Your really cant say a house is a home, not until you have the decor you want and the home furniture you want. A house is essentially a box made up of rooms of various types and sizes. To make a house a home we invest time, effort and money in selecting the perfect furniture. Whatever your families needs, you will select the furniture that best fits those needs. Some of the family needs will not change over the years, and in that respect, some of the furniture needn’t change.
It may seem strange in today’s throw away, disposable society that anyone would consider buying key pieces of home furniture with a view to that furniture lasting a lifetime. Its anathema to some people buying anything that lasts more than a year or two when you are talking home furniture. Many of us though do consider buying some main pieces of furniture for our homes that will give us many happy years of use. It makes sense to have some quality furniture in our home; it can become an heirloom you want to pass down.
As consumers, we tend to look for affordable things. Sometimes if its very affordable, i.e. cheap, it is virtually disposable. Cheap and cheerful has its place but quality, beauty and a heftier price tag also has its place, especially when you are talking about home furniture. There are some things you really shouldn’t compromise on concerning quality and possibly price and the things we choose for home furniture is a perfect example. Great quality, good looking, fun and functional home furniture needn’t cost the earth.
So is it worth investing in some high quality home furniture? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Imagine sitting at a dining table with your grandchildren maybe they are drawing or doing homework. Now imagine that your own children sat at the very same table doing the self same things. That is priceless and its something that many of us would love. The continuity that a good piece of home furniture can give cannot be underestimated.
You don’t have to fill your home with long lasting, potential heirloom pieces of home furniture; many of us couldn’t meet the cost of that. What we tend to do is buy a few bits of high quality furniture like the dining table or even a simple bookcase. Long lasting memories are formed of happy times and home furniture can play a part in making those memories. How many of us have had fabulous nights entertaining around a dining table, and we remember it for years to come. If we hang onto the table, the memories remain even longer after the event as we have a reminder of that time in our home.
Category: Home
Ten Essential Steps to Building Your Custom Hillside Home
Envision your dream home, perched atop the perfect mountain overlooking the vast landscape below. Feel the warm sun against your skin as you sip your morning coffee and watch the sky turn brilliant colors of red, orange and pink. With each new hour the scenery outside your window changes, an evolving canvas of light and color. A magnificent painting lay before you, a private masterpiece view able only from the window of your custom home.
A home in the mountains offers more than just beautiful landscapes and stunning sunset views. Hillside construction provides a sense of privacy and seclusion that many homeowners desire when considering their dream home. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, a mountainside home can transform daily living into an oasis of tranquility. However, hillside construction has its own set of unique challenges. Follow these 10 steps to ensure your mountainside construction project is built without a hitch.
1. Hire a Local Builder Who Specializes in Mountainside Construction
Before you decide to build your dream home in the mountains, make sure that the new home builder you hire is experienced in hillside construction in your town. Each municipality has its own set of zoning regulations. It is best to find a home remodeling contractor that can provide actual photos and references from previous home builds in your area. A local contractor will understand the soil, topography and hydrology that is involved in your construction project and can guide you throughout the design process.
2. Choose The Location for Your New Home
One of the most important aspects of your custom home build is choosing the location. Mountainside building is environmentally sensitive and follows strict building regulations and zoning ordinances. Many factors influence the choice of location for your home. This includes the type of soil, drainage patterns and boulder formations. All proposed building sites should undergo a thorough analysis, identifying both challenges and opportunities before moving forward with the home design process.
3. Plan Your Home Design With The Natural Landscape
As said by the Father of Arizona building, Frank Lloyd Wright, “No house should ever be on any hill or on anything. It should be of the hill, belonging to it, so hill and house could live together, each much happier for the other.” When designing your custom home, the placement of the building should be a key consideration. Some important factors to discuss with your home designer are the surrounding views, location of mature vegetation, angle of the sun and prevailing winds. Multi-story buildings should be stepped into the natural contours of the site to establish harmony with the natural landscape.
