Chi-min

Whimsical Ways to Decorate with Chinoiserie

by Home And Garden

Chinoiserie is a Chinese versatile style that depicts the beauty of nature through patterned floral paintings. It exudes either a subtle flow of twigs, sometimes incorporated with birds and other animals and most of all, flowers. All sorts of flowers.

Chinoiserie back then was very popular, but as design aesthetic evolves, it went incognito for decades but now slowly paving its way to modern design integration. Chinoiserie is a perfect accent wall. It can enhance a space in both a contemporary and traditional manner; hence, making it a timeless design element.

How To Decorate With Chinoiserie?

Radiate the Beauty of Nature Indoors

Chinoiserie exhibit a cunning oriental beauty. Bringing such beauty indoors will bring life to a dull space. Chinoiserie’s decorative appeal enhances the interiors into a comforting spiritual realm with so much power to improve a mood. The natural appearance of flowers, trees, and birds all conjures a positive outlook in intricate detail. It has a direct effect on the mind and spirit that transposes a more breezy ambience within the confinement of the four walls of the space.

Wow Your Guests by the Entranceway

A handpainted Chinoiserie by the entryway will give your space such wow-factor. It will make an outright statement to whoever you welcome into your humble abode. Creating your own Chinoiserie design need no boundaries. You can go all out with flowers, trees, or even colourful birds. Chinoiserie is supposed to command attention; hence, there should be no holding back when designing the Chinoiserie by your entranceway.

Bold Yellow to Mellow

Chinoiserie is rendered in vibrant colours. Yellow is one of the most common hues used that appeals to everyone who takes a look. Bold yellow balanced with its subtle tones will help balance your whole Chinoiserie. Pair it with some greens, blues, and a few metallic elements, your accent wall by either your dining or living room will exhibit both modern and classic appeal. Hence, it will become timeless.

When decorating your home with chinoiserie, do not forget about finding a good place for a first aid kit (for example modular)

It is belived that Chinese invented first aid kits a long time before 1888 when they have been widely pouplarised by Johnson & Johnson.

Embrace an Exotic Oasis in Your Bathroom

The exuberant image of Chinoiserie will be amazing bathroom entertainment. It can create an outdoor appeal in your enclosed bathroom making it more comforting, serene, and entertaining. You can incorporate Chinoiserie in your bathroom by choosing the most ideal wall to do a mural. You can opt for a subtle palette to avoid it from being too aggressive yet also incorporate bold colours as an accent.

Chinoiserie On Your Furniture

Another way to channel the beauty of Chinoiserie is by decorating your old furniture with Chinoiserie patterns.

It will create a unique furniture piece while giving the room something to appreciate and look at. You can have your cabinet in your bedroom rendered in a beautiful Chinoiserie with bold flowers in subtle twigs or highlight the beautiful colours of tropical birds.

 

Chinoiserie is an amazing addition if you love something that exudes a classic appeal but can be a great balance to contemporary designs.

It is a beautiful combination of trees, flowers, and birds that radiates the vibrant life outdoors.

 

plantaa

Garden Design Apps

by Home And Garden

Garden Design Apps

 

With so many plant variations, identifying one plant can be overwhelming since some almost look alike, you can’t tell one from the other. Thanks to technology, applications are now available to make our gardening hobby easier and more fun.

Garden design apps were created to help gardeners know how to properly tend to their specific plant.  It also helps gardeners identify unfamiliar plants. Whether you are just starting or exploring other plant species, garden apps are a must-have.

Useful Garden Applications

Grow Your Own

Grow Your Own gives earthlings advice on how to plant, what is the proper cultivation, what tools to use, how to harvest fruits and vegetables, and pretty much everything you need to know about gardening. This app also has an added feature of helping gardeners organise their daily plant parent tasks.

 

Leafsnap

Leafsnap, given the name, was created to snap leaves and identify their species. It has an almost boundless library of every plant here on our striving planet. Leafsnap stores micro-detailed leaf images that provide the gardener with every piece of information they need to know about a certain plant.

My Soil

My Soil, as the name suggests, is an app focused on helping gardeners balance their soil compounds. Soil is one of the most essential contributing factors that either make or break the plant. Imbalance soil mixture can significantly tarnish the plant’s health. So, for those plant parents whose plants showing signs of problems, your soil is probably too acidic, lack pH balance or stores too much nitrogen. Thus, to know exactly what the problem is, add My Soil to your garden app library.

 

Garden Plan Pro

For vegetable gardeners, Garden Plan Pro is specially designed for growing produce. From herbs, fruits, vegetables, and the like, Garden Plan Pro delivers information that helps gardeners harvest beautiful produces. It also helps in planning garden planting areas and it gives useful tips for crop rotation, harvesting dates, and local weather analysis. It will help your plant grow at an optimal level.

