The housing sales slump continues. From Sacramento to Detroit to Atlanta, housing sales have taken a dive. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicts that a soft market for existing home sales will continue through the first half of the year.

Although home sales remain weak, some homeowners are willing — or are compelled — to roll the dice and plant the

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It is the busiest room in the house and often needs the most improvement: the kitchen. A remodeled kitchen increases the value of the home and makes it more enjoyable to cook, live and dine in. However, many homeowners are left wondering how to create the culinary oasis of their dreams on a budget.

When it comes to your home

Increasingly, heirs of America

Just the other day, I was sitting at the dinner table drinking a glass of wine and looking around, when some interesting ideas came into mind regarding dining room furniture design. I immediately got up and applied this to my dining room as well as to other rooms in the house, and was very happy with the results. Here then are the ideas I had, that you can apply in your own house, 5 tips for design.

1. Put some style into it: This doesn’t mean that you should get crazy about things. Rather, it means that you should know what you like, your specific style, and try to apply it in everything that you do. So while some people prefer more traditional styles, such as Amish oak furniture, others like a more contemporary look. You should put your own style into your furniture and house at every chance.

2. Match but don’t mismatch color: Color is a very important element to any house. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with your preferred style, you should be sure to match colors correctly – while avoiding bad combinations. You wouldn’t want a dark wooden table next to a very light finish dining room hutch. Similarly, avoid too many strange colors altogether at once, such as bright orange, blue, and purple. Sure they’re all nice colors, but not together. You can mix, but don’t mismatch your colors.

3. Space is essential: Although I have spoken of the use of space elsewhere, an extra point or two is always helpful. Recognizing the space means that you understand how the space flows in your house. Is your house more curved or straight, open or closed, narrow or wide? Recognizing the essential purpose of space means that you see how it flows in your house and therefore how you can arrange your furniture to suit the space properly.

4. The Harmony of Arrangement: Harmony is in everything, from day to night, to musical harmony, to the colors of the rainbow in the sky. So too with arrangement you should seek to make things harmonious in your house. Be aware that this doesn’t mean everything should be in a certain order. A disharmonious-harmony can be more suited to your style, but if you like that, be sure to be consistent. If you prefer things just slightly off, make sure everything is similarly done. The end effect will be fantastic.

5. Compliments follow Complementing: If you want people to see the effort you put into your house design, then be sure that all the pieces in the house complement each other. This means that if you buy new dining furniture, make sure that it fits with that hutch. If not, then don’t expect compliments from your friends. Even if you’ve taken into consideration all of the above four design tips, if things don’t complement each other, then the entire room will look strangely awkward and uneven.

So put together furniture that complement each other, and you can be sure that the compliments will follow.

No matter what your d

Choosing a new color for your living space isn’t just about making sure the walls match the furniture. Colors can have a profound effect on your moods as well as convey certain emotions. The psychological effect created by various shades is an area of study that has produced some interesting results. Here are a few points of reference for choosing a desirable psychological effect from your color choices.

Common Color Associations

Red – exciting and stimulating. Red is a warm, masculine color. It stands out in comparison to other colors, making it appear closer. It is associated with passion and vigor.

Pink – soft and sensuous. Pink is more of a feminine color, and often has a youthful feel to it.

Orange – stimulating and intense. Orange is more whimsical than red; it’s still an intense and fiery color, but with more fun.

Peach – soft and warm. This is definitely a feminine color without the teenage feel to it.

Yellow – sunny and cheerful. Soft shades of yellow can create an open, spacious feel to a room. Intense yellows are great as accents, but in large amounts can be overpowering and irritating. As yellow pales, it loses its energy and requires a cool color nearby.

Green – restful and quiet. Deep greens may appear somber on their own, but place a warmer color nearby and they perk up. Pure greens have an association with plants or the outdoors. Mix pale green with yellow and it livens up, but when combined with blue, it appears quiet and meditative.

Blue – peaceful, calm and tranquil. Large amounts of pure blue can create a sense of cool and melancholy. Pale blue has a receding effect making it great for opening up those small spaces or for use on high ceilings.

Blue-green shades tend to change character with the changing light. They have a dense, atmospheric quality, but without the dramatic receding effect of pale blue.

Purple/violet – rich and mystical. Purple can appear calm yet mysterious. Deeper purples have a powerful, introspective association. Pale purple and lavender are more sensual with a feminine connotation.

White – purity, light and cleanliness. In large amounts, white can feel sterile. When used with black or gray it can appear very modern and trendy, with an absence of warmth.

Black – power and elegance. When used excessively, black can feel oppressive.

Gray – conservative and calm. Combine gray with browns to create a warm richness with the sense of quiet dignity.

Brown – earthy and secure. Associated with nature and the earth, it conveys a sense of familiarity and home.

So you are moving into a new house and are excited about the long awaited change. But have you thought about how you are going to set up all that costly furniture you purchased from your favorite furniture store? Without a good plan and a lot of patience, you might soon start worrying about the issue of furniture arrangements. You will have to decide upon the best way to arrange all your furniture in order to ensure a good utilization of available space.

Arranging furniture can get particularly daunting, as you not only want to utilize the available space in the best way, but also to highlight your beautiful furniture. So before you decide to throw that house warming party, give the arrangement of furniture some serious thought.

Let me help you with your work in order to give you a head start on the unavoidable process of furniture arrangements. Whenever you decide to arrange furniture in a room, make sure that you have a plan. You should be able to decide which one of your furniture will be the center of attraction in the room. If, for instance, you want your favorite recliners to hog the limelight, make sure it is the central feature of the room. The rest of your living room furniture can be arranged around this main focus. This way, you will be able to carry out your work faster and get a room of your dreams.

Naturally, you may not want to make one of your furniture, the central point always. The focus could be on any other aspect of the room like the fireplace, the Plasma TV, a large painting or even the best placed window. The point is to have a central object, and arrange the remaining furniture around it. Another important aspect is the arrangement of sofa sets. Try to arrange them in such a way as to encourage conversations. So there should be room enough for the occupants to be comfortable but the arrangement should be cozy enough to make people feel conversational with others.

Also the placement of table is important as it should be easily accessible from every chair. You do not want your guests to have to walk half way across the room to access those yummy snacks. Yet another aspect of arrangement is that the room be well lit, especially in areas which will be most frequented. Since the sofa sets will likely be occupying the maximum space, try to keep the area well lit.

When it comes to arranging the bedroom, the focus more often is on the bedroom set, so you can arrange your side tables or chairs around it. Let there be enough room to walk in the bedroom. Often with a large bed taking most of the space, the room becomes chock-a-block with just a few furniture items taking up all the free space. You could decorate the room with simple pieces to keep it looking welcoming and elegant.

Thus if you have a simple plan of action, you can make your house the epitome of a heavenly abode. With elegant furniture placed strategically to attract attention to the best features of your home and the house itself well lit, everyone will soon be clamoring to get an invitation to your house parties!