4. Use Building Materials That Enhance The Mountain
A well-designed mountainside home is a blend of nature and design. Your custom home build should enhance the beauty of the mountain, using colors, textures and materials that coordinate with the natural landscapes. Focus on muted colors that match the desert tones. Shiny metals and other reflective colors should be used minimally. Textured patterns are recommended on the building facade to increase light absorption and tinted windows will help to decrease heat gain. Using desert varnish on exposed rock will enhance the stone’s natural appearance.
5. Avoid Using Excessive Exterior Lighting
Preserve the beauty of the night skies by utilizing exterior lighting that accents and protects without eroding stargazing. Spotlights should be placed on timers or restricted to emergency situations only. Face accent lights towards the ground to decrease light pollution.
6. Protect the Natural Ecosystem in The Landscaping
Utilize native desert vegetation, boulders, and native rocks in your landscaping design. Native shrubs protect the soil surface from monsoon rains, promote water retention and infiltration and reduce erosion. The planting of mature trees will help to maintain the natural ecosystem functions, assisting in the establishment of seedlings, availability of nutrients and decomposition.
7. Choose a Driveway Location That Minimizes Grading
Driveway design should minimize mountainside scarring, and preserve the features of the landscape such as mature saguaros and boulder outcroppings. The slope of the driveway should be designed to meet local ordinances, using retainer walls and natural boulders to minimize the chance of erosion. Using pavers or exposed aggregate will reduce the disturbed area calculation for the driveway.
8. Strategically Place Windows Throughout Your Custom Home Design
Window placement is an important part of a mountainside home build. A properly designed home will utilize windows for natural light as well as beautiful scenery. During the architecture phase of your custom home remodel, make sure to notate the location of the trees, cacti or other interesting landscape elements. Windows are the perfect design accessories to bring the warmth of the mountain to the interior of the home.
9. Use Sustainable Building Designs in Your Construction
Solar power is recommended as a supplemental energy resource and for use in swimming pool systems. Rainwater harvesting systems can be integrated into the landscaping irrigation system, providing an environmentally friendly and sustainable water source for plants and trees.
10. Hire a Company Who Provides a Construction Warranty
Construction warranties provide more than just peace of mind. A warranty will protect you during your home remodeling or new home construction project, ensuring that your home is built to the specifications that were outlined in your contract. Choose a company that provides a minimum of a five-year warranty covering materials and labor.
How To Choose The Best Home Furniture
Certainly, everybody wants to make their home as comfortable and as aesthetically appealing as possible. And why not? After all, the home is where you find refuge after a hard day’s work. Moreover, it is basically a part of yourself already. Surely you would not want to come home to a rowdy space. It is definitely very relaxing to be greeted by a cozy atmosphere and comfortable furniture after battling a hard day at work. Thus, it is not surprising why many people really take time in decorating their homes and furnishing it with furniture pieces that are not only comfortable and beautiful, but are functional as well.
However, choosing the perfect furniture is easier said than done. With the number of home decor furniture around, choosing is not really a very easy task to do. There are multitudes of style, color, and kind, that somehow it becomes very difficult to choose the most appropriate and the best.
Some of the factors that will help you choose the best furniture include functionality, quality, cost, coordination with the rest of the other home furniture, and personal preferences. It is always important to choose furniture that will make you feel comfortable. More than anything else, you should be able to solicit the feeling of comfort and relaxation in the furniture that you will be choosing for your home.
The functionality of the furniture is very important. It should be able to cater to your needs and serve the purpose with which it is intended for. It is advisable if you choose multi functional furniture pieces. With this, you can use the item for other purposes aside from its primary function. In addition, the size of the furniture is also a major component of its functionality. Choose furniture pieces that would fit comfortably into the room or space.
