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Tips to Select Themes for Remodeling Your Condo

August 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Cosmopolitan, a new condominium in Singapore

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From time to time, remodeling a home, even a condo, becomes important. It gives you the sense of ownership. It can also add to the value of the home. However, to make the process worthwhile, most individuals need to choose the right theme or design for their space. Otherwise, they may feel as if the remodeling was a mistake.

Check Insurance First

Before you make any drastic changes, check your buildings insurance. Find out if there are specific limitations on what you can change or cannot change. In some cases, locations of windows, fire escapes, electrical protections and other aspects related to the function of the property cannot change. Your home insurance can help you to spot any risks here.

Selecting Your Theme

Once you know what you can do, it is time to select a theme for your condo remodel. The following tips can help you to make that choice.

  • Avoid choosing decorating tips that are too trendy. Trends fade and that means you will need to redo the space.
  • Choose appealing colors and styles. They should invite positive thoughts. If a color is too bright, for example, it may cause more stress than a softer, relaxing color.
  • Look at designer tips and guidelines, but create your own. You can flip through decorating magazines or watch numerous shows on television. The key is to make this space yours. Make it homey with personal touches, from memorabilias to direct.tv in your living room.

A theme can be anything from a color pallet to a beach theme. The key here is to consider what you love, not just like.

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Finding Your Decorating Style

June 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Ch. 1, The Adventure of Decorating, from How t...

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Finding your decorating style is not as hard as you might think. Everybody has their own style and asking someone else to decorate your living space is not always the best idea. Your style is unique and explaining it to someone else is not always easy. Here are three ways to get in touch with your style – so get out a pen and paper!

  1. Start by examining the way you are dressed. Take what you wear and strip it down to the very basics. What colors do you like? Is it punk? Hip-hop? Glam? What kind of jewelry are you wearing? Chunky? Delicate? No jewelry at all? Write it on your paper.
  2. Look at lots of art. Make sure you look through different types too. Start with the classics and work your way up into modern artwork. Do you like classic dreamy paintings or the exotic airy style of minimalist art? Does the art style match your style of dressing or is it the opposite? Add it to your paper.
  3. Critically examine your hobbies. Do you like biking? Music and bands? Figure out who or what you want on your walls and how they fit with your other style components.

Combine your style paper into a list of what you like. Zebra stripes, fluffy pink pillows and the hard rock band Rammstein will give you a unique look – but it will also make your living space something you can relate to. Make your space just for you – a place where you can be yourself and relax.

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A Jungle in Your Child’s Room!

April 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Jungle Book (1967 film)

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Kids just love a room that is done up in fancy colors and has their favorite cartoon characters pasted on the walls. Although they are just kids, they do have their own sense of design and are very clear about what they want in their room and how they want it to look. In fact, kids can get very competitive with each other and often want rooms that are ‘better than’ their friends’. This is easy if you are rich parents who can hire an interior decorator to do a great job. However, for parents who will have to do most of the job themselves, here is a great idea – give your child’s room a jungle look!

Interior decoration can be very cost effective if you can give it some time, thought and effort. To begin with, get walls of the room painted, the top half being the blue of the sky while the bottom half is the green of grass. You then need to get smaller quantities f various colors that you will need to paint your child’s ‘jungle’. Keep in mind colors needed to make flowers and animals as well as include lots of white to paint clouds. Once you have the required colors, first draw images on the wall using alight, erasable pencil. Start by drawing large trees. You could paint a canopy over your child’s bed’s headrest. You could try painting Disney animal characters like Dumbo, Bambi as well as characters from The Jungle Book and The Lion King. Once you are through with painting, use artificial vines to line the corners of walls and wrap it around bed posts!

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Home Improvement Tax Credit for 2011?

April 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Replace your windows? Add insulation to your home? Purchase an energy star appliance? There are many ways to take advantage of tax breaks for the 2011 tax year. You can also use this helpful information for planning for the future.

