Category: Home Improvement

Renovating your home from time to time can really enhance and remake your home. However, the cost of it all as well as the time that goes into professional renovations can nothing short of daunting – and sometimes, frustrating.

But you’re in luck! There are so many do-it-yourself projects and ideas that are simple to follow and implement. What’s more a DIY project, if performed with creativity and passion can easily rival those performed by industry professionals.

So, in this day and age, were technology and innovation as excelled boundaries of conventional thinking, you don’t really have to waste your time and money calling in professional contractors or designers. There is no point in adopting that sort of upheaval, which by the way, could last for weeks! Fortunately, for you, I have outline some of the best DIY techniques and updates that will guarantee an aesthetically pleasing and functional living room.

1.Swap the Lighting!

Is it really possible to redefine your living room by just changing one lamp? Well, yes you can! Your living room is where your family gathers to watch movies, host parties, celebrate birthdays, have dinners, etc. It is an area where you kick back, relax and let all the negative energy flow out. The room communicates various aspects of the overall tone of your humble abode.

By just simply replacing your floor/table lamp with something an attractive, captivating and invigorating item, you can actually alter the entire look and feel of the room. For a more tenor or dramatic effect, try opting for something that has a bold or deep color – or go for something that has an oversized base or has a beautifully textured or patterned design.

I’ll throw in another DIY lighting tip that will transform your room – replace all your lighting fixtures. It doesn’t matter whether your living room inspires a minimalistic, boho or Victorian style – getting overhead fixtures for your lighting will set a new living standard for your house.

2.Time for a Change in Color!

Get a drop cloth and some paint brushes and dedicate an entire weekend to painting your living room fresh. Changing the color of your walls can added a significant difference when it comes to visual aesthetics, design and the overall aura of the room. Moreover, if you can’t wait to renovate your living room but aren’t sure if you should hire professional help, coating the walls with a fresh, rich and deep tone can truly leave an everlasting impression.
Go for a bright colors and paint just a couple of walls to bring a snazzy and abstract change to your living room – or if you have time – just paint everything anew! You won’t regret it, I promise you that.

Furthermore, if you’re good at DIY projects, you can, at the same time, consider reupholstering your furniture, adding materials, textures and patterns in contrast to the colors you’re splashing your walls with. And don’t forget your window blinds. Changing out your living room blinds, even to another color can dramatically change the look and feel of the room.

3.Shaking Up TheAccessories

Making small changes to all the necessary accessories can drastically enhance your interior design. And by accessories I mean your murals, wall paintings, picture frames, window dressing, pillows, etc. The point is to unify everything in contrast with your living room. Thrift stores are a wonderful place to find breathtaking items and materials. You could also try your luck at estate sales.
If you’re short on time, the best you can do is shift all the accessories around. Another brilliant way of sprucing your living room is to creatively integrate some flora into it. Botanical decorations provide a fresh and earthy feeling and cheer to the room, especially when you’re sitting in your accent chair, reading a newspaper and having a delicious cup of coffee. You can add a bit of color and texture to the pot materials and match it with the interior décor of the room.

4.Fresh Floorings

If you want to tackle a substantial DIY project, start with investigating everything that lies underneath those carpets. If you’ve just bought the place, it will be worth your while looking at the condition of the floors. If you have that “what the heck is this” impression on your face, starting with your living room flooring is the best way to enhance it.
Oh so the floors are concrete. Well, that really doesn’t matter because you can still renovate it. All you have to do is pick some skills online and laminate the concrete floors with something exciting and invigorating. It’s not rocket science.

Even if you’re having second thoughts about touching the flooring, you can still wrap your head around smaller changes – like adding a beautiful rug or changing the carpeting to complement the fresh coat of paint on the walls.

Some Additional Tips!

Because I love you guys, here is a short list of some additional things you can do to transform your living room, take pictures and put professional designers to shame!

• If you like coffee tables, I adore them, then best thing you can do is to add a pendant lamp, just above the coffee table, not too high. Pendant lamps add a degree of sophistication and make the room more intimate.
• If you’re into abstract decorations, fill one whole wall in your living room with a spectacular series of rectangular frames – this is if you truly want to make a huge impact.
• Or you could add a one-off, large painting or mural.

Bottom Line

There is no limit to what you can do to transform your living room, save money on it and laugh out loud at how much people pay professionals to transform their homes. With these simple and creative DIY living room projects, you can really change the entire look and feel of your house!

