Architecture | Plan Home

3 Great Tips for Renovating Your Bathroom

August 23, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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You want your bathroom to be more than just another room in your house. You want it to be a sanctuary, a place where you can relax, let your hair down, and forget out all of your worries. Updating your bathroom can be a long and expensive process, but by focusing your energy on just a few areas, you can create a bathroom space that is more truly your own personal spa.

Yup, Furniture – It Does Belong In the Bathroom

Adding a piece of stunning bathroom furniture is the perfect way to create a more livable space in your bathroom. For those with a bit of wiggle room, consider adding a small lounge or settee. By adding a comfortable sitting area into your bathroom, you can truly create a feeling of luxury. If space is limited, you can bring in a smaller piece, such as a lovely vanity chair, to provide that same feeling.

Cabinets – They Aren’t Just For Storage

Today’s high end bathroom cabinets are not just a place to install your sink and store your shampoo. Instead, they are more truly pieces of artistic furniture. Adding a new cabinet and fixtures to a a bathroom will immediately change the feel of the room. They are also a great building piece to base your design on.

Details, Details, Details

Sometimes, it is the finishing touches that really make the difference in a bathroom space. Be sure to budget for linens, object d’art, and fixtures. These items will round out your décor and complete the look of your renovated bathroom.

Filed Under: Apartments, Architecture Tagged With: Bathroom, Furniture, Renovation

Decorating Your Home on a Budget

August 18, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

If you’ve been to any progressive cities lately, you probably saw some very interesting home architecture and decorating ideas. “Green” is the new fashion in home design. Even if you live in an older home, decorating your home on a budget is very easy to do.

Before you start, set a budget. Get yourself a Vision prepaid card, and put that money on it. Make a promise to yourself that it’s the only card you will use to turn your old house into one of the most beautiful homes in your town. Part of the green movement is about saving money. Green architecture and decorating saves the homeowner money on utilities.

Carpet is out, so pull it up and stain your concrete. It’s one of the hottest decorating trends today, and it requires no maintenance or replacement like carpet does. It’s also great for people with allergies because it doesn’t hold dust and dander. It’s easy to keep clean.

Along with those new floors, look into more energy-efficient lighting. Any home decorating store will have many ideas and fixtures to choose from. Also try to take advantage of any natural light that comes into your home by purchasing new window dressings that allow more light into the house. These few tips will give your home a whole new look and feel. From there, you can save your money to remodel your kitchen with more energy-efficient appliances.

You don’t have to remodel your home all at once. Do it in phases, and load money on to your prepaid card as you go. By using a prepaid card, you won’t overspend on renovations since the card balance is controlled by you. You’ll be creating the energy-efficient home of your dreams while keeping your budget in check.

Filed Under: Architecture, Family Tagged With: Home, Home improvement, Interior design

How to Decorate Your 1st Home

June 6, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

When it comes to decorating your first home, taking your time may be a key component to a house that has a style you can appreciate for years to come. Taking the time to think things through can also help if finances are an issue. Decorating a home can be pricey, but there are ways to ensure that you have the items you need to make things exquisite in your first home.

One way to shop on a budget is to visit sites such as www.offers.com, where you can get items at a fraction of the cost. These sites allow you to shop for expensive items without paying a fortune for them at a department or home decorating store.

Another good idea to get started is to have a plan. Think about how you want one room to look and go from there. Let’s say that you want a nautical-themed den and a Winnie the Pooh theme for the children’s bathroom. Start with those ideas first and work on a plan that incorporates items that match your intended theme.

If you don’t want to work with a theme and simply want a classic look or something innovative and modern, you can search piece by piece. You can even find an entire room set-up that allows you to decorate the whole room at once. The important aspect of decorating your own home is that you can take as little or as much time as you need, and you get to make all of the important decisions.

Filed Under: Apartments, Architecture Tagged With: Home, Interior design, Winnie the Pooh

Add Value to Your Home with Landscaping and Add-ons

January 9, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

If you want to add value to your current residence there are several things that you can do. You can add some landscaping to your yards or you can add to the home itself. Your home is a constant investment opportunity if you treat it like one. The value of your home can slowly grow as you add on to it making it the perfect way to get into something you really like. If you just want to add style to your home and don’t want to sell that’s okay too. It takes time and hard work to achieve your goal to building your dream house or just one you want to sell for more.

If you want to add more value to your home by adding onto it structurally, know that this is the hardest way to do it. It’s hard, because a section of your home will be off limits for a period of time. If you add a building outside the home it’s not as bad as stress levels go. Adding another structure to your property will significantly make it more appealing to a wider group of people. Everyone has stuff that needs to be stored away or they just want a quite space to work in away from the house.

