Modern Living

Complimenting Your Space with Wall Art

Unless you’re fortunate enough to be able to afford a Francis Bacon or Monet, wall art will often make a poor investment, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t pick something that looks fantastic. In the following article, we’re going to offer some tips on choosing the perfect piece of canvas artwork for your home.

If you’re new to buying wall art, the choices available to you can be overwhelming, knowing where to start your search is half the battle. As with most purchases the internet is an obvious place to start, however, some people seem to have the misconception that approaching a preferred artist directly will result in a lower purchasing price, in reality, online galleries are often cheaper or the same amount compared to buying directly from the artist.

If you can, try and attend art school exhibitions, where you’ll be able to rub shoulders with talented young artists eager to make a dent in any student loans.

Create A Budget And Stick To It

Contemporary wall art is a particularly risky investment, as it’s near impossible to predict how famous artists work will become and whether or not it will hold or increase its value over the years. For anyone with a limited budget or who’s new to buying wall art, we would recommend original prints. Unlike giclee prints which are inkject reproductions of artwork, an original print is a hand-painted copy of an original made by the artist. Prices of original prints are quite affordable and start at around £50 – £100, they don’t have to be expensive, and they hold their value very well compared with a reproduction.

Let Your Emotions Guide You

Any good piece of wall art should evoke an emotional response, which might be a fond memory, a memorable location or just something with gives you a positive feeling. Finding that emotional connection is vital when buying wall art for your home. You must purchase something that you love, and you’ll know when you have that unique piece as it will jump out at you and have you thinking about it for days to come.

It’s incredibly important to remember that wall art can and will become the focal point of any space. It’s probably the single most important purchase you’ll make for your décor. For this reason, it’s vital that you pick something that connects with you on an emotional level, if you do this you can’t go wrong.

Think About Flow

Regarding interior design, this means choosing colours that compliment each other. You can either match a piece of wall art to your existing colour scheme, or you can pick out two to three colours from the artwork and add some coloured accents around the room that match.

Try to repeat the shapes and feel of your room in the wall art you choose. For example, if your furniture is simple, modern and sleek, select a piece of minimalist wall art featuring clean lines and angles. At its core, it’s about making sure everything works in synchronisation, that nothing sticks out and spoils to the vision of the space.

Give Consideration To Your Space

Whichever room you’re looking to incorporate wall art into it’s essential to give some thought to the atmosphere you’re creating. Some artists styles are full of noisy energy which will work quite well in a busy social environment such as a living room or kitchen. A quieter space such a bedroom or bathroom will warrant a calmer more relaxed feel to the style of art. It’s also important to think about the size of pieces, and whether they might be lost in a wall or look like, they’re spilling over.

Plan Before You Hang

It perhaps goes without saying, but try to avoid hanging painting in high locations, even if you have tall ceilings; wall art should be at eye level, not hanging above your head.

Before you go ahead and purchase wall lights to best highlight your wall art, consider that lights can interfere with the artwork, detracting from the original beauty. It might be a better option to opt for a recessed downlighter which can be angled to wash the wall art with light rather than shining directly on the piece.

Choose the type of light carefully. Warmer white light or cool white light can significantly affect the tone of a piece and the rest of the room. The light should be chosen to compliment the colours of the wall art and the room. If you have the budget to spare then a framing projector is a great option to frame a painting with light accurately.

Choosing the Right Property for You

We all have been there before as home owners: choosing that house you are going to live in for a long time. After closing the sale, changing to a different house can be tricky and expensive, so before you commit to that final choice you might want to think very carefully about what you are doing. Here are some tips that can make you feel better and more confident while choosing the right property for your needs:

1. Be honest with yourself about your needs are. Don’t feel that you have to accept a property because you have been looking for that right house for a long time, maybe a lot longer than your friends and family. If you feel that something is not right with the property you are viewing, talk about it with your spouse and discuss the concern. It is better to realise that something is wrong before signing the final agreement, even if there are many good things that drive you to that property in the first place. For example, if the property is located too close to a busy road and it bothers you, don’t just hope that you will eventually get used to the noise. Pull out before it’s too late and before you make a commitment.

