Living Room Decorating Ideas

Your living room will be a place for family or friends to sit and visit, so a special effort should be made to create a comfortable harmonious environment. Usually this is the first room you see upon entering your home, it is also a room that must show well and in most cases carry more than one function such as a playroom, office and even a dining room. If you would like to see more pictures you can check our previous posts : 26 Wonderful Living Room Design Ideas, ,Living Room Furniture, Living Room Inspiration.

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Ideas For a Moden Living Room

These “color-mad” interiors come from Circulo Muebles and were designed by Paco Alcalde and Kiko Moreno. A mixture of diverse furniture items, bold, otherwise classic colors, wooden finishes but also lacquered one, these arrangements seem to have nothing in common except for a modern touch and a high amount of style. The shelving systems are particularly interesting, especially the ones that have colorful finishes. We hope you will get plenty of ideas from these interiors and we wish you a great redecorating time!

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How to know if Buying an Older Home is a Good Investment

If you are looking for a new home, or you are even contemplating moving, have you thought about what type of home you would buy? While new construction comes with the benefit of everything being brand new, they also can lack charm, and craftsmanship that many older homes exude. If you are leaning towards buying an older home, but are concerned about how to tell if it is a good investment, here are tips to help. While the ultimate decision will be up to you, buying an older home may be the best investment you ever make.

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  • Determine what is important to you: Depending on your lifestyle, your background and what you are looking for in a home can set your intentions for what you want from an older home. If you want a move-in ready home that doesn’t need any fixing-up or alterations, consider looking at older homes that have been renovated. While, many older homes may only need minor updates, like updating finishes and appliances. These in turn may be worth the great long8term investment and you may enjoy the craftsmanship of an older home as well.
  • Older homes components: An important part of considering an older home is understanding what the pros and cons are. The reality of owning an older home is that its components such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, architectural and structural could have been there since the home was built, or they could have been replaced in renovating. While this can look like a con, having a home inspector research the components can determine if the home will need repairs, or if longevity of the components are in your home’s future. Either way, a good investment is knowing what you will need to put into the home to make it your dream home, that will in turn reward you.

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  • How to give an older home a new life: Many people can see a “diamond in the rough”, meaning the current state of an older home may be a turn off, but the possibilities may be priceless. Consider this when thinking of buying older homes. Qualities like custom woodworking, built-ins, handcrafted exterior details, etc… may not be able to be duplicated in new construction. With a few do-it-yourself projects, or hiring a general contractor may turn any older home into a labor of love that will bring countless advantages and enjoyment for your children’s children to enjoy.

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  • Older home neighborhoods: One area of buying older homes that people forget about is the neighborhoods that older homes have built a tradition in. In fact the term, “location, location, location” is still said today, and depending on where your older home is located, it may be worth more old, than a brand new home across town. Research older neighborhoods, and seek advice of neighbors and residents that have lived in the area for years or even generations. You may be surprised that the neighborhood camaraderie, mature landscaping, and established qualities may be more inviting than a brand new housing development.

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The decision to buy a brand new home, or an older home comes with questions, but you should rest assured that thousands of other homeowners have had the same dilemmas. Weigh what is important in your family’s lifestyle and what the total investment will look like once you acquire the home. While the financial investment is one component, renovating, and/or acquiring the history of a home’s life is another. Whichever you decide, buying an older home can be as good as investment as buying brand new, just do your homework to make sure you feel comfortable with your decision.

How to Choose Welcoming Walkway Elements for your Exterior Home

Your outdoor home is starting to become more in focus, now that the warmer weather is moving in. While your physical exterior home is one aspect, have you looked at the area that leads to your home? The sidewalks, walkways, paths, patios, covered walks, etc…. are all areas of your outdoor home that welcome guests in from the street. Choosing inviting elements to enhance these walkways will make your home more pleasing to approach, as well as give you a sense of joy when viewing your outdoor home from inside. Here are tips for choosing welcoming walkway elements.