Sleep is vital to our health and well being. When we sleep, the brain sends and receives signals from parts of the body regarding health and pain and resets itself to face a new day tomorrow. This process resets the body to peak health.

All this happens every night in the eight hours we’re in bed sleeping. When we’re sleep deprived, it can’t happen, says the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

Many sleepers still wake up unrefreshed, achy, and grumpy. They fall asleep mid-afternoon, eat sugary snacks and drink energy drinks for energy, and can’t mentally process things without a lot of thought.

“Our doctors may think we’ve caught something,” said Martin Regueiro of PangeaBed, “but what we’ve caught is lack of quality sleep.”

Our mattress could be the culprit. Here are four signs it’s time to splurge on a new one.

1. You Have Chronic Back Pain

If you wake with lower back pain, you should get a new mattress. When you stand up and stretch, does your back pain ease? As you move around, does your back pain disappear?

The natural S curve of your spine should be visible if you sleep on your back. Side sleepers’ S curve should be straight.

Too soft or cheap mattresses won’t sustain this curve.

2. Your Asthma Or Allergies Get Worse

Beds and pillows are a haven for dust mites. They leave behind waste which, when added to the dust, makes life worse for asthmatics and allergy sufferers. To avoid these things you can use anti allergy duvet.

As sleep science has advanced, so have mattresses. They contain materials now that fight dust, dust mites, and other allergens. We can’t see it, but beds get filthy.

Pangeabed offers copper-infused mattresses that are hypoallergenic and antimicrobial.

3. Your Mattress Is Over Eight Years Old

The National Sleep Foundation recommends replacing your mattress every eight to 10 years. Many things affect this such as the size of the person, if the person sleeps with someone, manufacturer and mattress type.

Also look for things like sags, stains and rips–that could be a sign that it’s time for a new one.

Of course, wear and tear will age a product faster. Remember that old cliche, “You get what you pay for.”

Cheap mattresses will wear faster than quality ones, but even quality mattresses will wear out one day. Remember the age of your mattress, and you might find it’s time for a new one.

4. Your Mattress Is Uncomfortable

Even if your mattress looks brand new, you could still wake up sore and stiff.-

Memory foam, gel memory foam (polyurethane and gel beads and polyurethane respectively,) and latex generally last longer than innersprings, but you should still replace that at least every five to seven years, especially if you’re over 40.

Our health and how well our body works during the day owes a lot to what we sleep on.

The PangeaBed mattress contains a layer of Cloud Foam. It stays cool and maintains pressure points so you won’t be tossing and turning, or sticking your foot out, as you try to get comfortable or stay cool.

If you’ve been putting off getting a new mattress, it’s time to make the leap. Your body and mind will thank you.

One of the main reasons that your home continuously smells so nice is that the air coming through is cleaned up by your air filters. The tight mesh weaving is used to keep incoming airflow clean so that you do not have to worry about any allergens or pollutants. This great for your home and makes sure that the air outside does not bring in any issues that could lead to lower air quality in your home. However, the air filters in your home become dirtier over time, and eventually require replacement. Otherwise, the resulting issues build and cause problems throughout your home.

Cleaning Up Airflow

The air filters in your home are capable of trapping and absorbing the particles that travel through air while letting fresh air flow through. This process means that your home stays smelling fresh and clean while becoming healthier to breathe. The filters ability to clean up incoming airflow is rated on the MERV rating system. This system actually rates the filters based on the tightness of their mesh weaving. The tighter the weaving, the higher the rating, but that is not always a good thing. Higher rated air filters run into the issue of having problems allowing airflow to pass through easily into the home.

The air filters in a system for your home are usually rated at more average ranges on the MERV range due to the tightness of their weaving. When the weaving is too tight, then air has trouble coming through and they become dirtier at a much faster rate. But you do not want the filter to have too low of a rating either or the particles will travel through without any problems. Either way, the filters become dirtier over time and require replacement in order to prevent the systems from struggling with pushing air flow through. The result of this extra effort being additional energy billing and repair damages.

Installing New Home Air Filters

During the ordering process for  new air filters you will be asked several questions in order to gauge just what air filters you will need. These questions include size and MERV rating, the former you will be able to read form the system owners manual and the latter being commonly in the average range. If you do not have the manual, then check the cardboard edge of the old filter for the numbers and use them to order new filters of a similar size. The new filters that come in are usable upon arrival, so all you need to do is swap out the old ones for the new. Afterwords, be sure to check on the filters since they may need to be swapped out as often as monthly.

