The below suggestions is given for using chandeliers and pendant lights in your villa:

Ceiling fixtures provide general illumination in a room. Pendants could be used to add light to specific areas, such as a table, kitchen sink or even bar.

In a dining room, the chandelier must be at least 30 inches above the dining room table.(It can go higher, especially if the ceiling is over eight feet in height.) The diameter of the fixture should be 14 inches less than the width of the table.

In other rooms, the correct size of the chandelier could be determined by adding the length and width of the room. The sum of those two numbers is the diameter, in inches, of the fixture you need. (For example, in a space that’s 15 feet by 25 feet, you’d look for a chandelier that has a diameter of about 35 inches.)

Consider proportion as well as standard formulas when you’re actually deciding on the size of a fixture.

For example, a chandelier selected based on dimensions of an average-size room might look too small if it’s hanging over massive furniture.

Fixtures don’t have to match throughout the house. Nor do they have to match the exterior style of the house.

Ludhiana, May 14: A MAJOR fire broke out in a furniture showroom that is situated in the Ranjit Tower building on the Pakhowal road, this evening at about 8.20 p.m. There were about four or five persons including some customers present in the showroom when the fire broke out.

The fire broke out in the Laurel Furniture showroom in Ranjit Tower building. According to Deepak Kumar, who is an employee at the showroom, the fire broke out suddenly after a spark like noise. He said at that time some customers were also present in the showroom. All the persons immediately rushed out. Of Soon the fire spread in the entire showroom.

The fire brigade staff reached the spot after everybody receiving the information about fire.Three fire engines reached the building to douse the fire. The SP (Detective) Gurpreet Singh Toor and Sarabha Nagar DSP R.K. Bakshi also reached the spot to take stock of the situation. Till the filing of this report the fire had not been controlled and the cause of the fire had not been ascertained. Almost all the furniture in this showroom had been gutted in the fire and the roof of the showroom got also damaged.

Summer is more than its month away, but the out door-living season is upon us. One of the big chores this time of year is cleaning the outdoor furniture.

Useful tips to clean the most common materials in outdoor furniture

Wicker:Wicker is delicate,so to be gentle in how you handle it.Don’t bear down hard when scrubbing; don’t blast the water too hard on it. Keep the furniture hosed down during cleaning; don’t let it dry. Use a moisturizing bar soap (such as Dove) and a very soft-bristled brush. Rinse well with a gentle stream of water. Wipe down with a good lint-free cloth. Let it air dry out of direct sunlight. For stains, brush on Fels-Naptha laundry soap, gently scrub, rinse well and wipe dry.

Plastic,resin and vinyl:Spray well with an all-purpose cleaner. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Wash with a wet sponge. Rinse well and then wipe down and let it air dry.

White plastic:To keep white plastic bright, combine 3 tablespoons of dishwasher detergent to 2 gallon of warm water. Wash the furniture with a sponge, and let it sit 20 minutes before rinsing. Wipe down and let it air dry.

Wood:Do not soak the wood. Clean with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of dish soap to a gallon of warm water, using a sponge or even soft cloth. Rinse well, wipe down, and let it dry out of direct sunlight. Wood that dries very fast would split. Seal woods such as teak twice a year for extra protection and to preserve the color.

Fabric-covered cushions:Combine 2 teaspoon of liquid dish soap and 2 teaspoon Borax into a spray bottle, fill with warm water. Spray both sides, let sit, then rinse with hose, air dry out of direct sun. When dry, use a fabric protector such as Sketchpad to protect from stains (check manufacturer’s instructions before doing this step). Vacuum cushions once a month during the summer.

EMPLOYEES of furniture shops said that the concerns rose by Minister of Enterprise and Employment Lutfo Dlamini were only a tip of an iceberg, as they worked under the trying conditions. Many who called The Swazi Observer said their company was owned by South Africans who cared less about their welfare.

They said the companies promised them terminal benefits that were,however,it was not redeemable.When you want those benefits upon termination of employment, they refer you to the head office in the neighboring country,” one said in a telephonic interview.

Another from Nhlangano said furniture shops closed down very often and forgot about the terminal benefits of staff.”Our company was previously owned by other directors, but we now see men from another furniture shop walking into the offices with briefcases. These men are working for another furniture shop based in Piet Retief. They come into the country every morning and leave in the afternoon,” the employee stated.

He said the furniture shop had only changed its name, and nothing was said about the retirement benefits of the workers.Meanwhile, another man actually said the insurance policies signed by customers of furniture shops were useless.

“My brother bought a piece of furniture and later died. We gave the furniture shop his death certificate, but they now want the goods back from us. It means the insurance policies are insignificant.”

Another man who said he was a customer of the furniture shop said he had been blacklisted without being informed.The minister said on Monday the furniture shops will be called to order, adding that they had to comply with the Hire Purchase Act of 1969.

