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Positive and Negative Space (Elements of Design)

Just like open and closed space, positive and negative interiors can be achieved by the arrangement of furniture in a way that either takes full advantage of every particle in a room, or simply creates emphasis by leaving this last one with empty spots that seem excluded from the design as a whole. Although there is no right or wrong answer when talking about positive and negative space, we do have to: a) find the right equilibrium between these two, and b) utilize them both in our favor. The term minimalism can be an extremely powerful tool to follow when achieving clean and relaxing environments, usually directed towards a more modern feel. Nevertheless, the minimalist style does have its own guidelines and concepts that must be pursued for it to be successful at displaying our design ideas.

When understanding the differences between positive and negative space, I personally enjoy seeing these as two possible questions (or rooms). For this first one, the room would be an incomplete sentence, and the positive space as filling in the blanks for said room. The best part of this last element of design is that it is often unnecessary to modify an interior dramatically in order to eliminate its negative space. For example, if there is an empty view from your kitchen provoked by colossal glass windows and a diagonal transition for the stairs right in front of them, we could identify the negative space we would like to dissolve by placing artwork, plants or any other decorative item of our choice over the nearest countertop on the way of this negative panorama. By doing so, we are not only creating positive space in our home, but we're also adding the final touches that our interior needs according to the principles and elements of design.

On the other hand, we could see negative space as the second question (or second room) for understanding this element of design. This can be an open response answer, allowing you to leave or include as many items in an interior while placing them within your best judgement and accordingly to the principles and elements of design. As designers, we must understand when enough is truly enough, and that there are occasions when a white, empty wall creates a superior focal point than any other highly elaborate piece of artwork could. An important aspect to consider when creating negative space in your home is to make it obvious, and, more importantly, genuinely achieve it with intention and not by accident. Negative space is one of those elements in an interior that should be easily identified, understood and loved for it to be a successful part of the design concept. A recommendation in this section would be to attempt to arrange it in a way that it is easily filled, in case the negativity in the space does not fully satisfy you at its conclusion. Start by arranging furniture differently, adding and/or removing decorations, etc.

Remember that the main objective in the amount of positive and negative space found in our interiors is not to choose one over the other, but to learn how to work with both in order to achieve the right balance between them. Although extremities are always fun to play with, we need to be careful at defining our space through a theme, and not through a single element of design. After all, there is no better way to familiarize ourselves with these other than first-hand experience, and constant change is just part of the process.

Safety Tips for DIY Jobs That Include Welding

Welding projects can be challenging, but they can also be a lot of fun. If you like hands-on projects that allow you to create new things, welding could be just the thing for you. And with the right setup and preparation, you can even enjoy welding right in the comfort of your own garage.

Despite how great welding projects can be, though, they can also pose several dangers to your health and wellbeing. To ensure your safety, continue reading for a few tips that will keep you safe during any DIY welding job.

Wear a Helmet

The right helmet that is specifically made for welding and that fits your head perfectly will protect your entire face from any flying particles, as well as all of the sparks that you will end up creating. Plus, because you will be creating radiation as you weld, you need a welding helmet that is designed to protect your delicate eyes from this damaging radiation.

Cover All Exposed Skin

Any skin that is exposed during a welding project will be susceptible to the damaging and painful effects of the UV radiation and infrared rays that are created. Sparks can also catch in your open pockets, as well as your pant cuffs or even down your shirt, so you have to button everything and make sure that there aren’t any areas of your clothing where sparks could cause damage and injuries. And never keep any lighters or matches in your pockets.

Set Up an Uncluttered Work Area

It is a good idea to set up your welding station on wheels, and the station itself should be made of heavy-duty metal. But in addition to all of that, you should avoid having any clutter in the area as well. There should be a specific place for all of your tools and your project pieces as you work on them. The welding area itself should only have the equipment and tools that you need, such as Mathey Dearman clamps, to use during a project, and nothing else.

