Home and Garden Articles
posted on 11 April 2013
Have you ever fanaticized about striking it rich, winning the lottery, or becoming independently wealthy some other way? If you said no, you’re either rich already or lying. Hey, no offense, but let’s be honest. Who hasn’t thought about it? And what’s the first thing people normally do with their new found wealth? Buy or build a home, of course! What kind of home would you build if you had an unlimited budget? I love browsing home improvement sites like Fylde Stair Parts to whet my appetite when it comes to self-build fantasies. And if I may fantasise in this article, the sky’s the limit here! Dream big! Myself, I would like a cottage. A beautiful limestone cottage tucked into an emerald landscape of trees and forest. Pretty flower gardens around the house would bring color and my vegetable garden in back would provide all the fresh vegetables I needed all summer long. Step inside my cottage now and see how the beautiful windows let in the dappled light that shimmers through the trees. Hard wood floors and dark wood textures make it somewhat masculine but delicate fabrics and flowers from the garden soften the look. A cozy family room, but a professional kitchen makes the home comfortable yet modern. There’s an indoor swimming pool, a grand piano in the parlor, and a bathroom with a gigantic Jacuzzi tub right off the master suite. Most importantly, no matter how many fancy features were tucked into the design, my fantasy home be a place for family and of comfort. Because without family, a house just isn’t a home. |
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posted on 20 December 2012
I live in a very old brick home that has a tendency to be cold. In the hot weather, it's great, but in the winter it can be hard to keep it warm. I have central heating, so that helps a lot. I keep the thermostat on 68-70 degrees. I don't have a fireplace or use any other heaters, except in the bathroom. In the bathroom I use a small, safe, space heater. I never leave it plugged in. I use It when I take a shower because the bathroom always seems to be colder than the rest of the house. I leave all of the vents open all the way, because I have learned on programs on television that if you close some vents in some rooms to try to save on energy bills, you really are just wasting the heat. They said that the heat is going to try to go there any way, so just keep all of the vents open to get the full effect of the heat. If it gets extremely cold, I turn the thermostat up to 72-74 degrees. That is the only way to keep it warm enough.
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posted on 2 December 2012
We recently got a sauna and hot tub (from Danz Spas) installed in the home. Perfect timing for the holiday season. We recently updated our patio and thought it was a great opportunity to have an outdoor sauna. So far it has been used every night. It is so relaxing. When I come home from work I often find myself getting into the sauna with a glass of champagne. It is heaven for me as I get so stressed at work. On the weekend my two children often want to have a party and invite all of their friends over to enjoy the sauna. I have promised for their birthdays that they can invite a couple of friends over and have the patio to themselves. We are intending to spend Christmas at home and derive lots of enjoyment from our beautiful sauna. We have also bought some patio heaters which keeps us warm due to the extremely cold winter. |
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posted on 14 October 2012
My house is in the Army area of Chandigarh. That's the best part of it because in this part of Haryana there is almost zero pollution and the weather remains moderate. My house is not too big it has three rooms and one kitchen but it is on second floor and I love it because the view that I get from there is just awesome and moreover when it rains I get a great view from my juliette balcony. Having said that, two of the three rooms have bathrooms which give the house a luxurious feel to it (it's my extravagance!).
Here in the army area another significant feature is that a lot of vegetation so the area is rich with crops. Facilities like a market, a hospital, a school etc are very nearby and one can easily reach these amenities.
