Ways to Waterproof Your Kitchen

In a home, the kitchen is often the center of all activity.

Almost all residents and guests pass through the kitchen and use it for its many purposes – crafting meals, enjoying a snack or a drink together, passing quick conversations over breakfast before work or school, washing hands, and much, much more.

The kitchen also receives a lot of water activity, and sometimes it is unwanted water. Spills, steam vapor, pipe leaks, overflowing sinks and a myriad of other problems can strike a kitchen at any time. Especially when living in a tropical climate like Florida or other wet and humid places prone to leaks and flooding, keeping your kitchen dry can feel like a very real and very important challenge.

However, there are ways to keep this beautiful and essential space safe and dry in your home.

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Whether you’re building a kitchen from scratch or just want to update your existing space, check out these three great ways to waterproof your kitchen and protect it from as much potential water damage as you can.

1. Choose Your Floors Wisely

If you’re building or redoing your kitchen, an easy way to be smart about waterproofing starts with the materials you use to build and decorate this space.

An easy switch to keep your kitchen safe is using tile instead of wood or laminate floor. Tile, when bound together by grout, is sealed off from water. This will keep your floors safer from water, whether it’s a quick spill or a hefty flood. With tile flooring, you can wipe up or drain your kitchen much faster and without fear of further damage, mold or any other underlying issues!

2. Bring the Outdoors In 

While you can swap out flooring choices fairly easily in a new kitchen, choosing cabinet materials may not present as simple of a switch. It’s probably pretty practical to believe that your kitchen will include wood cabinetry, which could be damaged by leaky pipes or flooding if left unprotected. Water-damaged wood can also harbor mold, a definite health hazard.

Thankfully, there are special cabinets made to be waterproof, weatherproof and life proof. Turning your search for new cabinets to the outdoors can result in some pretty amazing finds.

With the rise in popularity of outdoor kitchens, outdoor cabinets have been created to withstand rain, snow and other soggy experiences. Using these cabinets inside can save you a lot of headaches in the future if something were to go wrong.

3. Protect What You’ve Got

If you’ve already got a kitchen you love and don’t have the desire, time or budget to replace any of its existing features, have no fear. Thankfully, tools have been created to help protect your kitchen as well. There are ways to waterproof your kitchen, mainly your cabinets, that can make a big improvement with just a little time and elbow grease.

First, protect the insides of your cabinets with vinyl tiles. These tiles usually run incredibly cheap, and many come with peel and stick adhesive already fixed on the back. Use these tiles to cover the plywood bottoms of your cabinets. This will help protect the wood from inevitable, daily drips, small leaks and spills.

Also, be sure to laminate your cabinets. Laminate can be found at any home improvement store and will add an essential extra barrier between the wood of your cabinets and water, preventing damage. You can laminate your cabinets yourself with a little sandpaper, wood glue and some nails, or you can call a professional to do it for you. Either way, this is a step that should not be skipped.

What If Water Has Already Struck?

Your kitchen is a beautiful space that deserves the protection it needs to continue to thrive. Accidents happen easily and quickly, so don’t delay on taking these steps to preserve your space.

But if you’re already dealing with a water damage crisis, don’t fret. It doesn’t mean the end of your kitchen. It will mean, however, that you will need to contact true experts in water damage restoration. If you do live in a humid state, like Florida, you will want to be sure to find Florida property restoration experts who specialize in the efforts and techniques required to repair water damage when the climate is so naturally wet and humid. It will take a bit more work, but you will be able to get your kitchen back.

So, go forth, and enjoy your water-proofed kitchen free of anxiety!

Making the most of your space

Roughly seven in ten homeowners in Britain say they are not happy with their home and 28% of participants stated that their home is simply too small for them…

So, how can this be resolved? By making just a few changes to your home, some DIY spirit, a few decent decorating tools and a bit of good old fashioned elbow grease you can quite literally transform your home to not only appear bigger but to have much more useable space. Try a few of the tips and tricks in the infographic below and you’ll be surprised how much of a difference you can make.

The Colorful World of Laminate Flooring

Flooring is not something that you would frequently consider as a key aspect of your home design. After all, when looking around your own or someone else’s home, you will rarely look at their floor first. Normally it’s their wallpaper, mirror or other decorative feature instead.

In reality however the floor is the most critical aspect of your room design. This is because the tone and color pallet of your floor, acts as a catalyst to the rest of your room design. From wall coverings to furniture, it all goes through what kind of floor you have in the room.

