Many companies are opting for cubes instead of offices for their associates these days in order to save money on square footage and utilities. As a result, cubes are a smaller, open version of an office and all of them look pretty much identical to each other. The good news is that most companies will allow their associates to customize their cube with personal photos and mementos within reason. Mini lights and battery operated lights are an excellent way to bring life and personality to your cube or office.

Dress up your cube with Christmas mini lights and battery operated lights and you’ll no longer have a space that is distinctly yours in a sea of identical office cubes. Although holidays are the time when most people might think of decorating an office or cube with lights, why not have lights up all year round?

Mini lights are ideal for adding white sparkling light to silk flower arrangements, baskets, or to highlight photographs of loved ones. You can find them in either LED or incandescent versions. LED sets are great because they are cool to the touch. String mini lights around the edge of your desk and the outline of your cube. In an office, use mini lights to outline your doorway or to add some added light and warmth to your artificial plants.

An office desk or a cubicle area will instantly take on a festive appearance during the holidays when you swag white, green, or red mini lights across the front of your desk or on your cubicle walls. Tastefully placed garland, pine boughs, and pinecones can bring the entire look together. During the holidays, a small Christmas tree can often fit into a cube or and office, so don’t miss an opportunity for adding more light to your workspace.

Artificial plants bring a bit of the outside into any office environment. For smaller potted plants, use our battery operated lights to add some sparkle. Artificial trees can easily handle several strings of mini lights with the extra ones pooled around the base of the tree. You could even use artificial plants as holiday trees and switch out the colors of mini lights to reflect the current season or celebrated holiday.

Popular light color choices for decorating artificial trees or plants for holidays might include:

- Blue and white – winter
- Yellow, orange, and red – fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving
- Red, white, and blue – Memorial Day, 4th of July, Presidential election years
- Green, white, blue, multi-color, or red – Christmas
- Green – spring or St. Patrick’s Day
- Purple, pink, blue, green, or yellow – Easter or spring
- Pink – Breast Cancer Awareness
- Gold, purple, and green – Mardi Gras

Decorating an office or cube with lights is a great way to bring some cheer into your workplace. However, keep in mind that blinking lights can be a distraction to you and to your co-workers. Also, this is your workplace, not your home, so keep the decorations tasteful and professional. Turn your lights off when you leave your office or cubicle at the end of the workday.

Shellie Gardner is the owner of Christmas Light source, a great place to find Blue Mini Lights. Christmas Light Source is a one stop shopping source for Christmas lighting needs. From hardware to lights and everything in between, they has everything for holiday lighting decor as well as tips, tricks and do it yourself projects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shellie_Gardner

In actual sense, companies are now capitalizing on this idea and they are coming up with personalized, decorated promotional plates as give away gifts, as a way of marketing their companies. Am sure if you got one of these you would want to display it on a rack where it will be seen by every one. If this is the case, then think of how much magic decorative plates can do, if they are carefully selected to match the rest of the decor in the house.

If you do not want to appear misinformed when it comes to the decorative dishware, it is always a good idea that you consult the Internet. Here, you will find resourceful information on how to differentiate between those used as decoration materials and those functional ones. You do not want to put an item on display, which should be used for serving food.

One advantage with these items is that they come in a variety of styles and designs, rich material and they can be a great way to commemorate a number of historic events, be they private or public. With these ideas in mind, you can consider give them out as birthday or wedding gifts.

Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Plates. For More Information, Read More Of His Articles Here FOOD PLATES If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Gitundu

Color and ambience:

Most apartments and dorm rooms come with standard-issue white walls. Boring! Want to add some color, without much hassle? Christmas lights. Truly, there is no easier way to change the color, look, and feel of a room than by using these lights. They’re simple to hang: you can just tack them up around the border of your room’s ceiling. Put all red lights up, and your room will appear to have a red hue to it. You can even put up more than one color, and choose which set to plug in. Blue today, green tomorrow. It’s simple and affordable. To further add to the effect, you can switch the bulbs in some of your lamps to colored “party bulbs.”

Since a lot of emo kids like to have ambient lighting, this is a perfect choice. Even plain white Christmas lights can change the look of a room, without providing too much light.

