Happy Birthday Romas.

Over a year has passed since I started this blog and once again it is Romas' birthday. 20 today, how time flies.I'm claiming a mother's prerogative and starting with this oh so cute picture of him as a very young member of the Sealed Knott. Nottingham 1992.

That's enough of the embarrassment, let's see what he got up to this year.

Exactly 1 year ago he was tucking into a 'loaf' of chocolate that he had persuaded me to make for him. Apparently the shape improved the taste.

This was the final year of his music course at North Devon College. We didn't see too much of him as he often spent the weekends down in Bude rehearsing with his fellow band members (and partying). As part of his assessed work he had to organise a gig for his band, organising everything from publicity to finding a venue. After a couple of not too successful gigs at venues in Barnstaple, the final gig with a new band in Bideford went well and the tutor assessing it said it was one of the best he had seen. Romas must have been putting in sufficient work because he finished the course with a triple distinction, top marks, which got him a place at Keele University where he is now studying music.


At Christmas he once again had the job of handing out the presents. (It is our family tradition that the youngest person ie Romas, gets to give out the presents.)

In July it was back to Sodyba for Scout camp. Despite not speaking Lithuanian , (bad parents), he was camp commandant and was able to run the flag up/ flag down ceremonies in Lithuanian. Vytas was also at camp but not for the whole week as he had other commitments.

Romas met up with Vytas at several Sealed Knott musters during the summer.

Romas has carried on the family tradition and become an enthusiastic pikeman in Earl Rivers Regiment. Also in the regiment are Vytas, Kate B, Kate B's brother and our close family friends Sam and Kate and their 2 daughters.

Most of his time in the summer was spent in Bude but here he is on a family trip to Putsborough. He and Vytas had just run several miles down to Woolacombe and back again.

Here he is with Linas, Kate B, Vytas and Alex at the end of their summer visit.

And finally at the end of September a proud mum took him up to Staffordshire to start his university life. The latest news from him is that he was at a Halloween Ball last night and is going to a house party tonight. ( Always plenty of parties to go to if your birthday is on 31st Oct.) I hope he doesn't have too much of a sore head tomorrow.

Interior Design Photos

Home Decoration

Interior Design Ideas

If you like the idea of coming up with your own home Interior design,you are not alone. Lots of folks these days are planning out and then executing their own interior designs. But how do you come up with great home interior design ideas? Here are a few suggestions to get you started.



Probably one of the easiest ways to get home decoration ideas is to simply watch television these days. There are several shows that are dedicated to the subject of completely redesigning an entire house room by room. The biggest problem with watching these television shows is having something in front of you as documentation. So a couple of ideas that may help out is to have a pencil and paper available to take notes as you go, and also to record the program for viewing later on.

Even though you may get some great home interior design ideas from these television shows, ask yourself whether or not they will fit well in your particular home. Just because they look great on television in someone else's home does not mean that it will fit in well in your home. So try to visualize the whole project from beginning to end in your house. And plan, plan, plan. By taking extra precaution in the planning stages, you can ensure a more problem free application.





However, television is not the only source for home decoration information and ideas on Interior design. There are several great books on the subject that are able to help designers of almost any background and experience level. The advantage of books is that the documentation is already done for you. It usually has a very well thought out plan for implementing any kind of home interior design on its pages. And usually you'll be able to have more than enough photos and pictures to help get a good mental picture of the process as it goes.

Another way to get excellent ideas for interior design is to look through magazines on the subject. There is no shortage of magazines that are devoted to home decoration and interior design. Believe it or not, even many professional interior designers collect large quantities of magazine articles and pictures and store them in a way that will help them have a larger pool of ideas to draw from in the future. Not being a professional yourself, it may be a good idea to start your own scrapbook of home interior design articles and photos that you can separate according to a specific theme or room type. Sometimes, the best decoration ideas are a combination of things that are brought together from several different sources to form a unique, one-of-a-kind design.

