13 December 2017

How to Take Your Kitchen to the Next Level?

When it comes to interior styling, modern design trends are demonstrating an acceptance and use of technology. While technology continues to pop-up in almost every aspect of our lives, we’re seeing it become incorporated into even the most mundane and basic areas. With things like automated cabinets and blinds, charging stations, and wireless home assistances (see more), a technological edge is what the modern home has. Despite all of this though, we are also noticing a shift. People are accepting the use of technology; however, they are also craving minimalism, classicism, and a simpler time. Especially in the kitchen, timeless spaces are coming back into style. When undertaking kitchen remodeling, here are some exciting industry trends we’ve noticed, and believe will take off in the coming year.


Pet Incorporated Features:
With our furry friends being a huge part of our lives, designers have taken note and are catering their plans towards pet owners. The things that we’re seeing take off are built-in dog houses. A carved-out space under a countertop that is a designated spot for your dog is a great way to keep your house looking organized and intentionally planned out, as well as giving your favourite bud a place all their own. If a full-out dog house isn’t feasible, others have opted for pet-friendly nooks. Little niches underneath your kitchen island is the perfect way for your animal to hang out with you while you’re cooking, but ensures they don’t get tangled in your feet. Lastly, a great way to keep your kitchen looking clean and uncluttered is with pull-out pet bowls. A pair of bowls can be pulled out from beneath the kitchen island or counters, in a drawer-like fashion. They can tidily be pushed back in for when they’re not in use.

Clever Storage:
With condos and homes becoming smaller than before, the need for cleverly placed storage ideas is growing. The biggest trend we’re seeing here are storage drawers. These can easily be pulled out when needed, and pushed back in for a concise and clean look. People are converting small closets into pantries, for a great way to store food items in an organized way. For spaces that are smaller, vertical storage is best. Using the height of the kitchen, creating thin but tall cabinetry that pulls out is easy. These “drawers” can be stashed in the space beside the fridge and counter, allowing jars and dry food items to be easily stored.


Open it Up:
A hot trend in kitchen remodeling is opening up cabinets, and replacing them with open shelves. This gives a country-kitchen look mixed in with a sleek aesthetic. Many designers are also choosing to utilize the ceiling – an often-overlooked area of the kitchen. In smaller spaces, adding colour, texture and detail to your kitchen ceiling draws the eye upwards, giving the illusion of more space. Another great way to open up the space is by rethinking your appliances and sink. Investing in high-quality, high-efficiency and sleek appliances not only give you a clean look, but they can be made to fit in with your existing colour and décor schemes, for a flawless finish. Large sinks with apron-fronts are becoming widely popular, both for convenience, and aesthetics.

Ensure Timeliness:
It can be difficult to want to stay current but also timeless. The truth is, trends are awesome, but most of us don’t update our kitchens every few years. When remodeling, we want to ensure our new kitchen will stand the test of time. The best way to do this is to steer clear of fads. Design website and experts will tell you which colours are hot and in for this year, but they don’t take longevity into account. If you’re looking for something to last you awhile, stick with reliable looks like granite countertops, muted backsplashes, hardwood floors, and a clean colour palette (click here).

Rustic Modern:
The move towards rustic modern is becoming increasingly popular. Mixing heavily stained wood with contemporary accents adds a contrast in an appealing way. Black Walnut is a very popular wood grain choice, as it adds warmth, as well as texture to the room. Adding this in with classic black and white is a way to ensure your kitchen stays forever current and fresh. Mixing natural wood elements with steel appliances and gadgets gives a timeless, warm, and rustic modern look.


Copper Accents:
With natural and rich wood mixed with neutral colour tones, as mentioned above, homeowners are loving the addition of copper-coloured handles. This metallic pop adds a richer and more up-scale look compared with the usual stainless steel or black. Copper is not only eye-catching, but it simultaneously blends in well with wooden backgrounds.

Natural Wood:
With this shift for a simpler time, natural wood is making a huge comeback. Warm wood such as natural ash is a lovely way to bring nostalgia and the feelings of yesteryear into your kitchen. Paired with copper or black accents, the result is elegance with a rustic edge.

Care and Maintenance of Hardwood Floors

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Wood is a favorite flooring option among homeowners and interior designers. Aside from its classy and, at the same time, cozy feel, wood is cheaper than other materials and is environmentally friendly. Hardwood, especially, is prized in interior design for its hardiness and the elegant and stately look it gives to any room.

