Bauhaus was a school of art and architecture in Weimar, Germany. Staatliches Bauhaus, or simply Bauhaus, was founded in 1919 and headed by Walter Gropius that became a leading influence in modern design in the 1920′s and 1930′s. Bauhaus, which literally means house of construction, concentrated on functional craftsmanship applied to industrial problems of mass production.

The Bauhaus style had a profound philosophy in educating people in a different way through art and design to eliminate social and national barriers at the time. Among the leading standard bearers of the school were Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonnel Feininger, Josef Albers, anbd Marcel Breuer. This style is still very visible in contemporary times and many of today’s contemporary classics were actually designed by the artists of this school.

If you are interested in decorating your home with classic contemporary flair, you ought to at least be familiar with the name Bauhaus. The clean line of good classic contemporary furniture is indeed a breath of fresh air and needless to say a rich decoration. It conforms to human forms as well as they do to human lifestyles. The designs are well architectured, sturdy, and balance.

The holidays have come and gone and although we wouldn’t want to end its charm and festive mood just yet, we should be well and ready to face the new year and start it with a bang!

Although it’s a bit of a sad task to remove the holiday decors, it’s time we pack them or we might be thought of as lazy for not taking the effort, or weird come Valentine’s day to still have all the wreath and red and gold balls hanging everywhere. Here are some helpful and practical tips to make sure your Christmas decors are kept in order and in good condition until you want to use them again for the next holidays:

Christmas tree. Preferably use the original storage of your Christmas tree and put some packing tape on each corner to make it sturdy. You could also use cardboard boxes with packing tape on the sides as well or purchase Christmas tree box to make sure that it is preserved properly. Label accordingly so it would be easy for you to locate and use it again.

Christmas balls. Use cardboard egg cartons to secure Christmas balls especially those with delicate designs. This is a good way to preserve their color especially those with glitters instead of just placing them all in a box. Place the egg cartons with Christmas balls on top of each other and secure them with a packing tape and a label. This is a very cheap, practical, and environment-friendly way to keep your Christmas balls in good shape.

Christmas lights. Eliminate tangled Christmas lights by wrapping them around a toilet paper before placing in a box. You could also use plastic wires to keep the Christmas lights in perfect condition.

Christmas candles. Keep the candles away from heat and wrap them with old socks or any clean cloth before finally placing them in a box. Label the candles as well.

Wreaths. Carefully place wreaths in their original storage as well to avoid insect or mice infestation. You could also purchase sturdy plastic storage big enough to contain your wreaths then put label as well for easy locating.

The holiday season is almost on the air and this is the best time of the year to make acts of charity as we give back to our family, friends, community, and even the environment. Here are some ways to spread the holiday cheer and at the same time become socially responsible while truly enjoying the holiday season:

Reuse old holiday decorations. If the old decorations are in good condition and packed well, you can recycle them. You can buy new accessories to update the look of your decor. Even old Christmas cards can be cut up and used as decor.

Reuse old holiday decorations.

Opt for eco-friendly shopping. Bring reusable canvas shopping bags instead of using your purchases in plastic or paper bags.

Carpool. With so many parties and events to attend to, you can coordinate with friends to discuss your schedules ahead of time and share a ride. This way, you give mother nature a break by reducing gas consumption and emission of carbon dioxide.

Dispose of bottles and cans properly. With so many parties coming your way this holiday season, don’t forget to dispose bottles and cans properly. Do not mix them with biodegradable party waste, set them aside, rinse, and place in your blue bin for collection.

Give non-tangible gifts. Aside from the material things you want to give to your loved ones, it is also best to spend time and reunite with them. You can also drop by orphanages with friends and hand out simple presents.

Try to be socially responsible starting this holiday onward. Appreciate the impact your actions will leave you, as William James said, ‘Act as if what you makes a difference. It does.”

Transform your space with easy-to-do tips that are practical and does not necessarily entail a huge budget and time allotment. Here are some helpful tips to achieve that drab-to-fab look in the convenience of your own home:

Use room scents. A beautiful place makes for a great smell as well. Use room scents to enhance the feel and smell of your rooms. Opt for a soothing lavender scent for your bedroom, and green tea or citrus for your bathroom.

Mount picture frames horizontally or vertically. Add personality to your walls with the use of picture frames. For a more creative and stylish look, make a collage out of your travel photos or lomo shots. Use different frames of various sizes to make it more playful.

Make a color scheme. If you do not have time and patience to paint your chosen color scheme on a focal wall, you can spread the shade with the smaller items like throw cushions, curtains, picture frames, and other accessories.

Mix two furniture pieces for one striking piece. You can place a bigger coffee table, for example, over a smaller one, thus creating a layered effect. You can also combine styles like a bent wrought iron base with glass top table and a solid timber low console.

Re-upholster your couch or sofa with more traditional forms in fabric whose prints appeals to you the most.

