Contemporary Room Divider For Today's Home

By Tim Lee

The good old reliable divider has come a long way. From just a mere vertical accessory to conceal some parts of the house or temporarily separate it from the rest, it has now become an interesting piece of décor present in any space which needs division or not. The contemporary room divider is placed to add elegance, define the owner's personality, or sometimes is the piece that binds together the entire room to a common theme.

The modern room divider can be made of any material imaginable. The old shoji screens of Japan, for instance, have now been modified, that we can now see dividers made of glass instead of the old rice paper fiber, making it last longer. Because of the change in materials, dividers nowadays are more lightweight and less bulky. And aside from serving its main purpose of dividing the space, some dividers can actually dampen sound, while others, instead of blocking natural light, can actually transmit light.

Some dividers are more permanent than others. Sliding glass doors, when installed in the middle of the room, serve as a divider that can be shut or opened depending on the need. With aluminum or wooden frames, these stylish dividers add beauty to the room. You can choose the kind of glass that you want, whether frosted or clear, depending on the effect that you want.
There is also the revolving type of divider. You can use a mirror or some poster or mural as design. When opened, it serves as a walkway that allows light in. When the panel is closed, it becomes a part of the wall. Mirror screen dividers are also nice additions to your home. Not only do they provide sophistication. They also make the room appear larger because it reflects light.

You don't need to look far to find room dividers. Some materials may already be found in your house without you knowing it. Fireplace screens and herb drying rack can be modified and transformed into a room divider. Furniture can also serve as room divider. For instance, a rolling bookcase can be used as a divider. Aside from books, you can use it as an open display cabinet. One setback, however, is that it blocks light and sometimes is not too effective in shutting the other space.

For tips on choosing room dividers, visit http://www.roomdividers101.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Lee

Adding Elegance And Beauty To Your Child's Room With Art From Alphonse Mucha

By Ty Hulse

Art Nouveau is truly appropriate as children's wall art and the art movement to get and give such warm pictures the respect they deserve, because the Art Nouveau movement was about making anything art from wall paper to posters. Alphonse Mucha helped to exemplify this wonderful new form of art, with swirling and elegant lines and flowing compositions that no matter how simple seem to breathe life into their surroundings. Mucha was a true starving artist for years, not becoming famous until 35, which helped hone and sharpen his abilities without the pressure of success hanging over him. In many ways it also makes him a truly heroic figure, someone who never gave up, who worked hard through all obstacles.

Mucha's art spans a range of emotions and compositions, while still keeping a movement and a beauty that is unmistakably his own. His painting "Polar Star" though not what you would consider standard nursery wall décor because of how dark the color scheme is, this picture has a soft and calm beauty that is ageless, a girl and flowers painted with earth tones and dark greys to blacks it can bring balance to a saturated and colorful room providing a place for the eyes to rest, while also providing a provocative and beautiful picture to study.

The Picture "Morning" helps continue this sophistication in a lighter and warmer though no more saturated picture. This painting is beautiful and unique in part thanks to its brilliant composition, showing Mucha's amazing ability to draw flowery and bright frames into his works of art. The painting itself is so warm and soft a girl surrounded by flowers like much of Mucha's work, however like all such pieces it has its own emotionality. Touching and sweet it will fit perfectly in any room including your child's, working especially well in rooms you want to give a natural feel as the flowing lines give these paintings a stunning dreamlike quality that does well in natural themed and designed rooms.

Mucha did a lot of experimentation with the way a border acts on the page, and such experiments work beautifully within as part of the nursery wall décor because these works of art are playful and energetic outside of the rectangular shape most pictures have. "Fan Design" for example is a stunning painting composed primarily in a blue circle which opens at the end and seems to drip down into the large negative space of the paper. Such a work of art would go perfect on a white wall where the negative space could blend with the wall helping push out the energy of the central image. True to form this painting too is of girls and flowers, yet its spiral composition makes it uniquely beautiful, and turns it into one of the most sophisticated of Mucha's paintings. In a pink room such a work of art would go very will on the walls with a wide border of negative white space which would turn into a light blue to contrast the surroundings while staying true to the emotionality that a pink room typically tries to achieve. Such perfection of design for decorating a kids room likely comes from the fact that Mucha's art was designed is such a way to be the perfect décor to lighten and warm our lives in any room.

Ty Hulse is a children's artist and psychologists who runs the web site http://www.kayart.net where you can browse new and interesting art for children, nursery decor or get custom works designed for your child's room.

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