Decorating my home

Photo source: Wikimedia http://bit.ly/2xJHXXt

A successful renovation project starts with a good plan. Make a list of all the things you want/ need to replace to make you – as in inhabitant of the place you are renovating – happier.

To make the process more efficient, design in your mind (and maybe on a piece of paper) the entire plan. Here’s how to start a renovation project for a bathroom.

Source of video: ThisOldHouse

Always have a clear image of how you want the end result to look and keep in mind the aim of the entire project: to increase the value of the property. This will keep you on budget and away from any useless features.

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Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2xLzYtA

How many of you wanted to choose a house with a beautiful concrete floor but thought of the high level of maintenance needed for this type of flooring? However, taking good care of a concrete floor should not be harder to do in a normal house than with any other type of flooring.

You should first get advice for cleaning and ‘pampering’ your flooring from the contractors. After cleaning, a polish and a sealer should be used in most cases. Small problems like cracks should be deal with carefully – and immediately, making sure they do not extend.

We came across a helpful article on Property Division upon maintaining decorative floors which we recommend.

How to Maintain Decorative Concrete Floors

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You wish you had more space in your apartment or house, but, unfortunately, space is limited. Luckily, ideas to maximize it are not!

You might not know it now, but there are hidden spaces and corners of your house that can be fully used for storing extra stuff. Here are some ways to find those places, or even create them from scratch.

  1. The storage bed. You can hide anything unused of not used very frequently under the bed, or

    Photo source: This Old House http://bit.ly/2f3sJSG

    you can make some extra shelves right on the exterior of the bed.

  2. Use storage containers. These are usually specially designed for types of things, so make sure you buy adequate boxes for the items you are going to hide away in them.
  3. Benches. In the garden, or even inside the house – maybe in the hallway, wood benches can have depositing spaces under the seat.
  4. Build-up. Stack things up vertically. Extra storage space can be found on top of cabinets or wardrobes. Just make sure you do not deposit anything too heavy above your head, and if you use boxes it can actually look very neat.
  5. Drawers inside the walls. Cabinets with drawers for example can be placed inside walls (as long as it is not a resistance wall of the house).

Share with us your examples of maximizing space inside your home or find more ideas in the following articles:

37 Easy Ways to Add Storage to Every Room

How to Create More Storage Space

 

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Photo source: Pinterest http://bit.ly/2y6rvNP

Keeping up with the trends this September! Shaded Spruce is the color of the month!

Inspired from a forest of conifers, this shade surely matches some corner of your house, if not an entire room!

If you choose it for as highlighting wall shade keep in mind to use contrasting and warm light shades for the furniture you place on it. It matches white windows or light beige armchairs.

If you only plan to use it as an accentuating color for a room already painted, you can go for Shaded Spruce accessories like pillows for the couch or blankets.

More ideas on how to use the September color in your house in the following links:

Color of the Month, September 2017: Shaded Spruce

Pinterest: Pantone Shaded Spruce

Concepts and Colorways: Shaded Spruce

 

 

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Photo source: Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1N7OBdf

The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631 to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess who died giving birth to their 14th child. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. Shah Jahan’s grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal, was such that he commissioned for Taj the building to honour his dead wife. The mausoleum was completed in 1643, and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished about five years later. Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another ten years.

 

The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building. All sides of the building are exactly the same as the next one. The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 115 ft high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome.

In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of idol forms, passages from the Qur’an that comprise, some of the decorative elements.

 

The Taj Mahal is built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. It is believed over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afganistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka. In all, twenty-eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.

 

According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus it was dismantled by peasants overnight.

No evidence exists for claims that describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberments and mutilations which Shah Jahan supposedly inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb. Some stories claim that those involved in construction signed contracts committing themselves to have no part in any similar design.

According to the legend it is believed that Shah Jahan had planned to construct another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river but the war with his sons interrupted his plans.

Facts and numbers

  • The Taj Mahal enlisted 20 thousand artisans.
  • The Taj Mahal has between 7-8 million visitors per year.
  • In 2007, The Taj Mahal was the winner of the New 7th Wonder of The World.
  • The Taj Mahal took 21 years to complete.
  • Many precious stones were ripped off from its walls by the British during the Indian rebellion of 1857.
  • It is estimated to have taken more than 22,000 people to build this impressive building.
  • The full height of the Taj Mahal is 561 feet.
  • The Taj Mahal is surrounded by significant gardens and a number of other buildings including a mosque and guest houses which make up the 17 hectares of land within the complex walls.
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Photo source: House Beautiful http://bit.ly/1iAgAUt

Saying ‘Goodbye!’ to summer is never easy! The vacation is gone, the weather starts to get worse, and, before you know it, it starts snowing!

To prevent things from getting that dramatic, we thought of some easy ways to change seasons. Preparing for autumn is one way of getting accustomed to the change. So our advice is to start with some pieces of decor for your home.

Here are some ideas that guarantee you will enjoy this autumn.

  1. Make a vase out of a pumpkin.
  2. Prepare your table for the late autumn dinners with a nice centerpiece made with pumpkins.
  3. Decorate the entrance with fallen leaves or huge pumpkins.
  4. The blanket corner. If you have a garden and you already know you are going to enjoy talks and meals with your friends outside even during this fall, make sure you have the blankets handy.
  5. Learn how to make that yummy steaming pumpkin-spiced latte at home.