Select home furniture with high quality. With today’s financial difficulties, it is not practical to be spending money on things that do not actually last. High quality furniture will surely give you a run for your money. The investment that you make will truly be worth it. Choose the furniture with smooth finishing for easy maintenance, durable, stain resistant, and sturdy. In ensuring that you get only the best quality, ensure the authenticity of the furniture.
It is also important for your home decor furniture to fit in with the other furniture pieces and decors in your home. Classic designs and styles will always fit into any theme or concept. Moreover, wood and wicker furniture easily blends in with any type of home furnishings as well.
Finally, you should select furniture that will compliment your lifestyle and personal preferences. Different lifestyles would require different types of furniture. As such, make sure that your lifestyle is catered to by the home furnishings that you choose. Typically if you have young kids, stain resistant furniture is more advisable. On the other hand, if you are the carefree type, you might want to choose furniture pieces that are made of natural materials. The important thing to remember though is that more than anything else, you should choose the furniture that will make you feel cozy and comfortable.
How To Select The Best Home Furniture
If you have an interest in purchasing home furniture from Malaysia then there are certain considerations that should not be overlooked. As it is known as one of the top five exporters of furniture worldwide, you can be sure that the range of options will be extensive. It is important to think carefully about the purchase so as to ensure that you buy the perfect items for your place of residence.
Before spending any money you should visualize how the pieces you are considering would look in your own home. Whether or not you opt for a complete set of furniture or choose individual items would depend upon your exact needs. Often selecting separate pieces would give you greater scope for flexibility and changes at a later date.
If you feel that you do not have the time or the inclination to sit down and analyze every aspect of choosing modern Malaysian furniture, the solution would be to hire a professional to conduct the task on your behalf. Most interior designers would be able to suggest specific pieces depending upon your tastes, current decor, and budget. As such individuals are trained in decoration you would be able to create a look that is unique.
Today, choosing home furniture is a lot easier thanks to the internet. Now wherever you are located you can browse at leisure a wide variety of online furniture retailers. If you are planning to shop online make sure you are clear on such factors as the exact color of the items, their dimensions, and shipping costs. You should also inquire if there is a return policy in case you are not happy with the goods once they are delivered.
Of course you can always spend time visiting furniture stores in person. Though you would be able to see exactly how certain furnishings appear you would not necessarily have access to the greatest range of items or the best deals. Using the internet to locate suitable pieces and then planning a viewing trip would make more sense.
Before parting with your hard earned cash make sure you have considered how the home furniture will be transported to your home. Do you need to pick it up or will it be sent to your address. Also, do not make the unfortunate mistake of buying pieces that are too large to fit through your doors or windows; this is an error that occurs all to often.
Tips to Take Care of Your Home Furniture
There are many reasons why people have furniture at their home. Some have furniture to improve the decor of their home while others have furniture so that all family members sit together and spend quality time. Whatever be the reason, it is important that you take care of the upholstery to keep it looking brand new.
Make sure you include upholstery care in your normal household cleaning routine. For example you must vacuum the upholstery when you vacuum the walls and the floor of your home. Vacuuming the upholstery will ensure that surface soil and the dirt embedded in the fabric fibers is removed. If you don’t use a vacuum cleaner you can use a soft brush to remove the dirt from the upholstery.
The life of your furniture can be extended if you turn over the loose cushions in your home. If you don’t turn over the loose cushions they will develop indentations and can get damaged easily. You can also fluff the cushions to ensure they keep their shape. When using the furniture some seats may be used more frequently than others, changing the cushions will help them keep their shape and distribute their use.
Moderate sunlight may be good for your furniture but excess sunlight can cause the furniture to fade and fry. Avoid placing your furniture in direct sunlight. Some fabrics like silk are delicate and exposure to sunlight can damage the fabric.
Airborne pollutants from smoke and cooking fumes can damage the fabric. Therefore it is important that your room is well ventilated. Keeping the surroundings clean will also minimize the possibility of damage from air pollutants.
