Of course windows go a long way towards bringing light into a room, but when your natural light is limited you can brighten up a room in so many other ways as well. Wall color and accent colors can add to the illusion of a lighter, brighter space, and well-placed lighting fixtures can really increase the brightness factor in any room.

Helping Mother Nature

Start with your natural lighting. Make sure that your windows are clean and dress them with fabrics that do not obstruct the light. Light colored fabrics and sheers work well. Hanging mirrors on the wall opposite a window helps amplify the natural light that is already coming into the room.

To light the entire room, track lighting and recessed lighting are sensible options. Track lighting can light an entire space or be directed at a specific area of the room, whereas recessed lighting is installed flush on the ceiling, providing an even layer of light throughout the room. For the most natural light effect choose soft, white incandescent light bulbs in your fixtures.

An effective way to brighten a room either subtly or dramatically is to bounce light off of the ceiling. To do this you can use wall sconces, light fixtures hidden in crown molding or even tall lamps. Lamps also are great for providing task lighting for reading or working.

Brighten with Color

By painting your walls in pale colors like neutrals or pastels, you allow the light to bounce off of the walls making the room appear brighter. By keeping wallpaper patterns simple and floor coverings on the lighter side, you increase the amount of light moving around the room.

This neutral backdrop also gives you an ideal opportunity to decorate your room. Darker woods and fabrics will really stand out as they contrast the pale colors of the walls and floor, and in turn they make the room seem even brighter.

Accessories Can Brighten any Room

Adding shiny materials into the room through your accents and accessories will go a long way towards keeping the room feeling light and airy. By incorporating furniture with highly polished surfaces like glass or metal tables the room will feel light and full of movement as light bounces from the walls to the furniture to the mirrors to the ceiling to the floor and back to the walls. Adding silver and crystal accessories will further enhance the light energy in the room.

Reflective tiles around a fireplace help brighten the focal point of a room. Mirrored surfaces can also be strategically placed beside light sources to reflect brightness back into the room.

Then choose some of your favorite artwork or a brightly patterned area rug, and pull an accent color or two from them to use in your pillows, vases, lamps and centerpieces. Adding plants and flowers to a space can also help add brightness to any room.

Painting is a decorative feature on external or internal surfaces in a structure. This has different shades of colors. The surface to be decorated is what will determine the paint type to use. This may be oil or emulsion. In a high human traffic area, washable paints are advisable to use. The wall is done with oil or gloss paint. Emulsions or water based paints are used for building interiors or exteriors. The mixing is to the manufactures instructions.

Painting commences with preparing the wall surfaces. The plaster surface should be dry. The work should only be done in dry weather conditions. This starts with sanding and rubbing down walls and is to ensure that all loose mortar or dirt is removed. It is done with a sand paper. A brush is used for dusting the wall. Repairs or corrections should be done early. This is to avoid wetting the dry walls. Timber surface knotting is done before sanding.

Priming or applying undercoats on wall surfaces should be done. Before proceeding the undercoats must be dry. Filling is done to patch up any dents on the wall with fillers. It is are then sanded smooth. After this a first coat is painted. After drying, the second filling is done to ensure a smooth surface. Fine glass paper should be used to rub down the fillers. This should be very smooth for oil or enamel paints to avoid hair lines on the wall.

The painting proceeds to the second and third coat. Each coat should be left to dry thoroughly before the next one is applied. This work should be done with a good fine brush. The decoration should not show brush marks. Other painting tools used include spray guns and rollers. Remember that it is advisable to do the final coat after major dusty or wet floor finishes are completed. If different colors are used on the walls, a tape for marking the joint is used.

Welcome back to "What interior house paint goes where and why" for painting walls the second part, painting plasterboard walls. Well let us get straight into what interior house paint to use for our second type of walls, remember they were the most common walls, plasterboard or gyprock plasterboard.

Now when interior wall painting these types, they need to be sealed also, using an... acrylic sealer undercoat...Unlike the oil based type we used for wet set plaster the water based product also penetrates the plasterboard.? It seals its cardboard like fibres back preparing it ready for its top coats. The best finish or coats of paint to apply again is a good quality interior low sheen acrylic. There are some great low sheen's on the market. You can also purchase it in eco friendly or low VOC paints that are really good for the environment and have very low emissions. Very easy on your snout ;-) so if your interested in going down that path ask for it when buying your paint.

