Great Ideas for Designing a Smaller Bathroom

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Making tight small spaces look good can be a real challenge especially if you have little to no knowledge of design. But thanks to the internet, decorating your personal space can be less of a headache. These clever hacks will help you get your bath in order and on a budget!

When you’re dealing with a limited square footage, it’s normal to make function your first priority. However, it’s also easy to compromise aesthetics when you’re worried about where to put what. It gets even more challenging when you have plenty of design options but have no idea which best to adapt.

This guide helps you get the anxiety out of the way so you can take charge and make your space work for you.

Use Light Colors

Using soft, lighter shades helps disperse and reflect light producing the effect of a bigger, more open space. If you want to have a brighter bath interior, this hack is a quick fix. It’s especially useful if your bathroom has a lot of mounted and built-in features.

White is a common choice, but you can experiment with monochromes or muted tones of your favorite shades.

Use the Same Materials for Your Floors and Walls

Often, the secret to efficient bath design is to trick the eye. Aside from using lighter tones as your bathroom theme, opting for a unified wall and floor design makes it harder to differentiate where one ends and the other begins, making your space look larger than it is.

Marble works best for the purpose although tiles are a good choice as well.

Use Open Shelves

Instead of using closed-up cabinets to store your bath items, you can instead opt for open shelves. Closed cabinets add bulk to the space and usually leave no room for aesthetic play.

By using tiered, open shelves, on the other hand, you can display not only your lovely bathroom items but also some design pieces that can add character to your overall setup. Not to mention, open shelves can be placed anywhere from the back of your bathroom door to that little space between your toilet and the bathroom wall.

You may also try using ladder shelves. This is a great open-shelf idea that plays with how the mind perceives depth by using tapered lines that only accumulate bulk near the floor.

Use Mirrors

Mirrors are fantastic reflectors, and incorporating them into your design can help make the space appear roomier and open. If you’re going to use a flat mirror, go for a large one, and install it behind your sink.

Opt for the mirror to drop down the floor instead of cutting at the chest or waist. You can also strategically put a vanity opposite a window to maximize the amount of natural light that is dispersed throughout the room.

Use Space-Saving Bathroom Fixtures

This is good advice if you’re starting from scratch or doing a full remodel. With limited surface space and functionality in mind, purchase ergonomically designed bathroom fixtures that are not only functionally efficient but also space-saving.

For example, instead of buying a standard toilet model, you can opt for a macerating toilet, which is not only compact in design but also easy to install and fit into small spaces. You may also fix a towel shelf that straddles the height and length of the toilet tank. You can use this to store small bathroom items. Additionally, if you have a small space available above the tank, you can consider squeezing in a medicine cabinet.

Light Up Your Ceiling

Extend the reach of light to your ceiling to create the illusion of a larger space. You can put up sconces beside your vanities or line a LED strip around the area of the wall just immediately below the ceiling. If you prefer to use traditional bulbs, make sure you choose one with maximum luminescence so it adequately covers the whole area.

Use Plants

Plants have a way of charming up any space, no matter how small. They also work well with windowless rooms and can help tune out the claustrophobic appeal. If you want to instantly freshen up a small bathroom, integrate a small touch of green, and see your space transform.

Make it your statement piece by using a gorgeous metallic vase to add edge and character. Instead of using leafy indoor species, you may also opt for creative terrarium setups.

Although the bathroom environment can be harsh for plants, especially with its constantly changing temperature and humidity level, there are plants that can thrive its rough conditions, regardless of whether or not you have a green thumb.

Here’s a great list from Natural Living Ideas.

Final Word

Making a small bathroom look stylish and expensive is not impossible, even when you’re on a budget. Feel free to follow these tips, but don’t be afraid to experiment with your own style. The sky is the limit.

Save time and money with Dryel

A couple of months ago, my friends at CR Brands sent me a sample kit of Dryel, the at-home dry cleaner. While I was happy to receive a sample, I have to admit I was a bit of a skeptic.

About a month after I put the kit away in the laundry room, Frank and I had tickets to the Pennsylvania Ballet’s season opener in Philly and since it was kind of a big deal I had to wear a suit. I don’t have to get dressed like that very often but when I do I want to look as sharp as anyone does given the circumstances.

When I pulled out my suit I realized that there was an oil spot in the lapel I hadn’t noticed before. The suit I wanted to wear was light gray and the oil stain was as obvious as the nose on my face. I was a bit miffed but I remembered that I had a Dryel kit waiting in the wings and now was the chance to use it.

I sprayed the stain with the included stain spray and then put my entire suit into a Dryel bag along with a Dryel cleaning cloth. I put that whole shebang into the dryer and crossed my fingers. 20 minutes later I took my damp-ish suit out of the Dryel dryer bag and hung it up as instructed. In less than ten minutes, my suit was ready to wear and honestly, the oil stain on the lapel was gone completely. It was like magic. It saved me about 12 bucks, at least two day’s time and a whole lot of heartache.

Putting a wool suit in the dryer was a bit of a leap of faith but man it worked perfectly.

Dryel is a terrific product and while even they’ll admit it doesn’t replace dry cleaning completely, it’s a great way to freshen and spot clean clothes between dry cleanings. Dry cleaning anything is an expensive pain in the butt but Dryel does take away some of the sting.

Dryel works in the dryer. A Dryel kit comes with a fabric laundry bag and four cleaning cloths. The cleaning cloths are activated by the heat of the dryer and the bag concentrates the steam produced. That steam dissolves oils and odors and an included spot cleaning pen makes short work of more obvious problems like my oil stain.

Dryel’s available in the laundry aisle in most grocery stores as well as at Target and Walmart. I found it the other day at the two grocery stores I frequent, Wegmans and Giant. It retails for less than ten bucks and included in that kit are four cleaning cloths and it’s safe to consider those four cloths as four trips to the dry cleaners. Dryel kits pay for themselves after one use and that’s pretty cool.

One use turned this skeptic into a believer so give them a shot, you won’t regret it.

How To Get The Right Lighting In Your Home

When it comes to interior design, it is important that you consider the lighting and how it might affect the look of the room, this is one of the most important aspects when choosing to buy or hire fairy lights in Melbourne. Getting the lighting right is not always easy but there are some things that you can do. Here, we are going to give you some tips on how you can get the right lighting in your home. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more.

Consider The Size

If you are planning on adding an interesting overhead lighting piece, then you should make sure that you get the scale right. Huge overhead lighting can work really well but you should make sure that you place other lights in the same room in the right place in relation to it. Consider going for some geometric shapes that will make your room look amazing.

Use Table Lighting

One of the mistakes that a lot of people make when lighting their home is to only use overhead lighting. Table lighting is very important, and it can really help to improve the atmosphere that the room has overall. This is why you should consider investing in some table lamps from Pagazzi.com which could look amazing in your living room, bedroom or hallway. Table lamps can totally change the entire look of the room so don’t underestimate them when planning your design.

