Interior design ideas

So, you have decided, that it is time to update a ceiling. it is an excellent idea! However keep in mind: the choice of materials for its realization will depend not only on your art taste, but also on engineering state of your house and, certainly, on your purse…
For the beginning you should decide what you would like to see above your head. Ceilings may be pendant and the basic, or plaster ones. Pendant ceilings are made from the gypsum cardboard and they are demanding additional furnish share on panel, tension, self-glued etc. Plaster ceilings are either in coloring or pasting.
For the beginning we shall talk about the house, an apartment in which the repair is expected. The greater role is played by the structure. If the house is made of brick and it is less than 15 years old, it practically has not undergone to time deformation, therefore it is possible to buy the most usual finishing materials - troubles with cracks are improbable. If the brick house is from 15 till 30 years old it is necessary to buy some technical additives - priming fixing mixes, and also an assembly of self-glued grid for durability and protection against cracks. However, sometimes these additives can be not applied - everything depends on a state of the house and your desire. And here if the house is more than 30 years old, fastening is necessary. The grid and first coat are desirable for deep penetration. But it is necessary to notice, that “age” is given in quite rough manner - as the standard for average strip; under adverse conditions - high humidity, etc. - the house “grows old” in 25 years.
Concerning panel houses, here the walls and a ceiling are done of an identical material; therefore deformation is essentially less, than in brick house. In panel houses alignment of a ceiling (plates on joints are often connected roughly) is recommended, the first coat is used for deep penetration. As differences on a plane of a ceiling do not happen, the spadework is lead to a minimum.
 

Rule 1: harmless materials
Try to keep ecological cleanliness of your house at a stage of construction and repair. The group of the materials most preferable to use includes everything that returns us “in cave ear”: the tree, the straw, not burnt clay … Further in the list of harmless materials there are also a clay brick and natural stones of sedimentary origin. The first products of civilization - metal and glass - have a not so clear reputation.
Rule 2: green doctors
Many house ladies like to plant flowers, but not everyone knows, that house plants are curative “cocktails” as well as medicinal grasses are. So, the plants, containing phytoncids and possessing disinfecting action are a basil, cardamom etc. Other pottery plants calm nervous system, remove a headache and normalize blood circulation (geranium, lavender) - and it is possible to make an ideal composition for a bedroom from them.
If your apartment nevertheless has synthetic materials (and it is almost for certain so), their negative influence is neutralized by the flowers, capable to take away toxins from the air. The plants promoting good digestion, will make a useful set for kitchen, these are the laurels and garden geranium, which clear air and absorb smells. It is possible to decorate a working place with advantage a clearing complex from a balm, mint, a myrtle, a sage and a ficus. Besides curative properties, the majority of these plants possess a pleasant smell - so, the aromatherapy is added. If you want, that aroma in the house was brighter and refined, plant a room rose: at the same time it will help you to get rid of chronic weariness.
Rule 3: curative things
The principle remains the same - natural materials and natural furniture. Prefer wicker baskets to plastic containers, present feather pillows - to synthetic ones, simple “country” fabrics (flax, sacking, and rough wool) - to effective novelties etc. Natural things are not only healthier for a body, but they also possess special power (especially if they are made manually or in a small workshop). Do not neglect the local market of wooden, wicker and pottery products. It is not necessary to look haughtily on olden interior details: the retro-trifle from a family museum (if they are properly submitted) will fill the house with heat and coziness. Unique natural “gifts”, which nevertheless should be avoided, are hunting trophies: skins and horns of the killed animals, scarecrows, etc. no matter how beautiful they would look, the biofield, which they “radiate”, is not too useful for the health and mental condition.
Rule 4: creative atmosphere
House creativity has a positive influence on sincere health and helps to cope with seasonal depression. You should always remember that the real house should be natural, warm and kind!

