Patio Design Ideas

Use great patio design ideas to add an additional two season of use to your front entrance or rear easement that contribute appeal and value to your home. Modern home remodeling plans include adding a piece of outdoor ambiance made possible through attractive and functional patios or decks.

You can have two usable patio space if size permits; one for a pergola or a permanent seating area, and a landscaped garden portion. Install an awning or parasol using durable fabrics to protect against the elements for comfortable enjoyment. With a separate area for flower or garden beds, you can add scents of flowers and herbs to the outdoor living space.

Decorative plants contribute beauty to defined patio areas for outdoor use, as they provide natural screens, attract birds and butterflies. The plants also provide passive cooling shade or screen against traffic.

You may choose to provide light and gas heating on your patio. However, seek professional help for installing electrical wiring or gas piping

Patio design ideas for additional amenities and comfortable outdoor use include installation of insect repellants and durable outdoor deck furniture to add ambiance of a conversation area. Common choice of materials are rattan, plastic or teak, based on your budget.

Fascinating Bedroom Design Ideas

Whether you’re moving to a new home or thinking of a makeover, the masters bedroom needs some exclusive remodeling ideas to make it stand out as your own. With a spacious bedroom, avoid falling in the trap of wanting to fill it up with an array of furniture and decorations. It helps to know how to combine all the basic bedroom design elements together and create the ambiance of warmth and coziness to guarantee restful sleep.

Decorating Style: You need to do your homework if you intend to do the bedroom decorating yourself for it’s a tough job. Find helpful tips from bedroom design ideas compiled here for the master’s, teen girls or boys, and children’s bedrooms. Begin by picking your style first, such as traditional, contemporary or oriental, for example. The style you choose reflects your taste and artistic sense that will guide you when choosing what furniture, fabrics and other decorative items that goes into your bedroom.

Key Color: Your color choice dictates the mood you want to create. Warm shades like orange, lemon yellow or rosy pink, for example, make your large bedroom appear warm and comfy. You can think of accent pieces using the contrasting coloring scheme, which may not work well for smaller rooms as it creates restless conflict. You won’t go wrong by sticking to lighter and cooler shades for smaller bedrooms,like pale blue, light purple or cream, for example.

Basic Furnishing: The bed is the focal point, needless to say. You can follow the rule of having larger furniture for bigger bedrooms with large windows, and having smaller, low-lying beds for smaller bedrooms. It isn’t uncommon to have high king size bed with double mattress and fluffy pillows for the masters bedroom. You can put a chic looking chest or cabinet at the foot of the bed to place a TV, as it adds a bit of privacy to the sleeping area. A large closet and wall-mirrors goes well at the dressing area, so with a small writing desk and a couple of cushioned chairs in a corner at the lounging area. For traditional style night table and lamps, go for round shapes. Modern decor items come in varied size and shapes.

Fabrics and Texture: Choose fabrics for comfort and privacy. Double layered curtains for large windows require heavy drapes to keep away sunlight and cold, as well as thin linen curtains to ensure privacy and ample sunlight at daytime. Pick fine texture fabrics with attractive colors for pillows and cushions. At the head of the bed, hang intricate tapestries or colorful painting with soft light on it, but avoid anything that attracts too much distraction. Use the soothing touch of nature by placing potted plants by the bed or window, or charming floral art works.

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas That Works

All the real cooks dream of kitchen remodeling ideas that only appears in their wildest fantasies.The kitchen provides warmth, fellowship and food, and since the beginning of time has been the heart of the home.

It just fits that the kitchen should be the best decorated and completely equipped room. Unfortunately, men who build houses have no idea what should really go into a dream kitchen. Women, however, have input if they’re buying a new home and wouldn’t notice what they are missing until they start cooking.

The Food Network Channel showed a few episodes with Paula Deen where super chefs were paired with homeowners who really needed kitchen remodelling. The original kitchen remodeling plans turned from something that looked useless and wasn’t a true center of a home, into a lovely kitchen that’s both useful and gorgeous.

