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LA’s Ultra-cool and Super-hot DIY Home Improvement Projects That You Can Take on This Weekend!

By Sal | Published July 4, 2013

Are you pretty handy with your toolbox? Do you have a knack for DIY projects? Then here are a few ultra-cool and superbly hot do it yourself home improvement ideas in the LA for you to take on during the weekend!

Garden Arbors

Garden arbors are beginning to achieve popularity these days. Yet to pull this off you need to have a garden of course! Anyway assuming you live in an individual house and have a nice little garden in front of your place, you can easily go for buying and installing a garden arbor during the weekend. A budget yet beautiful garden arbor is usually made of vinyl or redwood or even cedar and it is priced reasonably within the range of $200-300. It will take you about three to five hours to install this particular thing. The time frame of this job depends upon the level of your skills and workmanship. The height and width of an average arbor are nearly eight feet and about three to four feet.

Window Awnings

I know that ‘the sunlight is full of vitamin D” is true, ‘the sunlight is full of UV rays’ are also true in the same way. This is the reason why during the too hot and very sunny days, the window awnings work like spells. Choose your awning in a color that goes with your room and your taste and buy something sturdy and waterproof so that it lasts for a very long time as you cannot expect to go for a home improvement every now and then. An average awning cost not more than one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars.

Garage Storage

Just like many of us, you also don’t have unlimited space, racks and shelves in your garage. Well you can change that this weekend if you want to! All you have to do is to redesign your garage and add up the fixes to your do it yourself home improvement list!

Hide Your AC!

This is something you might find ‘too much of a trouble for nothing’ kind of a thing. Yet on a second thought, this is absolutely something you would like to do to improve your home. Seriously, you cannot imagine what a dramatic change a little and seemingly insignificant thing like a screen can bring to your place! Don’t you believe me? Go get one for yourself and see how your hidden AC works magic when it comes down to the entire ambience of your home! Remember, AC is only good for controlling the room temperature to keep it pleasant and not for its look.

Scrub and Paint!

Scrub off the old and worn out paints from your walls and paint them all again! Don’t worry, you won’t have to do take on all of the walls of your place, just stick to one room at a time and it will do the job! Pick bright and mild colors to get your home a very homely and comfortable look.

Posted in General | Tagged Do It Yourself Home Improvement, Home Improvement | Leave a comment

Restaurant Interior: The Hottest Trends in Orange County

By Sal | Published July 3, 2013

Interior design is a very important part of any kind of properties. No matter how big or small the property is, no matter how big or small the budget is, the interior of the property must be paid attention. Otherwise all the hard work which has been put into developing a building will be lost altogether. Same thing goes for the restaurants too. As a restaurant’s job is not only to feed the people but also give them the space and environment to enjoy and cherish their meal, interior design plays a vital role in that. If you are a proud owner of a restaurant at present or willing to open one soon enough, you should have a peek at the current trends of restaurant interiors in Orange County.

Personal Space

Imagine planning a cozy and comfortable meal in a restaurant with your family and ending up being nearly tied up with one another just because the chairs are positioned closer than they are supposed to be. Would you ever go back to that kind of place for a family supper or a business dinner? Putting myself in such a position, I can vouch for you that you would not give that particular restaurant a second chance. So, pricey décor or not, the seating arrangement of a restaurant should be roomy enough to allow personal space for the guests.

Sustainable and Green

Almost one out of three Americans is friendly to the nature and they want to have a dash of lovely plants and a touch of sustainable products here and there. Keeping that in mind, try to have some live plants or green walls in your restaurant. It will give your restaurant a perfect and solid green dose of boost!

Noise Reduction

This is a very important part of any restaurant because noise reduction helps the entire restaurant environment improve. The reason behind this is very straight and simple which relates to everybody’s usual disliking for being distracted or disturbed by noise. Make your restaurant free from outside noise and make it as sound as possible. For the restaurant interior sound, try to keep as much space is possible from table to table and try to keep the music smooth and subtle so that they help in keeping the environment of the restaurant perfect.

Interactive Ambience

Do you want to improve your restaurant design by miles than many others? Then you should go for the interactive things like having blooming wallpapers on the walls of your restaurant or choosing tiles which are ‘alive!’ Sometimes, the lights can play the trick too. For instance, if your restaurant has the mechanism in lighting that will go along with the changes of beats or music which will give a twist to the interior ambience of your restaurant.

Go 3D

The 3D is indeed a superhot item in the latest restaurant trends. It gives the guests to enjoy a ‘pasta break in Rome’ while not setting a toe out of Orange County! Getting some 3D jobs included in your restaurant design will get you more sales for sure!