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  • Beautify the journey: Whether the pathway to your home is long or short, the “journey” to get to your front door should be enjoyable. This can be achieved with beautifying your walkway with landscaping, lighting, colorful rocks, or even decorative benches and stepping stones. Many landscape designers enjoy this part of their profession, because the journey to your front door should be enjoyed and not just ran through. Stand outside your home and look at the colors of your home, landscaping, and surroundings to find creative ways to bring areas of visual interest to your front door.
  • Coordinate with your neighbors: While your walkway doesn’t need to clone your neighbors, a unified street of coordinating exteriors is inviting and contagious! Try using similar plantings, colors of foliage, trellises, low fencing and decorative rocks and walls to connect visually and physically. Many neighbors like to participate in landscaping projects together to give their adjoining outdoor homes similar curb appeal. This will help create a gorgeous street of unification, rather than individualized creativity that may get lost amongst neighbors that are trying to be rebels.

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  • Decorate with creative light: A welcoming walkway should also be enjoyed in the evening hours and many outdoor walkways can come alive as the sun goes down. Choose from solar lighting to line your pathways or hang creative sculptural lanterns or even outdoor pendants from trees and overhead architectural elements. Even white string lights can brighten an outdoor patio area, as can large ground lanterns that mimic luminaries. When choosing walkway lighting consider safety and if there are changes in grade or elevation along the path. Sure, lighting can beautify, but it should also assist in safety and security for your guests to and from your home.

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  • Choose your outdoor components to work together: Similarly to your interior home in which you choose the fabrics, wall paint, and flooring to coordinate, so should be considered when choosing your outdoor components. In your walkways, choose lighting that coordinates with the lighting at the front entry and near the garage. When choosing colors for stained concrete pavers, choose colors that coordinate with your exterior paint color, trim and accents. Create a unified look to make your walkways beckon to come into your home.

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Your front entry elements play a significant role in how your home is perceived and how your guests will enjoy the experience to your home. If you have your home up for sale, remember most homebuyers will make up their mind about your home before they even get to the front door. Use these tips to ensure they will want to come right in!

25 Inspiring and Delightful Traditional Kitchen Designs

Since we recently had a post on Freshome about modern kitchen interiors, we decided to make a little research on classic ideas as well. So here you have it: 25 inspiring traditional kitchen designs that will take you back to the beauty and elegance of the latest decades. We tried to find exquisite designs with a well defined personality. Most of them have wooden finishes, but there are also a few with a color theme. Classic furniture is present in each and everyone of the interiors below, creating a charming and warm atmosphere. Decorative elements are the spice and pepper of these traditional kitchens: unusual wall clocks, small knitted baskets, curtains and very interesting looking tableware are just a few of the details that caught our attention. We really like how the colors of the walls contrasts the furniture in some of the photos, creating an outstanding design. Flower arrangements can have a great influence on how a traditional kitchen looks and can freshen up any interior. Enjoy the pictures below and be sure to give us your feedback.

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10 Luxury Kitchen Ideas For Fraction of the Price

Wouldn’t you love for your kitchen to feel like a luxury home kitchen? The reality – you can achieve it for a fraction of the price. A luxurious home environment can be yours with these helpful tips.

luxury kitchen design 2010 10 Luxury Kitchen Ideas For Fraction of the Price

1. Substitute granite countertops for granite top overlays. Several companies make a polymer/granite “shell” that fits directly over your current countertop. The result? A countertop that looks like you spent thousands, for half of the granite price.

2. Instead of marble tile flooring, use ceramic tile. Several man made varieties of tile mimic the look of marble and can save you money.

3. Substitute hard wood flooring with high-end laminate wood varieties. Hardwood is expensive and has high maintenance. High-end laminate flooring looks just like real hardwood, and comes in hundreds of choices. It also can get wet, and doesn’t scratch like hardwood flooring.

4. Substitute granite sinks for deep bowl- under mounted stainless steel sinks. Sinks can be expensive, especially when using granite, or other solid surface material. Use a deeper bowl, two or three compartment stainless steel sink. This will keep the sleekness you desire, without the high price tag.

luxury kitchen design 2011 10 Luxury Kitchen Ideas For Fraction of the Price

5. Instead of custom faucets and fixtures, use ‘off the shelf’ varieties. Many luxury kitchens have high-end custom fixtures. These days, home improvement stores offer the same great looks, but by common manufacturers. Delta, Moen, American Standard are just a few that will save you money, without anyone knowing.

6. When renovating a kitchen, re-face wood cabinets instead of starting new. This process involves keeping the original cabinet, but having a laminate finish over the old. Cabinet and drawer fronts are brand new. With new door pull hardware added, the final look is of high-end cabinets that don’t hurt your wallet.