For those who don’t have a Food Network superstar like Paula, you need some homework. You can get helpful tips from watching the TV show showing kitchen designs that works. Paula Deen’s kitchen plans includes a built-in deep fryer, an indoor grill and more stuff that we ordinary kitchen owners can only dream about.

Browse at our list of magazines on house design as well as kitchen remodeling, like Home and Garden. Unless you have unlimited funds, peg your kitchen remodelling budget from which you can draw your wish list and allocate 30% of the cost for installation labor cost. You can draw a kichen remodelling plan, piece by piece, to help you decide what changes you can make and what kitchen remodeling ideas you can start from there.

The Retro Look and the Modern Kitchen Style: You can check out antique shops for kitchen remodeling ideas. Find shops that do retrofit or refinishing of old kitchen equipment so that you have some actual antique stoves, fridge and other appliances. For people who prefer the trendy kitchen gears, take advantage of what most any online store offers on the web.

The Small Kitchen Design: If you have a small house, you can still remodel your kitchen and find fascinating lines of smaller appliances which are popularized by studio condo-lifestyle and actually give you more room for kitchen cabinet remodelling. Most builders don’t configure kitchen cabinets as well as a good cook. For example, why are they so high that they’re only good for stowing away gears cooks never use. A cook needs all cabinet spaces within easy reach to be useful.

If you love cooking, you walk into your kitchen everyday and probably know what works best for you. So sit back and draw your kitchen remodeling plan, create a working budget and start to dream big, with you standing in it everyday. That kitchen design will truly be a reflection of your personality.

Living Room Design Ideas

If you can afford it, hire an interior designer. However, living room design ideas need not be expensive or extravagant. If you’re in a tight budget you can do it yourself, but plan ahead and check some designs and magazine tips in this site to visualize how your actual living room will look like.

• The Classic Style: Your home most likely have this for it’s everyone’s comfort zone, until you want to break free. Classic living room design offers distinctively warm, cozy, relaxed and comfortable ambiance. In contrast, the furniture design has distinctly sharp edges. Like most people, you won’t easily give up such homey feeling of the classic style.
• Mediterranean Look: This is also popular and easy to create with colors found in nature, like the blue sky, green sea, terracota tile and natural archways instead of rigid lines. In contrast, furniture choices extends from functionally simple to wrought-iron, bronze, and formal.

Involve the whole family when you’re planning a living room makeover for you need to consider the entire family’s needs. Unlike if you’re single, most home owners have some type of family or roommate situation to consider. Hence, it must be a perfect living room for everybody.

Style consistency means that if you use traditional materials like bamboo and rattan, for example, the other living room decoration and furnishing also seem to be automatically decided.

Clashing styles could not result in the best of both worlds. Instead, what emerges is an awful compromise. The straight lines, control and symmetry of the Palladian style, for example, would serve to conflict with the distinctive fluidity and glitz of the Rococo design elements.

Here are more living room decorating ideas:

• Mix and match Fabrix: Use this popular technique in living room decorating, like understating stripe prints, for example. Also, experiment with texture, such as microsuedes and leathers. One popular combination, for instance, is a sofa base of chocolate brown leather and cushions can be tan and sage green.
• Faux Paint Effects: Use this latest trend in living room decorative painting called faux effect. You can achieve a brick like appearance to your walls or even marble look. Creatively, the paint can be used to produce a contrasting effect with an artificially painted leathery or suede textures giving the living room a sophisticated look.
• Hide Electronics: Use inexpensive treatments to hide electronic gadgets with lattice doors, for example, which allows for the use of remote controls of your aircon unit, HDTVs, Wii, Xbox or DVD players.
• Lighting System: Install automatic light dimmer switch, and also the lighting system that lights up the floor or the ceiling above it, or accent lights that can be angled and moved about easily.

Home Office Design Ideas

Home office design ideas for your home must have some provision for relaxation, compared to a strict office environment in a busy city office where time seems to drag. That’s why when moments come for you to continue your work at home, switch off completely to refresh briefly before beginning your office work. This can be done by using an easy chair, music, reading materials and hot or cold drinks which all help to provide contrast to the main activity.

