Home Improvement, Furniture and Gardening

House plans begin from a single roomed unit to a bedsitter to a 1 bedroomed, 2 bed roomed, 3 bedroomed, to more complex plans as requested by a client.

Single rooms are usually a minimum of 3meters by 3 meters. This size is tied to the size of an average bed, 2meters by 1 meter. They are common among the low-income housing sector for rentals and around Universities and tertiary colleges which will need to house students. These are not described in the current Building Code as residential units however, some councils in Kenya such as Nakuru Municipal council have passed bye-laws allowing for approval of these units.

Bedsitters are much larger; roughly 3meters by 5 meters and include a larger space which fits a small kitchenette and a living area.

One-bed roomed units consist of the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. They are usually at a minimum of 30 meters squared floor area. These and 2-bedroomed units are very common for rental units.

3 Bed roomed units and above are not common as rental units due to lack of demand. Another easer method of selecting these kinds of house plans is to search for house plans on the internet and then asking your architect to customize the plan to our area Building Code and Kenya Local Authority regulations.

The Kenyan Building Code describes minimum sizes and dimensions of habitable spaces. For bedrooms, the minimum dimensions are 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters. For Kitchens, the dimensions are 2 meters by 2.4 meters.
The minimum floor to ceiling height is described as 2.35meters for a habitable space.

Once all the minimum floor plan dimensions are met, the house plan is approvable by the local authority.
Your architect ensures that the house plan meets all the minimum requirements as set out in the Building Code and from here, you can describe to him any flamboyant shape as you may desire.

Shower enclosures and bath screens now come in such a wide variety of shapes and sizes, no longer are you left with a choice of two or three styles and just the one colour. The act of showering has now evolved into not just personal hygiene but into something can be considered stress relieving, sensual and invigorating. This drive has forced the showering market to evolve with consumer needs and requirements driving this change.

Low level entry systems, referred to as wet room or walk in showers are now very popular, making use of the latest in sealant technologies and manufacturer enhancements. Showers are being combined with baths to make the very popular shower bath which is a fixed head over the bath with the water being deflected back into the bath with either a fixed panel screen or a simple shower curtain (both have their distinct advantages and disadvantages).

Most bathing areas will be tiled and grouted to provide a permanent seal so the water does not ingress into your plasterboard or brickwork. This also provides a decorative to the entire bathroom and will play a big part in setting the overall mood and style in your bathing area.

Some people prefer to use a combination of two shower curtains in there over bath showering system, one is purely for functionality (that is preventing any water from running outside the bath and onto the floor) and the other to add to the decorative style of the bathroom. It also means that only the internal curtain ever needs to be replaced as the other one does not come in contact with dirt and grime.

Mixing vintage styles with newer looks is very “cool” and a popular decorating style today. In some circles phrases like “Urban Chic” or “Fresh Vintage” are used in place of “retro.” It’s still “retro” but a different take on the past when buyers combine “edgy” vintage collectibles with contemporary style furnishings and décor. Others understand “Urban Chic” a little differently and refer to the rise in popularity of collectors who are after metal furnishing and industrial styles compatible with city living. Of course this too is a throw- back to earlier times. Metal accessories and furnishings dominated mid-century homes and were used for magazine racks, telephone stands, ash tray holders, seating, serving pieces etc.

Today urbanites like buying old industrial steel shelving, vintage metal desks and chairs, old commercial desk accessories and lots of factory finds to decorate lofts, apartments and homes. This opens a whole new market to sellers who are beginning to hunt for items in unusual places. Suburban homes are featuring high-tech kitchen surfaces and lots of stainless steel. Buyers now adore vintage metal canisters from the 1950s which seem to fit right into today’s sleek kitchens. The “metro-retro” look is often combined with collectibles of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s to create eclectic interiors which are unusual, outrageous and affordable.

If the industrial look is not your thing, there are other directions to consider. I have met many younger collectors who gravitate to “Bohemian Style.” “Bohemian Style” is what happens when you your flea market collecting is out of control but in a good way. Somehow collectors make the look pull together with unifying color schemes, themes, patterns or rhythms which organize the collections. Once again, collectors mix and match different eras, styles, textures, wall coverings, etc and like seasoned decorators, bohemian collectors tell us “it works.” This style is hard to explain, so I might suggest reading Bohemian Style by Elizabeth Wilhide, a Watson Guptill publication. While ’60s & ’70s collectibles have moved more slowly in brick and mortar shops than those of earlier periods, “hip collectibles” are gaining momentum as major department stores are emphasizing these styles .Designers are taking bigger risks than in the past and it seems that once again buyers are being prompted to experiment with home interiors, products and materials.