Do not forget when painting walls always use two coats of paint and get a nice thick durable coat on, it makes cleaning a whole lot easier and it's easier to put on as well. As long as you have prepared your walls and filled properly you'll get a nice pro looking finish with low sheen.

Put time into prep work you will get good results remember this! Painting is 95% prep and 5% finish work. OK! I will have you painting like a pro in no time. :-)

By the way if your walls have existing coats of paint and you're looking to repaint as long as you have prepared your walls correctly, two good coats of low sheen will be fine to redecorate.

Well I still have a lot of interior painting tips to cover and I would love to share my knowledge of what has made me the tradesman I am today. So please keep your eyes cast on this spot and I will endeavor to share the secrets of the painting trade with YOU! and you will have a paint finish you'll be proud of.

Remember a good quality low sheen when home painting is what you want when painting walls. Splash some paint around and colour your world he he! That is it for what interior house paint goes where and why when painting walls of the second types.

Catch ya and happy painting...Wayne the painter

Feng shui is the art of improving the environment in which you live or work by making a series of changes to the color, layout and decor. There are a number of people who think of feng shui as being very mystical and hard to comprehend. There are professional consultants who specialize in customized analysis of an individual and their home. However basic feng shui principles are very easy to learn and can be applied by anyone.

Have you ever been in a room that you did not feel completely comfortable in? The reason may be that the flow of 'qi' or energy in that room is blocked due to the layout. Feng shui can be used to free up that flow of energy. By doing so, the mood of the person who spends time in that room will likely change too. For instance, a lot of clutter is always a sign of bad feng shui. How can energy flow freely when there is an accumulation of unnecessary stuff everywhere? The general mood a person experiences when living or working in a cluttered space is stress and anxiety. The simple act of getting rid of junk and reorganizing a space will cause an improvement in one's mood. Try doing that on a bigger scale by using basic feng shui techniques and find out for yourself what great changes you will experience.

Feng shui room by room to truly get the most out of the experience. Every room in your home serves a purpose therefore the same principles cannot be applied to all rooms. That being said, colors, furniture arrangement and decor should vary from room to room.

Feng shui colors depend on the mood that needs to be set for that particular room. Some of these principles are pretty common sense. For instance, the bedroom is a place for relaxation and rest. The colors typically used should not be loud and overbearing such as a bright red or electric blue. For those who want to learn more advanced techniques, you can match the color to your own element (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) and pick a color that will completely create balance and achieve harmony for you.

Feng shui room layout refers to the way furniture is arranged to increase the flow of energy. Specific decorations can also be used to help with this task. Placement of furniture in a particular room will depend not only on the entire layout of the house, but also what purpose the room serves. Simple changes can be made to existing furniture and decorations. You may discover that some may have to be moved around while others have no place in the room and need to be removed. Start applying these easy principles to your own home and see what amazing changes it will bring to your life.

With the technological advances of the last few years, the burglar alarm industry has expanded by leaps and bounds. What used to take days of wiring and drilling holes by a trained alarm system professional can now be performed by a much more simple home security device. Some of the latest residential alarm systems feature wireless technology, and other non intrusive features that make it possible for renters and condominium owners to have the same peace of mind that is enjoyed by homeowners with more traditional residential home security systems. If you are thinking about adding a home security device to your home, you should keep these couple of select features and devices in mind.

One of the simplest, yet most sophisticated home security device offerings that have come out of the recent technological improvements is talking or voice activated devices. These are residential alarm systems that can be activated and programmed with your voice only. Voice recognition software is included so that the home security device is ready to respond to your voice and the voices of your family members. If you are not very technologically savvy, you should know that there are even some systems that will literally talk you through the installation process themselves.

Another home security device that most people don't even think about until after the fact is the window sticker or yard sign advertising that your home is equipped with a particular type of residential alarm system. These simple accessories have been shown to be quite effective when thieves are looking for the best home to break into. If your house is proudly displaying a window sticker or yard sign, the thief is likely to think twice about risking arrest and injury by breaking in anyway. Some people even feel like having the sign is enough and don't actually install the system; however this is dangerous and not recommended. It is also important to remember that if you don't arm your system all the time, a brave thief might test it out and get in anyway.

