Beach Theme Wedding Ideas

You can have your beach theme wedding right on an actual beach, or capture the atmosphere without being seaside. Either way, a beach theme can be extremely romantic and lots of fun.

Location:

If you want to hold your wedding on a beach, look at lake and seaside restaurants, clubs, hotels, resorts, parks and mansions.

If you can't or don't a wedding on the sand, there are great locations that can still contribute to your theme:

On a boat
At a marina
Any venue with a view of the water – lake, river or sea
Any venue with prominent fish tanks, especially tropical
A hotel's swimming pool area
In a backyard by a pool

Or, if you're up for something completely different and unforgettable, you can get married alongside real sharks, seals and other marine creatures at a maritime aquarium, such as the Norwalk Aquarium.

Invitations:

Establish your beach theme from the start by sending your wedding invitations as messages in bottles. You can order bottles for less than $1 and fill them with invitations you print yourself on weathered-looking paper – think treasure map. Tear the edges, roll them up and put them in the bottles with a sprinkling of sand, tiny shells, or confetti. Specialty Bottle sells them online, and can also supply mailing boxes or tubes and bubble wrap. If you'd prefer to have your invitation in a bottle printed and assembled for you, Marketing in a Bottle will take care of it all for around $2 each.

Décor:

Whether you're on a beach or not, you can use a rowboat filled with ice to hold canned and bottled beverages.

Have an ice sculpture of a mermaid in a conch shell or dolphins.

Incorporate shells and sand into your centerpieces. Put them into vases or bottles, and for centerpieces, plant shell studded candles in bowls of sand with seashells scattered throughout.

Rent palm trees for an indoor location. If there's a fish tank, let it show. Look for sculptures of sand castles, fishing boat decorations, miniature boats in bottles, and fishing nets. Place sand chairs around the location, and chaises covered with bold beach towels. Outdoors, use tiki lights to light pathways.

Attire:

If your wedding is going to be on the sand, steer clear of traditional wedding dresses and think about a sundress, sarong or tea length gown in linen or gauze. You'll need to go on the casual side, so have fun with it. Let your groom be your captain in a sharp blue blazer, white pants and a captain's hat. Your groomsmen could dress as sailors or pirates. Or go Hawaiian with print shirts, muumuus and sarongs. And don't forget the sunglasses. (For more ideas on what to wear for your beach wedding, see Beach Theme Wedding Dress Ideas.

For a beach theme wedding that doesn't require getting around on the sand, also consider a sleek and sexy mermaid style wedding dress.

Food:

Of course, any seafood will do, but try to avoid the predictable stuffed flounder and have some fun with your menu. Conch salad. Shrimp on the Barbie. An oyster bar. California rolls (crabmeat, avocado and cucumber sushi). Swordfish steaks for the "meat eaters." Or opt for a New England clambake.

For beverages, serve tropical "umbrella" drinks (nonalcoholic too), iced tea, homemade lemonade, marguritas.

Music:

If you plan to marry on the sand, it's critical that you inform your prospective DJ's and musicians, since sand can have ill effects on equipment and instruments.

Treat your guests to tunes by the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet. Be sure to put "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" and "Margaritaville " on your song list.

Favors:

Present your favors in plastic children's beach pails. Some items you might want to put in the pails include:

Beach ball (deflated)
Sun screen
Ocean print hand towel or washcloth
Sand dollars
Lifesavers candy
Cheap sunglasses
Seashell soaps
Natural sponge
Starfish
Shell encrusted candles
Beach Boys CD
"Beach Blanket Bingo" DVD
Plastic leis

Flowers:

Use strategically placed tropical blooms amidst bold foliage and palm fronds. These will work for bouquets as well as decorations. Anthurium, King Protea, Heliconia, calla lilies and orchids all make stunning bouquets and arrangements. Although tropical flowers are quite expensive, you don't need many to make a fantastic impact.

Joanna Cali is the publisher of the Westchester Wedding Guide, an online bridal guide that offers articles, advice and tips on planning a wedding. She also owns a web development and search engine optimization firm in Westchester, NY http://www.calicosystems.com.

Do You Have a "Master" Bedroom? You Shouldn't! Tips for Remodeling Your Bedroom

The word "master" is an antiquated term that suggests control, domination, and inequality, and in today's cooperative partner and/or single parent household, the label "master suite" has become obsolete. In that light, master bedrooms would more properly be called "main bedrooms" in today’s society.

Far removed from the activity of family rooms and busy kitchens, the bedroom is the place where your day begins and ends. Surprisingly, however, main bedroom redecorating frequently ranks near the bottom of most people's home renovation lists. But if you want an immediate uplift of your emotional state, there are few projects that will do that more effectively than remodeling your main bedroom.

