25 Apr, 2024
3 mins read

How To Design A 21st Century Kitchen

The demographic
The first thing an outstanding designer does when putting pen to paper on a home design is find out exactly who is going to live in that home–the exact demographic of the inhabitant. This is specially true about the kitchen which is often the most lived-in space in the house and around which many more activities occur any more nowadays than just cooking. Luckily, today’s demographic in the kitchen ‘mass market’ is easy to define–it is mostly ‘baby boomers’ aged 55-65, followed by ‘leading edge GenX’ers’ aged 45-55 years old. These two demographics between them make up the bulk of the folks looking to design a kitchen as opposed to simply taking what comes with a new house. People older than 65, the ‘seniors’, are no longer the dominant home owning demographic and don’t spend as much time in the kitchen while those younger than 45 are considered entry-level homeowners and are also not as numerous as the first two.
Activities in and around the kitchen
A baby boomer’s kitchen is very likely to have a large flat screen TV as part of it that is easily visible from several activity areas surrounding it. The kitchen is no longer a ‘room’ but a space around which a lot of family activity revolves. This activity could be video games, watching the news, searching for data and even doing homework with access to outdoor grilling and a deck just a step or two away. The common factor is that it all revolves around the kitchen. This often manifests in a ‘living room’ or ‘family room’ area complete with sitting or lounging furniture joined to the kitchen with an informal ‘dining’ area, both divided and united by a cabinetwork peninsula, perhaps with a sink and cooktop on one side and an open area on the other with tall stools for the kids to do their homework on or simply help make dinner.
Baby boomers are no longer willing to risk a back injury by bending down to open an oven door and will likely have wall ovens installed at a carefully measured height. Similarly, the efficiency-demanding boomer will insist on having the pantry close at hand at most 3 or 4 steps away, not in another room and certainly not behind another door. This can manifest as another ‘area’ adjacent to the cooking areas, perhaps with a dividing wall of overhead cabinets and counter spaces open to both areas.
The GenX’er is even more tech savvy and may have several appliances hooked up to the internet with sensors and alarms to remind and warn of upcoming events, like a “cake is ready” message flashing on TV screens all over the house. She may switch on the oven with her phone on her way back from work and set the temperature for baked fish when she is 10 minutes away. Her priority is “get it done quick” and therefore all appliances will likely be electric with a few being dual fuel, all …

3 mins read

Saving Energy – It’s All About the Heat

First, some basic science:
A. Heat naturally flows from warmer areas to cooler areas. Its speed of movement depends upon how much a difference there is between these two temperatures. The greater the difference, the faster the flow.
B. Heat flow can be reduced by insulation.
C. Heat can be artificially made to travel in the opposite direction – from cold to hot. This is done by any device that “pumps” heat. Air conditioners pump heat out of the home. Pumping heat costs about one third the cost to create heat.
D. When heat enters your home, during the summertime, it must be removed by the air conditioning system.
E. Radiative heat, from the sun, can easily flow through glass. It heats up whatever it lands upon. Because of certain physical characteristics (called “black-body” radiation) that heat can’t pass back through glass. It is effectively trapped. This is called the “greenhouse” effect.
F. When you install or provide something which operates without need for additional energy, this is called a passive operation.
Okay – so based upon these simple rules, here are 10 basic actions that will improve a home’s energy efficiency which will save you money. I’ll mention the rule and then what you can do:
1. Rule B – Insulation is likely one of the best investments you can make. There are few actions that can give you a better cost to benefit ratio. This is passive in that it takes no energy to operate (rule F).
2. Rules D and E – Increasing the size of your eaves and other overhangs will reduce sunlight entering your home which just has to be removed by your air conditioner (costing money). This is also passive (rule F).
3. Rules D and E – Windows on the west side tend to bring in the most heat from the sun. It is best to limit western exposure either by design or by blocking the windows with shrubbery. This is a passive action (rule F)
4. Rule E – Using reflective glass can be extremely helpful. Curtains and shades do not work because by the time the sun light hits them it has already entered the home (remember greenhouse). Any time something heats up in your home your air conditioner will have to remove that heat. Sunlight must be stopped before it goes through the glass. This is a also a passive method and will save both energy and money during the summer.
5. Rule A – Place foil on the bottom of the plywood roof sheathing of your home. This is easiest to do while building a new home. If your home exists, then consider a radiation barrier in the attic. This will keep the attic cooler. This is also passive (rule F)
6. Rule A – Ventilate the attic. This can be passive or active. It reduces the attic temperature which slows the flow of heat into your home. The active, but effective, way is with a powered fan system …

2 mins read

Australian Cypress Flooring Is A Great Choice For Your Home!

