Friday, October 17, 2008
Makes Interior Garden
At limited home size, usually have been there is no rest of open farm besides in front of home terrace core. Home like this has constraint in aerator, temperature in becoming temperature. To overcome this, many architects making void in part of central/back home that air can flow. So, this air-gap usualy exploited for interior garden. That in-difficult of the treatment, interior garden generally is garden —using stones and crop that is is not requires juicy.
Enters Crop In Your Interior Design Concept
Lifts plant container from outside into home. Because will be put down within doors, better select;choose crop that is is not requires light too much. Pays attention to also its(the pot; if dirty cleaned beforehand. If its(the pot is lose looks, puts down pot in other pot of which more bagus/bersih. Besides crop in pot, you also able to refresh space with installing cut interest network. Both this ways is simplest step and quickly to create fresh situation at home interior.
Green Interior Design with Ornamental Plant Property
Green interior design is one of settlement idea of space to get calm situation. Its way is by entering garden interior design style—we can user tree, leaf, interests, pool, waterfall, and water-in home.
Professional Home Decor Tips For Selling, Staying and Going Green
Despite a slumping economy, home improvements remain a popular investment for homeowners. With paint rollers and hammers in hand, they’re getting the most out of their home-improvement dollar with do-it-yourself projects that make a dramatic difference.
Three-quarters of Americans and Canadians plan to renovate this year, even though only one in 10 homeowners plan to sell their homes, according to the fourth edition of the annual KILZ Roller Report. The report offers insight on the housing market, green design and renovation plans from more than 1,000 American and Canadian homeowners and 300 American professional painters and contractors. Lisa LaPorta, designer and host of HGTV’s “Designed to Sell,” interprets the survey results and helps homeowners make good design decisions — whether they’re selling, staying or going green.
Selling
Finding: More than half of homeowners (56 percent) planning to sell in the next year will complete minor to moderate renovations like painting the exterior of their house or touching up interior walls to enhance their home’s market value.
Tip: LaPorta emphasizes the importance of staying true to a home’s architectural style when painting its exterior. “Don’t paint an American colonial house with Tuscan orange paint,” she says. “Save bold colors for trim, shutters and the front door. Black, red or hunter green high gloss paint on these areas adds polish to a home.”
When selling, it’s safer to remain neutral on the interior, but you can do so in rich tones. “Neutral doesn’t always mean beige,” says LaPorta. “Try painting interior walls with shades of deep taupe, warm grey or soft brown. All are trend-right and make an impact without overwhelming interior design. Regardless of paint color, start with a high quality water-based primer like KILZ Premium. This will block and hide water stains and bold colors that could otherwise sway purchase decisions for potential buyers.”
Finding: Eighty-two percent of home sellers said kitchen design is very or extremely important to their purchase decision.
Tip: According to LaPorta, the kitchen is the most used, equipment-heavy and expensive-to-renovate room in the home, but it is invaluable to a house’s selling potential. “When it comes to selling, new appliances have the greatest impact on kitchen appeal,” says LaPorta. “If you’re not able to make a large investment, achieve a similar effect by updating cabinetry with fresh coats of primer and paint. This, along with new cabinet hardware, will make a kitchen appear brand new at a fraction of the cost of a full renovation.”
Staying
Finding: Three quarters of homeowners (75 percent) planning to stay in their current residence will complete a renovation in the next year.
Tip: According to LaPorta, homeowners can quickly and inexpensively transform their homes with paint. “Applying a fresh coat of primer and paint is the easiest way to transform a space with minimal time and financial investment,” she says.
Homeowners can elevate the exterior appeal of their home by paying attention to details. “The exterior of a house makes the first impression and details make a world of difference,” says LaPorta. “Add a fresh coat of primer and paint to trim areas, store trash bins out of sight and invest in a quality landscaping job.”
Finding: More than half (55 percent) of homeowners claim to be “mix-masters” in their decorating style, boasting a decor compilation from different eras, regions and styles.
Tip: “Eclectic interior design is difficult to achieve,” says LaPorta. “Claiming mix-master style is not an excuse to combine furniture and decor that has nothing in common. Instead, try clustering various elements into cohesive groups. Find a common element, like color or pattern, to create a well-blended match.”
Going Green
Finding: Seventy-nine percent of homeowners don’t know what low VOC paint or primer is, and 82 percent don’t know where to buy it.