To keep your furniture free from dirt and dust it is important that you have some rules. Don’t allow anyone to eat on the couch or the chairs. Make sure you cover the cushions will the removable cover that can be machine washed. Dirt from shoes can damage the fabric of the upholstery, so make sure no one sits on the furniture without removing their shoes. Pets can be a great addition to your home but never allow them on your furniture.
Discount Home Furniture for An Entertainment Room
Having a room in the house dedicated to entertainment can be relaxing. Whether you’re turning an old bedroom into a game room or the basement into a den, you’ll want a space that has a great sound system, a lot of space for guests, and great discount home furniture that will accommodate everyone.
The first thing you need to do is figure out your entertainment set up. How big your television is going to be depends on the size of your room. Consider wall mounting for saving some space. A great surround sound system will help give that movie theater feel when watching films. You can mount speakers above you in the corners of the room or just placed them on the floor. Either way you’ll get a unique audio experience.
If you are a gamer, setting up your consoles in here will be another great entertainment option. Make sure to purchase a surge protector so you can plug everything in one place and protect them from any electrical blow outs.
Setting all your electronics up, plus storing DVDS, video games, and other nick-nacks can be tough. A large entertainment center is a great piece of discount home furniture that can be used to keep you organized. They often come with built in DVD shelving and extra space to store that Xbox 360 or Blu-ray player underneath the television.
After you have your sound systems and electronics set up, it’s time to think about seating. Couches are a great option, but sectionals are even better if you are planning on using the room often to host parties. Sectionals can accommodate more people but their layout can save some space. Don’t forget an ottoman, as it can be great as an extra seat if needed. You can often find ottomans that also double as storage which may be another way to keep those movies in order.
Another discount home furniture option is true game room pieces like a pool table or ping pong. No matter what game of choice, even if it’s an old school arcade cabinet, it’ll be appreciated by all. Everyone enjoys a good movie, but to have an option to play a game multiple people can really get involved in is great in itself. It’ll also let your game room have a bit of an old school feel. Don’t forget the much needed dart board.
Carving out a separate space for fun and games will you, family and friends a place to go a little crazy without disturbing anyone else in the house. Properly furnished, it could soon become your favorite room in the entire house.
How to Buy Home Furniture You Will Love
In the past, homeowners felt pressured to select a single decorating style and to stick to it. The goal was to present a room where all the furniture looked brand new. Today, people are more interested in conveying a sense of their own personal tastes, with rooms that look as if they were furnished over time, through careful selections.
While the eclectic decorating style can be more satisfying, it can present its own set of challenges, too. Too many disparate elements can make a room look unorganized and chaotic. Here are a few tips on how to shop home furniture stores, whether online or in person, for furniture that you’ll love just as much when you get it home.
Unifying Elements
Just as a piece of music uses a repetitive drum beat or base line to establish a rhythm, a well-designed room uses repetition to establish a visual rhythm, a pattern that helps to unify the room, presenting it as a cohesive whole. Colors, materials and textures in house furniture can all be used as unifying elements.
For example, the distinctive texture and color of leather home furniture can be used throughout the room to unify the furniture decor. A side table with pictures framed in leather, a wooden console table in the same shade as the leather, and wallpaper in varying shades of the same hue, would help unify the room by expanding the rich feel and deep color of leather throughout the room.
Interesting Accents
Just as music needs melody as well as rhythm, home furniture needs more that repetitive elements to make the room an interesting space. Colors, materials and textures can be used as contrasting elements, too. Elements that would play well against the weight and mass of leather house furniture include metallic lamps, to add polish and gleam, glass tables, to lighten the look, and colors like celadon or fawn, to soften the overall color palette.
Establishing a Mood
Music with melody and rhythm is likely to convey a specific mood. Determining what mood is wanted from a room, before shopping at home furniture stores, helps inform furniture selections. Every room has atmosphere, whether intended or not. Rooms can be invigorating or soothing. They can establish a feeling of luxury or carefree fun. With some forethought, they can surround you with the environment that best suits your own personality.