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How to Save Money While Renovating Your Home

By Sal | Published July 2, 2013

Getting a decent renovation job done which is not too heavy on your wallet is not a piece of cake. Yet, there is some stuff you can do to keep that cost down to a minimum. Here are some ideas that will help you to get a perfect renovation job done in a super saving way!

Choose Wisely

Yes, it is always about a choice. Especially, when it comes down to home remodeling on a tight budget, the choice becomes even more important. Now the question pops up in your mind that ‘What are my options or from which things I need to choose from?” Well, it’s all about your needs and wants. For example, if you are willing to remodel your place just because you want to get rid of the old one and want a fresh new look instead, then you might be siding with the ‘want’ team. On the contrary, if your place is barely habitable and needs some drastic changes in it then you should be working on the ‘need to work’ basis. Singling one out of these two will help you a lot to cut out the unnecessary expenditure that you can come across during the renovation.

Go Professional

Going professional or hiring an expert might sound like spending a lot of money when home remodeling is concerned but this step will eventually help you to stay on budget. Do you want to know how? Well it is absolutely simple; hiring an expert builder will save you from the possible renovation disasters that might fall upon you if you try to do that on your own when you are not a professional yourself in that area. And believe me, the disaster management in this sector can be very heavy on a person’s budget. Playing safe is a positive and smart move here.

Be Realistic

This is a very wise thing to do when you are planning on a home remodeling on a tight budget. This is how you get to have a realistic and logical solution to your renovation situation. When you have a tight budget and you are dreaming of having a ‘Neverland Ranch’, it will not work out for you at all. Yet, if you plan on having a nice, modern and cozy home, you can actually get that in the end! So, being realistic about your renovation goals will help you to keep from spending money on unnecessary fancy stuffs.

Do Compare

You need to compare your budget with the estimates you would be getting from the possible contractors. See which one of them is giving you the best options at a cost effective and fair cost. Besides, try to single out the home renovator who is offering you the options that have better resale value. This is a good way to stay on budget.

Begin Small

Once you hire a renovator, make sure you hire it for a small project first. For instance, let your home renovator do the kitchen first so that you get to have a first-hand experience of what to expect next. If everything goes well, you can take the big leap!

Posted in General | Tagged home remodeling on a tight budget, home renovator | Leave a comment

(Re)Build Your Office or Home in Irvine: The Green Way!

By Sal | Published July 1, 2013

Are you a green lover or a person friendly to the nature and the environment? Then you might like to get your home and office customized in a green way. And as green homes or offices just don’t drop down on your lap from the sky automatically, you will have to take the necessary initiative and measures to make that happen! There are a handful of tricks or ways to build and/or rebuild a green place in Irvine. Here goes the list for your benefit!

Call on a Constructor

Now this kind of a cliché and you should find it very easy to put a constructor and a green construction in the same league. As any major construction and/or reconstruction needs an expert’s assistance, who would be a better person to contact than a constructor regarding this? Just make sure you are very specific and strong about your ‘target green’ during the meeting with your builder and that should do it if your builder is any good. All you have to do is to call for a reputed one to ensure quality results.

Use Fluorescents

This is a great way to go green when getting an ecofriendly building is your concern. These bulbs consume up to 75% less power than the regular bulbs and as power sources are very limited and getting used up all the time, using fluorescent bulbs can be a life saver!

Minimize the Use of Electricity

Green homes or any other green constructions cannot afford to be generous in the use of electricity. It is their core duty to save as much electricity as they can. This is the reason why a good builder would choose to build such a place in a way that maximizes the use of natural daylight. The design should be tricky enough to accommodate proper utilization of sunlight but not to get overly heated at the same time.

Using auto timers is a good way to save some valuable energy as well. Installing an additional power system that runs by solar energy and using that as much as you can will be very helpful too. Turn down or turn off the cooling and heating system if possible when there is no one at your office or home. If you turn that down around ten degrees and let it run for around eight hours or more, you can save up to ten percent energy. Check the things like power cable, sockets, plugs and connections so that they don’t consume more power than they should to function.

Save Water

An ecofriendly building is a building that saves almost every kind of natural power or energy source which means it cannot go easy on water usage as well. Don’t get it wrong, no one is trying to deprive you from running flow of water really. Just try to use the low flow tools so that you can save water. Use dual-flush toilets and save a lot more water!

