4 Ways to Add Luxury Features to Your Home

When your present home doesn’t provide the luxurious feel that you’re after, it’s high time to resolve that dissatisfaction. Not every idea will work, so look for the ones that speak to your tastes for opulence or increased comfort. Here are 4 ways to add more luxury features to your current home. 

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Hire an Interior Designer

When you want something done well, it’s important to realistically assess your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re not a creative person or your ideas for furnishings seem uninspired, then it’ll be difficult to overcome that hurdle. It probably will be best to ask a professional designer to step in to do what you cannot. And that’s perfectly okay!

An interior designer can assess your home as it is today, the furnishings, wall decorations, and overall décor. They can provide some fresh ideas based on your available budget to deliver something fresh, new, and that speaks to the kind of luxurious feel that you’re desirous of. If you’re open to the idea of working with an interior designer, it’s hard to know where to start. We’d suggest looking at bariondesign.com for some initial inspiration.

Bring in Some House Plants

Adding tall greenery into the main living areas brightens up the space, but it also feels a little bit decadent. Smaller plants in their plant pots or elongated planters won’t have the same effect though. Statuesque indoor flowers will brighten up a space that needs more life to it. They also make a statement in and of themselves separate from expensive new furnishings. 

Introduce High-end Touches

When you’re not looking to completely change a bedroom or a living room, then there’s still much you can do. Consider using exotic or premium materials like marble, gold, or impressive wood as a small addition. A bookcase made from repurposed wood, some ornate porcelain, or a small piece of antique furniture can introduce luxurious elements into a space. Even a few select first editions on the bookcase will up the profile and may prove to be a talking point for fellow bookworms. 

Add Curtains in Rooms with Lower Ceilings

Some homes aren’t blessed with impressively high ceilings. For the owner, they might believe that there’s nothing they can do about that. However, while the ceilings cannot be altered, the depth perception certainly can be. What do we mean by this? Add drapery, preferably heavy curtains, to the windows. Make them much longer than usual so that they drape almost to the floor. Their elongated length will fool the eye into believing that the ceilings are higher than they are. Don’t believe it? Artists and magicians use the art of visual deception and distraction to pull off impressive visual tricks. This is merely borrowing a trick from their book. 

Despair not if you’re wanting a luxurious interior but don’t have one yet. There’s plenty that can be done to get your home to where you wish it to be. 

Convenient Tips to Consider When Buying Office Furniture for Your Office

Do you know that buying office furniture is an essential investment for your business? Investing in office furniture will automatically help you change your interior at your workplace in a more glorious way. It will also give confidence in the quality of services you offer. When you are a business person, it is crucial to choose your office's right furniture. You will be surprised how your furniture will automatically affect the productivity of your business. Continue reading and get to know the most remarkable factors to consider when buying office furniture for your business. 

Know what you need

It is always good to have a list of what you need. What do you need for your office?  What are you looking for? These are essential questions you should always ask yourself before making any step. Make a detailed list of the things you need for your office. The list should consist of the essential items. When making your list, it's always essential to plan how to use your items.  Do you need a cabinet, space for your computer, or artwork?  Regardless of your job, you can comfortably purchase your cabinets from stores like BFX Furniture without stress. 

Cost versus your budget

What is your budget?  How much would you like to spend?  You will all agree that financing your business isn't easy, and every coin matters. It is always intelligent to spend wisely. To save every coin, always research different stores and get to know the store you can acquire furniture at a reasonable price. 

Size

Indeed, some furniture sizes won't comfortably fit your office space or work well with your working style. Consider your office space before purchasing your furniture.  Whenever you bring bulky furniture that consumes a considerable space, both you and your employers will not be able to move freely around your office. Ensure you know your office's size and choose furniture that will make your office look gorgeous, not congested. 

Comfortability

You will probably be sitting on a chair throughout the day, so you need comfortable chairs as well as desks.  Your office setup will automatically determine how much business you will get.  Office productivity is mainly measured by the office atmosphere, setting it slightly higher than people aren't suffocating. 

To keep the above message flowing, find that furniture to make you feel cozy and more comfortable.  You can't sleep at work, but an excellent office chair will automatically help you relax, especially when brainstorming.  Always think outside your traditional imaginations when purchasing office furniture. 

