One can do nearly anything they want with living room design these days, yet it is still important to consider living room decorating themes when decorating your living room. The most important element that having a decorating theme provides to any designer is the ability to see something as a collective group. Many people will find a piece of furniture that they fall in love with, and have nothing to match it with. Others will find a pattern of wall paper that looks like it came straight from heaven, yet won't be able to find a single piece of furniture to match. When you think of living room design in terms of living
room decorating themes, you will avoid having this problem, and end up with a final product
that is as kind to the eye, as it is collectively matching.

The living room decorating themes that are most common amongst people today often come in several ways, but most likely deal with work, play, or family. Each category shares some similarities when it comes to living room decorating themes, but each is distinctively different in other ways.

A living room decorating theme focused around work should incorporate all that one needs to accomplish their goals for a work at home office. Can a living room really be an office? Absolutely, in fact, the number of people telecommuting to work is higher today, than ever before. When doing a living room decorating theme around this concept, simply make the space a useful one, with sofas that position your body upright, chairs that could be used for conferences and tables that could be used as desks. The more double duty the furniture you choose does, the better your living room decorating theme will be.

Thinking of a living room decorating themes is the realm of play, is as much fun as living in one. There are a many ways to make a living room the ultimate playroom. Everything from home theater elements, to parlor games should be considered when doing this living room decorating theme. You could skip wall paper on a wall, and install a chalkboard, or a white board, for the fun of it. It doesn't get much more playful than drawing on the wall.

While most think of a family living room decorating theme as one with board games, and fluffy carpet, it can be much more. Family oriented living room decorating themes are common in home decorating circles, and often are similar in looks. In order to accommodate a family you must have a place for everyone to sit. For this theme, you should focus on making the sofa as large as possible, with as much room for the family as needed. Using the sofa as a design anchor, the rest of this living room decorating theme should fall into place.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya

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So you're planning a bridal shower -- and everyone says you need a theme. "Around the Clock." "Home and Garden." Yawn!

There aren't many times we get to be silly and girly in this world, so a bridal shower shouldn't be wasted. Make sure it's genuinely fun. It's simple --- just think about what makes your bride special, and let yourself loose with the theme. Here are a few ideas to charge up the noggin and organize something unique.

"Like High School -- But Better."

Revive some great times by tipping your hat to the bride's high school days. Look up all those slightly embarrassing hits from the year she graduated -- let's say the 80s. (Create a gift CD of same for all your guests -- they'll secretly savor them when no one else is around.) Yes, they still make banana clips! Pass them out, along with big, dangly inexpensive hoop earrings and loads of jelly bracelets (remember? You wear about a hundred on each arm, a la vintage Madonna). Slather on the pink, blue and green eye shadow, metallic nail polish and bright blue mascara. Play the soundtracks from Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles.

Now for the games: segment a flashback classic, such as Madonna's "Holiday," into three or four CDs. Divide your guests into the same number of groups, and challenge them to come up with a dance routine to fit their part of the tune. Bring them back together in 10 or 15 minutes to perform their mini-masterpiece before a video camera you've set up for the occasion. Tape everyone's routine in order. Give a prize to the best choreographers (actually, give a prize to everyone for being a good sport). Together, you've created a music video that no one could forget. With any luck, it'll mysteriously show up at the reception.

Wine and Chocolate

Sometimes, when you tour a bunch of vineyards in wine country and you're really lucky, you hit upon "wine and chocolate" day. But you don't have to wait to hit the jackpot -- you can organize your own. Plan an easy afternoon of popular, easy-drinking wines like Merlot and champagne, and ask each guest to bring a creative form of chocolate. Some of our favorites: chocolate croissants, chocolate papaya crepes, chocolate-covered ginger, and yes, jalapeno brownies.

