Candles can make an attractive addition to the decorations in your home. Scented candles delight the senses and bring relaxation at the same time. In the bathroom they can be used to create a romantic centerpiece when you are with someone special, or they can help you relax with a good book. Be careful though, not to let the candles be tipped over the edge of the tub. The heavier jars with scents won’t slide off and they won’t break as easily.

You can make great looking centerpieces for an end or coffee table using tea candles, which are inexpensive. The candles can be scented if you wish. Placing them inside heavy glass cups or quality stemmed glassware is a great way to make a beautiful impression. Show your creativity by using tea candles to make a display on mantle places.

Long tapered candles make good accents for flower arrangements on the dining room table. To make the best impression, make use of smokeless and non drip candles. In a floral arrangement, keep greenery away from the flame. Another idea is to roll the candles in glitter for a dramatic elegance.

Pillar candles are usually large and heavy, but can be used in many places in your home for a glorious effect of light. And you don’t need a special holder for these candles, any sturdy holder will do. You can use small or large plates, deep soup bowls or even meat platters to create a nice look. Display several pillar candles in different sizes together makes for an awesome display. Words of warning though, keep the candles at least three inches apart to prevent them from melting into the other candles. Pillar candles are a neat way to decorate.

Decorating With Candles

So you would love to buy the Tuscan house plan of your dreams, but have yet to purchase your building site. Certainly, you want both your home and your land to marry beautifully together – that’s a given. Therefore, which do you purchase first? This question is analogous to that of the chicken and egg thing; whether to buy your house plans or your land first.

In general, a piece of land has fewer options for modifications where you have many more when choosing a house plan; therefore it is perceptibly more desirable to consider buying your land first. For example: the land has a height restriction of 22 ft. to the peak of the roof. If you have a two-story plan already purchased it simply won’t work and have wasted your money buying a house plan first. Sure, you could search and search for that piece of land to fit your home, but your options may lead you to an undesirable location.

Before beginning your search for your land, it is a great idea to come up with some basic guidelines that you desire to steer you towards your ultimate goal, such as:

- The basic dimensions of your main floor.

- The basic style (ranch, one-story, two-story, bi-level, etc…)

- Foundation Type (Slab, Basement, Walk-Out Basement, etc�)

- Will a Tuscan house plan work with the topography of the land and compliment the surrounding homes?

- Are there building restrictions in the area that would either prevent building your home or require modification of your house plan?

- Are the soil conditions optimal for growing Tuscan style plantings (if you truly desire them)? Having a soil survey may be worth the cost, especially if you long to grow the classic tall-slender cypress trees.

- Is the land large enough for a pool and/or outdoor living spaces to compliment our home?

Other factors to consider when buying any piece of land to build upon:

- How stable is the ground? If the ground is softer, instable, the water table is high/low, and/or underground streams your foundation/basement may be at risk. Talk with a professional who specialized in this area, perhaps a geological study and survey is always a good idea to have done on any land you are considering – before you buy the land.

- Is the land rocky or filled with trees? If so, would it be affordable within our budget to excavate the land? It can be extremely expensive to remove trees and rock, so this needs to be considered when building anywhere.

- Is the property boundaries clearly defined and are there setback/easement requirements that would restrict the size and/or the configuration of the house plan?

- Are the taxes reasonable and affordable? In addition to regular property tax, certain properties can have specials tax affixed to them, which can raise the price of the land tremendously. This additional tax is generally added on to the property to cover the cost of developing the land. Check it out. The land down the street, though priced higher, may cost much less in the long run if it has no specials tax.

- Are there gas, electric, water, sewer, internet, cable/satellite and phone service hookups available? If not, you may either have to pay a ton of money to bring service to your land or have septic/lagoons, water wells, propane, etc brought in. Therefore this is a very important topic to check out.

- Is the land optimal for using alternate methods for electricity, heating and/or cooling such as solar, wind, geothermal energy?

� Are there any environmental concerns you need to know about? Pollutants in the air, water and ground should be a huge factor when considering a piece of land anywhere.