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If you repaired your windows this past year and now you can’t feel the breeze blowing in, great! But did you know this would not give you the tax credit? According to the tax laws, improvement means something that is over and above the normal working condition. The above would be a repair, not an improvement. If you replaced those windows, then you could take advantage of some of those costs on your taxes. The actual amount deductible seems to be decreasing, though, so the sooner the better on taking advantage of energy efficient tax credits. There are many more improvements you can make as well. One way to find out about these is by looking online for a tax blog which discusses many of these issues.

Here are just some ideas to make your home more energy efficient that could also increase the value of your home. Save energy by using solar energy. You can heat your house, your water, and in some cases you can even cool your home with solar energy. Adding insulation to the attic or walls of your home helps to hold in the heat and air conditioning. Improving the exterior covering of your home may also help to save energy and a portion of the costs will most likely be tax deductible.

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Inexpensive Landscaping Ideas that Improve Curb Appeal

April 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Improving the curb appeal of your home doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, simple landscaping tricks and techniques can increase the value of your home dramatically, and for very little cost. The only requirements are some basic design planning and a little bit of imagination.

The easiest way to spruce up the look of your home is with some simple cleaning. Borrow a power washer to clean every nook and cranny of porches and sidewalks, or take a simple bucket of warm water and soap to scrub dirt and mold from siding, trim, railings, and light fixtures. De-clutter the garage and yard and park vehicles out of sight if possible. Address any paint peeling issues and touch up obvious areas in need.

Skalka162118

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Consider the layout of your yard and the areas which offer the most shade. Think about the types of plants and flowers you like and draw a diagram of the yard, sectioning off areas in which you wish to plant. If those areas are in shade, note which time of the day. This information can come in handy when shopping for plants, since some require ample shading or direct sunlight.

Grass is the highest maintenance part of your lawn, so minimize grassy area by maximizing shrubs, trees, and other plants. Also incorporate mulch into the landscape design. Since your only splurge is on plant life, make sure you select vivid colors and varying heights to draw the eye into your landscaping design.

What you end up with is a colorful, eye-catching home with very little money involved. All it takes is some creativity and sweat equity.

Filed Under: Home Decor, Landscaping Tagged With: , , ,

Three Great Ways to Light up Areas of Your Home

March 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When it comes to fun ways to use your flameless candles around your home, you need not be limited to keeping them inside as you would a regular, lit flame candle. With their flameless design, these candles can provide a nice lighting option even in a windstorm! That in mind, you can use them to line your walkway, providing an entirely charming feel for guests and visitors who visit, particularly after sunset. With flameless candles leading the way up your walkway, you can be sure that your nighttime guests won’t be tripping over the sidewalk on their way into your home. Also, they’re virtually assured of noticing that you’ve got a pretty unique lighting system in place!

For a holiday-inspired touch at any time of the year, you can place flameless candles in each window of your home. The soft light adds a warm and refreshing feel regardless of the season. While it’s especially charming to see a candle burning in a windowsill that’s laden with a massive clump of snow, it’s no less heart-warming to see lit windows on a warm summer’s eve, as the sun goes down and the breeze whispers through the trees.

As for creating mood lighting, flameless candles can be used to liven up movie night as well. Place a smattering of them around the movie screen, and around the room too, so people walking in and out to refresh their beverages don’t trip over people sprawled around the room. Unlike with typical wax candles, there’s no need to fear that someone might accidentally bump one of your candles over and spill wax or worse, create a fire hazard! Simple, yet effective, subtle, and mood setting — all of those attributes are included in a room filled with strategically placed, safe, flameless candles. Of course, you could incorporate all three location ideas to add an incomparable ambiance around your home!

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Keeping Home Repairs Low

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Owning a home is a dream for many people, but it can also be a nightmare when something goes wrong. There are unexpected situations that arise in the house and you are forced to deal with them. For many, these situations can take a toll on their stress level due to the financial burden that they must incur. If they don’t have the proper money set aside they might find themselves in a bind that is crippling financially. What they need is a backup plan.

This plan may involve applying for a payday loan from a reputable company such as Payday One. The key is to nip the problem in the bud right away before it becomes a bigger issue. A leaky roof might be a costly fix in the short term, but if the problem is allowed to get bigger, it could end up meaning that you need a whole new roof and that is far more than you would have bargained for. A payday loan can get you the modest amount of money you need the same day. It can be deposited into your account and you’ll be on your way in no time.