Floors:

Do you have boring floors? Ugly tiles or nasty carpet? No problem. Buying an area rug can be expensive as anything… but many stores sell large, but affordable bath mats that you can use as smaller area rugs. It may sound strange, but there are plenty of stylish, large bathmats out there to choose from, including ones made of fake fur. Bonus: they’re meant to be slip-proof, and tend to be easier to clean if they get wet than an area rug.

Further, a DIY/punk type could easily buy and cut what is known as remnant carpet to either carpet smaller rooms or to make their own area rugs. The whole idea is to be creative!

Futons:

Did you inherit an old futon that isn’t the nicest ever? Futon covers are expensive, but you can find bed sheets that fit the futon for significantly less money. At “mall punk” stores, the average emo or punk kid could find all kinds of neat things, like Nightmare Before Christmas sheets… and even in the kids’ sections of regular stores, there are plenty of interesting and cute things. Halloween is a great time to seek out things like spider webs and pumpkins; Valentine’s day is great for hearts. Be creative! Throw blankets – usually cheap and made of fleece, are an affordable option to finish out your fun, personalized futon. Oh, and pillows! Don’t forget the pillows! You can usually find them for affordable prices [along with pillowcases of your choice] at major discount stores.

Your kitchen:

Craft store, craft store, craft store! I can’t stress this enough! You can find all kinds of things cheap and ready to customize, at almost any craft store. Storage tins, jars, and containers can be customized to hold anything from spoons and spatulas to food items or napkins. These stores, as well as major discount stores, also usually have affordable towels – though the holidays are a great time to stock up on ones you like. Craft foam can be used to make kitchen [or dining room] place mats – and you can customize them however you want, to boot!

Furniture

While you’re at the craft store, you may notice some unpainted, boring wooden furniture. Or maybe you’ll hit a thrift store and find some hideous looking, but functional, furniture. Your easy solution? Paint. Just buy some paint and sealant [that part is important; it will protect the paint] and make furniture that suits your needs and personality. Want a purple dresser? There’s nothing stopping you! You can paint your DIY furniture with a brush, or en try different techniques, like stencils or sponges, to get different effects or multiple hues.

General supplies:

If you are going to get into alternative and DIY home design, it is important to have some basic supplies:

It is always good to have a bucket and strong cleaner on hand, just in case something spills.

If you’re painting furniture or other items, an inexpensive drop cloth is a good idea. You can use a cheap plastic table cloth or shower curtain liner for this.

Pencils are good for sketching out designs, marking tack holes, or for jotting down measurements. Scissors and a sharp utility blade should also be in your bare basics kit, as should glue. A hot glue gun is great for decorating, especially if you will be adding things like jewels or stones to items [such a plain storage boxes or canisters]. A hot glue gun can also be used for small repairs on wooden items.

In the end, when it comes to having an alternative looking apartment or dorm, without spending money, the trick is to look to the DIY punk and emo ethic and be creative. Once you tap into your creativity, there is really no limit to what you can do!

Nicole Lero is associated with the Shoutmouth Emo Community, and has lots of DIY furniture and Christmas lights in her house.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicole_Lero

1. Do you need more light, far less light, or muted light in a different shade of color? You may consider installing stained glass panels, hanging up stained glass chimes, or placing vases of different colors on your windowsill. These varying shades can snatch up incoming light and turn your home into a menagerie of color.

2. Is your window bare and free from decorations? Then you might want to add a whole row of teddy bears in different colors all across the window. You can hang models of the seven dwarves, or of different characters from your favorite fairy tales. If you have a baby on the way, you can advertise your joy by stringing up empty feeding bottles filled with light blue or light pink marbles, depending on your baby’s sex.

3. Do you like drapes, or would you like to keep your window bare? Heavy velvet drapes may make your home appear gloomy, but if you want to feel like a queen, then string up those drapes and line them with gold trim.

4. If it’s Christmas, go for dark red or green drapes and pin Christmas tree ornaments on them so that your home looks decorated even from the outside. If it’s Halloween, put up orange and black drapes, and hang up dolls of little witches and wizards.

5. If you want to decorate your window during the season of hearts, then mark Valentine’s Day by asking your children or the neighborhood youngsters to cut out hearts of different colors, then write the name of their loved ones on them. You can place these hearts on your window, or fashion them onto a mobile that you can hang from your curtain rods.

Conclusion

Although this list of unique window treatment ideas is by no means comprehensive, you can use them as a starting point to develop your own unique window treatment ideas.

Unique window treatment ideas are only part and parcel of making your home, and consequently, your neighborhood, a more fun place to live in.

