Pottery Random

6 Jun, 2009 in art pottery by admin

Pottery Random

The Roots Of Mediterranean Decor

How to use the Moroccan influence in your Mediterranean decorating theme. The use of color, texture and metals to create this look.

Many have tried to describe the style of Moroccan home design. Which words come to mind? Grace, charm, seductiveness, mystery, and a certain allure all beacon. This style of design, which comes from the Mediterranean region, both north of the sea and south of it shows its strong influence from Moorish design, the materials available in the area, the climate influences and other factors. This design, though it had its origins in this region, can now be seen throughout the world. It is easy to create a seductive room with a Moroccan theme for your home.

This decorating concept is especially popular in the southern part of Spain and the northern part of Africa and it represents the strong traditions of the area. As it spreads further afield, other influences are added, and the Mediterranean style has now become one of hate most popular styles in the world. Even in the "New World" we see how important this style has become in the decorating world, even though it has become a bit muted as it evolved to this new setting. Let's have a look at the real Moroccan style and see how we can incorporate it into our homes.

In the Moroccan style, the walls are usually textured. This comes from the original materials used for walls, but it can be recreated in modern times by using paint in a neutral color that you have added sand to to give it the aged, washed looked that is desired. You can even buy specially developed paints that have the texture added already.

To complete the style on the walls, you should incorporate architectural features such as moldings, columns, cornices and other wall and ceiling items as much as you can. The colors that should be used include warm earth colors, lavenders, and soft yellows mixed with the cerulean blue that is predominant in the pottery of the area. The accessories also include these colors and textures. Soft earthy colors and aged looking metals will complete the illusion. Make sure you use this theory in everything-ceilings, doors, furniture, etc.

This does not mean that a lot of planning should go into a project such as this. The style is almost random in its casualness; walls look like they have been half finished, rather than perfectly painted and trimmed. This is the look to strive for at the beginning and the look can be enhanced more and more as you move on.

About the Author

Adam Peters contributes editing long articles on mediterranean decor for http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com . For additional information on mediterranean style
wall texture venetian
subjects have a look at his web.

Neighbor will not clean up his yard?

My neighbor is in his late 30's early 40's. His yard looks like a junkyard. It has over 15 ladders, tall grass, 4 lawnmowers, random pieces of machinery, medal, car parts, gas cans, a huge broken billboard (which slammed into our deck) it was fixed, broken pottery, and other random pieces of crap. He also has three unliscened vehicles that overflow into the street. It's all really bad. He lives alone. We have called the city and they have not done anything or responded. We've talked to him but he could give a squirrels gullet. Our street has very nice houses and yards. We all work hard on our yards and keep them nice. It's aggravating how he gets away with this. It puts down the value on our house. I don't know what to do anymore and it makes me mad the city isn't helping. All the other neighbors have the same point of view as I do. Big question: WHAT DO I DO. Need an answer quick. I'm desperate.

Here is what we had to do. We live in a county, not a municipality--so, we had to file an official complaint with Code Enforcement. I went to every property owner and asked them to sign a petition requiring the County to come and inspect the premises. We also got letters from anyone who wanted their opinion voiced and turned them in.

The problem with most code enforcement situations is that they don't have enough man power to drive around and look for infractions, they have to be reactive. So, we gave them a reason to investigate.

I printed off the home values of every property that was in the neighborhood, which I got from the County Property Appraiser's website. We took photos of anything we could see without going on the actual property. We let Code Enforcement know that we expected to be at any and all hearings associated with the case.

Here is where the difficulty arose. It was deemed that the property was noncompliant. Then they had to go through all sorts of filings and warnings to the owner. Who still did nothing.

A year later, with us staying on them, they decided to begin fining the owner, which they did, beginning with the smallest fine applicable--which then became more expensive over the course of another year! Finally, the fines became so high, that they threatened to foreclose on the property to satisfy what was owed, only to find out that the property was already in foreclosure from the mortgage company that held the mortgage. It ended up being auctioned off.

We didn't really get a win from the County, but the owner lost his home and we gained a new neighbor who purchased the property as a fixer upper after the bank got all of the junk off of it. The new owner was welcomed and we let her know what we had already been through--she has been a wonderful addition.

The one thing we really accomplished was to raise the awareness of all of the other owners, they became educated in what is required of property owners and they all agreed that we didn't want anything like this happening again.

Good luck! You are going to need it--but get your neighbors involved with you. Document everything!! With photos and a log.

The Random Bit: God's Pottery