When decorating interiors, homeowners most often rely on their sense of sight to gauge how attractive a room is. Most, however, forget that there are four other senses that the human body uses and these are as important as sight. The best and most comprehensive room designs are those that are able to engage all five senses and create a space that's best experienced and not just seen.

Sight is where most homeowners and designers start decorating, mostly because it's the quickest and easiest way to judge how a room appears. There are two ways to visually engage a person - with colors and with shapes. While solid colors are the safer choice for decorating a room, colors that contrast with or complement each other make a room seem much more interesting. At the same time, mixing up shapes and playing with proportion can give a room personality and character. They're effective enough on their own, but the best visual effect comes from using shapes and colors in harmony.

Auditory senses should also be engaged by the ideal home. And while a stereo system or a television could provide sounds, none of those sounds say anything about a room. Compare that to, say, the tinkling of wind chimes hung from a window or the gurgling of a small fountain in a corner. Either of those two sounds help set the mood of the room and give the space its own ambiance.

Your sense of smell, which in itself closely relates to the sense of taste, is one of the most overlooked of all the senses. Believe it or not, the olfactory senses are some of the easiest to engage when it comes to decorating a room. A set of scented candles shall be enough to generate some interest with a visitor's nose. Add a pot of potpourri or a small pot of heated aromatherapy oils to enhance the experience and reinforce the ambiance that you want to achieve in the room. You could even combine sight and smell together with, say, a bowl of fresh ripe oranges as a centerpiece for the dining table.

Touch is a very strong sensory element and shouldn't be overlooked in your design. Your skin can sometimes pick up messages that can't be sent through any other sensory pathway, so your design should hold something interesting for the sense of touch as well. Mix up textures with curtains, pillows, various fabrics and the likes. Different materials often feel very different to the touch, so try to incorporate a whole range of materials when designing the room so that guests will be curious enough to explore your little world of textures.

Your floor, in particular, is a great place to add textures because it's most often left as an unbroken and smooth expanse of wood, tile or cement. A simple rug should solve that little issue by breaking up both the texture and the color, giving your floor a whole different look and shape. Whether you plan to use rich and plush rugs or rough ones with short threads, they add a whole new dimension to what would otherwise be a boring room.

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This is a guest post by Joe Griffith posted at BRICKS-n-MORTAR's web-group sometime back this month. This blog however does not claim to have checked the credentials and/or authenticity of the guest author or his/her submission & works. (Standard 'CC' instructions and global disclaimer applies). B-n-M readers may visit his/her/their website at their own will.

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WHAT ARE AWNINGS?

Awnings-- also known in common terms as Canopies, or Shades, or Overhangs, or even simply Coverings-- are one of the most common mean of covering the architectural openings of a building of the likes of windows, doors, ventilators, sliding/ swinging/ rolling shutters, porches, sit-out open spaces, sidewalks, etc.

Modern day Awnings usually comprise of a canvas or fabric coverings (made of materials of the likes of cotton, polyester, vinyl, polymers, light metal or acrylic or fibre sheets, etc.), that are mounted atop light-weight but strong holding frames (made out of welded or bolted sections of steel tubes, aluminum sections, angles, channels, wooden members, etc.).

Most of our readers would be astonished to know that use of Awnings is as old as a at least a century old, if not more. In fact, the modern awnings are nothing but some sort of modified (rectified) version of a hatch-roof type arrangement that has been in practice since ages that people used to take shelter for themselves and/or their belongings and the cattle stock.

PURPOSE OF USING AWNINGS

Awnings are used for a variety of purposes, a few of which being:

• Protecting the architectural openings from the extremities of weather be it rainfall, direct sunlight, steep windy conditions, etc.
• Providing shade to the openings in direct sunlit areas which helps in reducing the excess heat exposure to the building thereby reducing cooling and air-conditioning requirements
• Providing sort of a barrier against ingress of dust nuisance
• Using them as temporary structures for having a cover in shape of an overhang or a shed as against having a permanent concrete or steel structure, which can be retracted when not in use.
• Using them as means of marketing and advertising, i.e., highlighting brand names and putting billboards, etc.
• Enhancing the architectural beauty and overall look of the building from aesthetics point of view.

TYPES OF AWNINGS

The common types of Awnings in use are:

• Fixed type overhangs
• Semi-fixed type overhangs
• Retractable type overhangs
• Lateral arm type coverings
• Drop arm type coverings
  
• Canopies (Awnings with column/posts/struts supports in front other than the wall fixing means are usually called canopies)
• Pop-up canopies
• Fixed or semi-fixed or retractable type screens
• Besides, awnings can be also classified in terms of their shape, size, material, working principle, etc.

WHERE TO USE AN AWNING?

One can fix an awning literally over any externally located window, door, ventilator, driveway, porch, balcony, rooftop, garden, etc. An awning basically provides shade besides serving the needs of building and architectural aesthetics.

HOW TO FIX AN AWNING?

Besides getting professional help, one can also fix simpler types of awnings by himself/ herself. All one needs is a simple wall-mounted type bracket or a frame and a suitably designed covering. Mechanized and sophisticated awnings may preferably be fixed with the assistance of professionals only. Moreover, special care must be taken if awnings are to be fixed on openings at heights, roofs and other difficult locations.

CONCLUSION & INFERENCE

Awnings can provide additional aesthetic and stylish look to you home, office, commercial space, etc. besides serving the functional need of providing shade and a barrier to dust, rain, etc. They can enhance the appearance of one's dwelling or work place by adding shape, dimension and color. They also help to make homes more energy efficient by reducing the amount of solar radiation that enters through the windows, ultimately decreasing the load on the air conditioner during hot summer months. Awnings also can expand outdoor living space and offer an economical alternative to addition of permanent concrete or steel structures, which can be retracted when not required. Awnings also protect outdoor furniture and wooden decks from weather damage and fading due to excess exposure to UV rays.

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