Specific hallmarks on the house make a room special such as furniture, accessories, and other components. These elements make a room look more elegant, exquisite, and faithful to a signature. While some truly exquisite pieces can cause a fortune, you can train your eyes to find subtle touches that provide a tasteful ambiance like those in richly decorated homes. Here are some suggestions to duplicate the expensive hallmarks less inexpensively:

SPEND                                                                                                                       SAVE

Exotic trees                                                                                                                 Ficus trees

Status Italian lamps                                                                                                     Excellent reproductions

Electronically controlled blinds                                                                                    Mini-blinds

Collections of very old, leather-bound books                                                             Just one or two stacked on a table or bookshelf

An antique wood valet stand                                                                                      A new inexpensive wicker valet

Contemporary crystal vases                                                                           Straight-lined chemist flasks

Built-in recessed lighting                                                                                  Track lighting available in discount stores 

Warhol drawing, Rauschenberg graphic                                                     Work of talented art students in local art schools

Your choice of a color scheme for your house is crucial and you must know how to control the quality of the color that you want. Quality color can enhance the look of your house, in the same way that poorly applied color can destroy everything that you are trying to achieve. Here are some tips and tricks to help you choose the perfect color for your house:

Mono color. You can opt for one hue and use it in varying intensities. An example is a home with a Country home design that could use variations of great pink-rose cabbage roses with pale rose walls, a rose/lime crewel rug, a rose floral stencil border around the walls, rosy botanical on the wall. The lime green accents may come in short, unexpected and not large clouts of color.

Light colors. Light colors make rooms larger as they tend to conceal corners. Light colors on ceilings have the effect of raising them. Light, unbroken expanses of floor color them larger than they are.

Dark colors. In some areas that you want to make space seem more intimate and warm, dark colors do the trick. Ceilings seem to lower when painted darker than walls. Too-long rooms become more balanced if the long walls are painted in dark colors and the shorter walls in light.

Color it out. Darkness makes loathed objects seem to disappear; deep, dark shades over an ugly radiator almost paint it out of the picture.

Pillows are originally used to hold the head and dates back to the ancient times. Egyptians used pillows made of stone and decorated their pillows with lavish ornaments. It was only during the industrial revolution that pillows with different decorations and fabrics were mass-produced and became common in every household.

Aside from pillows being ubiquitous in the bedrooms, pillows have also became a staple in the living room where they not only serve comfort but decor as well. Here are the types of pillows being used that you can also use for your own sofa or living room:

Tasseled- Asian-inspired pillowcases usually have them. Tassels are the knotted silk attachments sewn onto the four corners of a pillowcase.

Cording- Corded pillowcases have braid-like material sewn at the edges, or the trim can be made of the same fabric wrapped around a cord. Rich tapestry or embroidery can grace the center of the pillowcase to achieve a country look.

Tufted- A tufted has a indent a the middle topped by a button. Aside from being an accessory, tufted pillows can also be used as cushions for chairs.

Flange- This is the flap you see at the sides framing the pillowcase, its width can vary depending on what suits the pillowcase’s design.

Kidney Pillow- These pillows are rectangular that you can place at the sides or in the middle of your sofa to mimic an armrest.

The Nouveau school of decorative art which originated in Europe in the 1880s and flourished until World War I, utilized rich ornamentation, concentrating on unusual expressions of nature- curving, elongated stamens, stems, and leaves- as its themes. Japanese art and artifacts had a major influence on the style, and the asymmetrical shapes of the Orient were frequently used.

In architecture the Art Nouveau style was expressed in dancing, twisting ironwork. Outstanding Art Nouveau designers include Aubrey Beardsley, Charles Mackintosh, Hector Guimard, Gustav Klimt, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Contemporary is chic, maybe cool, sometimes colorful, and witty. The best of Contemporary should be classic in its own genre. The master designs of Classic Contemporary maybe one of the following: The best in machine-age construction, which includes natural wood and fabric as well as superior plastics, typify the style. The look is sleek, simple, and architecturally faithful; form always follows function.

The ambience of the Classic Contemporary style is uncluttered, linear, and strong. Glass and metal tables glitter, often lit by soft, overhead spots. Touches indeed abound in a Classic Contemporary style.

The European look is elegant in hallmark symbols and eloquent in interpretation of the rich. This look sends a message of refinement and meticulous attention to elaborate detail. It is a look of formality, classicism, and tradition. The European look is influenced by the English country, French formal, Italian palazzo, Greek Classicism, Victorian ornate and a hybrid of other aristocratic legacies in Europe.

If you want to achieve the European look, here are certain elements to remember:

1. Furniture Styles. There are many styles that developed in various European cultures and adapted depending on the way particular cultures saw them. Chairs, sofas, and other period pieces in reproduction give authenticity to your home. Become acquainted with these styles like the Empire, Palladian, Renaissance, and many more.

2. Oriental Rugs. The oriental rugs give a faster message of opulence. They can be thrown over a chest or hung on a wall.

3. Elegant Moldings. Moldings can be used around the perimeter of the room, at basement, ceiling, or chair level. Some can be used as strips from which pictures are hung. Moldings are to the European look what glass and steel are to the Contemporary look.

4. Tassels. Tassels in European homes are rich, thick fabric threads of distinction. They are used as drapery tiebacks, on the backs of chairs where the fabric seat meets the legs, on pillows- in many different places.

5.  Candelabra. European homes should always have candelabra which can be found standing on tables, hanging on walls, perched on columns, and of course filled with real candles.

6. Elaborate Frames. Elaborate frames are a staple and what you will see in European homes are curves, curliques, carving, and gold even on mirrors.