If you want to add value to your home by landscaping it can be a very easy process with little stress. Homes with big trees on the property always add more value, because of the feeling of nature that comes with it. Bushes and shrubs planted in just the right spots and in the right amount can add more value beyond that of foliage itself. Instead of having a fence put into your yard a line of trees or bushes could make for a great barrier from your neighbor’s property. One of the biggest concerns to a new home owner is if the house will have adequate water drainage. Adding in a trench can earn you thousands of dollars on your home if it’s properly installed and works to drain access water.

Filed Under: Architecture Tagged With: Landscaping

How to Keep Pipes from Freezing

December 23, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

There is nothing worse than being unprepared for a hard freeze. It’s important to know how to keep pipes from freezing when the freeze does come. If you don’t protect the water pipes in your home, one may actually burst.

Why Do Frozen Pipes Burst?

When water freezes, it expands. Even in newer homes, that have PVC pipes, the pipe can burst as the water thaws out and water pressure resumes. Usually the breach happens at a joint, so it’s not all that hard to repair. It’s the freezing weather and location of the pipe that makes it difficult. What if that pipe is under your house? What if you have to crawl under there in sub-freezing weather? You only have to do that once, and you’ll never go unprepared again.

How to Protect Pipes

If those pipes are under the house, someone has to crawl under there and wrap them. Home Improvement stores carry pipe insulation that is easily slipped around the pipes. Get more than you think you need. This pipe covering comes in different sizes. You’ll need the smaller sizes for water pipes and the larger size for sewer pipes. Also wrap your outdoor faucets and any exposed pipes. Budget minded people use old towels to do this, but you can buy faucet covers that are easy to apply. During the freeze, keep all faucets dripping.

Don’t Wait For a Freezing Forecast

If you haven’t already wrapped your pipes, do it now! If you live in the country, and you have a water well, wrap the pressure tank with a blanket. Even if the tank is in an enclosed area, it can freeze. If electricity is available, an electric blanket might be in order. It can be turned on and off as needed. If your house is on pier and beam and it isn’t skirted, this will be an investment you won’t regret!

Preparation and planning will keep the pipes from freezing.

Filed Under: Architecture, Home Tagged With: Freezing, Water, Water pipe

Green Building: Building and Remodeling Resource Books

December 17, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Green building is a hot topic. The best way to start a new green building home project is by doing the research. Building and remodeling resource books can help the home owner be prepared for the big project. Uneducated and uninformed consumers are the ones who usually end up spending too much money on something they may ultimately regret.

Green Building

In today’s environmentally conscious world, many home owners want to go green. Be warned that green building can be more expensive at the onset, but it should save the home owner plenty of money in the long run. As energy and building materials continue to rise in cost, getting in on the green trend now will probably make a lot of sense to the savvy homesteader.

Solar Energy is a very hot topic these days. As an alternative electric choice, there is a huge amount of interest in this burgeoning technology. The fastest way to get educated is to hit the search engine of choice and plug in the keywords that fit your needs. Try “solar electric,” “solar power,” or “solar homes.” See what you get. If you prefer to curl up with a good book, plenty of those are available, too.

Consider HardiePlank on Your New Home

December 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

More and more homes are being built with HardiePlank. This is a wood and vinyl siding alternative that has proven to be very hearty. However, it’s name doesn’t come from the construction pun, it comes from the inventor, James Hardie.

HardiePlank looks like wood siding except for its color. It’s base color is a grayish white. Some home owners like the color and don’t paint it, but others choose to paint. One of its benefits is that paint does not chip and peel on HardiePlank. It’s also easy to clean with a garden hose. This siding material is a fiber cement composite.

Other benefits of this Hardie siding are that it is impervious to termites and wood rot. Therefore, the long term maintenance is greatly reduced. HardiePlank is fire resistance, so its insurance rating will be the same as brick. An individual who likes the look of a wood home can save money on his homeowner’s policy by choosing the cement fiber siding. Another advantage is that, unlike vinyl siding, HardiePlank can be repainted. Once vinyl is put on a house, the home owner, or potential home buyer is stuck with that color. Hardie can be painted any color the buyer or owner wants.

If you’re a DIY home builder, it’s important to know that HardiePlank requires a special saw blade. A regular circular blade will dull and not give as clean a cut. Ultimately, the construction expenses go up as you keep replacing that traditional blade. Be sure to purchase a blade specifically designed to cut through cement fiber board. It would be a good idea to wear a N-95 OSHA-rated dust mask or respirator while cutting. The dust can be a real irritant. Finally, when setting up the saw horses, you’ll need to put them a little closer together because HardiePlank is heavier and flimsier than wood.

Although it’s more expensive, HardiePlank really could be considered the gold standard in siding.

