Home Improvement, Furniture and Gardening

If you find it difficult getting in and out of the bath because of the high lip to the bath and the slippery surface on the floor of the bath then there is potentially a solution that is not just standing in a shower.  The alternative is the shower chair.  The shower chair is quite simply a seat within the shower enclosure which allows the individual using the shower to sit down rather than stand up the whole time.

Shower chairs are an eminently sensible choice of equipment for using in your bathroom.  There comes a time in your life when using baths are actually quite problematic, not least because of the potential for slipping and doing some serious injury whilst stepping in or out of the bath.  Shower chairs allow the individual to sit whilst having a shower and gives them the freedom to wash in relative comfort without strain.

There are two options for incorporating shower chairs in your bathroom.  The first option and the most expensive is to incorporate the shower chair into your bathroom when you are in the process of refurbishing or remodelling your bathroom.  This has the advantage of ensuring you make sufficient room in the enclosures such that use of the chair is not inhibited by the space available.

The second option and probably the most likely option for most householders is to purchase a portable shower chair for moving in and out of the shower at your convenience.  These shower chairs are made from water resistant materials and are robust enough to last a long time in a wet environment.

In conclusion if you are looking for an alternative to the bath then the shower chair may well be just what you are looking for.  

Your about to invest a big part of your life. You are building a new home, and you want that home to be perfect. Ever since you were a kid you probably dreamed of owning your own home. Maybe you were thinking of having a large master bedroom, indoor poor, maybe a den to watch football. Or maybe you want something simple like a one-story ranch, with a 1 car garage and small living space. Purchasing your dream home plan can be a big decision, but this guide is here to help you avoid some common mistakes, and make your house plans purchase a simply one.

First, consider how big your lot is. Keep in mind the things you will need at your new home such as a backyard, driveway, and storage areas. Planning approximate size and sq ft of your house will prevent you from skimping on other important factors of your new home.

Second, it is important to make a budget. Making a budget ahead of time will allow you to buy the house plan that will fit your needs and your wallet. Later down the road you do not want to learn that your house will be costing thousands more because the sq ft is a little too high. Another good idea when writing up the budget is writing up a wish list. This can include features you must have. For example, a 2 story Victorian with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and at least 2 fireplaces. This way you won’t be skimping on the things you really love.

Now here is something very important most people do not think about. What if you sell your house 10 years down the road? You bought the house exactly how you like, number or garages, special features, etc…But how is the resell value on your home? When designing your home it is important to not skimp on standard features. Every home should have a living room, kitchen and at least 2 bedrooms. Other items like fireplaces, decks and porches, always add value to a home and should be thought about before your purchase. Keep the resell value of your home in mind when considering your purchase, that way when its time to move, you wont be stuck trying to sell your house for a portion of its true value.
Think you have an idea of what you want and what to spend? Try using a pad and pencil and draw up a quick and easy sketch to give the house plan company an idea of what you want. This can be a simple drawing with a couple lines, then mark where you want the kitchen to be, den, bedrooms, bathrooms etc…This will greatly aid you in finding your dream home. In considering these things, remember that if a company has a stock home plan that matches the floor plan you desire, the exterior can be easily changed. This is good to know if you find a house plan that you like, but don’t like the exterior. This is a quick process and a residential designer can change this for you.

When it comes to reading your house plans, it can be quite confusing. It seems as though there are too many symbols, lines and drawings to decipher. With a quick overview of the items that make up your plans, you will be reading them in no time.

The first thing you need to do is take your ranch style home plans and spread them out where you have plenty of room. You should probably make plenty of room on a large table so you don’t feel cramped while trying to read them. There are several different sections that make up your house plans. There are the site plan, the floor plan, and an elevation. Depending on your house plans, you might have even more parts that go with the plans. These plans are little maps that help each different construction worker do their job exactly right.

The site plan is drawn to show the location of the home on the property and how it will sit within the boundaries of the lot. This plan is drawn from the overhead perspective so those who will be pouring the foundation know where to begin. The site plan also includes the location of utility services, easements, driveways and walkways. You can use this drawing to get a general idea of what your house will look like in the empty lot that sits there now.

The floor plan is exactly what you think it is. This plan is an overhead drawing of each floor of the house. Each floor will have its own page of drawings, including any basements. The floor plan will indicate walls, rooms, doors and windows. The exact measurement of each item drawn on the plan is also indicated at their proper places. Your cottage house plan will also show where the water heater, furnace, cabinets, lights, electrical outlets and more will go. Showers, toilets, bathtubs, refrigerators, dishwasher and other appliances will also be drawn into place. As you look deeper in detail at each drawing, you will become familiar with all of the different symbols.

