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3 Devious Ways to Increase the Size of a Room

02 Feb

Do you ever look at your home, or a specific room, and feel a bit down hearted? It’s not that you’re unhappy with your home, it’s just that it could do with an extra… something.

If you’re not sure what that something is, let me help you. It’s space. Here’s a little secret, no matter how big someone else’s home is, they’ll be just as frustrated as you about the size of a room. The great thing is that there are just a handful of ways in which you can give a room an effective illusion of space.

Décor

Perhaps the most obvious way of changing the look of a room is a fresh, new décor. There’s a temptation to go for bold colours when redecorating, as these can certainly add to the vibrancy of a room. However, even very large, airy spaces can feel overwhelmed or even oppressive if strong colours are used on every wall. The same is true of wallpaper, particularly if it’s a busy or large pattern.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have something a little more colourful or dynamic. You can change a room to give it a sense of depth by adding a feature wall. Choose one wall in the room to decorate differently to the others. Think about where the sun comes into the room and when, as light against the wall makes some difference. You don’t even have to go with a solid wall of colour or standard wallpaper. You can now find companies that produce wall sized murals, featuring subjects such as olde worlde maps or landscapes.

Lighting

As I’ve just mentioned, the effect of lighting on a room can make all the difference. When we think about a change like this, we tend to look at our ceiling fittings, give a huff, and think, “it’s a bit of work to replace. Is it worth it?” Getting a professional to fit a new ceiling light can also create an impression of space. So what kind of lights would make a difference? It’s not always necessary to go with an elaborate fitting. In fact, the rule of less is definitely true here. Aside from the practicalities of taking care of an elaborate fitting, they can seem to absorb more space.

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3 Of The Most Amazing Sets Of Stairs In The World

02 Feb

When one thinks of stairs and staircases, the first thing that usually spring to mind is the standard, functional and straight set found in a domestic three up, two down family home – usually anyway.

However, the world is never this simple and within interior design circles, stairs are undoubtedly a focal point for a feature, lending gravitas and strength to a building’s visual authority. From great British stately homes to modernist or cubist designs in the 20th Century, staircases across the Western world have reflected our changing tastes and eclectic decisions to turn home improvement into an art form.

Here are three of the World’s most challenging sets of stairs in terms of design and structure:

1.      Chand Baori Step Well

First up is this incredible step well in India in the village of Chand Baori, built to solve the problem of providing locals with a dependable source of fresh water. And, whilst this certainly isn’t a Modernist projection of a 20th Century ideology, it certainly is an incredible project which combines engineering, of design and of functionality.

2.      Deconstructible Staircase from Wood

In an age where architects and designers need to be aware of the strengthening arguments for making recycling and reusable constructions in the same way that manufacturers of packaging have needed to do to satiate the requirements of consumers for environmentally friendly products.

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Minimalist Interior Designs

01 Feb

Overview

Minimalism is widely known as an aesthetic movement in various artistic genres, such as visual art, music, and literatue. The term reflects the process of being stripped to the bare basics and rejects non-essential themes, features, or qualities. Eventually, the definition came to identify a trend in the architecture and design industries.

“Less is more” or “Less is better” are two principle mottos that are associated with minimalism. The style is highly influenced by Japanese tradition, particularly the works of De Stijl artists. The main objective is to focus on the use of lines and planes that are situated in arrangements that maintain an extremely simplistic nature. Some of the notable designers that are linked with this form credit technology and engineering rather than aesthetics.

Several interior design blogs and discussion boards suggest that minimalism places an emphasis on quality over quantity. Uncomplicated, chic patterns are used, welcoming the view that pleasant surroundings are determined by the manipulation of lighting, geometrical shapes and neutral colors. Unifying these designs ultimately result in a clean, crisp look that’s classic and will outlive fads of the time.

Minimalist styles are primarily used in prestigious corporations and luxurious homes. The aesthetic often reflects a sophisticated, futuristic look. Clients that desire this popular form in their private estates most likely contributed to the Japanese trend called Ma, which is the elimination of internal walls to showcase open kitchen and living room spaces, or what’s also considered a loft-like style.

