Waching daily Jul 1 2017

Everybody knows the popularity of decorating with white.

We've all heard before how it can instantly lighten

and brighten your room, your furniture, or anything.

But I bet none of you have heard about

the power of black.

It's the decorator's most secret weapon.

With just a smidge you can freshen an entire room.

One of my favorite decorating tricks with black

is the simple black Parsons picture frame.

It's an easy way to unite a gallery wall.

But it really shines when you use it to frame

a grouping of sweet family photos.

The edge of your frame keeps the family grouping

from seeming too sentimental, or saccharin.

And it also makes it okay for a living room.

The goal of all good decorating is to establish

an interesting but cohesive mix of items.

Here the common thread that ties this vignette together

is black.

The clean style of this portrait coupled with its

dark background

and the edgy line on the inside of the frame

make it powerful, but simple enough to stand up

to the more modern edgy chairs.

This is a great example of how touches of black

can pull together disparate elements.

Another strikingly easy way to use black in your room

is to paint the muttons of your window black.

It emulates the look of a pricier steel case window,

gives your room an industrial edge,

and because the black recesses into the view

it also opens up your windows to the outside even more.

Black muttons actually don't obstruct your site lines

as much as white.

But before you break out the paint brush

you need to know where to stop.

To keep the dark color from overpowering the room

paint only the muttons black

and leave the rest of the windows

facing the same as the wall color.

Another great feature of black

that's frequently underrated is its power

to highlight architectural elements.

Here, painting this handrail and banister a dark black

instead of a traditional stain

gives it even more clean contrast

against the white balustrade.

Aside from the striking good look of the black banister here

the black actually helps to hide hand prints.

That black banister and stair treads here

contrast so much

with the white balustrade that it actually helps

to brighten this space.

In short, the dark color makes the light color

feel even lighter.

Another daring move with black

that pays off every time

is to paint your floors black.

This is a much less expensive

than a pricey refinishing job

but it achieves a very similar effect.

Since floors are expected to be dark

taking them to that extra level

really isn't as risky as you probably think it is.

Since it is a little unexpected though

it's an instant way to freshen up your entire home.

This is also a great cure for scuffed up floors

that will save you the time and effort

of a pricey refinishing.

And if they do get scuffed

it's a quick fix to touch them up with paint.

Now that you've seen these great examples

in how to use black, I hope you're ready

to try it out in your own spaces.

For more infomation >> This Is The Easiest Design Tip No One Talks About | Southern Living - Duration: 2:43.

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IS member talks to Kurdistan24, pretending to be a civilian - Duration: 3:31.

I am in Old Mosul City. The sound of shooting and explosions are continuously heard.

The iconic Mosque of al-Nuri in which the Islamic State (IS) declared its caliphate in 2014 is located behind this neighborhood.

Hundreds of civilians flee from IS on a daily basis after being trapped for four months in here.

Here are some of the civilians who have been rescued by the Iraqi security forces.

They are getting checked for medical conditions and the Iraqi forces are taking security measures.

Later, they will be transferred to safe zones.

Reporter: Hi, where are you coming from?

"I come from near al-Nuri Mosque."

"The situation now is good. Heroic Counter-terrorism forces rescued us."

"During the holy night of Qadir in Ramdan at 2:30am, we heard that the counter-terrorism forces were advancing toward al-Nuri Mosque."

"IS detonated the mosque. They said warplanes destroyed it, but it is not true."

"If it was by warplane airstrikes, the mosque would've been destroyed completely."

"The mosque exploded to thousands of pieces. Thus, it is far from truth to say it was detonated by airstrikes."

"Thank God, the Iraqi forces rescued us and brought us here."

Reporter: Hello, how is your situation?

"Thank God, we are good. Security forces are here."

"Our house is in al-Mansouriya neighborhood, but they [IS] brought us here."

"They brought us near the great mosque [al-Nuri]."

"We faced many adversaries. We lost our house and everything."

"But thank God, we are safe here."

Some of the civilians have been trapped by the IS in here for four months.

Kurdistan24 Correspondent Masoud Mohammed reporting from Old Mosul city.

English Subtitle by Mewan Dolamari