<2010 January

Childproofing with Style (Part 2)

Author: carla_guillermo  /  Category: Accessories, Furniture, Interiors

appliance lock

The previous article already mentioned about the reasons for childproofing the house and the several tips on making your doors safe for your little one. To continue the discussion, some almost unnoticeable options for child safety are your appliances. To make sure that your child won’t have any access on the refrigerator door or oven, you can purchase locks that can be placed considerably high for them not to reach it. These locks could match up your appliances with style and can be customized. It would automatically lock when the appliance switch is turned on.

wire guard

For your appliance cords, securely wrap it on a nail or tie in knots so that it would not tempt your child to bite or lick it. Though you have another option on having a child fence to limit his movement, you would not like your child to be restricted on learning his environment. These little changes would make you have your peace of mind.

Childproofing with Style (Part 1)

Author: carla_guillermo  /  Category: Accessories, Furniture, Interiors

Safety is a main concern when you have a baby. You do not want to make your little bundle of joy to have full of tears because of an injury or even a small bruise. In the market, you have lot of options to make your home safe with devices that are needed to be installed. But the real question is can you do it beautifully? This article would help you do it with style.

cabinet lock

First, the plastic locks for the cabinet doors that are always seem to be stuck. A good alternative would be small, hidden plastic locks that can be placed inside the door. You just need a little down push to get it open. It would be amazing to reveal this secret someday with your child.

doorknob lock

Next would be for the doors around the house. For the knobs, you may opt for the small round piece of plastic to be placed on it that blends to the color of your door. Same thing goes with the plastics that can be placed on the door edges to prevent drastic slamming of the doors that could possibly smash your child little fingers. Purchase them in colors that could match up your house’s theme.

Circular Kitchen

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Architecture, Furniture, Interiors, Kitchen & Dining Room

Circular Kitchen

Space saving cannot be cooler than this. Everything is just packed away after you’re done as easy as one swivel!
The inner core rotates 180 degrees and is equipped with all the conveniences of a conventional kitchen, including a stainless steel sink with chrome single lever mixer, a waste bin and drawers. The upper circular shelf rotates 360 degrees for the crockery, glasses, etc. It has its own lighting inside, electrical sockets, electronics, water and waste disposal.
By utilising the volume of the circular kitchen fully, it has been possible to offer a storage capacity equivalent to that of a large conventional kitchen. “It contains the equivalent of 12 cupboards from a conventional kitchen”, says designer Alfred Averbeck.
You can also specify the Circular Kitchen with all the appliances necessary – refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, fully integrated coffee machine, ceramic cook top with 2 or 4 cook zones, a built-in microwave/oven-combination and a Range hood.
With all this said, I can’t think of any reason why this wouldn’t be ideal for a small space. Can you? If you live alone in a small space, maybe you should consider getting one!

Living Room in Black and White

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Interiors, Living Room

Living Room in Black and White
Nice and clean. Very modern and everything blends in. The bird on top of the white cabinet is a nice touch of softness in the room. This room looks like it was specifically designed for a bachelor. Very modern and contemporary.
I have an issue with this though. If one has a living room as this, it would be so cold and unwelcoming. Everything just looks too hard and the bird just wasn’t enough to soften it enough. Now, that’s just my opinion. Lighting up those candles could very well ruin the color scheme in the room even. It just looks too picturesque to have to be there to actually be used. I just don’t see my living room like this. It seems to be missing life and just plain boring. This room could use some soft texture, if not color.
All in all, it looks nice. My only concern is its real functionality.

Walk-in Closet

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Architecture, Furniture, Interiors

Walk-in Closet

How many of us are lucky enough to have a walk-in closet? Nowadays, it’s part of a woman’s necessity. Having enough space for all our clothes, casual and formal, enough space for our shoes and bags. It’s not just about the space for our girly thing but also, it has to be well lighted, comfortable and has a tall mirror. Admit it, how long does it take you to decide on what to wear every time you go out? It takes me 2 hours to get done. It’s quite normal for women so it is essential that we have everything we need in our walk-in closet. One thing I love about it is that I get to sit down, just look around and I could already see everything. Well, I still have to get up and try on a few before I decide on what to wear but at least when I have a hard time deciding, I can comfortably sit down and contemplate. Oh, and a mannequin to put my clothes on maybe a night or days before a special occasion is also very helpful.
So, have yours yet? If you don’t, you better get one!