He then set up a committee to work on the complaints by customers and employees of the shops.

Six of the top 12 metropolitan areas with the highest vehicle theft rates in 2005 are located in the California; however, none are in the Bay Area, according to a report released today by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.All of the top 12 metropolitan areas are located in the western United States, with Modesto topping the dubious list for the third year in a row. Oakland dropped off the list this year after investment onto a mid-level spot for at least three years.

The another California metropolitan areas with high auto theft rates also include Stockton (No. 3), Visalia/Porterville (No. 5), Sacramento/Arden-Arcade/Roseville(No.7),San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos (No. and Fresno (No. 9).Car thieves have been busy in the Stockton, Visalia/Porterville,Sacramento,San Diego and Fresno for a few years, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau that has listed these metropolitan areas in the top 12 since 2003.

The auto theft rate is determined by the number of auto thefts per 120,000 residents in a metropolitan statistical area designated by the Office of Management and Budget that recognizes 370 such areas nationwide. The National Crime Information Center provides vehicle crime data from these areas, which is then reviewed by the National Insurance Crime Bureau and presented in its annual report on auto thefts, which is titled Hot Spots.

Other such hot spots in 2005 were Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev., Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz., Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, Wash., and also at Yakima, Wash.Nationwide, vehicle theft rates continued to drop for the second year in the row, down 2.1 percent during January to June 2005 when compared with the same period in 2004.

The Chevys Fresh Mex in Tracy terminated many of his employees because of their absence from work on Monday, May 1, after the kitchen’s Latino crew had handed a signed formally request to their employer indicating their desire to support the May 1st march.

Other workers were also forced to comply in labor on May 1st, regardless of their desire to state their view with their community in the May 1st march. Many employees, as a sign of solidarity towards their coworkers, stepped out of work when their opinion about the unjust termination measure was completely ignored.The manager who carried out the mass firing is Luis, the kitchen manager. Luis was following the orders of his bosses: Greg, general manager of Chevys at Tracy, and Gary, manager of the franchise which owns the restaurant. Gary is believed to have e-mailed the order that any workers marching on May 1st be terminated.

A Lexington furniture shop has closed its doors after receiving thousands of dollars in payments for furniture that has not been delivered so far.

Norwalk,The Furniture Idea,in Hamburg Place was run by Danny Hillard, president of Hillard Enterprises, who is a franchisee of the Norwalk Furniture Corp. in Norwalk, Ohio.Hillard could not be reached for observation despite attempts over several days.

A notice on the store’s door says the business is “temporary closed.” It provides a phone number that leads to an answering machine, but no explanation for the closing.No bankruptcy filing had been made as of late yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lexington.

Jim Gerken, CEO of Norwalk Furniture Corp., said customers would surely not lose their money or the furniture they ordered. But he added that customers need to be patient while Norwalk’s attorneys work on the case.”The unfortunate situation here is that the legal contract between the consumer and the store isn’t something we can interfere in, or have much effect on, until we get in touch with the franchisee and we enter into a legal agreement to take care of these people,” Gerken said.“We are not going to abandon them,” he said, “but we have to go through the legal steps required before we can take any action.” “All I can say is, we are over a 100-year-old company that hasn’t stayed in business that long by disappointing customers,” Gerken added, “but I understand the frustrations they are feeling, and we are trying to resolve it as quickly as we can.”

ALOR STAR, May 1 (Bernama) — One of the biggest furniture stores in the city went up in the smoke yesterday, causing losses for about RM1.5 million.The 12.50pm fire at Pasaraya Perabut Gaya Borong Sdn Bhd in the Jalan Tambang Badak also destroyed its storeroom and the workshop.

Its owner, Heng Lee Meng, 45, who was on holiday in Penang with his family, rushed back after a clerk informed him of the fire.”The clerk was on her way to Kuala Lumpur when she saw smoke coming out of the storeroom and immediately contacted me and the fire authority,” he said at the scene. Heng said this was the first mishap at his store since he set up business for about 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, State Housing and the Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, who was at the scene; said swift action by firemen prevented this fire from spreading to premises nearby, including a mosque and the used-car dealer shop.

Firemen in 14 fire-engines, including volunteers, were involved in the fire fighting operation.The losses and cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained, he said. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen when a gas tank exploded while being changed.

Pet toys and little furniture could be a tough sell because they’re not meant for human use. This could also sound obvious, but it tend to have a lower tolerance for things that are not either use by us or there for our enjoyment. Cats are fun, but scratching posts and then such often fail to coordinate with the decor of a room. If you are able to secure a piece of furniture that is made for your pet but can pass as art, it is nearly a must-have.

The Cat Cocoon is just such an object. Made out of double wall corrugated cardboard, the cocoon has a streamlined, pleasing shape and then doubles as both a scratching post and a cat bed. It has the added advantage of making your cat look incredibly cute when it peeps out from inside one of the laser-cut holes.