| Decorating the home and garden is the perfect | | | | with a shop that is themed oriented or in catalogs. |
| time to express your personal style and | | | | Looking through home and garden design books, |
| individuality. Although it is a daunting task for | | | | magazines, and the internet shops is also a great |
| some, it is ultimately an exciting and rewarding | | | | way to help match mood with function and |
| experience. A home need not only serve as a | | | | personal style. Having a clear plan is the best and |
| functional space, it can also be a place to | | | | most efficient way to decorate. That way you |
| recharge, relax, entertain and reflect aspects of | | | | don't buy pieces that look good but don't fit when |
| our personalities into the world. | | | | they are placed in the room or garden area. |
| These days the market is flooded with products | | | | It is very tempting to follow the hot design trend |
| for the home and garden as well as a wealth of | | | | of the moment, but only following trends will lead |
| advice and information about decorating. This | | | | to frequent and expensive re-decorating. Many |
| information can be found in decorating books, | | | | trends will sustain themselves for a long time, but |
| magazines, television programs and on the | | | | some will burn out as quickly as shag carpeting. |
| Internet. But, with all of the information out there, | | | | Telling the difference can be very easy. If the |
| it can be a challenge to weed through and find | | | | furniture or garden item has clean lines, is made |
| one's own personal style or theme. | | | | of natural materials, has quality workmanship and |
| Decorating is most often done upon moving into a | | | | incorporates some aspects of traditional design, |
| home whether it is purchased new or already | | | | then it is a classic piece and it will be around for a |
| established but it can also be done whenever the | | | | long time. |
| mood hits or one has outgrown a particular design. | | | | However, if the piece is made of synthetic |
| When decorating or re-decorating a room, the | | | | materials, has a very unorthodox shape or color |
| first question that should be asked is: What is the | | | | and is real cheap (or worse, way over-priced), it is |
| purpose of this space? | | | | probably not worth the money. One or two |
| The purpose of a space may not simply be a | | | | pieces such as this may be a fun and whimsical |
| functional purpose, it might also be what feeling or | | | | addition to a room--they can be traded out at |
| mood the room should emit. For example, the | | | | any time--but an entire room like this will have to |
| purpose of a dining room might be to provide a | | | | be redone sooner than later. Investing in quality |
| place to gather and eat a meal. This is true. But, | | | | pieces will save time and money and offer a |
| the purpose might also be to make the extended | | | | higher resale price when changing them out. |
| family feel welcome and inspire conversation. Or | | | | The garden themes can be changed seasonally |
| the purpose of a bedroom might be to provide a | | | | and the pieces can be stored in a dry place and |
| place to sleep, but it might also be to provide a | | | | reused in the following cycle of the seasons. A |
| peaceful sanctuary from the hassles of everyday | | | | very practical way in curbing your expense, yet |
| life. The secondary purpose of a room may vary | | | | offer a periodic changed look. |
| once the purpose of the room is decided; the | | | | A good place to find various types of these |
| next step is to find the pieces of furniture and | | | | home and garden items that are theme oriented |
| accessories that will match that purpose. Visiting | | | | is on the internet is at They offer a good |
| furniture showrooms is a great way to determine | | | | selection of items or gifts for you or for you to |
| one's personal preferences and have a chance to | | | | buy for someone else, to help you or your |
| personally experience different design elements. | | | | friends to decorate or redecorate with. They also |
| Bringing a camera along to photograph the pieces | | | | offer very competitive pricing, a free gift with |
| that fit best into your room's design is a good | | | | every purchase, and you will also have a good |
| idea. Later, similar pieces can be found by | | | | feeling in helping someone else, because they |
| shopping for home and garden on the Internet | | | | donate 10% of all their sales to various charities. |