No matter what you budget is, you can get the sleek and clean look of a contemporary interior design in your living room. Changing out just a few things like wall art and accessories as well as a little paint can do wonders to your room and these changes do not have to cost a lot!

A vital element when decorating your living room with a contemporary theme is your wall treatments. For this design style the colors can make or break the look - consider adding shades of browns and black or a sharp black and white look to the room. Try using a neutral color paint on the walls, or if you want something different go with a leather or suede wall covering.

Decorative accessories are another important piece in pulling your contemporary look together. Concentrate on getting wall art and pillows that match your contemporary design style. For accent pieces you want the lines to be clean and avoid a lot of clutter. Be certain to add in loads of plain bowls with fruit as well as simple linear floral arrangements and you might even try some black and white photography to get a professional look for your living room. Additional touches such as vintage art d

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When we think about home improvement projects we often think of changing or adding to a room but one of the most important improvements you can make in the kitchen is to make sure you have the proper lighting. You need to make sure that the room is not only illuminated, but that you have enough light to work, no matter which area of the kitchen you are in. Here are some tips on how to plan for perfect kitchen lighting.

Overhead Lighting

Many kitchens, and especially older ones, only have one type of lighting or even worse, perhaps only one light! You may be thinking that a big light centered in the middle of the ceiling will serve your need effectively, but it is rarely enough. If you do go with one overhead light, make sure that you plan to incorporate enough reflection to let the light bounce into every part of the room so that it is lit properly..

One thing to consider if you only have room or resources for lighting on the ceiling is track lighting. This type of lighting will allow you to direct the light to specific areas of the kitchen. You can install a light or point a light to each work area as well as your stove and kitchen table. Or, try using track kitchen lighting for the work area and then install additional lighting over the table or island areas.

Counters And Work Areas

Typically, one big light in the middle of the room will be inadequate for proper task lighting. It is problematic since when you are standing at the counter with your back to the light you will be casting a shadow right on the area you want to illuminate. Task lighting is important for proper food prep and will make your kitchen chores much easier.

For great task lighting consider kitchen lights that are installed on the bottoms of the cabinets that overhang your kitchen countertops. You’ll be able to easily see while you are chopping vegetables and preparing meals. This lighting is soft enough to provide the right amount of light and can be easily turned off as needed or leave just one light on at night as a “night light” of sorts.

Island And Table Lighting

You’ll also want to consider how you light the island and table areas. Here is where you will want to insure that lighting is adequate, and looks great with the style of your kitchen.

For eat in islands, the most popular type of lighting is lights that hang down from the ceiling. The length of your islands dictates how many lights you will need. The table lighting should be chic and is most practical if you can get lighting on a dimmer. Typically, you would want some sort of chandelier for right above the table but be sure to match the style to your kitchen decor.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.dailynewz.info where you can find out more about home improvement and renovation.

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Designing a new kitchen is both exiting and daunting. Where do you start and what are the must-haves? Mark Nash real estate author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home and columnist for RealtyTimes.com shares the top things that go into today’s kitchens.

-Good lighting. In addition to decorative lighting which can match any style, remember to but abundant task lighting over food preparation areas. Mood lighting can accent glass front cabinets and cove ceilings.

-A functional layout. The basic mantra in kitchen design is to keep the work triangle composed of the stove, sink and refrigerator grouped near one another. It will save you countless steps through the years.

-Over-sized, deep sink. I never thought it would be important, but we put one in our home. It keeps the water in the sink, especially when washing large pots and pans. Don’t forget the best faucet you can afford, with sprayer. We did a black porcelain sink to match dark granite counters.

-Lots of countertops. Clear work surfaces make cooking alone or with family and friends a snap. Make sure that you have at least one surface four feet long for baking. Don’t skimp on materials either, countertops take a beating from knives, food acids and people, buy the best within your budget.

-Proper ventilation. Smelly kitchens are a turn-off. Specify adequate ventilation to the outside, near cook tops. Recirculating fans just stir up smells, not rid your kitchen and home of them.

-Storage. Plan for plenty of functional and easily organized spaces to store every day and seasonal stuff. More is more.

-Forget standing room-only. People want to stay in the kitchen. Make seating a design priority in your new kitchen. Seating around an island and a cozy table for breakfast all say, stay!

-Cabinet hardware. The finishing touch to a new kitchen.

Mark Nash’s fourth real estate book, “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home” (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, HGTVpro.com, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

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