These days as people are trying to make their home a very valuable investment, many people are thinking about updating their flooring and making the switch to hardwood flooring! My husband and I purchased our first home a few years ago, and the number one requirement on our list was hardwood flooring. You may have purchased a home without this type of flooring, but installation is a snap, and today we will discuss a popular flooring choice that is a great investment – Australian Cypress Flooring!
Australian Cypress flooring is a unique looking wood that many people adore. This type of flooring will add a lot of value to a home is quite durable! Australian Cypress flooring is composed of stunning wood that has a variety of tones to it. This makes it very unique and in a category that is a bit above the rest. This is the type of flooring that will get noticed and you will find your friends and family will probably be quite envious of. This is also a great investment if you are planning on selling your home and you want to up the value of it.
The interesting thing about Australian Cypress flooring is the unique tones of which it is made up from. This is a very stunning wood with a variety of shades and hues, ranging from cream to honey brown. I have seen a few homes with this type of flooring and really love how the tones range from a rich creamy shade to the glorious honey brown that so many people love and adore. This makes for interesting contrast in colors and shades of the flooring.
The details of this type of wood flooring are mind-blowing. The intricate grain and beautiful dark knots make it a great choice when you want to create a homey and rustic feeling to your home or office. This is perfect if you are looking for a touch of cabin-class to your everyday home. It adds a warmth and dimension to the flooring that is truly an interesting feature to a home.
Finally another great feature to this type of flooring is its durability and hardness! This is the perfect choice for high-volume areas such as a living room or anywhere you get a lot of foot traffic. This is the type of wood that can stand up to the kids, the dogs, and whatever life throws at you!…

3 mins read

Give Your Home Interior A Makeover With These Quick Tips

Do you like a nicely decorated home, but feel intimidated by interior design? Once you get into interior design you can truly make your home look good. Keep reading for great ideas that can help.

A nice tip for interior design is including various textures or patterns into the room you design. Different patterns and textures add detail and accent each other. If you are designing a room to look more contemporary, patterns and textures are a must.

Get creative when choosing counter-tops for your kitchen. You could go with granite, but other materials like cork, wood and concrete are also options. They can be less costly than other options and will give the kitchen a unique style of its very own.

Ensure that you are keeping track of all the latest trends. You wouldn’t want to appear to be stuck in the 1970’s with outdated decor. Therefore, you should search around and discover how others are renovating their homes nowadays.

Each room in your home should be decorated on the basis of its intended purpose. Ask yourself how many people will be in this room at the same time and what they will be doing. For instance, if you are improving your living room you should make sure their is seating for your family and potential visitors, but if you are working on a bedroom, you should make that room more personal.

Do not jump right into putting paint on the walls. Pick out a color scheme that you know you will love. Paint samples can help you figure out the perfect fit for your room. Take a look at how the paints look in various lighting throughout the day. Seeing a color on your own wall may change your overall opinion of the fit.

Hard surface flooring can cause a room to feel cold and hostile; to warm it up, use large area carpets or throw rugs. Make sure you turn your rugs every now and again so they stay evenly worn. Changing locations or a quick flip or spin can help extend your rug’s good looks.

Don’t be afraid to use your creativity if you are going to paint a room. The Internet is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to this topic. Trying new approaches with painting can lead to a boring looking room come alive in a very quick time.

Mirrors are a great way to open up small spaces. The mirrors will create the illusion of a bigger room and you can make your house look better. Invest in a beautiful mirror to facilitate your interior design project.

Round up a collection. Collections are groupings of like items placed together in a tasteful manner. For instance, three vases make a collection of vases. Three pictures also makes a collection. Group them together for a great display and get people talking!

Based on what you now know, you will be more aware of what works well within interior design. Now that you’re aware of …

3 mins read

Clear The Pipes And Let The Water Run With These Plumbing Tips

Plumbing problems can always pop up. Some plumbing problems require only a simple fix; however, others can be more complicated. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are, when you’re educated properly on plumbing you can fix most problems within a reasonable time period.

If you have a frozen pipe, turn on the nearest faucet so the water has an escape route when the pipe starts to thaw. This can prevent damage to your house because it lets the pressure that is in the pipe out, and keeps it from bursting.

