Three Ways to Maximize a Minimal Space

Regardless of the size of your home, there’s a ton you can do to maximize your home. With some smart decisions about your choice of furniture, arrangement, and design, you can achieve a look that belies that actual square footage of your apartment. Check out these three ways to maximize a minimal space!

Establish Zones

One of the key factors that you can do to make your space feel larger is to delineate different zones. For anyone that’s lived in a studio apartment of loft space before, they’re familiar with the importance of distinguishing between different living spaces for cooking, dining, living, and sleeping. While a single open space might seem airier and large in theory, creating different “zones” in your home will give you the sense of a large space.

Wondering how to set up your zones? Invest in a few small area rugs to begin, and arrange your furniture in clusters to indicate the purpose of each area. Using bookshelves and other tall pieces of furniture as dividers is another good way to set up visual boundaries between spaces without adding walls or other obtrusive divisions.

Go Multipurpose

Small spaces inherently require fewer pieces of furniture, and that means certain items need to play double duty and fill more than one role. We’re all familiar with the pull-out sofa, but there are plenty of other pieces you can use for more than one purpose in the home.

Take an extendable table for instance. There’s no reason to hold onto a dining table that takes up half of your living space if you’re only having dinner on it once a week. Opt for an expandable option with sides that fold down when you don’t need the surface space. When you need it, the extra space is available. When you don’t, it disappears. It’s a simple solution that gives you some extra breathing room in an otherwise crowded area.

Items like ottomans and benches are perfect for multipurpose design, providing opportunities for seating and storage that fits under tables when they’re not in use, it’s like having an extra set of living room furniture that slide into place whenever it’s most convenient for you. Sites like Lumens have great options like Gus Modern designs that fit the bill. The Mimico Storage Ottoman from the Toronto-based design firm is perfect for supplemental storage that doubles as sleek, attractive seating.

Optical Illusions

Your décor has a lot to do with how you and others perceive the size of your living space. If you have a bright apartment with lots of windows and tall ceilings, it’s always going to feel spacious. While there’s often little you can do in terms of adding windows and changing ceiling height, you can make sure that your apartment is brightly lit and well designed to feel larger than it is.

You might be tempted to max out your wall space with frames, but gallery walls tend to make a room feel smaller, more compact, and potentially overcrowded, the last things you want in a small living space. To make a room feel larger, go with Spartan wall décor to emphasize empty space and a sense of openness. For surfaces like cabinet doors, backsplashes, and alcoves, adding a mirrored surface will help to reflect the light and make the room feel visually larger. It’s a great way to decorate your home to feel more spacious, illusion or not.

Similarly, transparent designs work well in small spaces, minimizing the visual impact and keeping the room feeling light and open, without sacrificing any style or functionality. It’s a win-win for all involved parties.

Follow these easy space-saving strategies to get the look and feel of a spacious home regardless of your square footage!

Ways to Boost the Chances of Selling Your Home

They say it is a buyer’s market at the moment, but when selling your home, that isn’t necessarily a good thing. You don’t want the buyer to work you down to a lower selling point but you do want to move your home quickly. The best way to accomplish this is to take the time to consider a few improvements and key selling points, name a price and hold firm!

Remember, homes are selling so you might not want to take the first offer that comes your way but with a few minor tweaks, you can boost your chances of selling your home – for the price you are asking.

Lest We Forget Curb Appeal

Homeowners looking to sell their home are often so caught up in the home itself that they forget what it looks like from the outside to a first-time visitor. In real estate this is referred to as curb appeal so what you are asked to do is view your property (from the exterior of course) as if you were driving up to the curb for the first time.

Does the lawn need mowing and are the plants and shrubs neatly trimmed? Is there an abundance of ‘stuff’ lying about that should be tucked in the shed? What about those gutters, soffits and fascias. Are they clean and freshly painted or washed? These are all things to consider, so don’t forget to look at the outside as well as the interior.

Remove Clutter

When showing your home, the first mistake you can make it to think that all that clutter makes your home look lived in. The fact is, clutter reduces your chances of selling in at least a couple of ways. Primarily, even if the prospective buyers aren’t neat freaks, they will wonder what’s beneath all that clutter and if there is some kind of damage you are trying to hide or have inadvertently caused.

Secondly, clutter makes your home look smaller. To make each and every room look bigger and more desirable, get rid of almost everything that isn’t absolutely necessary for the décor. Keep books on shelves, pick up toys lying around and by all means, keep your kitchen counters and sink cleaned at all times.

Schedule an Open House

It is unrealistic for a family to live in a showroom so you will want to schedule an open house showing with your realtor. Here is where they will be on hand to show your home for a day, or weekend, and you can expect higher volumes of traffic in a shorter period of time.