To learn more window treatment ideas, visit http://www.windowtreatmentideas101.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Lee

Lights for art can be used inside or outside depending on the ones that you purchase. If you have a fountain in your front lawn or a statue for example, you will want to light it up because for one, it will be a lot prettier, and two, you will not want anyone driving into it if it is near your driveway. They can also light up things such as your sidewalks or just placed around your home for a cool effect. Lights can create some cool effects if you use them correctly.

Lights can also be used to decorate for holidays such as Halloween, Christmas, etc. Whatever it may be, there are so many cool different ways to spice up your home with lights for the holiday. You can put lights up in the windows and all around the home and set them on timers to music. If you do this in a way that is not tacky, people will be talking about how awesome your house looked for years to come. You could be the house that everyone has to see around Halloween time. These are only options for the outside of your home which is the most difficult part to do. So much more can be done on the inside that would take a lot less effort. The spaces are easier to reach and you do not need ladders and such for most places in the house if you are putting up simple decorations.

The decorations for the short time will not need to be of great quality unless you are planning on using them for many years in the future. They will only be put up for short periods of time each year so do not spend too much of your time worrying about it.

Pictures on your wall, statues inside and outside of your home, and anything that you want to light up can be lit up with lights that hang from the ceiling or lights that can literally attach right to the art. You can turn them on when you have company over and create a cool, warm affect and light up the things you want while not having to turn on all the lights in your home. The art will definitely stick out more as well and more people will notice the things you want them to.

Stewart Wrighter is an entrepreneur who runs a large group of websites that specialize in high end items such as picture frame lights. He offers a large selection of art lighting online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stewart_Wrighter

For some, the changes of the season can bring on depression symptoms as well as other conditions, such as arthritis. You want to create a soft feel that makes you and everyone who enters your home welcome and invited. If you suffer from seasonal depression including Bi-Polar disorder, decorating your home each season may help.

Colors All Around

Colors can play an important role in your decor. Without the right color, you may create a room that you are not happy in. You may feel distracted, sad, mad, anxious, or tense while in this room. You want to avoid that but what is the right color? The right color is different for everyone. It’s important that you find out what your true colors are by taking a pen and paper with you wherever you go for a few weeks. Take the time to look around and find colors that your eyes are naturally drawn to. For example, if you sit in the park on a bench and look around, you are going to see colors of trees, grass, maybe a pond, colors on animals, and more. Write down which colors you like the most. Next, you can figure out how to incorporate these colors in your room. You can have more than one color but if you use a variety of colors, you will want a neutral color.

Incorporating Color

The first year is going to be the most expensive but after that, you shouldn’t need to replace your decorations for another three to four years. Decide on the occasions throughout the year that makes you feel sad sometimes, for example, Independence Day, back-to-school, and Halloween.

Your decorations could include towels and tablecloths for the kitchen. It can include throw pillows and candles in the living room. As you see, there doesn’t need to be drastic changes, only simple changes that draw people to a particular area in the room.

The floors are another way to decorate for the season. For example, even though Independence Day is one day, you can decorate the summer months with a red rug or white rug in the living room. For Halloween, the season is fall so you can use fall colors like black rugs or brown rugs.

There is always a way to incorporate color into your decor. Remember, if you feel sad and depressed when the new season rolls around, change the color of your room to bring new life your decor. Area rugs, towels, throw pillows, tablecloths, and candles are all interchangeable.

Senior writer Sarah really enjoys writing about home decorating and using the seasons for inspiration. And loves showing people how to use red rugs and black rugs for best effect.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Crosset

On Valentine’s Day you can decorate your staircase with red and white hearts. If you have children they can make the hearts by cutting them out for you. If you want to preserve the Valentine’s Day hearts, you can have them laminated. By laminating the Valentine’s Day hearts you can use them year after year. As the children age, the hearts will become more and more cherished. You may choose to add red and/or white light strands down your wooden spiral staircase to enhance the look.

Your staircase will look phenomenal through the years as it is made of only the finest wood materials and the company has been creating these spiral staircases for over forty years. In March, have fun putting green light strands down your stairway with a little “Luck of the Irish” decorations. Show your spirit of this special day, especially if you are of Irish decent.

