About this site

It is the publisher's hope that one day, this website will be the definitive source for all things to do with interiors. Not only are we providing you with home decoration ideas, there is also a section dedicated to global interiors. The shopping directory lists online shops. The Ideas, Hints and Tips page is jam-packed with decoration hints and tips, from the best way to tackle your diy projects to simple cleaning jobs around the home made easy.

The site will grow and improve over time. In the directory there will be an opportunity to include more information about individual shops both from the shop's point of view as well as feedback from customers. The directory will also expand to include information on interior design schools and courses, architects and other information relevant to interior design.

We welcome your contributions, please feel free to recommend your online and high street shops as well as other information which may be useful to those interested in interior design and gardening.

Privacy

Any information that you supply to us when communicating with us will not be passed on to third parties or used for any other purposes apart from communication with interiordesignemporium.com

Copyright

Disclaimer

Please be aware that this site includes links to other sites and that interiordesignemporium.com is not responsible for any material on these sites and is not liable for them. Most books and videos are available from Amazon.com and some of their book synopses have been reproduced on this site.

If you are a company and feel that you do not want us to link to your site, please contact us.

Advertisers

If you would like to place an advert, banner, logo or a feature on this site, please contact us.

Autumn '05

Re-arranging your room can have the same effect as redecorating without incurring extra expenditure. A successful re-arrangement is all in the planning. You can do this by simply measuring up and drawing a to-scale floor plan of the room on a piece of graph paper or if you are more PC savvy, you can go all out and purchase a software programme to help you with your room plan.

3D Floor Plan Design
(click on image for more information)

Why not also take this opportunity to clear away your clutter, and if you are interested in Feng Shui, consider planning your room along Feng Shui principles.

Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston
(click on image to follow the link)

The Western Guide to Feng Shui Room by Room
(click on image to follow link)

Summer '05

Keeping to the African design theme in this edition, take a look at the table and bookcase shown below where African craftsmanship shines through. Recently, there has been a high standard of products being produced by artisans who are highly skilled and trained thanks to organisations such as Aid To Artisans - http://aidtoartisans.org/.

If you want to bring a bit of Africa to your home, its easy with animal prints. You can have cushions, throws or even rugs scattered around your home to give that African feel. If you have travelled to Africa and come back with photos, why not transfer them on to fabric which you can then use to make cushions for your home. Take a look at this book for this technique.

Spring '05

Bringing that bit of Spain to your interiors this Spring is as easy as using mosaic tiles in and around the home. Whether it be a splashback in the kitchen or bathroom, or a side table such as this one from Debenhams, creating corners evocative of Spain around your home can be rewarding.

Autumn/Winter '04

Your lighting requirements range from the practical to the whimsical. Many people want to use lighting to create an ambience in their homes. Apart from general lighting to enable you to see what you are doing at night, task lighting is needed for certain activities in the kitchen or in reading areas.

Kevin McCloud's Lighting Book

(Click on image for more information)

Good lighting can make or break a home in the same way as furnishings. This book provides a guide to lighting every part of the house. From flickering candles to state-of-the-art micro systems, it displays a range of lighting effects for every room, every mood, and every budget.

Some people are happy when adding their own personal touches to every part of their home. Designing and making your own lamp shades gives you the opportunity to express your creativity. One of the easiest ways of doing this is by taking a plain lampshade in the desired colour and adding your own ribbons and beads. You can do this by cutting ribbons to fit around the shade at the required positions - mark the position to make it easier to glue on later. Thread ribbons using thread and then glue on to the ribbon in your desired pattern. Glue the ribbons on the shade in the marked positions.

Lampshades: Over 20 Stylish Shades to Decorate or Make

(Click on image for more information)

Lampshades are often neglected pieces of interior furnishings but they have the potential to become stunning centrepieces in a room. Stanley presents 22 projects for making inexpensive lampshades in a variety of different shapes and styles.

Summer '04

With the bright warmer weather upon us, who can blame you for wanting to go all out with the decorating - you may want to but probably can't redo the whole house! A lick of paint in your most used room(s) will go a long way in giving a fresh outlook. Painting is a simple job that can make a big difference. It gives a feeling of renewal to a room and the only real work involved is in the preparation and the moving of furniture.

House Beautiful: How to paint

(Click on image for more information)

Another intriguing an unusual way of decorating with paint is creating your own. This book gives wonderful recipes and techniques for making and adapting paint.

To quickly change the look of your rooms, throws on your sofa or bed will give maximum impact. Throws are really versatile and you can find material suitable for any time of the year. Cushions and pillows will bring the look together and are ideal as accent colours that pick up on your decorating themes.