Mix And Match 

Another great tip for those who want to get their lighting right in their home is to mix and match the colours. Think about choosing a few different lamps that you can place in the same room for a great effect. Don’t overdo it with the mix and match but make sure to make a statement with your colour choices. You will love the effect that this has on your rooms.

Choose Statement Lamps

When it comes to choosing the lamps that you are going to have in your home, think about investing in some statement pieces. These can be one of the main features in your living room or bedroom and it will impress all of your guests. Make your lamps eye catching especially if you aren’t opting for a statement ceiling light as you will need something to draw attention to.

Try Out Different Ceiling Light Styles

Our final tip for those who want to get the lighting right in their home is to try out some different ceiling light styles. You’ll find that you can get many different types of styles and it is important that you try out a few of them. Think about adding some strip lighting to one room and a chandelier to another. Try out different styles and you will be able to find one that you love. Each room has a different purpose, so it makes sense that it has a different style. While you are trying out different styles also consider different types of bulbs as these can have a massive effect on how the room appears overall.

Final Verdict

If you want to get your lighting right in your home, then you should make sure to think about the tips that we have given you in this article. Consider adding a mixture of table lamps, floor lamps and overhead lighting to each room to make it work for every occasion. You should also think about mixing and matching on your colours and designs when it comes to table lamps and make sure to try out different light bulb shades. Follow these tips and you should be able to have an amazing looking home.

Holiday drain prep with Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover

It's holiday time and this marks the end of my one year brand ambassadorship with Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year already and in that year I've completely changed my brand loyalties when it comes to drain cleaners. Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover just works better than its competitors and I've found that by not waiting around for a clog to form, I can pre-empt their formation all together by integrating Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover into my usual schedule of home maintenance and cleaning.

Now that the holidays are upon us, preventive maintenance is even more important.

Holiday season means a regular stream of visitors and all those visitors mean an added strain on my plumbing system. All of the additional cooking I'll be doing for the next six weeks or so will just ad to an easily overburdened plumbing system in this old house.

If I can keep my drains free flowing it'll prevent the embarrassment to me and my guests of plumbing clogs in the middle of a gathering.

Before people start coming over and before you kick your kitchen into overdrive, take a couple of moments to run some Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover through your sink and bath drains.

Roto-Rooter has more cleaning ingredients than its competitors and of equal importance, those ingredients are suspended in a thicker and more viscous solution. That means that Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover stays together as an intact mass for a longer period of time once it's sent down the drain. It holds together longer and that gives the product more time to work at dissolving the solids that are conspiring to clog your drains.

Hair from sink and shower drains doesn't stand a chance and greasy deposits from your kitchen drain won't be able to haunt you later.

As tough on clogs as Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover is, it's also safe for your drain pipes so there's no need for concern about causing any harm to your plumbing.

So ring in the holidays with clear drains!

You can buy Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover at Home Depot, Lowe's Wal-Mart and many more stores. Give it a try and you'll see what I mean.

Holiday clean with Mean Green

This is my final post of my yearlong stint as a brand ambassador for Mean Green Cleaner and Degreaser and in that year, Mean Green's gone from a product I had scant knowledge about to a product that's now the center point of my household cleaning routine.

Now that the holidays are upon us Mean Green will play a significant role in getting my house ready for company and keeping looking tip top for the duration of the season.

Holiday season means open season on drop by visits from friends and loved ones and I feel particular pressure to keep this place cleaner than usual. Not to sound too much like my mother, but I really want this place to shine when people come over.

Mean Green does a great job on my granite counters and appliances and a half cup of it in a bucket of hot water makes my travertine and wood floors cleaner than any other product I've ever found. I've found recently that it's also a great laundry pre-treatment.

I cook almost constantly and I'm forever making messes in my kitchen. It's not just the surfaces in my kitchen, as often as not I make a mess of the clothes I'm wearing. Stuff like olive oil splashed on a cotton shirt can be a real bear to get out of a cotton shirt or a pair of jeans. I've started spraying greasy spots with Mean Green right before I wash the spotted articles and it does a great job of keeping my clothes grease stain free.

After Thanksgiving, it'll be a real boon to laundering tablecloths and napkins. I'm not dreading gravy dribbles as much as I have in years past. It'll also make short work of my cooktop and wall ovens. I will be feeding multitudes and I don't particularly want my kitchen to look like it. Mean Green will come to the rescue and I don't doubt that for a second.

I cannot recommend Mean Green Cleaner and Degreaser strongly enough. Their other cleaning products are well worth giving a try as well. Of particular note is Mean Green's Kitchen All Surface Cleaner; it not only works exceptionally well it smells fantastic too.

You can buy Mean Green All Purpose Cleaner, Mean Green Cleaner and Degreaser, Auto and Garage and more at Target, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Dollar General and Family Dollar stores. Give it a shot, you will not be disappointed.

How To Be Proactive When It Comes To Maintaining Your Roof

Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home and it is crucial to keep it maintained. If you don't take care of your roof, it is going to start to leak and that is going to lead to a host of expensive problems. While you should have your roof inspected once a year so you can find out about any major problems, you should also inspect your roof regularly on your own. There are things you can do that are going to extend the life of your roof and save you thousands of dollars in the process. Read on to learn the top tips that are going to ensure that your roof is going to look its best.

Keep Tree Branches Away From Your Home
Tree branches can be a big problem since they can rub on your roof and damage your shingles. Tree branches can also provide a pathway for rodents and squirrels to get access to your roof where they can chew into the leaves and make a nest. Tree limbs can also drain water onto your roof and the shade from the branch can prevent the shingles from drying properly.

Keep The Flashing In Good Order
Most roof leaks happen around the chimneys and porch because the flashing has failed. Once the flashing has failed the roof is going to leak and you are going to end up with expensive damage. The damage can cause leaks inside of your home and it can also cause wall leaks which can be expensive to repair. If you notice that your flashing is damaged you are going to want to call a roofing company right away so you can get it repaired.

Inspect Your Skylight Seals
Having a skylight is a great addition to any home and the skylights allow a lot of light to enter your home which is very attractive. Skylights can also allow water to leak into your home since the skylight seals have a tendency to leak over time. It is important to check for leaks on a regular basis and you also want to look for evidence of leaking in the wall which will show up as bulging or discoloration.

Keep The Gutters Clean
Your gutter system is a major part of your roof and if you have old and leaking gutters, it can have a negative effect on your entire roofing system. The water can breed mosquitoes and it can also cause the eaves and fascia to start rotting which invites rodents and other pests into your home. If your gutters are not in great shape you might want to consider getting an estimate to replace them. A good gutter system is also going to prevent water from running into your foundation which can lead to settling and damage over time. Inspect your gutters once a year and if you notice any problems you are going to want to get your gutters repaired right away.

