does that sound unfair? Many clients will associate their first color selection with their favorite color. A favorite color and wall paint sometimes don’t mix very well. Traditional interior design motivates the color choices more towards colors that match the room’s needs. This is so because very often you will find that even if a client is less then enthusiastic about the color selection, after the room has been painted and they have had the chance to see it, they change their minds quickly. Try to offer this type of solution to your client in an encouraging, helpful way rather then with a know-it-all attitude. If they are still not very enthusiastic, try to show them pictures of similar colors in catalogs to give them a better feel of how it will look. Catalogs and magazines are an endless resource for things like this because it offers people a little insight into how designs play out.

All right, you have a theme in mind and a palette of colors to work from. What’s next in traditional interior design? It honestly depends on the magnitude and scope of the project. Choose your wall treatments and get those out of the way if you intend on making any flooring changes. Don’t become hasty and have new flooring installed or the existing flooring refurnished only to paint over the top of it while applying your wall treatment. Once the walls have been complete and allowed time to properly dry, then is the time to make flooring changes.

Flooring! Traditional interior design offers so many choices for all types of flooring; it is best to base this choice upon the needs and lifestyle of your clients. If they have children, suggest that easily washable, flat surfaced flooring is used with the compliment of a large rug in any recreational rooms. These rooms will be the rooms that are mostly used the most often and are danger areas for anyone with kids or children. Explain to them that the rug is easily replaced but carpeting is not!!!

When the ‘canvas’ is ready (the bare bones of the room), it is time for you to treat any windows before you begin moving furniture in and things get crowded. For small rooms, open them up by adding more light using sheer window coverings. The same idea with dark rooms that need a little extra light. Make ‘short’ rooms tall using window-to-floor curtains or draperies in contrast to short furniture. Traditional interior design includes MANY alternatives to window covering that will fit any home. Keep in mind while doing this the activity on the outside of the window as much as you to the appearance on the inside of it. If it is a very open window and the setting of the home does not offer much privacy, they will probably want privacy window coverings. After your windows are complete, hang any wall accessories before proceeding to the next step.

Time to bring in the furniture! A few key rules to remember while positioning furniture in traditional interior design: first, create lines and continuity. Second, be sure to create adequate walking space. Third, don’t over clutter. And fourth, be creative.

Once your furniture is in place and has been ‘tested’, time to accessorize. Traditional interior design normally does this by placing a few instrumental accessories into place. Simplicity is elegant and too much accessories can lead to an uncomfortable room. Try to purchase well-defined items that can even make great conversational pieces. If the homeowners are hands-on and involved, get them to add personal touches by creating an accessory themselves.

Traditional interior design is a catch-all that incorporates the workability and usability with the beauty of a room. Achieve the perfect balance by properly combining these items and you will be successful!

Interior Design for Children

Interior design for children is one of the most fun, delightful aspects of the business if you ask me. It is so fun because children are limitless as far as their creativity and imaginations are concerned. Whenever planning interior design for children, be sure to involve the children in the planning and-if you feel very brave, the implementation of your designs.

A good beginning point or theme for interior design for children is to start with any favorite activity or toy or even character of the child’s interest. Remember that many items of interest to children are topics that will change with time so try to take advantage of these interests and favorites with accessories and changes that will be easy to replace in the future as their interests and needs change. If a child has an interest or a particular activity that they are very enthused about and they have a special request that would make the design very special to them, go for it as long as the parents are as enthusiastic as the child is. Also, forewarn them of any possible headaches they might experience changing it in the future when it comes time to redesign the space in order to accommodate the child’s changing needs.

When choosing your color plan or schemes remember that interior design for children offers you unique opportunities to use bold or bright colors that would usually not be ideal for use in adult surroundings. Along the same lines, certain areas of the room would be more ergonomic to use as focal points then would in an adult’s atmosphere. For example, a chalkboard or toy box might capture a child’s attention more so then would a table or seating arrangement.

Another aspect of design that will vary from adult tastes when planning interior design for children would be the accessories that will be used to highlight and accentuate key features. Toys and collectibles make wonderful objects to use in this application. However, many times toys that are placed on display or for decoration are toys that the child would enjoy much more by being able to play with it rather then it actually being on display. You can solve this dilemma by either using old, unused toys that no longer captivate the child’s interests or even by purchasing duplicates and allowing them to actually use one version of the toy and letting them know that the others are ‘for looking only’. Also, keep in mind that collectibles often times are of less significance to smaller children then are to adults so make sure that any item placed in a child’s room is not of significant fiscal or sentimental value just in case!

Tying in interior design for children can be accomplished easily by purchasing one of millions of available bed treatments that is complimentary to the designs and themes used in the creation of the room layout as well as fitting in well with the accessories chosen. Many bed treatment packages come prepackaged with matching detailed sheets, a comforter, dust ruffle, and window coverings. These items can bring a room together in the greatest of all fashions and are an option in interior design for children that are obtainable by anyone looking to make a change.

Always remember when planning interior design for children that a child changes attitudes, opinions, and behaviors around every three years. Permanent changes of any type are a big no-no and practical, cost effective ones are ideal. A good furniture tip to remember when designing for kids is to buy reasonably priced, sound furniture that doesn’t break the bank. Kids are even harder on furniture then they are on clothes! And most importantly to take into consideration when working with interior design for children–of course, HAVE FUN!!!