Posted in General | Tagged ecofriendly building, green homes | Leave a comment

How to Renovate Your Bathroom: Some Cool Ideas

By Sal | Published June 28, 2013

The bathroom is a very important part of a home. This is the place where you get to wash all your stress and tiredness away after a busy and hectic day. If you want to design your bathroom all over again, you should go for it without much delay. Yet, you should not rush into it also, just take your time, sleep on it if you need to and get started! Here is what you should do to renovate your bathroom stylishly.

Plan, Budget and Choice

These are the golden trio of bathroom remodeling or renovation. Look for the rooms for improvement and make a list. Then make a smart plan that will help you to get a whole new bathroom without bankrupting you. After that you do a thorough homework on the product and service charge and see if that’s okay with you or not. And then make a choice between ‘going the professional way’ and ‘doing it on your own’. If you are handy with tools and if your bathroom needs only a minor kind of renovation then you should be alright with the second option. But if your bathroom needs major kind of renovation then you trust a professional on that.

Listen to the Walls

If you ask an a1 builder about the importance of the walls, you will probably find him telling you that the walls do have their own stories to tell. And if you don’t want to make your bathroom walls all mute and dumb, you should be very choosy about the colors and shades. Try to find something bright and natural to keep your spirit high while taking a bath or shower. Do not go for an adrenaline rush though by choosing all scarlet colored paint for the walls. A bathroom renovator can fairly do the job for you. If you are doing it on your own, just make sure you clean up the dirt or stain on the walls as much as possible to avoid the blotches.

Check and Change the Tiles

Well, this is kind of an on demand job. And trust me the tiles of your floor will talk to you. Yet, when you want to design your bathroom in a very fresh way, one of the best options for you would be changing the tiles and choosing some entirely new colors in them.

Time to Let Go of Your Old Cabinets

Seriously, you should let go of them if you want to pull the remodeling job off perfectly. Just think how out of place an old cabinet will look in a freshly tiled and newly painted bathroom! It will definitely flush all your effort down the drain if you don’t change your cabinet.

Buy New Shower, Toilette Seat and Accessories

If you ask a smart bathroom renovator about this he will definitely echo my voice on this. The total idea of remodeling revolves around these things. You cannot simply have a new bathroom without having them fresh and new. So, get the ones that are durable and comfortable, sit on them before buying if you have to!

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Things to Consider before Hiring a Builder for Remodeling Your Home in Beverly Hills

By Sal | Published June 27, 2013

Are you considering a total remodeling of your place but still in a doubt about who to hire? Well, you are not the sole person in Beverly Hills to feel that way. If you look closely, you will find a lot of people going in the same direction wondering which builder would be the best option for them for their home remodeling and repair. Well, this article is written to help you to choose the right one so that whatever decision you take, you take it in a well thought way. Here are the considering factors which you need to focus on before any major decision.

Make a List

When it comes down to home remodeling and repair, you cannot afford to be impulsive at all because once the changes are made; they are made for years to come. So, inhale a long breath of air, grab your pen and paper and start scribbling. Don’t let the smallest kind of repair go unnoticed and pen them all down.

Arrange in Order

When you’ve done with your list, you should arrange that in a systematic way putting the major kind of remodeling as the first priority on the list. This way you will be able to go to the next step quite comfortably.

Get an Estimate

In this phase, you have to get an estimate of expenditure and the timeframe for the remodeling from the most reputed home remodeling service providers around your place. It is always suggested that you ask the estimate from more than one company to get the best possible deal regarding this.

Compare

When you have the estimates you are given in your hands, it’s time for you to compare. Be careful about the cheapest ones around you though, as they might not provide you with the quality finish that you want for your home. Don’t go hiring the elite ones just depending on their names, go to them, ask all the questions you need to ask and see if the answers are satisfying or not. If yes, then you surely can hire one of them if you can afford. But you should still take your time to make the right choice. It would be good for you if you could sleep on it for a night or two before taking the big step. Yet, usually the best thing to do about it is to hire a company with a decent reputation and affordable budget. Such companies seem to work great!

Consider Resale

Do your own homework about the resale value of the products, equipment and materials that will be used to remodel your place. Some materials simply come up with better resale value than the others. Ask your home remodeling service provider to use those materials instead of some insubstantial stuff to get a better resale price if you ever think of selling your place and buy a new one. Checking your builder’s compliance with logical demands is a great way to choose the right one also!