May I remind you what they said years ago “let it all hang out.” Indeed both manufacturers of new products and collectors of old products are “doing their own thing.” Numerous on-line businesses with “shaggy sixties” websites catering to shoppers who adore palettes of pink, brown and lime green as well as cutesy patterns of stripes, polka dots and swirling designs are growing. In fact there are web designers who specialize just in this style.

While “twenty- and thirty-something” buyers are getting a kick out of ordering new home and clothing related items inspired by “psychedelic” colors and designs, mature collectors
want the originals and are active buyers at flea markets, shops and shows. Colorful toasters and fondue sets, once thrift store staples, are now “cool” finds for both serious collectors and casual shoppers who are jumping on the “retro” bandwagon. Next time you turn your nose up at a set of kitchen canisters with a mushroom design, think again, you may be passing up a real “retro” gem that even Pottery Barn is keeping an eye on.

Having a beautifully landscaped backyard is one thing, but equally important is having your space effectively lit. While backyards provide several benefits, such as engendering family gatherings, providing entertainment for you and your loved ones, or simply being your space of escape and more; a backyard lighting system will paint the finishing details to your landscape. Just like how landscaping contributes to the aesthetic and value to your home, lighting can enhance and highlight desired features while creating that perfect ambiance for your guests. Keep reading for benefits and tips on how you can enjoy your backyard night or day with key lighting concepts and more.

Various Backyard Lighting Benefits

Aesthetics: Well positioned backyard lighting can enhance any landscape. A backyard lighting system helps magnify the different textures, while complimenting varying features and shapes of your structures, shrubs and trees. The addition of lighting will expand beautify the spatial views. By varying lighting hues and intensity you can establish mood and ambience for an evening of entertaining, parties, romance, etc.

Safety: Another primary function of backyard lighting is to illuminate possible hazard areas. These may include steps, low branches, water features, barriers, abrupt changes in path directions, elevation changes, and more.

Security: Your backyard surrounds your home. Typically, people have many valuable items in their yards, for example fancy statues and figurines, elegant water fountains, bamboo tiki bar stocked with pricey liquor and stem-ware, expensive pool toys, and etc. Backyard lighting can protect your valuables from unanticipated accidents or potential intruders. A well lit home and garden can help deter crime, while providing a clearer view at night on who is coming and going from your property.

Usability: The outside landscape is an extension of the inside of your home. Having a well lit area allows you enjoy that space regardless of whether it is day or night.

Entertainment: You can continue to enjoy gatherings in your backyard as dusk rolls in, instead of everyone packing up and heading inside at the first sign of nighttime. Everyone can relax outside in your beautifully landscaped backyard and enjoy themselves under the star-lit sky. Imagine sitting around your bamboo tiki-bar with a colorful array of stringed lights cascading along the roof and counter-top. In addition to that, little lights that gently illuminate along your patio and walkway so guests can see where they are going as they journey and marvel through your landscape. What an extraordinary and gratifying ambiance! Everyone will love getting together in your backyard.

Backyard Lighting Tips

Uncomplicated Systems: When it comes time for you to select your backyard lighting system, you should be careful to select lighting fixtures that are easy to install. You don’t want systems that have complicated electrical cables and connections as you want to compliment your landscape and not have to reinvent everything to do so.

Automated Timers: A good idea is to choose an outdoor lighting system that has an automated timer integrated into them. This way the timers regulate the duration and periods that the lights will be on and off, which makes it easier and convenient. You can even get solar powered lighting systems, which will absorb energy from the sun during the day so that they illuminate at night for your safety and enjoyment. This will also save you money on utilities.

Plan Your System: Be sure to plan out your backyard lighting system. There are so many systems to choose from and unique fixtures you can add to your décor, you should make a plan for your backyard lighting so you don’t overspend or get fixtures that don’t fit well with your decorating scheme.

Some Questions to Ask Yourself: How much do you want to spend on your backyard lighting system? How much backyard space do you have? How much brightness do you want? Do you have any specific features, such as a water fountain or sculpture, you want to enhance? Do you have any paths or areas where people will need to be able to see where they are walking? How will you install your lights? Do you want to hang stringed lights, for example around your patio covering or bamboo tiki bar, or do you want stand alone lights, for example light posts and spot lights?

New color ideas are here, fresh from the 2010 NeoCon World Trade Fair in Chicago where interior designers, architects and business owners swarm the Merchandise Mart to learn the latest and greatest for the home and office. The world of interiors is looking up!

What’s new? White. Clean, crisp, clear white. Not beige, not off-white, not dirty white. New advancements in textiles and surface materials provide options which are cleanable and stay that way. White kitchens never went out of style but they are now featured in the major showrooms. Now there is even white office furniture.

Color Combination? White paired with one or two other colors. Gone are the multi-dimensional color schemes of five to ten colors. Interiors have become quiet and restful, an oasis. But not one you have to be afraid of or feels cold.