Filed Under: Architecture, Home, Home Decor Tagged With: Fiber cement siding, James Hardie, Vinyl siding, Wood

How to Make A Two Bedroom House Serve as a Three Bedroom House

December 11, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Starter homes are usually smaller than we need due to budget constraints. If you purchase a two bedroom home but need three bedrooms, there are a few things you can do to make a quick transition from two to three.

Typically, the extra room needs to serve as a combination office and guest room. This situation usually comes up in starter homes purchased by young professionals or couples. Space utilization is the key to making a small house function like a bigger house.

Recycle Your College Futon

Providing it’s still in good condition, that futon from your college apartment can still serve its dual function as couch and bed. If your second bedroom is big enough, put it in there. When the room is serving as an office, it will make a nice place for relaxing while reading and having conversations with work associates. It goes without saying that it is also your guest bed. Try a storage ottoman as a duel function end table or coffee table. Keep guest linens in the storage space inside. These are fairly easy to find. Even WalMart carries an inexpensive option.

What About the Desk?

Fortunately, desk top computers are more space efficient these days, but if you’re using a laptop, you won’t need as much desk space. IKEA has multiple, inexpensive options for space saving desks. It may be that the extra room only holds a desk and a futon, so you’ll need to arrange the closet to serve as an office supply closet and clothes closet for your extra clothes or your guest’s clothes. A simple shelf above the clothes rack will greatly increase storage space. Sterilite makes light, inexpensive and portable drawers in various sizes. They can be used as office storage, clothing drawers, and even a place for Christmas decorations. They’ll help keep the room neat.

With very little effort and furniture, you’ve made one room function as two.

Filed Under: Architecture, Home Tagged With: Bedroom, Clothing, IKEA, Sterilite

How to Draw Your Own Floor Plan

December 10, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Before you spend an enormous amount of money on an architect and allow him to conceptualize your dream home, try to draw your own floor plan. It’s actually very easy to do. Although you may ultimately need an architect to get it just right, the rough concept should be all yours. It will help you solidify ideas with whoever you’re building your house with. Best of all, it doesn’t cost a dime to change your mind!

Two Simple Tools

To draw your floor plan you need two simple tools. You need a pencil with an eraser and a pad of graph paper. For less than five dollars, you can start creating that dream house concept. You can even conceptualize 50 dream homes! You might call this the five dollar architect.

Communication

Before you start your drawings, make sure you communicate with your building partner. Do a little blue sky dreaming. What do you want? Do you need a game room? Do you want a multi-level home? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? How many square feet would you like your new home to be? Once you’ve got some general ideas and agreements together, start drawing.

One Graph Square Equals One Square Foot

See the beauty in this? For every square foot you need, you’ve got a perfect little blue square on the paper. It might be that you draw the general house, then turn the page and draw out each room. You could use it to draw porches, garages, pools, general landscaping ideas, even plumbing diagrams. If you draw out a living room, and you know how many square feet a couch, entertainment center, chairs, etc. take up, you can draw them in and see if you’ve conceptualized the right size room. Draw in doors and windows to get a feel for wall space. Things will really start to come together for you.

When you’re ready, take your ideas to an architect and start your project.

Filed Under: Architecture, Home, Home Decor Tagged With: Drawing, Floor plan, Square foot

Home Improvements That Don’t Pay

December 8, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

People often make home improvements because they believe they will increase the value of their home. However, some home improvements don’t have good return on the investment. They simply don’t pay. The first thing to consider, when contemplating a home improvement project, is whether it’s genuinely for something needed or whether it’s an attempt to increase equity in the home. Here are a few add-ons that are probably not going to pay for themselves in home equity.

Swimming Pool

They sure do sound like a good idea on a hot summer day, and they can be really pretty. They’re great for parties and personal pleasure, but they are likely to make a home harder to sell rather than easier. Prospective buyers simply see higher utility costs, considerable maintenance and a serious liability. Don’t add a pool to the property for any other reason besides a real desire to have one.

Master Bedroom Suite

These things are like adding on a small house to an existing house. It seems like they’d be a big selling point for a home owner, but the fact is, they won’t increase the value of a home enough to pay for the cost of building one.

Home Office Remodel

Hold one before building that bookcase into the wall! What if a prospective home buyer wants to use that office as a bedroom? Those built in features translate to “no thank you.” Keep office improvements portable.

Garage Addition

Once again, this is like building an extra little house. It has a concrete foundation, a frame out, usually interior finishes, and a big fat average cost of $55,000. That will not translate to a $55,000 increase in home value. Do it only because there’s car that’s worth it, and really. How many cars are worth that much money?

Nice features are just that. Nice. If home improvements are needed to sell a home, go for practical things like energy efficiency upgrades.

Filed Under: Architecture, Home, Home Decor Tagged With: Home equity, Home improvement, Swimming pool