The best feature of home office design is exactly your own personal style and requirements. This style fits your own preferences and self-expression that is not necessarily too businesslike but somehow reflects the main activity you’re involved with. Give attention to pleasurable aspects of your domain, its background sounds and how your room is scented. Think of an inspiring decoration, smelling perhaps of roses or hyacinths and a window view of daffodils swaying in the breeze. Who’d like to work in the city office now?!

Here’s a questionnaire for your home office design ideas:

• Do you want a secluded place or a need to be close to a particular room?
• Do you want a separate access or door as outside entrance?
• What type of activities would your work entail.
• What office equipment will you need for these activities.
• What separate utilities are required, for example, phone/fax, water, aircon, power, etc.
• Would you need natural lighting for your illumination?
• How much is your storage requirements?

Here’s some design features you might need:

• facilities for guests, for example, seats, car parking, cloakroom, etc.
• soundproofing and thermal insulation
• workstation area for office co-workers or guests
• security locks, safe, alarms, and so on.
• safety features, such as non-slip floor and fire protection.

Home Office Decorating Ideas

Home office decorating ideas very much depend on the space and your personal preferences. Fit all the equipment and storage items you identified above to have a good expanse of working floor area, so it is advisable that your room is wide enough to avoid having a crammed or cluttered feeling.

• Office Storage Ideas: Plan storage areas ahead to avoid moving furniture when they spillover from their spaces. Select from online sources for streamlined, organized and efficient look.
• Lighting Requirement: Lighting need not be utilitarian as in city offices, and use directional spot lighting for interesting and charming overall level illumination.which eliminates too much glare.

Put a bit of professional ambiance to give an impression that you take your work seriously.

Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

Bathroom remodeling ideas brighten up the start of your every day, and people do them when preparing the house for sale. Next only to kitchen makeover, a bathroom remodeling contributes a high appraisal on the sale value of your home.

Do bathroom remodeling to enjoy the convenience which you probably see only in spa salons, hotel amenities or in glossy magazines, and don’t wait only until you your house is for sale. Use the very amenity with a thought that the house is more expensive when it comes to sell it.

You probably spend more time in the bathroom more than any part of the house. For this reason, they experience more wear and time due to heavy usage. Bathroom remodeling therefore helps to keep your toilet and baths functioning at tip top shape and looking fabulous.

Here are helpful information on what to consider in bathroom remodeling plans.

1. Wall Tiles: Know that the 4 by 4 inch glazed ceramic tiles are obsolete, therefore, replace them with 8 by 12 inch wall tiles. Newer tile varieties have very attractive designs and even prevent molds. Install them along walls to protect them from damage by water splashes. Choose fascinating decorative border tile designs to mix and match your tile color, while you can apply paint or wallpaper on the upper walls.

2. Floor Tiles: Light color flooring creates a feeling of wider space that is good if your bathroom seems small. Use 12 by 12 tiles which you can install diagonally with the lines and light color to give an illusion of increased space.

3. Heated Floor: Before installing new floor tiles, consider heated floor among your bathroom remodeling plans. Your family will appreciate this upscale amenity and will certainly add to the appraisal value when it comes to sell your house.

4. Vanity: Bring your bathroom design up to scale by replacing your vanity with the new variety that “floats” from the floor. Attached to the wall, choose the one-piece granite counter top with basin or the spa-type wash basin on hardwood hanging platform. Using the granite would prepare you when replacing the counter top in your kitchen remodeling later on.

5. Faucets: New faucet designs for the sink and tub are great starting points to start a bathroom remodeling plan. Faucets have evolved from mere utilitarian to stylish designs. Fascinate with vintage Victorian faucet styles on your granite counter top or a sleek bamboo fountain in an exotic Asian spa resort.

6. Toilets: Consider relocating an old or stained bowl, and add a bidet. While this job may require a contractor, it is however a simple task.

7. Lighting: Remove the overhead central light and replace them with moisture resistant type above the tub or shower, and a wall sconce by the vanity. Lighting should make you feel and appear beautiful, while it increases the value of your bath.