The other reason these payday loans work is that they are sympathetic to those who have questionable credit. There are plenty of men and women out there who have made mistakes in the past and are paying for it now. In an emergency situation a bank is unlikely to take a risk on you. However, there are payday loan places that will take a chance on you as long as you can provide them with information that illustrated that you have the steady income coming in from a job.

Getting everything right with your house is paramount for you and your family. You can’t afford a costly home repair to get worse. When you come across a home emergency, consider getting a payday loan so you can get it fixed right away.

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Top 3 Things to Remember If You Live on a Lake

March 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Living close to the shore of a lake can be one of the most peaceful settings to see out your days – the sound of the water is relaxing and there will always be an abundance of wildlife near the edge of the water. However, there are some simple guidelines that you should always remember if you are lucky enough to purchase a lake home that will ensure your stay is safe and pleasant.

  1. Don’t feed the native animals. This is a very important thing to keep in mind – especially if you live in an area that is native to any large game animals. While a duck may not present a threat to you if it becomes too friendly, a bear that has become accustomed to your handouts definitely can. Feeding the animals doesn’t always mean you physically handing the food to them either – simply leaving your trash easily accessible can also create potential hazards. For this reason you should always securely house any trash that you have to leave outside.
  2. Don’t release anything into the lake. This is another very important thing to keep in mind – even if you don’t live near a lake! You should never release any type of aquatic wildlife into the water. Doing so can severely damage native populations of fish and plants, and it can introduce all kinds of nasty parasites to the water. Never release dangerous wildlife into the lake, like crocodilians, for obvious reasons!
  3. Always supervise children when they go outside. While most lake homes have a fence to separate them from the water, you should always watch your children to prevent accidents. Most drowning incidents occur because someone wasn’t looking.
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How to Create a Desert Landscape

March 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A desert landscape is one of the easiest types of yard to maintain – especially since the majority of plants that originate from arid regions do not require a frequent, large watering schedule. While a back yard full of lush, green grass may sound appealing now, it definitely will not when you realize you can’t leave for long vacations because of the maintenance it requires. Here are a few tips to remember if you decide on going with an easier to maintain desert landscape.

The best desert landscape is the one that only uses plants from the same region. For instance, a yard that has a mix of Saguaros and palm trees just does not look natural. If you choose to have a large Saguaro as the center piece of your yard you should look at other types of cacti to complement it – Prickly Pears and Cholla are just a couple that you can choose from.

Since the idea behind creating a desert landscape is to keep things as simple as possible you will not be using grass to cover large areas of your yard – think river rock and small gravel instead. However, choosing the type of rock to use can get complicated if you are not familiar with landscaping. For instance, a yard that uses a mix of too many different colors of gravel will not look right – it will appear very busy to the eye and difficult to focus on. Try to keep it at a maximum of three colors.

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Tips for Decorating Your New House

February 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Decorating a new house doesn’t have to be incredibly complicated – in fact, it can be a really fun thing to do! The best things about buying a new house is finally getting completely moved in and making it look like your own space. Here are a few handy decorating tips to keep in mind before you head out to the store to start buying new furniture and lamps!

  1. Stick to complimentary colors. You should have learned about the color wheel when you were a child – almost every art class will at least mention it once. Red and green are an example of a set of complimentary colors.
  2. Don’t go crazy with too many different colors. In general, one color scheme will do. If you choose too many different colors you will never be able to fully relax because the colors will be too busy on your eyes.
  3. Lighter colors create an open feel. In general, the use of lighter colors will make a room appear to be more open than it is – this is especially handy to keep in mind if you are working with small, cramped rooms. It is almost never advisable to go with very dark colors, and you should typically avoid straight black for entire walls.
  4. Make sure your furniture matches. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they first decorate their house is not sticking to one color or pattern of furniture. Your furniture is one of the first things that guests will see when the walk in the room and for this reason it is very important that you don’t use sharply contrasting patterns – no flower love seats in a room that has an ocean theme!

The most important thing you can remember is to have fun – no one will hate you for picking out atrocious furnishings, they just won’t stay very long!

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