Hot new colors? Imagine any color; greens, blues, orange, pinks, purples, reds and taking the base color and mixing in a little white. The new colors are bright but soft, saturated but not electric or bold. These aren’t pastels just a softened version of nice clear colors. Lime green (the softened version) is still alive and well, orange too but not together. Blues and purples where present also. Pink was prevalent but more as an accent and not it an overly girly way.

What’s Out? Color combinations of opposites like red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple, etc. Stick with colors that are left or right of the other on the color wheel. This doesn’t mean one can use a fabric full of a lot of colors, just not in a major way. Interiors are restful. This doesn’t mean they aren’t fun or are a snooze, just cut out the big contrasts.

I think I heard it best from the world famous decorator Carelton Varney when he commented about being in the neutral beige bathroom of a fabulously chic hotel, “I felt like I was standing naked in a bowl of oatmeal.” A home needs some color!

So now what do you do? Does this mean you have to make everything white? No, but if you are considering a kitchen remodel, white is a great and timeless option. Just don’t think of white as boring, think of it as a way to infuse your interior with freshness. Add colors, but nice colors, real colors not sage, wedgewood blue, rose or sand. Those colors are out. Happy colors are what interiors are about, invoking a gentle smile.

Get your bathroom decorated professionally with designer bathroom accessories to enjoy an excellent value in comfort and style. A shower enclosure is an important accessory in a modern bathroom such as the towel rail and radiators, different valves and faucets for water supply. Bathroom furniture is a modern conception of the latest trend in bathroom designing activity comprising of elegant bath tubs, toilets, taps and shower enclosures with pivot shower doors.

Pivot shower doors are most important in a shower unit and it should be sturdy enough to endure the daily opening and closing of the door. Hence, you need to get a reputed brand, which provides perfect looks with smooth functionality. You must enjoy the luxury of enjoying a superb shower in the enclosure for total relaxation and pleasing comfort.

When you take up the remodeling of the bathroom, you can take a chance to decorate it with several accessories with different finish suiting your lifestyle. Use corner seats, shower cases with pivot doors, fantastic bath tubs with glossy or matte finish for exquisite enjoyment. You find several designs of shower cases with gleaming metal finish and stylish doors of transparent or hazy finish glass doors. Doors close and open with a slight touch and are just suitable for the desired showering experience in a cozy atmosphere. Wide ranges of pivot shower doors are available at leading stores to fit every bathroom decoration, which contain high quality glass for easy cleaning.

The sophisticated bathroom needs shower doors for both an intimate showering experience and for complete cleanliness of the bathroom. The main technical advantage is to prevent the water to come out of the shower to make the bathroom floor unclean. You can install a showering unit with pivot shower door even in a small bathroom with proper guidance from the expert. Whenever you buy a shower enclosure, ensure that it is of high quality and trouble -free unit. You will definitely be able to remodel your old bathroom with right selection of compatible shower units with matching pivot doors for a contemporary look. You should shop online or find out different brands and understand details.

Seek reference from friends and relatives to know the right product of choice. Get single fold or bi -fold pivot shower doors depending on the space available. Frameless is a special design where the absence of the frame of the door offers a spacious environment of the shower. The neo-angle variety is for shower units at the corner of the bathroom to use the available space of the room. There are various options and designs, which you should examine before making the final choice.

Curved shower curtain rods are the latest and most popular items in the world of bathroom fittings. They have been created in a curved manner so that they will make the bathtub or the bathing space appear larger than its normal size. One of the most important advantages of these curved shower curtain rods is that their price is equivalent to that of the standard shower curtain rods. These curtain rods will also add an element of style and class for every bathroom.

The curve of these curtain rods would be six inches towards the center which will help in creating a large amount of space for the bathing area or the bathtub. The claustrophobic feeling or the cramped feeling can be eliminated with the help of these curved curtain rods. These curves will also prevent the water from escaping from the bathing area. Most of these rods can be used along with the normal bathtubs which are usually installed inside bathrooms. They can be used along with the normal shower curtains which are available in the market. There is no need to order for any kind of special shower curtains which should be installed on these rods. Even the already existing shower curtains can be used along with them.

There are many reasons as to why curved curtain rails should be used instead of the normal straight ones. The water which is present inside the bathtub will be used in a much more efficient manner and the quantity of wastage of water will also be reduced to a large extent. The amount of space which is available for the bathtub and for bathing will also increase when these curved curtain rails are used. The amount of space which can be used for bathing purposes can be increased without having to spend a large amount of money. Many different types of materials can be used in order to create these curved curtain rails. They can also be found in many finishes and they can also be procured in many different colors.

An element of style and fun can be added to the bathroom once these curved curtain rails have been installed. A special and unique effect can be created with the help of these curved curtain rods. The special tastes and preferences of each person will be reflected in these curved curtain rods. The purchase of these curved curtain rods for your bathroom is a practical decision and they will also make it look very different.