8. Shower: Consider adding a glass-enclosed shower stall, if space allows. This way you keep the tub as a spa retreat, installed with its own shower or body spray. If you love the exotic spa idea, use a stone surround tile which would certainly boost your bathroom appeal and the value of your home.

9. Colors: Changing the color is the simplest but effective way to enhance total appeal. If you’re thinking of higher sale value, refrain from using unusual color combinations. Observe the tried and tested 60-30-10 color rule: 60% of the bathroom color must be the dominant one, 30% for the secondary, and 10% for the accent color.

Bathroom design is really a private choice, but may also be inspired by your location. Overall, bathroom remodeling ideas should match the wealth and accomplishment you have gained in your professional work or business.

Home Remodeling Ideas for Your Dream House

Asking yourself now about home remodeling ideas would put a smile on your face while thinking randomly between one to about five projects you’d like to undertake given the time and funds available. The question isn’t perhaps what home remodeling ideas are you interested in, though inspiration arises from just any source; but what exactly are you’re looking at.

For you, home should be a beautiful place inside and outside, a sanctuary from that hustle and bustle of life, a mirror of the accomplishment and wealth you have gained in your life’s work, and a castle where you are the king or queen.

A home owner comes out with a wish list that’s a bit more interesting from another home owner who’s also thinking of home remodeling plans of his own. Each of you considers different aspects you’d like to start away first. My wife and I therefore came up with this website to show you fantastic home remodeling ideas published in the internet, compiling and updating them in such a way that we provide you valuable help for your needs or the particular part of the house you’re looking at this moment. Let’s start by clicking the particular dream home remodeling articles listed at the menu panels and feel free to browse. We also provide you interesting photos from Flicker authorized for use here.

Entertaining Home Remodeling Ideas. This is for a housewife who just loves nothing less than having enough room to entertain both family members and friends but wants to maintain the homey atmosphere you desire. It sounds like you require a spacious living room and a separate dining that suits what you want. An entertainment addict loves music and movies would opt for features only outweighed by budget limits which perhaps is not yet a problem. You can whip up a home remodeling estimate that includes the latest gears and gadgets and would start look around your house where to find the space for a dedicated entertainment room while exploring your interests further.

Remodeling Ideas for a Budding Cook. Whether contemplating to prepare a masterpiece or merely experimenting with a gourmet creation, for you the kitchen is where things are likely to happen. Find the latest home appliances, fantastic island work station with both power and running water, and top-of-the-line storage cabinets are stuff that fly their way into your home remodeling ideas and with the right planning are all within your reach.

Remodeling Ideas to Complete Your Dream Home. From just completing the dream home started way back when or starting a trendy make-over, whatever your objective is, home remodeling ideas must take into account that you plan one room at a time. You never expect what inspiration strikes you next and with a little time you spend planning the wildest and new ideas take shape with you in it. Grab that chance right now.

Lastly, relax and imagine yourself in your dream house to guide the home remodeling ideas that best works for you. Sit inside the work of art you were searching for.

Manhattan Storage Space Ideas for Booming Cities

This creative urban idea in New York – that of providing self-storage spaces – may soon become a booming local industry. Local property managers can take a look of this opportunity with huge market potentials.

In 2011, the US self storage business  reported a gross revenue of USD 20 billion. Now considered the fastest growing industry by Wall Street analysts, the storage rental business has proven investment performance that isn’t affected by recession since 2008. Furthermore, local government units and state treasury earned USD 3 billion  in taxes and fees paid each year by storage rental operators.

Manhattan storage spaces provides complete range of services and temporary storage solutions for over 200,000 New York residents, that includes delivering and moving your stuff to packing them up in your chosen private storage spaces. Their ads say – we’re everywhere and free storage taxi – with reasonably priced storage rental for seasonal boxed items, for one that fits the content of a 1-bedroom apartment or a large 3-bedroom house.

