Thursday, January 28, 2010

Decorating On A Budget !

You don’t have to have a lot of money to decorate your
home with style. Decorating can be expensive so there
are several things you should think about to keep your
budget as low as possible.

The first thing you should do when you are budgeting
your decorating and design for inside your home is
know how much money you have to spend.

You need to determine a payment plan or how much money
you have for the room or space you want to decorate.
Be sure to include the costs for accessories in the
room also.

When you are decorating on a budget you need to focus
on one room at a time. It is hard to complete the
entire home at once so your best option is to decorate
each room separately. You can prioritize which rooms
you would like to focus on first and begin with them.

Before you make any purchases on the interior design
and schemes you have decided upon you should view the
colors in your home with the different light schemes
in the room.

Be sure to view the colors you choose with natural
light coming into the room and with lamps or the bulbs
you will choose to light the room with.

( black and white is a great choice for colors)

You may completely disagree with the color schemes
once you have decorated and then have to spend more
money to change what you have decided upon.

You should also think about the decorating and design
you are going to do in the rooms of your home if you
don’t plan to be there for a long time.

You don’t want to spend a lot of money for major
changes to the rooms. You should buy items that will
spruce up the room and give you the look and feel you
enjoy but that you can take with you when you go. You
don’t want to be decorating each room every time you
move.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Friday, January 22, 2010

Architecture - Victorian !

In Eureka, California sits one of the most beautiful
examples of Victorian Architecture. The Carson Mansion,
with its 18 rooms and excess of 16,200 square feet was
constructed between 1884 and 1886. The cost of this
structure was an incredible $80,000.

( stormy or good weather the Carson Mansion is beautiful)

It is a mix of every major style of Victorian Architecture
and is the most written about, most photographed house in
California, possibly the U.S.

Victorian Architecture is known by many other names and can
be of various styles. The building period of Victorian
Architecture overlaps the reign of Queen Victoria, for whom
it was named.

These structures are highly decorated and so aptly
nicknamed Gingerbread houses for all of their pieces and
gingerbread type scroll work and ornamentation.

Interestingly enough, in the U.S., Toledo, Ohio is
recognized as having one of the largest collections of
Victorian homes, East of the Mississippi. Boston is noted
in the National Register of Historic Places as having the
oldest Victorian neighborhood in the U.S.

But of course, the U.S. isn’t the only place where these
intricate creations of Victorian Architecture can be found.
Notable Victorian era cities range from London to Glasgow
to Melbourne and to New Orleans.

Typical Victorian Architecture is grand in size, containing
many functional rooms and passageways throughout the
structure. Most throughout the country are not only
fancifully decorated with intricate woodwork throughout,
but they are usually known for their grand color schemes,
both on the exterior and interior. Large inviting rooms
welcome guests into their depths.


( this beautiful example is from Toronto)


( beautiful in pink and white with all the great details.)


Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Architecture - Prairie Style

If you are looking for an interesting, and beautiful style
of architecture for a house or smaller sized commercial
building, then you may want to look towards the prairie
style architecture.

The prairie style architecture was drafted originally in
the loft room of the Steinway Piano Company building in
Chicago, Illinois in the 1890’s. The Prairie Style was
popular from the 1900’s through about 1912.

(Example of the Prairie Style house)

Probably the most famous follower of the Louis Sullivan
teachings on Prairie Style architecture was Frank Lloyd
Wright.

Also termed Prairie School Architecture, the Prairie style
was and is most commonly found in the Midwestern United
States.

Prairie style homes are distinct in their design. Created
with horizontal lines, flat roofs with overhanging eves and
windows grouped in horizontal bands.



Some of the most famous Prairie Style homes are the Darwin
D. Martin House in Buffalo, NY, along with the Guggenheim
Museum in New York City and Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.

(Darwin D. Martin house)

(Guggenheim Museum)


(Fallingwater)
There is one though that stands out above the rest, the
Robie House. Located on the campus on the University of
Chicago, it is the quintessential example of the Prairie
Style Architecture.

(Robie house)

Illinois still holds the greatest number of Prairie Style
Architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright lived for a time in Oak
Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Here you will find
street after street of Prairie Style Architecture.

Prairie homes were made to function efficiently in the
prairie climate. The horizontal lines were thought to match
those of the native prairie landscape. The interior was
designed to be multifunctional and utilizing the suns
natural light and natural air flow throughout the house.
The Prairie Style architecture is by far some of the most
beautiful you will find in the Midwest.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Architecture * Greco - Roman

Ancient Greece may have spawned the beginning of sculpture
and architecture, not only in ancient times, but also until
present day.

