Home Decoration

Aluminum and vinyl blinds of a manageable size can be taken down and washed in the bathtub. Mix a mild detergent with water and scrub blinds with a sponge. Once clean, rinse them with water. Let them dry thoroughly, partially drawn up and flat in the tub, before reinstalling. You can speed up the drying time with a hair dryer.

Blinds are commercially made window coverings that can have either vertical or horizontal slats, have an accordion or honeycomb construction or are woven from natural or synthetic reeds. In one style, slats are sandwiched between two sheer fabric layers that diffuse light when the slats are open. In yet another style, slats are laminated vertically to a single fabric layer for a curtain effect.

Hand-painted canvas floor-cloths are very easy to care for. Newly made ones will most likely be painted with acrylic or latex paints and finished with several coats of polyurethane. A damp mop or sponge will quickly clean the surface. However, if you own an antique floor cloth, avoid water and clean with a dry dust mop or the dust attachment on a vacuum cleaner because the finish is likely a varnish incompatible with water.

Regular maintenance is important since all rugs,including carpets wear out from the bottom. Grit and sand settle at the base of loop and pile constructions or lodge between the yarns of flat tapestry weaves, cutting fibers and wearing out the rug. So to improve the life of your rugs, vacuum often.

Most often it is the construction of an area rug that establishes its formality or informality. Rag, hooked and braided rugs are considered informal and casual, perfect for country settings. On the opposite end, Aubusson and Oriental rugs generally appear in formal rooms with period furniture.

In its friendliest, most congenial presentation an area rug fits under the front and back legs of the furniture in its focal area. The rug should fit under the front legs of all the pieces in the area at the very least. If you have no choice but to use a small area rug within a large space then lay it at an angle to some furniture pieces to make it appear larger and more important.