Keep Heavy Snow Off The Roof 
If you live in an area of the country where it snows on a regular basis you are going to want to avoid letting heavy snow pile up on the roof. Heavy snow can put excessive stress on the rafters which can lead to a catastrophic roof failure and lots of problems. You can invest in a special snow rake for your roof that can help you knock off all of the snow before it gets too bad. Make sure that you are very careful when you use the snow rake because a large amount of snow could end up falling on your head and you could be seriously injured or even killed.

Monitor Your Roof For Lifted Shingles
If you have experienced a bad windstorm, you are going to want to check your roof for lifted shingles. The force of the wind can cause your shingles to start to lift up and this can allow water into the roof. If you have a ladder and some roofing cement, you can glue the shingles back into place yourself. If you don't have access to this equipment you can hire a roofing company to repair your roof for you.

Replace Broken And Curled Shingles
Your roof is subject to heavy stress by the environment and all this stress is going to take a toll on your roof over time. When you notice that some of the shingles are missing or starting to curl up, you are going to want to make sure that you get the problem shingles replaced. A good roofing contractor can repair all of the problematic shingles for you so your roof is like new again. If you don't replace the damaged shingles, your roof is going to leak at some point which is going to cost you money. 

Keep Your Roof Clear Of Algae
If you live in a humid area, algae can easily start to grow on your roof and this can cause damage to your roof. The algae can eat away at the shingles which is going to cause expensive roof damage. Eventually you will have to replace the shingles. When you see that algae is growing on the roof you can spray it with a mix of bleach and water which will kill the fungus.

Once you have killed the algae and fungus install zinc strips at the edge of your roof which will act as a natural fungicide and ensure that the problem doesn't come back. You can do this yourself or have a roofing service do this for you. The roofing service is going to make all the needed repairs to your roof so you don't have to worry about any more problems.

Maintaining your roof is going to be easy when you follow these tips from Armor Services and you are going to have an easier time taking care of your roofing needs. Keeping your roof in good shape is crucial and will help you avoid making expensive roofing repairs that can cost you money.

A Guide to Renting Out Your Holiday Property Abroad

In recent years, it has become exponentially more accessible to make a buck or two off renting out your living space. As more and more people have considered hosting or visiting a home, numerous more platforms have surfaced to aid each party in this endeavor.

But what about when the property you wish to rent out is overseas? Do you still have the same abilities you would in your home country? Well, some additional details come into play, but we’re here to break it down for you.

Find Out Who Can Help You

Due to the increase in demand for this type of exchange, there are plenty of companies and individuals alike who will assist you in all property rental ordeals. They are educated, reliable, and people who know the process well.

For instance, if you have considered leasing any kind of home in Thailand, a property agent for Hua Hin will have the necessary resources to better assist you in going about renting it out. These resources include but are not limited to offering multilingual capabilities, knowledge of the local market, and more. They are well aware of the ins and outs of their field as they specialize in its features. Thus, they can take full control of your leasing expedition without any worry at all.

Asking for help is a good idea no matter what the circumstances are. However, it’s even more important when you are consulting with people who have knowledge of local markets for foreign real estate.

Check Legalities

Renting out your property, especially overseas, can be especially tricky when dealing with the law. Every country has its own legal system, and therefore, its own means of home owning and leasing structures.

Semantics such as insurance, liabilities, taxes (specifically for the nation in which the property resides), and more – these are key details to look into prior to putting your house or apartment up for lease. Always make sure you are doing the needed research depending upon the country of your abode. Failure to do so could end disastrously.

After all, you are no longer responsible just for your own dealings in your home country. Now your actions are overseas as well. This is one of the most imperative aspects, as it can land you in big trouble if you do not comply.

Clean Out Your Holiday Property If You Are Not There

Most likely you won’t know the individuals renting your space, and you will be miles away should anything go south. That’s why you want to make sure you clean out your home of any and all valuables well before anyone else arrives. Foreign real estate agents may be helpful in assisting you to lease the property, but once your renters are in, their actions are largely out of your hands.

Just as you would not leave expensive jewelry out in your hotel room or food in the fridge when you leave home for a while, be sure to avoid making similar trivial mistakes in your holiday property. If your belongings are stolen or used without your permission, it is a deed hard to undo. And if the food you left in the fridge rots only to be discovered by your new tenants, it is a discomfort that does not kick things off on the most positive terms.

Additionally, prepare to make some purchases for the home even when you’re away. Just like any good landlord, if something breaks or needs maintenance, it is up to you to handle it.

In Summation

There are numerous opportunities when it comes to renting out your holiday home. You can become prosperous while staying law-abiding and safe. Many nations account for property rental from abroad, and you should feel secure in your ability to lease your house so long as you follow the simple steps above.

Renting your home overseas can be a big responsibility, as you are preparing an entire space that is both your own and yet for the livelihood of another. However, it can be hugely beneficial financially and even result in making connections that transcend borders.

Five useful tips to use in the kitchen

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The kitchen is an area that we spend a big part of our lives, as it is the place where we prepare our daily meals. We, therefore, need all the help we can get, and that is exactly what Kitchen Guyd is here for, to provide all the tips and advice on all things kitchen related.  In addition to that, below are a few tips that can help you on the same.

1.    Use different boards for different ingredients

If you are cutting up some fruit for dessert or for a salad, then it is best to ensure that you use a specific board for that and use a different board for the other ingredients. For instance, you may have one specific board for items such as fruit and vegetables, another one for meat and another for bread and pastries. This helps to ensure that odours and tastes of various ingredients do not get mixed up and create weird tastes. For instance, garlic and onions have very strong flavours which get caught up in almost anything. It is thus best to have a variety of chopping boards.

2.    Know how to store foods in the fridge

Fridges are a great lifesaver as they enable us to store various leftovers and hence save on cooking time, for instance, after a long day. There is, however, a mechanism that should be adhered to when storing foods in the fridge. For instance, the bottom shelves are best for your meat and poultry, all of which should be kept in clean, sealed containers. Below that go your fruit and vegetables which should be sealed in clean bags for freshness. Avoid storing items such as tomatoes which easily go bad, or onions which create an odour in your entire fridge.

3.    Using olive oils properly

There are various types of olive oils, but they can all be generally categorized into the typical pure olive oils and extra virgin olive oils. The difference in the majority of these olive oils is the process used in developing them. For example, the extra virgin olive oil is unrefined and is made without any chemical processes as compared to the pure olive oil which is not refined. The extra virgin olive oil is thus much more expensive and contains a lot of flavours. While cooking, therefore, it is best to use the pure olive oil and save the extra virgin oil for dressing as it does change its flavour under a lot of heat.

4.    Save heat when boiling water

We are always in a rush while cooking to bring water quickly to the boil. One easy and fast way to do this is by covering the water after placing it on the stove. This reduces the time needed to bring it to a boil drastically and also enhances hygiene. The same works for when cooking a dish such as pasta or rice. It will reduce the cooking time and thus will save on heat.