Tip: “Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are chemical compounds in many traditional building products, including paint, adhesives and colorants. They can vaporize into the atmosphere, affecting indoor and outdoor air quality,” says LaPorta. “The term ‘low VOC’ means the paint may have less of an impact on air quality and the environment than traditional formulas.”
“Water-based paint and primers, often referred to as latex coatings, are generally lower in VOCs than oil-based paints and primers,” says LaPorta. “Choosing them over oil-based paint is an easy way to be more eco-friendly.”
LaPorta doesn’t see green building as a trend, but as the next evolution in home design. “Going green doesn’t need to feel overwhelming,” she says. “Start small by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, purchasing ENERGY STAR rated appliances and using water-based coatings. These small changes will have a positive impact on your energy bills and the environment.”
Three-quarters of Americans and Canadians plan to renovate this year, even though only one in 10 homeowners plan to sell their homes, according to the fourth edition of the annual KILZ Roller Report. The report offers insight on the housing market, green design and renovation plans from more than 1,000 American and Canadian homeowners and 300 American professional painters and contractors. Lisa LaPorta, designer and host of HGTV’s “Designed to Sell,” interprets the survey results and helps homeowners make good design decisions — whether they’re selling, staying or going green.
Selling
Finding: More than half of homeowners (56 percent) planning to sell in the next year will complete minor to moderate renovations like painting the exterior of their house or touching up interior walls to enhance their home’s market value.
Tip: LaPorta emphasizes the importance of staying true to a home’s architectural style when painting its exterior. “Don’t paint an American colonial house with Tuscan orange paint,” she says. “Save bold colors for trim, shutters and the front door. Black, red or hunter green high gloss paint on these areas adds polish to a home.”
When selling, it’s safer to remain neutral on the interior, but you can do so in rich tones. “Neutral doesn’t always mean beige,” says LaPorta. “Try painting interior walls with shades of deep taupe, warm grey or soft brown. All are trend-right and make an impact without overwhelming interior design. Regardless of paint color, start with a high quality water-based primer like KILZ Premium. This will block and hide water stains and bold colors that could otherwise sway purchase decisions for potential buyers.”
Finding: Eighty-two percent of home sellers said kitchen design is very or extremely important to their purchase decision.
Tip: According to LaPorta, the kitchen is the most used, equipment-heavy and expensive-to-renovate room in the home, but it is invaluable to a house’s selling potential. “When it comes to selling, new appliances have the greatest impact on kitchen appeal,” says LaPorta. “If you’re not able to make a large investment, achieve a similar effect by updating cabinetry with fresh coats of primer and paint. This, along with new cabinet hardware, will make a kitchen appear brand new at a fraction of the cost of a full renovation.”
Staying
Finding: Three quarters of homeowners (75 percent) planning to stay in their current residence will complete a renovation in the next year.
Tip: According to LaPorta, homeowners can quickly and inexpensively transform their homes with paint. “Applying a fresh coat of primer and paint is the easiest way to transform a space with minimal time and financial investment,” she says.
Homeowners can elevate the exterior appeal of their home by paying attention to details. “The exterior of a house makes the first impression and details make a world of difference,” says LaPorta. “Add a fresh coat of primer and paint to trim areas, store trash bins out of sight and invest in a quality landscaping job.”
Finding: More than half (55 percent) of homeowners claim to be “mix-masters” in their decorating style, boasting a decor compilation from different eras, regions and styles.
Tip: “Eclectic interior design is difficult to achieve,” says LaPorta. “Claiming mix-master style is not an excuse to combine furniture and decor that has nothing in common. Instead, try clustering various elements into cohesive groups. Find a common element, like color or pattern, to create a well-blended match.”
Going Green
Finding: Seventy-nine percent of homeowners don’t know what low VOC paint or primer is, and 82 percent don’t know where to buy it.
Tip: “Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are chemical compounds in many traditional building products, including paint, adhesives and colorants. They can vaporize into the atmosphere, affecting indoor and outdoor air quality,” says LaPorta. “The term ‘low VOC’ means the paint may have less of an impact on air quality and the environment than traditional formulas.”
“Water-based paint and primers, often referred to as latex coatings, are generally lower in VOCs than oil-based paints and primers,” says LaPorta. “Choosing them over oil-based paint is an easy way to be more eco-friendly.”