Prevent Stress Injuries Caused by Repetitive Motions

When you are working on a welding project, you will be performing the same repetitive motions for quite some time. This repetition could take its toll on your body and result in painful stress injuries that could take a long time to heal completely. But there are steps you can take to prevent these injuries.

For example, to reduce neck fatigue, you can use an auto-darkening welding helmet rather than the typical fixed shade option. These types of helmets can even save you time between welds, which means you will be working on a project for less time and reducing the chance of a stress injury.

With the above safety tips in mind, you can pursue any DIY welding project that you desire, and you can complete the project in your garage if you want. Just make sure that you have enough space and that you purchase all of the appropriate safety gear and tools to remain safe and unharmed at all times.

Open and Closed Space (Elements of Design)

As it was mentioned a couple of entries ago, the principles and elements of design both help us achieve our ideal interior spaces in any circumstance and under any conditions. Now that we have become more familiar with these first ones, it is time to discuss the elements of interior design in a broader way, starting with, perhaps, one of the most important decisions that we have to make in our design concept: Will our area be open or closed? The challenge here is to remove any previous ideas we have about these two characteristics and fully understand what we mean by open and closed space.

As beginners, we usually think that design is either black or white, while in reality we are talking about a scale of greys. A closed space is not relative to “bad design”, just like open space does not always result in the complete opposite to this last one. This element of design should symbolize the general outline of your interior, while the rest of the components are still left to be determined in order to achieve a well-balanced fashion throughout. In reality, what concludes how open or closed a space will be is the desired purpose of the room. For example, if we’re striving for a major adjacency between the kitchen and the living room, then we are interested in having a widely open space for both, or a subtle division between them, such as a pony wall serving as an island or a bar.

Needless to say, we might prefer more secluded areas reserved for specific activities and/or special occasions. For example, if we have already incorporated a breakfast table near the kitchen, then we could consider the possibility of a more private and formal dining room with moderated adjacencies to the rest of the house. When we think of open and closed spaces around the house, we need to reflect on the number of guests we welcome into our home and the privacy we demand on a daily basis.

How to Transform your Garden into a Stunning Place to Spend Time

Unfortunately, many gardens are neglected and are not the best places to spend time. They may be overgrown, poorly drained or not suitable for spending time in for other reasons. This is a waste of a valuable part of a home which could be put to better use. Those who develop their gardens and keep them maintained are able to entertain friends and family outside. This is something many homeowners wish they could do, especially during the warmer months of the year. These are some simple, but effective ways you can transform your garden into a stunning place to spend time alone, with family and with your friends.

Improve Underfoot Conditions

Some gardens are not appealing to walk on especially if you have to walk on grass or clay when it’s wet or there’s dew on the ground. However, adding garden paving to your garden or similar features will improve the underfoot conditions and make this area of your home more accessible more of the time. It’s a cleaner solution than simply having grass or clay underneath your feet and gives you the foundation to add other features to your garden such as outdoor furniture.

Add Lighting

A garden can be a magical place to entertain family and friends, especially during the warmer times of the year. However, many people are restricted to spending less time in their gardens because they don’t install the proper lighting. However, adding the proper types of light can change an ordinary garden into a spectacular place, friends and family will enjoy spending time in. The most effective types of outdoor lighting for a garden include outdoor wall lights, post lights, deck lights, outdoor recess lights, ground lights and LED flood lights. Adding some coloured lights adds to the effectiveness of your garden lighting even more.

Use the Power of Water

Water is another feature in a garden that adds magic to this part of a home. You don’t need to have a huge garden to add some kind of water feature outside your home. If you do have the space, you have more options, but it’s not always necessary. The most popular water features homeowners can add to their gardens include cascading water features, ponds, hand pumps, bird baths and fountains. Even more accessories are available to complement and enhance these water features, helping to bring your garden to life.

Keeping Warm in the Garden

Most entertaining that takes place in a garden normally occurs in the evening time or at night. Cold weather conditions often prevent this but there are ways to solve this problem. Once people feel comfortable they are more inclined to stay outdoors. The most effective way to do this is to invest in heating products that make it comfortable to spend time in a garden. Adding fire pits, fire places or patio heaters ensures that those in your garden won’t be complaining about the cold and will enjoy themselves more.