Home Theatre Room

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Accessories, Architecture, Art, Interiors

Home Theatre Room

My family and I loves watching movies. When we watch, we don’t get just any regular seats. We watch on lazy boys. It has always been our dream to have our own theatre room in our house. The privacy plus we get simply the best seats for the whole family. I was looking around the web for home theatre systems and I found someone who actually designs a home theatre room! Amazing, isn’t it? Their name is Smooth Audio. They’ve got every detail of the room to make it a real theatre experience. Some of their service include audio & video, lighting control, and even climate control! And, as you can see above, they do it in style! It looks really elegant. Wood that look like dark mahogany, the embroidered wall, which, I suppose lessens the echoes, the speakers installed so tastefully on the pillars, even the projector on the ceiling has its own wooden house! The red carpet made it look so regal. And of course, the lazy boys! I could just dream of having a room like this in our house. How about you? If your family is into watching movies, would you spare a room to be transformed to a theatre? Would you have wanted it to look like this? I know me, I really would!

Princess Bedroom

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Art, Bedroom, Interiors

Princess Bedroom

Don’t you like looking at kid’s rooms? I love it! It makes your mind soar and just go back to your own childhood. I don’t think I’ll enjoy this more than anything! Would you? Especially if you have a little girl or boy of your own. I have a boy but not a girl yet but it really made me smile. I’ve never seen anything like this before. The carriage, the castle, and even a view of the kingdom on the wall! How would you feel sleeping in that carriage, right? Kids are very imaginative and a little girl would surely have sweet dreams as she sleeps! Kids have a very wild imagination. Designing a room for them would be so exciting. You can go really crazy and just have fun! It inspired me to redecorate my son’s own room. He’s a Star Wars fanatic. I’m thinking of painting the wall with the death star, maybe design a bed that would be shaped like the pod racer fit for a young Anakin. I’m sure he would love that! I might even have inspired you to getting to your table and redesign your own kids room. Won’t you? If we can’t do it in our master bedrooms as basketball would clash with Barbie’s, then we can pour it all out in our kid’s bedroom, right?

The Nursery: Gender-neutral Designs

Author: carla_guillermo  /  Category: Bedroom

green nursery

Some parents love the idea of surprise. The baby’s gender would be a mystery until the time of birth. For this reason, gender-neutral décor and theme are important. Any baby would love vibrant colors that would trigger their imaginations that could come as lime green, vibrant red or citrus yellow. But be careful on using these striking colors for it may become tiring and over stimulating for your child. Just blend these colors with muted ones on the curtains, beddings, or decorative items to create a soothing environment.

wall with clouds

A cloud theme would be okay for a baby boy or girl. This would set a calming mood with its light sky blue shade for the walls. It could be further designed with white clouds using sponge. For the floors, fluffy white carpet beneath the white rocking chair would give contrast to light blue beddings. Overhead mobile can be placed on the crib with sky-related items like moon and sun. Some also consider warm greens and cream yellows when their baby’s gender is unknown to promote tranquility.

The Nursery: Environmental-friendly Design

Author: carla_guillermo  /  Category: Bedroom

Most parents now opt for eco-friendly designs for their little one’s room as they gain environmental awareness. These designs would tend to save energy and unnecessary consumption of raw materials for a masterpiece creation. But of course, safety would be the primary concern so that healthy and non-toxic materials would be used in designing, decorating and furniture pieces.

bamboo floor

Cribs, dressers and laundry baskets can be made from recycled, reclaimed or sustainably harvested wood. These materials are available using heart pine, maple, oak or hickory in the market. Eco-friendly bamboo floors or colorful recycled glass tiles can also be installed in your house. Renewable resourced carpets can also be purchased than the usual petroleum ones.

cotton beddings

If you want to play with paints for your nursery walls and murals, use no-VOC paints and create natural sceneries with greens and blues. For the bedding materials, choose 100% organic cotton which are also comfortable for the baby. You can also place and secure live green plants in the nursery area to drive fresh cool air.

Portoroz

Author: daphne reyes  /  Category: Architecture, Art, Interiors, Outdoors

Portoroz

There’s nothing like the serene feeling of being in a spa. The scents, the warm feeling of stones on your back seeping into your skin, relaxing those sore and overworked muscles, detoxing every bit of your body and mind. Nothing beats the ambiance of a spa. It’s relaxing as relaxing can get. Every piece contributes to that perfect feeling you have inside of you.
Paradise Spa is located within the prestigious Grand Hotel Bernardin on Slovenia’s Mediterranean Riviera. A warm welcome at reception, the scent of essential oils, comfort all around you, and a soothing and relaxing massage… The gentle smile of masters of traditional massage and the magical touch of their hands will transport you to an ambience full of artistry and to the heavenly sensation of well-being, comfort and relaxation.
I hope I was near Slovenia now. I want to dip into that water, smell that flower, lean back, look thru the window and watch the sun set and simply relax.