Before-after photos of my latest project (block apartment, 67sqm)
My project 11.
Archives
My project 9.
My latest job on the lakbermagazin.hu website:
http://lakbermagazin.hu/lakberendezo/lakberendezo-munkak/2492-1-plusz-2-felszobas-budapesti-panellakas-klasszikus-stilusban-67m2.html
Leftover laminated floor ideas
Many people renovate their houses in summer. After the works, a lot of beautiful and valuable materials are left, which are usually spared for later incidental repairs. However, these can be used for other purposes also. Many ideas can be found on DIY websites for using leftover wall paints, wallpapers and tiles. But what can we do with one or two boxes of laminated or wooden floor?
If there is a larger amount, it can be used for making headboard for the bed. Planks with click system should be joined and fixed to the wall. Cut the mountings at the edge row. It can be framed with slats or even metal frame but painting the edges with the same color can be also enough.
Let’s make a hallway peg wall of them. Fix the planks on the wall this time vertically. It is ready after screwing some hanger and a hat shelf. If a distinct result is desired, paint it, even in different colors by planks. The narrow ones can be placed in herringbone pattern, for example.
A boring table can be perked up with laminated planks too. Glue them on the top of the table, cut them to measure and paint or laminate the edges. It’s important that the planks should fit tight. Remove the glass from the old-fashioned glass topped coffee table and the cut-to-size planks can be easily fit in the place of it.
If there are only some planks to left, they can be used for making picture frames. Cut them in 45°, fit the parts together and fix them. Since the one side is grooved, the desired picture or mirror can be easily fit in the frame. A hanging inscribed decoration can be made of a shorter one. Let’s paint our favorite word on it (e.g. Home, Welcome, Beach), drill a hole near the top of it and put a ribbon or a cord in it. It can be a showy door wreath.
In addition, there are several other usages. Ask for help of an interior designer for solutions fit for your home.
Exhibit kids drawings
It’s an ordinary thing in a family with small children that the drawings of the kids are displayed in the living room, hallway or kitchen. These presents are valuable not only for the parents but it increases the child’s self confidence if he/she sees that his/her creation is how much esteemed. The possibility to place and highlight them should be provided in classic style homes also, so that they should be easy changed, tidied and fit to the surroundings.
Drawings fixed by magnets on the fridge form usually the mini exhibition in the kitchen. It’s a bit messy because of opening-closing the door. Let’s buy a cork board instead of this, which can get a frame fit for the style. This can be fixed not only on the wall but for example on the door of the pantry or on the side of the kitchen cabinet.
One of the walls in the living room can be dedicated to the exhibition of the children’s drawings. Let’s buy more similar, classic style frames in the size of A4 and A5 (drawing paper size) which fit in the interior. Arrange them both in portrait and landscape form. The view will be nice even when they are empty, but they will slowly fill with the drawings of the children. The similar frames provide that the sight won’t be too colorful or chaotic. Standing frames can be placed on the shelves of the cabinets, even among books. If the color of the frame is the same as the furniture’s, the drawing will be more dominant.
It’s a perfect solution in a rustic interior to fix a plank on the wall then screw wooden or metal clips on it. If a wire is stretched between the ends, fewer holes should be made but it will be nice too.
Let’s put a glass on the top of the coffee table. Put the drawings between this and the tabletop, they won’t move because of the weight of the glass. The composition can be changed even in seasonally, expressing the changing of nature by colors.
Ask for help of an interior designer for showing your children’s talent fit for classic style.
Mouldings
Mouldings are not only decorative but improve the features of the room. Walls can be sectioned by them, thus we feel the low ceiling higher, but they also help section the too high ceiling, making it more acceptable for the eyes. Frequently the spaces between mouldings are painted in different colors or they get different coverage.
In old times, mouldings were made of hardwood or gypsum. Most of them was richly carved which complemented the architectural elements. Nowadays they are mass produced, made of paintable polystyrol. This can be placed very easily and can be bought in several sizes and patterns.
Baseboard is placed downmost, at the junction of the floor and the wall. Its back side is straight, this slicks to the wall. It is made of wood or fiberboard, which can be painted easily also, but for wet rooms there are many pieces in tile-collections. The dimensions of the baseboard are specified by the scales of the room, commonly 8-12 cm high (but maximum 20 cm). Its task is hiding the floor’s bumpiness and protecting the wall from e.g. scratches by legs of the chairs.