From tiled flooring to natural hardwood flooring, each type and style will affect the direction that your home design will take.

So what if there was a type of floor which is flexible enough to meet your exact design ambitions, while also delivering the charisma found within natural hardwood flooring.

Thankfully there is such a combination – the colorful world of laminate flooring.

This is one of the most customizable forms of home flooring, allowing you to fulfill your design ambitions by designing from the ground up.

This is thanks to a thin printed layer within each piece of laminate flooring, allowing for a wide range of colours and shades, normally difficult to obtain in natural wood flooring.

For example, take a look at our white laminate flooring, offering a distinctive wood look and feel in a sleek and cool white finish; allowing light to envelop the room like nothing else.

What’s better is that this does not need staining or any other expensive work to achieve this look. So how does laminate flooring achieve this feat?

It all lies in its design, as each piece consist of a durable and hardwearing central layer – which the printed design is layered on. After this a transparent layer is then placed over this, creating the desired effect.

This allows for multiple colors and grain effects including brown, oak effect, black and grey laminate flooring.

This offers limitless possibilities when renovating your home as with a simple snap, click installation common with most laminate designs, you can completely change the tone of any room.

For example say you are looking to maintain the soothing and sophisticated look in your bedroom yet need to replace your aging carpet. Then how about some brown laminate wood flooring. On the other side of things, say you were wanting to define your new dining room space, how about some traditional oak laminate flooring, for a traditional restraint look and feel.

What’s great is how long this new color and tone will remain within the home. Bypassing the fragility and high maintenance of tiles, hardwood and vinyl floors; the 4 layers found in laminate gives it enhanced durability.

This makes it a great option for rooms with heavy traffic levels such as the living room, thanks to its hardwearing design. This also means it is easier to clean and maintain, as spillages and dirt can simply be mopped away, without much risk to your floor.

Once this foundation is down then you can begin to design your room around the unique tones and color pallets available with laminate wood flooring, or even simply find the color that’s fits your current design.

Top Advantages To Installing Solar Shades In Your Home

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If you’re looking to replace your current blinds or shades over your windows, you’ll definitely want to give solar shades a close look.

Solar shades are unique over other kinds of window treatments in that they work by reflecting the rays of the sunlight rather than allowing it to come through the window, while simultaneously absorbing the heat from outside.

The best analogy would be to think of solar shades as sunglasses. Your sunglasses can both filter and shield sunlight, and solar shades are the same way.

Now that you know what solar shades are and why they work, you might be wondering why exactly they would be a wise investment for your home.

Here are the top advantages to installing solar shades in your home:

They Are Available In Numerous Designs

Most blinds and shades are available in a wide variety of styles, designs, colors, shapes, and textures, and solar shades are no exception. It’s not like you’re limited to just one or two designs. You can certainly find a set of shades that will complement the colors and furniture in your room to give that room a more appealing and attractive look and feel to it.

They Block UV Rays

One of the best benefits to solar shades is the fact that they are effective at blocking ultraviolet (UV) rays. This is important for your family’s health, because UV rays can potentially cause diseases such as skin cancer.

They Protect Your Furniture

There are many natural enemies of furniture, including spilled beverages, pet hair, and of course, sunlight. In fact, sunlight can really degrade your furniture and cause it to lose value. Solar shades are very efficient at filtering out sunlight and especially UV light, which means you’ll protect the investment you made into your furniture.

They More Efficiently Regulate Heat

Solar shades do far more than just keep sunlight out of your home. They are also very efficient at minimizing the amount of heat that transfer into your home from the outdoors. When that heat is blocked, it means that your home can feel like a cool haven from the hot and humid air that’s outside.

They Reduce The Need For Air Conditioning

Since solar shades work wonders for reducing the temperature inside of your house during a warm summer day, the need for your air conditioning is naturally reduced. This will enable you to save more on money.

Furthermore, during the winter, solar shades will likewise to help conserve the heat inside of your home, which will make your home more energy efficient and also help you to cut your expenditures on your monthly bills.

Installing Solar Shades

Our solar shades the only great window treatment option? No, but they definitely are among the most technologically advanced window treatment options available, and are an excellent way to improve your home without spending a ton of money.

Top Tips for Renting Out Your Spare Room

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If you’re looking for some extra cash, you might have considered renting out your spare room. This is a great idea that works well, but it is important that you consider everything before letting someone move in. We’ve put together a list of some things that you should consider when deciding to rent your room out.

