Interior decorating - Interior Decorating For Cat Owners

Part 1: Protecting your possessions

The first thing a cat owner should know about home dcor is to keep it simple. Cats are completely convinced that they are in charge, that the house and its possessions belong to them, and that they have every right to break rip or shred anything they like. Even a well trained cat (a possible oxymoron) will occasionally get overzealous, and with an inadvertent sweep of their tail will knock your favorite decoration from its place to a pile on the floor.

This disregard for your possessions, overt or otherwise, requires that you use some strategy when deciding on the placement of various decorative pieces. This is going to amount basically to common sense. Any surface that a cat can reach, they will walk on. Therefore low shelves or dressers should not contain any objects that are fragile. Items should be moved towards the middle of a surface, or back against the wall, to prevent them being knocked onto the floor. Items that have a broad or sturdy base should replace other more top heavy objects. Decorative accents that can shatter, such as ceramics or stone statues, may have to be replaced by steal or wood.

One way to display fragile items is to move them up. High shelves that are isolated from cat stepping stones will be out of dangers way. The same may be true of tall dressers, although unfortunately some cats will take a tall isolated dresser as a personal challenge, which they simply have to climb. Your dcor will have to be matched to the personality of your cat.

Mirrors can also provide a problem, as some cats tend to attack their own reflection. If your cat has a problem with this, buying velvet or satin cloth and draping it over the mirror can be a decorative way to solve this.

Plants can be one of the biggest dcor problems a cat owner will face. Your pet can chew on leaves, dig in the soil, or urinate in them. Luckily, there are ways both to decorate around these problems as well as to train your cat out of them. For biting and chewing of leaves, a natural spray repellent applied to the plant will cause most cats to avoid it. To stop a cat from rooting in or excreting in your plant you have to realize that the dirt in the pot is reminiscent of the cats litter box. In order to change this, use stones or gravel to fill over the top of the dirt. This will remove the cats fascination with the soil, and can be a lovely decorative accent to your plant

Cat grass is a special kind of plant you can grow in your home that is specifically formulated to be safe for felines, and to provide them with certain vitamins they may be lacking. Purchasing this can give your cat an acceptable alternative to messing with your plants. When you see your cat eating the cat grass, reward them lavishly. When you see them going near other plants, pick them up and place them in front of the cat grass. If they eat the offered vegetation, then reward them. In this way you can use positive reinforcement to turn one behavior into another

Cats will scratch anything which is made of cloth, including couches, drapes, and pillows. Because of this, you may want to start by spraying natural cat repellent on your more attractive pieces. A plastic couch cover may have to be used for a short time while the cat learns to behave itself. Buying your pet a scratching post and praising it for scratching that instead of your couch is a good way to positively reinforce the negative behavior out of the cat. You will have to carefully monitor their progress, and only remove protective coverings from your furniture when you are sure they are safe.

While cats are a hazard to most dcor, planning ahead can minimize these problems. Cats are so difficult to train that it is often easier to simply decorate around them. Using common sense, and paying attention, should allow you to develop a setting that compliments your pet owning experience.

Interior Decorating for Cat owners

Part 2: Protecting your pet

If you own a cat, then designing the dcor of your home will require taking several precautions in order to protect your pet from harm. Glass items should be avoided both because they are easy to shatter, and because fragments of glass can then become embedded in your cats skin. Other items to avoid are those that have sharp edges, spikes, or that have small pieces which can break off and be swallowed.

You should also consider whether any object you bring into your home would be unhealthy if eaten by the feline. These items may include plants, flowers, and scented candles. Cats are fairly self-sufficient, as well as intelligent, however they are also curious, and you do not want to give them any easy method for hurting themselves.

Cats are fascinated by string, as part of their inherent instinct to kill snakes. This fascination may carry over to electrical wires. If you catch your cat attacking or playing with electric cords you should stop them immediately. This is a very dangerous problem that can not only result in the cat electrocuting themselves, but also in causing a fire. If your pet persists in this problem, one way to protect your wires is to wrap them in duct tape. This will make them harder to break through and less appetizing for a cat to chew on. There are also many natural sprays which have specially formulated smells that will cause a cat to avoid an area in which it is sprayed.

Curtain cords hold much the same fascination that electrical wires do, and they can also be a danger from strangulation. If you have rope that dangles too far from your curtain, the cat may attack it, causing it to tangle. If the cat becomes caught in the tangle itself, it can be very dangerous. Long hanging cords should be tied up out of the cats reach, or cut so that they do not dangle where a feline can reach them.