Cushions, pillows and throws

(Click on image for more information)

Spring '04

You need hard wearing floors that will just shrug off water. Vinyl and laminates are brilliant for that. You want style and quality - have a look at The Complete Book of Floors - crammed with information and ideas on choosing the right floors to suit your needs.

The Complete Book of Floors

(Click on image for more information)

Stylish Storage: Simple Ways to Contain Your Clutter

(Click on image for more information)

This book is full of ideas and inspiration on how to use the limited space we have available to create effective storage .

You don't have to be a full-time homemaker to find time to make simple soft furnishings that will add a unique personal touch to your home.

Sew Easy: 60 Blissfully Easy Projects for the Modern-Day Homemaker

(Click on image for more information)

Suitable for absolute beginners, this is a collection of simple sewing projects for stylish home furnishings within the confines of time, budget and skills of most modern-day homemakers. Projects include cushions, curtains, chair covers, table linens and bags all using the most basic sewing techniques and intended to add a touch of retro style. The book contains instructions for each project using accessible diagrams and includes troubleshooting tips for help when making up the projects and hints for taking care of your finished handiwork.

Gardening

The winter garden: it may not look exciting and it may seem as if nothing grows in these cold months but it is possible to add some colour to your winter garden.

Gardeners, plant collectors, horticulturists, and landscape designers will find a valuable resource in this carefully selected plant directory of best performing winter-flowering shrubs. Readers will find daphnes, viburnums, witch hazels, and camellias to suit every taste and garden situation, as well as information about how to help their choice winter-flowering shrubs flourish from November to March. Tips on combining winter-flowering shrubs, using winter sunlight to backlight choice specimens, and getting the right balance of complementary plants complete this practical and inspiring guide. Whether looking to extend a plant collection or create a winter garden, collectors and gardeners alike will delight in the possibilities available for blooms and scents in colder climates.

The Feng Shui theme can also be applied to your outside spaces. You can plan your garden using the 3D software.

Your 3D Garden Double Pack

Why employ an expensive professional garden designer when you can save time and money by creating stunning designs using your home computer? Whether you're a landscape gardener or a gardening enthusiast, this easy-to-use software provides all the design tools you need to create your dream garden, quickly and easily. Designing your dream garden is easier than you think!

How to Feng Shui your Garden

This summer, why not turn your balcony or window sill into a wonderful garden. Then when its raining, you'll be glad your plant watering is done for you!

This volume reveals how the smallest of outdoor spaces can be transformed into a glorious, year-round display of flowers and foliage. Whatever the location, space, climate or aspect there is a container to fit the situation. There are step-by-step instructions and information for over 150 plants.

Did you know that adding camphor or charcoal to the water will keep your daffodils blooming for longer?

A Garden for cutting expands the traditional notion of the cutting garden and shows how any part of the garden landscape can provide a wealth of fresh flowers and foliage for glorious year-round arrangements. Written for experts as well as beginners, the book includes sections on trees and shrubs; cutting gardens; double-duty borders; ornamental grasses and modified meadows; conditioning, arranging and drying cut flowers; and forcing branches. The photographs show gardens and plants from across the United States and a wide variety of flower arrangements, both simple and elaborate. Over 60 individual plants are illustrated and discussed in a listing by season of flowers and shrubs suitable for arrangements.

Garden Lighting by John Raine

(Click on image for more information)

A practical and inspirational guide to using lighting to maximize enjoyment of your garden. Lighting solutions for patios, eating areas, conservatories, roof gardens, pathways and terraces. Lighting techniques for different effects. How to choose lighting hardware, from solar power to fluorescent lights and projectors. 90 colour photographs of stunning schemes show how to achieve the effects you want. Practical advice on safety, wiring, power and planning considerations. 20 artworks showing the practicalities of lighting, including wiring pond lights.

The garden is glorious with colour at this time of the year. Take inspiration from autumn colours in your garden and recreate the same wonderful palettes indoors.

The Garden in Autumn

(Click on image for more information)

You're spending more time outdoors. You have to because the plants are growing so vigorously, if you don't, the weeds will take over in no time. Few of us like using chemicals in the garden, especially for those with children, it can be a safety hazard.

Organic Control of Common Weeds

(Click on image for more information)

And whilst you are in the mood for organising and renewing, this is a good time to take stock in the garden and make a head start surveying and planning what you'd like to see by the time summer's here. This is a good time for some structural changes in the garden, so why not make a start with some small brickwork projects that will change the look of your garden.

Basic Brickwork Techniques and Projects

(Click image for more information)

This site was last updated August, 2008

Conceived, created and maintained by Nafisa Nassir-Deen

Part of Buka Publications www.bukapublications.com

Privacy. Disclaimer. Advertisers

Archives

Autumn '05

Summer '05

Spring '05

Autumn/Winter '04

Summer '04

Spring '04

Gardening