It is true that you should avoid using too many decorations as it adds to that cramped, overcrowded appearance, but a bouquet of lovely fresh cut flowers would be ideal. They can be ordered and delivered on the same day from online sites like FTD, and if you expect a fair amount of people to view your home, you might consider flowers for an extra room or two.

Just because it is a buyer’s market doesn’t mean that you need to settle for any offer that comes your way. It may be a market that is to the buyer’s advantage but it is still your home. Use these ideas to help you get the price you are looking for and to sell your home quickly. By making your home more desirable, you will see how much easier it is to sell.

9-Step Guide To Finding A Dream Rental

Moving into a new city has never been a very easy task. Not all of us are super enthusiastic and adventurous who enjoy mixing up with new people. Some of us just it just for the sake of any purpose that has to be completed.

A lot of us move into new places for various reasons. Some change their place because they want to attain higher education while some migrate to different places while they are all out creating a career and a future.

Whatever the reason may be, the need for house is something that is unavoidable and is something that one has to take care of no matter how a gypsy and nomad soul they are.

Moving into a place which you are well versed with is not a cakewalk. And especially in a country like Indian, where as you cross the border of each state, you feel like you’ve have entered a new nation all together.

Imagine if you are a pure north Indian and have spent your entire life munching onto chicken legs and you have got your first job in the top IT firm in Chennai which has been your dream for years, what you would do. Obviously, any sensible and career oriented individual will go against all odds, fight the situation and grab the opportunity. So as soon as you will come here, you will need a flat for rent in Chennai.

So we here, are very sorry that we cannot help you with the cultural conflicts that you may face here. We can’t do anything about your chicken being replaced by idli’s and dosa’s. But what we can help you with is in making your search for the perfect rental house easier.

So how are we going to help you? Well, we right here will mention before you a 9-step complete guide to help you deciding and finalizing the perfect rental accommodation for yourself.

Through these guidelines, you will know how to check if you should choose this house or not. Also, for the new comers who haven’t done it ever before, will get an idea as to how to start and go about it.

So all you potential tenants, here we start with our 9-step guideline. 

• No.1- know where you are going. Study and research about the city so you know it a little better before arriving.
• No.2- know where exactly you are going. Which university or firm you will be going to plays an important role in choosing.
• No.3- pick that area where you will study or work.
• No.4- start searching for a flat for rent in Chennai or whichever city you are going to on the internet first.
• No.5- know your needs well. Be sure as to what facilities you require and will need.
• No.6- check the locality. Very important to know which kind of a locality you are living in before actually moving in.
• No.7- finalize the house. After all your criteria matches with a particular house, finalize it and don’t confuse yourself any further.
• No.8- contact the landlord. Know if he is a kind person or not.
• No.9- be thorough with the paperwork. Make sure all the paperwork is perfect and has no loop holes to it. And then, just move in with positivity in your heart.

This is the 9-step guide that will surely help you find your perfect house for rent.

Taliesin West by Frank Lloyd Wright

Taliesin West is one of the best examples we have so far when referring to organic architecture. By the instant you step into the museum, you are able to admire a distinct, yet extremely common, style of architecture, which incorporates its prairie characteristics into nature. While being considered one of the greatest architectural structures of all times, Arizonians are lucky to have such an extraordinary historical monument as part of their state. As many architecture aficionados and general public already know, Taliesin West was Mr. Wright's winter house in the beautiful city of Scottsdale, Az. It is located on the Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, and its territory expands throughout time enabling current students to explore and experiment with their teachings on organic architecture today.

The school offers a different method of education, and it basically consists of two main campuses, which include this last one, Taliesin West, in Arizona, where students arrive in October and stay for the rest of the winter (just like Wright and his wife at their time), and Taliesin East in Wisconsin, where pupils usually spend their summers. A fact about this educational system that is doubtlessly incredible is that some of the drastic practices that Mr. Wright developed in the 1930s at these two locations are still performed today by the choice of several students. The perfect example of this is the tents that diverse groups of scholars had to build at some point during their first year of their degree across the dessert. It was mentioned at the tour that we attended today that students are provided with an average of $2,000 dollars to make such tents after their designs are approved by the professors at the institution.