Once Easter approaches you will be a pro at decorating your wooden spiral staircase. Add Easter eggs that are delicately blown out and hand painted. Put a few Easter bunnies in between the Easter eggs and/or Easter baby chicks. Show your flare for decorating when you enhance your elegant wooden stairs.

Once summer hits, Fourth of July is a big celebration in the United States of America. You can show your American spirit by decorating your stairway with red, white and blue lights. Remember to stock up on these light strands when the Christmas holiday is in full force. You may want to add a few metallic strands of garland with a fourth of July theme. Proudly hang an American flag nearby and your house will show what a true blue American you are.

Halloween is always a fun holiday to decorate. You will have more fun than ever – being able to decorate your spiral staircase. You can add a small pumpkin or two to sit on your steps. Hang a few scary ghosts and goblins on your solid wooden handrails to look like the Halloween ghouls are flying throughout your home.

Now that Christmas has arrived, you may be more excited to decorate your wooden handrails on the staircase. You can add fresh green garland or choose to go with artificial green garland. Once the garland is in place, add the variety of Christmas lights that show your style. You can choose to hang a few ornaments along the handrails as well. It is suggested to use shatterproof ornaments – to avoid breaking a favorite Christmas ornament that may mean a lot to you and your loved ones.

Your wooden stairway is just as easy to put together as it is to decorate it for each holiday. You may choose an indoor spiral stairway as well as an outdoor one. Both are a solid construction and the outdoor wood spiral staircase is protected from the weather elements, so you can enjoy your stairs for a very long time.

Richard Wood is a writer for StairPak a manufacturer of wood spiral staircase stairs. For more information visit their website to find out more about custom designed wooden spiral staircase stairs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Wood

The mantel is the perfect place to display decorative items. Changing your decoration with the seasons or special occasions is a great way to make your fireplace into a dramatic feature all year round.

Make an Impact

There are many ways in which you can make your fireplaces stand out for all the right reasons.

* Seasonal – Take your inspirations from the seasons and give your living room a festive feel. For the winter months change your artwork or pictures to those with an Autumn feel. Use Orange and brown tones for throws to drape over the sofa and spray some pine cones for decoration in a big glass bowl.
* Birthdays – Special occasions are a great excuse to gather around the fire. Decorate your mantel with birthday cards and banners.
* Halloween – Go gothic and get into the spirit of Halloween with spooky accessories for your fireplace. Place a large candle on either side of the mantel and have small clusters of pumpkins for an added effect.
* Christmas – Fireplaces are the perfect place to hang the family stockings on Christmas Eve. Add a garland to the mantel and decorate the space above the fireplace with a wreath. Fairy lights add a touch of magic to all occasions especially Christmas. Wind some twinkling lights around your garlands and wreaths for a festive touch.
* All Year Round – If you want a stylish fireplace all year round there are a few must haves to keep your mantelpiece looking its best. A beautifully designed mirror can be very effective when placed above your mantel. An eye-catching piece of artwork can be another great choice for this spot. Alternatively make it personal with a family photograph. The most important thing when decorating fireplaces is to keep it simple. Do not clutter your mantel with unnecessary objects.

Mike K Johnson, managing director of Aztec Fireplaces Limited – trading as English Fireplaces – is an experienced businessman and entrepreneur. He bought English Fireplaces in December 2006 determined to establish a high quality service focussed competitor to the brand leaders in the fireplace industry.

English Fireplaces, Unit 6, The Brows Industrial Estate, Liss, Hampshire, GU33 6JG
Telephone: 01730 890218

http://www.englishfireplaces.co.uk

info@englishfireplaces.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_M_Johnson

The great thing about designing a room around accessories like these is that there are many ways to implement your design. You are never stuck with a single color scheme. Using whatever feels right to you belongs in your room

For the kitchen I went through old scrapbooks and found photos of the women of my family performing various cooking tasks. I group these all over the walls. I was able to find some really creative ways to do this. Remember those huge wooden fork and spoon sets that were on everyone’s kitchen wall in the 70’s? Well I took an old set I bought at a yard sale and covered them with tiny pictures that I cut out of old 35 millimeter pictures and created a collage. I tied these with a ribbon and decorated with sprigs of dried herbs. It looked amazing, smelled great, and was very inexpensive.

I made a similar project for the dining room as well. My family had a tradition of taking a picture of the whole family gathered around the table before every holiday meal. I found several old dinner trays and mounted a picture to each. I labeled each with the year and hung them in succession. I tried to space each picture by five years so that it would be noticeable how much everyone had changed. This was really a hit at our next family gathering.

