Thinking Outside The Box With Duravit Plumbing Fixtures

Designer plumbing fixtures are hardly new on the scene. Plumbing fixtures that designers use are a totally different beast. Duravit fixtures are being utilized throughout the world in the top spas, hotels, public buildings, and ultra-modern residences. The company boasts of a “tradition of innovation.” Since the company has been around almost 200 years, they’ve earned their longevity, but what about innovation?
When a manufacturer transforms designer plumbing from its humble indoor uses to the outdoors, they are certainly thinking outside the box. Duravit doesn’t believe that spa living should be confined to the inside. Their Blue Moon and Sundeck line of pools and tubs install wherever there is a hot water connection. Suddenly, you’re not just going for a dip in the hot tub, but a luxurious excursion to a garden spa, all without having to leave home. The only limitations of such fixtures are your own or your designer’s imagination. Such innovation alters the concept of the bathroom from the mundane to the magnificent.
Duravit also has changed the idea that bathroom fixtures, accessories, and furniture are separate entities. Anyone who has gone through the bathroom remodeling process knows that plumbing fixtures are chosen from one retailer; then the cabinets–bought from another source–must be matched to the style of the fixtures; and finally the customer either goes back to the original retailer to pick out the accessories, or perhaps, by that time, the whole enterprise seems just too complicated, and the homeowner settles for just about any old product that “kinda matches.”At Duravit, the plumbing is the furniture, and there are accessories to match. Instead of making remodeling or new construction more difficult, the company simplifies the procedure.
Designing a bathroom with Duravit products changes the idea that your own bathroom has to suffer in comparison to the bathrooms at a top hotel. Want a steam shower? They’re available. Want a tub for two? No problem. How about a whirlpool style bath; real wood bathroom furniture; over-sized basins; ultra-modern toilets; or even a kitchen sink? Duravit has them. There’s no need to settle for second best. A company doesn’t last two hundred years by making a product that fails to satisfy its client?�le in both design and function.
So, if you are considering remodeling a bathroom, building a custom home, or a commercial building, and you want a product that not only operates seamlessly, but is beautiful, think Duravit. Their fixtures are being used today in hotels and public buildings throughout Europe, the Middle-East, and Asia. Whether it’s a new concert hall in Iceland, or a hotel in India, designers know a quality product that stands out. The possibilities are unlimited. Don’t worry about thinking outside the box or outside the home, Duravit is on board.…

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Have you ever walked into your kitchen and felt something was missing? More than likely, you feel this way because something is missing. Often, this is because the look of the kitchen is a little old. It needs to be spiffed up and made to look unique once again. The best way to do this would be to remodel it. But, wouldn’t that cost a lot of money? Honestly, it could cost a lot of money but you need not feel that you must spend a great deal on it. There are a variety of ways that the kitchen could be effectively remodeled on a minuscule budget.
Repainting is always one of the best ways to remodel a kitchen with little cost. You can paint the walls as well as the cabinets. (You could also consider wallpapering the kitchen as well) Painting is probably the cheapest strategy to follow provided you do it yourself. In this instance, you would need to only pay for materials. Hiring a painting crew would certainly run up the costs.
And speaking of cabinets, you do not need to replace the entire cabinet if you want to make a change. You can always just replace the doors of the cabinet and this could have a great impact on the kitchen. And it will certainly prove to be much cheaper than replacing the entire cabinet.
Have you considered replacing your appliances? When you have old and outdated refrigerators and dishwashers they can really wear down the look of the kitchen. Taking these old appliances out and installing new ones would be a wise idea. Then again, some may wonder if this can be done cheaply. As long as you kind find affordable resources for kitchen appliances, you will be able to take part in this plan without a huge expense. Buying used (but well maintained) appliances could also be an available option.
A new floor can totally revamp the look of a kitchen in a stunning manner. Of course, there will be those that will say redoing the flooring is not easy to do cheaply. Again, the cost saving venture comes into play when you do what is needed by yourself. Many flooring system have been designed for those with limited flooring skills to be able to install the flooring on their own with limited difficulty. Purchasing such kits will definitely help the cause of remodeling without great expense.
The windows of a kitchen can often be altered in various ways to improve the style of the kitchen. This could involve installing new windows or merely just adding nice curtains to the windows. Does that sound minimalist? Well, it may seem minimalist on paper but when actual enacted it can deliver great results.
As you can see, it is not all that tough to remodel a kitchen without great costs. A few simple “tricks” can deliver some amazing results.…