Furthermore, it is needless to say that Taliesin West is indeed, a design willing to offer the wonders of nature combined with a sense of simplistic modernism. Most of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs do not count with extravagant aspects of design, and on the contrary, they demonstrate how functionality and comfort can also lead to great living spaces. We can travel around the world and explore every single one of Wright's structures, and what we will determine to be the common factor between them is their current presence in today's society. Some say that Frank Lloyd Wright predicted the future, while in reality he just thought of the unique factor that can possibly create the greatest piece of art on any matter: he found a way of making the elements work in any circumstance and in any period of time. Even today, every single apartment and room at Taliesin West is able to take full advantage of natural lighting, and electricity is not needed for it to function in any manner.

However, you don't have to believe me! If you currently live in Arizona (or are planning on visiting in the near future), Taliesin West is definitely one of the places to visit. It totally provides you with the most beautiful panoramas in the state, and it leads you to understand many of the practices required to bring organic architecture to life. In addition to that, there are many options of tours that you can select from. The one we attended today is called the Extended Insights Tour, which not only treated us to mid-morning tea, but it also gave us the chance to talk to a past student of Frank Lloyd Wright himself! It is incredible how many of the architects from the past have decided to continue their lives at Taliesin West and surroundings, without mentioning that the word "retirement" is not one taught at this particular institute. We are more than content with all of the resources and insights that were given during the tour, and as new members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we will be more than delighted to keep sharing the experiences that we go through at Taliesin West and the many other locations that Wright left us to cultivate ourselves from.

We hope you enjoy our pictures!

Clean Air in Your Home: Can Your Furnace Filter Really Help?

One of the last things that you would want is for the air quality in your home to be compromised in any way and for it affect any of your family.

This is a fundamental reason why it is considered to be important that you try and ensure that your furnace filter is clean enough to be able to do its job properly and allow you the opportunity to enjoy as clean air as possible in your home.

Indoor pollutants

We all know that the air quality outside can be extremely variable and with things like engine exhaust fumes and pollen accumulating in the atmosphere, this can create some potential health problems.

Whilst we can’t really control the outdoor environment ourselves, we can take steps to make sure that indoor pollutants do not add to your air quality issues.

Contaminants from outside can be introduced into your home as air infiltrates in and then there is of course some indoor pollutants that we have to think about. Fumes created by solvents, household cleaning products and pet dander, together with dust and even mold amongst other things, can all combine to create indoor air pollution that is beyond an acceptable level.

Improving your air quality

You might decide that using someone like Bass Air Conditioning to maintain and service your unit and filters will help keep your air quality in check, and there is also action you can take yourself to improve the indoor air quality.

You can find some useful advice issued by the United States EPA for homeowners on how to improve your indoor air quality and they suggest following some key steps so that you can achieve cleaner air in your home.

These include providing adequate ventilation in the house and trying to control pollution by eliminating individual sources or at least taking steps to reduce their emissions.

As well as avoiding introducing tobacco smoke into your home and cleaning and dusting regularly, it also suggests that change your air filters on a regular basis.

Changing your air filter

Your air filter is quite simply one of the best defenses against the pollutants that can infiltrate your air system and create potential health problems.

Your central heating and air conditioning system pull air through these filters that are designed to capture as much dust as possible and if they are not changed regularly, they will be unable to do their job effectively.

If you want to change the filter yourself, check the owner’s manual for your system and find out where your filter is located and how to remove it safely.

You will need to check if you have a disposable filter or a reusable filter, as the disposable version will simply be replaced by a new one but the reusable filter will need to be cleaned properly.

Cleaning a reusable filter will involve vacuuming the filter to remove the large pieces of dust that may have accumulated and then washing it carefully so that you do not cause any damage to the screen.

Having a clean air filter will definitely help towards keeping the air in your home as clean as clean as possible, and you should aim to check it every month and probably change it every third month. Howard C. Miller is a respiratory specialist. He likes to share his insights on better breathing. His articles appear on many home improvement and health sites.

Brilliant Ways to Get Your Garden Ready for The Summer

Summer is on its way, and you might be thinking about playing host. So it’s important to get the garden ready for the summer. Here are a few effective ways in which you can do that.

Dig the Barbecue Out

Barbecues are synonymous with the summer. So to get yours ready for the first of many barbie’s you need to dig it out and clean it. Check the thing is working okay and that nothing is damaged. Then set about getting it nice and clean so it will be at peak working condition. We all love to have barbecues, so if you sort this out now, you’ll be able to start cooking as soon as the sunshine hits.

Assess the Furniture Situation

One thing you are going to need to use in your garden when the summer arrives is furniture. So you need to have a look at the furniture you currently have and see what additions are needed. You’ve got to have a table and chairs for practical purposes. You also need to look at the cushion situation and look into getting custom outdoor cushions. Also, think about getting a couple of sun loungers so you can sunbathe when it’s nice and hot outside.

