Home Renovation Blog

Modular housing has been elevated to an entirely new level in recent years. If you think “modular” is synonymous with “mobile home,” you definitely need to take another look. Case in point: the Institute for Industrial Design recently hosted a competition for innovative modular housing.

The winning entry was submitted by a student team from the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), University of Karlsruhe in Germany, Christian Zwick and Konstantin Jerabek. Their entry: Roll-It.

Constructed of laminated oriented stand board (OSB), three (3) wheel-like pieces are glued together to form the circular casing.

Read more…

After the stresses of a long day, wouldnt it be nice to return home to your own little island oasis? Whether you live in Rockport, Maine or Boise, Idaho, all is possible with the right elements of coastal decor!

To begin, select a color scheme for your rooms. Your palette is very important and will serve as the baseline for your coastal decor motif. Choose creamy, light-colored natural hues and pair with varying shades of blue or blue-green.

Read more…

Spruce up your home with some curb appeal

Your front yard is one of the first things a homebuyer will notice. You may have brand new kitchen appliances, or have excellent hardwood floorings, but if  you don’t have curb appeal, buyers may not be interested in checking out the interiors of your home.  One of the best ways to reel in potential buyers is to curb appeal. Here are 10 ideas to make your curb look attractive.

1.)  The exterior home: Before starting on your yard, check the physical appearance of your house. Take a look at the entire neighborhood and get a general idea about colors.

Read more…

In Today’s post we’re going to take a look at creating natural homes. This particular topic remains a hot topic within the world of interior design; more especially as many people are making a pro-active effort to think about where their consumer goods come from and ways to reduce their carbon footprint by incorporating as many natural products in their homes as possible. 1. Natural Colours and Patterns:
Colours and patterns will be those inspired by nature with earthy tones being combined with patterns such as floral blooms, leaves and trees. All aspects of nature can be considered, particularly those which have not been annihilated or interfered with by man. Read more…

Today we’re going to focus on creating a welcoming home and while most of us think that are homes are welcoming there are some aspects will could make your guests and visitors feel ill at ease without you even realising it! Take a look at these interior design ideas and see where you can make adjustments in your home. 1. Welcoming Colours and Patterns:
From the minute you open your door visitors will either feel welcome or sense hostility! As such your entrance hall needs to be warm welcoming colours such a soft apricots, green, or neutral with subtle injections of warm colours. Read more…

The recent economic crisis is not exactly welcome news for house sellers. Basically it means that in the coming months it may be more difficult to sell your home due to lenders being more selective about whom they choose to lend cash to, so some people are likely to find home loans more difficult to obtain meaning less buyers on the market for the houses that are available for sale. Not only that, but house prices are also expected to fall, so if you want to sell your home in the near future, then anything you can do to make it more attractive to potential buyers has got to be a positive move.

On the other hand it may be that you decide not to sell up and move or havent even considered selling and would prefer to stay put, and if this is the case then why not consider improving your home anyway.

Read more…

When considering owning a pet, may want to consider how your new pet may affect your home. Susan Koch, owner of Animal Crackers in Greenfield, MA, offers up advice on the range of possibilities.

Small lizards, snakes, and frogs

Koch especially recommends the African Clawed Frog for the simplest, easiest pet to have in your home. “Their requirements are really low. They have been found living under ice and in very hot environments,” she said. Koch added that the frogs are maintained in a small tank, eat pellets and live approximately five to ten years.

Read more…