The level of caution you should use is based upon your individual cat. Monitor your pet and your home, and change your setting as necessary. Always use caution when bringing a new object into an area, and be certain you dont introduce anything which can be harmful to the cat. Mostly, just use common sense and try to remove any obvious hazards to where they cant be reached.

Interior Decorating for Cat Owners

Part 3: The Beauty of Cat Decor

For the most part cat dcor is less about being beautiful and more about keeping your pet safe and comfortable. However there are so many manufacturers of cat products that you can fine almost any of the items mentioned above in several different colors. Try purchasing items such as litter boxes and scratching posts in matching or complimentary colors. If you match the hue to the rest of your setting you may be able to blend them seamlessly into the area

Alternatively, you may want to set aside a space just for the cats things, in order to separate them from the look of the rest of the room. While this wont completely eliminate the intrusion of cat toys onto your setting, it can allow you to create interplay between the cats possessions and yours. If your home is predominated by a single color such as green or blue, purchasing matching black cat possessions can actually compliment this look. If your colors are more mottled, then patterned cat toys, or subdued sandy colored ones, may be a better way to create equality in the rooms hue.

The litter box is one of the most troublesome cat possessions to decorate around. It stinks, its dirty, and its generally surrounded by stray litter tramped out of the box by your oblivious cat. One way to deal with this item is to hide it, either in a bathroom, or somewhere out of the way such as a closet. If you dont have anywhere to hide it, then you should consider getting a covered cat box. They are much more attractive then leaving the litter bare, and will also reduce the smell. Unfortunately these are rarely attractive, and become dirty easy. To create your own custom covering, get a giant cardboard box and place it over the litter. Cut a hole in the front where the door is. Cover the box in decorative paper, such as wrapping paper, and then coat this in plastic to protect it from moisture. This method should only be used in conjunction with an existing plastic cat cover; otherwise moisture will seep into the cardboard and turn it to mush.

Cats can make wonderful loving pets. They are fairly self sufficient, and dont require much attention. However, they are still animals, and will be oblivious to the beauty of your home. In order to maintain the look of your setting, while maintaining the safety of your pet, you will have to plan the dcor that you develop in your home. Every cat is different, so let your home evolve with the pet, until you reach a stasis in which safety and beauty are at their best.

About The Author Joey Lewitin is an author, designer, and artist. Decorating ideas from him and others can be seen at http://pebblez.com/information/home-decorating-idea.html info@pebblez.com

Interior design - A Simple Trick Decorating in Threes

If you're having trouble finding that theme that will bring your whole dcor together, you might be looking too hard. A simple trick is to design by the numbers. Buy furnishings in sets of three, and use the novelty of number themed rooms to set the tone for your home.

Try hanging three Van Gogh prints on a wall. Quickly you will find that room referred to as the Van Gogh room. Try the same thing with a different artist in each room and transform your home into an elegant art gallery, with visual decoration in every space.

The same can be done with almost any of your home furnishings. Three clocks hanging in formation from a wall, each loosely related to the other in theme, will create an eye-catching effect. Statues of similar shapes or natures can be arrayed in this numerical method as well; perhaps in three corners of the room, leaving the fourth corner as a focal point.

There are any many novel ways you can use this idea if you are willing to use your imagination. Three decorative lamps, placed on a table can be used to create variouse lighting effects. Beat the boring rectangular restrictions of your fish tank, by buying three and arranging them in a pattern of your choice.

By using several items in groups of threes you turn the rooms theme into the number itself or your home into a gallery of numbers. While this is a cute method, you don't want to go too far and end up with something that looks silly. This is a trick to be used with a light touch. Everything in decorating has to remain balanced, and going too far with an idea as unique as this one may bring you into the realm of weird.

Joey Lewitin is an author, artist, and designer of home dcor accessories made from imported stone. Original designs from him and other artisans can be seen at http://pebblez.com

Copyright Joey Lewitin - PebbleArt Stone Decor

Appreciate to Motivate (Five Keys to Successful Team Building)Ed Sykes Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, since said, "There are two things people want more than sex and money...recognition and praise." Time and time again the one motivating factor that is at the top of most employee lists is appreciation for a job well done. It is more requested than the green stuff, money.

Why don't more managers, owners, and employees give appreciation? Some people state they don't know how to give it. Others don't know what to give appreciate for in the work environment. Yet others say they are too busy to give appreciation.

I think is this is the biggest sin of managers, being too busy to give appreciation for a good job well done. Remember what the old transmission commercials used to say, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later." Well, that is what giving appreciation is about. You can invest in your employees now and "pay" them with sincere appreciation and achieve even better performance. Or you will "pay" later by seeing your team's performance sink, corrective actions and coachings increase, and overall morale decrease.

