Interior Design For New Homes
August 6, 2007
When decorating or making decorating decisions for new homes, it is important to remember that your major decisions could affect decorating choices for quite a long period of time. Commitment to bold or unusual color treatments before you have actually had the opportunity to consider how such changes will coordinate with your furniture placement is not very advisable in this type of situation. In any case, the best advice you could receive while planning interior design for new homes is to make mediocre, undramatic design choices to begin that you can alter at a later time if you choose to do so.
This may seem like very unusual advice concerning interior design for new homes especially coming from someone who is working within the design industry-but there is good explanation for this reasoning. A large, open space without viewing or visualizing any furniture content within that space is quite easy to get a little carried away with while making structural changes. Also, keep in mind that by using very bold or dramatic designer interior colors on the walls you might be closing off your future alternative color choices to those that will cover the bright color therefore eliminating any possibility of using neutral colors without major restructuring of wall surfaces.
Hills and Holes: Not Part of Your Landscaping Design?
August 5, 2007
Do pests ‘gopher’ your lawn? Chances are, if you have a lawn, you risk the chance of having pests, such as the gopher and his cousin the mole. And, perhaps even those pesky six-legged creatures- ants and other insects- call your grass patches home. Why are these animals and insects attracted to your lawn? And, what can you do to stop them from burrowing and nesting? Those answers and more will follow in this article.
Most household lawns are not large enough to attract so many pests that a serious problem will result, but nonetheless, they can be a nuisance and cause some minor damage to your grassy nook. Insects are not very easy to spot, as some are so small they are naked to the eye, however, they can be identified by dead, brown patches of grass. Telltale signs of moles and gophers are a little more obvious- dirt hills on the top of your lawn, and beneath them, tunnels and holes. Once you identify that you have pests, you then need to decide the best way for you to take care of the problem.
Home Office: Identifying Your Needs
August 4, 2007
Not many years ago, the thought of working from home was considered a fantastic vision of the distant future. However, with more and more people setting up home offices every day, it is clear that future has arrived earlier that many expected.
You may be interested in a home office because you are starting your own business, telecommuting or in need of space to tend to household paperwork such as paying bills, doing taxes or keeping tabs on investments.
Depending on your needs, a great office may be a pull-down desk in kitchen or a fully furnished setup in the basement. Still, no matter what type of home office you want to create, the goal is the same: a home office should have a comfortable, logical design that makes it easy to do the business at hand.
In essence, a home office is a fairly simple concept, but arranging one requires some careful consideration and planning. You will need to select a location, choose lighting and purchase office furniture and desk accessories.
Without a game plan, you may end up with a home office that is inefficient and impractical, and more expensive that you had planned.
Pool Supplies Should Also Contain Safety
August 3, 2007
A swimming pool with attached spa has just been installed in your backyard. Now you are ready to invite your friends for a big splashy pool party ? or are you? Do you have all of the pool supplies you need to maintain your new fiberglass pool? Do you have the chemicals, pool toys, covers, automatic cleaners, pool heater, ladders, liners, slides, diving boards and on and on? You can see pool supplies can add up quickly. You want to be sure you have the fun toys for the kids, but the spa cover and pool alarm are necessary for safety and peace of mind. Supplies for the pool can be a very broad category. How are you going to use the pool? Do you have small kids or are you a retired couple? What kind of climate do you live in? Are you going to do the maintenance yourself or hire someone? If you are going to do a lot of the work yourself, don’t become overwhelmed. There are pool cleaners that are automatic robotic styles. They make spa and pool covers that automatically cover the pool for winter or if you are gone. There is even pool equipment that controls the pool equipment so you won’t have to spend too much time with upkeep and more time enjoying the water.
Traditional Interior Design
August 3, 2007
Traditional interior design encompasses a great variety of elements in a home. From the ceilings to the floor; including the trim, the wall finishes–all the way to the window treatments and the furniture.
The careful designer must focus attention on each of these items in order to create the ideal design. Lighting, wall treatments, flooring, and furniture are all fundamental steps in creating a smooth design. Each of these elements should tie in carefully with the last, creating an interchanging staircase of design. Theme, color, texture, and placement are the tools with which you are to design this delicate stairway.
Themes of traditional interior design vary from traditional to modernistic, from eclectic to yes–even retro. The decision of theme should (in my opinion) be left entirely up to the individual homeowner or business owner. Each person has a message they would like to convey to the world through their space. It is your job, as the designer, to listen to their wants and needs and to develop a solution that suits them perfectly.
Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill em
August 2, 2007
When I was a child, I loved to pick Dandelions. The pretty yellow flowers were small, colorful, and looked nice tucked behind my ear! However, if one had popped up in the front yard, my hair accessory would have been considered an atrocity!
I often feel sorry for weeds. They are plants too. In fact, if you flipped through a botany field guide, you may be surprised at the plants you find classified as weeds! But simply put, a weed is really defined as a plant out of place. Clover in one persons flowing lawn may be considered fashionable, whereas on another, not. Golf greens are often covered with bentgrass, but if it crept up in some yards, it would be considered a weed.
While perhaps pretty on their own, weeds stick out like a sore thumb in yards because they may be of a different color, size or texture. This is distracting from the beauty of the otherwise sprawling green turf. Aside from aesthetic values, weeds can also drain nutrients from grass and other plants, and this competition of resources can thin what should be lush. And what’s worse is that weeds are fighters. They can withstand conditions that your wanted greens cannot, so they are almost inevitable!
Luxurious Whirlpool Baths Aren?t Just for the Rich and Famous
August 1, 2007
A Jacuzzi has been popular since the 40’s. We stopped taking the evening bath and are now taking more morning showers, but these wonderful whirlpool baths revolutionized the ways we relaxed and used our tubs. We feel better when we take a soak in a whirlpool bath because the swirling water is naturally calming and the bubbles offer therapeutic benefits. The bubbles stimulate the nerve endings just under the skin delivering more blood to the areas and we then feel warm and more relaxed. If you use these baths, you can carry away toxins in the muscles and reduce swelling and inflammation. You can’t always use your outdoor pools especially if you live in a winter climate so whirlpools can be used anywhere, anytime you feel like you need some extra muscle relaxation and stress relief. It wasn’t so long ago when Jacuzzis and whirlpools were only found in resorts, spas, mansions or bed and breakfasts. You had to leave your home and go on vacation to enjoy the soothing Jacuzzi’s jets in a bath. That is no longer the case. A whirlpool or spa of any kind is no longer a luxury item for the rich and famous.