Steam Cleaning

Dust building up over time is an inevitable part of living anywhere. No matter how clean we are, our floors will eventually start to show signs that dust and dirt are present. An easy way to combat this is a steam cleaner, which allows you a quick, effective method of cleaning floors that doesn’t involve getting on your hands and knees.

When it comes to design, luxury does not have any specific look or style; you just have to combine different elements properly to achieve a luxurious feel. More often than not, luxury has to do with branding and quality. If you want your apartment to look luxurious, you need to choose extravagant shapes to create a perfect balance.

If you can afford to live in luxury apartments like these DTLA luxury apartments you should also check out these luxury apartments in Northridge CA, apts for rent in Alder. Alternatively, follow these tips to create a luxurious look in your apartment:

Choose Unique Coffee Tables

A coffee table is one of the most important elements in any home’s décor. Therefore, you need to choose a great coffee table to achieve a luxury apartment look. Because this piece of furniture is placed in areas where people do not hang out, you can buy one to make your apartment stand out and seem luxurious. You can top off the table with a stunning decorative piece or a good table setting.

Make sure that you buy the right size of coffee table for your space. If you buy a table that is too big, your space will end up looking too congested, which will take away from the luxurious feel that you want to create.

Embrace Quality Rugs

The right rug can make a dull apartment look unique and much bigger. You should choose a rug with incredible patterns but do not go too crazy. The rug still needs to fit in with the rest of your décor. Classic rugs can make your floor look more expensive than it actually is. Moreover, a rug will keep your apartment looking chic and feeling warm at the same time.

Use Elegant Light Fixtures

Lighting plays an important role in the décor of any home. This is because it makes everything look naturally better and brighter. You should bring some sparkle to your apartment by installing a unique lighting fixture.

Do you want to go for a bold look? You should choose a custom-made chandelier or pendant to make your space look more sophisticated. However, if you are going for a simple yet classy look, you should go for some wall lighting, which infuses simple details that work every time.

Decorate with Mirrors

People associate mirrors with appearance and beauty. However, you should also learn to associate them with good décor. Mirrors will add a pristine and classy look to any apartment as long as you keep them clean. To make the best out of mirrors, you should opt for irregular-shaped ones because they ooze sophistication. If you want to create an illusion of more space, you should hang the mirror directly opposite a window.

Display Incredible Artwork

Art is synonymous with luxury. In the past, only the richest people in society could afford to attend music shows and art exhibitions. Despite the major changes in the art industry, people still associate art pieces with wealth.

To make your apartment look luxurious, you should display beautiful pieces of art that draw the eye. Paintings and sculptures will work best for this purpose. Just be sure to distribute them in the important areas of your house such as the living and dining rooms. You should also light up your artwork well to make it the focal point of any room.

Conclusion

The above decoration tips will make your apartment look more luxurious no matter how cheap it is. Instead of blowing your budget on a luxury apartment that could be too expensive for you, you should just decorate your affordable apartment in a way that makes it look expensive.

Many factors influence your desire to redesign your home- your personal taste in colours and designs, the need of the family members, your budget, type of property (rented or owned). Based on these factors, the decisions can be made more clearly. You can hire best architect in ahmedabad But there are some do’s and don’ts that are universally applicable while redesigning your home.

Do’s

1) Travel to get inspired

Travelling is the best way to get inspiration. Even a walk around the city will give you ideas about colour contrasts, placements, mix-and-match décor, and trends.

2) Dramatic Colour in Small Space

Deep, moody and dramatic hues can create beautifully sophisticated and luxurious rooms. You may want to avoid them for the busy rooms of your house, but they go absolutely stunning in smaller areas like a pantry. Small kitchens with the dramatic colour scheme is in trend too

3) Make big patch test for colours

Whenever you do colour patch test for your walls, make significantly big patches, that can be seen (and judged) from larger distance from the wall. This helps in better choice and eliminate any chances of disappointment after the wall is fully painted.

4) Follow your instincts

Instincts can play a major role in redesigning your home to perfection. If your instinct does not agree over a selection of leather sofa, just because it is in trend and every house has it, then do not buy it for your own house.

5) Address the needs of disabled if any

With all the excitement of redesigning your home, do give some thoughts into making the house accessible for disabled family members and friends. Put rubber floors in the rooms for better wheelchair mobility, install walk-in baths or showers (click here to know how to choose between the two), put motion sensitive lights for their independent moving in the house.

