Top Decorating Tips

Here are some great decorating tips and interior design ideas

• The function of all bathrooms is pretty much the same: it has to serve as a comfortable place for taking care of one's personal hygiene. But while that function can be served in as plain a room as a truck stop restroom, any bath that really functions will be designed with the details of convenience and comfort in mind.

• Try warming up your rooms in the winter with colors such as maroon and deep orange. Drape a warmly-colored tablecloth or shawl over a table, and make a focal point of miniature pumpkins and candles, or add a bittersweet wreath to the front door.

• You can use brilliant yellow to brighten up a room just by painting one wall in the shade. A brilliant yellow wall that catches the morning sun will appear to light up, and a wall that gets no direct light will start providing its own.

• Don't ignore the use of mirrors to brighten up a dark room. The mirror doesn't have to face the windows in order to bring in light; it can hang on any wall. A collection of several small mirrors can also make a big statement.

• When considering painting a room, think of the psychological effect of the color. Red is often a good choice for a dining room, as it increases the heart rate and raises the blood pressure, which in turn amps up the appetite.

• You can also add photographs to upholstered pieces, pillows or comforters by using photo transfer solutions which allow you to transfer photocopies of pictures onto fabric. This is a great craft idea that you and your child can do together some snowy day when you're trapped in the house.

• Crown moulding is especially helpful in changing the look of a room because, unlike wall moulding, it won't get in the way of paintings you want to hang, and yet it goes a long way toward adding elegance.

• When you have cats, you simply have to accept it that there are some things you must live without — but hopefully knowing you've adopted a cat who otherwise would meet a terrible fate will make up for living without broadloom carpet.