Remodeling Your Main Bedroom for Happiness

The main bedroom, with its softened textures, serene artwork, and muted patterns, intimately captures the warmth of a home. Passion colors, such as red, purple, royal blue, rose, or the gilt of gold, add drama and indulgence. Plan your main bedroom design with private times in mind, beginning with the purpose of the bedroom. Do you want a Passion Boudoir, Reading Room, or Private Sanctuary?

Passion Boudoir

French women are known to create the sexiest bedrooms in the world, and like many French women, today's homemakers often plan for sex and decorate accordingly, creating evocative, enticing bedrooms. Here are a few suggestions for creating a Passion Boudoir:

Flattering colors contribute to personal beauty and are erotically appealing. Choose seductive colors like Rouge Red, Lipstick Reds, Creamy Peaches, and Subtle Pinks. Make sure the colors enhance your natural beauty. Be daring and use bold colors on the walls.

Luscious fabrics will set the stage for sensuousness. Use silky, velvet, and chenille textures in combination with nubby textures. Use fabrics that remind you of a favorite shared memory. Exotic patterns, such as animal prints or tropical florals, conjure images of faraway journeys.

Locating mirrors in unusual places, such as the tops of dressers or side tables, reflect dancing candle light. Tropical plants and trees, uplit with special lights, also cast exciting shadows.

An intimate bistro table, set with two chairs, invites private conversations. Dressing tables, furnished with feminine accessories and intimate objects, add mystery and romance to a room.

Just the presence of a bed tray suggests the possibility of the ultimate pleasure: breakfast in bed, while soft lighting, candles, essential oils in a diffuser, and gentle oscillating fans effectively complete the décor in a Passion Boudoir.

Reading Rooms

If you're one of the many people who love to read in their bedrooms, you might consider designing your main bedroom with lounging and reading books in mind. Since eye experts warn that it's bad for a person's eyes to read while lying down (because we tend to hold the book too close), you might begin by enabling proper reading posture by installing padded headboards.

Another consideration is lighting. Eye experts claim that readers need at least two reading lamps of at least 175-200 watts, but that type of lighting would seem quite harsh in a bedroom setting. In fact, as my friend Madi, a devoted bedroom reader, says, "My reading time is some of my most important time, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. It's the most intimate time I give myself; it compares to what others may call meditation. Just being in a space that's warm and comfortable with a good book is the greatest thing in the world to me, and any bright light would change the ambience of that quiet time."

Madi certainly isn't alone in cherishing her reading time, or in opposing harsh lighting in the bedroom. So instead of individual lights, consider equalizing the overall lighting scheme by adding other less obtrusive lights across the room.

Good colors for Reading Rooms include Old World Ivory, Antique Amber, Sage Green, and Slate Blue. These soft colors reflect light without glare and also support peaceful feelings.

Squishy pillows, luxurious Afghans or throws, landscape paintings with distant horizons, and mirrors for private reflections add feelings of indulgence. A great lounge chair with a floor lamp and nearby tea table completes the additions to a perfect Reading Room.

Private Sanctuary

Perhaps you'd rather turn your main bedroom into a personal retreat, where you can escape and unwind from a busy day. Surround yourself with photos of friends, family, and places you love, as well as your favorite artwork and meaningful mementos. Under-furnished private sanctuaries can also give you the space to contemplate and daydream.

Good colors for private sanctuaries include dark Forest Greens, deep Chocolates, Mochas, Navy or Cobalt Blues, and Eggplant. Darker colors create a womb-like feeling and aid deep sleep.

A writing desk, accompanied by a comfortable chair, induces journal and letter writing. A small refrigerator will make you feel as if you can enjoy your time in the bedroom without interruption, and a television offers the opportunity to watch your favorite movies and shows. Room-darkening window coverings also encourage deep sleep and aid in the restoration of your soul.

Living Room Furniture in Bedrooms

Bedrooms can truly become living rooms when they're furnished luxuriously -- like a private suite. Adding furniture usually considered living room pieces automatically upscales the importance of your bedroom. Sofas, rocking chairs, or matching overstuffed chairs help create the feeling of an oasis.

The bedroom is the most personal of all the rooms in our home. In fact, as a Realtor, I've been in houses on home tours where the main bedroom was off-limits. That may seem strange, but it only served to add to the mystery of the home. I've also been in a delightful home where the living room itself had actually been turned into a fabulous main bedroom!

Only you can decide the best bedroom setting for your personal preferences and lifestyle, but if you want to make a dramatic change for the better in your life, there's no better way to accomplish that than remodeling your main bedroom!

Copyright © 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)

Jeanette Fisher teaches home makers five easy steps to makeover their homes for happiness. She is the author of interior design and real estate books and teaches interior Design Psychology, Free Design Psychology ebooks. http://www.designpsych.com

 

The Oriental Vs. Contemporary Bedroom Design Theory

Dear friends,

If you have read any interior design books/articles, visited a few websites on the internet, you will find the word theme used quite often.