Thousands of gardens around the country are not used to their full potential. This is a mistake but making simple changes like those above can transform your garden into a stunning place to spend your time and entertain others.

The right atmosphere (Moving on!)

Congratulations, we have concluded the Principles of Design section on the blog! But before moving onto the Elements of Design, this is the perfect time to begin an intensive exploration of your style, which will lead you to find the atmosphere that works for you. One of the most important considerations in the interior design dimension is adaptation. The key here is to understand that independently from this last concept, we need to make ourselves feel at home, or in other words, comfortable. We have already discussed many ideas to transform your house into a home, but it is now time to think radically as to what needs to be changed and when. Throughout our lives, adaptation has taught us the economic and social obstacles when it comes to finding a place to live, and it is known that it is not always possible to purchase (or even find) your dream residence. This does not mean, however, that the place we're currently living at cannot be adapted into our dreams through remodels. Here are some pieces of advice for discovering the right atmosphere for you and your family:

1) Don't wait! In all honesty, the home improvement area is one of those aspects in our everyday lives that if we leave for later, it might just never happen! Because, yes; we all know that remodeling our homes can be a messy and extremely uncomfortable process for all of the residents in the space, and that is one of the primordial reasons why we prefer to postpone it for later, every-single-year. However, trust me when I tell you that there is not a better time to get started with the planning stage than NOW. Begin by meeting with a designer/contractor to explore your ideas, future costs and expectations. Then we can start working on deciding when it would be a good time to do what, and so forth. 

2) Decide what really needs to get done. Once we meet with our desired home improvement specialists, it is extremely tempting to want to do it all at once. You imagine that beautiful new kitchen with the astonishing quartz countertops and that elegance provoked by your brand new cabinetry, and you think: "Well, just imagine how that marble tile that we saw would look with the rest of the house?" While the reality here is that you just installed new flooring for the entire interior two years ago, and perhaps that marble tile is not even what you want. From various experiences we can tell you that it is precisely that (final) initial plan that you, your designer and contractor came up with the one that is actually fulfilling your needs; nothing less, nothing more.

3) Realistic planification. Planning is always fun; and it is almost as fun as dreaming! Nevertheless, after every dream that we truly desire to accomplish, there has to be a: a) "What?", b) "How?", and c) "When?" in order to take full advantage of your time and the services provided by other professionists involved. I think we have made it clear as to what the "what" and "how" both stand for, but perhaps the most difficult one to define here is the "when". No, deciding when to start with the project does not mean that a specific date must be chosen for each of the modifications you would like to perform at your home. On the contrary, we're actually talking about how many months or years it would economically take you to be able to remodel this or that, so that when the time comes, you can follow the two previous pieces of advice! Layout your possibilities and think realistically.

Are we ready to start finding the right atmosphere for you?! 

Handy Pointers For Attic Renovation

These days, attic renovations are becoming more and more popular. And why wouldn’t they be? So many people end up wondering about all the wasted space, or need another room when they realise they have a kid on the way. Whatever the reason you want to have your attic renovated, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it, as with everything. Understandably, you may be exuberant about the idea of your renovation. Yes, it will be lovely to have all that extra space to use, but you’re not going to get there without some pretty hard work. Here, I’ve thought of some helpful tips for undertaking this kind of work.

Don’t jump straight into looking at wallpaper styles or lavish rugs. First you need to make sure your attic is in the right condition to be renovated. You probably remember my recent post on stinky house syndrome. If you did all the treatment suggested there, and you’ve gotten used to the lovely, fresh smell of your home, you could be in for a nasty shock! Many people who decide to touch up their attic haven’t even been up there in years. It’s fairly common for a lot of horrible black mold to build up on the walls of the attic. Hopefully, this can be treated with your own means, but if the damage is severe enough you may need some professional mold remediation. This will ensure that the mold disappears and that the attic has less of a chance of being damaged in future.