The concept of space plays the most role in Chinese interior. Chinese interior is based on the feng shui art - the skilful organization of space. So, external simplicity of smooth or round bends always bears in denying of direct and sharp lines. In the Chinese interior precise square or triangular forms are undesirable. Therefore corners in modern apartments can be cut off the furniture, put obliquely, and rectangular little tables can be covered with round cloths. The same effect is achievable by means of the walls draped by a fabric. It is not worth of mentioning, that registration in Chinese, as well as in any the style, ethno style does not assume use of multi-colored wall-papers in a floret at all. Walls are usually painted in the certain, characteristic color for the given culture or plaster. As a rule, any Chinese construction has some support corresponding elements of fire, water, air and the ground. But, certainly, it is necessary to try to establish four columns in the middle of the sitting room. They can be stylized, executed of plaster and removed to walls or drowned in them. However, nothing prevents even to draw or designate simply columns on walls if you want to follow all formalities of the Chinese style and it will be far from the real opportunities of the apartment.
As it is possible to see, in an interior of the apartment, made in the Chinese style, there are no trifles at all. Practically its each detail is original, unique and the Chinese screen or carelessly thrown on a couch and decorated with gold string pillow plays the major role in the arrangement of the space. For example, the major element of registration is the ornament and the form of doors and windows. And their arrangement cannot be casual - it is desirable, that wide doorways settled down against each other, as though they are connecting the interior with all other space.
 

Japanese do especially appreciate furniture of the old tree - named “oldwood” (the so-known, “antiquarian tree”): such wood has excellent durability despite of age. The Japanese make screens, frames for mirrors, tables, benches and consoles from massive “oldwood”. More modest fragments of the “oldwood” are used for facing of furniture subjects: backs of the beds, racks, tables, lockers, buffets, coffee little tables. It is possible to notice of tree traces - certificates of the past are appreciable- on many fragments of the ready-made furniture. Therefore depth of a surface’s relief, made of “oldwood”", can be deeper than 1-1,5 centimeters. The lines, created by the nature “oldwood”, provide a charm of uniqueness, which is especially appreciated by the Japanese. Lamp shades for fixtures and floor lamps are made of the oldest “oldwood” materials.
The only rule, which can’t be objected of, is that the furniture should be made of a file of a tree as it possesses the ability to accumulate and radiate vivifying energy. Thus the furniture should not be heavy: sometimes hollow spaces are made in the racks made of a file for reduction of weight.
The special attitude is paid to a tic. The tic, which was not coming under influence of moisture and insects-wood borers, was applied at construction of private residences, in ship business and to manufacturing valuable subjects of furniture and instruments of handicraftsmen. Everything that was made of a tic should serve for centuries. In the course of time, the tic, as well as mahogany, becomes even more beautiful and stronger. Small subjects of an interior, such as vases, are made of mango. Stools and small subjects are cut out of a trunk of a mango, which should not exceed 50 centimeters in diameter. Coverings of strong breed of the reed (named as the “opium-mat”) are also appreciated. The surfaces are quite strong, but, owing to the wavy invoice, they look as lungs.
Contrary to the European traditions the table-top does not cover the legs: on the contrary, their end faces open beauty of wooden rings. Details - in the form of lockers, decorative couplers, have special importance.
Simplicity of forms emphasizes the importance of “free space”.
Charm of Japanese style is so great, that its elements can be even met in authentic reproduction of interiors in any country of the world.
However, usually, it is a question of use of separate subjects and creation of small “Japanese” corners.

Penthouse is a floor in attic space, which facade is entirely or partially formed by a surface of a roof. Usually the penthouse is equipped as the second level of an apartment of the top floor. Thus it almost always serves as private territory: bedrooms, children’s rooms, a cabinet, a bathroom are settled down there. At such lay-out of an apartment a hall, kitchen, a dining room and sitting room are recommended to be arranged at the first level. However, sometimes even “all apartment” can be placed at the big penthouse.
Children’s world or cabinet?
How is it better to dispose of inhabited space of a penthouse? Everyone solves this question depending on needs and tastes of members of household, choosing from two kinds of a lay-out - studio (opened) or room (cellular) lay-out. Division into rooms is recommended for the big family. However, even the open lay-out at competent selection of furniture, a variety designs in the form of moved apart partitions, transparent walls, green hedges from room colors, is capable to transform a penthouse-studio into a multipurpose premise, very comfortable for residing.
If your penthouse - is at the second floor of a two-level apartment it is the most expedient to equip on it rooms for “solitude” and “silence”. The nursery located thus, is isolated from other traditionally adult premises. You can always lay the child, not worrying, that something will disturb him with late wakefulness at the TV or in the company of visitors. And then, you can only imagine, what interesting world your child would have: inclined walls, unusual arrangement of windows which can also be unusual - round or triangular, a ladder leading on its top floor.
Children’s room on an attic is a dream of any child
Bedrooms above - are also an excellent variant, especially for the big family, inviting friends and relatives. By the way, it is good to sleep on a penthouse as thus the silence and rest are guaranteed. In the evening, when you are laying in the bed, owing to an inclination of windows, you can admire stars in the night sky.