The following are five tips to giving sincere appreciate that will motivate your team to soar to higher level and achieve
more:

1. Be Specific
In order to get the same behavior or action again you need to let the employee know exactly what action(s) you are appreciating. For example, the typical attempt at appreciate sounds like this:

Manager: "Mike, you did a great job earlier today. Keep up the good work!"

Mike:"Thanks" (Mike is thinking what is he complimenting me on?)

The correct way:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report earlier today. I can see you invested a lot of time on the report by the detail you put in it. I really appreciate you effort. Thank you."

Mike: "I appreciate you noticed the time a put into the report. Thanks!" (Mike is thinking that the manager really did read it and appreciates his effort. I will be glad to do it again.)

As you can see the employee has a clear understanding of what action the manager is showing appreciated for and he is motivated to take on the project again.

2. Be Timely
Make sure you show appreciation as soon as possible to the action you appreciate. The further the distant in time between the appreciation and the action the less impact it will have to motivate the employee.

Manager: Mike, the report you submitted six month ago was great. Keep up the good work. Thanks!"

Mike: "Thanks, I think. What report are you taking about?"

Always find time to show appreciate in a timely manner. Even if you need to drop something else take time to appreciate your employees.

3. Be Fair
One of the key concerns of students in my workshops is that when appreciation is shown, it doesn't seem fair. The biggest villain of this is the dreaded "Employee of the Month" board. Many times when you ask the "Employee of the Month" what did you do to earn it they say, "I don't know." I have one action you must take when giving appreciation...be consistent!

* First, clearly state the rules for appreciation so that everyone understands how appreciate is earned.

* Second, be consistent when showing appreciation. If one employee does a favorable action and you show appreciation and another employee does the same or similar action and you don't show appreciation you have just sewn the seeds of bad morale and feelings of favoritism.

* Third, always be on the lookout for "finding something good" your employees do well. Once you achieve this mindset you will always find the good and increase morale and productivity within your team and organization.

* Fourth, be pure in your appreciation. If you to show appreciation, don't muddle it with other communication. In other words, don't show appreciation for one action and then start discussing a potential corrective action for another action. This sends mixed signals that say to the receiver of this communication, "I don't want any appreciation because there is always something bad attached to it." Keep it pure!

4. Be Public, if Possible
Appreciation is not something you hide. It works best when done publicly. Show you appreciation in a public way in meetings, in front of team members, and management. The funny thing is that once you get in the habit of doing this many of your team members will increase the activity they need to take to also earn this public appreciation.

5. Be Relational
When I ask the question, "Why do you come to work everyday?," in my workshops I usually get "to get paid" as the first answer the students give. Then as we discuss it further it always comes down to "I feel like I make a difference" as the main answer. You see, in most cases the reason why employees decide to climb out of bed in the morning, their toes touch the floor, and they decide to drive to work is that they feel that they make a difference where they work.

I remember an opportunity to emcee a large sales meeting for a Fortune 500 company. I introduced a Senior Vice President and he went to the lectern to address over 500 employees. He announced that the company achieved sales of $14 billion. Then he quickly announced that their goal for the next year was $17 billion. As he was talking I was looking at the audience. They were unusually quiet and attentive. However, as I looked at them they had a glassy eye look. I realized the problem was that the speaker was just talking numbers. He didn't relate how those 500+ employees made a positive difference for the company. All he needed to say was how their sacrifice everyone translated in the success of the company. Along with this, they will meet the coming years challenges only with the talents of our employees. So simple, but so rarely done.

Relate the action done with how if affects the team, department and organization. Let's go back to our earlier examples to complete the appreciate process:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report for the new computer system earlier today. I can see you invested a lot of time to do the research so that we have the necessary information to request the computer system.Mike, we appreciate your efforts because the new computer system will make our team more productive so that the department will achieve its goals and the company will be profitable this year. Bottom line, bigger bonuses for everyone. I look forward to seeing your high level of work in the future. Thank you."

Mike: "Thanks. I appreciate making a difference. Please let me know whatever I can do to help the team."

As you can see, Mike has a clear sense of achievement and where he fits in the company. Also, the manager encouraged Mike to do the same behavior soon by saying "I look forward to seeing your high level of work in the future." And the manager ended with a sincere "thank you."

These are five simple tips that will motivate your employees to achieve more with a minimum amount of efforts. Starting today, apply these techniques and you will see a world of difference in your team, department, and organization. Remember, "pay" yourself with the rewards now or "pay" yourself with a low performing team later.

==============================================

Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and leading expert in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Goto his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Empowerment and Stress Secrets for the Busy Professional."

Copyright Ed Sykes - http://www.thesykesgrp.com