Home Advice

If you've decided to install a new floor, choosing the floor type and finish that fits both the general design of your house and your do-it-yourself skills is the first task. Hardwood floors come in many types and price ranges, as do floor finishes.

Furniture styles vary widely between different cultures, historical periods and geographical areas, and are dictated by historical background, social trends, traditions, values, political issues and sometimes religious beliefs. In early times, craftsmen were inspired by the king's desires to create furniture pieces.

If you've been visualizing your dream kitchen, looking through home interiors magazines or going to showrooms just for the fun of it, you're ready to plan your kitchen layout yourself. Whether you have decided to design the kitchen yourself, go to a cabinet distributor or home centre, or ask a professional designer for help, you should start with a good plan.

In the 20^th century, furniture design was marked by the same revolution that transformed the face of all the other arts. The luxurious pieces of furniture with heavy carvings and flower motifs that were representative of earlier years were replaced by simplicity and clean lines. An influential figure was the Austrian designer Hoseph Hoffman, who founded the Wiener Werkstätte 1903 and produced cubical-shaped pieces of furniture.

According to Chinese culture, the way you place your furniture within a room has a lot to do with the way the energy flows in it. Feng Shui furniture guidelines show how to place the furniture pieces so that you don't interfere with the Chi and energy flow and create a harmonious living space.

Interior decorating manufacturers use a large variety of woods to make furniture pieces. Sometimes it's very difficult to identify them, because ageing often disguises wood, altering its original look. Wood used in furniture making is usually divided into two categories: hardwood and softwood. Hardwood comes from deciduous trees - such as birch, oak, cherry or mahogany - while softwood comes from coniferous or cone-bearing trees, such as pine or cedar. In furniture, hardwood is generally used as a primary wood, while softwood is used for backs, bottoms, drawer sides or the interior of cabinets.

The lounge or living room is an integral part of every house. When decorated, it should reflect your personality provide a calm, stable environment in which you can relax and entertain. There are generally two focal points in any lounge - the television and the sofa. When choosing the latter, it is important to know what you are looking for before you go shopping for one. Buying a sofa on impulse can spoil the atmosphere of a room and so requires careful consideration.