Fabrics are rather grateful element of the interior. With their help we can not only decorate dwelling, but we also may hide some lacks. Fabrics are rather mobile material. Unlike many other things elements of an interior they can be easily operated -it is possible to change drapery, arrangements, and fabrics eventually if you have enough money for this purpose.
Draperies
Draperies are the decorative decision, alternative to traditional curtains. The window can be issued by any one fabric or several fabrics, which are close or contrast on color. Depending on the chosen fabric multilayered drapery creates an atmosphere of luxury, or strictness. Muslin, transparent synthetic fabrics, materials of average density is well draped. Fabrics with a contrast lining can be wrapped up around of eaves, after you have fixed their volumetric plait.
Classical variant of a drapery is represented by the simple eaves which have been wrapped up in one length of a fabric, symmetrically hanging down on both parties of the window. Draperies can be hung up as a loop, to find and the edges should fall to a floor. Light draperies, being often used in a combination to opaque curtains, protect room from curious eyes outside and supervise a stream of light.
Tendencies
One of such directions is characterized by fabrics in style of the early 70-ies. It is a large, often geometrical figure, with prevalence of pastel color gamut that approaches just for decoration of simple forms. Fabrics are basically synthetic.
One more fashionable direction foresees natural fabrics of quiet, pastel or light tones, well combined natural materials: a tree, metal. They well adjoin to vanguard novelties of an interior.
Simultaneously, there are fashionable upholsteries in the conservative style, calculated on traditional classical interiors. Silk, gobelin fabrics with traditional patterns (flowers, pastoral stages) are among them. They are distinguished with prevalence of quiet, soft tones: dark -purple, green, blue or bronze.

The parquet board is a progressive building material, it has thought up as replacement of a massive parquet board and to a piece parquet with the purpose of its cost reduction. The reasonable overlapping of firm and concerning soft breeds the wood, stable structure, easy stacking, and long service life - enable a parquet board to take a worthy place in the market of flour coverings.
In a multilayered parquet board valuable breeds of trees are used only in the uppermost layer which has the 3-4 mm thickness, other layers are carried out from less valuable breeds, more often are made of pine and fur-tree. Such design of a parquet board allows not only to lower its cost and to reduce the charge of wood of valuable breeds of trees, but also to correct some lacks inherent in a piece parquet and a parquet from a massive board. The matter is that the condition of parquet floors strongly depends on temperature and humidity conditions of the premises. So, for example, the change in humidity on 10 % leads to increase in the size of parquet from a file up to 1 square meter in width.
It is necessary to support humidity of 60 % and temperature not below 18С. As a rule, such conditions exist in city apartments only in the summer when the central heating does not work. In the winter relative humidity in an apartment often does not exceed 50 %. Any temperature and humidity conditions changes lead to piece parquet and a massive parquet board deformation.
Parquet board Floors are considerably less sensitive to the temperature and humidity conditions. Such effect is reached owing to perpendicular accommodation of layers of wood in a multilayered package. The top layer from valuable breeds of wood is placed with fibers along the long party of a board. Fibers of an average layer are placed across fibers top, and the bottom layer is pasted with fibers across previous one. In case of humidity changes wood changes the sizes basically in a cross-section direction. Layers with a perpendicular arrangement of fibers do not allow extending to the neighbors, which does not allow extending all design. Therefore the parquet board in much resistant to any humidity changes.
On the structure the top layer of a parquet board can be made in the form of a continuous plate, or is stuck together from several boards. To this attribute the parquet board can be divided into one-strip, two-way and three-lane parquet. The first type imitates parquet from the massive board, two second one- a piece parquet. The average layer is usually made of pine a board, the bottom layer is made of plywood.