Hardwood floors are durable, and when they are maintained or cleaned regularly, they do not need to be replaced for a long time or at all. But of course, this is difficult to do sometimes. You may be too busy, but if you want your hardwood floors to keep that gloss and always look new, you have to set regular intervals for cleaning.

A dry cloth, brooms, hardwood floor mops, cleaners, and polishers are some of the usual tools for cleaning. But one shouldn’t use any of these materials haphazardly, though. All sorts of nasty stains can stick to your hardwood floor, but there are different ways of removing them. You should be careful to consider the type of stain before dumping just any kind of cleaning agent on the floor.

There are good cleaning practices and bad ones. You should be able to know what these bad practices are to avoid committing a heinous crime on your beautiful hardwood floor. This infographic will show you the best ways and tools to keep your hardwood floors pristine and polished. Schedules depending on the type of cleaning you need to do are also in the infographic.


Happy reading and happy cleaning!

12 December 2017

How To Ensure You Get the Most Space Out of Your New Loft Room

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An ideal home involves making use of the available space, whether it’s for storage or for comfort and relaxation. Unfortunately, as years go by, the living space may not be enough to give room for everything. Today, we are going to look into some tips to maximize the existing space in your loft room.

As homeowners, we may feel the need to improve our living space, so that we can enjoy that homey feel without having to spend too much. Building a loft is a practical way of creating more space, since it is cheaper than having to tear down a wall to create another room, or relocating to a bigger house.

How To Maximize the Space in Your Loft 

Here are some quick tips and techniques on how to convert a loft with ample space in mind:

Know the room dimensions
To check if the existing space is fit for the purpose that you intend, take the measurements of the loft into consideration. For starters, an ideal height of a loft should be at least 2.0 to 2.1 meters. Make sure that the furniture and fixtures will fit inside the loft.

Choose the appropriate furniture
If you intend to use the loft as a walk-in closet or vanity room, you may want to carefully select the right size of furniture so that it would not cramp up the space and leave you with no room to roam inside. If you choose to make it as a children’s bedroom, using a bunk bed instead of two separate single beds is more ideal.

If you want to turn the loft into your own personal meditation room, you don’t need to place a lot of things inside. A small table, vase (as an accent piece), candle, mat, and probably a comfortable chair where you can relax and read are already enough to keep the purpose intact.
In other words, keep the furniture to a bare minimum, and build up from there.

Decorate sparingly
If you have limited loft space, putting a plush carpet at the center can already make a huge difference. Of course, that would depend on how you wish to use the loft. The key in choosing the right decorations is to focus on function rather than form.

To give the illusion of a big room, paint your loft in white and add a few colorful accents to make the room come alive. You may also use bright, vibrant colors using pieces with contrasting colors.

Provide storage spaces
Increase storage space by using furniture with multiple drawers. This gives you the ability to stock things inside the loft, without making the room appear cluttered.

Some ingenious examples of furniture with storage spaces include a sofa with storage bins beneath the cushions, a coffee table with sleek drawers under it, and seemingly bare walls with pullout drawers.

You may also want to make use of the overhead space for storage. Some people install hooks and rails on the ceiling, so that they can hang and store home items without affecting the floor space.

Use multi-purpose home items
Another genius option in small spaces is to make use of home furniture designed to have multiple functions. Some examples include a sofa bed, and a cushioned cube that serves as either a coffee table or an extra seat.

Optimizing floor space in your loft requires a ton of effort at the start. However, when you’re able to pull it off, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and live more comfortably in a wider home space than you can imagine.

11 December 2017

5 Tips to setting up a coffee station in your kitchen


Coffee is one of the most refreshing drinks that one can pick. People love meeting over a cup of coffee as they discuss their personal matters or other business. How would you love to have a great coffee session at home with your family? This is possible if you can set up a coffee station in your kitchen so that you can be fixing cups of coffee in a short time. When you add a coffee station in your kitchen, you are simply setting up a mini coffee bar at your home! You will actually wonder how you have been going so long without it. To set up one of the best home coffee stations, you will need to find the best home espresso machine under 500 so that you can enjoy your coffee from the best coffee machines available.

