4 Crucial Tips For Remodeling Your Bathroom

Remodeling a bathroom can be a huge job, but there are some things that can make it easier for you. The bathroom is one of the most rooms in the home and many people end up remodeling their bathroom at some point in time. Maybe you are tired of the old décor or you need to make better use of the space in the bathroom. Whatever the reason you are thinking of remodeling, you definitely want to make sure you do the job right the first time or you will end up wasting thousands of dollars. Here are a few great tips for remodeling your bathroom that can help you make sure you get the most out of your bathroom remodel.
Tip #1 – Keep it Functional
First of all, when you are remodeling the bathroom in your home, make sure you keep it functional. Sure, you want the bathroom to look great, but you have to think about function. It can help to think about what you need out of your bathroom. Is this a bathroom for the kids, a bathroom for guests, or are you remodeling the one off the master bedroom. Think about who will be using the bathroom and it can help you make sure you keep it functional for the people who will be using it the most.
Tip #2 – Make it a Soothing Escape
While function is definitely important, when you remodel your bathroom, you also want to make it a soothing escape. The bathroom is more than just a necessary room. You want to create some atmosphere and give yourself a place that you can escape to for some relaxation at the end of the day. Decorate with colors and a theme that you find relaxing. If you enjoy taking baths, then make sure you incorporate a tub large enough for you to relax in. Keep it functional, but go beyond function to design a beautiful room where you can escape for some well deserved relaxation.
Tip #3 – Consider Doing the Work You Can Yourself
If you have the time and the know-how, consider doing all the work that you can on your own. Having your bathroom remodeled can get pretty expensive, especially if you are having a contractor take care of all the work for you. Just taking care of some of the work yourself can save you a whole lot of money. Sure, there may be some areas you are not experienced in, such as plumbing or electrical work, so it is worth it to pay to have someone else take care of that. However, you can do a lot of the other work yourself for big time savings that free up money to put on other parts of the project.
Tip #4 – Always Decide on a Budget Before Starting
Probably one of the most important tips for you to remember when you are going to do a bathroom remodel is to decide on a budget before starting the project. Many people have no idea how much a bathroom remodel is going to end up costing them. They don’t create a budget and end up spending far more money than they really can afford. It’s a better idea to come up with the amount you can spend first and then come up with a remodeling plan that sticks to that budget. This way you don’t create a lot of debt when remodeling, yet you still get a nice bathroom that you can afford.…

U Shaped Kitchen Design Ideas

Looking for the right layout can be a challenge when you are unfamiliar with what options are available to you. Usually, a certain type of space has a particular fitting kind of design that can really bring out the best in that space. If your goal with your new home is to have a kitchen that saves space and lets you get the job done faster, you might want to try U shaped kitchen designs. This particular design, based on the name alone gives you more storage and work space without consuming a lot from the floor area.
Unlike other too spacious designs that require you to move across one point of the room to the other, the U shaped kitchen designs allows you to do all the things that you need to without any hassles. You no longer have to ask for someone to bring a piece of equipment from across the room since everything is within reach.
If you are concerned regarding the minimal storage with U shaped kitchen, do not panic! This particular design can give you all the storage you need in the form of overhead cupboards as well as under the counter top storage room. With this particular design, you no longer have to worry about any space going to waste.
Another advantage that a U shaped kitchen design brings is the fact that this type of layout is much easier to insert into any home. Unlike most kitchen renovation ideas that ask for a bigger space in terms of floor area, this layout only requires minimal space to work with. This means that a lot less amount of raw materials will be needed during the construction phase.
Note that by lessening the amount of raw materials to be used during the construction process would mean that you do not need to shell out as much money as your kitchen renovation contractor will be using less material. You can save up on raw materials and invest in other kitchen accents or equipment. When you save up on those materials, you can allocate a better budget for the flooring or the walls and even the lighting fixtures.
Ultimately, the designs to use in your kitchen would depend on your taste. But if what you are looking for are designs that fuse form, function and efficiency effectively, consider using U shaped kitchen designs in order to get the best and successfully meet all of your required standards.…

Small Bathroom Designs To Make Yours Look Larger

Whether your goal for your small bathroom design is cute, country-style, luxurious or kid friendly, it can be accomplished despite its size.

The following are some things you can do when designing your bathroom that will increase the appearance of its size.

Keep it clean and tidy. A messy, dirty bathroom looks bad anyways, but the dirt and misplaced items especially stand out in a small bathroom. If you walk in the small room when its messy, your eyes are immediately drawn to the dirt, dust, and clothes all over the floor. Not only that, but it will look even smaller. Keeping your bathroom as clean as possible, will help with create both a visually appealling and a larger appearance.

Eliminate clutter. Stacks of books and papers, too many toiletries, such as deodorants, razors, toothpaste, soaps and perfumes strung out on each countertop creates a chaotic and cramped space. Try to keep these things in a cabinet, drawer, closet or other hidden area. Have a small bar or dispenser of soap or a candle out on display.