2. Consider buying a house that is located close to a storage unit such as storage units Bronx. Being able to store there any items you might want can be a great opportunity to declutter your house when you need it, or maybe only temporarily get rid of some of the items you own. Being able to drive to a local storage facility can be a huge time saver that can allow you to save not only time, but also money as well. It can also make all the difference in terms of what you will want to store there or not. As long as you can drive to a storage unit on your own, it can be a good reason to go for it.

3. If you have children, make sure that the property you choose is located close to good schools, or otherwise you might feel disappointed with them when you children finally go there.

Three Things to Highlight When Selling a Timeshare

Buying a timeshare makes sense in some situations like when you’re young and have the freedom to travel before you have kids or when you retire and want to visit the same destination year after year. Once you have kids or get a little older though, you may not love your timeshare as much as you did in the past. How to get rid of timeshare is a popular search term performed by people just like you. You can sell your property in a few different ways, but you need to know what to highlight and focus on in your listing.

Resort Amenities

Start with a thorough look at all the amenities offered by the resort. Most timeshare properties are in resort that offer amenities like daily cleaning and a 24-hour front desk that never closes. Travelers will like knowing some of the benefits of staying there. You’ll also want to draw attention to some of the things that you can do at that resort like swimming in a heated swimming pool, playing a few games on lighted tennis courts or dining in one of the many restaurants and bars on the premises.

Location

Use your listing to describe and explain the location and the reasons why someone might want to stay there. When listing a chalet on a popular ski mountain, you might talk about the amazing views of the snow and ice or the great lessons and classes that guests can sign up for nearby. Location descriptions can also include details on things nearby that are within walking distance or a short drive like historic sites, restaurants and museums. Give prospective buyers some information on how far away the nearest airport is from your timeshare too.

Space

One feature you should focus on is the amount of available space. Those looking at vacation rentals and homes for sale want to know that the property has all the space they need for their guests. List the total number of bedrooms, the size and number of beds in each room and whether the living area has a sofa that guests can sleep on too. You can also draw attention to any large rooms in the home such as a kitchen with an eat-in dining nook or a large patio for entertaining. When you highlight the right features, you can find a buyer for your timeshare.

The Art of Shaving

A good shave leaves you feeling neat, groomed and ready for anything. It’s a way of imposing your will on the dishevelment that sleep brings and showing the world that you’re ready for it, and it can boost self confidence, and productivity. Shaving is one of the rituals you use to signal to your brain the day is beginning, like showering, and drinking coffee, and it’s a prompt to make you more alert.

A bad shave is dispiriting, irritating (mentally and to your skin) and might leave you feeling less groomed and presentable than before you started! It’s clearly worth perfecting the art of shaving, so every morning your shaving ritual leaves feeling great, and perfectly prepared for the day ahead.

The first, and perhaps most important part of the art of shaving is to make sure you have the right equipment. A good shaving brush set allows you to work up a healthy lather of shaving foam, soap or gel, and also lifts and separates the hairs on your face allowing for a closer, smoother shave.

Recently classic doubled edged razors have made a comeback. While they aren’t quite as convenient as modern cartridge razors – the standard kind you can find in all supermarkets- they offer a far more satisfying experience, and also allow you a closer shave that’s less irritating to the skin.

Using a double edged razor safely is a skill it takes some time to develop, and in the beginning it takes longer to shave with. When you’ve mastered your safety razor you’ll find it almost as fast as your old cartridge razor, but it does demand respect and taking your time in the early days is the safest way. It’s this that elevates shaving with a classic razor from a mundane, everyday routine into exercise of skill and craft that makes starting the day an art.

Practicing the skill of shaving with a classic safety razor will put you into a relaxed, but alert state of mind. Carefully shaving once with the grain of your beard (not applying pressure but allowing the blade to glide gently over your face) then enjoying a frictionless second pass against the grain for extra smoothness is a ritual that will soon become one of your favourite parts of the day: no longer just routine grooming but exercising an almost lost art.