Mow the Lawn

Upkeep is important when it comes to your garden. You need to take pride in it and show you care about the way it looks. Don’t leave it to become unkempt and overgrown. The best way to do this is to mow the lawn. Cut that grass right down and get the lawn ready for the hot weather. Of course, you may need to tend to it a few times over the summer period. So, make sure you mow it thoroughly beforehand so you’ll have less to do when it’s hot.

Plant Some Flowers

Nothing looks better in a garden than bright, vibrant flowers. So you need to make sure you plant a load, so they start to bloom just in time for the summer. Try to mix up an array of colours, so you get a beautiful contrast. Flowers add character and beauty to any garden, and in the summer they are a vital part of your backyard. You need to make sure you care for the flowers too; they’re going to be pretty delicate and will need a lot of maintenance.

Set up a Sprinkler System

When the weather is hot, your garden is going to need to be refreshed and nourished. The grass needs water on a regular basis to help it grow and thrive into a lush, green lawn. Now, you could always go at it with the hose pipe, but this can be quite time consuming. So the best thing to do is to set up a sprinkler system to do it for you. You can set it on a timer, and this will give the lawn constant watering whenever it needs it. It also provides you with a refreshing way of cooling down if you’re too hot!

It’s brilliant being able to go out in the summer sun and enjoy the weather. You need to make the most of it because you never know how long it’s going to be around for. To put you ahead of the game you need to get your garden prepared for the summer, so it’s good to go once the hot weather hit.

Complete Cleaning Services Reveals the Top 5 Window Cleaning Products in the UK

Complete Cleaning Services Ltd., a UK based, family owned window cleaning business in Exeter, has today revealed information on what they believe to be the best window cleaning products domestic users could purchase. They tested the products on a range of different issues in order to come up with their top 5.

UK based window cleaning business Complete Cleaning Services Ltd. has performed an extensive piece of research into the various window cleaning products available to domestic users around the country. They aimed to find the single best cleaner that people could purchase.

During their research, they looked at a variety of factors that would determine whether or not a product would actually be beneficial. What they found, however, was that it was impossible to actually name a single best product. This is because there were so many variables to work with, as well as having to take personal preference into consideration. As a result, they had to narrow their list down to a top 5, based on certain popular factors that most UK households are interested in.

The findings, recently revealed by Complete Cleaning Services, showed that:

1. The best product for a true streak free shine was Mr Muscle 5in1 Window & Glass Cleaner. This product was also named as best product by the Nielsen Household database. Two elements that made this product particularly popular were that it is based on vinegar and that it comes with a convenient trigger spray.

2. The best product for ease of use was House Mate Foaming Glass Cleaner. The can simply has to be shaken, after which the cleaner can be sprayed on the window before being wiped off. One of the reasons why this one made the top 5 is because it doesn’t drip. Furthermore, it is also highly effective on mirrors.

3. The best product for traditional company value was Good for Glass by Mangle and Wringer. This product came up on top because it uses a range of natural ingredients, including sunflower and coconut oil soap, infused with lemon oil. Furthermore, people appreciate the traditional history behind this product.

4. The best product for value turned out to be Sainsbury’s window cleaner, which is their own brand. Like Mr Muscle 5in1, the main ingredient in this product is vinegar, which makes it very effective. Most importantly, however, it is incredibly cheap.

5. The most ecologically friendly product was Ecover Window & Glass Cleaner. While a more expensive product, it is made from natural ingredients and is completely biodegradable. People are currently looking for ways to lower their carbon footprint and to be mindful of the planet, and this product ticked all those boxes.

Interestingly, through their research, Complete Cleaning Services noticed that most people look for very specific things, and much less so for the actual performance of the product. They had expected to simply create a list of products based on their efficacy, but issues such as ease of use, traditional values, cost and eco-friendliness were actually equally, if not more, important. “This piece of research really didn’t go the way we had expected it to”, says Paul Young from Complete Cleaning Services. “We thought it would be a straightforward piece of work, but it turned out to be far more complicated. Clearly, we hadn’t given the British public the credit it deserved for the things they are actually looking for. As such, while it took us much longer to complete the work than we had expected, we are so pleased that we did it and we are just as pleased with the results.”

Visit to the NAU Art Museum: Violence Exposition

As Arizonians must already know, we have three excellent public universities that take outstanding positions in the fields of medicine, engineering, business, research, art, among other subjects. Although it will sound too opinionated, I feel particularly proud to be called a "Lumberjack" and to belong to such an exceptional school of arts as it is Northern Arizona University. Aspects of this university that have always caught my attention have been its beautiful panoramas, weather, and, of course, art programs, which are constantly being supported by phenomenal and very talented students and staff. The NAU Art Museum is the living proof of this last statement.