5.    Have a meals menu

You can make a breakfast or a dinner menu which can help you avoid the stress of deciding what to cook every day. Such a list will help you avoid situations where you don’t have all the necessary ingredients required for a particular meal. It can also be really fun to make such a list with your kids.

Six Preventive Maintenance Jobs in the Home That You Should be Doing

As a homeowner, you know better than anyone that things can go wrong when you least expect it. Whether through wear and tear, environmental factors, or even weather damage, home repairs are unfortunately just part of home ownership. With that said, there are a number of preventative maintenance steps and jobs that you can be taking on a regular basis that will help to cut down on the amount of issues you may experience. Not only that, but it can help you to identify possible problem areas before the issue gets too big and out of hand.

Having a fully functional home with no wear and tear is essential for the safety and security of your family. You can be at ease and have a good night’s sleep without constantly worrying if they’re comfortable. 

Here we’ll take a look at six preventive steps you should be taking in order to keep your home in tip top shape.

Schedule a Regular Furnace Tune-Up

Your furnace is easily one of the most important appliances in your entire home. Without the furnace, your house can become very cold, very fast during the winter months making it uncomfortable and putting the pipes at risk of freezing. Unfortunately, most people don’t tend to give their furnace much thought until there is an issue with it. At that point you are likely looking at a repair job, which can cost a fair amount of money, and possibly some downtime where you are without a furnace.

The furnace of your home is essential for the health and safety of everyone. Hence, keeping it in good condition is imperative, especially in the coming frigid winter season. It would pose a considerable danger for your family because they can suffer from hypothermia in the winter if this isn’t addressed. Not only that, a poorly maintained furnace can affect the quality of air circulating in your home. So, it’s essential to work with dependable experts like Air Makers to keep your furnace in tip-top shape all year round. 

This is exactly why it’s so important to schedule regular furnace tune-ups. This is a preventative maintenance step that will help to keep your furnace chugging along smoothly. It can also identify areas of concern before they become huge problems.

The experts at Action Furnace in Calgary AB suggest scheduling an appointment during the spring or summer months, before you are using your furnace. The last thing you want to do is fire it up for the winter only to discover it's not working properly, or at all.

You should also ask about the furnace filter as part of the tune-up, as it should at the very least be inspected if not changed out completely.

Stay on Top of Leaks

One thing that can cause significant damage to the interior and exterior of your home is water. Water damage tends to cause more issues than anything else as it can lead to rot, mildew, insect issues, and mold. The sooner you spot the issue, the faster you can get it fixed and then prevent any of those more serious issues from occurring.

So, what can you do to prevent this damage? Well the best thing to do is be wary of your home. Make sure you take regular walks around the interior and exterior specifically looking for areas of water damage. Some specific areas that you should be looking at include under pipes inside your cabinets, dripping from the toilet, a toilet that seems a bit wobbly, any dark stains on ceilings, etc.

Water damage can be a health risk when left unnoticed. The growth of mold is a major problem that can threaten your family’s respiratory health. Molds can worsen asthma, restrict airways, and even cause itchy skin conditions.

Keep Gutters Clean and Clear

It's also important that you ensure gutters are kept clean and clear. This is especially important during the fall and spring. Build-up of leaves and debris in the gutters means the water can't follow its intended run-off path, which means it will find other areas to drip and drain into. This can end up causing water damage. Also, during the summer, the dried-up leaves can act as a fire hazard.

If you don’t clean out your gutters regularly, they’ll fill up with filth and debris. This will eventually weigh them down and cause them to collapse, damaging your walls. Consequently, this can affect the overall aesthetic of your home from an outsider’s point of view. Also, this will reduce your home’s curb appeal, affecting your chances of selling the home if you intend to.

Test Your Smoke Alarms

This is another task that not everyone remembers but the fact is that your smoke alarm can protect your home and your family. Ideally you want to be testing your smoke alarms once a month making sure that they work. You will also want to replace the batteries in each smoke alarm twice a year just to be on the safe side. The spring and fall can be the perfect time to do this.

Check Seals on Windows and Doors

The seal on your windows and doors is what ensures that air doesn’t escape through your home and enter into it. If the seal breaks down or is damaged, you’ll need to use a lot more energy in order to keep your home cool or warm, as so much air will be escaping. Checking doors and windows a couple of times of year will help to identify if any areas need attention.

Keep the Garden Trimmed and Well Maintained When Bordering the Foundation

You will also want to be sure that you keep all your bushes and shrubs clipped and well maintained if they are bordering the foundation of your home. If there are any cracks or holes in the foundation, plants can start to grow into these areas and create a real problem. It’s wise to give things a good trimming in the spring and fall.

Simple Tasks that Can Prevent Big Issues from Occurring

By following this checklist of preventive maintenance steps around the home, you’ll be preventing some rather large and usually costly issues from happening.

How To Make Your Kitchen More Glamorous

Many people want to make their home look glamorous but struggle when it comes to designing their kitchen, even woodworking artists who design their own simple furniture, need some help. Finding the right mix of practical and glamorous can be difficult but the good news is that it is possible to achieve this. You can add things like some vinyl plank flooring that will work well in your kitchen or even swap out your worktops for a newer sparkly version. In this article, we are going to give you some tips on how you can make your kitchen more glamorous. Make sure to keep reading if you’d like to find out more about turning your kitchen into the best room in your home.

Install Chandeliers

One of the best ways that you can add some glamour to your kitchen is to add some chandeliers. You will love seeing these hang above your head as they light up your room. You don’t need to have crystal chandeliers if you can’t afford it, there are plenty of other glamorous options for those with a limited budget. If you have an island in your kitchen then you should think about installing these above it as this will make it stand out even more.

Add A Sparkly Worktop

If you are trying to recreate a glamorous kitchen then you need to think about where you are going to add some sparkle. One of the best ways to add some sparkle is to get yourself one of the Black Glam sparkle laminate kitchen worktops. These worktops are easy to clean, and they will add total glamour to your kitchen. It is probably a good idea to change all of your worktops to this sparkly surface but if you want to make your island stand out then you could just make this the sparkling centerpiece. Don’t be afraid to add a bit of sparkle as this is only going to make your kitchen more glamorous.

Vinyl Plank Flooring

Everyone wants to have a nice wooden floor in their kitchen for that perfect glamorous look, but it is pretty impractical to get one of these installed. This is why you should think about getting some vinyl plank flooring which will work very well and won’t be affected by the conditions that your kitchen will create. You’ll love how glamorous your kitchen looks with your brand new vinyl plank flooring.

Golden Faucets And Handles

Our next tip for those who want to make their kitchen more glamorous is to get some golden faucets installed. Think about how glam your kitchen sink would be with a nice faucet that leans over your sink and oozes class. On top of this, you should also think about changing up your handles on the cupboards and drawers and making them match the golden faucet. The more gold the better as this is the sign that something is in fact glamorous.