Here are 5 tips that can help you to set up a suitable coffee station in your kitchen.

1. Find the best espresso machine

For you to make the best coffee at home, you will require a great machine for this role. This is where your coffee brewing prowess will emanate from. The perfect cup of coffee can be crafted with an espresso machine that is easy to use. As such, you need to find a machine that is affordable, easy to maintain and one that allows you to control each of the processes of making a great cup of coffee. You may want a machine that has luxury features such as cleaning systems that are automatic, cup warmers or even nifty LED lighting to make the coffee making process fun.

2. A special space for your coffee station

After you have bought the espresso machine, it is now time to find the most suitable spot in your kitchen to set up the coffee station. You can also use the essential coffee making accessories already in your kitchen for this role. Your kitchen counter, cabinet, side tables or carts would come in handy. If you want a better coffee station, you could still have this made for you. What really matters is that you have enough space and the right accessories to fix a quick cup of coffee when you need it.

3. Customize the coffee station

You can make your coffee station appear the way you want it. What you need is a convenient place where you can prepare coffee for your family and guests in the shortest time possible.  When you create a special cabinet to place all your coffee items, you are sure to have a well-organized kitchen and an exclusive coffee station that has all its accessories specially taken care of. It helps your kitchen to look less cluttered when you close the cabinet and secure the coffee station. To customize it, use a swing door or even opaque roller blinds. Have some kind of lighting fixed at the top of the nook to make it look appealing and special.

4. Additional items for your coffee station

To make your coffee station look more appealing and sort of professional, there are additional things that need to be included in it. You need sugar and coffee bowls. You can add some kind of unique artwork on your coffee station. Use a special vase of flowers and have a carrying tray and napkins so that you look chic as you serve your guests and family members.

5. Baskets and smaller containers to organize your coffee

Your coffee station can be organized by use of small baskets and small containers that are used to store the different types of coffee in your kitchen. You don't want a jumbled cabinet full of all sorts of coffee beans and coffee related stuff. Organize the various coffees in different containers and baskets so that you can access the right kind of coffee at the right time.

04 December 2017

The top 4 single serve coffee maker options in 2017

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It is the holiday season and finding the perfect gift can be quite a challenge. If you are searching for the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life, perhaps you should consider purchasing a single serve coffee maker. There are an abundance of coffee maker options on the market which can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know what to look for. This article will highlight some of the top single serve coffee makers that are available in 2017. Homestratosphere is a great resource if you want to learn more about specific coffee makers as you can read reviews and learn about specific features.

  1. Full Tassimo T55. This machine works well, brews fast, and produces delicious coffee every time. Part of what makes this machine so great is that it does not require waiting time for the water to heat up. You will need to purchase T-discs to use with this coffee maker which may be problematic if you are a Starbucks drinker. 
  1. Nespresso VertuoLine. This coffee maker is one that provides class and style in its presence and brewing ability. This machine is quite large so it would fit best in a full size kitchen as opposed to a small apartment. If you are a coffee connoisseur, this machine is one to consider as it provides a great flavor and texture to your coffee after every brew. The downfall to this machine is that you have to purchase the coordinating Nespresso pods which can be a challenge to find. It is important to note that this machine brews small espresso-sized cups of coffee so if you want a normal sized cup of coffee, this machine may not be for you.
  1. Breville Gourmet. If you do not have the patience to wait for a cup of coffee to brew in the morning, this coffee maker is a great option for you as it brews very fast. Another great perk is that you can use K-cups in this system as well as reusable K-cup systems. Another great perk to this coffee maker is that it is very quiet. It is important to note that the water reservoir is not transparent so it can be a challenge to determine the amount of water that is available. Another important thing to note is that with this coffee maker, you will be shelling out a good deal of cash. It is not cheap however, you can count on having it for a long period of time as it is sturdy and durable.
  1. Keurig K10 Mini Plus Brewing System. Highlight as the best single serve coffee maker under $100, Keurig is well known for producing high quality machines and great tasting coffee. This machine is compact and can fit in small spaces. If you are looking to gift a coffee maker to someone who lives in an apartment or is a minimalist, this machine is a great one to consider. The cost is low which means that you could also throw in a box of your favorite K-cups. There are many to choose from whether you like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or cappuccino, there is something out there for everyone.