6) Install higher Doors and entrances

Higher the door opening between the rooms more is the sense of openness, lightness, and grandeur. They are more welcoming, and their grand look can be intimidating to your guests.

Don’ts

1) Say no to white when you have kids or pets

White rugs, upholstery or any other white décor should be kept off charts if you have kids or pets at home

2) Compromise Seating

With the intention of keeping your room spacious and sparse, do not compromise on seating. There must be appropriate seating, based on the type and size of the room.

3) Hold yourself to splurge on great décor pieces

Instead of saving money for buying a large number of “OK” decorative pieces, invest in a single great-quality piece; this single piece would uplift the ambience of your place. It may seem heavy on your pockets in the beginning but will be worth in the long run.

4) Ignore architectural details

Never turn a blind eye to the existing structure of your house. You can hire best structural consultant in ahmedabad. They will guide you for new structure design of your home.You may have been inspired by a modern house and their décor, but you must be flexible to change the design for your house from yesteryears. The whole room must hang together.

5) Make a room too rigid

Designing your room with all functional and simple items is not recommended. It should have a balanced décor with functional and funky furniture and decorative items. This adds excitement and fun

6) Push out of limit

It feels great when you do not have money constraint while redesigning. But just because you have enough to spend, doesn’t mean you should do it. The success is in achieving the highest with the use of minimal resources. It will inculcate the good habit of saving money for those uncertain future needs.

How often do we look around our rooms and wish for a cleaner, clutter-free home? In the daily hustle and bustle of our lives, we often lack time to keep our homes as clean, beautiful, and safe as we would like. But is it really safe to forego proper cleanliness and security due to lack of time? How safe is such a home for the kids? It is not necessary to buy new furniture or spend hours on dusting to make your home look clean, beautiful and safe for kids daily. We bring you some simple tips and tricks to get better looking, more secure and kid-safe homes without wasting much time.

Keep Your Home Cleaner and Clutter Free

You need not make every inch of your home squeaky clean every day. But do make sure to quickly dust and wipe daily. Use handheld vacuum or broom and all purpose spray or wipes. Keep your floors clutter free and make a habit of throwing away unimportant things that you will never use. Always clean the bathrooms and make sure there are hand soap, a hand towel, and toilet paper accessible. Simple habits like using air fresheners, putting dishes directly in the dishwasher, and taking the trash out daily will make your home cleaner and more hygienic.

Beautify Your Home with Simple Tricks

Spacious, clutter free homes always look more beautiful and well-kept. Make innovative storage drawers under the beds, etc. to store away the extra clutter. Make sure the furniture is less and functional. Using pretty printed curtains and plumping the pillows makes a lot of difference. You can use shower rods to hide away annoying wires and give your home a unified look. Using mirrors on closet doors, etc. give an illusion of space and refresh the interiors. A touch of the natural with a houseplant or some fresh cut flowers adds beauty, warmth and liveliness to your homes.

Don’t Take Home Security Lightly

There are various security options available that can help you keep your homes secure even when you’re not around. Installing security cameras, peepholes, window stops, and automatic door lockers can go a long way in keeping you safe. A good home automation system is another way to make your home look always occupied. Use motion sensor lights, trim overgrown bushes, and ask the neighbors to clean your mailbox when you’re away. These security devices and simple safety precautions can help you breathe easy when away from home.

Child Proof Your Home

Household injuries are one of the top reasons for kids visiting the E.R. each year. As they say, prevention is better than cure. Some simple child proofing tricks include putting candles, matches, harmful medicines, and electronic devices in their cabinets or out of reach for children. Install child proof locks to drawers and cupboards, safety gates on stairs, toilet locks, and anti-scalding devices on faucets and shower heads. Using fencing around the pool, outlet covers, and anti-entrapment drain covers can help you keep the pool child proof. These child proofing tricks can make your home more secure and safe for children.

There are very few things in the world that is as pleasurable as water your beloved plants and see them grow up. It keeps our mind fresh and healthy. Also, it is a very simple and stress-free job. However, sometimes it becomes difficult to water the plants, especially if you have a large garden.
The reason is that you cannot water with a can, you must need a hose, right?

Dragging a hose across your garden is not an easy task, rather it is annoying as well as precarious. And sometimes the hose kinks which is really an embarrassing moment. To prevent these problems, you can use Garden Hose Reel. There are a lot of benefits of using Garden Hose Reel. Here are a few benefits.