Although I have been trying to get more involved with the artistic surroundings at Northern Arizona University, there has been a particular exhibition at this art museum that has caught my attention, and this was the violence exposition that took place about two semesters ago. As I went to visit the NAU Art Museum Violence Exposition, I was honestly impressed by the works of art that I was luckily able to admire at this gallery. Two in specific that were exceptionally appealing were Karen M. Gutfreund’s “LifeDeath” and Rafael Blanco’s “Alma’s Identity”. Both pieces were reflecting truthful historical events that were marking a return in today’s society, and talking about the paintings themselves, they were extremely well-portrayed by their medium and use of oil and other media.

Karen Gutfreund. "LifeDeath". 

First of all, Gutfreund’s “LifeDeath” at first had a pretty negative impression on my opinion on society. I felt miserable and disappointed on the many complications that we are putting our world into. Seeing a baby being put into a missile projection made me realize that, in some way, that is the exact result of our actions, not only in other countries, but also here in the United States. By trying to maintain war in other locations, we are also hurting our newborns and general population by not only physical harm, but by what they hear and admire every single day on TV. We see the same story over, and over again, but with different victims. Adding to that, I also felt interested by the picture collage located underneath the infant; all of those pictures of everyday people have a really strong and moving effect on spectators because of the way that the artist relates the victim to the rest of our society and even loved ones; in other words, Gutfreund can be articulating that at least one of these individuals could be your own partner, mom or dad. It brings a sense of union, but at the same time, it combines it with a sense of fear.

Rafael Blanco. "Alma's Identity".

On the other hand, Blanco’s “Alma’s Identity” was more of a personal issue rather than a more solidary one. In this painting, Rafael Blanco is portraying a “Chicana”, which refers to, in this case, a woman born in the United States with Mexican roots. Although my case is a little bit different, since I was taken to Mexico as a baby and then brought back to Arizona as a 15-year-old adolescent, I too know what it is like to be standing with a different flag in each hand. The use of oil on canvas in this painting definitely provokes a powerful reaction, because without being 100% realistic, this young lady is capable of making you feel her confusion and pride as if she were standing just in front of you. Her presence is so clear and resilient that it made her become my favorite piece at the entire gallery. 

Furthermore, it is needless to say that a piece of art has an infinity of meanings, simply because our opinions are free to be as diverse as they come. That is to say, visiting art galleries and specific exhibitions that we feel interest in--or not--lead you to realize more about yourself than about the artworks that you are able to admire there. Art does help us to understand the world around us, and at one moment of our lives, even the music that we listen to, the poems that we read and the paintings that we decide to analyze are the best means of communication towards our own souls. 

The work of Atelier dnD - a architectural practice in India

This is the work of Atelier dnD - a architectural practice in India. The work names the Dinesh Mil Bungalow apartment which is located in Baroda, India, just outside of Vadodara city.
They used the minimalism current as their guide and created a transparent space with a simple geometry to permit the building to connect with its surroundings. The location is filled with vegetation and this had to be preserved as much as possible while constructing the home, an aspect that caused several changes in the design.

The house also had to provide a home for the family and take care of their needs through the functionality it provided, so the designers placed a white cantilever porch from the main driveway and it leads through an extended corridor to all the other spaces.There are three exterior verandas are each connected to either living room or bedroom and serve as semi-opened extensions of these spaces. The exterior is also defined by the long pool which spreads next to the living spaces and the master bedrooms to provide cool air when needed and the pool also links with the lawn thus being the element which connects the exterior with the interior.

There is also a terrace that can be reached through an external stairway and it includes a Jacuzzi and a wonderful view of the nearby forest thus offering all the functionality that a home needs. 

Modern residence in Las Vegas designed by Mark Tracy of Chemical Spaces

The American designer Mark Tracy of Chemical Spaces is responsible for design of the Hurtado Residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. The design aimed to capture the idea of a modern residence that is fit to welcome young guests with a joyful attitude. The door wide 11 foot that reveals an Italian striped floor tile, there is also a space for the elevator tower that works for all three stories and the floatins staircase is made from stainless steel. The kitchen and living space have a spectacular 14-foot wide fireplace and the metallic silver hardwood floors and the Scavolini cabinets add a luxurious aspect to the residence.

The ceilings can be easily noticed because blue LED lighting draws the attention of the visitors to the ceilings. The design of the house started around June of 2009 and the construction ended in January of 2011,the house having 10.000 square feet. The Hurtado Residence can be found in The Ridges-it`s a community near Red Rock Canyon in the west of Las Vegas.