More inspiration in the following articles:

47 Cozy Ways to Decorate Your Home for Fall

Fall Decorating on Pinterest

20 Cozy Fall Decorating Ideas to Delight Your Inner Homebody

 

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Property prices are usually more relative than time, but – as we already mentioned before, there are always some things to do to make sure your property is according to the standards on the market.

Renovating the bathroom is one sure way to maximize the property price. One recent study reveals which of the main features inside a bathroom can help sell the house at the expected price:

Quality wall/floor tiles with good grouting (76%) was cited as the feature to add the most value to a bathroom. This was closely followed by electric or power shower (70%) and then, good sized fixtures (sink, toilet, shower/bath – 66%). The lowest ranking feature to add value to a bathroom was surprisingly underfloor heating at 34%.

If you are considering some kind of renovating of your property and the bathroom is one of the focus points, read the article on Property Reporter to make sure you won’t miss any of the features expected by buyers.

Which feature adds the most value to bathrooms?

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Photo source: Traditional Home http://bit.ly/2pIyvA1

When it comes to pets, the rent market is usually split in two between landlords – usual pet ‘haters’, and tenants – whom can be quite fond of their pets. One of the most difficult situations is the one when the two have to get along. It is just a joke, of course, but there have been conflicts and prices going up for houses of apartments to let because of the appearance of pets into the discussion.

But, when you are the owner, the problem is easily solved. A pet lover – depending on the degree, of course, can even make changes to the house to accommodate the animal companion.

Here are a couple of things to do to improve your home and make it pet-friendly:

  1. Choose a durable and easy to clean flooring. You will then be assured that the dog will not dig in to bury a treasure in the dinning, and that the cat will not leave paw marks on the freshly washed kitchen floor.
  2. Use slip-proof rugs for the ‘playing’ area. The slipping rugs are a problem for children usually, but the other runner in the house might find them just as troubling.
  3. Make a drawer with easy-to-clean solutions. Use specific products that are pet friendly and that eliminate both stains and odours.

You will find a lot of good advice in the following article both for cats and dog lovers.

Decorating Ideas: Making a Pet-Friendly Home

 

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Photo source: PXHere http://bit.ly/2wtCBwL

If you love the period charm and heritage innate in your wooden sliding sash windows but hate the draughts, rattles, rot and heat loss that can also be part and parcel with an older property then.

You need help from experts. Traditional timber sash windows are an essential feature of a period buildings character. Therefore, it is vital to retain them, not only because of the appeal, but because they add value to your property. Also, known as a sliding sash or vertical sliders, they rely on a weighted system that allows the heavy sashes to lift and fall with ease. In order for the sashes to move in the box and operate smoothly there is a 3mm gap between the sash and the frame which is often the cause of draughts, rattles, dust and rain ingress and heat loss.

Dating back over 300 years, sash windows as we recognise them today have steadily evolved as technology and fashion have changed. At one time, due to a punitive window tax, the size of your panes was seen as an indicator of your wealth and interestingly the design was influenced by the Great Fire of London when post fire legislation required the windows to be recessed in to the brick work.

The most common cause of decay is water penetration. In a high percentage of cases, water penetration has often been caused by one or more of the five common problems listed below.

  • Failing of the exterior paintwork to the sashes and box frame.
  • Holes drilled into the window sills for cables.
  • Gaps between the window sill and the stone threshold.
  • Failing of linseed oil putty allowing rain water to sit on the glazing rebate to the sash, normally to the bottom rail and top meeting rail as water runs down the glass.
  • Failing of the perimeter pointing allowing water to build up and decay timber members inside the reveals of your sash windows.

All of which are very easily repaired.

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Photo source: Ficklr http://bit.ly/2wtCBwL

Original reclaimed timber flooring has a truly authentic appearance, which celebrates the marks, dents and scuffs of its age and radiates the richness of its historic past to add a layer of depth and warmth to the home. It also works exceptionally well with under-floor heating or in kitchens with range cookers, as the age of the wood means that it is stable and has already been acclimatized for centuries.

Reclaimed timber can also be a good choice if you need to match existing floorboards to extend flooring into other rooms, or replace damaged original boards. Go for the thickest boards you can accommodate and then maintain them with a light sanding every 15 years or so, to bring the floor back to how it was when you installed it.

Unique history

Reclaimed flooring is often rescued from historic houses that are beyond repair, industrial buildings, factories or dockyards. The majority of available boards are Victorian, made from timber originally used as floorboards, joists, beams or close boarded roofs, but the wood can be more than 400 years old, sourced from anywhere in the world. The planks must be dried in racks to ensure they will not shrink, split or expand when fitted. They should be moisture tested before being installed, but with already so many years’ drying out, the wood is usually dry enough. In order to retain the patina of the reclaimed floor, the wood is passed through a drum sander and lightly brushed, leaving the aged marks undamaged.

Care and attention

Personally, I love the look of a waxed floor but it does need more regular attention than other finishes. A fresh wax every year would be ideal. Water-based varnishes are a close second choice, and will last up to five years without doing anything other than sweeping.

Creative uses

I’ve noticed an emerging trend over the past few years of people getting more creative with reclaimed wood. Such examples are cladding walls to create an alternative focal point, or using it to custom-make a rustic-looking headboard.

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