Next, on to the aesthetic side of things. Make sure you use every single bit of available space when moving things into the room. For the most part, attics aren’t especially big, but some wise decisions in storage can really make a difference. There are many simple decoration tips you can use to stop the room feeling too enclosed, as well. Painting the ceiling in a simple pattern will draw people’s eyes, and make the whole attic feel a lot taller. Pulling furniture out so that it leaves a slight gap between it and the wall also creates a feeling of spaciousness. As with clothes, a large, striped rug can make a room seem much longer or wider. Ceiling fans can make a subtle accessory and will keep you refreshed in the summer. You’ll also want to use thick floor joists in the renovation in order to soundproof the attic. This will ensure you don’t keep people up all night simply by walking from one end to the other!

Hopefully these pointers have made your renovation seem like less of a mountain to climb! The end result may not quite measure up to the fantasies you’re having. Still, getting a decent attic renovation is rarely as difficult as people expect. Approach every job in a collected, methodical way, try to steer out of arguments with your partner, and everything will run smoothly. All great things take time, and I’m sure you’ll love finally being able to relax in your new room!

Perks of Seattle Lofts in Queen Anne

Choosing Seattle lofts in the neighborhood of Queen Anne may be right up your alley. Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood is conveniently located near several of Seattle’s most popular attractions and has plenty of bars and restaurants to enjoy. Queen Anne offers small town charm right in the middle of a big city. This “urban village” as it has affectionately been revered, offers about ten blocks of unique and interesting places to shop, as well. The sidewalks of Queen Anne are typically bustling day and night with residents and visitors alike.

If you’re still unsure about buying Seattle lofts in Queen Anne, consider this: year after year, Seattle Met Magazine ranks Queen Anne as one of the top ten neighborhoods to live in. The community is home to several of the oldest and most beautiful homes and other architectures. Neighborhoods so close to Seattle’s downtown, like Queen Anne, continue to experience steady growth, as young professionals opt to reside outside of the city but within a reasonably close distance. Another draw is the easy access to other neighborhoods nearby and to downtown, by means of public transportation or walking.
Discover the possibilities that Seattle lofts in Queen Anne have to offer for you. Contact the Stroupe Group to find listings and more details about the neighborhood today!

Opposition/Contrast in Interior Design (Principles of Design)

Having a constant trend towards contrast creates an oppositional rhythm able to drag people’s attention to any interior. Contrast in interior design is mainly used to alter the uniformity in the space, which is also a way to incorporate distinct focal points and emphasis in any area. Manipulating your color scheme to obtain oppositions and contrasts is an area of experimentation, and personally, I can say this is by far one of my favorite aspects of design: being able to control all your different hues in an interior to make them responsible of the reactions of its users. It is truly fantastic how throwing a navy blue pillow into a lighter beige couch can have such impactful reactions on people’s opinions and eye movement; however, as interior designers, it is our job to determine when and where to throw that pillow in, and if it is actually appropriate or not.

I would like to begin by stating that the main key in creating contrast in a room is being able to balance this last one. If our oppositions/contrasts in an interior become too continuous, we would be then talking about pattern and uniformity instead of the radical change we should be striving for. To achieve contrast in any space, it is important to keep into consideration our:

1) Color scheme: Our palette is of extreme importance because of the fact that our contrast choices will completely depend on the interior’s color scheme itself; even though one of the main purposes of contrast is to create a dramatic statement between two or more objects in a room, we still need to make sure that the oppositions in color are all inside of the same color scheme.

2) Style: Secondly, re-arranging furniture to achieve this principle of design is also a very common path to explore, but as unity has taught us, both, our palette and theme should be able to represent our initial concept statement along with the respective incorporations of contrast. (You have one style and should not be trying to contrast between themes).

3) Square footage: When counting with limited space, it is also important to remember that darker colors, unlike brighter and softer hues, tend to make any room look smaller. When achieving contrast, it is very tempting to try to go for these dimmer additions to an area, without considering that oppositional effects can also be admired with lighter accompaniments. Paying attention to detail is a great method to fully take advantage of this principle of design.

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