Smartplant

Smartplant is for flower lovers. It is focused on growing beautiful blossoms. It identifies the kind of flora or fauna by simply taking a snap. It also allows users to create a schedule for plant care, it provides personalised advice specific to your current data. Smartplant will help your beloved blooms flourish and blossom a magnificent eye candy. On top of that, Smartplant has horticulture experts available to garner some expert advice.

iScape

This app is not only for plant care tips but for helping you architect your garden landscape. iScape will give you some design tips and tricks to help you start your little landscape project. Just upload a photo of the area or your garden and the AR will analyse your image and give you a visualisation of its potential. It is for gardeners who DIY anything and everything.

Home Outside

Home Outside are intended for experienced plant parents. This app guides gardeners to mock up a design in ways professional gardeners do. It helps plant parents plan their plant’s arrangements and colour scheme while allowing users to make use of their hand-drawn elements to upscale their garden design.

 

Home Design 3D Outdoor and Garden

Home Design 3D is the AutoCAD of home gardening. It lets users create 3D images of their visionary garden design to have a better look and basis for it. You can also create fence designs and incorporate outdoor furniture in your 3D model to help you stay on the right track on your garden project.  This app is well  regarded and used by the most popular building maintenance company from Perth, WA  –   JCA.

 

 

Garden Tags

Garden Tags is useful for those who already have a solid garden. It helps plant parents organise their daily plant assignments and keep track of their plants’ growth. Garden Tags will give you personalised plant care tips and tricks to help your flora and fauna thrive better. Just simply log every plant you have in your garden and leave the thinking to Garden Tags.

 

Why not make use of technology to help restore the planet one plant at a time? If you are just starting or have been a plant parent for years, these garden apps take away most of the stressful technical plant care research.

 

landscaping 1small

Landscaping for Beginners

by Home And Garden

Landscaping for Beginner – Tips For Your DIY Landscape Project

 

Plants are essential in flaunting a garden space that creates a good mood. Plants can elevate the ambience outside the house whilst promoting fresh clean air. Apart from its ability to beautify the area, there plants that help eliminates odours and repel insects.

 

Landscaping can be a drag if you are a beginner. With all the choices available, it could be quite confusing. However, planning your design in advance will aid in completing the project quickly and efficiently.

 

Here are some essential tips and tricks to help you in your first DIY landscape project:

Identify Your Landscaping Needs

Make a list of all your needs and wants for your landscape. It could include the overall look you want to go for and the needs of your family. Although the main purpose of landscaping is aesthetic, it is still essential to design it in accordance with the activities that take place in the area. Additionally, you need to consider the landscape of your garden. Know or consider the natural shape of the land. Is it flat or sloping? Make a sketch of the landscape and determine the needs of each area for improvement.

Location Considerations

 

Plants have needs that will promote their growth. Know where the sun rises and sets. Moreover, wind circulation is another factor to consider. Identify how certain areas receive good air circulation. Then, locate the most ideal place to plant and areas to put your garden sets and other accessories.

 

Determine and Identify the Plants

After being able to know the nature of your landscape, identifying the ideal plants is the key. Determine what kind of plants that go hand in hand in the area and the kind of soil you have—also, the cycle of the weather in your location. Thus, look for plants that can thrive in your space. It’s no good if you plant a kind that can’t thrive in the kind of soil and weather you have.

 

Go For Feasibility

First-time landscapers might find it a bit challenging setting up a DIY landscape design. Thus, it is best to start small and slowly work your way up. Plan something that is feasible for your abilities and know-how. Going beyond your capabilities will significantly waste your time if your project is not successful. Start a minimal outdoor makeover. Better yet, start in one corner and gradually fill your whole garden with beauties slowly but surely. Enjoy the process while slowly developing your landscape. Landscaping is not done overnight. It is a long process that requires patience and time to seamlessly complete.

Locate a Focal Point

Every landscape design has a focal point. Find your best spot around your outdoor area and decide the focal point. If you have decided on it, you can start from there and work around it. Create a cohesive design to achieve a nice flow. Your focal point does not need to be just one. You can make every corner of your middle ground to be your focal point.

 

The Importance of Scale, Repetition and Contrast

Plants come in different sizes and shapes. Identifying the scale of each plant will help you create a balanced image. Creating a pulled-together look will demand your creative eyes. Knowing what kind of plants to place together that harmoniously blend will help you design a landscape that is pleasing to the eye while the elements around the garden work hand in hand towards one goal. Repetition builds a sense of cohesion while contrast creates a uniquely striking image. Adding contrast to the repetitive nature of your garden will elevate the overall look of the garden. Thus, repetition and contrast are key to successfully build an aesthetically appealing landscape.

 

Landscaping is a nice hobby to get into to escape the usual hassle of life. Getting into landscaping will require your patience and meticulous eyes. Give it a go when you are ready and when you develop, and clear vision of what you want. At the end of the day, it will be a good source of accomplishment when you finish a project.