Usually, when we touch the problem of coverings, we always dispute whether laminate is a modern substitute to parquet. But the parquet is an expensive floor covering, and besides its stacking demands significant efforts. So, what to do in this situation? Laminate can become one of the alternative variants of coverings. What is laminate? At once it is possible to say that laminate is not a kind of parquet, and it is not only its imitation. Unlike natural materials, the laminate is made not of a natural tree; it represents a printed decorative layer on a polymeric basis which simulates not only breed and the invoice of a tree, but also a roughness of the surface, covered by a wear proof film.
The classical laminate looks like a tree, but there are also marks in which the stone - a marble, granite, carpet coverings, a tile, and also ornaments, patterns and abstract pictures are imitated.
Having chosen a laminate as a floor covering, you will get rid of a headache on care of it. Neither scratches, nor dents from furniture wheels and ladies’ heels will remain on it. Even if the heavy subject will casually fall on it, it will not leave any trace. It is possible to draw, and even to go for a drive on roller skates on the laminate. This waterproof, very warm and absolutely harmless covering does not temp any allergy. Even the spilled paint or nail polish can be easily removed with acetone without any harm for the floor. It is easy to look after the laminated parquet, it is not necessary to scrape and polish it; it is enough to wipe it with damp cloth.
One of the significant pluses of the laminated parquet is that it is very simply mounted. The greater plates precisely processed at a factory, are easily and without backlashes adjusted to each other by “floating” stacking.
An edge is a weak side of the laminate. If at manufacturing the infringements of technology requirements occurred, the edges will be crumbled. It is possible to protect you from purchase of defective laminate, we advise you to choose the well-known firms’ production.

Usually, the surfaces of lateral walls and ceiling are sheathed by gypsum cardboard with which can be painted, pasted over with wall-papers or reveted with wooden panels. You may choose both parquet, and a ceramic tile for a floor covering - all this depends on your desire to unite visually the space of the reconstructed loggia with a room. And we advise you to arrange a floor with heating; such procedure is not is not too expensive and will provide comfortable temperature during the year.
Having attached loggia to an apartment, you will receive 5-8 square meters of extra space. Certainly, such compelled expansion of a living space has its lacks. First of all, it is a question of design features concerning the presence of   quite decent difference of a floor that can appear rather traumatic for children and older people, and also a portal, formed by the ledges of an old wall and “crosspiece” above the former window. However, according to designers, all these lacks can be turned into advantages by means of every possible drapery, drawings of patterns, creations of decorative columns and racks.
The received space can be used differently. You can arrange the cabinet on the former loggia (the other variant is to combine it with a winter garden), having separated it from a room with sliding panels or a screen. The ex-loggia also will ideally serve as a small exercise room or capacious wardrobe. It can be also turned into a fine bedroom - a lonely alcove for a two; there you may also arrange house cinema or a billiard table. And if it is necessary, you may screen a children’s game zone there. Quite often it occurs so that the former loggia turns into the dining room - for pleasant pastime behind a table, having both a podium, and panoramic windows. If the loggia becomes a part of kitchen, it can be turned into an extravagant bar or mini-cellar. So, everything depends just on your imagination.

Today the re-planning or converting loggia into the premises is one of the most popular receptions of re-planning in small-sized apartments. And simultaneously it is one of the most difficult and responsible house works. When each square meter in valuable, any opportunity of increase in a living space is appreciated, and such opportunity can’t be missed. But, when you are transforming loggia in a part of a room or kitchen, it is important to remember that your actions can affect the comfort and well-being of all inhabitants of the house.
The expansion of apartment premises due to a loggia needs to be started with invitation of the professional architect or the engineer who would make the project of forthcoming works and would make all necessary calculations, and also would prepare the documents for the forthcoming works coordinating.
At the first stage of loggia’s re-planning it is necessary to survey carefully its internal partition which can be made of a brick or a ferro-concrete plate. As a rule, there is a place for drain under it - it should be put in pawn with a brick, and all fine cracks should be cemented. A following stage of works foresees the window blocks installation. Here, we advise you to use a hollow structure from rigid PVC with thin partitions. It is wear-proof and it is difficultly ignited, it does not need an electric current, and it keeps heat. Today the market abounds with various systems of such structures so the customer needs to be defined only with width of a frame, quantity of “deaf” parts and shutters and in the way of opening of the last. Concerning the double-glazed window, the designers unequivocally recommend two-chamber window as it considerably will improve heat-and sound insulation of the expanded room.
When the dirtiest and labor-consuming works are finished, it is high time to start warming of the loggia. Perhaps, it is the most responsible stage demanding the maximal accuracy and scrupulousness. Actually the loggia should be wrapped up with multilayered “blanket”. We advise you to put vapour barrier (polythene, a foil) on a wooden or metal skeleton and then to put the heater and waterproofing materials (polythene, roofing material, mastic). You should remember that using of polyfoam it is categorically forbidden: it is a fire-dangerous material, besides allocating at burning poisonous substances.