Great Ways to Shop at a Kitchen Store

If you love your kitchen, you could probably wander through a kitchen store for days. In your mind, you’ll be trying out tile, countertops, and cabinets in your own kitchen, preparing for yet another remodel. This isn’t always a healthy or smart way to shop, though, especially if you ever want to actually get that remodel done. Before you head to the kitchen store the next time around, try one of these shopping methods to help you complete your trip more quickly and get to the remodeling part even faster.
On some trips, you really do just need to look around. This is true if you’re getting ready to do a kitchen remodel but aren’t quite sure what you want to do. In this case, take a notebook. If the store manager will let you, take a camera to snap some pictures, as well. If you’re going to paint your kitchen, grab some paint chips from the hardware store to take along, as well. On this trip, all you’re doing is gathering ideas and taking notes on the colors, textures, and particular items that you like best. Make sure you’re descriptive enough that you can actually remember what you were looking at when you wrote down your notes!
Once you know what you need, it’s time to start making lists before your next trip to the kitchen store. If you’re like a lot of people, your remodel will go in stages. You’ll probably head to the store more than a couple of times during a full remodeling session. Think through all the things you need to do and the order in which you need to do them. If, for instance, you’re painting your cabinets and replacing countertops, you’ll probably need to rip out the old countertops and then paint the cabinets before replacing the countertops again.
Either way, at this point, you should be going into the kitchen store armed with a detailed list of everything you need. Write down measurements, quantities, and as much other information as you can. This way, you get just what you need, and you don’t have to come back to the store when you aren’t ready to be back there quite yet. This will make the remodeling process work more quickly so that you can get your kitchen function and beautiful before you know it.…

Money Saving Bathroom Remodel

Bathroom remodeling doesn’t just have to be about updating the current look of your bathroom or improving the usability. It can be a great chance for you to implement some ways to conserve water and energy, while also choosing attractive yet environmentally-friendly options to remodel your bathroom. Remodeling your bathroom while being environmentally-friendly at the same time is entirely possible. We’ve put together some great green bathroom remodeling tips that you can consider when planning your bathroom remodel.
As might be expected, your bathroom uses a lot of water, mainly for the toilet and shower. However, it is possible to reduce that figure by a significant margin which can mean your water bill shrinks as a result. The major culprit in bathroom water consumption is of course the toilet, which accounts for a quarter or more of a household’s water usage. Installing a low-flow toilet probably won’t help this, since they can often end up using more water than before due to requiring multiple flushes. However, a dual-flush toilet is an excellent alternative that allows you to minimize the amount of water used per flush – it allows you to choose whether you want to use a minimal amount of water or the maximum amount of water when flushing. As a result, a dual-flush toilet can save as much as 17,000 gallons per year. If you don’t want to replace the toilet entirely, your current toilet can also be upgraded to allow dual flushing.
When it comes to the shower, it generally does not use as much water as the toilet does, but it still accounts for 15-20% of a household’s water usage. You can cut back on this by installing a low-flowing showerhead, which uses 1.5 to 2 gallons per minute, as opposed to a high-flowing showerhead that uses 2.5 gallons per minute.
Choosing environmentally-friendly materials for your bathroom remodel is another way to go green but still have a great-looking bathroom in the end. Ceramic is a very popular green material for bathroom tiles that is attractive, durable and low-maintenance, while tiles crafted from recycled glass are also very environmentally friendly and attractive as well. Replacing light fixtures with LEDs will help save on energy costs over the long run since they use a very minimal amount of energy but can still output a good deal of light.
In addition to green remodeling materials and water-efficient fixtures, you can reduce your bathroom’s energy costs to help save money and minimize environmental impact. Your water heater can be wrapped with an insulator that helps reduce the amount of energy it needs to heat water and you can also insulate any exposed pipes connected to the water heater. It can also be a big help to turn the temperature down to 120 degrees from the standard 140 degrees a water heater is usually set at – this will still provide hot water but use less energy in the the time comes to replace your water heater, you have two excellent alternatives to a standard water heater. With a condensing water heater, almost all of the energy used goes to heating water – maximizing energy-efficiency. The other option is a tankless water heater, which heats water on demand, rather than using energy to keep water hot constantly.…

Remodeling Your Master Bathroom

When picking out a home how many of us search for a master bath that has the things we might ever want and love. Regrettably this is not always the case. When you cannot discover the one that you like endeavor to instead discover various ways that you are able to reconstruct it. Remodeling is not a simple thing – but it can be enjoyable. But first you have to understand what to do.
Floors
The floors are commonly the first thing that people will change. The majority of people are going to have floors that are boring, cheap, and difficult to clean. These are bad things to be stuck with and the only way you can fix it is to take it off and place something new down. In the bathroom your safest option for flooring iwill be tile.
This is the most extended and can manage with wet areas. It is also going to be the most low-priced. Stone is an alternative but it is rather heavy and very pricey. With tile you will have the ability to select from hundreds of styles and even have the choice to create your own pattern.
Colors
The next thing to change is the dull white color on the walls. If you are really unlucky then you will have something tacky on the walls. Try to pick out something that you love and that will assist you to relax. If you have a smaller bathroom than choose lighter colors. Darker colors will make the room appear smaller.
Showers And Sinks
Why not indulge a little and exchange that dull old bathing tub with a modern spa tub. Or you can put in a new steam shower that will help your muscles to relax and you to clear your head. What master bathroom would be complete without a double sink. These allow you more space to utilize with your partner.…

