Interior Decorating – Home Staging

Archive for March, 2009

You will find all kinds of homes around the country and around the world. Some are big, some are small, and some are simply average. When you are searching for home theater systems you will find the same thing. This is particularly true of the home theater systems that come as a package deal. While I do not normally endorse these purchases, just as all homes are not alike, neither are all people. This means that what may be best for me and my home theater may not be the best plan of action for you and your home theater.

I definitely recommend listening to any home theater you are considering before taking the plunge and purchasing. There are many times in life when you get what you pay for. While most of us live within some degree of budget constraints you will find that most of us have certain things we simply will not go ‘cheap’ when purchasing. You should keep in mind that there are great ways to get outstanding bargains however, when it comes to purchasing electronics. One of these ways is by purchasing a home theater kit where all the pieces (generally with the exception of the television) are included.

Seeing is believing when it comes to value for most of us. The best way to find a home theater kit that you are going to be confident about purchasing is to take a look at the kit, listen to the speakers (the first 5 to 10 minutes of the movie Top Gun is an excellent test for sound), and take a look at the system to see how you find the interface. It doesn’t matter how great a system sounds if you can’t figure out how to use it once you’ve taken it out of the box. You might also want to look into the price of professional installation if you are electronically challenged when it comes to matters of programming and installation. These kits are also often appealing to those who find the prospect of shopping around for the parts and components tedious.

While it is difficult for me to accept at times, we were not all born shoppers. For people such as this, home theater systems that come as a package deal are often life rings tossed out in a sea of shopping among sharks. This convenience for some is worth any price that could be stamped on the box. The good news is that there is enough competition that prices are typically competitive according to quality.

Box kit home theater systems are appealing to many consumers for many different reasons. Those who live in small apartments or have very small home theater rooms typically find that it makes no sense to invest in a system that will rattle the walls or have the neighbors complaining. Those with limited budgets find that this is an economic way to get everything at once. People who have little time to invest in researching all the items they will need find it incredibly convenient that they will not need to worry about missing something important such as a receiver during the process. Still others find that they like knowing up front what the price for the total home theater experience is going to be, at least the electronics component at any rate.

It is important to remember that a home theater means different things to different people. Finding the ideal home theater for you may not necessarily equate to the ideal home theater for someone else who has grand visions of a cinema themed room with dark rich colors on the walls and muted lighting effects along with blacked out windows for the ultimate movie viewing experience.

Don’t get too caught up in the details and remember that it only has to work for you and your needs. Creating a wonderful home theater is a great way to bring the family together on a regular basis. Buying a pre made home theater kit or system is a great way to begin enjoying the wonderful benefits of a home theater experience while learning the things you like and dislike about your system. This could be a work in progress for many years to come as you learn more about what you do and do not prefer.

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The decision to redecorate a room or area of your home is usually pretty easy. The difficulty may come in when you realize that what you need is to simply and inexpensively redecorate the area. If hiring a professional interior designer is not an option, what can you do? No worries! There are some simple steps to inexpensive home decoration, and they are explained below. We’ll assume that for this project your room is furnished and you have a budget of $150, should you decide to make any purchases.

The first step to redecorate is to change the wall color. Paint is not expensive, is available in thousands of colors and is one of the simplest methods to refresh and update the look of a room. If you are the type of person who enjoys a lot of color in their life and surroundings, consider putting a bolder color on the walls, or some of the walls in the area. If you are looking for more subtle, calm tones, stick with more neutral colors and shades.

Furniture rearrangement is the second step to inexpensive home decoration, and there is no cost to doing that. There are probably many readers of this article have not moved the furniture in some rooms of their homes for a long, long time, and that’s okay. However, you are serious about updating the look of a room, it may be time to roll up your shirtsleeves and get to work! For example, switch the location of your sofa and chairs. If your room size will allow, pull your sofa away from the wall and angle it toward the entertainment center and/or a nice view out of a window. Experiment with different arrangements of your furniture. It might take some time (and muscle power) but the result will be worth the effort.

You can make some rather substantial changes to the look of a room by changing out the small pieces. For example, swap out the end tables in your living room and bring in different lamps. You may decide to purchase a new lamp, keep an existing lamp from the room or bring in a lamp from another area of your home. However you choose to accomplish this, the result is a new and different look for a small investment, and possibly no cost at all. If your project is a guest bedroom, play with the idea of bringing in a piece or two from another room for a different look. Everything in the room does not have to match to look great.

The fourth option to simply and inexpensively redecorate a room is to change the accessories. I always recommend that the accessories (pictures, table accents, etc) be physically removed from the room so they can’t be seen while redecorating. Consider hanging some different pictures on a wall in this area that had something else on it previously. You might think about introducing a new accent color in the accessories.

Finally, consider the area that you walk on in this room. I’m not suggesting putting down a completely new floor. That is a different discussion and budget! Think about how you can bring color and interest into the space with the addition of area rugs and throw rugs. They can be used at the entry to, or exit from a room, under a dining or cocktail table, in front of an interesting accent piece, etc. Rugs in smaller sizes can be very economical to purchase when you shop around, including online sources. Try this tip and you may get hooked on accent rugs!

You can implement just one, or all of these simple steps, and ultimately create a fresh look for your room. It’s easy if you know what to do. Now go have some fun and redecorate your room!

About the Author:

Candi Randolph is a Design Consultant and Author of ‘Ten Simple Steps to Design Success!’. For more information please visit http://www.MySimplyDesigned.com

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