Get References

If you are going to let someone move into your home while you are living with it, you want to make sure that both you and your property are safe. By asking prospective tenants for references from previous landlords, you can figure out who is the best tenant for you. Perform a few of your own background checks, have a look at their public online presence if you possible to understand what sort of person they are!

Providing Facilities

There are some rules when it comes to renting a room. You need to consider that you will have to include a bathroom and access to your kitchen. Although you may not want to share your space with them, it is not as simple as letting them sleep on your spare bed.

If you’d like to make some extra cash but don’t have the space, you could always use the space in your garden to build somewhere. You can buy all the custom-made parts from Armstrong Steel and have them ship it to you. This way you can build a steel building for your new tenant and give them more space!

Advertising the Room

If you’re going to rent a room, make sure that you advertise it in a safe place. You don’t want your message to reach the wrong people and you also don’t want to be only getting responses from time wasters! Using a trusted website such as Easy Roommate to advertise your room will make sure that everything is using the right channel. You don’t even need to pay to list it here so take a look at our advice on listing rooms.

Set Rules

People who rent out their spare rooms often have issues with their tenants doing things that they don’t want them to. This is why it is important to set out some ground rules before the tenant moves in. If you don’t want them playing music at 1am or having people over, make sure to tell them before they sign anything. This way you can avoid any problems and be happy with your tenant. Although even if you set rules and get references for the tenants you can still run into problems.  For that reason it's best to purchase cheap landlord insurance so that you are insured for damages to the home caused by renters.  

Inform the Right People

If you own the house you live in, you cannot simply just rent out your room. It is important that you inform both your mortgage provider and your insurer just in case something happens. By doing this you will cover your tracks and ensure that everything goes to plan.

Summary

Overall, we think that is important that you make sure to consider everything when you are thinking about renting out a room in your home. Being a live-in landlord is different to one that is not present so make sure to do your research!

The Do's and Don'ts of Good Landscaping Design

Creating a lovely yard requires more than a shovel and a few potted plants. It takes a lot of design, planning, and elbow grease - all in that order. Once you’re through with the design, you have to carefully plan how to implement it. However, in every stage, you must know what to do or not to do if you’re to succeed. Let’s look at some of the do’s and don’ts of proper landscaping.

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Do Keep Some Grass

Are you tired of digging deep into your finances to maintain the lawn? Then replacing the grass with a deck or brick paving seems like a good idea. But as far as aesthetic appeal and feet-friendliness are concerned, having a fully-paved yard might not be such a bright idea. So how do you strike a compromise between cost and yard appeal? Simply mix the natural and artificial. By all means, install the paving, but also retain some grass.

Don’t Mix Landscaping Styles

About the styles to use, what’s the secret to effective landscaping? In one word, it’s “consistency.” When you pick a theme, stick to it from one end of the yard to the other. And as tempting as it might be, avoid throwing in any beautiful style that you see on your drive home. Doing so only turns your backyard into a cluttered, embarrassing mess.

Do Create a Centerpiece

Looking out over the yard, do you see any feature that draws your eye? Or, do you see only grass? Now picture the same yard with a small pond, elaborate fountain, or cozy fire pit. Even in your mind, you immediately notice the effect such a centerpiece would have. So, install one, but don’t go overboard. Remember, the idea is to create an affordable, eye-catching focal point, not an overly-fancy, expensive one.

Don’t Plant Non-Native Species

This can’t be repeated enough: Never install a plant that isn’t native to your climate or location, no matter how beautiful it is. But how much harm can it do, anyway? It can do a lot of harm, especially if you start with your pocket. For starters, plants that can’t adapt to the local climate soon wither, leaving you with another landscaping bill on your hands.

And just like weeds, they can turn invasive and spread uncontrollably from your yard and into the neighborhood. So how do you know which species are best suited to your location? You consult a professional, of course.

Do Consult a Professional

So, you have no clue about landscaping? Then know this: there’s no such thing as an accidental masterpiece in either landscaping or anywhere else for that matter. An appealing yard is always the result of detailed planning and extensive know-how, not of shifting things around hoping for the best. So instead of making a mess of things, consult landscaping teams like Architectural Landscape Design, and let them design the yard for you.