The elevation is a scale to scale drawing of the house from the front, rear and each side. They will specify ridge heights, roof pitches, exterior finishes and more. This drawing will be the simplest of all the drawings in your small ranch house plans package. As you look at your drawings as a whole, you will then be able to imagine what you home will look like in three dimension. When you house plans are complete, construction can finally begin.

I have responded to a lot of calls to look at leaky showers over the past 13 years. Almost all of the showers that I have inspected have leaked at the door or metal track that holds the glass. The leak itself is not always noticeable, but the damage it causes over the years is obvious.

The result is rotted baseboards, water damaged Sheetrock, and mold where the shower meets the floor just outside the glass door. The good news is that when faced with signs of water damage isolated to outside the shower door, almost all leaks have been the result of an original installation error. The error is in the way the shower trim was sealed with silicon caulk. The mistake is compounded over the years by handymen and DIY’ers adding more caulk to the inside of the shower as a repair or part of home maintenance. Don’t worry, it is a common impulse to keep adding caulk to the shower in anticipation that the leak will eventually stop. Not only is this installation error common, I have witnessed it in 100% of showers with the same water damage pattern.

The most important lesson when sealing with caulk is “less is more.” As it is very important to thoroughly caulk the outside of the metal shower trim, it is equally important not to caulk over the “weep holes” inside the shower. These are little drain holes in the bottom of the metal track inside the shower and on pre-made acrylic shower pans. These holes allow the condensation and water inside the metal track to drain back inside the shower instead of being trapped and eventually finding an alternative escape route. For the system to drain properly, I also suggest not caulking inside the track at the corners. The faster the water can flow down the track and out to the shower drain, the quicker the shower will dry. This reduces the chance of mildew and mold growth tremendously.

The type of caulk you use is also key to a long lasting sealed shower trim. 100% silicone caulk is the only caulk that has stood the test of time for me. It doesn’t shrink or crack unless it is in direct sunlight, and it stays flexible for a long time. Acrylic caulk hardens, cracks, and is less successful in keeping out mold and mildew. As a rule of thumb, it’s easier to match clear silicone to the metal trim and plumbing fixtures while white or grout color matched silicone is easier to match the corners of walls, shelves, and benches inside the shower.

Last but not least, check to see if all of the rubber seals are still in place and in good shape around the glass, the sides of the shower door, and the sweep at the bottom of the shower door. These are there to help shed water down the inside of the shower and help keep splashing through any gaps in the door to a minimum. These items can be inexpensively replaced at a glass supply shop.

Done well, interior design is a way to make your house look inviting, relaxing, and like an expression of your life and personality. Here are a few ideas you might try to make your house more beautiful.

Good interior design includes many processes: painting, wallpapering, tiling, carpeting, lighting schemes, artwork, and furniture to name a few. Modern interior design is constantly evolving, and that’s a good thing. Wouldn’t it be weird to have a house that was exactly like the typical ranch house of the 70s? New design should always take into account some of the best of past designs without recreating them in their entirety.

If you think that you have to have a large home for it to be stylish, you couldn’t be more wrong. If anything, smaller space forces you to be more clever, so that you have the floor space you need, but have the things you need at hand too. The main thing you need a lot of when updating your house is creativity.

Don’t worry about a shopping spree yet. We’ll get to that, I promise. First you should visualize how you want each room to look. Think about the big features first (the bed in a bedroom, sofa in the living room, table in the kitchen, etc.) and then think of the smaller accoutrements that go with them. How can you make a nice mix of textures without making the room look overly busy. You should also take into account how the room will be used, and by whom. I don’t have to tell you that if you have young kids white furniture and carpet isn’t a good idea. But the great thing is, if you have small kids (or rowdy dogs), you have a great excuse to go for that richly colored carpet. It hides Kool-Aid stains better.

Consider linens, secondary furniture, wallpaper, and lamp shades. You can find some of the most amazing lampshades at thrift stores. Lamps, too! In fact, many thrift stores don’t mind if you take a shade from one lamp and the base of another. Be careful when choosing wallpaper. It can be gorgeous, but it can just as well look dated.

A lot of people have been picking up elements of the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 30s. It’s characterized by clean lines, black and white, and a sophisticated elegance.

The bold and colorful designs picked up from various Asian styles are also popular, and they’re great for making small spaces look bigger. Carved wood and hand painted details about in Asian style, and even if you’re just buying paint for the walls, there’s nothing more serene and beautiful than a soft bamboo green.