Interior Design

Spacious rooms
If you love the wide open spaces and want the light and airy atmosphere, here are some tips on achieving that sense of spaciousness in your rooms.

- To create a feeling of largeness in your room, eliminate the shadows that tend to slice a room up into smaller spaces. Work on lighting the room with a soft, even light. Avoid ceiling lights as they tend to make the ceiling feel lower. Diffused, ambient lighting will tend to enlarge the room.

* Keep the surfaces free of heavy textures. Smoother surfaces tend to reflect more light and make the room feel larger.
* Avoid heavy textured flooring. Choose tile over patterned or textured carpeting. Reflective and shiny surfaces such as mirror and chrome also can be used effectively.
* Soft colors and monochromatic color schemes. Use cream, beige, gray or cool pastels on your walls and floors to make them recede. The ceiling should always be the lightest color in the room.
* Limit the use of patterns in the room to create a more airy feeling. A typical application of a pattern might be to reserve it for an accent piece.
* Selection and placement of furniture in a room is crucial in defining the space. Keep the largest pieces against the walls whenever possible.
* Choose furniture colors that are the same or similar to those selected for the walls and floors.

Cozy rooms
If you want a cozy and comforted ambience, here are some points to consider a more intimate space.

* Create spaces through the use of directed light. Lighting from the ceiling will seem to lower it. A reading lamp or down-shaded lamp will cast light only in its relative vicinity. Use incandescent rather than halogen or florescent lamps for a warmer glow.
* Choose strong colors for your walls and floor. They will tend to bring them in closer towards one another.
* A dark floor with walls of brown or deep red, blue or green tones will help create the feeling of a smaller, cozier space.
* Heavy, soft textures add warmth to a space. Use rougher textures for the hard elements in the room; iron instead of chrome, brick instead of glazed tiles.
* The use of pattern in a room can also lend a sense of coziness to the space. The subject of mixing patterns in a room will be covered at some future time.
* Choose dark finishes and fabrics to create a sense of the piece being larger than it actually is. Heavy textured fabrics and large patterns will add a cozy feeling to a sofa or chair.
* Place pieces away from the wall and use tall pieces to divide and define smaller spaces within a room for greater intimacy.



Room corners
The corners of our rooms can be decorating assets or just a boring space. With a little imagination you can make the corner space work for you and create a beautiful area in your room.

* The void corner of the room can be fill with natural or artificial tree.
* An uplight addition will give a beautiful look.
* Pedestals of varied sizes look good in corners.
* A table top with a beautiful fabric and a couple of chairs to each side with coordinating fabric on the seats can give a very dramatic look. Add a lamp, your favorite pictures and collectibles for a gorgeous tablescape.
* A corner cabinet or hanging cupboard is a handsome solution and adds needed storage and display areas as well.



Storages
One of the most important basics in decorating a small space is to purchase furniture that does double or triple duty for storage. Purchasing multiple purpose accessories and furniture allow options that give your living space character and flexibility.

* Sofa cum bed : A sofa for your living room area might contain a bed for yourself or unexpected visitors.
* Tables containing drawers or shelves give you other options further storage.
* Bookshelves with or without doors, can be appropriate for entertainment centers, home offices, kitchen storage or bedroom storage.
* Bathroom storage units are great for under sink storage. These units increase your storage capacity in a small area.

Decorating ideas for kids rooms

Decorating ideas for kids rooms  great way to begin decorating a kids rooms for a child. most parents probably spent lots of time thinking about kids rooms decor new child's room even before he joined ur family. kids rooms bunnies are cute and teddy bears are darling, you might want something different for the bedroom or playroom. withe and pink color combination alway prefer for girls .

Rain Forest Choose a kids rooms colorful ideas and try a jungle area rug. kids rooms Soft fabric snakes and kids rooms colorful stuffed birds or butterfly cutouts can add to the decor.