To maintain a clean, well-functioning septic tank, it is recommended that you clean it out once every five years. Doing this prevents any sediment from getting built up within the tank, which causes a backup in your home or causes your entire septic system to fail. If the cost of pumping your septic tank seems a bit steep, remember that the cost of cleanup and repair of a failed septic system will be much higher.

Knowing all your different tools and how they are used will be a great help when you work on a plumbing job. So be sure to read through all your manuals as well as research as much as you can on the internet where you can gain information to help you with your projects. Plan thoroughly before attempting a repair. Mistakes can be very expensive to fix.

Do not use harsh chemicals to clean or treat your toilet. These tablets have chemicals that can damage rubber parts that are essential to the proper functioning of your toilet.

Ensure that if something goes wrong in your garbage disposal that you resist any and all urges you have that might make you want to put your hands inside to fix a problem. Even while turned off, the garbage disposal is still a dangerous place for your fingers. Troubleshooting techniques and schematics of your garbage disposal are available on the Internet.

Keep grease, fat and oil out of your kitchen drain. Whenever they cool, they tend to harden and make clogs inside your drains. Even with a garbage disposal, you are going to cause it to be less efficient and risk drain backups. The best thing to do is to dispose of oil-based liquids away from your sinks.

Always have cold water running when you are using your garbage disposal. The helps sharpen the blades and clears out the drain mechanism. If you use hot water, any grease in the disposal will liquefy, causing it to accumulate further down the drain, which could cause clogs.

Trash should go in the trash basket, not the toilet. Use the toilet for what it is designed for, and it won’t give you a lot of problems. Never flush paper towels, tissue, diapers, or tampons. These things do not break up correctly and can clog your pipes. In addition, you should only use the amount of toilet paper that is absolutely necessary when cleaning yourself.

As you know, plumbing can have lots …

1 min read

Chicago Nursing Home Search

Complete buyer and seller real property providers, together with discovering homes, itemizing homes on the market, market evaluation, property analysis, and more for Naples. We’re proud to tell all our shoppers that soon we could have listings from all around the country. Please Word: WDH will droop your Homesearch membership if you refuse two cheap presents of accommodation within a twelve month interval. Salford Home Search is an progressive manner of letting properties.

If in case you have questions or desire a tour of a home that interests you, merely press the Contact” characteristic to name or email a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices actual estate skilled who will fortunately help you. We’ve a few years of experience within the sector and as locals now we have deep knowledge about the actual estate market, the risks as well as the alternatives and residences on the market Barcelona.

We additionally offer PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION, SALES & RELOCATION PROVIDERS in the same geographical area. Use Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Home Search anytime to find out there homes utilizing GPS search, or find homes based on address, city or zip code.

This is a way of letting properties in Salford; the idea is to supply the folks of Salford greater choice in which kind of property and space they want to dwell in. Century 21 Real Estate LLC absolutely helps the ideas of the Truthful Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

Utilizing our prolonged experience and large wealth of contacts within the property area, we seek for and supply the most effective and best suited property for our purchasers. To view in contrast listings, click on the Compare button within the navigation bar. Click on listings to view them.

1 min read

Customized Made Home Search Rotterdam

Search for real property itemizing to buy in your area with comprehensive local data in your space. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a model-new real property community constructed for a brand new period in residential real estate, brings you accurate and up-to-date real estate info right to your fingertips with the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Home Search app!

Copyright 2018 Arizona Regional A number of Itemizing Service, Inc. Leaders just lately completed the acquisition of Homesearch and its two branches within the Hartshill and Hanley areas of Stoke-on-Trent. We’re the UK’s number one retirement property gross sales specialist with an unlimited selection of properties to fulfill customers’ individual wants.

You can choose which properties you have an interest in and present your interest by bidding for a property. There are nonetheless many more people in need of housing than there are vacant properties, and a few properties obtain over a hundred bids. They have informed us that the highest actual estate websites on the Web recurrently present listings that aren’t actually out there.

Search Homes in Kansas City is your most complete supply for actual property homes on the market in Kansas City, MO. Name us at 913-207-3524. There are a variety of publications about Homesearch that should allow you to. She joined County Homesearch in 2009 as the shopping for agent in the North West, leading a crew of property-finding experts protecting Cheshire, Liverpool, Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire and North Wales.