Eclectic style is great. It’s a way of saying: “This is me. I like elements of many styles, and I combine them to suit my taste.” Some of the most beautiful living spaces are done in an eclectic style.

Don’t forget the importance of lighting as part of your interior design. While you don’t have to match style with style, it might look a little odd to have fussy Victorian lamps in a retro-mod style living room that looks like something out of The Jetsons. Then again, who am I to judge? You should make it exactly how you like it. Adequate light that draws at least partly on natural light during the day is about as strict as the lighting design suggestions get (plus safety!).

You can spend all day happily looking for ideas on the internet, and you don’t have to stick with interior design sites. You can also purchase just about anything you see on the web by ordering it online, though you may have to do some amateur sleuthing to find it on a retail site. And there’s always that great standby of cutting pictures from magazines. Once you fill up a notebook, try to discern whether you see any trends in your selections. Interior decorating should be enjoyable. After all, it’s your home, and it’s where you spend a lot of time. You should enjoy looking at it, so go for it and have fun.

When thinking to do up your house in a more Asian style and of course transform the interior design to a much more ethnic look and feel, you need to understand that there is a spectrum of design elements and roots that you need to look at before you actually make any sort of a decision. You need to know that there are so many things that are ‘Asian’ in that sense, there are different ethnic subdivisions and from there, you will see that design influences, in many respects, are a plenty. For one thing, what you need to do is to know what you are looking for.

This, in case, is where you need to find the point of influence and inspiration that you would had seen. Statues are one of the things you might want to consider when looking into adorning your house. There are many gods and figures of lore that you can place in your house to give it that Asian atmosphere. You can purchase them from many shops all over the place, and in fact, you can get some real good ideas from many magazines as well.

One thing you need to avoid is to turn your house into a temple; you just need to actually just put one or two to actually make the house into something of a design element. Another thing you need to look at is the use of natural elements in the house. You might want to consider sectioning an entire place with some greenery and wood, and in this thing, you might lean towards something of a more Balinese or Thai concept. Colours are of course a better way for you to make an Asian statement with your house. You might want to make good use of earthy tones and of course reds and golds are common in most Asian cultures.

Of course, if you are looking at something more Indonesian or Malaysian, then a heavy use of wood and green colours, a reflection of their religion, is something you might want to consider. Water elements in this case would be a good way to enhance the house, and at the same time, give it good geomancy points. This can be in a form of a waterfall feature or even installing a small pool within the house. Fish tanks are a good idea if you have no space for these things. Now, these are just some preliminary ideas when thinking about how to use interior design ideas from Asia and combine them into the house. If you need to have more information, there are plenty of magazines out there that you can read to actually gain some inspiration. Another thing that you need to do is to actually approach an interior designer and see if they can actually give you some ideas for the house as well. You could also look online and see if you can gain more information about Asian interior design ideas from all over the world.

So, you’ve been putting up with the tacky light fixtures that were installed when you moved in. Or worse yet, maybe you still have the bulb and string hanging from your bathroom ceiling. But more and more people often, the bathroom is used as a sanctuary, a place to relax after a long day. Steam showers, Jacuzzis, and more spacious rooms are partly the reason. Whats ofter overlooked is the lighting, which can make all the difference when it comes to aesthetics and utility. The secret to good bathroom lighting is layering the light. Layering, refers to using different sources of light. In the bathroom, it involves using both general lighting and task lighting.

The first Layer

The fist layer, as mentioned, starts with ambient or general lighting. The goal is to provide a warm glow to the room by providing a comfortable level of brightness without any glare. The most common sources of general light for the bathroom is a flush or semi-flush ceiling fixture. It is also becoming more common to use a mini-chandeliers in the bathroom. Ambient lights need to be placed in the center of the bathroom so that the light is spread out evenly.

How much general light do I need for my bathroom?

The rule of thumb for the first layer of lighting in the bathroom is as follows. Multiply the length and width of the bathroom- lets say 10ft. by 10ft. Take that number and multiply it by a factor of 1.5. So in the example above, you would need 150 Watts of general light as your fist layer.

The Second Layer

The second layer is task lighting. Portable lamps, tracks, and recessed lights are usually the sources of task lighting. However, these sources don’t work well at all in the bathroom. If you have a recessed light above the vanity mirror you’ve probably notices the shadow it casts on your face. It is not suitable at all.