Not only is this a great urban planning solution to cover storage needs for our metropolitan condominium-dwellers, it also solves climate change. Planned CBD layout eliminates the need for travel by people fed up with daily traffic and congestion, offering walk-able distances from home to office, shops and schools. Less travel-demand by cars, buses and jeepneys mean less fuel-burning pollution; hence, reduced greenhouse gases causing extreme changes in climate.

The other side of rapid urbanization is rising demand and high prices for residential and office floor spaces. More so with tons of paper files that offices keep, people also collect stuff in their homes that accumulate with years. Rentable storage space is therefore seen as a saving strategy to reduce home and office floor areas. Browse through the recommended links to appreciate how huge the benefits are for rentable self-storage spaces.

I don’t have to go through the details of how our city governments do with idle lands and properties with large arrears in property tax payments that may be converted into temporary storage spaces. Following working models of Manhattan storage spaces, there are rentable spaces from only 500 sqm lot area to hectares of areas with thousands of rental spaces. An idea that comes to mind is the use of “retired” container vans.

The Globe Magazine which is published by an association of self-storage operators claims that they issue 17,000 paid subscriptions monthly and more than 500,000 in annual readership just to prove their point of how big the demand is. Click on the recommended links and browse for available self-storage spaces for rent. Let’s have them locally.

Recommended Links:

Manhattan Mini Storage Solutions: http://www.manhattanministorage.com/

National Self Storage Group: http://www.selfstorage.org/

New York Self Storage Association: http://www.nysssa.org/

Sharing Agreement Tips on Flats for Rent

Great idea to think of moving into a condominium for rent or a rental flat near the workplace – its cool to have that yuppy image after graduating college, fun also to be on your own away from your parent’s nest and be focusing on your budding career. But the price is a wee bit over your spending limit. Here’s 5 helpful tips if you’re considering to share a studio apartment with someone and be on your way to shop for dream flats for rent.

Eliminate messy issues best avoided in the first place by understanding what it is you’re entering into. Here’s how:

1. Identify the terms to include in an agreement. While the originally seeking for a way to split the rent, the property owner still have the right to call upon either you and your roommate for the whole rental dues in the event neither is unable to pay.
2. Include shared expenses for utilities as well as for food and grocery. While you can have common ref and appliances, you can specify if food is for both or only for the one who purchased them; and the manner and scheduling for replenishing supplies. Who’s responsible for cleaning the ref, range and dish washing, as well as the toilet and common areas.
3. Include policy on visitors and guests. It’s a good idea and fits both of your needs to have friends to see your cool nest or hang out. Are friends or family members allowed to stay and if so, specify the number of days and frequency and when does a guest or the host pitch in for food expenses.
4. Include the policy on pets. You can’t leave this out, what if you find a perfect pet or a cute huggable creature. The best advice would be to expect the unexpected and provide for some leeway for contract amendments.
5. Include combining and sharing of furniture, decors and homewares. While phones and certain gadgetries are strictly for personal use, include policy on styles, color and spatial preferences of combined furniture and how to share them for yourselves and your guests.

You can continue to build on top of this 5 useful tips to give yourself great results by creating a flat rental or condo-studio sharing agreement. Use it and enjoy cool cosmopolitan lifestyle without the mess, or ignore them and face lower expectations of living with an unfamiliar room-mate.

You’ve done your homework and now ready to browse  to your hearts delight and choose the perfect dream studio you’ve always dreamt of moving close to office and with a walk-able distance to hot shopping malls and gimmick-venues. Well, you can always see your old folks every other weekends or ask them to drop by instead – in your condo studio or rental flat.

Recommended Links:

Rental flats in Ortigas Center, Rockwell, Eastwood or Ayala Centers: http://www.ayosdito.ph/

Condominium rental flats in Metro Manila: http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/classifieds+directory/

Condominium Studios in Ayala Center: http://www.atayala.com/?gclid=CJ_y4KPol68CFaGt4godoStJxA

Pets puppies and kitten for sale: http://www.philbuysell.com/pets/

Home furniture: http://www.sm-shoemart.com/contactus.htm