Functionality and Flexibility 

Do you have excellent taste in decorations, and would you like to create a fantastic office space? Note that function always comes before form and décor.  You might like a specific beautiful colored table with matching chairs, but if it doesn't work well with your office, you don't have to buy them.  

Always consider the flexibility and the functionality of your furniture.  Ask yourself several questions like; does the desk have storage space for files?  Will it enable you to stretch your legs? Whenever you find out that the answers you are getting are yes, you will have made an excellent investment with BFX Furniture.

The above information is helpful. Follow up the above tips, and you will find yourself selecting the best furniture for your office.

How to Find a Reliable Shipping Company

When thinking of an ideal online store, the first point that comes to the minds of most sellers is how the store will look. They also consider the style, color scheme, products, and how they will offer a wonderful shopping experience. Afterward, they start considering how to increase the store’s online visibility.

Attracting quality traffic to your store is important. But finding a reliable shipping company to offer excellent service to your customers will help you gain customer loyalty. A user’s experience does not rely on shopping alone. After reaching your store, selecting the product(s), and making the order, the experience does not end there.

A vital part of it is the shipping activity. Therefore, it is important to hire a trusted courier service that can offer reliable shipping services to your clients, leaving them with smiles. This is usually one factor that many e-commerce businesses underestimate. You can click here to find out how to grow your e-commerce store.

Some business owners do not consider what happens the moment a product leaves their warehouse to the client’s location. When it is just a single order each day, it is not a problem; but when you start receiving 20 orders every day, the logistics become quite complex. Hence, there is a probability that you will make mistakes in clients’ orders.

Tips for Selecting a Shipping Service for Your Online Business

When you assign someone to deliver a product by hand, that person is seen as the physical representation of your business. Now, if a shipping company does not deliver the products appropriately, it is you who will get a bad reputation.

Therefore, you need to establish a solid partnership with a good shipping company. Here are some tips to help you find one:

1. Logistics Cycle

This refers to the amount of time it will take you to prepare the products for shipping and when they will finally get to your customer. This can go in two ways. 

First, the courier takes care of all logistics – provides a warehouse, manages the stock, does product pickup, packages and labels the product, and then delivers it to the customer. Second, the online store owner takes care of warehousing as well as product preparation. After that, the courier will pick up the package for delivery. This is common among small online businesses.

2. Reliability

Before you choose a delivery company for your store, ensure you read the fine print. Do your research and make sure they are trustworthy and can offer certain security and guarantees when you use their services. Also, they should deliver goods on time and handle packages properly.

3. Integrated Logistics

Some companies offer integrated logistics like product shipping, labeling, packaging, preparation of order picking, stock warehousing, and product receipt. This service is an invaluable aspect of an online business model. However, it still depends on the kind of store you operate.

4. Delivery Time

There should be a balance between the real delivery time and other logistics. It is better to inform your customers that they will get their products within 24 to 48 hours when they will likely arrive within 8 to 10 hours. In case there is a problem or delay, you will have enough time to fix the issue and deliver within your promised timeframe.

Additionally, some customers want their package to arrive within the shortest possible time. As a good practice, you can offer express delivery to such customers at a higher price. 

Every delivery service has a schedule for pickups, and you must consider that. Ensure you enquire about the available options, delivery times, reception logistics, and hours. Also, ask the courier how much notice they want from when you request a pickup to when the products actually arrive at the customer’s destination.

5. Coverage

The company will offer coverage depending on where your clients live. So if you deliver only within your area, you will not experience inconvenience when it comes to coverage. For instance, if you run your online store from New York, it is only ideal to look for packing and shipping services in NYC since they already cover that location.

However, when there is a need to expand your customer base outside your area (international or national shipments), you want a service that can meet your needs. Also, they should guarantee coverage as well as reliable delivery through their branch office in the location you are delivering goods to.

Furthermore, the company you choose should be one that already offers national coverage. It will help your business if they have a fixed price for national delivery. And it is even better if they are partnering with international delivery companies in case you get an international order.

If you decide to use well-known international delivery services like DHL or FEDEX, ensure they give you their price ratio concerning volumetric weight and destination. This will help you integrate the price in your online store’s pricing system. 

Most international delivery companies already have a stable shipping system, integrated logistics, and shipping tracking. Therefore, you can expect an integrated technology service based on the type of online store you operate.