Placement of bathroom sconces and bath-bars

Proper task lighting in your bathroom should surround you with light. The ideal source of task lighting would be two sconces on either side of the vanity and a bath-bar above the mirror. Sconces should be place about 6-8 inches above eye level or about 6 1/2 feet from the ground. They should also be separated by a distance of 28 inches or more. The bath-bar should be 30-32 inches in length, mounted above the mirror. FYI, many companies now offer “beauty wraps.” These fixtures wrap around your mirror, providing you with sufficient light.

How do I determine the amount of task lighting in my bathroom?

Calculating the amount of task lighting is similar to the example given above. The only difference is you multiple by a factor of 2.5. In the example given above, that would amount to 250 Watts of light.

Kevin Hatan

The general response in America to the current economic disaster has been to try to get back to business as usual ASAP. People don’t seem to be learning anything from this crisis – namely that it was greed that got the country and world into this mess. The government’s response up to now has been to reward the greediest. But, maybe the lesson we should be trying learn now is how to be less greedy. This is what cottage living is all about.

When you think of country style house plans the vision conjured up is of a small cottage with a white picket fence surrounded by climbing ivy and roses. Usually, by the term “cottage” is meant a dwelling characterized by a rectangular shape between 700 and 900 feet square, simple yet attractive design, simple roof line, and set in a small parcel of land. Among the many benefits of cottage living are the low cost of construction and maintenance and the low property taxes. Also, cottages are cheap and easy to heat, and lend themselves to sustainable solutions which decrease utility bills. Cottages are easy to clean which cuts down on house work and gives more leisure time. Cottages are cozy – everything is right at hand and all in all, cottage living encourages a lifestyle of simplicity, freedom from accumulated possessions, and more interactions between the inhabitants. The chief disadvantages of cottage living are that spaces are smaller than in a usual house, which can lead to a cramped feeling. Also, the sort of people to whom image matters are not as impressed with a cottage as they would be with a big house. Maybe it’s time for a change in images – of what people regard as desirable.

In other words, cottage houseplans are the wave of the future, because the future will demand a bit less egotism and a bit more frugality and sensitivity to the earth. The future will require relearning how to take pleasure in life’s little things, rather than in shamelessly pigging out. Cottage living has to do with being real, with relaxation instead of formality, and with connecting instead of isolating. Cottages aren’t decorated according to anyone’s taste but the owner’s, so cottage interior design is likely to consist of knickknacks, framed photos, or seashell and leaf collections. Furniture and linens are chosen more for comfort than for chic. A living room should invite people to flop down for a spell, rather than look like something out of a resort or hotel ad. A cottage dining room is obviously not the place for sit down dinner parties, so cottage living makes for more intimate socializing. Although all cottages are similar in feeling, every cottage owner makes unique cottage house plans for him or herself depending upon interests, hobbies, and tastes. In keeping with the earth-friendly lifestyle, much cottage living takes place (at least in summer months) outside, on a back patio or deck. Sitting in a restful chair beneath the blue sky, with an icy drink in hand, listening to the birds singing and the wind whispering in the trees, is a sensation that the wealthiest city dweller never knows.

Your restaurant interior design is one of the most important things for the success of your location. The fact is, the look of the restaurant can be a key player in the success of the business. With the right design, people see the food and notice the pleasant decor within. You want to find the right look for your space.

Creating The Look

For many restaurants, the feel of the location is created by the smell of the food as well as the feeling within the restaurant. If these things are off, then the entire profitability of the location can be hurt. Even if the food tastes great, the location won’t draw the right amount of a crowd unless there is some ability to secure a good ambiance to the space. What you want to avoid is trying to appeal to every client that walks in the door. Instead, plan your interior design to reflect your own image and your client base will grow.

Sometimes, it is the type of restaurant that you have that defines the interior design of it. If you have a Chinese restaurant, for example, you may want to consider having a Chinese theme to it. Otherwise, it will not feel authentic and therefore people won’t be impressed.

It can be very helpful to invest in a professional decorator to help you to get the best restaurant interior design going. Remember that dining is an experience all to itself. With the right restaurant interior design, you will add to the experience and this will allow more customers to come in to see you. It also keeps people from being driven away.

Your Kitchen’s Design And Location

Since so many people visit restaurants to get the quality ambiance they are after, you can really do damage to your business if you do not create the right look. For example, if you have a large space and a lot of bright lights, you are not going to create the romantic and quiet ambiance most people are looking for. To take the time to do modifications to the space so that you can improve the look completely and work to provide distinction between the areas of the restaurant. The kitchen should be separate as should the reception area. Walls and curtains work well for this goal.

Don’t take the restaurant interior design too lightly. Rather, invest the time and the patience into creating a unique look and feel to the room.