Modern Furniture 101

Sculptures

Modern Furniture 101
Author: Megan Roberts
As the name suggests, 'Modern Furniture' is furniture of our times that is comfortable, affordable, and stylish to match modern tastes and perspectives. Technically speaking, the phrase Modern Furniture refers to furniture from the latter half of the 20th century and on into contemporary styles of today. A microscopic view of this kind of furniture reveals that designers more often than not use the phrase for furnishings manufactured in the 50s and 60s in post world war II America, and to a lesser extent in Europe. This type of furniture is quite experimental in nature; use of curvilinear shapes, integrated modular elements and understated monochromatic color schemes is common and is very different from the more traditional rounds, squares and rectangles.

When you decide on redecorating the house with modern furniture, some key things need to be kept in mind:

• Have a game-plan ready before you even set foot inside a home furnishings store.

• Measurements of rooms and photographs help a lot in visualizing the furniture in its final destination while shopping. Having wall paint samples and carpet may be helpful if you are looking at changing only the furniture.

• Each element in the room has to be treated almost like a sculpture with an almost 'museum like' look. You can experiment with highlighting art by placing sculptures on columns or pedestals. Uncluttered furniture arrangement which forms the framework for home décor is the underlying objective.

• Bold statements with both furniture and accessories are an apt definition for Modern Furnishing. Ruffles, florals, carved details, traditional shapes are usually a no go.

• Selection of store is also important as furniture stores broadly fall into 4 general categories - Promotional, Medium, High End and Specialty Stores. These stores may provide you with a still wider array of styles like Traditional, Country, Early American, Shaker, Mission, Modern, Art Deco, Retro, etc. It may therefore be a good idea to give the stores a call and ask for their furniture style line-up. Unless you are fixated with the kind of furniture you want, it might be helpful to note that Modern Furniture includes styles like Southwest, Lifestyle, Lacquers, Euro-look, Retro (50's), and Art Deco. So just go ahead and experiment!

• While deciding on fabric, remember that Modern fabrics tend to have lots of design and color-change in their appearance. Here a degree of creativity might help in visualizing the complete set.

• Modern accent tables may use a variety of material like metal, glass, stonework as well as wood. Choose well in order to have a synchronous furnished outcome.

• Where lamps and accessories are concerned, remember that fine lines are a hallmark of modern look. A gaudy or heavy look is certainly not modern.

• Mostly Modern Styles use geometric lines and well-matched colors to add an air of neatness to the whole look and feel of the room. For additional impact make sure the room(s) have lots of natural light and plenty of space. Cove lighting and washing walls with light are other options to be explored.

And lastly, do remember you're the person who has to live with what you decide upon now. Have fun shopping!

Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com

Megan Roberts recommends that you visit www.stlloftstyle.com for more information on modern furniture.

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Marble Information

Sculptures

Marble Information
Author: Joey Lewitin

Marble is any limestone or dolomite that can take a high polish and still be usable. Marble is generally formed from limestone undergoing metamorphism. When exposed to extremes of pressure or heat limestone turns into calcite or dolomite crystals, which are the primary materials in marble.

Marble has a famous history. The ancient Greeks built their architecture, cities, and sculptures often from Pentelic and Parian Marbles, quarried in Greece. The romans later used marble in their buildings as well, quarrying in the Greek spots and finding roman marble quarries of their own. Marble is, in a lot of ways, what the classical and Hellenistic age was built from.

It is still used heavily today in construction, and can be quarried all over the world. The uses for this stone are almost endless. It's used in flooring, counter tops, pillars, stair cases, colonnades, paneling, and facing stone in architectural structures. It can't however be used outdoors, since water would corrode its crystalline structure. It is also very smooth and therefore tends to be slippery, which makes it unfavorable to use in high traffic areas.

Marble is one of the most beautiful stones, with a highly polished smooth face and a wide variety of colors. These various colors are due to impurities, such as iron or carbon, getting caught in the marbles structure during formation. They often appear in stripes which makes the marble, especially when cut, very beautiful.

It's these properties that make marble suited to some of the more delicate arts. It can be crafted into beautiful home furnishings, and it has been the material used in many of the worlds most beautiful sculptures. It is one of the most beautiful, elegant, historically prevalent stones that can be used.

About The Author

Joey lewitin is an author and designer. His website http://pebblez.com " http://pebblez.com is where he hosts his unique home decor items

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IvorylikeSholapith Sculptures from India

Sculptures

IvorylikeSholapith Sculptures from India
Author: Som Chaudhury
In the past, collectors have been fascinated with sculptures of pure white Ivory without knowing the damage it caused to our eco-system. Luckily governments of a number of nations have banned Ivory trade altogether.

Craftsmen from eastern India had been crafting beautiful items of SholaPith (lookalikes of Ivory) since ages. It is only recently that Sholapith items have got international recognition for its beauty, eco-friendliness and superb craftsmanship. Shola pith is a milky-white sponge-wood that is carved into delicate and beautiful objects of art only in a few states of India. Shola is a plant, growing in marshy waterlogged areas of eastern Indian States commonly referred to as eastern marshy Gangetic plains. It is unbelievable that this plant grows nowhere else in the world. The biological name of Shola is Aeschynomene Indica and it is an herbaceous plant. The Sholapith is the cortex or core of this plant.

The finest examples of craftsmanship are seen on images of gods and goddesses on festivals, especially the massive decorative backdrops made for "Durga-Puja" celebrations. Thousands of craftsmen spend months working on each piece and every details is meticulously worked out.The color of Shola is pure white and beautiful IVORY look alike sculptures have started decorating Western homes in Europe and America very recently. The shola crafts have flowery designs, decorative head-wears of gods and goddesses, garlands etc. You also find exquisite figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephants, peacock-boats, palanquins, wall hangings and a number of home decorations made of sholapith.