Paint, Tile, or Wallpaper: When choosing paint, tile and wallpaper, its best to choose smaller patterns if you decide not to go with a solid color. Whether choosing a pattern or texture or a solid color, lighter colors are always better when you want to make the room look bigger. To create the illusion of a taller ceiling, paint it a lighter color than the walls.

Lighting and light fixtures: Choose smaller lighting fixtures because bulky ones add well, bulk. Recessed lighting fixtures are even better! Another tip is to add more smaller sized, but bright lights in several areas of the bathroom. This will really open up the room because there will be less shadows.

Storage: Corner cabinets or towel racks or standing shelves make great use of a small area. Store your items that you don’t want on display.

Flooring: Like the walls, choose lighter colors and patterns.

Decor: Mirrors on the wall are an excellent way to visually enlarge your bathroom.

Bathroom fixtures, such as cabinets and vanities: It is best to keep cabinets, vanities, and shelves on the smaller side. Less is more when it comes to small bathrooms. One to two on-the-wall shelves are plenty, for both decor items and for displaying your fancy soaps. A small, standalone sink will also create more space.

Doing all or most of these things will add both real and imagined space to your bathroom!…

Home Improvement Tips

Hanging a door is not so easy if you don’t know a few tricks. Here I will show you the easiest way to hang a door. Firstly we have to get nearest size of door to the opening that is already there.
Doors are manufactured in various standard sizes. The manufacturers also make them in what is called in the trade as blanks, it is a solid piece of door which you can cut the size out off. There are also firms that make special sizes but they can be expensive as they are making one off a certain size.
Firstly then, measure the original door size, check with your supplier if it is available. The size you have could be metric or imperial, that is it could be millimetres or feet and inches. The old door size could be I a smaller size that is a stock size, (standard size) which is a good thing, if it is then that is the one for you.
Some times with modern buildings you will find that you don’t really have much work to do to hang and fit the new door as the frame will accommodate the size that you have because these particular frames and doors have been specially manufactured for your home when it was constructed.
The older buildings are a challenge because maybe the building itself has sunk in one place or another leaving the door frames cockeyed or skew. I have personally seen some that are 30mm out of square and that is only in the door width, say 800mm or 900mm.
If you have a situation like this, check first that the door is fitting okay, if it is. When fitting the new door and have it on the trestles put the old door (when it is stripped) on top and use the old door as a template and mark around it. This is the easiest solution when faced with this situation.
Modern doors are manufactured sometimes with a hollow core to make them lighter for the hinges. They are like a egg box inside with a solid piece running all round to make the door rigid and give it strength. Cut that away and you are in trouble.
When you get the new door home leave it in the room for about a week so that it can acclimatise to the room because this door has been in a cold warehouse until you bought it and it has to get used to its surroundings. I know it is just a door but remember it was a living breathing tree once.
The next very important thing to look for (most people don’t know this) That on the top or bottom edge of the door there is a marking symbol stamped on the door, the symbol is “LOCK “,that symbol defines the side of the door where the lock goes. In the construction of the door the manufacturer glues an extra block of timber in to accommodate the lock. On the hinged side of the door there is around 20mm of timber for the hinge screws. Bottom and top there is the same amount of thickness, if you have to cut this off you can clean the piece up and glue it back in and clamp it up till it is dry. On the lock side of the door it is the same as the hinge side but the block I spoke about earlier is only around 300mm long so it is imperative that you get this right. Get this wrong and you will have difficulty fixing the screws to the door itself as you are only fixing to the thin outer sheet of the door, you would be better to throw the door away and start again as the handles on the door is not going to stay there with the steady opening and shutting.…

Installing Custom Kitchen Cabinets Is an Art

The biggest expense you are going to face in the renovation of the kitchen is replacing your cabinets. It is not unusual at all to spend $10-20,000 on custom cabinets for a remodeling project and you want to protect your investment by making sure that the cabinets are installed properly. Most of the top end manufacturers will not even let you install them yourself, even if you wanted to. To qualify for the guarantee that comes with the cabinets they must be professionally installed.
Since you are spending so much on the cabinets to begin with, now is not the time to scrimp and try and save a buck. The good news is that whatever you spend now rebuilding the kitchen you will be paid back when you go to sell the home. Research shows that nearly 100% of the cost of a kitchen remodel can be recovered because it increases the value of your home. You are even more likely to increase the property value when you choose high end materials like custom cabinetry.
Since custom cabinets are being built specifically for your kitchen, it is going to be a very tight fit and that is why professional installation is so important. There are also considerations for working around the plumbing going to the sink and the vents for the stove. The process is not as simple as finding the studs in the wall and hanging up a couple of cabinets like you do to get extra storage space in the garage. The actual frames for the cabinets have to assembled in your home and then the doors and drawers are added later.
Custom cabinets will create an ultra modern look that is very trendy. The current style is for flat fronts with very little ornamentation. Sleek is the in term and that is the look that your installer will be going for. They can also be very creative in coming up with unique ways to utilize the space you have in your kitchen in the most efficient manner. A large food pantry is a nice addition with slide out shelves. They can also build special plate racks into the design or an under the counter wine rack.
Another classy addition that a skilled carpenter can add is crown molding which will finish off the cabinets in style. Moldings that run across the top of the cabinets are very popular and create a nice space for plants or vases. They can also use the molding to frame a kitchen window or door to match the wooden cabinets. There also creative ways which installers are building a casing for refrigerators and stoves which makes them look like they are part of the cabinets. Since the cabinets are being custom made just for your space there should be no gaps or openings. Want a wide screen television in the kitchen? Ask the cabinet maker to design a stowaway cabinet for it so it can be hidden away while entertaining.…