You’re the Star
When music is personally meaningful, the artist gets most of the glory. To ensure that your rooms best represent your personality, only purchase furniture that you love from home furniture stores. While creating a cohesive room that establishes the right environment is important, each element of the room should give you pleasure. Set the rhythm, add the melody, create a mood, then go ahead and sing.
Home Furniture Safety Tips to Help Protect Your Family From Accidents and Injury
Thousands of People are treated annually for injuries associated with furniture. The majority of these injuries and deaths are to children. Here are tips you may use to make your household environment safer for yourself and your family.
1. Falls are a leading cause of injuries and deaths in the home. To lessen the likelihood of falls, eliminate clutter, be sure rugs have slip-resistant pads, keep electrical cords out of walkways and clean up spills immediately.
2. Position or Place furniture in low-traffic areas such as corners and sections of the room, out of the range of mobility so that people do not accidentally run into furniture.
3. Shelves should be strategically placed in bedroom and living room areas to limit reaching. They should be low enough to avoid using a step stool but all items should be at eye level in order to find them easily.
4. Make sure furniture is stable and without sharp corners, if possible. This will minimize the chances of injury.
5. Make sure that furniture surfaces are smooth and free of splinters or rough edges. Nails, screws and other joiners should be tight and unexposed.
6. Be careful not to overload the shelves on bookcases. In some cases, it may be a good idea to secure the top portion of the unit to the wall to prevent it from tipping over, especially if children are present in the home.
7. Use the correct size furniture to house your television. Because of their weight, especially the popular larger models, TVs can fall forward if they are not properly supported.
8. Place TVs on lower furniture, as far back as possible. Use angle-braces or anchors to secure furniture to the wall.
9. Make sure that lids have safety latches that prevent the top from falling freely or slamming shut on fingers or a child’s head. Lids also should not lock automatically. If you have an older chest without safety latches, it is recommended that you contact the manufacturer for a replacement latch or remove the lid.
10. Arrange furniture so that outlets are available for lamps and appliances without the use of extension cords. If you must use an extension cord, place it on the floor against a wall where people cannot trip over it. Remove cords from under furniture or carpeting and replace damaged or frayed cords immediately.
11. Remove rugs and runners that tend to slide. Apply double-faced adhesive carpet tape or rubber matting to the backs of rugs and runners. Purchase rugs with slip-resistant backing.
12. Lamps or switches located close to each bed will enable you to get up at night and see where you’re going. Rearrange furniture closer to switches or move lamps closer to beds. Install night lights where possible.
13. Never allow children under 6 years-old on the upper bunk of a Bunk bed. Bunk beds should have guardrails on each side of the top bunk, with the side against the wall or opposite the ladder running the full length of the bed.
14. It’s a good idea to check periodically to make sure all screws, bolts, brackets and other joiners on your furniture are tight and secure.
15. To prevent tempting your children to climb on furniture, do not place enticing objects on tops of tables, dressers or bookcases.
16. You should not place furniture near windows where children can climb or fall out.
When shopping for home furniture, choose quality furniture that is not only comfortable and beautiful, but safe as well.
Gardening Tips
Gardens come in different varieties like the plants you find in them. There are several gardening tips that can be used for all type of gardens.
1.Mulching protects your garden topsoil from being blown away. It also provides nutrients as it decomposes and improves the appearance of your gardens. Mulching has other benefits and is one of the most recommended gardening tips by gardeners and farmers alike.
2.Healthy plants are more disease resistant. Plants are like people, a person with a strong immune system can combat diseases. A healthy plant does the same.
3. Pests can be eradicated by cleaning the plant with a watery solution of soap. Just make sure to rinse after. This gardening tip is best heeded for fruit bearing trees or edible plants.