Open Shelving

Our final tip for transforming your kitchen into something glamorous is to add some open shelving. This is great for those who already have some nice dishes that they would like to show off to their guests. All you need to do is to install some shelving around your kitchen and place your favourite dishes on them. Make sure that you don’t fill your whole kitchen up with these shelves as you might find that having totally open shelving might make the place look a little too cluttered. You are trying to add glamour, so you need to choose the pieces that are going to stand out on your open shelves.

Final Verdict

If you want to add a bit more glamour to your kitchen then you are going to need to follow some of the tips that we have given you in this article. You should think about the different parts of your kitchen that you would like to make stand out and you can work from there when it comes to adding new features. If you have a kitchen island, then you should try to make this the focal point of the room. Think about highlighting the island using a beautiful chandelier or even changing the worktop to a sparkly one to make it stand out from the rest.

Adding glamour to your kitchen doesn’t have to stop there as you can always change the flooring to make it more aesthetically pleasing without getting rid of the practical elements that a kitchen floor requires. We think that open shelving can work really well if you do it right so make sure not to overload your kitchen with all of your things if you want to keep that glamour. Make sure that you take all of our advice on board in order to make your kitchen as glamorous as possible.

Drain Clogs 101

I live in an older home and for the most part, when things are working around here I don’t pay too much attention to them. However, one of the charms of living in an older home is that the line between working quietly in the background and catastrophic failure can be a painfully thin one.

This house has been added onto at least three times in the last 50 years and with each addition, the already stretched-thin plumbing system has been stretched even thinner. When someone’s undertaking a major renovation, it’s easy to try to save money on the parts no one can see. Parts like drain lines.

While I understand the motive, I hate that I have to live with the results of someone else’s long ago decisions.

We have to have our drains cleaned professionally about once every two years. It’s expensive and disruptive while it’s happening of course but the lead up to needing it is no fun either. Our drains slow down months ahead of that point and I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks over the years that help extend the time between professional cleanings.

The first thing I’ve learned is to keep things out of the drains in the first place. Buy a decent strainer and get into the habit of using it.

Keeping things out of the drain in the first place has increased the interval of our required draining cleanings from once every nine months or so to once every year and a half. But then again, I live in an older home and we have some issues related to the drain lines themselves.

Since the last time we had our drains done I’ve been using Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover on a monthly basis and it really has keep them running and draining the way they’re supposed to.

Our house has iron waste lines, they’re the actual root of our problem and for most of you, they’re something you won’t ever have to deal with. Iron waste lines aren’t used in homes anymore for a very good reason --they degrade and rust from the inside out over time. We haven’t replaced them yet because the two lines that drain this whole house meet under a slab in our den and continue under that slab through the laundry room and garage and then they run under the driveway until they meet the city sewer line in the street.

Replacing our iron drain lines will entail jackhammering them out and in that process, we’ll have to replace the floors in the bottom third of our house and we’ll have to replace a pretty long driveway. It’s not my idea of a good time and I shudder when I think about it. In the meantime, I’m keeping those lines as clean as I can and Roto-Rooter is helping me do that.

Because our drain lines are corroding on the inside and they’re too far gone to reline, ours have to be replaced eventually. You see, corroded iron pipes develop a pitted rusted interior that catches just about anything that flows over them. I actually have video of our pipes in action and they look like the aorta of someone with a cholesterol problem.

Photo credit: Blogspot.com
Acids further corrode iron so anything I put in there has to run on the opposite end of the Ph scale --I need a good alkali and Roto-Rooter is that and more. Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover has 25% more active ingredients than its competitors and it’s thick enough to stay together until it does its job.

As Roto-Rooter Gel Clog remover works its way through my iron lines it dissolves what it comes across; be it food particles, congealed oils, hair and all of the rest of the things that get hung up in drain lines.

It’s working for me and it’s saving me from the need for yet another $700 professional clean. It’s extending the life of my pipes too. I know that I’ll still need professional cleanings and I know we have to bit the bullet and replace those iron pipes eventually. But for now I can buy some time and that’s due in a large part to some extra vigilance about sink drain hygiene and my periodic use of Roto-Rooter Gel Clog Remover. Give it a shot!

The power of Mean Green

Mean Green has been a part of my life for nine months already and I have to say that in all honesty, it’s become one of my go to products for cleaning up around the house. It gets used all over the place but the place where it gets used more than anywhere else is my kitchen.

I’ve been baking and cooking instructor for three years now and as culinary instruction has taken over a larger portion of my professional life, so has the amount of time I spend in our kitchen.

It seems that I’m forever testing out new recipes, developing new courses of study and prepping for classes. For example, I have a class of 20 students this week and I’m teaching them the fine art of laminating pastry dough for croissants. What this means is that I’ve spent the last two days cranking out 20 batches of croissant dough my students will later use to roll out and shape croissants. It’s a lot of fun and the expression on my students’ faces when they pull off something as deceptively complicated as a croissant makes my exploits as an instructor worth it.

In the meantime, my kitchen at home just cranked out 20 batches of dough and looks like a bomb went off in it. Baking for a household generates a mess as it is but baking for multitudes while at the same time keeping Frank and me fed leaves me with a kitchen that has to be cleaned up and cleaned up properly.

Enter Mean Green. Nothing I’ve ever used gets my granite counters so clean so quickly. My stainless cooktop stays looking new(ish) and I’ve ever started using it on my floors. I add about a quarter cup to hot mop water and my travertine floors look like something you’d find in the home of someone who doesn’t cook at all.

A year ago we replaced our dying double wall ovens with a new model from Fisher Paykel Professional and honestly, it’s the best oven I’ve ever worked with. One of the features that drew me to it in the first place is its full extension oven racks. They're great and they make using my ovens a lot easier. However, they have one design flaw and they have it in common with all oven racks. They can’t be left in the oven during the self cleaning cycle. Due to their bearings they can’t be immersed in water either.

This leaves me with a great appliance but dirty oven racks and that makes me crazy.

Again, enter Mean Green. I sit my racks in the sink, spray them with Mean Green, let them sit for five minutes and then wipe them down with a paper towel. They look brand new.

This is not some half baked endorsement of a product in exchange for a sample. Although Mean Green did send me samples I have to say that the stuff works to keep my kitchen ship shape. And given the amount of mileage I put on my kitchen that’s really saying something.

5 Ways to Make Your Rooms Lighter and More Spacious

When designing a new kitchen, or indeed a house as a whole, it's essential that it's functional, of course, but also that it's spacious, stylish, and welcoming. It may be, however, that you're looking to remodel, renovate or redesign existing rooms; if so, making them appear lighter and larger can be easier than you think, and it can cost you much less than you imagine too. Here are five simple tips to help you change your rooms for the better, giving you modern kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms without losing any of their functionality.