Don’t Plant Trees Close to the House

Despite being native to your area, trees have no place near your house. In fact, the farther away from the house you plant them, the better. And here’s why. During winter, snow-laden tree branches often break and fall onto your roof, costing you thousands of dollars in repair bills.

So how far from the house should you plant a tree? For short trees, make that no less than 20 feet. But for tall trees, the minimum distance increases to 50 feet.

As you landscape, remember to compromise between beauty and cost. Install stand out elements that catch the eye but without clashing with each other, damaging the environment, or destroying the house.

Clever Space-Saving Tips for Your Apartment

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With the size of the average US apartment measuring around 889 square feet, apartments are steadily shrinking as developers squeeze in as many units as possible. But however small you think your living space may be, it's likely to be much bigger than one particular apartment in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen which measures just 78 square feet. Regardless of how small your apartment, there are many tricks to maximizing every bit of space you have.

Maximize the space under your bed

Your bed is hiding lots of potential storage space underneath. If you are buying a new bed, look for one with plenty of built-in storage underneath. If you already own a bed but it's low, get some bed risers to raise it up. Then you can store away items in rollaway boxes in the new space you've created. You could even invest in an elevated bed that you fold into the wall, leaving you with a great space to use during the day.

Consider scale and proportion

When choosing new furniture, make sure you pay close attention to scale and proportion. For armchairs and couches, you need to look for designs that are compact and tight rather than a traditional three-piece sofa that will simply overpower the space. And of course, the golden rule is to try to find a piece of furniture that has built-in storage or has a multipurpose function.

Make the most of high ceilings

If you are fortunate to have an apartment with a beautiful high ceiling, then make the most of it by creating a mezzanine level with a space that you can fill with floor-to-ceiling storage. This is a fantastic way of giving your apartment a luxury feel, while also giving you an extra level between floors. And of course, some much needed extra storage.

Use visual design tricks

The ultimate trick for maximizing a small space is to distract the eye. By providing a point of visual interest, the focus will not be on how small a room actually is, but on an eye-catching design instead. Creating a busy feature wall with some bold artwork and different sized picture frames will distort the perception of space. Using mirrors is another great cheat to making a room feel much bigger and brighter.

With a little investment, time and some creative thinking it is possible to make the most out of every last bit of space in your apartment without compromising on style or comfort.

How to Buy a Planter

These days, there are many interesting, quirky and lovely planters available on the market right now, available for use both indoors and outdoors. How do you choose the best one, though? Whilst a big part of this is down to your individual taste and the style of your home or garden, there are some things which you need to consider.

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To make sure you give your plants the best chance in their lives, you need to invest in the right planter for it and you should buy planters with your plants’ needs in mind.

Are You Buying the Right Size Planter?

This is perhaps the most important point to consider when investing in planters from ePlanters; no one plant is the same and you need to ensure you are buying a planter which is sufficiently sized and can cope with the plant as it begins to grow and develop.

Do not make the classic mistake of first buying or deciding on a planter and then deciding on the plant to go in it. Instead, you should decide on your plant(s) first and then buy the appropriate planter or planters. This avoids both a) you picking a planter which restricts the choices in plants you have, and b) stunting your plant’s growth prospects.

Is the Planter Suitable for What You Need?

This mostly depends on whether you are buying an indoor or outdoor planter. For instance, some planters will not fare very well with outdoor weather conditions or extreme heat. Plus, you need to take other things into consideration, such as the wind or the intensity of the sun.

If your planter is going to be exposed to the hot sun all day, every day, you will need a planter which is made from a non-porous material such as synthetic resin. This helps retain moisture and stop the soil from drying out.

Is the Planter Mobile?

Often overlooked, the mobility of a planter is a very important consideration. With some plants, you will need to move them around often or occasionally and you are going to want a planter which makes this as easy and painless as possible.

If you need to be able to move your plant around, you should think twice about buying a very heavy or cumbersome planter which is going to make the job excessively difficult. Although a concrete urn-style planter may look wonderful, you are not going to be able to move it very easily! They are designed to stay put.

You should avoid thinking that buying a planter is a simple job; it’s not! When you are thinking about buying a planter, you need to ensure it fits the needs of your plants, is suitable for what you need, and you have given a thought to mobility. Picking a planter is not simply a case of buying the prettiest one, it requires a lot of foresight and you should definitely choose the plant you want first, to avoid disappointment later down the line if you buy a planter which is too small for your desired plant.

