After the Neolithic people, the Minoan took over the country. They had made their recognizable architectural designs, which contributed also to the growth and development of Greek architecture throughout its evolution. When this civilization started to settle in the country, residential towns became famous. Temples could hardly be found the same with public structures. Also, they started the idea of building houses more than one room but only pillars were used to separate a room from the other. With just a little different from the houses of Neolithic people, the houses are still open. Later years, stairways were invented. They believed that the Minoan civilization opened the dramatic transition of architecture to its continuous development.

As the years progressed for the betterment of the Greek architecture period, many styles flourished supporting the strong foundation of Greek structure designs. There came the three different orders during the Classical Greek period. This was the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. These orders were famous and best recognized of their distinctive column style. The hardest order to be made was the Corinthian for it demands more details. The Doric and Ionic, on the other hand, was the most commonly used order during the era.

The Doric order was the most basic order in building temples. It has been familiarly and overly used by the famous Spartans. The discovery of Doric order started from wood shafts. Then, those were changed with stones. It is characterized with circular pads having a square block of wood at the top of the shaft. The columns standing vertically were used to support the architraves or beams. In forming the ceiling, it takes some other beams to lay across the building with their ends on these same beams. At each beam’s ends, triglyph was made through channeling them. A triglyph’s top contains another beam, also called as mutules, intentionally placed for the overhanging rafters.

Pediments, known also as flat gables, were also embedded in the finishing touches of the roof. Along the top of the pediments runs the gutter which ends at a lion’s mouth. Thatch and the terra-cotta and marble were used to make the roof. The designs and layouts of the Doric temples could be traced similar to Ionic order. The difference between the two was that Ionic much slender than those of Doric order. The Ionic order has dimensions of eight to nine meters high while the Doric order has only four to five high. There are some sculpted figures on the lower part of the shaft in the Ionic order. And at the upper part of those were rectangular blocks of stone.

The answer to the abovementioned question about why do people need to beautify their own homes is that it is needed because that structure will be your nest for the rest of your life so you might as well make the most out of it by giving it a touch of beauty. As a matter of fact, we spend approximately one-third of our lives asleep and another one-third would probably be spent being awake hanging out inside the house doing household chores, watching television or perhaps doing other things. With this, there is only approximately one-third of our life spent away from our own house. This only means that majority of our lives is spent inside our own home so beautifying it would probably be a very wise move on the part of the person living inside that house. Be reminded that a beautiful and orderly home will have influence on the mood of the dwellers, that is, a beautiful home environment will most like yield to a better mood of the people living inside it.

With regards to money expenditure, it is actually worth it as long as the amount of money spent is reflected on the outcome of the decoration. Household facilities may be a bit heavy on the pocket but the key to that is wise spending. A person needs not to purchase the top-of-the-line kitchenware or even perhaps the most expensive entertainment system in the market just to be able to consider a house beautiful. Again, it is just a matter of choosing the right items while sticking still to your planned budget.

Although beautifying your own house may be very challenging, worry no more because here are some very effective tips to be able to transform your old-looking house into a refreshing and tricked out home. First, try putting attention to the exterior portion of your home and notice the paint that covers the whole house. Does your house need a new paint job? If it does, then decide what color do you like and try matching different colors. A new paint job on an old house will add a dash of freshness and will give it a brand new look. Just make sure to cover the areas that must not be splashed by paint like the doors and glass windows. Next, also take note of the condition of the roof. Is the roof already been weathered by many storms and needs to be repaired? If it does need repair, then invest on a quality material. Roofs are like shoes. They add a new spunk into one’s home. Last on the list in terms of exterior improvement is the addition of decorative vases. You can place them in the pathways or even perhaps near the door to attract visitors.