History

Minimalism originated in the early 19th century to denounce the fussy, over-embellished nature of many art forms prior to that period. The movement was especially popularized in the arts during the 1960′s and 1970′s with several leading figures that practiced put its theories into practice. However, minimalism in architecture and design didn’t become prominent until the late 1980′s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. Numerous designers collaborated to make use of the approach, using white paint and furnishings, stark lighting, large spaces, and minimum accessories. Art colleges also began teaching its concepts to aspiring artists, craftsmen, and architects.

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Top Cleaning Tips For The Home

01 Feb

The start of the New Year is the time traditionally reserved for the spring clean, when the weather is nothing short of awful and we don’t have the money to really go out and enjoy ourselves we might as well make sure the house is in tip top shape.

The kitchen

The kitchen is usually the first place we start and it can be the hardest, between all the appliances and working around the food that’s already in there is can take time. This is also the one room that doesn’t have to just look clean; it has to actually be clean too to keep it as hygienic as possible.

The fridge

The fridge is often avoided like the plague when it comes to cleaning the kitchen, it’s usually the largest of all the appliances and it’s always in constant use. This constant use is keeping our food fresh and edible so it needs to be clean. Plan your clean before a big shop, obviously the less food in there the better, the food that is in there needs to be transferred to cool bags or ice boxes. If you can chose a day when it’s already very cold you can leave your food (safely sealed) outside and it will stay nice and cool. Mix two teaspoons of bicarbonate soda with a pint of warm water rather than using harsh chemicals, use a toothbrush for those hard to reach areas and around the rubber sealing. Unplug the fridge and carefully pull it away from the wall so you can vacuum behind it, make sure to vacuum around the elements and it will run more efficiently.

The cooker

After the fridge comes the cooker on the list of things we all hate cleaning, the cooker might not be in constant use like the fridge but it’s probably used at least once a day and a little spill here and there soon adds up. There’s two ways to go with the cooker, you can load up on expensive and quite aggressive cleaning chemicals and get the job done a bit quicker or you can put some effort and elbow grease in and get it done the old fashion way. By mixing up a thicker bicarbonate soda paste with warm water and leaving it to sit for a few minutes you’ll find the stains and remnants of last month’s lasagne are easier to remove. For those stains that are a little more stubborn you might need to invest in a few of the shop brought chemicals especially when it comes to cleaning the shelves which can take a lot of time to clean by hand.

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Designing A Budget Kitchen

01 Feb

Redesign your kitchen and save money at the same time. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it can be done. Many people do not have the time to drive all over town looking for sales. Visiting showroom after showroom is enough to drive a shopper up the wall. Fortunately, shopping online is easy and takes little time. The kitchen is the premiere room for redesigning. This is the room looked at first. It’s appearance can make or break a house sale.

The convenience of shopping from your desk cannot be overstated. Open several sites at once to compare cabinets, kitchen items, wallpaper, paint and everything desired. One of the best benefits of shopping online is having items delivered instead of trying to carry it yourself. Add the benefit that many businesses are offering, that of free shipping, and shopping online can become a priority. One more benefit is no sales tax. Only in-state purchases have sales tax added. This is according to the Constitution.

There are sites to look for everything needed to make the dream kitchen a reality. Here is a list of sites to shop:

• Freecycling is a great way to obtain free items for your redesign. Find them at http://www.Freecycle.org. Signing up for an account is free, and all that is required is that if a person picks something up, they agree to donate something in return. This is a fantastic way to get rid of those things not wanted from the original kitchen.
• Craigslist is another place to shop and save money. Locate them at http://www.craigslist.com. People have found incredible bargains by finding new items not wanted by someone redesigning his or her own kitchen.
• Ebay allows the shopper to bid for items from the unusual to the ultra modern. Their URL is http://www.ebay.com.

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