What exactly is a theme-based design?

A theme according to me is a collection of various parameters of design of an interior space. So a theme may include a certain set colors, materials, repetition of a certain element, such as a decorative item, etc...

Primarily there are two basic themes under which a design can be categorized, 1)Oriental 2)Contemporary.

Oriental Bedroom Design Theme:

These kind of themes have a still drilled down niche design themes, such as country, rustic, vintage, elegant, etc... One of the major thing about these kind of themes is that much emphasis is given on the natural beauty of any material. These designs are close to nature or are shown to be close to nature.

These kind of design styles are very rarely found in the urban city interiors. Mostly the countryside homes adopt these kind if themes, to replicate the flora and fauna of the outside environment.

The designer tries to include the patters seen in nature, such as leaves, flowers, plants. All these natural patterns are seen on wallpaper patterns, decorative lamps, curtains, furniture upholstery, wall paintings, etc...

Homes which are build on country side such as farm houses, the scarcity of space is not an issue, but this creates another problem as far as designing interiors is concerned.

A bedroom, no matter of what size it is, requires some basic furniture elements as functional needs, such as a double bed, dressing table, wardrobes, study tables, a book shelf etc..

It is sometimes possible that because of the large spaces, the bedroom looks empty after the furniture is arranged. At such times "decoration" plays a major role. During ancient years the palaces and castles had such large built spaces, where extensive use of decoration was used in the form of paintings, heavy decorative flooring patterns, carvings, moldings as a decorative architectural elements.

So in this oriental design trend, decoration of the space using various accessories plays a major role.

Contemporary design Theme:

These kind of design themes are very new as compared to the previously mentioned oriental design theme. But how did the designers came along using these kind of designs?

During the starting years of the 20th century, the "Industrial Revolution" in Europe changed the face of our planet. It was easy to design and manufacture goods on a mass scale with amazing speed and efficiency.

This created a flood of industries in and around the cities. These cities attracted large amount of people to migrate from rural areas to city centers in search of a living.

Because of this migratory effect there was a sudden need of housing requirement for the workers. This is where the concept of an "apartment" was introduced. Because of the pressure of demand, a school of thoughts emerged within the architects, who believed that "simplicity" is the need of today's era.

They thought that, the design of the building has to be simple and easy to build, then only we can compete with the growing demand of housing needs in cities. That's why simple designs with mostly plane and square faces with square or rectangular openings were used. These forms and masses were easy to build and still beautiful. If everything from "safety pins" to "space ships" could be built on a mass scale, why not "buildings".

The school of thought believed that a plane rectangular form is in itself beautiful and they proved this using infinite permutations and combinations of the basic square form. That's why decoration was given a second preference. Today we call this school of thought as "contemporary". In contemporary design every element has an order.

That's why in today's modern interior design, simplicity is the key to an efficient design. Unlike the previous oriental design theme, the contemporary design theme states that any kind of architectural decoration is always dependent on the basic form of the building. The form itself is so beautiful, that the need to further decorate it is not required. Today's modern interiors spaces are simple to understand, simple to construct, and project a kind of simplicity.

By reading the above paragraphs some of you might say that, decoration is no more needed. But this is not true. I am not trying to force some ideas here. But most people confuse the whole concept of "Interior Design" and "Interior Decoration". Both are quite different and both have a unique value in today's complex society.

Decoration was something the primitive man learned, looking at the nature around him. He saw plants, flowers, birds, animals and tried to copy these elements. We still use "embroidery" on our dresses. But the modern design theory says that any sort of decoration can only "enhance" the existing form, but can not be an element of design.

What does this mean?

In the above said example the "embroidery" pattern can certainly add to the beauty of the cloth, but the modern theory denies to accept the cloth to be of a cheap quality. It states that every form, texture, material, shape is in itself beautiful and must be accepted as it is. Because of this the need to further decorate it does not arise.

Thus decoration whether used in architecture or elsewhere is always dependant on the form on which it is used, but design is an independent entity which does not need any justification from the external factors.

The two design themes mentioned above are still widely used today. The user must look upon them from a point of view of what best suits his/her likes and dislikes. Only then can you give yourself and your family the best quality of living.

I hope this article was informative to everyone.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster of Bedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .Visit TODAY to get an in-depth knowledge of master bedrooms, teen bedrooms and child bedrooms.

 

The Two Pillars of a Successful Interior Design Project!

Whenever I think of any design, be it interior design or product design, a few things very naturally come up in my mind. These are in the form of questions.

The best part is, answers to these questions can give rise to a very successful design in itself. Let's see how.