Needless to say, the items are appealing, they are completely natural and the beautiful craftsmanship brings a pure white ethnic aura at your home.

Where to find these fine Pith Sculptures

Ethnocraft: http://www.ethnocraft.com has some of these fine Sholapith items you could easily order over the web.

Dollsof India: dollsofindia.com is another site where you find deities and idols made of Sholapith.

More Resources on Sholapith
http://www.india-crafts.com/indian_states_crafts/westbengal.html: A variety of home decoration crafts from India are pictured here including Sholapith.

Handicrafts Expo: http://www.westbengal.com/arts/handcraf/expo/pg2.html

Bengal Handicrafts: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/3924

About the Author

Som Chaudhury is a freelance writer on Ethnic Home Decor. He travels all around the world and gets the finest of Ethnic Home Decor.

Courtesy: http://www.ethnocraft.com/

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Ivory Like Sholapith Sculptures from India

Sculptures

Ivory Like Sholapith Sculptures from India
Author: Som Chaudhury

In the past, collectors have been fascinated with sculptures of pure white Ivory without knowing the damage it caused to our eco-system. Luckily governments of a number of nations have banned Ivory trade altogether.

Craftsmen from eastern India had been crafting beautiful items of SholaPith (lookaloikes of Ivory) since ages. It is only recently that Sholapith items have got international recognition for its beauty, eco-friendliness and superb craftsmanship. Shola pith is a milky-white sponge-wood that is carved into delicate and beautiful objects of art only in a few states of India. Shola is a plant, growing in marshy waterlogged areas of eastern Indian States commonly referred to as eastern marshy Gangetic plains. It is unbelievable that this plant grows nowhere else in the world. The biological name of Shola is Aeschynomene Indica and it is an herbaceous plant. The Sholapith is the cortex or core of this plant.

The finest examples of craftsmanship are seen on images of gods and goddesses on festivals, especially the massive decorative backdrops made for "Durga-Puja" celebrations. Thousands of craftsmen spend months working on each piece and every details is meticulously worked out.The color of Shola is pure white and beautiful IVORY look alike sculptures have started decorating Western homes in Europe and America very recently. The shola crafts have flowery designs, decorative head-wears of gods and goddesses, garlands etc. You also find exquisite figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephants, peacock-boats, palanquins, wall hangings and a number of home decorations made of sholapith.

Needless to say, the items are appealing, they are completely natural and the beautiful craftsmanship brings a pure white ethnic aura at your home.

Where to find these fine Pith Sculptures

Ethnocraft: http://www.ethnocraft.com " http://www.ethnocraft.com has some of these fine Sholapith items you could easily order over the web.

About The Author

Free Lance writer of Ethnic Home Decor.

This article is a cortsey of http://www.ethnocraft.com " http://www.ethnocraft.com where you can get fine Home Decor items and Sholapith Sculptures.

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Inuit Stone Sculptures From The Arctic North

Sculptures

Inuit Stone Sculptures From The Arctic North
Author: Clint Leung
When most people think about stone sculptures, it's probably giant pieces of abstract art located outside large buildings or perhaps inside a famous art gallery or museum. Sometimes people think of stone sculptures as the ancient Roman or Greek mythological characters like Apollo, Venus or Zeus. For contemporary fine art, many see stone sculpture only for serious collectors or for the rich and famous to display in their well kept mansions. Most individuals, even avid art fans, rarely think about or are even aware of Inuit stone sculptures from the Canadian Arctic north.

The Inuit people (formerly referred to as Eskimos in Canada) have been carving stone sculptures for thousands of years but it was only introduced as fine art to the modern world on a significant scale during the 1950s. Today, Inuit stone sculptures have gained international recognition as a valid form of contemporary fine art. Even so, most people who are aware of Inuit stone sculptures are those who have visited Canada in the past and got exposed to this interesting form of aboriginal art while visiting Canadian museums or galleries.

If you haven't seen Inuit stone sculpture, there's a lot to offer from the Canadian Arctic. The Inuit do some very realistic sculptures of the Arctic wildlife they are so intimately familiar with. These include seals, walruses, birds and of course, the mighty polar bears. Human subjects depicting the Inuit Arctic lifestyle are also popular as stone sculptures. One can see pieces showing hunters, fisherman and even Inuit mothers with their children. The stone sculptures can come in a variety of different colors including black, brown, grey, white and green. Some pieces are highly polished and shiny while others retain the rougher, primitive look. Styles can vary depending upon where in the Arctic the Inuit sculptors are located.

An Inuit stone sculpture can definitely be integrated into one's home décor and will usually be quite a conversational piece since most people have never seen such artwork before. This is especially true in areas located outside Canada where Inuit stone sculpture is not well known. Canadians have often given Inuit stone sculptures as unique business or personal gifts. There are Inuit stone sculptures to suit almost every price range and budget at about $100 to several thousand dollars for large, intricate pieces. Most can be purchased at galleries located in major Canadian cities but there are now a few galleries located in the USA and Europe that specialize in this form of art. Not surprisingly, the latest retail source of Inuit stone sculpture is on the internet. This development is especially useful for those who are not located near an Inuit art gallery.

So if Inuit stone sculpture is new to you, have a look on the internet. You will likely be impressed by the workmanship and artistic beauty of this unique art form. An entire new world from the Canadian Arctic will be available to you for your enjoyment.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

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