6. Price

Offering competitive pricing is important. Again, the cost of shipping might be the gap between winning one new customer and losing them due to high delivery costs. However, selecting a cheap shipping option may just be a double-edged sword because cheap does not signify high-quality service.

When you select a cheap service, you are at risk of late deliveries, lost goods, or even damaged on arrival products. As a result, your customers will be unhappy. So what do you do?

Let’s say you sell fresh coffee grounds online. A high-quality 250g bag goes for $10, which is quite reasonable. But when you check the cost of delivery, it is $5 per order. For an average customer, it may ruin the experience. 

However, you can offer free delivery on a minimum number of orders. This will encourage the person to order more products since you are compensating them. Furthermore, the delivery cost may vary based on some factors, which are:

The Weight and Package Volume

The tariff varies on the volume of each product, which is the weight calculation based on dimensions (height, length, and width). 

The Distance Between the Company to the Point of Delivery

The shipment cost differs according to the location: international, local, regional, or national. As you continue receiving orders from customers, the cost may decrease. Some companies adapt shipment costs based on the shipping volume. Hence, they lower the price for more shipments.

7. Problems and Return Policies

Sometimes, a customer may not be at home when the package arrives. So you should find out how the delivery company reacts when faced with such situations. 

Will they contact the customer to schedule another delivery time? Will they return the following day and try to deliver the package again? Will they drop a notice in the mailbox, asking the customer to visit the courier office for the pickup? Or will they send the package back to you since they could not deliver it?

Now, what happens if the customer’s order arrives damaged? This is where you should check the company’s policy to know if they cover damages. Also, check how much can be reimbursed for damages.

How Your Online Business Can Save Money on Costs of Delivery

The following are simple tips to help you achieve low-cost product delivery:

1. Automate the Shipping

You can use software to automate the shipping. This saves you money and time. It also guarantees better rates and allows you to free up some human resources. You can then spend your working hours on boosting your store’s visibility and marketing strategies.

2. Always Look Out for Flat Rates

Imagine paying $20 to ship one product when you can spend the same amount delivering a package containing 5 of those same products; it is a bitter pill to swallow. Based on the items in each order and the average value of the order, you can consider the benefits of flat-rate delivery.

That way, you won’t bother about purchasing boxes to package the product or visiting a post office. All you need to do is to inform the shipping company about the order. They will package the products and deliver them to your customers. You can visit https://smallbusiness.chron.com/meaning-flat-rate-shipping-74086.html to read more about flat rate shipping.

3. Offer Free Delivery but with a Minimum Order

Small businesses may not be able to offer free delivery, but it is important to plan for success, not losses. Offering free shipping in addition to a minimum order range helps to reduce your business expenses. 

You can do an “A or B” testing with your customers to understand the value threshold that moves them to order for products. It could be free shipping on orders above $50 or $99.99. You will not only save on delivery costs by establishing a minimum order threshold, but you will also know what drives your customers from website visitors to paying customers.

Conclusion

Your online store can be better if you offer shipping at a reduced price. Also, you want your customers to return and buy more. Therefore, the delivery method you choose must be reliable, timely, and ensure the package gets to the customer in good condition.

Scott's One Clean Home is the spring cleaning solution to everything

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It's finally spring and after a solid year of staying home it is well past time for a thorough scrub and scour. I don't like to use too may different products when I clean and that's just a preference having to do with trying to simplify my house cleaning.

The room I always start with is my beloved kitchen. I have granite counters, travertine floors, stainless appliances and glossy cherry cabinetry. Usually, I use three different products to clean that one room and I'm always open to finding a single solution and I think I've found it.

Scott's Liquid Gold sent me some samples to use and clean with in exchange for this post and I'm really grateful for the products and the opportunity. Included in their box of samples was their flagship furniture spray polish and something new.

This is Scott's One Clean Home. It's new for them and a revelation for me.

I'm already pretty loyal to Scott's Liquid Gold when I need something to keep my stainless steel looking sharp so I was more than willing to give this new product a shot.

My current kitchen has dark granite counters. On some levels, granite is a practical surface and depending on the color of the granite, it's either a breeze to live with or a nightmare. My dark granite falls onto the nightmare end of the spectrum. Dark and shiny has a lot of the same problems reflective and shiny stainless steel has in that it shows a lot of smudges and fingerprints. 