Luxury Kitchen Renovation

Budget is the number one concern of people, who needs to go through kitchen renovation, surviving a kitchen renovation, is not that easy. But it can be bearable if you plan ahead of time with regards to financial aspect of this situation. There are ways you can do to stay away from stress while you are spending for your home renovation kitchen. With these simple steps you will be able to go through everything you need in no sweat:
1. You need to start by simply estimating the cost of a luxury kitchen design. You need to come up with a renovation budget so you won’t be shocked when the paying time comes. This is also the right time to decide on luxury kitchen ideas. You need to decide on paint colour, appliances, lightning and others. This will make things easier for your contractor when they start the renovation.
2. Work hand in hand with your contractor so you can be sure your luxury kitchen ideas will be met. You also need to discuss with them the timeline of the renovation. You need to do this so you will approximately know how much money you will pay them for the task. You need to take into account some unforeseen issue that may arise, add a cushion to your timeline to prevent it.
3. Instruct your contractor of things they need to do to prevent spreading of dusts and debris from spreading all over your house. This can be easily done by sealing the area where they will work on.
4. Temporarily, you can make an improvised kitchen near your bathroom or anywhere where there is a sink. You need it the most in washing plates and food. You can also ask the contractor to help you in moving your ice box in a safer area.
5. You can buy disposable plates, spoons and forks, paper towels and other things you’ll need to lessen washing dirty kitchen utensils. This will help you minimize the agony you need to face while the renovation is going on.
6. If your kitchen renovation will also last for a week. You can take your kids to a nearby relative or friend’s house to spend the day while your luxury kitchen design is going on. This will help them feel relieved of the stressful construction going on at your house.
Starting a home renovation for your kitchen is not that easy. There are lots of things to consider. You need to make a research first so you will be able to come up with a good budget that won’t sacrifice your idea of a perfect kitchen. Deciding on how much you can spend is very important. You also need to decide what to start first and what can be done next time will be very helpful to you. This will make your budget worthy in the long run. Some people prefer to do it themselves to save money. This can also be possible but it’s hard to do it perfectly especially if you are not really familiar with certain things about home renovations.…

Custom Kitchen Cabinets – Choosing the Right Wood

As you are looking for custom kitchen cabinets, you’ll quickly find that it’s not as easy to choose as you may think. There are different types of woods to choose from, and you will need to carefully consider the pros and cons of different types of wood before making your decision.
When you are choosing those cabinets, durability, how they accept stain, and cost can be important. You need to consider cost, but remember durability is going to be even more important. The right choice of wood is essential because you need wood that is going to hold up in a kitchen, and not all types of wood do well as kitchen cabinets.
Some of the best options in wood choice for the kitchen cabinets include pine, cherry, maple, and oak. All of these wood types are great for the kitchen, but which one will work best for your kitchen? Which type of wood will fit your budget or which will meet your style requirements for your kitchen renovation? Here is a closer look at these wood options you can consider when you pick out those cabinets.
One of the options you have for those wood kitchen cabinets is pine. This wood is soft and can be found all over the world. Within the U.S. it is Easter White Pine that is usually found and this is often used to make cabinets. This wood is a bit yellowish in color and it has brown knots in it that look very beautiful. Because of the grain of the wood, it is a great candidate for staining and many people choose this option for their kitchens.
Another popular wood choice for kitchen cabinets happens to be cherry word. Cherry can be a light reddish brown or it can be a deeper red color as well. This is one of the more high end options and it definitely a bit more expensive than some of the other wood options that you can choose from. The great thing is that it is extremely beautiful in cabinets. Sure, it will cost you to go with cherry, but the beauty of your cabinets is well worth the money that you put into them.
You will also find that both maple wood and oak wood are popular cabinet wood choices. They are hardwoods that hold up very well in the kitchen, which is why they are so often used. Maple has a light color and the grain is very even. The oak is usually golden to reddish, depending on the oak, and it has an open grain. Both of these options do very well with stain and they are durable, which is important when you are choosing the cabinets for your kitchen.…