7. Instead of expensive, sleek metal cabinetry, use self-assembly cabinet manufacturers. Instead of spending thousands on sleek, modern cabinets visit a store like IKEA. They have dozens of choices for cabinetry that you can assemble yourself. If you need help, they have assistance that you can purchase separately.

8. Substitute stainless steel appliances for stainless steel finish appliances. Appliance manufacturers now offer stainless steel finish appliances. These appliances don’t give the fingerprints that stainless steel gives, and the appearance is still modern and luxurious.

luxury kitchen design 10 Luxury Kitchen Ideas For Fraction of the Price

9. Instead of crystal and expensive lighting fixtures, choose “off the shelf” fixtures. Pendant, recessed, and under counter lighting fixtures can be expensive. Use varieties that are readily available at your favorite lighting or home improvement store.

10. Instead of granite and mosaic tile backsplashes, consider using glass and ceramic tile. Mosaic tile and granite can be expensive and laborious to install. With the wide variety of tiles the options are limitless. You can achieve a high end backsplash, to compliment your luxurious kitchen without the cost!

6 Tips to Choose the Perfect Kitchen Tile

The kitchen is the one room in the house that can have several different types of tiles, in different applications, and they all will enhance your kitchen beautifully. When choosing kitchen tile for your home consider where it is going to go first. Glossy tile that goes on a wall will not be the same as flooring tile. Flooring tile has to be safe to walk on, and a glossy floor kitchen tile could be unsafe under foot. Here are tips for choosing the right application and type of tile for your kitchen.

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1.) Determine where the tile will be installed: Before you select a material you will need to decide what surface the tile will be applied. Tile can be placed as a backsplash behind a stove, or on the wall to the underside of the upper cabinets. Tile is a popular countertop material, and can also be used on the kitchen floor.

2.) Decipher the difference between ‘tiles’: The word ‘tile’ refers to a resilient material that can be laid in rows over a surface. For kitchens, this could include: quarry, stone, cork, vinyl, bamboo, ceramic, porcelain and glass. Applications like vinyl, cork and bamboo tiles are most commonly used in flooring. While quarry, ceramic, and porcelain can be used for counters and floors. Glass tile is commonly reserved for walls and backsplashes.

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3.) Determine your budget before getting sold on the look: Kitchen tile can be inexpensive, such as vinyl and linoleum tiles or they can be expensive, such as custom designed ceramic tiles. Do your homework before getting married to an envisioned look in your head! Tile and home improvement stores can help you estimate the amount of product that will be required for your kitchen.

4.) Consider your household’s lifestyle: Although kitchen tile is resilient, it still requires up-keep and the longevity of each material differs. For countertops, ceramic tile is durable and will hold up to heat from hot pans, and is easy to clean and maintain. Unfortunately a ceramic tile surface can be uneven and it can easily crack or chip. Determine if your family’s lifestyle will match the tile finish you choose.

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5.) Choose a floor tile that can withstand your family’s habits: When choosing floor tile it has to be durable enough to withstand heavy traffic, pets, spilled foods and cleaning supplies. Ensure that you purchase floor tile that is called ‘floor tile’. If you choose a wall tile for a floor the coefficient of friction (COF) will be too low, which in turn means it’s too slippery for walking. Instead choose floor tile that has a slight raised pattern, or texture to it to allow for a safer kitchen floor. For a more refined and elegant look consider using quarry tile. The clay and limestone based tile is fired to look like natural stone. Quarry tile is more expensive than the traditional ceramic tile, but is gorgeous in the right application.

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6.) The sky is the limit for your tile backsplash: Well, to a certain point the sky is the limit. Since your backsplash doesn’t take direct heavy traffic, glossy, and painted tiles are a perfect fit for your backsplash. Although they still have to withstand, hot oil splatters, grease and daily cleaning. Choose from porcelain, ceramic, glass, metal or stone materials for a backsplash that can subtly or boldly bring a decorative flair to your kitchen.

Your kitchen floors, counters and backsplash have a variety of tile styles to fit your budget, and taste. Consider these tips when choosing tile for your kitchen. Research your tile options and then make your kitchen the one you’ve always dreamed of!