LaPorta doesn’t see green building as a trend, but as the next evolution in home design. “Going green doesn’t need to feel overwhelming,” she says. “Start small by switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, purchasing ENERGY STAR rated appliances and using water-based coatings. These small changes will have a positive impact on your energy bills and the environment.”
Transforming Your Kitchen With Kitchen Cupboards
Buying a home is a difficult choice and often involves some give and take. Unless you are buying a new home, you will most likely have to sacrifice some of the features that you are looking for. Most choices come down to a house being well designed and fitting a families needs. From this an individual or family will expect the house or nvestment?to grow in value over time. A well designed house makes the choice easier, but then with this choice will come other features that are nice additions. Smaller features of a house are not the deciding factor of home buying, but often help with the decision. One of these smaller features that could go along way is the kitchen cupboards or in other words the kitchen cabinets. Cabinets are not the first thing you think about when entering a house, but once you get to the kitchen, this feature becomes a noticeable and important attribute. The term kitchen cupboards may not be a widely used term anymore, but it is still widely used and it's definition has certainly changed over the years. Many homes built before the nineteen fifties had the traditional kitchen cupboards. These cabinets were large solid wood fixtures that were often custom built for each individual house. The kitchen cupboard is no longer a large piece of furniture, but they are designed to specific sizes to allow easier kitchen design. Of course this transformation has already started to go in a cycle and the traditional kitchen cupboard, once out of date, is showing up again. The housing boom in the nineteen fifties, largely brought on by the prosperity after the war caused a large demand for new housing. Tract housing developments called for new ideas for the kitchen. Traditional kitchen cupboards were no longer practical; instead, smaller, sleeker cabinets were needed to fit into these new houses. Houses were smaller and a large kitchen now became obsolete, so the kitchen cupboard was now substituted with the modern kitchen cabinet. For the next forty to fifty years these cabinets were the dominate feature in the kitchen. Of course there are always exceptions, but for the most part, the kitchen cupboard was downsized in height and width, made less appealing, and mostly was there for usage not design. Fortunately the cycle of design has changed and kitchen cabinets have come full circle. There are more choices today and actually a style of the kitchen cupboard is back in fashion. Large pantry cabinets have come back into a house and from this the renaissance of the kitchen has begun. Another sign of a hrow back?kitchen is the return of the taller kitchen cabinet. Most cabinets are around thirty inches high; however a forty two inch kitchen cabinet or kitchen cupboard had now become an option. Of course if youćŽe going to buy these larger (forty two inch) kitchen cupboards, you will need a higher ceiling, but if you have that higher ceiling, these kitchen cabinets fill the space nicely. The kitchen cupboard has come a long way. Once a piece of furniture, it was then reduced to a no-frills, practical use, but now it has made its way into the kitchen as a furnishing with style.
Laminate Floor Advantages and Disadvantages
Although laminate floors are very popular these days, there are both pros and cons to this type of flooring. Laminate floors have advantages and disadvantages that should be weighed carefully before a decision is reached as to whether or not these floors are best for your residential space. For many homeowners, the convenience of laminate floors cannot be beat. When it comes to installation, laminate has wood and stone beat by a long shot. This is because of the innovative installation procedures used for laminate floors.The vast majority of laminate floors click together easily without glue. While some do require a separate underlayment, most come with everything required for installation. If you can click two interlocking parts together, you can probably install your own laminate floors. This will save you money because you won't be paying for the services of a contractor. Not only that, but because you won't be using glue there is no drying time. Your floors can be walked on as soon as you finish installing them. This cannot be said for hardwood that is glued down because you have to wait quite awhile for drying of the glue.Another advantage of laminate floors are their gorgeous colors and patterns. You will find choices that look like the finest hardwood and the most expensive marble. No matter what look you're going for there is laminate flooring to match. Not only are these floors beautiful, they are durable as well because of the high tech coating applied to each piece in the factory. They will stand up to years of foot traffic and of course come with warranty protection. Warranties differ from manufacturer to manufacturer but many are quite extensive.Now that we've examined some of the advantages of laminate floors, let's consider the disadvantages. Some people may have their heart set on authentic wood or stone and accept nothing less. Laminate flooring may not last as long as traditional hardwood but then again it does not require buffing, refinishing or waxing. If you like the idea of laminate but are afraid to make a hasty decision, do lots of comparison shopping to find the best laminate floors for you before making a purchase.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
HOW TO BE HAPPIER
Happiness, like cholesterol level, is a genetically influenced trait. Yet as cholesterol is also influenced by diet and exercise, so our happiness is to some extent under our personal control.
