Modern Bathroom Design Trends for 2011

Bathrooms are becoming more than just rooms where people shower, bathe and go to the toilet in, instead they become rooms designed around relaxation and calm, where you can unwind after a hard day’s work in comfort and style.

There are plenty of options now available when remodeling your bathroom, let’s take a look at some of them.

1. The use of eco friendly materials and fixtures: Some of the things we’re seeing include water saving fixtures such as the double flush toilet, faucets with sensors in them, that remember your preferred water temperature and shower systems that are programmable to your personal preferences and can help regulate water flow, saving you money in the long run. Also in the eco friendly category are the use of renewable and recyclable materials, such as natural wood (like bamboo), natural stone or reuse of old antique vanity units and bathtubs. Which brings us to our next trend.

2. Antique bathroom furniture & accessories: We’re seeing more and more antique fixtures such as cast iron, clawfoot bathtubs and large vessel sinks make their way into the bathroom. These are great focal points to build on a design. Adding reproduction faucets to antique fixtures can be a simple and effective way to get the old but new look in a bathroom.

3. Eco bathroom lighting with LED lights: We’re seeing more and more use of the LED in the modern bathroom. Eco friendly and nature inspired light fixtures are becoming very popular. We’re seeing pendant fixtures as well as lights within mirrors and along the baseboard level of the floor. LED’s are energy efficient, cool to the touch and last for many many years, saving the consumer hundreds of dollars in energy costs.

4. Modern luxury design: The modern panel and towel heaters are very energy efficient. Designs are no longer cumbersome and ugly, rather sleek and modern. Look for chrome or wood when it comes to heating. Still trending high within modern bathroom designs in 2011 is radiant heat. Either electric radiant heat or radiant heat that’s piped from a direct furnace connection, makes for a toasty bathroom with no visible heaters in sight.

5. Bright Colors: We’re seeing a lot of bold, bright colors used as accents and focal points. Companies are producing colorful fixtures in shades of bright yellow, blue, green and red. It is a striking bold statement and can really pull a design together. Color is also being seen in glass and mosaic tiles as well as wallpapers (that are moisture resistant). All these are excellent ways to create a cheap, effective but expensive looking bathroom.

Decorating your Living Room with Farrey's

The living room is usually the first room that people see the minute they walk into your home, that is why you should make your living room as welcoming as you can. After all, you want your guests to feel comfortable and at home. This is why a lot of emphasis is placed on home decorating in the more visible areas of the home.

There are many ways to make your living look homey and welcoming. Here are a few living room decorating ideas that you can do at home.

Play with color. When you are choosing colors for home decorating, make sure it perfectly complements the theme as well as the climatic conditions and room size.

If you have plain stark white walls, neutral furnishing and no window treatments your home can feel a bit stiff and unwelcoming. So splash some color into your living room. Paint one wall a bright sunny yellow or brilliant cobalt blue. Throw some pillows on the couches, add a few rugs, and place a beautiful mirror with some colorful vases on the side tables. This will make your living room livelier.

Rearrange your Furniture. If you have a huge living room with minimal furniture, you can draw them closer together to create an intimate atmosphere. Seating that is too "spread out" will make the room cold and formal.

Put in Plants. Plants can add life and vitality to a room. A home decorating idea to change this would be to place a few potted plants in strategic locations, add in boxes of indoor vegetation or arrange bright colored flowers on a vase. This is very easy to do and you will be amazed at the immediate changes it can bring to a room.

Get Great Ideas. You get immerse satisfaction when you select ideas for home decorating yourself but make sure you don't overdo it!

Finding the appropriate items matters a lot in home decoration. Farrey's have professional sales consultants that will guide you on the basics, suggesting you some great choices.

Come to Farrey's. At Farrey's you can find some innovative ideas for home decorating; we have everything you need to get inspired. Our showrooms have ready-made models displayed. You may select any of them or take some ideas from a particular model to customize according your needs and requirements.

In Farrey's showrooms, the furniture is creatively arranged and well complemented with various accessories, lighting fixtures and paintings.

Great ideas for home decorating will make your home a better place to live in.

The Importance of Lighting in Interior Design

How you light your house constitutes the main part of redecorating. A change in the lighting can transform how the room is viewed. Lighting interior design contributes greatly to the look and feel of a room. There are many types of lighting which can be used in various rooms. We are no longer restricted to a few lamps around the room.

1. Ambient lighting is a hidden light source that washes the room with a glow. This creates very few shadows and tends to flatten a room. Wall sconces produce great ambient lighting. For temporary ambient effects, use a dimmer with your ordinary lighting.

2. Accent lighting provides interest to a room. This method of lighting highlights an object or architectural feature. To use accent lighting, you only need a bulb and a shield to direct the light to the desired focus. Halogen spotlights and opaquely shaded table lamps both provide accent lighting.

3. Task lighting. This is a more practical lighting strategy, highlighting an area for daily activities such as reading, cooking, and sewing. Effective task lighting prevents eyes strain and helps with the performance of vital activities. The kitchen is a particularly good place to incorporate task lighting in your interior design. Task lighting sources should be unobtrusive and shielded to prevent glare. Task lighting can be effectively combined with accent lighting to produce lovely effects.

4. Aesthetic lighting is purely decorative, such as a neon sculpture or a spotlight illuminating a statue or painting. This type of lighting must not be used alone, but accompanied by other lighting strategies in your interior design.

Of course, no survey of lighting interior design would be complete without a mention of natural light. Rooms can be arranged to take advantage of the position of the sun at different times of day. This type of lighting is also called kinetic lighting because the light from outside moves. It is one of the less reliable types, as it is affected by the seasons and the weather, but natural lighting can produce an effect unequaled by any artificial light source when used properly.

Lighting is an important tool in your design collection. The way you do your lighting interior design affects the perception of any room. Lighting is also versatile. Using several strategies at once in a room allows you to turn any of them off, changing the look and feel with the flick of a switch. This can be effective for creating different moods in different rooms at night.

Visit any Farrey’s showrooms; with its two easy locations: a 130,000 square foot facility in North Miami and a 30,000 square foot facility in Coconut Grove, you will be able to find the perfect fixture for your project. Our sales consultants will proficiently assist you with all your lighting needs, answering all your questions and suggesting you decorating ideas to enhance your home with a unique touch that only Farrey’s can offers.