4. Using compost fertilizers are a great way to have healthy plants. It is also a great way to save money on expensive fertilizers. Non -organic fertilizers also tend to leave chemical residues that can accumulate in garden soils and harm not only the plants but the gardeners as well. They cause toxins to go to the water supplies. Another gardening tip recommended not just by farmers and gardeners but also by environmentalists.
5. There are several plants that are only suitable for a specified climate, a certain kind of soil or can only grow with certain plants. You have to know what plant grow in the conditions you have in your area this is for you to avoid unnecessary purchases. This is a money saving gardening tip.
6.Landscaping is a good investment which can double the value of your home. This is one gardening tip that can earn you money.
7. Growing grass on bare ground is an easy way to make your home look better and appreciate in value. This is one gardening tip that promotes earning money while growing grass legally.
8. Aside from looking great in your home, trees also provide some sort of protection from direct sunlight exposure and strong winds.
9. Vines on the walls, fences and overhead structures also would offer some protection and would also look great.
10.Flowers are beautiful, but they are also expensive. Get one that is resistant to many elements. Flowers from your local community already have developed resistance to conditions present in your area.
11.For most gardens plants, their roots go only as deep as 6 inches. Putting fertilizer deeper than that would be a waste of money. Put them shallower as they seep down when the plants are being watered.
12.Earthworms are important to plants. They till and aerate the soil for the roots to breathe. Non-organic fertilizers can kill them. This gardening tip dates back to the old days of gardening.
13. Having several kinds of insects that are beneficial to your garden would be good. These insects can be encouraged to stay by having diverse plants in your garden.
14. Spot spraying weeds with household vinegar, instead of using commercial weed-killers, can eradicate them. This is another environment friendly gardening tip.
15. Avoid putting too much mulch on tree trunks; this would encourage unwanted pests to reside on them.
16. Use plant varieties that are common to your area or have been taken from an area with similar conditions.
17. Be sure to know the plants that are poisonous. If you are intent on growing them, make sure to have the necessary cure available in your household. Take note of this gardening tip, it can save your life.
18. The best time to water plants is during mornings.
19. Before planting a new plant in your garden, you must consider its height and size when it matures. This garden tip can help you save money in the future.
20. Newly transplanted plants may require special attention during its first week. This is to reduce the stress and shock it got during transplantation.
And last but not the least of the gardening tips…
21.Plants are living entities. If you want them to grow in your garden you have to treat them as such. They need to be taken care of. They are like your pets, you look out for them. In return you get that feeling of contentment watching them thrive.
A good way to take care of them is to consider that plants might have some feelings too.
Flat Track Hardware Ideas – Entertainment Centers
Flat track hardware is popping up everywhere, and its applications seem everywhere. Given its basic and simple nature, and easy installation, homeowners are using it for all different kinds of things. The most common use, of course, is as the movement system for full-sized doors separating rooms such as kitchens and dinning rooms, or living rooms and studies. Yet many other unique applications are also being seen. One application that will be highlighted today is as the cover to an entertainment center.
Entertainment centers are most commonly set-up as shelving units designed to house a TV, DVD player, DVD’s, cable box, and some sort of stereo system. Typically these are built to be free standing units that can be placed anywhere in a room.
Yet in some cases, especially with the advent and popularity of flat screen TVs, people have built their entertainment centers into the wall of a room. The advantage to this is that you create a unique and interesting interior design that will hardly be common among your friends. The disadvantage is that once you build into the wall, that’s the final resting place of the TV and its accompanying components. Unless of course you decide to place the TV elsewhere and replace it with a tropical fish tank, something that looks awesome if it falls within your budget!
Returning now from our underwater tangent to the topic at hand, these in-wall entertainment systems look great and really add to the decor of the room. This is where the flat track hardware comes in. Homeowners who have built in-wall entertainment systems have used flat track hardware to slide small doors or coverings to the open wall space of the entertainment center when its not in use. This is something that we’ve noticed and are particularly pleased with.