Modern and Inspirational Dining Room Designs

One of the biggest problems with dining rooms is that they are often neglected just because they are such a trek from the kitchen.

Most often, formal dining areas are in a separate room, while informal dining areas are more commonly out in the open—frequently attached to the living room, family room, or kitchen.

Dining Room Furniture should be inspired by a sense of grandeur, impression, and elegance. To truly make a dining room formal, you need to pay attention to details from the window treatments down to the place mats.

For a different mood, consider creating a serious, luxurious space set aside specifically for great meals and conversation.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking that meals must be restricted to a formal table. A kitchen island, or even a counter top fitted with stools or high-sitting chairs, can also make for a fun dining experience.

Here are some modern designs for you to get the inspiration, when planning for the dining room furniture.

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Restoring earth

Geez, that's a pompous sounding title for a post, but I'm thinking about restoration and stewardship of the land where we live. I had an interesting meeting with a group of folks interested in promoting local food and growing your own vegetables today, and it's got me thinking.

My gardening companion and I live in a wonderfully diverse (biologically) part of the world, the Southeastern US, but the area that we live in -- the Piedmont -- has been shaped and dramatically altered by agriculture and logging, but increasingly more recently by development. Sprawling strip malls, cluster developments around intersections, 'big box' stores, supposedly needed supermarkets, fast food places, gas station/minit-marts; frankly, none of these are attractive at all.

Subdivisions aren't much better (I always think of the classic Pete Seeger song about the San Francisco suburb of Daly City-- 'they're all rows of ticky-tacky, and they all look just the same'). And the mega-house subdivisions, ugh.

But hopefully, even in a conservative area, we're considering how to balance land use with preservation of natural areas, and conservation initiatives to support farm and pastureland preservation.

But I do think we need to think about restoring 'earth' -- that is, patches of land that have been abused, abandoned, paved over, turned into lawn, subjected to substandard landscaping, left as vacant lots, etc....into something that's either restorative in terms of habitat for wildlife or productive in terms of food. And all the default plantings in commercial landscapes could be turned into wildlife-supporting habitats with native plants.

Something to dream about.

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10 Ways to Refresh with Color

1 -Nature's Palette

This nearly neutral room stays warm year-round with touches of sunny yellow, watery blue, and grass green. The sedate background is a smart long-term choice since the room can be updated in a snap with just a change in accessories.

2 -Warm and Cool Mix

Creamy yellow is paired with steely blue in this cozy yet sophisticated kitchen. Notice the pleasing rhythm that's created as the eye moves between the yellow upper cabinets and the island? The kitchen would be far less fetching if the cabinetry were a uniform color.

3 - Fresh Take

Red, white, blue...and pink? Sometimes the reward is worth the risk! Avoid creating pleasant but predictable rooms by taking a chance on a wildcard color now and again. Here, red and pink mingle in the accent pillows, and the blue trellis-patterned wallpaper makes an interesting backdrop for the pink headboard.

4 -Soft Spoken

Fresh color doesn't always mean bright color. This living room evokes a warm and welcoming mood with plush, familiar furniture and a subtle -- and surprisingly sophisticated -- palette of grayed pastels. The geometry of the classic white paneling accentuates the curvy shapes and hushed colors of the furnishings.

5 -Accessorize the Bath

Many people don't think of decorating their bathroom beyond a few guest towels. This oversight can result in a white tile cell with a clinical feel. Luckily, a white background pops with virtually any color. This modest little room is transformed into a charming sanctuary with a casual mix of quaint textiles and a romantic gilt mirror.

6 -All Mixed Up

Aqua, orange, lime, and white -- only the most fearless decorator would attempt that scheme. But some color combos look way better than they sound, if applied with a deft touch. Here, all the colors are united in the terrific rug, and the white furniture and simple window shades give the eyes a place to rest.

7 -Draw the Eye

Painting one wall an eye-catching color is a fast and effective way to create a focal point. Here, the sweet fuchsia color could have turned sickly if applied to the whole room. By limiting the violet tint to one wall and contrasting it with the complementary yellow headboard, the bed takes center stage.

8 -It's All in the Accessories

Wouldn't this colorful nook be a happy spot from which to launch your day? Looking closely, the space is really very neutral, with white and beige furniture, and walls that just whisper of yellow. The vignette's outgoing personality stems from the fresh blue, red, pink, and green accents strewn across the surfaces.

9 -Limelight

Imagine this room with exactly the same furniture and accessories -- except the bed frame is stained brown or painted white. Sure, the bedding is still chic and there's the stylish striped bench, but the space would have no oomph, no attitude. Sometimes all a room needs is one bold stroke of color for it to morph from dreary to dramatic.

10 -Fresh and Crisp

The sharp, classic combo of blue and white is a perennial crowd-pleaser. The addition of lemon yellow with twists of lively green gives this charming nook a fresh and modern point of view. The daring mix of color and pattern is grounded by soft walls, a wood floor, and clean white accents.

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One Section Cleared.

When I drove Romas up the road this morning the sky was grey, the road was grey and it was raining so I didn't take the camera. Of course there was that buzzard. sitting on the fence and it didn't fly away until the car was just a few feet away, drat! It started to clear a little so I decided to continue with my leaf clearing despite the temptation to sit in a nice warm kitchen and wrap Christmas presents. I did take the precaution of wearing 2 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of gloves so the rain and the hailstones weren't too much of a problem.