I find my granite to be difficult to keep clean and my next kitchen will not have granite counters. Add to my granite my gloss-finished cabinetry and my kitchen is a gallery of fingerprints and smudges as often as not. When I clean I have to wash down all these surfaces and then buff everything dry to prevent water spots. It's a pain and honestly, I let it go far too often.

When I read the label from Scott's One Clean Home I read that it works on all manner of surfaces:

• Finished Wood
• Wood Laminates
• Stainless Steel
• Tile
• Plastic
• Metal
• Stone
• Porcelain
• Vinyl

I was skeptical until I started cleaning with it. Holy cow talk about a home run! Scott's One Clean Home cleans just about everything in my kitchen and it does almost as good a job on stainless as Scott's Liquid Gold.

I also used Scott's One Clean Home on my screens when I was installing them over the weekend and it did a really good job. Bring on warmer weather!

Honestly, One Clean Home made a believer out of me and it's really great to find a single product that will clean every surface in my kitchen and in rooms beyond. From my travertine floors to my glossy cherry cabinets, it's all clean and clear. As a bonus, it smells like grapefruit and after a year of smelling chlorine bleach and hand sanitizer, this product is a welcome addition to my cleaning arsenal.

Why Hire Professionals For A Drain Cleaning

Many problems can occur when it comes to plumbing. You never think this would happen to you, but pipelines will develop issues over time. They can be long-lasting, but they are not impervious to leakage, corrosion, or clogs. Dealing with pipes is messy work that not everyone enjoys.

If you have no prior experience with the subject, you should not attempt it on your own. You wouldn't know where to look for the issue, and you could end up causing more harm to them. You should hire experienced plumbers if you want the problem fixed as soon as possible. Follow the link https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/28/how-prevent-plumbing-disaster-with-your-garbage-disposal/. 

Furthermore, pipe problems may arise as a result of poor maintenance. If you don't care what goes in the drain, a pipe may get clogged. Allowing stray hairs to go down the drain when showering is not a good idea. If you're already struggling with a crisis, however, you can try to solve it as quickly as possible.

Here, hiring licensed plumbers is the best option. Here are some additional reasons to contact them:

Exceptional service

As previously stated, dealing with piping issues can be a nightmare, particularly if you have no prior experience. As a result, you should definitely consider hiring licensed plumbers to come to your home and assess the situation. Since they are experts in the field, they will also identify the problem right away.

Every household has experienced plumbing issues at some stage. This isn't a strange or unusual occurrence. This isn't to say that pipes can't cause a lot of trouble in the home. A pipe, for example, can burst and trigger a flood.

The flood has the potential to destroy all of your furniture as well as everything else in that room. You don't expect anything like this to happen to you, but it happens more often than you thought. During the winter, a pipe will freeze and burst.

This has the potential to easily devolve into a nightmare. The experts, on the other hand, would have no trouble resolving the issue. Some repairs take a longer time to complete than others. The professionals have years of work experience and can provide excellent service. You won't have to think about pipe issues again until they've finished with the repairs. Read more on this page.

The proper tools

Have you got the proper tools to deal with clogged or leaking pipes? Most likely not. You shouldn't spend any money on it, either. Your pipes will almost certainly be damaged even further by the time you learn how and when to use the tools. You should employ licensed plumbers to inspect your pipes to save time and money. The experts are often well-equipped with the required resources and equipment.

It would be beneficial if you went online and looked for reputable companies that provide such services. Check out some other customers' ratings and testimonials to see if the company is trustworthy. This will assist you in making the best decision possible.

Drain cleaning

A blockage is among the most common issues that people face with their pipes. How do you know if your own are blocked? To begin with, the water will not be able to pass through the drain. It will take a little time before it completes the process. This is bad because it can happen when you're using the faucet.

Backflow is another issue that may occur. If the obstruction is serious enough, the water would not be able to get through at all. Backflow and a minor flood may occur from the sink, tub, toilet, and other sources. This is the very last thing you need.

A noxious odor is another symptom of a clogged drain. This form of odor is normally caused by food particles trapped within the pipe. Blocked pipes can be dealt with and resolved by professional plumbing services, so you won't have to deal with any of the above problems. You should check out the American Ally Drains & Plumbing Company, among other options, to find out more!

It conserves time

Hiring a specialist to deal with your plumbing issues will save you a great deal of time. You should take charge of other household tasks when they are occupied with the repairs. After all, the experts know just what they're doing.