Baby Room Decorations

The most beautiful room for Baby Room Decorations specially a cute nursery for tBaby Room Decorations Most Baby Room Decorations likely seen at one time or another a cute nursery that was made for a Baby Room Decorations and had been decorated with the familiar Baby Room Decorations color of pink that was also accented with a large amount of shiny Baby Room Decorations ribbons Department of Baby Room Decorations that feature a wide selection available in many different decorating schemes.

White Baby Room furniture Decorations watch in this post 

Bird Talk.

Despite the mild weather the cats have decided that it is time to lay claim to the warmest spots near the rayburn. I think Smudge and Squeaky look so sweet cuddled up together. Of course, once I'd hoovered the rug they had found other places to sleep. Elwen in particular is terrified of the hoover especially when I start using the nozzle to get into every corner. Smudge on the other hand doesn't care. The other day he lay plonked on the mat while I hoovered all around him. It was only when his tail almost went up the hoover that he took a swipe at it with his claws and then stalked off in a huff.

When I went outside there was a flock of Blue tits calling away in the trees. They sound like lots of chinking glasses with their high pitched whistles. It was hard to take pictures of them as they darted like shoals of fish from one tree to the next.

Up in the same hawthorn a blackbird was keeping an eye on me. Down at the lake the call ducks were carrying on with their maniacal laughter. I think there are only 2 call ducks left but they quack like hyenas and have been joined by a dozen wild ducks.

This is not a poor hen who has escaped the ravages of the fox, just an embarrassed fowl going through a moult, (she looked much worse last week with lots of bare skin with new quills poking through).


Her compatriots have not moulted yet and are looking rather superior at the moment.

This is Mrs HufflePuff, the only one of the ladies to have a name. She is the boss bird and often takes over the nest box when she decodes to go broody. She can aim quite a vicious peck when I slide my hand under her to remove the eggs. She also has a habit of wandering around outside with all her feathers puffed up at huffling at everyone, hence the name.

Design Blogger Profile: Vanessa de Vargas of Turquoise!

We’ve got today a great design blogger, Vanessa de Vargas, from the wonderful interior design business known as Turquoise. A prolific designer, fashionista, furniture re-designer and blogger, de Vargas has plenty of inspiration on both her website and blog.

The Los Angeles based designer is known for her young, bright, fresh and sassy interior work, working with clients in their homes but also running quite the successful e-design business, where she helps come up with inspiration boards for clients for a fee. That’s only one half of her talents, however, as she is also known for her ingenious and creative revamping of treasured vintage furniture. Not just fixing furniture pieces structurally, de Vargas gives them a touch of her own style, making them the perfect additions to our generation's more modern sensibilities.

As a blogger herself, she shares her take on the top trends in the design world weekly at Apartment Therapy Los Angeles, but also looks to inspire on her own blog. Sharing stories and photos from client projects (both local to L.A. and online), lots of fun home décor finds and creative ideas she uses her blog as more than just a tool to promote her business, but rather help others create their perfect homes.

Our favorite element of de Vargas’ work is her great use of color, pattern and detail. Her work is fun, sometimes feminine and frankly, flirty. She’s not afraid of any of these elements, and uses them all to enhance spaces, not overwhelm them. Flipping through her online portfolio you will see an inspiring array of color palettes with which to inspire your own home makeovers.

Already a strong presence on the Internet, you can also check out de Vargas and her work in numerous publications, such as The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Sunset Magazine, Washington Post, Instyle Magazine, Architectural Digest-Italy, Lucky, California Homes and Design, as well as other blogs like Decor8 and Stylecourt.

And, you can also check out some of the previous design bloggers we’ve profiled, like Tina Roth Eisenburg of Swiss Miss, Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge, Jane Freiman of AtticMag, Erin Loechner of Design for Mankind, Anh Minh Le of anh-minh.com and Holly Becker of Decor8.