If I am planning to design a piece of furniture, let's say a double bed, immediate I start relating to what I already know about double beds, some picture/image I have already seen, something I have seen in some furniture shop, etc...Then I start thinking about what material I should think about, the budget, dimensions, age group of people who are going to use it, etc... If you answer these questions one by one on a paper, you will get a blueprint of the design process, so that you can convert in into technical drawings, with all the joinery details and finally the product.

Amongst above mentioned questions some are directly related to function of the double bed as a piece of furniture.

What does this mean?

When I ask myself, what should be the dimensions of a double bed? I have very little freedom to decide the dimensions of the bed, because there are certain norms to be followed in order to serve it's basic function and that's comfort.

But what if I say that I will keep the overall surface area of the bed same , but make it round in plan. Will it be ok..

Now here I am trying to achieve both function and aesthetics, without sacrificing the comfort of the person who will use it. So during any design process there will be times when the designer need to take some decisions where he has to keep aside his wildest ideas and pay attention to function first.

That's why the true success of an interior design project is a good balance between function and aesthetics.

Expressing this kind of balance through design is not an easy task, because function is universally accepted, but aesthetics, not always.

What does this mean?

Beauty is always relative. A washbasin has a common universal function of an appliance to be used for washing hands, but it's beauty is relative. What is beautiful for me, might not hold true for you.

So a design expression can have a unique style of the designer himself. It is possible that the designer is more comfortable with certain kinds of materials/finishes/color schemes, etc.. which can reflect in his designs.

In spite of these personal touches a good designs always caters the needs of the user first. A good designer has a certain kind of convincing power in his/her style which he uses to expresses in the design without sacrificing the likes/dislikes of the user.

There are designers who are more comfortable in designing only a certain kind space such as bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, public spaces such as restaurants, clubs, gymnasiums.

Of course this is entirely of a personal choice, but there is this same message in their designs, shell out your ego and design for the best parameters with worst possibilities taken into considerations. This is what gives birth to a great design.

I hope this article was helpful.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

Shrinivas Vaidya discusses some great interior design ideas at his website. Visit his website http://www.bedroom-design-and-decorating-ideas.com today to get an overview of decorating and remodeling interior spaces in your home

 

Interior Design - Design Your Own Bathroom

There is a relatively new trend in bathroom design and that is creating the home spa. Sure, the spa feeling includes glamorous vanities, exclusive light fixtures, luxurious bathroom accessories and much more. It sounds expensive, doesn't it? Well, this is not necessarily true. If you look at interior decorating magazines you wonder how professionals get such amazing vanities and bathroom suites. That's not so hard. Creating a luxurious bathroom is, as a matter of fact, an affordable task and having a luxurious bathroom is no longer the exclusive privilege of a millionaire or Hollywood celebrity.

Probably the first step in redecorating your bathroom would be the acquisition of a new bathroom suite. There are so many models to choose from and so many are really affordable. You can opt for a contemporary look infused with an antique touch to create a romantic feeling, or you can even choose deep-set baths that will enhance that modern look you are trying to create. Mixing styles is a modern trend: don't be afraid to experience it. You'll get a bathroom design out of its time, one that cannot go out fashion, because it's distinctive and inimitable. Inimitable doesn't mean expensive: just give ebay a try. There you'll find bathtubs and bathroom suites for any budget. Besides, manufacturers all over the world compete to create more appealing products, using innovative materials, including acrylic, mineral crystal composites (such as the Quarrycast developed by the UK manufacturer Victoria & Albert), cast iron and much more.

You can even get that wellness spa feeling with a whirlpool bath, a steam shower or a massage shower cabin. No matter if your bathroom is small or big, there are always ways to transform it into a real home spa. Be creative and you'll see: you have endless possibilities.

What else is on your wish list? Vanities? They need to match the style of your bathroom suite. If that's white, you'll not have many problems choosing the colors. Vanities come in different styles as well. However, you need to make sure what you purchase is protected against warping in moist conditions.

Mirrors are magic: just think how they can reflect the light of your aromatherapy candles while you enjoy a bubble bath. Contemporary bathrooms have large frameless mirrors mounted on the walls or on the ceiling, endorsed by accent lighting that delivers the genuine impression of an ultra-modern home spa.

To complete this feeling you'll need a few additional accessories, such as fashionable heated towel rails (on sale during the summer), modern or traditional taps with special designs, maybe some plants, candles or special lamps, eventually a bathroom TV or a bathroom radio-CD-MP3-player. It's really modern to have in a bathroom an LCD bathroom TV with heated screen (that allows condensation-free viewing) and inbuilt water resistant speakers. But, if you cannot afford it, a bathroom radio-CD-MP3-player will create a pleasant mood too.

One last tip: to complete the luxury feeling, use floor-warming systems. No more chills on a cold winter day.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Interior Design