You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

The holiday season is upon us in full force and at this time of year more than any other, you tend to have a lot of visitors coming to your home and many people will be visiting you for the first time, so of course you want to make a fabulous impression.

It's easy to decorate your entryway. Simply walk outside your home and then walk in. Right off make a note of the things you see. Ask yourself if the room seems dark or too bright. If it feels cold and unfriendly you will need to warm up the area with some personal touches.

Space is another issue. If you want your area to seem larger - use the tried and true trick or mirrors or even better add a hall tree that will have a mirror on the back for quick checks of hair and make up before you're out the do and this piece will also do double duty of holding your visitor's personal items such as hats, gloves and purses. The seat is also a storage area and can hold a huge number of "sometimes" needed items.

If possible, add a small lamp and bring some light into the area. If your entryway area is dark and there is no place to plug in a lamp, carefully placed candles or an oil hurricane lamp are soft lighting options.

Add some photos, a special artwork or other personal touch and you'll have an entryway that is welcoming and friendly to all that come to visit you.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Mood Lighting

When walking into a room, the lighting can make or break the mood of the entire room.

If you're setting up a cozy gathering of your family and friends, you will want to have soft, cozy lighting and you can get this easy by using lamps with dimmer shades on console tables or even wall sconce lighting with thick shades to help dim the light is another good way to set the mood.

Ultimately, nothing says friendly and cozy more than candlelight. You can use standing candle holders around a room and putting them in front of large mirrors will not only make it appear you have more candles around the room than you do, it will further reflect the soft light the candles put off. Floating candles in water make an elegant statement and also the water will reflect back some of the light. Using highly polished bowls or even mirrored tiles to place candles on will further multiply the amount of light the candles put out.

Another way to bring light to exactly the areas that you want is to use the magic of floor lamps. A tall slender floor lamp will allow you to direct the lighting you want anywhere you wish in your room. Additionally, you can turn the light upwards to get a soft spray of light in a larger area.

If you're looking at getting the perfect conversational mood for your room, it may not be your furniture or your table placements, it may be as simple as correcting the lighting in your room.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Making Your Walls Beautiful

Once you've decorated your room, you might look around and feel as though it is missing "something". You can have an area rug that pulls your colors of your room together nicely; your window treatments are hung with care and grandly reflect all the colors in the room and then you have your accent pieces and even have a fantastic impact piece and yet when you walk in the room it just doesn't feel "finished".

The problem may be with your walls. If you boring bland walls they can detract from the most fantastically decorated room. A quick fix might be in the form of a coat of paint or even wallpaper. Another more elegant way to highlight a wall is to fabric it. It's something many designers charge high dollars to do but you can do it yourself very simply. All you need is a staple gun and a glue gun. First of all, put one inch thick batting on your wall. Staple it down flat with your staple gun. Then put your upholstery fabric (which you have already pre-measured and sewn together in 36 to 45 inch wide pieces to fit) and staple the fabric down and pull it smooth but not overly tight and then using your glue gun, hide your staples with piping in matching covered fabric. Viola! You have a designer look wall space.

Add artworks that bring the colors of your room together and another idea is to add an outstanding light fixture to your wall. Soft lighting is underrated as having a large part in setting the mood for your room.

Use these tips and you'll soon find that you're sitting in a room that feels truly comfortable and at last,finished.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Making a Grand Entrance

When you're looking for a stunning piece to put in your entry way area, consider adding a functional and fantastically designed piece to your room.

If you have a small space and you need to make the most of your space, consider adding a hall tree. A hall tree will perform the functions of a couple of pieces of furniture combined into one great looking unit. A hall tree will usually have hooks to hang coats and hats. A mirror for last minute "before you're out the door" checks and most hall trees have a storage bench for items you need on a sometimes basis.

Another idea for narrow yet long entryways is a console table or a slender bench. You can use the table to add items that reflect the spirit of the holiday - this is especially useful around the Christmas holiday season. A skinny bench will fit in perfectly and can do double duty as seating in your main gathering room when needed. Shelving is another idea you can use for your narrow area, it will allow you to get items up and off tabletops and onto shelves. You're left with a clean and streamlined look.

One of the biggest challenges in interior design is to use all of your space in any given room or area and to do so without the room looking cluttered or overdone. Using functional furniture pieces that perform more than one function and take up as little floor space as possible will let you accomplish your design goals and your room will look like a pro designed it!
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs   

Using the Versatile Console Table in Your Room

Console tables are a terrific way to get more function out of small spaces. Need just little something for a bare wall, but don't have room for a larger piece? Console tables provide a lot of use for their compact size. Your foyer is the first part of your home most guests ever see. Why not make a great first impression with artistic console tables? An Alpine console table with four drawers is small and compact and yet holds a myriad of times - all in the confines of one small space. These console tables sit snugly against your wall and provide a place for guest to leave their hats and gloves while they visit.

You can enhance the effect of a console tables have by adding a mirror on the wall just above them, and perhaps a vase of flowers or a small piece of sculpture to the table top itself. Think of the immediate impact console tables can have when they are used in this way.

Have a little extra room behind your sofa? Adding console tables to these unused spaces can add an amazing amount of function. You can add an extra reading lamp and a nice selection of novels and book ends. How convenient to add a reading area to your room while only using a small console table.

You can even use matching console tables to extend mantle space on either side of a fireplace. Console tables allow you to turn an entire wall into the main focus of a room.
Use your imagination and you can dream up numerous ways to use your small unused spaces in your room, by using the simple functionality of console tables.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs