Tips for Decorating Children's Rooms by Komee Carpenter 2005

Tips for Decorating Children's Rooms by Komee Carpenter 2005

Are you thinking about decorating your childrens rooms? Well dont think too long, because before you know it, theyll be grown up and gone!

When youre decorating kids rooms, you can really save yourself a lot of time and money by having a budget and a simple plan. It doesnt matter what age your child is, if youre thinking about decorating his or her room, now is the time to make that plan.

The foundation of your decorating plan should be flexible enough to work with several themes over the years. By foundation I mean the flooring, paint or other wall treatment and the furniture. You could also carry this one step further and consider the window treatments. If you have these basics in place, it will so much easier to just get a few new items in the theme of choice, and make a quick change in your kids rooms.

Choose a paint color that isnt too trendy so it will withstand the test of time, and add some Wallies or Wallpaper Borders as accent. You can always remove or replace them later. If your child wants something way out there, maybe do something special just on one wall, and be sure you have enough paint left over so you can paint over that special treatment at a later date! (Hint: Buy semi-gloss for the lower portion of the wall and satin for the upper portion in the same color. It will give the look of two coordinating colors and the lower part will be easier to clean.)
Quality furniture can be expensive, but if you buy it a piece at a time with the future in mind you will save money in the long run. Why not buy furniture that your child can take to that first apartment, and then hand down to the kids? The convertible cribs are great! They morph from crib to toddler bed to full size bed, and cost about the same. (Hint: You can buy some real quality used furniture for much less than new. And chances are itll outlast the new furniture any way. Just give it a new coat of paint and youll be set.)
Often times you wont have a choice about your flooring, especially if youre renting. But if you are replacing flooring, choose something basic, again not too trendy in pattern or color. You can always kick it up a notch with accent or area rugs. (Hint: Its also not that expensive to buy a remnant of carpet and have the edges bound to make your own area rug.)
Window treatments are right up there with some of the most expensive decorating items out there. Granted you can buy inexpensive blinds and shades, but if you spend a little more money on quality, you wont be replacing them every few years. (Hint: Soft fabric kids curtains can make such a difference, and remember that the more fabric and other soft furnishings you have in the room, the more it will help with deadening noise.)

Okay you have your foundation in place. Now is when the fun begins. Pick a theme, any theme. Bed in a Bag sets are really reasonably priced and are available in many different themes so are a great place to start when youre on a budget. Then add a coordinating lamp, a couple things on the wall and an accent rug. Pick up some Wallies and slap them on the walls or even on the furniture.

Get the kids involved in decorating their rooms. Let them make some of their own choices. For example: Youre trying to pick a color scheme and she has a total difference of opinion as to what it should be. Give her two or three options to choose from so she gets to make the final decision.

When the kids get to be involved in the decision making, they are more likely to own their new dcor. And we can always hope that will give them some incentive to keep it clean!

Oh, and that budget I mentioned earlier? (You hoped I forgot didnt you?) Only you know what your budget is for decorating your kids room, and it doesnt matter if you have $200 or $2000 dollars. You cant even begin to plan a room re-do without knowing how much you can spend. Otherwise youll be out there floundering around buy stuff you dont probably need and cant afford.

If its $200, youll most likely be looking at paint, bedding and a couple little room accents. You might even be able to pick up a second hand night stand to refinish. But if were talking $2000, you can do some new furniture and maybe new carpet too!

About the Author
Komee Carpenter has been in the decorating industry for over 15 years and started the Decorating Kid Rooms website to share her ideas and knowledge.

This article provided courtesy of Decorating Kid Rooms at http://www.decorating-kid-rooms.com, your ultimate resource for free ideas and tips for decorating your kids rooms and the home of the Click!Decor-Kids newsletter.

Difference Between Cast and Malleable Iron by Ali Arnold

Difference Between Cast and Malleable Iron by Ali Arnold

The owners of Architectural Ironmongery Ltd would like to explain the difference between malleable iron and cast iron ironmongery. The products we sell from Kirkpatrick are all malleable. We feel that we need to explain this due to the cheaper cast iron products that are now are arriving in the country, many of which are identical in size, shape and general appearance. The difference is that cast iron will break.

The name Kirkpatrick Ltd has been synonymous with the production of high quality malleable iron builders's ironmongery for over 140 years. At Architectural Ironmongery Ltd we keep an extensive range of their Black Antique and Plain Gothic styles, all can be seen on our website at http://www.arciron.com and available by mail order.

Kirkpatrick's malleable iron products are hand-made in the their foundry in Walsall using greensand casting process. At this stage the castings are hard and brittle and cannot be hammered, so they are subjected to a heat treatment known as 'annealing'. In this process the castings are surrounded by an inert haematite ore within iron drums and loaded into ovens of six to eight tons capacity. The ovens take about two days to reach the annealing temperatue of 980 C. The castings are then soaked at this temperature for around 80 hours, after which they are allowed to cool naturally. During this process the carbon structure of the iron is changed. The resulting castings are no longer hard and brittle, but soft and malleable.

After shot blasting and grinding to remove any rough edges the castings are then assembled into finished or semi-finished products. Following assembly a rust proofing finish may be applied and a two-coat paint process is carried out, before being passed for final inspection.

By choosing Kirpatrick malleable iron products you can be confident that you are getting a product which is both functional and highly decorative and one that, well maintained, will give many years of service and pleasure
About the Author
Ali Arnold is a tutor and company secretary for Architectural Ironmongery Ltd, who are specialists in door and window hardware for period properties, this very knowledgable company is always happy to give advise when required.

visit their site at http://www.arciron.com