In Barcelona local actual estate agents are working for the vendor. They listen and study a buyer’s individual needs before putting their expertise to work, evaluating our database of over 1,500 obtainable retirement properties to seek out the one that meets their necessities.…

1 min read

Assist For Yahoo Search

Use the Superior Search Form under to help filter your request. The knowledge contained on this listing and made accessible by means of the “E-mail REALTOR®” feature on the websites is meant for personal, non-commercial use by people who’re potential purchaser or sellers and who want to contact a REALTOR® member about the REALTOR® member’s property itemizing data.

The UK’s retirement property specialists. Real property listings held by brokerage companies aside from Keller Williams Realty Greater Athens are marked with the Broker Reciprocity emblem and detailed information about them consists of the identify of the listing brokers.

And, for your comfort, make sure to register for a free account to receive email notifications whenever new homes on the market come available on the market that match your particular criteria, and save your favorite properties for fast and quick access whenever you need — it’s quick, easy, automated and FREE!

Do not forget you can register for property alerts so that you can be the first to hear about UK retirement properties for sale in your preferred location. You might only bid for a property in case your utility has been accepted onto our housing register.

It means that as from the second you’ve gotten signed the Arras” settlement you cannot pull out, however at similar time while you signal the agreement you recognize little or no about the property, so you are virtually within the arms of the neutral” real property agent.…

2 mins read

The Impact Of Place Of Residence On Place Attachment And Neighborhood Participation

Sophos Home protects up to 10 Mac and Home windows computers from malicious software, inappropriate websites and nasty viruses. You possibly can return to the Dashboard overview at any time by clicking on the Sophos Home brand within the prime left nook or by clicking on the Dashboard button beneath the device’s name on every device page. As speakers and music-listening devices, voice-managed speakers are most handy for people who prefer to all the time have music round them however don’t wish to fuss with a smartphone to pick their channels or playlists.

And if you want a touch display to see search results and make video calls, try the Echo Present Amazon just unveiled a slew of latest Echo gadgets that have not come out yet, together with the tiny, LCD-equipped Echo Spot, in addition to the Alexa-spouting Massive Mouth Billy Bass (no we’re not kidding).

The brand new Polaris 9650iQ Sport brings more of the identical, solely this time it presents Wi-Fi connectivity and a helpful mobile app that lets you control the cleaner from your smartphone. For the products that do not require the use of a Skill, simply find that product within the Smart Home section of the Alexa app, then ask the app to find your machine.

The Nest Studying Thermostat has built-in Wi-Fi so you’ll be able to remotely control the temperature from cellphone, tablet, or PC. This latest technology also has a larger show and some more sensors than its predecessors, along with geofencing help and a furnace monitor.

Home networking is never as simple as merely connecting gadget A to system B. This information will stroll you through the jargon of organising a home network I am specializing in COMPUTER networking here, however I will speak about consumer electronics gear in the context of delivering material out of your PC to the lounge, in addition to Internet connectivity.

1 min read

Christian Hospitality Network

Sophos Home protects up to 10 Mac and Windows computers from malicious software, inappropriate websites and nasty viruses. Click on on the + Add Gadgets hyperlink in the upper right hand nook of the Dashboard. The two units are NOT alike and drives me loopy when folks evaluate. Some home networking units function in each radio-band alerts and fall within the 802.11n or 802.11ac requirements.

In the intervening time, Cortana isn’t a critical competitor to Siri, let alone to the Google Home system or Alexa. Of smartphone users, ninety one% flip to their devices for ideas whereas completing a process. Enabling them permits you to personalize Alexa to your needs, and they are a particular point in Amazon’s favor; if a service you employ isn’t supplied directly through Alexa’s Skills library, loads of IFTTT applets are also accessible.

Do you hook up with massively multiplayer online games or by means of services like PlayStation Network or Xbox Dwell incessantly? Transient Overview: The Sophos Home Dashboard reveals you the current standing of all the computers and gadgets you might be defending with Sophos Home.

Add the bartender skill then have to word it ask the bartender talent the best way to make an quaint” while on Google Home you need not add ability and also you merely say how do you make an old fashioned?” I am unable to think about making an attempt to learn the proper” solution to word every part for the 10,000 expertise Alexa has.

While you log into your Sophos Home account, the Dashboard will present you an outline of all devices related along with your Sophos Home account. At $369 it’s a bit costlier than most equally powered non-linked transportable air conditioners, and it doesn’t work with other smart home devices.…