At last the stone circle was cut back, weeded and cleared.

As I didn't think to take a 'before' photo, this is another part of the scree garden waiting to be tidied.

This was the circle in early summer before the sedum had started to flower and attract hoards of butterflies.

Early spring the year before. I am very proud of the aubretia as I grew it from seed and it was the first time I had managed to get it to grow without being destroyed by the slugs.

It was back to school for the afternoon where the children were all hyped up because it was the Christmas Fayre. My class spent the afternoon folding paper to cut out snowflakes. Very educational though I could write a lesson plan linking it to maths and design if I had to .

The forecast is for -2 C in the night and early morning and it's raining so I've taken the precaution of leaving my car up the hill in case of black ice.

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Posh Living

So I am back from my vacation! I had a wonderful time in Colorado, in addition to a very leisurely ride back to Minnesota. The weather pretty much cooperated the entire time, except for Sunday when we got stuck in Des Moines...but I wasn't ready to go home yet anyway!

Aren't these images great?! I found them on the Flickr photostream belonging to Posh Living, a design shop in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. I just those gorgeous vintage style board and batten walls! Such lovely shades of blue everywhere.

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Tips Persiapan Dan Saat Menghadapi Gempa Bumi

Awal September 2007, wilayah Sumatra, tepatnya Propinsi Bengkulu, dikagetkan dengan bencana gempa bumi yang mencapai 6,9 SR. Berdasarkan informasi dari media massa elektonik, akibat gempa bumi tersebut merengut korban jiwa sedikitnya 6 orang dan warga mengalami kerugian yang tidak sedikit. Bangunan-bangunan seperti sekolah, rumah sakit, pusat perbelanjaan pun tidak luput dari kerusakan akibat gempa tersebut.
Untuk itu, kita perlu mengetahui persiapan dan langkah yang harus dilakukan saat menghadapi gempa agar terhindar dari runtuhan perabotan dan bangunan.

Persiapan sebelum terjadi gempa
1. Merenovasi ulang struktur bangunan tempat tinggal
2. Memperhatikan letak pintu, lift, dan tangga darurat di lingkungan tempat tinggal dan tempat kerja, serta tempat yang memungkinkan aman untuk berlindung ketika terjadi gempa.
3. Belajar melakukan P3K dan mengetahui bagaimana menggunakan Pemadam Kebakaran
4. Mencatat nomor telpon penting yang dapat dihubungi pada saat terjadi gempa
5. Perabotan seperti, lemari dan cabinet diatur menempel pada dinding dengan cara di paku atau diikat untuk menghindari jatuh atau bergeser pada saat terjadi gempa.
6. Simpanlah bahan yang mudah terbakar ditempat yang tidak mudah pecah, agar terhindar dari kebakaran.
7. Usahakan meletakkan benda yang berat sedapat mungkin berada pada bagian bawah.
Tindakan Saat Terjadi Gempa
Berada didalam ruangan/bangunan
1. Bila berada di dalam bangunan, berlindunglah di bawah meja yang besar dan kokoh. Karena semakin besar bendanya, maka semakin kuat benda tersebut dan semakin kecil kemungkinannya untuk terluka akibat reruntuhan.
2. Selain itu, Doug Copp, Kepala Penyelamat dan Manajer Bencana dari American Rescue Team International (ARTI), tim penyelamat paling berpengalaman di dunia, sangat menyarankan untuk berlindung di samping suatu benda seperti di samping sofa, di samping benda besar yang kemungkinan akan remuk sedikit tapi menyisakan ruangan kosong di sebelahnya. Contohnya jika anda berada di tempat tidur pada saat gempa terjadi, bergulinglah ke samping tempat tidur, atau berbaring meringkuk di sebelah sofa atau kursi besar.
3. Bila tidak ada, lindungilah kepala dengan bantal atau benda lainnya.
4. Jauhi rak buku, almari dan jendela kaca.
5. Jangan berdiri di belakang pintu saat terjadi gempa, karena pintu tersebut dapat rubuh ke depan atau ke belakang dan anda akan tertimpa langit-langit di atasnya.
6. Berlari keluar bangunan apabila masih dapat dilakukan.
7. Jika gempa cukup kuat jangan gunakan tangga, karena tangga memiliki "momen
frekuensi" yang berbeda, sehingga tangga akan berayun terpisah dari bangunan utama. Tangga akan menjadi bagian bangunan yang paling mungkin untuk rusak.
Berada di luar bangunan
1. Jauhi bangunan tinggi, dinding, tebing terjal, tiang listrik, papan reklame, pohon yang tinggi, dsb untuk menghindar dari tertimpanya benda-benda tersebut.
2. Usahakan dapat mencapai daerah yang terbuka seperti lapangan.
3. Jangan berhenti di atas jalan layang atau dibawah jembatan/kolong tol.
4. Bila getaran gempa kuat, keluarlah dari dalam kendaraan, karena orang-orang yang berada di dalam kendaraan akan tertimpa reruntuhan bahan bangunan tinggi atau jalanan di atasnya runtuh dan akibatnya meremukkan kendaraan seperti yang terjadi pada lantai-lantai jalan tol Nimitz.
(Okliviana/berbagai sumber)

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