Posted in General | Tagged Home Remodeling, home remodeling and repair, home remodeling service | Leave a comment

Home Exterior Design: What’s Happening in Santa Monica

By Sal | Published June 26, 2013

It is true that no one should judge a book by its cover. Then again, it is also true that no one should use some cheap wrapper to cover a classy piece. And believe me, looks really matter when it comes down to the exterior look of a house. It may not be all that luxurious and posh but there is no reason for it to be plain and dull at all. Just try to give your place in Santa Monica an individual look regardless of its size or your budget. Your builder should be able to get something special for the exterior of your place without messing with your wallet! Here is what is happening in Santa Monica these days regarding home exterior styles and designs.

Stones and Bricks do the Tricks!

An ace builder does not compromise with the look of the entrance of a house as it is regarded as one of the most prominent elements of the home exteriors. This is the reason why they are becoming very partial with stones and bricks these days. These two materials do not only give a classic look to the exterior of a home but also speak for the classy taste of the owner.

Siding Should Be Chosen Carefully

Siding is a very visible and important part of any home which is the reason why the siding material should be chosen very carefully. The material should not only be durable but also be easily maintained and beautiful to look at. This is why the Santa Monica folks are craving for vinyl ones as they come up with cost-efficiency, variety in looks and flexibility to match up with both classic and contemporary designs. Yet, the people who are very serious about going green, they are picking up fiber cement ones. This comes in various looks and they are very sturdy as sidings. Besides, these sidings are resistant to fire as well.

Clever Colors Are Necessary

A house is such a place which needs to be colored very cleverly specially the exterior parts. The home exteriors are more exposed to the sun, the rains and so on. So, the outer colors should be chosen not only depending on the looks but also on the durability and maintenance. The shade should be proper for all year round not only for a single season or a couple of them. For instance, soft brown, chocolate, pale yellow or simply plain whites are very much in this season. On top of that, many homeowners prefer multiple colors for their homes these days. For instance, if they want to have soft brown for the walls they might want to dark brown or chocolate as the color of the sidings or of the doors and windows when the home exterior design is your concern. Apart from that the colors of the other houses in the neighborhood should be taken into account so that your house stands out perfectly but does not overdo that. Quite plain and simple, isn’t it?

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How to Have a Beautiful Kitchen: The Renovation Theory

By Sal | Published June 25, 2013

Having a beautiful and fully functional kitchen is not a piece of cake. Yet, it is not a “mission impossible” either if you have a heart and will to do so. Seriously, you don’t have to be an “Ethan Hunt” to tame your kitchen down! All you have to do is to hire a remodeling company to do it all for you! Here is how it would go for your kitchen!

Cut Down All the Extras

This is something a builder is likely to do as his first step. He is simply going to cut down all the extra stuff that is stuffed in your kitchen making it hard to use comfortably. Be it something decorative that is standing in the way or be it any substandard product of basic necessity, a builder is going to clean it up to go on with the remodeling. Then he is going to pick some more pleasant options for that.

Dark vs Light

Are you thinking of giving your kitchen a dark and thick look? Please have a second thought then! The dark and misty look of a kitchen is long gone these days. And this era has become essentially warm and friendly to the bright and sunny kitchen setting. This is what your builder is going to do next on his renovation list.

Close is cozy

That is downright true indeed! A builder works on a kitchen layout tirelessly until he gets the desired outcome. In this case the desired result would be a closely set kitchen. For instance, the oven should be closely set next to the kitchen counter, refrigerator and the sink. If a freezer is far away from the kitchen counter, the cook would have to waste a lot more time and energy in getting the ingredients out from the freezer.

Open Cabinets

Open and mild and natural colored cabinets are being very friendly to a modern kitchen. A beautiful and lovely kitchen can be less attainable unless you keep the cabinets open when it comes down to trendy kitchens. Gray is a very popular option for such a cabinet as the people are going head over heels for mild-natural shades in their cabinets.

Horizontal Shelves

Vertical shelves are receiving farewell gloriously as the horizontal shelves are replacing them very easily. These shelves are very cozy to use and very roomy to look at. And this is the reason why they are making their rooms in the kitchen layout whenever they get a chance.

Wood Is Back with a Bang!

If you are very used to laminated or granite based countertops, I’ve got a news for you which is the wood is back as a very viable option as counter tops nowadays. The builders are picking up wood and Calcutta marbles to give it a sturdy and shiny finish.

The Longer the Table Is the Better!

A modern kitchen is asking for a long dining table these days. Yet, if you have a limited space you can settle down with a rectangular one and can still own a beautiful kitchen for sure!

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Office Designing Ideas in LA: The 2013 Talks

By Sal | Published June 21, 2013

Are you thinking of having a new office in LA? Then you must skim through the trends that are smoking hot this year, both with the designers and the clients. Here is a list of things that you should find pretty handy indeed to choosing the right things for your new office.