1. Adopt a Minimalist Style

We live in an age of rapid technological advancement and innovation, and we all love a new gadget, but this and the increasingly consumer-oriented nature of society can easily lead to cluttered rooms if left unchecked. Minimalist design is the perfect antidote to this, and it's not only the height of fashion, but it will also give you rooms that have lots more space to walk around in. Minimalist design and décor can be used in every room of your house, and at its heart is the importance of space and clean lines. White and silver are the perfect minimalist colours, and these also create the impression of lighter rooms that are still warm.

2. Replace Curtains with Stylish Blinds

Curtains are very effective at blocking out light but they're not so great at letting light flood into a room, and if not carefully chosen, they can also give a room an old-fashioned feel. That's one reason that more and more people are choosing blinds for their window coverings, allowing them to regulate the amount of light entering a room with ease and precision. Elegant blinds come in many styles, designs and colours, meaning that you can easily coordinate them with your soft furnishings and walls, and expert soft furnishing companies such as freshideas.co.uk can help you find blinds that perfectly meet your requirements. They have a wide variety of blinds from the traditional roller and vertical options to motorised and child safe products. 

3. Add Up-lighting

Lighting is one of the most important aspects to consider in kitchen and interior design, as the correct lighting can show your rooms off at their very best, while understated lighting can create a less than thrilling experience. This is especially important if you like to entertain guests, and one easy way to make your home more welcoming is to install carefully positioned up-lights. Commercial and retail properties have long known the importance of up-lighting, but it can make an invaluable addition to a domestic property as well. They help to create extra light in the areas that need it most, so that they can be used to negate naturally darker areas of a room, or as feature lighting to pick out pictures or other items of décor.

4. Use the Illusion of Mirrors

There often comes a time when we feel we need just a little more space in our rooms, but moving house can be costly and expensive, and is one of the most stressful things we can do in our lives. There's another solution, however, that is much more practical and much less stressful, and that's to install beautiful mirrors in your rooms. High-quality mirrors are not only an exciting design feature in their own right, but they also create an illusion of more space in your room, which can, in turn, make them feel a more relaxing environment to live in. There are mirrors in many styles, shapes and sizes, so take the time to find a mirror or mirrors that are perfect for your home; long and wide mirrors can be particularly effective with regards to making rooms look and feel more spacious.

5. Favour Brighter Colours

Scientists have shown what artists have long known, that colours can have a massive impact on how we feel. That's why it's so important to get colours that make us feel happy and contented when we're in our own home, and the way to do this is to favour brighter colours such as yellows and light blues. We can all react differently to individual colours, however, so study colour charts and think about the effect they're having on you and your mood. Brighter colours can also make a room seem much lighter, and that can be particularly helpful when the dark, gloomy months of winter make their appearance.

These five tips can all be acted upon without having to break the bank, and yet they can have a significant transformational effect on the way your rooms look, and just as importantly on how they feel. When you remove clutter, install beautiful blinds with matching soft furnishings, adopt brighter colour schemes and add up-lighting and mirrors, you'll have rooms that seem bigger, bolder and brighter. It's a quick and easy way to turn your house into a home, and whether you're entertaining guests or just relaxing with those you love, you're sure to feel the benefits.

How New Cabinets Can Highlight a Reborn Kitchen

According to the poet/philosopher Robert Bannister, there is no single more effective contrivance, which an incompliant husband can wield, for saving a failing marriage, than an extensive kitchen remodel.  And criteria for the use of the word ‘extensive’ certainly includes a complete refitment of all the countertops with some material like ‘Brazilian Granite’, or at least the fiscal equivalent.

Rather than see kitchen remodeling as a ridiculously expensive chore that is not only going to disrupt your home life for a couple of months, but also as a means for hemorrhaging cash at an astonishing rate, you should consider the benefits.  More than any other home improvement, kitchen remodeling is one of the best means to enhance your home’s value, and increase its salability.

But kitchen refurbishing doesn’t necessarily need to break the bank, if you just take a few precautionary measures in the early stages of planning your modifications so that you can step, incrementally, into the makeover pool – before you get to the deep end.

Some Simple First Steps

The easiest way to change the look of your kitchen is by simple, but thorough, cleaning and decluttering of it.  Strip it down to the basics so you can see what you really have here.  Once you do that, you might notice that some of the cabinet and drawer handles, along with other basic hardware don’t match.

If this is the case, why not strip off all this dissimilar hardware and replace it with high quality cabinet pulls and hinges that all match.  Get a design theme going here. 

Then step back and take a long, critical look at these appurtenances and seriously evaluate the result.  This simple step, along with the cleaning and decluttering, might just be enough to satisfy stage one of your kitchen disquiet?

If you feel that handles and pulls are not quite enough to float your improvement boat, consider taking the next step in kitchen conversion upgrades – the refacing of your drawers and cabinets.  This is not as expensive and extensive of a remodeling chore as you might think. 

Many cabinetmakers now have clever estimating applications right on line at their websites.  These days, you can routinely get a cabinet refacing estimate by just measuring your kitchen and a tapping those dimensions into the database. 

The entire catalogue of different woods, faces and textures is often right online along with the estimating functions and with a few simple clicks you can choose which faces you prefer, ending up with a very good idea of how much it’s all going to cost and how long it will take to upgrade.

In a matter of minutes you have enhanced the potential look and style of your kitchen considerably, with hardly any effort at all.  And it could very well be much cheaper to do than you would have ever thought.

Taking the Next Step

But maybe your kitchen improvement needs just a little more boost, and that probably means tearing out the countertops and replacing them with expensive granite, right?  Not necessarily.

There is an extraordinary new product where you can simply refinish the countertops you already have, by yourself, and make them look just like they came from the depths of some remote Amazon, rainforest quarry.

It’s called Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformation Premix Kit and comes in all sorts of colors and stone-like textures.  The application process is not that hard at all.  Just mask-off your sink and sideboards, paint on the base coat.  Let it dry.  And then apply the texturing coat and finally the sealer and you’ll have tough, stain-resistant countertops that look brand new and will last a long time – at a fraction of the cost of new granite countertops.

Going for Broke

But maybe, once you see how great those new cabinets look; you’ve just got to go for the whole gestalt.  Nothing but genuine granite countertops, maybe even with double bevel edges, will do for your kitchen masterpiece. 

Actually, if you’re going to go for it; why not Carrara marble countertops with a stunning, sky’s-the-limit ‘waterfall’ edge?  And if you’re going Carrara, you might as well custom-cut the matching back splashes – giving your kitchen that elusive ‘je ne sais quoi’ that qualifies for the pages of Architectural Digest.

And while you’re at it, why not replace those old, dreary appliances with the latest, restaurant-grade kitchen equipment, just like the homes guest chefs visit on the Food Channel?