It prevents knotting

The first benefit of using a garden hose reel is that it prevents any kinds of knotting. This is also called kinks. This happens when the hose folds and when it happens, the water cannot passing through. I’m sure you know how irritating it is. If this happens, you need to straighten the hose and fix the problem in order to let the water flow. But when you use hose reel, there is no chance at all that your hose will kink.

Safety

Just think about it. How many times you have stripped down accidentally when you are watering the plants? This usually happens because the hose forms a shape of lump on the field. For this lump, you can trip over it easily and this can cause a serious injury as well. And what if there is a lump and your child is playing there? Can you imagine the risk? Well, to prevent this kind of risk and ensure safety, a hose reel can play a significant role.

Hose reel increase the longevity

In general most of us use the hose during summer and spring for gardening and the rest of the time we use it for washing our cars or play water fight in our families. This continued use can put the best hose under pressure. That is why it is important to keep them in a good shape. But without hose reel, it is almost impossible for you to keep the hose in a good shape.
If you just put the hose in the yard, the chance is high that your hose will be greatly damaged such as leaking, kinking and many more. But the hose reel ensures that your hose will not tangle, curl, and kink and thus it enhances the longevity of your hose.

Save time

With the hose reel, you will be able to finish your task in a shorter time. The reason is that the reel will keep your hose in the right position and help you do your job perfectly. Also, you can control the hose better with the reel, no matter it is a large hose or a small hose.

Looks great

Imagine a scenario. You have a nice yard, but an organized hose is put in the yard, how will it look? I am sure you will not be pleased seeing this. On contrary, the cart will help you to keep the hose organized. In addition, if you leave the hose in your garden for a week, it will damage the vegetation for sure. Using a reel enables you to easily organize the hose and keep it in a right place.

Conclusion

So as you can see, there are a lot of benefits of using a garden hose reel. This makes the use of hose very easy, enhance the efficiency as well as the longevity of the hose, and keep your garden safe, and finally, it enhances the beauty of your yard as well.

Living in the same house for years can get boring. It might feel like you need to do something to give your house a new look and thus you might consider home renovation in Richmond VA. At times, making simple additions like building a deck or adding a sunroom can amp up the entire look of your house.

The exterior of your house is something that makes the first impression on people. Thus you should make sure that you pay heed to the way your house looks from outside. In this article, you will learn about a few additions you can make which will instantly make your house look new.

1. Deck

Building a deck is the best way to utilize the extended backyard space of your house. A deck will instantly make your house look spacious. You can go for various types of decks depending upon the available space. You can decorate your deck area as per your liking.

Arrange seating area on your deck so that you can host parties, spend time with your family or simply sit back and read a book. Installing a deck will also increase the value of your property.

2. Sunroom

The sunroom is the perfect way to add more functionality to your home. Sunrooms are pretty affordable and they also add a great value to your house. Sunrooms are very versatile and easy to maintain. You can even use your sunroom to workout when it is nice and warm.

They can also be converted into a green room. It will bring more light into your house. You can also use it as an extended living room. Simply contact your home improvement contractors in Richmond VA and they will guide you regarding different types of sunrooms possible in your available area.

3. Roofing

As you know that the roof of your house is the part which gets exposed to the harsh weather conditions the most. Thus, it is obvious that they tend to look weary soon. In order to give your home a new look, you can change the roofing of your house. There are various roofing options available on www.smallwoodrenovations.com
You can choose between Three Tab shingles, Architectural shingles, and Designer Shingles.

All these have a different look and feel so you can decide what suits you the best.

4. Window replacement

While upgrading the appearance of your home. You must know that replacing your windows might be a really good idea to change the appeal of your house. Your windows are what frame your house. Thus, make sure you choose the right shape and pattern of the windows. If you want to increase the natural lighting in your room you can install bigger windows. This will also increase the airflow and it also has various health benefits.

When your windows look old and shabby, your entire house looks less maintained. Thus, it is important to repair or replace your windows when required.

5. New doors

If you feel like your door is unable to close properly, too noisy or even looks shabby- it is time to change your door. You can go for various detailed designs at your door. This will beautify the exterior of your house. You can choose from various materials such as a wooden door, glass door, and also add details like mini curtains to make your door look more aesthetic.

A wooden door with carving will look really vintage and add a royal touch to your house. Match up the windows with your door designs.