Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Inspiration Newsletter

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• Amazing Exotic Gourd Lamps from Calabarte
• How to Protect and Maintain your Beautiful Hardwood Flooring
• Cat-Friendly Table With Built-In Grass Planter
• Beautiful and Daring Architecture Approach by Vibe Design Group

Amazing Exotic Gourd Lamps from Calabarte Posted: 20 Jun 2011 05:55 AM PDT If you are looking for creative ways to light up a room, enjoy these Gourd Lamps by Calabarte. Each gourd lamp is made from a gourd brought from Senegal and their exotic design is achieved after carefully selecting dried shells of gourd fruit and drilling patterns into them. Different patterns are designed by carving deeper or shallower into layers of wood. This allows light to pass through each carving, creating beautiful patterns of light on the walls. The gourds are all unique and the perforations differ in diameter, exposing light through its intricate patterns. Resting on a base carved in wood and finished with Italian natural oil, the Gourde Lamps will attract admiration and will surely offer an enticing atmosphere to the room. The fruit of the annual tropical vine originating in Africa and Asia are transformed into exceptional table lamps by careful drilling and framing. Calabarte makes different designs, so you can choose from several lamps the best one suited for your home.   Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Sao Paulo Exotic Vil… Spectacular Wood-Fil… Graffiti Inspired La… Lamponi Lamps Simple artistry: Min… Rocking Lamps from M… Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

How to Protect and Maintain your Beautiful Hardwood Flooring Posted: 20 Jun 2011 04:34 AM PDT Whether you already own gorgeous hardwood floors or you are in the market for flooring and considering them for your home, you should think about the upkeep when choosing. While hardwood flooring can increase the value of your home while selling, and they are an upgrade that many homeowners must have, they also require regular maintenance. Hardwood flooring can be a beautiful investment, and to protect them against moisture damage, abuse, and keeping them shiny and inviting, here are tips to help you decide if hardwood flooring is for you and your family home. Protect your investment from moisture damage: Homeowners often think of moisture damage as flooding incidents in their homes or large amounts of liquid being spilled on their hardwood floors. While these are possible and should be dried up immediately, moisture damage can stem from spills, but also climatic changes in the humidity levels in your home in the summer time. Ensure that your home is kept at a reasonable level for air conditioning and humidity control throughout the season. In the wintertime when it is dryer in the air, heat can cause the opposite affect and cause wood to pull apart at seams of planks. Once again, keep humidity levels constant to keep your wood flooring from reacting drastically. Be aware of changes in your hardwood flooring: Since hardwood is made from natural wood products, the tendency for flooring to expand and contract is natural. Although, when your flooring tends to raise and dip in areas unnaturally, this is called cupping. This can occur from humidity, a plumbing leak, or sitting water.  Be aware of areas of your floor that don't feel even and investigate where the root of the cause is before your flooring is ruined. Once you find the source your floor can be renewed with sanding. For areas that have been cupping for long periods of time, it may be necessary to replace the entire plank or several planks of your hardwood flooring. Keeping your wood floors looking shiny: There are several products, theories and suggestions for how to care for your hardwood flooring. From wood soaps and cleaners to waxes that you can buff on. To clean your floors, suggestions of water and vinegar sprayed on a sponge mop will clean your floors effectively while also protecting the finish, without stripping. For making your floors shiny, many hardwood flooring experts suggest natural products such as olive oil as opposed to wax-based cleaners. If you do decide to use these, alternate the use with natural products to give your floor a healthy break from the waxy products. Protecting your hardwood floors from a day-to-day basis: To protect your floors from getting scratched daily, consider using cloth furniture protectors under the feet or legs of your tables, chairs, and heavy furniture. Also consider removing shoes, especially high heels and shoes that can scuff and scratch the floor. For pets and kids that regularly track through your home, you will have to be more diligent for keeping up with sanding and maintenance. While many homeowners feel scratches and natural wear can add to the character of the flooring. Hardwood flooring can be an integral part of your home and making it feel beautiful and well lived in. Enjoy your hardwood flooring in your home and use these tips to decide if your home and lifestyle will benefit from the addition of hardwoods. With their natural beauty and inherent characteristics, hardwoods will look different in every home, and can be the difference between average interiors to a fabulous interior. Discover hardwood flooring and care for it properly, and it will last as long as your home! Freshome readers tell us why you love hardwood flooring, and why you would choose it again for your next home. Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! The Pros and Cons of… Recycled Wood Floori… How to Make your Int… The Versatility of t… 4 Tips for Choosing … Puzzle Floor: Someth… Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Cat-Friendly Table With Built-In Grass Planter Posted: 20 Jun 2011 03:13 AM PDT Created by Emily Wettstein, a 25-year-old designer from Brooklyn, NY,  this table is as fresh as it gets. With an original appearance, it can literally bring nature indoors, since it features a removable planter that can hold a variety of plants. The table itself is made from reclaimed walnut and steel and looks great, with or without the creative green addition. Even though it looks as if it’s cat-friendly, it is really up to the owners to keep their felines away from the table. In this particular case, the grass is home-grown, but you can contact the designer for further details and instructions about maintenance. Combine this design with other small decorative flower arrangements and your apartment can get a new, healthy feel. The only drawback about this table is the fact that one has to remove the system when having a meal, but that is not mandatory. Does it look appealing to you? Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Stylish White Frame … Modern Planter Box Coffee Table with an… Grass Vase by Norman… Planter Wall Tiles b… Metaphys Indoor Gras… Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Beautiful and Daring Architecture Approach by Vibe Design Group Posted: 20 Jun 2011 12:33 AM PDT This truly mind-blowing residence was designed by Vibe Design Group and showcases quite a few impressive architecture details. Here are the photos and the information we received from the architects: “In the early design phase Vibe’s team were looking to create an open, more interactive street presence. The front façade was inspired by the study of 60s and early 70s stereo cabinets with the slatted timber reflecting the slotted speaker elements, in this case they accommodate the covered entry and private en suite window. The spotted gum entry ramp leads to an assembly of silvertop ash timbers with clear glazing over to create a covered entry. The pop out section of the front façade houses a day bed and upper storey bedroom, with a dynamic textural pattern of silvertop ash battens laid over the base timber. On entering the home you are met with floor to ceiling veneer panels with a vertical timber grain that makes them appear like the base of a huge tree. The panels wrap an interactive core that houses the cloak, powder room, cellar and integrated kitchen wall. The illusion is maintained by the use of pivot-hinged panels that close with a magnetic catch, eliminating the recognisable characteristics of a traditional door. The house sits lightly balanced on angled steel posts again reminiscent of the stereo cabinet legs. It affords the house the appearance of floating out across the land. The veneer core evokes a journey of discovery whilst the exterior becomes an evolving façade, designed to grey over time.” [ Photographer: Robert Hamer] Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Inspiring Tree House… Impressive Modern Ar… Beaver Street Repris… Freshome Readers, It… Fluffy Modern Rugs f… Freshome.com is now … Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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