Another important home security device that you should be sure to have access to is a portable keypad. Many of the national brands of residential alarm system products now include key pads that can be carried in your car or even on your key chain. These provide a fast way to arm or disarm the system in case of an emergency.This is a great home security device to have for those family members that have a difficult time remembering what the keypad code is. With just a push of a button, you can arm or disarm the system easily.

These are just a few of the home security devices that you may want to consider when you looking to improve your security. Ask your security professional if there are any others that you may want to add to your protection system.

A portable air conditioner (A/C) is a type of compact room air conditioner that does not need permanent installation. Since it is portable, it can be transferred from one room to the other to give spot or additional cooling. The main unit sits on a set of wheels. They would, however, require unconventional ducting such as a hose to remove hot air away from the room. Thus, they inevitably have to be located at or near doors or windows.

Portable A/C units have working capacities of up to 20,000 BTUs per hour. They are available with or without heaters. They work with the same principles just as room units do. A portable air conditioner sucks in warm room air through inlets. The air is then cooled by cooling coils within the unit and then blown out at the front into the room. The extra hot air is expelled at the back of the unit and vented using exhaust hoses. Units with heating functions simply reverse the whole process.

Most consumers incorrectly assume that the higher the rating, the better the unit is. They only end up paying more than what is necessary and endure a spike in electricity costs, not to mention wasting energy. Manufacturers and retailers normally advise consumers how much cooling power is sufficient for the intended use. Room area is usually matched with cooling capacities. Too much or too little power will not work properly. From there, buyers are presented with brand options that fit their pockets.

They are more expensive than window air conditioners. Moreover, there is a chance that the hot air vented outside will return back into the room being cooled. A portable air conditioner uses a lot of electrical power like the window units. Electrical ratings must be ensured to be sufficient to prevent fire and electrical hazards. Extension cords that are not properly rated should be avoided.

Paints consist of a color pigment + a binder + a vehicle (such as oil or water). The binder can be synthetic (alkyd resin or acrylic) or natural (plant oil or resin, natural latex, animal glue, casein, milk, egg, or cellulose). Most paints emit VOC's (volatile organic compounds) which contaminate the indoor air long after the paint cures.

Natural paints usually dry faster and contain fewer VOC's. Generally, a low VOC paint contains less than 50 grams per liter, while a no VOC paint has fewer than 5 grams per liter. Lower VOC amounts are found in natural paints and in flatter sheens (more binder = more gloss = more VOC's). Lower VOC content equals a naturally, healthier paint. Here are some important reasoning points:
1. Synthetic paints trap moisture and may bubble or crack over time.
2. Natural paints remain flexible, moving with the natural expansion and contraction of wood and metal.
3. Synthetic paints are statically charged and so attract dust.
4. Natural paints 'breathe' negative ions which purify the indoor air and resist dust.
5. Synthetic paints contribute to 'sick building syndrome' causing headaches, eye irritation, and lethargy.
6. Most synthetic paints contain VOC's. Short-term exposure may cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and blurred vision. Long-term exposure (i.e. all you painters out there) may cause asthma, emphysema, dermatitis, memory loss, and bladder and lung cancer.
7. The average indoor environment is 10 times more polluted than the external environment. So why not use paints that keep your indoor environment healthy?!

Tips: Each coat of plaster, primer and paint must cure fully before the subsequent coat is applied-otherwise your finish may remain odorous and tacky. Also, good ventilation is key-it speeds drying time and is healthier for the painter and the occupants. Use fans and open windows to allow for 'offgassing' (from VOC's). Make sure that each coat (plaster, primer, paint) is completely dry before applying the next coat. Visit www.greenseal.org for specific product information.

Recipe for a homemade casein color-wash
* Combine juice of 1 lemon with 1 liter of skim milk and set aside overnight in a warm place to curdle.
* Strain mixture with cheesecloth and set aside curds.
* Mix with color paste (make a color paste by mixing 4 tbsp dry mineral pigment with a bit of water)
* Stir often and apply within a day onto walls prepared with a flat base coat.
* Apply with 4-6 inch course brush in cross-hatch fashion.
Suitable for rooms with low moisture-not recommended for bathrooms and basements). Soap and water cleanup for brushes.