People who feel that their bathtub or bathing pace is extremely cramped and they would like to have some more space can make use of these curved curtain rails in order to create an ambience of a large amount of extra space inside the bathroom. They are available at extremely reasonable prices which is the same as that of the normal ones. The color of these rails can be used in order to match the remaining bathroom fittings which can be seen in the bathroom.

Many of us find ourselves living in open floor plan homes these days and, if you don’t have one, you might be looking for ways to cut away walls and open things up. The open and airy feeling of open floor plans is wonderful, but can present some home decorating quandaries, for sure.

o How do I select paint colors when walls are shared between rooms?
o Do I have to use the same color paint for the entire open space?
o How do I furnish one large room as opposed to multiple smaller, defined rooms?

These are but a few of the questions that open floor plans conjure up and can oftentimes cause paralysis…”I don’t know how to deal with this space so I won’t!” Well, that won’t work for the long haul so here are a few ideas for turning your open space into a space to love:

Layout

If you find you’d prefer to section off an open floor plan into smaller areas, consider flexible room dividers such as decorative screens, trees, or double sided bookcases. These items can be easily moved to open up the space when needed and can define and add privacy on a day to day basis.

Keeping your floor plan open does not mean that a room cannot be properly defined. Resist the urge to line the walls of your rooms with furniture creating large gaps between seating areas. Use area rugs and furnishings to define conversation clusters in a living room, for example. You will add warmth and coziness to the space making it much more inviting.

If you entertain regularly and need to maximize your seating, consider a daybed or chaise that is open on both sides and can function as seating in two “rooms.” An alternative might be a beautiful upholstered bench that can float as seating in your dining room during the holidays and anchor a beautiful piece of art against the wall the rest of the year…storage optional!

Color

Open floor plan homes typically account for the majority of color consultations performed. All of that wall can be very intimidating when it runs up to a second floor or over into the adjoining room. The key here is harmony in your color palette. While the topic of color requires its own article…or more like a series of articles (stay tuned), it’s important to know one thing: all walls do not have to be the same color in an open floor plan.

Diversifying your color palette in an open floor plan will add depth and interest to your space. In addition to identifying colors that work in harmony, another key to diversifying is to find the appropriate places to divide spaces. Corners are always a logical start and stop. Inevitably, however, there is almost always at least one wall that is shared. Unless there are architectural elements that can be added to naturally divide the space, identify a color that will transfer well between the two rooms, be it an accent color that is shared or a more neutral color that recedes and allows your furniture and accessories to take center stage.

Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to become paralyzed by the open floor plan. There are so many creative ways to work within the space. Ask for advice, take risks and have fun because the most important thing is that you love the space you’re in!

Today’s trends in contemporary lighting design can be broken down into three main categories: casual elegance, soft contemporary and simplified traditional. All three represent a new customer mindset of accessorizing a room with lighting fixtures that are both functional and decorative instead of using what came with the house or the lamps from Grandma. Casual elegance focuses on warmth, coziness and creating a relaxed environment with practical lighting with a slightly upscale design. Soft contemporary is a simple, modern and clean style with well-defined architectural lines and warm finishes. Simplified traditional is, as the name implies, traditional without being overly fussy or ornate.

Contemporary lighting design is an eclectic mix of styles, sizes, shapes and colors for both indoors and outdoors. While traditional polished brass light fixtures are still widely available, so are more interesting and unique combinations of materials, such as wrought iron and glass or crystals and brass. The finish of the metals is different, too. Hand rubbed, burnished and weathered is now preferred over shiny and polished. Colored glass is very popular, especially amber. Outdoor lighting is no longer strictly black, with a wide range of colors available including white and warm earth tone-based hues of yellow, red and green.

Contemporary lighting designs incorporate eco-friendly energy sources along with their clean, simple less-is-more style. Compact fluorescent bulbs use less power than traditional incandescent bulbs and last longer. Their design and structure makes them easily interchangeable in fixtures currently using incandescent bulbs. LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs are highly efficient and last tens of thousands of hours longer than both incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs. LEDs work well in all types of modern indoor and outdoor light fixtures. Solar lights, powered by photovoltaic cells, require no electricity and no wiring for installation. All three types are initially more expensive than traditional bulbs yet operate for less.

Other trends in contemporary lighting design include larger fixtures, more chandeliers, higher quality materials and lower prices. Modern homes have larger open areas which require and can accommodate larger fixtures. Chandeliers are not just for dining rooms anymore. As people rediscover the beauty and efficiency of centrally located ceiling lights, chandeliers are being used in bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways. Instead of cutting corners with imitation materials such as plastic instead of glass, today’s fixtures are beautifully crafted with hand-crafted metal, crystals and marble. Surprisingly, the average cost of fixtures is about 40 percent lower than just a few years ago.