You could even knock out the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room and create one, fabulous culinary space.  Shoot the moon.  Why not?  You only live once and you aren’t taking that money with you.

How to Choose the Right Kitchen Countertops

Did you know a major kitchen remodel, including new countertops, can give you an average return of 91% at resale? In fact, homes with kitchens that are updated sell faster and the home dramatically increases in value. When it comes to homes, kitchens rule the roost. That’s because we spend so much of our lives in that room. And whether or not you’re planning to sell your home, a beautiful kitchen remodel will make your life better.

When remodeling, make sure you pay special attention to the countertops. The countertops hold all of our secrets, hopes, and frustrations. From grumbling children frustrated with homework, to neighbors’ elbows resting during a gathering, to the place where we dump all of our mail, to the countless meals that are prepped there, the countertop is a critical component of your kitchen.

Keep these four things in mind as you select your new kitchen countertops.

Budget

Budget is almost always the most important factor in any home upgrade, and kitchen countertops don’t get to escape that consideration. As in everything, prices range dramatically, with materials like laminate and tile on the low end to granite and marble on the high end. But don’t despair if your budget is small, and laminate is where you end up. These days, some laminate options can mimic the higher-end stone materials. Of course, if you have some wiggle room in your budget, you’ll probably want to opt for a mid- to higher-end material.

Durability

No matter what your budget, you want to get your money’s worth. And a countertop in poor quality that falls apart within the year simply isn’t worth it. But do you need the most durable of the durable? Or will you be safe with something in the middle somewhere? It all depends on how you use your kitchen.

Do you order take-out more nights than not? Spend most of your time in the living room? Or do you  prepare two or more meals each day in your kitchen? Do you have children running through, spilling juice, and leaving items everywhere? Do you host people for meals or parties often?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself to determine how durable you need to go on your countertops.

If you rarely use your kitchen, laminate countertops may be the right way to go. If you’re in the kitchen for hours each day, subjecting your countertops to spills, heat, abrasions, and impact, you’ll do better with natural or engineered stone. Good choices for durability are quartz/silestone, granite, butcher block, marble, and solid surfacing.

Maintenance

How much are you willing to do to maintain your countertops? Are you willing to fix nicks and scratches? Reseal? Are you willing to be extra careful in everything you do?

Be aware of how the different materials need to be maintained:

Marble: Marble can scratch easily and can be damaged by heat, so you need to be extra careful in your food preparation.

Granite: Granite needs to be resealed periodically to keep from staining. It can also be chipped on the edges. It does a good job of withstanding heat, cuts, and scratches, however.

Quartz: It needs less maintenance than stone countertops. Plus, heat and abrasions don’t affect quartz. But like granite, it can chip on the edges.

Solid Surfacing: It’s resistant to most stains, and you can easily repair small scratches. However, it does scratch easily, so using a cutting board is important.

Butcher Block: Varnish will help with stain resistance. It’s also a sturdy material. It’s very easy to scratch and nick, but you can sand those out.

Laminate: It can be cut very easily, so a cutting board is always necessary.

Appearance

Why save appearance for last? It’s the most exciting factor in choosing a new countertop, after all!

Because once you have taken the time to get a firm grasp of your budget, understand your needs for durability in a kitchen, and think about what sort of maintenance you’re willing to do, you’ll already have weeded out certain materials. At this point, it’s about selecting the color, pattern, style, veining, and more that appeals to you.

Think about the style of your kitchen, and find a material that matches it. Make sure your countertop colors compliment your floors and cabinets. And enjoy! This truly is the fun part. Just remember -- visit a showroom before fully committing so you can see how the material looks in a full-size kitchen, what it feels like, and how you feel about it.

Chuck Winkles is the president of New Life Bath & Kitchen, a bath and kitchen remodeling company serving California’s Central Coast. Chuck was born in Southern California and currently resides in Santa Maria. He's been married to his wife Shelley for thirty-eight years and has two sons, Nathan and Noah.

Six Home Improvement Jobs to do Before You Sell

When the time finally comes to sell your home, you want it to be worth as much as possible. For this to happen, you’re likely going to need to make some improvements. But where to begin? Which areas of your home will return the most value? To help you out, here are six home improvement jobs that you should look into doing before you sell your home.

Paint the Inside

One of the first things you should do is paint the inside of your home. When prospective home buyers come in, a good paint job will leave a better impression. You don’t want the paint on your walls to be faded or chipped, or to not match other things in the room. Even if the new owners plan on painting their new home, the house will look much better as you’re trying to sell it. Painting the inside of your home is a lot of work, so if you don’t want to do it yourself, consider hiring some interior painters.

Redo the Kitchen and Bathrooms

Next, a home’s value is largely impacted by the state of the kitchen and the bathrooms. If these are out of date, or look beaten up, it will lower what you can get for your home. So, take a look around your kitchen first and see what you can do to improve it. New appliances? New countertops? New floors? All of these will help improve the value and will help you enjoy your home while you’re still in it.

After that, move onto the bathroom. You’ll want to do the same thing here, seeing if things like your toilet, sink, or shower could use an upgrade. You don’t have to go crazy with the latest and greatest equipment – just bring it up to date.

Improve the Lighting

Lighting plays a large role in the look of a home. Soft lighting can set a mood in one room, while bright lighting can set another mood elsewhere. When prospective buyers are walking through your home, you want everything to not only be well lit, but to be lit correctly. Some simple upgrades you can make are installing dimmer switches, adding more lamps to a room, or installing lights in hard to see places – such as closets or stairs.

Replace the Carpets and Floors

Now that you’re done looking up, turn your eyes downward. How do your floors look? Are your carpets faded or ripped? Are you missing tiles in your bathroom? Are your hardwood floors scratched up? We may not realize it, but flooring plays a large role in the feel of a room. A beat-up floor gives the impression of a beat-up room. Think about replacing your floors, or installing a new type of flooring, before you sell the home. The less work any new owners will have to do, the more they might be willing to pay for the home.

Landscape the Yard

That about covers it for the inside of the home, so now it’s time to turn your attention outdoors. The first thing you should look at is your yard. When a new buyer approaches your home, the outside of it leaves a lasting impression on their minds. A simple landscaping job can put them in a better frame of mind before they even step through your front door. So, plant some colorful bushes, mow the lawn, and trim back some dead tree branches. You can even do things like install a pond in the backyard or build a patio so that you have a nice place to sit outside.

Fix the Driveway and Sidewalks

Finally, consider the state of your driveway and sidewalks. Over time these can become cracked or faded and replacing them can greatly improve your curb appeal. This likely isn’t a job you can do on your own, so find a local contractor who can handle the job for you. Repave that driveway so it’s nice and smooth, then replace the sidewalk so you have a nice pathway leading up to your home. It may seem like a small thing, but it can make a big difference.

