Famous Design Museums

There is a variety of design collections in museums around the world. Those interested in contemporary design and modern room styling will especially find outstanding exhibitions in New York City and London. Both cities are known as capitals of fine arts. They are the home of many internationally famous museums.

Traveling the worlds' design museums, visitors may find a lot of ideas for remodeling, too. Additionally, the  exhibits will provide information on the history of design and will portray the state-of-the-art works in several fields of design. Follow our three commendations for design museums at RoomStyling.net and get to know their collections' characteristics.

Contemporary Design in N.Y.C: MoMA & Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is one of the most visited museums in New York City. It is regularly holding outstanding collections of contemporary art and exclusively dedicates one part to architecture and design. The exhibits range from cutting-edge art works to famous design of the 1920s, including some remarkable lighting design. With MoMA design store, every visit may end with the purchase of little souvenirs or even bigger design gifts.

Historic and contemporary design are the essential parts of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Visiting this museum, design travelers might have a look at centuries of design. Furthermore, the department of Product Design & Decorative Arts offers a lot of interesting exhibits. In 2007, the museum organized a very successful exhibition on lighting design by Ingo Maurer. This German industrial designer is very well-known around the globe and is providing a lot of his works directly in New York.

Contemporary Design in Europe: Design Museum London

More than two thousand single objects form part of the collection of Londons' Design Museum. It is especially concentrating on design from the early 20th century up to the latest modern design. Another interesting point to mention is the variety of design works being presented. In London, it's not just about contemporary design in the field of lighting or furniture, but also about communication technology.

Of course, there are many more collections to discover. But New York and London offer the foremost design museums world-wide. For those interested in design awards, we can recommend visits to the red dot design museums. One is located in Essen, Germany, and offers insights to more than 1,500 award winning design products. The second red dot design museum is located in Singapur.

Self Made Decor: Creating a monogram wood block

Creativity is one fundamental part of home decor. In this context RoomStyling.net came across some great ideas for self made home decor, provided by the author of another interesting blog. Meg will be introducing how to create a monogram wood block.

My name is Meg and I live over at A Little Knick Knack. I enjoy making fun little crafts, re-doing furniture, and sewing for my kids. There are times when I realize that I'm in a crunch for a personalized gift and have come up with a solution. It blends my two favorites in decorating: burlap and monograms. So, today, I'm going to show you how to make a monogram wood block.

I found a nice 2" thick, 4' long board in the remnants bin at Home Depot for $.50. They cut it for me for free, into pieces about 5 1/2" long. I took those pieces home and spray painted them various colors. These decorative finials I found in the furniture aisle at LOWE'S.

They come 2 to a package for approximately $3/package. They are wonderful because they have screws in the bottom and are very easy to secure to your block. I use floral form to stabalize them while I paint. Of course, I realized I couldn't paint them all at the same time if I used different colors. Duh. So, they got painted in shifts.

While I waited for them to dry, I used my drill to  make a hole in the top and then simply screwed my finials into the hole.

Get your sandpaper (I use a really rough grain, from 100 - 150) and sand the edges and corners. 

Here's the fun part. Grab some burlap, your craft bond adhesive spray, and your stayz-on ink...

Use the Stayz-on ink to lightly distress the sides, corners and top of the finial.

  

Cut a piece of burlap slightly smaller than the front of your block. Start to peel away the first 2-3 strings of burlap from each side, as shown below.

 

You will get a nice frayed edge. Lightly spray the burlap with your adhesive spray and secure to the block.

Get your trusty hammer and your steel tacks (found at my local Jo-Ann's in the furniture rehupolster section, for less than $2.00 a package), and simply nail a tack into each corner.

I printed off a monogram that I liked and used a small paintbrush to free-hand this onto the burlap. You could use freezer paper or make your own stencil and use any font you choose. I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and can stop by my blog, A Little Knick Knack soon and say hi!

Home Lighting For A Cozy Atmosphere

During autumn and winter days, homeowners enjoy sitting inside their houses with small lights and candles on. Additionally, well chosen design lights can create a cozy atmosphere, too. There is a wide range of products and offers on lighting design that will create a special mood lighting inside of any room. From highly decorative lighting fixtures to classic pendant lights or wall sconce, modern lighting will transfer your home into an oasis of well-being.

In 2011, lighting trends include LED lighting fixtures with clear lines as well as impressive chandeliers for living rooms. The flexible use of pendant lights is one of the reasons why they can be found in almost every room. Apart from standard lighting options, it is always interesting to 'play' with the light. Therefore, many lighting designers offer recessed lighting fixtures that are perfect for the indirect illumination of objects. Furthermore, by their modern look those lights are applicable for many purposes.

A decorative lighting also includes the use of additional lighting sources for illuminating individual objects. Apart from using the central ceiling light fixture of a room, wall sconce, table and floor lamps can contribute to a more cozy atmosphere. If the chosen lighting fixture includes a dimmer, you can vary your home lighting throughout the day along with less power consumption and an energy-saving lighting. In cold winter days, colorful design lights might add a special note to the ambiance of a room and will provide light and a warm atmosphere at the same time.