1. Realize that enduring happiness doesn’t come from financial success. People adapt to changing circumstances—even to wealth or a disability. Thus wealth is like health: Its utter absence breeds misery, but having it (or any circumstance we long for) doesn’t guarantee happiness.
2. Take control of your time. Happy people feel in control of their lives, often aided by mastering their use of time. It helps to set goals and break them into daily aims. Although we often overestimate how much we will accomplish in any given day (leaving us frustrated), we generally underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year, given just a little progress every day.
3. Act happy. We can sometimes act ourselves into a frame of mind. Manipulated into a smiling expression, people feel better; when they scowl, the whole world seems to scowl back. So put on a happy face. Talk as if you feel positive self-esteem, are optimistic, and are outgoing. Going through the motions can trigger the emotions.
4. Seek work and leisure that engages your skills. Happy people often are in a zone called "flow"—absorbed in a task that challenges them without overwhelming them. The most expensive forms of leisure (sitting on a yacht) often provide less flow experience than gardening, socializing, or craft work.
5. Join the "movement" movement. An avalanche of research reveals that aerobic exercise not only promotes health and energy, it also is an antidote for mild depression and anxiety. Sound minds reside in sound bodies. Off your duffs, couch potatoes.
6. Give your body the sleep it wants. Happy people live active vigorous lives yet reserve time for renewing sleep and solitude. Many people suffer from sleep debt, with resulting fatigue, diminished alertness, and gloomy moods.
7. Give priority to close relationships. Intimate friendships with those who care deeply about you can help you weather difficult times. Confiding is good for soul and body. Resolve to nurture your closest relationships: to not take those closest to you for granted, to display to them the sort of kindness that you display to others, to affirm them, to play together and share together.
8. Focus beyond self. Reach out to those in need. Happiness increases helpfulness (those who feel good do good). But doing good also makes one feel good.
9. Be grateful. People who keep a gratitude journal—who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, senses, natural surroundings, and so on.) experience heightened well-being.
10. Nurture your spiritual self. For many people, faith provides a support community, a reason to focus beyond self, and a sense of purpose and hope. Study after study finds that actively religious people are happier and that they cope better with crises.
1. Realize that enduring happiness doesn’t come from financial success. People adapt to changing circumstances—even to wealth or a disability. Thus wealth is like health: Its utter absence breeds misery, but having it (or any circumstance we long for) doesn’t guarantee happiness.
2. Take control of your time. Happy people feel in control of their lives, often aided by mastering their use of time. It helps to set goals and break them into daily aims. Although we often overestimate how much we will accomplish in any given day (leaving us frustrated), we generally underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year, given just a little progress every day.
3. Act happy. We can sometimes act ourselves into a frame of mind. Manipulated into a smiling expression, people feel better; when they scowl, the whole world seems to scowl back. So put on a happy face. Talk as if you feel positive self-esteem, are optimistic, and are outgoing. Going through the motions can trigger the emotions.
4. Seek work and leisure that engages your skills. Happy people often are in a zone called "flow"—absorbed in a task that challenges them without overwhelming them. The most expensive forms of leisure (sitting on a yacht) often provide less flow experience than gardening, socializing, or craft work.
5. Join the "movement" movement. An avalanche of research reveals that aerobic exercise not only promotes health and energy, it also is an antidote for mild depression and anxiety. Sound minds reside in sound bodies. Off your duffs, couch potatoes.
6. Give your body the sleep it wants. Happy people live active vigorous lives yet reserve time for renewing sleep and solitude. Many people suffer from sleep debt, with resulting fatigue, diminished alertness, and gloomy moods.
7. Give priority to close relationships. Intimate friendships with those who care deeply about you can help you weather difficult times. Confiding is good for soul and body. Resolve to nurture your closest relationships: to not take those closest to you for granted, to display to them the sort of kindness that you display to others, to affirm them, to play together and share together.
8. Focus beyond self. Reach out to those in need. Happiness increases helpfulness (those who feel good do good). But doing good also makes one feel good.
9. Be grateful. People who keep a gratitude journal—who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, senses, natural surroundings, and so on.) experience heightened well-being.
10. Nurture your spiritual self. For many people, faith provides a support community, a reason to focus beyond self, and a sense of purpose and hope. Study after study finds that actively religious people are happier and that they cope better with crises.
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