Nothing Can Beat Comfort

A person spends nearly half of his day in the office which means he actually needs to have a comfortable stay over there. Otherwise, he won’t be able to perform up to his full potential which will definitely reflex upon the business badly. So, while designing an office or work-space, most designers are prioritizing ‘comfort’ as their number one.

Staying Close is Staying Connected

Sounds a bit cheesy, doesn’t it? Yet, effective all the way! Any prominent office designer in LA is literally closing the gaps between a desk and another. The point of doing this is to manage the time more efficiently and to keep the stress level to a minimum as the employees do not have to walk a long way to reach each other or other relevant areas.

Unit Based Designing

The most recent office designing ideas are actually embracing the unit based designs with open arms. For instance, the accounts, marketing and finance departments are being considered as a unit because of their interconnected activities and being set up close to one another to facilitate their jobs. This way each department will perform very effectively.

Private Enclaves

Can you actually share privacy? Well, not all but this sort of privacy is very shareable! Private enclaves are very much in season these days to be shared by the employees. A smart office designer can easily save a lot of space to arrange one of these on each floor. For instance, he can cut down the 8/9 foot cubicles to 8/8 ones to save a foot from each workstation and make room for the private zone!

Multipurpose Rooms

Latest office designing ideas are focusing of multi-purpose rooms nowadays. Having such rooms saves a lot of space in an office. For instance, meetings and conferences are not regular occurrences in an office and keeping separate rooms for them is not very smart for an office with limited space. In such a case, keeping the conference room in use for other flexible purposes while there is no meeting or conference on schedule can be a very smart course of action.

Fewer Walls Can Do the Trick

Suppose, you have an option to choose between more cabins and more open desks; now the question is which way you would go? If you ask a reputed office designer, he would surely advise you to go with as few walls as possible. Let me tell you why, well, the thing happens is the more walls you build the more congested a place becomes. On top of that, the walls also consume some of the valuable spaces themselves. This is the reason why don’t go for walls when you have an option to settle down with desks and cubicles.

Posted in General | Tagged Multipurpose Rooms, office designer, Office Designing, Office Designing Ideas, Private Enclaves, Unit Based Designing | Leave a comment

How to Get Your Dream Home in Orange County

By Sal | Published June 20, 2013

How to get your dream home or more importantly, how to turn a house into a home for you and your family? Well, having a dream home is not a simple task to do for you or for anybody else in the world. Yes, a builder will do his job and will do that with distinction if you hire an eligible one but to make that house into your dream home, you will have to give that a bit of personal touch. Don’t get me wrong, you are not being asked to do all the jobs on your own. Simply, take a bit of your time to talk with your builder about your requirements and expectations and get it done! Don’t go poking your builder all the time though, just try to be specific about what you want and let him take over from there. Here are some house designing ideas that you might like to consider for your dream home in Orange County.

Au Naturel

This is what has been happening in Orange County these days. People are swooning over the idea of all natural look instead of an all-too-colorful one. And why won’t they? A home should be nice, warm and cozy place after all. Besides, anything too ‘strong’ can disturb the idea of calm and peacefulness that a home requires to cry out loud.

Gracefully Green

It’s true that not all the house designing ideas in Orange County can afford to accommodate some lush and vast green gardens in a time like this. Yet, the ingenious builders have taken quite a handful of innovative replacements for that. For instance, a green corner or a green wall in the house can positively bring out the best in it.

Striking Stripes

Stripes are becoming very popular these days. Be it a simple wallpaper or be it a gorgeous carpet, stripes are being used as a dash of life to the overall tranquility of the homely environment. You might also consider having some of these delicious stripes at your place to make it vibrant and lively.

Mucha Luz

Imagine a room full of bright sunlight and compare that with one that practically needs artificial lights lit to be merely brightened on a sunny day! You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see which one wins the battle fair and square. And surely you would want to side with light instead of darkness when it comes down to your ‘home sweet home’.

Family Ties

Now, what is the thing that actually turns a house into a home? The answer is simple, a bit of the personal touch of every living soul in it! And this is the reason why the latest house designing ideas are revolving around family ties these days. This means, a thoughtful builder is keeping the common goal in mind while designing a home instead of hovering over personal needs only.

Along with these, there are some other things such as textured materials or floral patterns are coming very handy these days when home designing ideas are concerned. You can have a little of those to get your dream home as well!

Posted in General | Tagged Dream Home, house designing ideas, how to turn a house into a home | Leave a comment