Category Archives: Home Design

Home Design

How to Reinvest Your Tax Refund as a Homeowner

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After receiving your tax refund, you might be considering some renovation projects for your house. Before you grab a hammer and get started, take the time to research what home improvements will increase your property value. Here are some easy ways to reinvest in your home while making the most of your tax refund.  

Curb Appeal

The landscaping around your house is the first thing people notice about your residence. By refreshing the exterior of your home, you can easily give it a whole new look without spending a large amount of your tax refund. 

One of the fastest ways to elevate the appearance of your yard is to add some flower beds. These simple gardens can include easy-to-grow perennials like purple coneflowers, hostas, daisies, or lilies. If you have a green thumb, you could even plant your favorite herbs to add some leafy greens to your landscaping. No matter what you decide to grow, ensure that it is tough enough to survive the seasonal weather of your region. You don’t want to spend time and money on plants that won’t last through the hot summer months.  

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DIY, Home Design

How to Feng Shui Your Home Office

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Feng shui is a Chinese concept based on the principle of Tao, or harmony.  Feng, which means wind, and shui, which means water, is a concept based on observations of nature and built around ideas of flow, energy, and balance of the five elements.  It aims to order our built environments on principles of the natural world, and, by doing so, to create spaces that add vitality and offer peace in our lives.

Feng shui is built upon a few basic principles, the commanding position, the bagua and the five elements.  The commanding position has to do with the best way to orient yourself and your furnishings within a space. The bagua is an energy map of eight spaces, each relating to different life circumstances, that are centered around a middle area representing overall health and wellbeing.  The five elements are wood, fire, earth, water and metal, each of which has related concepts (e.g., wealth and abundance), shapes, colors, and seasons  

Feng shui essentially seeks to incorporate desired concepts connected to both bagua and elements with the materials of a space, its colors, its air and light quality, positioning, and spatial flow.

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Home Design, Homeowners

Revamping Your Yard After Winter

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Harsh winters can be tough on your yard, and can leave them looking a mess-dead grass and plants, damaged shrubs, trees and more. Your yard could be so damaged that you consider drastic measures, such as hiring different people and companies to fix up your yard again. Luckily, there are easier ways to revamp your yard after a hard winter and they don’t require you to spend as much money. 

Fertilize the yard and replace grass

After a long and cold winter, your grass can be looking flat and brown, which calls for a lot of tending and caring. The best way to help your grass to look luscious and lively again is by supplying it with the nutrients it needs to do so. Luckily, this is an easy task that you can complete on your own. Fertilizer supplies the nutrients that grass needs to flourish.  By following the directions on the fertilizer you buy, you’ll have your grass looking green and full of life in no time. 

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Home Design

Wabi-Sabi Home Design

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If you’ve heard the term wabi-sabi, you probably aren’t sure what it is unless you’re interested in home design. 

For those who don’t know, wabi-sabi is not a type of Japanese food even though it sounds remarkably similar to wasabi. It’s actually a Japanese term and a type of Japanese home design, which has become trendy in recent years – but what defines it from other design trends?

What is Wabi-Sabi?

Basically, “wabi-sabi” is a Japanese term that means finding beauty in imperfection, which has become inspiration for a type of interior design. 

In English, “wabi” roughly translates to “rustic simplicity” or “understand elegance,” which is understood as being one with nature. “Sabi” translates to “taking pleasure in the imperfect,” which can be understood as accepting life as it is – imperfections and all. 

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Home Design

Five Nursery Themes for Your Growing Family

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So, you have little one on the way? This is always such an exciting time filled with a lot to do from baby showers to getting the house and family ready for a new member.

Sometimes among all of the busy schedules and preparations for a new baby, designing a nursery suddenly seems overwhelming. Not only do you have to buy furniture, such as a changing station, dresser and maybe a new crib, but you have to buy diapers, clothes, bed sheets and decor. 

However, if you plan on giving the nursery a theme, it’s important to decide on your theme before buying anything for the nursery. If you know the theme you want in advance, it’s easier to design the nursery, because you’ll already know exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to furniture, color schemes, bed sheets, blankets and more. 

To get you started on your nursery, here are five ideas to consider when deciding on a theme for your new baby’s beautiful room.

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Home Design

First Steps to Decorating Your Home

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Have you just bought a house of your dreams? That’s great! Congratulations!

Now it’s time to think of how you can turn your empty house into a cozy home and what tools you need. 

Let’s consider the first steps you should take when decorating rooms in your new home.

In with the new, out with the old

The very first step you should take is to get rid of all the things that you don’t need or no longer want. Forget about those dusty boxes filled with useless stuff. There is no place for them in your new house. If you didn’t use those things for months or years, you would never use them again. 

If the item is broken – send it to the landfill. If the item is in “gently used” condition – sell it online or send it to a charity shop.

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Home Design, Homeowners

Best Instagram Accounts for Home Inspiration

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The internet is full of inspiration from recipes, date night outfits and home design. Whether you are looking to make small improvements, start a full-on renovation or just want some decor ideas to switch up the look of a space, Instagram can be a great resource for ideas and tips. Here are our top five Instagram accounts to follow if you are a homeowner looking for inspiration.

@uglyducklingdiy

With over 16K followers, Sarah with the Ugly Duckling House is based in Atlanta and covers everything from everyday activities with her pups to home renovations and DIYs. This account is perfect for the homeowner that is looking to make their home unique with outdoor features they craft themselves or make their hosted events more impressive with stand-out table settings. 

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Home Design, Homeowners

Adapting Your Room For a Better Night’s Sleep

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New year, better sleep! Prioritizing a better night’s sleep is a common resolution, but it can be difficult to put into practice…especially if you’re used to getting minimal sleep all the time. So we’ve gathered our best tips for adapting your home and bedroom environment for a better night’s sleep. 

If you can’t wake up with the sun, get a sunrise alarm clock 

Wouldn’t it be nice to avoid alarm clocks altogether and wake up with the sun every morning? While that might not be possible for everyone, a sunrise alarm clock is the next best thing. You can purchase an alarm clock like this one, which simulates sun and gradually gets brighter and brighter as the time nears your ideal wakeup time. So say goodbye to annoying, loud alarms and hello to waking up with the (simulated) sunshine!

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Home Design

Upgrading Your Loft for Resale

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When you are trying to sell your home, there are a great many factors that you need to have in mind. A lot of things will influence the buyers’ decision, as well as the price you can get. One of the things that can increase the appeal of your home is – the shape your loft is in. With that in mind, we’ve prepared this article on loft upgrades that will help you sell your property faster and at a better price. Consider implementing them, as doing so will certainly work in your favor.

Bringing in Natural Light

As lofts usually come with sloping ceilings and unusual angles, bathing them in natural light can be tricky. Still, this is an essential thing to do, as a loft without natural light will be much less attractive to buyers. Dormer windows are a good solution to this problem. Not only do they allow for natural light to break in, but they also provide additional headroom. Unfortunately, you may need to get planning permission before installing these windows. Because they change the way your property’s exterior looks like, you could be instructed, for example, that you will have to use sash windows instead of sliding ones, or that the windows can only cover a certain part of your property’s width.

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Family Home, Home Design

Five Outdoor Features That Will Boost Your Home Value

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Home buyers are more than responsive and attracted to open, livable spaces that are both earth-friendly and stylish. Other than energy-efficiency, outdoor living features are another trend that’s changing the landscape of home design. 

Not only do these features optimize the home life of your family, they significantly boost the value of your home as well. So, if you want to turn your property in a home buyer’s dream and future money make, these are the five outdoor features you should consider adding to your home.

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