But don't stop with the food -- make an outright bordello of it. Pile lots of velveteen pillows around the room, drape the walls with heavy fabric, burn a bit of incense. Put on some soothing Moroccan music, and arrange a few flowers in plum colored pails or vases you've dressed up with groovy gold fringe. Now pass out those beverages in pretty glass flutes, dropping a rose petal in each one. Then dig in! (Have doggie bags at the ready for blissed-out guests who want to enjoy the spoils later at home).

Occupational Hazard

Few things are more flattering than having your friends develop a party around your job. After all, you spend day in and day out there, and what you do is probably pretty important to you. Is the bride a teacher? Hand out apple-shaped candles as favors ... and place them in brown paper lunchbags. Give her a chalkboard eraser "to erase any grudges" after she's married: spray paint the top gold or silver, and have everyone sign it with a Sharpie. Sew or glue together a quick clip-on or bandana for her dog's collar that reads, "Teacher's Pet."

Is your bride an attorney? Hire a Judge Judy impersonator (yes, they exist!) to make a showing. Ask each guest to "submit a brief" -- a gift of lacey underwear for the honeymoon, accompanied by a personal note to wish the bride well.

More Ideas for Exciting Showers

Christmas in July: Place the bride's gifts under a big, frou frou artificial tree you've hung the guest favors on. Serve iced eggnog and mocha-cinnamon smoothies. Everyone loves Christmas ... especially when you've had a break from it, and don't have to agonize over what to buy the boss.

Dancing Queens: Dress up in big, pouffy prom dresses from the past (you'll find them at every thrift store), super-glam makeup, even tiaras. Lay on loads of body glitter. Head out en masse to your neighborhood restaurant or karaoke bar and toast the bride as she opens her gifts.

Cheesecake Party: Ask your guests who their favorite hunk is. Serve mini-cheesecakes in lots of different flavors (Baileys and orange, amaretto, chocolate fudge), and place a framed photo of their favorite "cheesecakes" next to each serving platter, with a special label: "Brad Pitt Blueberry," "Creme de Menthe Mel." Get inventive with the descriptions. Borrow or rent the biggest espresso machine you can find, and serve up steaming coffee drinks.

Whatever you end up going with, don't be afraid to be creative. The less you go by the book and the more you think about what makes the bride special, the more fun your shower will be for everyone.

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If you need to focus your energies on redecorating your kitchen, you may not know where to start. You know it needs a fresh coat of paint, but what do you do with all of your decorative items and mismatched plates that you have accumulated over the years? Many times, the best way to decorate a kitchen is to center it on a particular theme. Having a theme that you enjoy will help you find items you can use in your kitchen and make your decorating job easier. Here are some excellent ideas for choosing the top themes for a kitchen.

Country Theme:

One of the most popular theme when it comes to decorating a kitchen is a country theme. Many people choose this design for everything in their kitchen, including the cabinet design. You can choose everything from apples to roosters. Roosters are quite popular these days when used in decorating and you will find many items that will match as you shop. Consider using your favorite country theme, too. Mix and match old signs, or use a barn theme. When you enjoy the look of country, the kitchen is a perfect place to put the things that you love the most for a glorious look.

Wine Country Kitchen:

Another top kitchen theme that is used in many homes today is the wine country. Using bottles of wine, artificial grapes and grapevines are all popular looks. In fact, you can even find wallpaper and wallpaper border that matches this theme. If you love using a wine theme, then consider hanging a nice wine glass rack from your ceiling and adding beautiful and colorful wine glasses. Save your corks from opened bottles of wine and add them to a pretty crystal bowl. You can even add a corkboard or chalkboard to your wall and write down a list of your favorite bottles of wine. This will give you a unique look using this popular them.

Contemporary Theme:

You can use contemporary decorations for another popular look in your kitchen. Think about dark colored cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, textured walls and bright, abstract art prints. Add in bright colored pottery and you have the recipe for a great kitchen theme. You can easily add to this look and change it as you see fit.

As you can see, when you center your kitchen decorating around a theme, you will have an easier time picking out things that will match in your kitchen. It is easy to find items and colors when you have a specific idea in

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