Peace and Privacy
You don't have to build a 15 foot brick wall around your perimeter to secure privacy! You can create a haven of peace and privacy with the help of traditional fences and hedges. Furthermore, you can encourage serene seclusion with a dramatic living fence! Yes, make a "green" solution to outside sounds such as traffic, sirens, construction, service trucks, and natural neighbourhood noise! Trees and shrubs can help insulate your home and garden from noise pollution and even wind, rain, and heat. Moreover, you won't feel like you're living in a fish bowl.
Consider planting a creative hedge using shrubs and trees of varying height and let the hedge twist and turn about your yard or patio. Think of it as a natural noise and weather screen. Goodbye prying eyes. Try Lilac, a deciduous shrub which blossoms aromatically every May and reaches 8 - 15 feet. Burning Bush provides a dense, compact thicket that needs no pruning and compliments lilacs well. Finish with Purple Coneflower at 3 - 6 feet high with May blossoms and attractive green foliage. With such an arrangement of small, medium, and tall trees and shrubs, you'll enjoy a living boundary which attracts birds and butterflies, buffers abrasive noises, and discourages paparazzi!
For an apartment balcony or patio you can hang bamboo blinds and enjoy weatherproof room dividers, strategically placed. Plant vines in pots and let them fill in the gaps between the railings.
They'll give you flowers or provide grapes and berries. Potted cedars on rollers can be moved around to provide intimate shade at different times of the day.
Inside your home you can upgrade to quieter model fans and appliances. Perhaps you need to add insulation or double-paned windows. Or, simply, go for heavier upholstery and drapery fabrics to absorb sound. To reduce impact noise, add padding or cushioning on top of the floor or between the floor layers. Or, simply, place felt cushions under chair legs and moveable furniture.
Humans have learned to accept a certain amount of noise as an inevitable consequence of urban living. Acceptable levels of noise depend upon the time of day and our energy, which affects our noise tolerance level. Landscaping can define comfort zones for privacy and lend the ambiance of a calm oasis.
Fences make good neighbours!
Colour Trends
If you feel the need to change the ambiance in your home or simply to revitalize your lily pad, nothing beats paint! Application is fairly fast and cost efficient. There are some interesting colour trends going on right now. Perhaps one of these will get your creative juices flowing!
Pure white: zen, modern, minimalist; white always seduces lovers of art deco and illuminates your interior in all simplicity
Pop: desire freshness? try colors like fun green or surfer blue and your lily pad will spring back to life
Red fruits: want feminine and cozy? how 'bout raspberry cream....yum!
Girly: single women return to your childhood! go with colours that conjure up fond childhood memories
Marine: make-believe you live by the sea; enjoy a calm, serene sensation; dive into the big blue with lively colours like azur or neptune
Soft: whether you dream contemporary or old-fashioned boudoir, rose tints or green tints are a good compromise if you like pastels but your man is afraid of a candyshop bedroom
Not-so-mellow yellow: offer your walls incredibly luminous yellow for a happy-feeling home
Baby beautiful: don't forget to research paint that is especially adapted for baby's bedroom; preserve the air quality in your most precious one's sleeping environment
Feeling like you need a change? Put on a new coat of paint!
Wicker Wonderland
You know wicker is back in style when designers are using it on purses and tote-bags and it is popping up on fabric and wallpaper in trendy homes. Although wicker has a reputation as a summertime classic synonymous with outdoor living, it is now seen to add class and sass indoors!
What is wicker? It is the name given to items woven from bamboo, or flexible rattan, or more recently, synthetics. Rattan is similar to bamboo in that it is fast growing but its stems are solid versus hollow. Because it accepts paint and stain so well, rattan is the most popular material in wicker pieces. It is lightweight, flexible, and durable. Even the core can be made into wickerwork, once peeled!
Economical as all get-out, a wicker sofa-set from your local thrift shop can be updated with a fresh coat of paint or lacquer. New slipcovers in a gorgeously bold fabric will keep the look crisp. Or for instant gratification, invest in a new piece of wicker furniture! High-end purveyors are repositioning wicker as an elegant asset for todays' market-aware homeowners.
You can accessorize with smaller wicker items such as trays arranged on the wall or try a wicker drink caddy as a floral display - carry it from the patio to your bedroom!
Today wicker is not only seen on cottage porches. It is refined enough for elegant homes too! Simply dust it regularly or even vacuum it with a small brush. It responds well to mild soap and a damp cloth.
We can thank the ancient Egyptians for wickerwork. They found it to be effective and beautiful not only for basketwork but for chairs and chests as well.
Think like an Egyptian!