Creating Energy Efficient Attics

When the term attics come to mind it is often in distaste. Most people consider them to be storage areas or those creepy places in horror movies. This isn’t so. They are normally stuffy and hot or freezing because they have not been insulated as part of the overall house. This is because they are not considered regular living space. Did you know that the extreme heat and cold can be bad for the items stored there? It can also be bad for your heating or cooling bill. Although heat rises up into attics, it is also often stuck there. This warms your ceiling in your living area and therefore makes the air conditioner work harder which affects your wallet.
It’s best to be proactive in this situation. Creating energy efficient attics is a matter of a few simple steps that involve spraying on a barrier sealant, adding insulation, and maintaining proper ventilation. The hardest of these steps will possibly be creating the right ventilation. That’s all depends upon the current system or the lack thereof.
A barrier coating is applied to attics in spray form. This is placed on the walls and ceilings of the room in order to deflect or block the heat from coming into the room or space. This coating is normally in paint form. It can be applied with an airless paint sprayer. It can also be rolled or brushed on.
Insulation is used to keep the temperature regulated in attics. It helps to keep things warm during winter months and cool during summer months. It comes in flexible roll-out sheets and in foam that you can spray between the outer wall and the sheetrock or drywall. You don’t need interior walls to install insulation. A lot of attics have it already on the floor area. They just don’t have it on the walls. If you don’t have a finished attic then it is best to use blanket type insulation.
Ventilation systems are designed to allow moisture and heat escape attics. This will help regulate temperatures and prevent damage to the wood.
As with any home improvement project, don’t guess or estimate what the required materials will be. Take appropriate measurements and apply them to the job at hand. When working on attic space remember to follow a few precautions. Before starting the project, clear the area of all items that are being stored. If there is no floor, only joists then place plywood or strong boards across them to support your weight and take away the risk of falling. Make sure that there is adequate lighting whether it is natural or you have to bring in a light.
These steps can not only create lower heating and cooling bills, they can help to make attics into living space and therefore increase the price of your home. Think of it as an inexpensive way to put an addition on your home. This doesn’t have to take nearly as long and you don’t have to put up with holes in your house, though.…

How You Can Turn Your Lawn Into Food

Don’t let your fear of landscaping keep you from having the best looking house on the block. You don’t have to have a green thumb to do some simple things to make your home look great. You can start this weekend and have a better looking yard, in no time at all.

If you have children, or would like an area to entertain guests, it would be wise to plan out an open space in your landscaping. Make sure that you allocate this space, before starting your landscaping project, so that you ensure that you will have enough room once you are done.

One of the most important things you can do to reduce your landscaping costs, is to draw up a plan before you begin buying plants, and building materials. Knowing what you need, and where it goes will prevent you from wasting money on unneeded items. You’ll save you time as well.

Befriend your neighbors. You might be able to share costs when you rent equipment or buy large quantities of landscaping supplies together. Offer to help your neighbors with their landscaping project and they will probably help you with yours. Let people borrow your tools and talk about creating a common tool collection.

When you start performing a landscaping project, it is very important to establish a budget first. Certain tools, accessories and live plants can be more costly than you think and can make an impact on your plans. Do your research online to get an approximation of how much it will cost to complete your project.

Learn how to properly layer your beds. You should have a first row with your tallest plants and keep your shortest plants for your last row. The tallest plants should be facing North to protect the smaller ones from cold winds. Make sure all your beds are organized in the same fashion.

If you are inexperienced at landscaping and gardening, you must consider the maintenance involved before selecting your next project. Never plan a high-maintenance, ornate design unless you are confident in your abilities to care for it properly. If you cannot afford to hire someone to maintain your lawn, it is best to opt for simple designs with low-maintenance elements.

In your next landscaping endeavor you may want to include a water feature as a focal point. Water features are very appealing, not only for their appearance, but also for the beautiful noises they can make. There are many options, from fountains to faux rivers that will surely enhance your yard’s appearance.

Start any landscaping with a plan of action. With landscaping projects, it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed with material and decorative needs. Take the time to plan it all out before the start, and build a list of every item that will be required, no matter how small the item. This way, you can save yourself lots of one-at-a-time trips to your local garden store.

There are so many ways to have a great looking yard. This article has shown you the ease and simplicity that landscaping can be. Anyone can do some simple things to have a great looking yard. As you have read here, you can make some easy changes and have a much better looking yard.…