� Is the location convenient to work/school/shopping/medical centers, etc?

Even if the reality of building a new home is in the distant future you may want to consider (if your budget allows) purchasing your land and blueprints now for that big day. Doing so will give you a big head start on building equity in your home, plus you could save money by purchasing your land at today�s cost, not at an inflated price of the future.

Please note: Always seek advice from highly experienced and respected licensed professionals specializing in the above topics, as well as the zoning ordinances and home association regulations as both geographical conditions and building code/regulations in your area can greatly affect how, when, and where your home is built.

Building A Tuscan Decor Home

Itching to add some western-style or cowboy-style home decorating?

Great choice! There is something timeless and enchanting about this style of home decorating. Closely related–and possibly the same–are rustic style, log cabin style, and mountain style decorating.

Regardless of what you call it, this type of interior design will center upon the use of natural materials. The first thing you’ll want to do is evaluate how you can add more natural wood, metal, rock, and leather to your room.

When it comes to furniture, Western style is most often large and bulky, but simple in design and structure. Look for lots of bare wood. Fabrics tend to Native American prints, Cowboy prints, or outdoorsy-kinds of prints. If busy prints are not your cup of tea, consider matte-finish leather, denim, suede, or nubbly weaves.

Colors should be those found in nature, such as rich browns, dark greens, dark reds, golds, etc. Other colors might include rock gray, metal black, and cream.

Add Western motifs such as knickknacks, blankets, wall hangings, pillows, and more. This would include motifs such as cowboys, saddles, horses, Native American crafts, wild animals found in forests and mountains, rivers, wildflowers, etc.

Older, vintage items will go well with Western home decorating too. Look for bold-colored quilts, old saddle blankets, barrels, weathered farm tools, and so on.

If you’re crafty (or know someone who is), you can really let your imagination run wild when it comes to cowboy (or cowgirl!) home decorating. Use old horseshoes as candle holders on your wall or as bookends. Take bandannas and sew them into pillows, quilt squares, or even lampshade covers. “Plant” dried flowers in old Mason jars and scatter them around on your side tables and bookcases.

Your floors in a western style home should also be natural… preferably hardwood or recycled plank flooring. But they could also be made from flagstone. Be sure to scatter western-style area rugs around though, because natural floors can be cold!

If you can, don’t use window treatments… just leave them bare, especially if you have a great view of the mountains or other natural settings. But, if you must use window coverings, keep them simple, such as plain valances, straight panels, or shutters.

Lighting needs to go with the western style of your home decorating too. Vintage lamps are great, but you can use almost any lamps made from wood and metal. Lampshades made of stretched rawhide will really add to that cowboy feel. But the rule here is plain and functional.

Other decorative details might include beading, fringe, twig accents, nailhead designs, metal drawer pulls and doorknobs, and anything made from logs. Pottery and stoneware will also enhance the look.

So, do you see how easy it can be to add western and cowboy touches to your home decorating? Whether you go “whole hog” into it or just add a few touches here and there is up to you. Whatever changes you make, though, are sure to give your home decorating a whole new look.

Western Style Home Decorating

Home Decorating can be fun, and yet so many people neglect to decorate their home based on claims that it costs too much. Home decorating doesn’t have to become an expensive endeavor. Even if the look you’re after is on the elaborate end of the spectrum, you can create a look that will make you smile both when you look at your home and in your pocketbook. A good idea is to make small changes at a time instead of one huge change. Artwork can make a huge difference in the look of your home and is one decorating idea that you can easily reverse if the look doesn’t work.

What is the first thing you notice when you walk into someone’s home? The walls, right? Walls enclose the home, giving a thematic impression. So, if your walls are empty you’ve got to get to work to populate them. Wall hangings can be expensive, but that’s only if you purchase something by a famous dead artist. You can create your own artwork without any art instruction whatsoever. First, you have to consider your theme. If it’s the bathroom to which you want to add small artwork, you could consider framing sea shells. You would simply arrange the shells creatively onto either a sheet of colored paper or onto fabric.

Decorating With Art

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!