Little Things Add Up

Each item above on its own might not make a big difference to prospective home buyers. But if you combine them all, you’ll have a house that looks great, and is very enticing to people in the market. Take some time to examine your home, see which areas need the most work, and then make a list. Before you put your home on the market you should check off as many of those items as you can to get as much as possible for your home. And when you're ready to take on a construction project, this home construction bidding software will take away the guesswork.

Modern Home Office Design: 5 Ideas for Your Inspiration

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You don't have the daily routine of commuting to a corporate office, which is great. But is your office up to standards and does it make you feel welcome? In this article, I will give some trendy tips and latest interior design fashion for your work space.

It is true that the office has expanded beyond the cubicle as the number of telecommuter and freelance workers continue to grow. This can be attributed to new technologies that are changing family demographics as well as an increasing number of employers that allow telecommuting for flexibility and to cut costs associated with a centralized office.

Gone are the days when the only form of improvement to your house was renovating the kitchen or refurbishing the bathroom. It is now time think about designing your home office to make it stylish and organized so that working from home becomes comfortable, comfortable and enjoyable. In this case, you will need some home office design inspirations to help you come up with one of your own.

1. Squeezing into the living space

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Squeezing a home office into a living space is the most common way of establishing a home office when there is no spare room. The first step is to identify a corner, bare wall or nook where you can outfit with well-styled office space. Here, you might think of using recessed shelving with a wall-mounted desk design while keeping the floor clear.

Another way is to install decorative shelving behind the sofa together with a slim home office desk with a span that matches the length of the sofa. The decorative shelving will go a long way in doubling as office storage.

It is also possible to tuck a round table into an alcove or just let your home office desk fill the space on one side of the fireplace. Try to creatively paint one corner of the living room or use artwork to visually separate the office space from the rest of the living room. If you have a large living room, you can just carve out space and place a desk on its own to just float in front of a credenza or wall with a small rug to characterize it.

2. Using the space under the staircase

The space under the staircase can be cleverly designed in different ways including turning it into a small home office. This is a perfect space if you cannot afford an entire room since it is usually left empty without serving any purpose.

There are many ways to design such a space, and the obvious way to start is to create built-in shelves just under the staircase. For unique looks, you can use an arch as the ceiling and place a window at the center of the wall. Even without a window, you can redesign it to create different themes including classical, simple but beautiful, natural, shabby, modern, functional, formal, eclectic or distressed among many others.

3. The mezzanine home office

The mezzanine area can be an ideal place to squeeze your home office since they are versatile and functional spaces that help light up your home. It offers you a perfect gift of working from the expansive views of the surroundings.

You can uniquely design it with wooden insertions throughout or add a floating staircase while at the same time connecting it visually with the rest of the living space. Extensive use of glass railings also helps to make your mezzanine office space futuristic especially if you creatively guide natural light inside. You can also incorporate an open floor plan and then combine white spaces with your favorite colors in the furnishings for a simple but beautiful home office.

4. Using a spare room

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If you work from home on a regular basis, then you need a spacious home office that can accommodate more than one person usually from an existing room. In this case, there is a myriad of designs to think about from creating a personalized corner that is ideal for form and function to coloring the walls with contrasting colors in careful combination with furnishings to get a sophisticated look.

Stay connected with the outdoors by letting the natural light in and this will fill your room with life especially if you add the green touch of a lovely plant. You can decorate the walls with either vibrant art for additional energy and motivation or hang a gallery wall against a neutral backdrop.

5. Using partitions

Sometimes you need to cut off visual distractions by partitioning your space. There are many ways to do this, and one way is to use an integrated wall shelving unit that allows your home office to flow into the next area through the open walkways. Another way is to hide behind translucent doors where you can both work and still keep an eye on the kids.

You may also like to bring the outdoors inside by using a glass window that allows you to enjoy the panoramic view of the elegant exterior. An alternative to a translucent wall would be a retractable wall that you can completely open or close to the home depending on the amount of your workload.
Sliding walls provide an excellent barrier to a home office, and in this case, you will have to maintain a continuous color palette throughout the design so that each section melts smoothly into the next when the doors are drawn back.

Conclusion

Home offices are now very popular, and it is important that you begin planning for your next home office design strategy just like you would for your living room or kitchen. There are many places that you can fit your home office around your home, and you should do it in a way that will enhance your existing home design and also make your work comfortable and fun. It doesn’t matter whether you use an extra room, place it under the staircase, squeeze it in the mezzanine or create it behind the sofa right in the living room; you just need to think like a designer.

Save or Splurge: Make the Most of Your Money with Home Improvement

Home improvement projects can be fun as they allow you to be hands-on when you update or redecorate your home. You can change wall colors, add new appliances, and just be creative with your project. While this is often exciting for many, it also comes with a few challenges. One of the most daunting aspects of it is the budget. Overspending can be easy to do and it can be difficult to find the best product for your project at a good price.

This article will help with this challenging aspect. It will explore some great and useful ways you can make the most of your money when it comes to home improvement. Keep reading to find out more about them.

Tips for Home Improvement Budgeting
Plan Things Out

One of the best ways you can tell whether or not to save or splurge on a project is by planning it out. You can make a list of the absolute things you need and one of some things that might not be as important. You can determine which objects are vital and then search for some deals on them. It will help you to make sure you don’t overspend or buy unnecessary things. This can also help to keep you organized and save money along the way.

Consider the Places that Need Help

To make sure you make the most of your money with home improvement, you need to consider the rooms and areas in your home that really need help. If things are falling apart or look dingy, that’s one thing you’ll definitely want to remodel.

You’ll also want to check your appliances. These are often the most important things to replace in a home improvement project. If your appliances aren’t working well, it’s a good idea to first invest in new ones.

Try to Remodel the Kitchen First

Unless another area needs to be fixed immediately, it’s often recommended that the kitchen be the first place for home improvement projects. A kitchen remodel cost isn’t necessarily as high as some other room remodels might be. It also is more beneficial because it’s a room that everyone uses often in the living space. This means your investment will be worthwhile. When you remodel your kitchen be sure to keep things like the appliance life in mind as well as the cabinets. These are the two most important aspects of a kitchen.

Redo the Flooring

Besides the kitchen, another one of the best places in your home to put your money is on flooring. Floors can go through quite a bit and that can show. You’ll be able to replace worn out flooring easily and which often comes with a good price tag. There are usually flooring deals that can be combined with other things. This can help you to save a significant amount of money on your project.

Home improvement projects don’t have to be challenging or daunting. It can be easy to overspend or not even know where to start. However, with the tips above, you can be sure that your project will be well-planned out and budgeted. They will keep you on track without fear of overspending or wasting money.

The ideas mentioned in this article will help to ensure you save money when you embark on your home improvement adventure. By doing things like making a detailed plan and considering the type of room you need to fix, your living space will be transformed without hassles. So, if you’re looking to make the most of your money during your home improvement project, definitely keep the information above in mind.