What to Consider Before Opting for Bin Hire

There are many different reasons why you might find yourself in need of bin hire in Melbourne. From home renovations through to commercial demolition projects, skip bin hire is the best way to effectively and conveniently carry out a large rubbish removal job. However, there’s much to consider before you go ahead and book in with a bin hire Melbourne company. Here are some of the necessary measures you should take to ensure the best bin hire experience.

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Consider the Materials

Prior to contacting local providers of bin hire in Melbourne, it’s a good idea to identify what kinds of materials you’ll be filling the bin with, as it’s likely that the nature of your project will impact what kind of bin you should and can hire. There are also many instances where professional assistance with the removal may be necessary. For tasks like asbestos removal and disposal of huge amounts of waste, you’ll need an expert team to take on the job in the safest manner, as they’ll have access to the necessary equipment, technologies and techniques.

You should also look into services like excavation, demolition and site clean ups before picking a bin, as these services may actually offer a more effective and efficient solution than hiring a single bin. It might also be a good idea to look into selling any recyclable or biodegradable products to recycling companies.

Consider the Bin Type

Once you’ve properly identified the kind of project you need a bin for, it’s a good idea to start investigating the different products available from bin hire Melbourne providers. There are many versatile and practical skip bin sizes that can help you achieve your rubbish removal needs. Whether you need a mini skip or something larger, a good provider will be able to help you out and provide you with the best bin type and size to suit your requirements. At this stage, you should consider how much waste you’re intending to get rid of and choose a bin accordingly.

If you’re intending on removing rubbish for a larger job, it’s a good idea to get a professional team on board for assistance. This will help to reduce hassle, plus you won’t have to carry any heavy and difficult loads on your own. Bin hire experts are also aware of various safety precautions to help guarantee a smoother rubbish removal process.

Consider Different Providers

For the best rubbish removal experience, you should look into different bin hire Melbourne providers that are capable of tackling the job. No matter how big or small your project is, it pays off to conduct as much research as possible on the provider before forming a relationship with them. Looking for credibility, reputability and a good amount of experience will no doubt guarantee a better experience and a smoother journey.

Consider different providers in your local area and compare their prices so you know you’ll be getting the best deal possible. If you’re unsure about what kind of bin you specifically need, simply talk to an expert that can advise you on the best bin for your needs.

How To Save Money When You Are Buying And Moving Into A New Home

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Moving can be a major expense, especially when it directly follows the purchase of a home.  On top of all of the costs associated with your down payment and any closing costs charged by your realtor, you have the expense of moving and then dealing the cost of any unexpected things that need to be repaired or replaced once you move in. Yikes!

A lot is going to happen so it’s best to make sure that you are prepared for it and that you know how to save money during this process. You don’t want to go into your new home already upside down or underwater with debt.

Hire A Moving Company

Too many people assume hiring a moving company is the worst thing to do. They think that doing so will cost them a lot more money than simply conducting the move on their own. While there might be those rare cases when someone can save money by moving everything on their own, it is usually the other way around.

The reason for this is because you might have a lot of stuff that will require multiple trips in multiple vehicles to get it all done. This will put a lot of wear and tear on those vehicles, especially with their suspension systems because of all of the extra weight being transported. Then you have the cost of gasoline for all of the vehicles as well. All of that can add up to a lot of money. Then you’ll want to calculate what your time is worth. Instead of using the few days off of work to move and unpack, you might have to spend all of your time moving. You’ll then be back to work before you have a chance to even get started on organizing anything in your new home. As you can imagine, hiring a professional moving company such as Allied Van Lines may be the more affordable choice. They will also save you a lot of time as well.

Get What You Can For Free

If you are still a little nervous about the cost of moving into your new home, you can always take the time to find used packing materials that you can make use of. Stop by your local grocery or department stores on their delivery days and ask if you can have their boxes. They should be willing to give them to you for free and then all you have to purchase is the packing tape and maybe some bubble wrap.

Once you are done with the boxes, you can recycle them or pass them on to another person who might have a need for them. As long as they are still sturdy, they can be tapped up again and again for future use.

You might also want to take some time to talk with friends and family who have just recently moved. Ask what they did to cut back on the cost or what they wish they would’ve done differently. This way, you can learn from their experiences and mistakes in order to ensure that you are saving as much cash as possible.

These are just a few tips that you can use to reduce the cost of your next move. Trust us: you will be glad that you did since you never know when an unexpected expense is going to pop up once you’re in the new house.