One significant plus of living in an Army region - 24 hour electricity. While that's taken for granted in the west, in my country this is a luxury! |
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posted on 7 October 2012
You are not the one to decide on the type of roofing to give to your house, it is your architect who does that. The architect knows exactly what is good for each and every roof. They have experience and enough education to help them determine the right kind of roofing for every house. They will know which house needs roof slating and the one that doesn't need that kind of treatment. This might seem hard for you to understand but to them, it is very easy and they will make the right choice. It is good to trust these professionals with such matters because they are aware of everything that happens in the roofing sector. They will give your house what it deserves to service you better and last long. Sometimes it is hard to find a good roofing expert because of the presence of those who pretend to be roofing experts and yet they are not. This should not however scare you because you will get one good roofing expert if you are careful and determined to get them. |
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posted on 13 August 2012
I am rather fond of DIY renovations as they are extremely rewarding, and have even worked on a number of UK self build projects. I currently live in a beachside house which is four doors from the beach. It is in an excellent position and I would like to capitalize on the position by making the home look stunning through the installation of some balconies to make the view that much easier to appreciate from the house. Next, I would like to work on the kitchen by replacing appliances with blanco appliances which look very sophisticated. I would like to paint all the walls and patch up the cracking with high grade paint. The ceilings need some detailed work and would like to replace light fittings. I would like to render the brickwork in front of the house to make it more appealing. I would like to redo the front and backgarden as they have been neglected for many years. I would to plant interesting plants. I also would like to have a deck with a spa in the back for entertaining. |
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posted on 8 April 2012
A project I am gearing up for is a patio extension. Although I wish Indiana would allow summer weather all year round, I anticipate the few months we do get. A place outside for all the family to gather is an important feature for a home. I currently have a 20’ x 20’ patio. This patio gets crowded when everyone is over. I would like to extend the patio out another 20’ x 20’. I have been to Menards and love their bench/walls that go around the patio. I have purchased enough brick face blocks for the extension and the blocks for the bench/wall with columns for lights. I have also purchased the material for a brick fountain/waterfall. I believe this area, along with my plants, will produce a tranquil area. The first thing we have to do is read all instructions and watch videos on how to construct this project. We have to mark out the area and remove the sod. We will be putting gravel down, compacting it, and then putting sand and compacting it. We will then put the blocks on and compact it. The fountain will be installed next and then the bench/walls. The blocks on the patio are locked together with sand/cement. The blocks on the bench/walls are locked together with adhesive. This is a lot of hard work and will take many days to complete for a two person team consisting of my husband and myself. We have worked on many projects together and look forward to a new project each year. I do have some ironmongery and DIY skills, so I feel capable of the changes I'm planning.
More on this Topic: rottentomatoes.com | webmd.com | shopzilla.com |
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posted on 7 April 2012
Most women (also myself) have a problem with a place in their closet. Although they have too many clothes, some pieces are too valuable to be thrown or to be stuffed away in a disused chest of drawers. I will solve my problem - I am going to renovate the attic, and make a large closet. I want a nice decorative space, with mirrors and decorative lamps. I chose the lighter colors for the walls, that the space seemed wider and more open. I will agree with the workers, to create a special space for clothes and shoes, and I will separate summer from winter clothes. Since this is the place where I can get dressed and I will have a little table for my cosmetics, make up and jewelry. It needs to invest a lot of effort in all of this, but I will have beautiful space just for myself. And finally I will solve the problem with too much clothes in my closet. |
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posted on 21 March 2012
I like my house very much, but it is not very big, and we've had to install one of those space saving staircases just to make the most of what we have. Especially my kitchen could be a lot bigger. I like to cook and eat at home, so kitchen space is very important to me. I often wish, that I had more space to store all my things. Also, I would like to have more work space available as well as space to entertain my guests. Without space for my guests, cooking is not as much fun. Since I cannot make the room itself bigger, I have decided to get organized in the kitchen. I have researched online to see what other people have done with their kitchens to see what I could apply to my home. I think that the answer is vertical storage. Maybe I will have to build smarter storage that fits the space. With more things stored away that way, I hope that I can make my kitchen at least appear to be bigger. |
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posted on 9 March 2012
I would like to put insulation in my cellar and fill in the holes in my floor where the heating pipes come up into my first floor. I work for a plumbing suppliers so I'm sure I can find someone to do this job for me. I always feel a draft on the floor I know it the cold air coming up from the cellar. My walls are well insulated. I can set my heat at 64 and be warm as long as I have my shoes on. This would be an easy fix, really. I could buy a can of Stuff, the spray insulation, and use it around the heating pipes. Then I could wrap the hot water and cold water pipes in pipe insulation and put the fiber glass insulation in the cellar. Then I would put up a ceiling in the cellar to hide the insulation and give the ceiling finished look. I would also wrap my hot water tank in a jacket of insulation to keep costs down with that as well. |
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