Until the 7th century, Greece was without architecture.
Since the pre 7th century Greek buildings were made mostly
of wood or mud-brick, there is nothing remaining of them
and there was little in written record about them.

But in a more modern Greece, buildings such as the
Parthenon and the Coliseum, still partially remain, giving
us beautiful architecture in which to study.

(Parthenon)

(Coliseum)

Most Greco-Roman architecture either rectangle or square in
shape and made from limestone, which is found in abundance
in Greece. Though many people think Marble was used in the
building of the Greco-Roman architecture, the cost and
unavailability of it directed its use for mostly sculptural
decoration, except for the Parthenon.

Greco-Roman architecture is abundant in columns and size.
Most people don’t realize that there are two types of
Greco-Roman architecture, the Doric and Ionic.

While the famous Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in
Athens are Doric, the Erechtheum, which is located right
next to the Parthenon is Ionic. Ionic Greco-Roman
architecture is more decorative.

(Temple of hephaestus )

(Erechtheum)

The most surviving buildings of Roman-Greco Architecture
lean towards the temples. This is mainly due to the
building material used. Limestone though, after years, can
begin to waste away and decompose with natural erosion.

A building like the temples and the Parthenon were revered
as the grandest buildings, therefore marble, which was
difficult to transport from the few islands where it could
be found, was used.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Architecture- Gothic

Visiting most European cathedrals, abbeys and parish
churches that were built between the 12th century and the
16th century, you will notice the intricate, almost gaudy
structure with its peaks and spires and flying buttresses.

These architectural feats are commonplace for Gothic
architecture. Used also in castles and palaces as well as
government buildings and universities, but lesser found in
private dwellings, as its construction was extremely
costly.



Named not from the historical Goths, but from Giorgio
Vasari to describe the culture that was considered rude and
barbaric. At that time, Italy was building classical
structures and looked to the European buildings as garish
and showy.

The Gothic architecture utilizes local resources such as
various grades of limestone, and colored marble.

Not only was this a new building style, but also architects
were able to utilize new technology. The ogival and pointed
arches were integral in the Gothic architecture.

Emphasizing vertically and light, the inside -walls- were
not solid ones that we commonly know, but looked more like
the skeleton of a building. Clustered columns, pointed
ribbed vaults and flying buttresses were the finished
effect.



The Gothic architecture of cathedrals and Abby's were
designed to be landmark buildings and rose high above the
rest of the town’s structures.

Another fantastic characteristic of the Gothic architecture
in these buildings was the enormous towers, pinnacles and
spires that loomed over the town. On the inside, the
pointed arches emphasized the height and helped to enhance
the decoration of the interior.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Can You Help Find Her?

This is something different for our blog. They need some help getting the word out about this. For over a month a mother of two has been missing.



If you want to know more visit Find Susan Powell , the more people that see the more information that might come in to help.

Pass this along. The more that see this the better.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

Architecture- Bauhaus

From 1919 to 1933, Germany gave to the world the Bauhaus
school of architecture. Founded by Walter Gropius, the name
Bauhaus comes from the German words for -to build- and
-house-.

Very basic in its meaning, the Bauhaus architecture is just
that. Basic shapes, geometric designs and little frill and
fancy. Though its founder was an architect, for the first
several years, the Staatliches Bauhaus School in Germany
refined the crafts and fine arts but did not actually
include an architecture department.



The Bauhaus architectural style became the basis for
current Modernist architecture. These structures are
primarily simple in form and without ornamentation.

The forms were simple and functional with the idea of mass
production with some artistic spirit thrown in. When
Bauhaus Architecture was at its peak, an entire group of
architects turned away from their fancy, over designed
structures and into a more standard, basic way of design.

Understandably, Bauhaus Architecture is most commonly found
in Germany, but its influences reached the United States
and even Tel Aviv in the time following its demise in
Germany due exile.

(Buildings from Tel Aviv)

In fact the UN because of its abundance of Bauhaus now
lists Tel Aviv as a world heritage site. In the late 1930s
the Bauhaus Architecture was brought to the U.S. Namely
Chicago, Illinois, where the New Bauhaus School was
founded.

As the basics for our modern day minimalist style, Bauhaus
architecture is still being practiced today. In fact, at
the Florida State University, the Master Craftsman Program
is utilizing the Bauhaus theory and practices.

Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"