TIPS FOR DECORATING YOUR LIVING ROOM

By Helen Marakis

In the home, the living area, or the receiving room, is one of the busiest rooms. It's also the room guests initially see and form a lasting impression about the home. Hence, the living area should be well-decorated, well-laid out and inviting to guests and family members. It should project a homey, comfortable yet elegant image.

The Greeks were inspired by lofty ideals of beauty. And these same ideals can be imitated and applied to create and decorate an elegant home, an elegant living area in particular. With a combination of imagination, good taste, statues and lamps, any living area can be transformed into one that exudes elegance and coziness at the same time.

There are several ways you can decorate your living area to create an inviting place and cause a lasting impression to your guests:

REARRANGING FURNITURE. Your lifestyle or taste determines what the focal point of your living area is. If you have a fireplace, you can rearrange your furniture around it. Or if you have a piano, and this is the focal point of your living area, your furniture could be set around it.

When rearranging your furniture, also consider traffic in your living area. Does the arrangement of your furniture allow free movement and flow? Does it give an uncluttered look?

It is always good to arrange furniture in off-square angles. This makes the room warmer and more casual. And instead of placing large sofas directly against the wall, why not place it a foot or so away from the wall and put a lamp or plant behind it instead?

COLORS TO CREATE WARMTH. Colors have psychological effects on people and their moods. When applied in your living area, colors can intimidate, invite or irritate. Decorating using colors is also an inexpensive way of decorating because it only involves painting or papering walls.

You want your living area to be warm and inviting, and one of the warmest and most relaxing colors is green. Green has several shades and it's one of the most flexible colors around. But whatever color you pick for the color of your walls, make your carpets and furniture coordinated.

MIRRORS FOR SPACE AND DEPTH. Create space and depth for your small living area by positioning a mirror on a wall. Your mirror should reflect something pleasing to the eyes. If you have more wall space, try adding small painting on either side of the mirror.

ADDING SMALL FURNITURE. To create a "lived-in" aura for your living area, position small furniture in the room. This can be a small bench, or a low sofa table. Place magazines, journals and newspapers under the table. Placing flower vases, baskets and small plants on your table also creates beauty and livens up the room.

STATUES FOR ELEGANCE. Corners and tabletops are good places for small statues. Statues, especially marble ones, provide aesthetic quality to your living area. The statues at Portara portray the Greeks of ancient times -- symbols, deities, objects associated with everyday life. The Greeks used marble for sculptures for its strength, durability and beauty. Portara continues this Greek tradition by creating long-lasting, and genuine statues and capturing the beauty of the Early Cycladic Civilization in its reproductions. Elegant yet down-to-earth, these statues lend warmth to any living area.

UNIQUE LAMPS. Alternative to statues are lamps. Place them in a corner or a tabletop and they can accentuate your living area. Second to color, light creates moods and sets the tone of your living area. Portara's lamps are not your ordinary lamps. They are unique lamps -- created from polished minerals and stones. These minerals and stones can emit light after exposure to day light or the light from normal light bulbs. When the chemicals in minerals or rocks react to light, this reaction causes the minerals or rocks to glow. The visible light emitted is sometimes very colorful and it is often very different from the normal color of the mineral. These unique Portara lamps will accent your living area.

Decorating your home, particularly your living area, allows you to combine creativity, elegance and good taste. Make good use of space, accessories and furniture available to you so you can create a living area that is inviting, relaxing, homey and elegant.

RESOURCE BOX:
Helen Marakis runs and owns Portara, Inc. (http://www.portara.com), a company that combines Ancient Greek history and art through its unique sculptures, dolls and semiprecious stones that are hand-crafted and hand-finished. Portara, Inc's products are being sold for the first time in the United States and come with a 60-day money back guarantee.