It is now the interior portion of the house that needs to be improved. The use of paint can also make a world of difference inside the house. Different textures can be played in order to dazzle up the interior portion giving it a more attractive and soother effect on the eyes. Consider stenciling the borders to add more detail on the walls and doors of the house. You can also add art paintings to hang on the walls to give it a much more artistic twist or perhaps adding sculptures in the living room to provide more life. Window can also be improved by adding curtains. Curtains provide a more dramatic look in the interior of a house. You can match the color and design of your curtains to the color of the interior portion of the house to establish synchronicity. However, also consider that it does not necessarily mean that you have to buy something to impose change. You have the option of rearranging the furniture and bookshelves to give a new look to an old set-up. This is certainly a clever move most especially if you have a tight budget. You are not only promoting beautification, you are also saving a significant amount of money which you could possibly spend on other parts of the house that needs decoration. Finally, adding ornamental plants inside the house would be nice to make contact with nature.

Here’s how:

1. Know your budget. Sit and ask yourself honestly just how much you are willing to spend for a decorating project.  This will help limit the countless, and oftentimes overwhelming, design choices you have.  This also helps you make sure that you do not end up with a half refurbished or partly decorated apartment because you ran out of funds.

2. Have an idea of what you want your apartment to look like. Browse design or home improvement magazines to get design concepts. Develop or create a design or decorating philosophy or style.  Are you comfortable with a classic or traditional look? Alternatively, would you like to have a modern or neo-modern minimalist living space?

List down all the things that you will need.  From the basics to the icing on the cake, you should have an inventory of the things or the materials you would be utilizing.

3. Spread the word. Tell your family and friends that you are trying to decorate your apartment and enlist their help.  You may have friends who are good at carpentry, or whom you can commission for certain personalized artworks like paintings or sculptures.  Ask around for anybody who might have furniture that they no longer use.  Call them and ask if they could give these to you or sell it at a discount.  With a concrete idea of what you want your apartment to look like, you can figure out which pieces to take and which to leave.  In the end, they will thank you for freeing up their storage space, while you get free or discounted furniture.

4. Check out what is available. If you need more pieces, you can check out the Salvation Army or yard sales to see what would fit your decoration and design philosophy.  This would help you cut down on purchasing brand new and expensive pieces of furniture, artwork or keepsakes and mementos.

5. You could also take a look at the things you have in your house. Will your current sofa do for your new decorations?  You may need to repair or re-upholster them, but these are just like polishing old photo frames or painting them to make them more suitable.  Do you have art collections that you could frame?  Paint, polish, varnish or refurbish anything that you have in the attic or the garage that you could use in your new living space or any new room in the house.

6. Be creative. Look at various ways you could spruce up and re-purpose old things that you have.  For example, clean oddly shaped and interesting bottles and fill them up with colored water, and arrange them on a table top to create a beautiful array of display pieces.  Perhaps you could fill old jars with different colors of beads or beans.  Convert old ashtrays into potpourri holders.  The secret is to be creative with whatever materials that you have.  You’d be surprised to discover that when it comes to decorations and curiosities for the home, you don’t necessarily need to buy them all.

7. Have a party! If you have just moved in, you may want to have a housewarming party.  You can sign up at your local retailer to use their registries, listing down the things you need or want, and your friends can give them as housewarming presents.

8. Go DIY. If you have the talent for woodworking, maybe you could fashion a nice looking bench that you could use in your living room, or perhaps an accompanying table or two.  There are also shops that sell DIY furniture kits that have been pre-cut and are easy to assemble or put together.

9. Be sure that all elements you put in, will fit together and match your design philosophy. In getting your new decorations and furniture from a lot of different sources, you may have items that won’t look good together.  A good way to avoid this is to know what you want and having an idea of how the redecorated apartment or room would look like the overall.  If you still get stuck with mismatched furniture, try to determine if you could paint them to have them of the same color or stain.  If not, try to rearrange things around a bit.  Or you could mix and match by putting different things together for a more eclectic look.

With creativity and a good eye for aesthetics, you don’t need to spend so much just so you can come up with a stylish home.  Beautiful rooms don’t need to cause you an arm and a leg.  Just use whatever resources you have and use your imagination, too.