For our living room I wanted something that really told visitors about my family’s personality. We really love Halloween, but I did not want a Halloween decoration left up all year. I began to wonder what I could use that would show my family members in costume but not look too out of place. I remembered a picture that had been taken of us on vacation. We had visited a Renaissance Faire and were dressed in medieval garb. I knew that it would be a fantastic piece to add, but it was not large enough to use by itself.

I soon solved my problem. I found that I would be able to have my picture made into an area rug. I simply sent a scanned copy to the manufacturer and a couple of weeks later I had my area rug. However, this created a new problem. The area rug was so beautifully made I could not see allowing anyone to walk on it. This problem was also simply solved. I purchased a picture hanging kit from a discount store and some decorative rope. Using these I hung the area rug on the main wall of the room. This turned the area rug into a tapestry creating a wonderful focal point that really speaks about my family.

All of these improvements made my home a memorable place. Every room in the house has items that start interesting conversations that allow me to share my family’s traditions with my guests. My home now serves as a timeline for our family and every day we add a new memory to the collection.

Looking for an easy way to add style to your home? Copy the home decorating experts and buy area rugs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fran_Sloan

Interior Accents

Decorating in the rustic home involves natural accents to complement the simple style of the home. For wooden floors, throw rugs are traditionally used to help keep the feet warm and comfortable particularly in areas near the sink and stove. Not only do they provide physical comfort, but they are a welcoming sight as well.

Many homes are decorated with pots of plants or flowers. Supplementing this greenery with twigs will create a more “woodsy”� outdoor feel. Decorate bedposts or railings with vine. Be sure to include practical approaches such as choosing furniture that compliments a designated theme. If your kitchen or dining room is equipped with a bar, consider purchasing rustic bar stools. Other furniture such as wicker chairs will help achieve the desired look.

Burlap for All Occasions

Adding a rustic theme to buildings or property does not need to be an expensive venture. Burlap is a treasure when it comes to rustic decorations. It can be used in the home, on costumes, outdoors, and is especially helpful for special events and holidays to help keep the rustic feel for any occasion. Though burlap is commonly used as a strong sack to harbor objects and protect them from wet environments, there is more than meets the eye to this material.

- Halloween

Burlap adds a simple yet rustic and outdoorsy touch to any decoration. Perhaps its best uses are outdoors in the fall for such occasions as Halloween. Burlap is often used as part of a scarecrow. Stuffing a bag of burlap serves well as a scarecrow head attached to a flannel shirt and an old pair of jeans. Additionally, burlap is a naturally tattered-looking material. It is ideal for adding a haunted theme to any setting. Shredding strips of this material is a great way to make creepy curtains. If burlap is used as part of a costume, be sure to wear a layer of clothing between your skin and the burlap, as burlap is very coarse and will cause irritation.

- Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece

Burlap is possibly the most appropriately used decoration at Thanksgiving time. Its natural fibers create the rustic, harvest time feel that accentuate the season and can allow anyone to identify with the pilgrims who are commemorated on this holiday. Burlap can be purchased by the yard. Select the appropriate size according to your table. Simply lay the burlap over the table and cut to the appropriate length and width. To add some fun to this decoration, pull a few strands of the burlap long at intervals throughout the cloth. This will add a raggedy feel to the centerpiece.1

- For the Outdoor Lover

For those who seek an outdoor feel in their own home, try the following option. Purchase a large piece of burlap tailored to fit a specific portion of your wall. Using starch as an adhesive, apply the burlap to the wall. If the burlap pulls away from the wall in any place, add more starch until the piece lay completely flat against the wall. Since burlap already has several small holes throughout, you may now hook on any decor you wish such as large fishing lures. Additionally, place nails or brackets along the burlap to hang that mounted trophy bass, a straw hat, or various furs. For more information on adhering the burlap to the wall, follow the instructions in the second resource below.

Creating a rustic feel in the home is limited only by the extent of your imagination. Using everyday resources such as twigs, vines, and burlap enhance the outdoor quality of any decoration at a reasonable cost.

Paul Galla

1 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/66270/decorating_your_thanksgiving_table.html

2 [http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_fabrics_other/article/0],1793,HGTV_3390_1385511,00.html

Paul Galla, President

Burlap.Biz

http://www.burlap.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Galla