Dado rail is set up at 85-90 cm. The wall-part below it is frequently paneled, which protects the lower part of the wall from damaging impacts. Its height anno was equal with the height of chair backs (chair rail), so it was suited for protecting the wallpaper or painting when chairs were pushed against the wall. Later it had rather just a decorating role.
Picture rail is a fully functional element: big, framed paintings are hanged on it with wires and hooks. It holds their weight and this way the plastered or gypsum-decorated walls are not damaged. It is placed between 210 and 270 cm depending on the height of the ceiling.
Crown moulding is placed at the junction of the wall and the ceiling. It gives finiteness and frames the room. Exact mitering in the corners is essential for the esthetic, perfect fitting of the two parts. The cross-section of cornice is a right-angled triangle, they are being pasted up in just right the corner. Because they hide the joint of the vertical and the upper horizontal planes, they raise the feeling of height.
We can use other, similar decorating elements beside the basics. Ask for help of an interior designer for planning.
Using space under stairs
The small area under the stairs is mostly considered only as a storage space. There is always lack of storage space, so this is a very good solution. The usage is perfect with custom made, built-in furniture. However, this is not the only useful way for the owners, there are several further functions fit to this small area also.
Reading our favorite book is the best in a small nook. Let’s built-in a bench under the stairs, put a comfortable cushion on it and surround it with soft pillows, fix a wall scone and the perfect bookworm shelter is ready.
A home office is needed more and more, but there is not always a separated room for it. A smaller desk can be comfortably fit under the stairs, it can be even built around by shelves, providing place for not only the laptop but for the stationery and some documents also.
A guest toilet is desired by most of us. We can cleverly create it under wider stairs. A toilet, a small sink and a towel rail are enough for this. All of them should be wall mounted, this way the space will be felt bigger.
If the stairs are right near the entrance door, let’s take the advantage for creating a comfortable welcoming area. Hooks for coats, shelves for shoes and a cushioned seat can be placed here instead of a separate wardrobe.
These are only some of the several possibilities. Ask for help of an interior designer for utilizing all the possibilities of your home!
Special wall arts
For decorating the walls, we frequently use simple solutions as paintings, engravings, photos, fabrics in frames, wallpapers or smaller objects. These are very showy and it’s easy to find a fitting piece for the style. But let’s be daring! There are so many objects on flea markets and in our home too, which are perfectly suitable for wall decoration.
Old advertising boards, trade-signs, original boxes, marker letters can be found in many places and are popular decoration elements nowadays. We can choose wooden or metal pieces. They can be grouped by color, shape and theme, fitting to the interior.
Hanging old sporting goods on the wall are perfect solutions for sport-lovers: paddles, golf and tennis rackets, riding equipment etc. Most of them are suitable for both horizontal and vertical arrangements which effects the sense of space.
Let’s examine the contents of the wardrobes from this point of view. Our collections of hats, handbags, fans can decorate e.g. the wall of the living room. The harmony of the colors and materials is important for the sight not to be chaotic.
The most common objects could be decorating elements with a spectacular arrangement and an idea suggested by the room. We can decorate the wall of the kitchen with antique pots. They can have in common their material (e.g. copper, tin) or their type with difference just in the size (e.g. cooking tops, sieves).
Use the old doors, shutters and window frames were judged to throw out during the renovation! They fit for several styles in the original condition but renewed and painted they can be hung on the wall. Mirror can be cut into the window frame instead of glass, this way it will perform two tasks.
There are several other solutions, only our fantasy is a limit. Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing spectacular decorating elements!
Double height room
Double height rooms are more and more frequent in newly built houses. Mostly one can look down from the upper level which can give a new and exciting perspective for the owners. Typically, the living room, the kitchen or the entrance hall is created this way.
Furnishing of these rooms can be a challenge. Not necessarily the oversized furniture is the solution. The huge space can be filled with creating a focal point to eliminate the feeling of unusually emptiness and rigidity.
Covering the fireplace up to the ceiling is a perfect answer to the problem. Don’t be upset if there is no chimney: bioethanol fireplaces can be placed anywhere. Additional color and texture can be brought in the space with natural stone or wooden paneling.
There are similar window-heights in a double height room, or maybe they are ordinary sized but in two rows. Spectacular curtaining of these works well as a focal point. Hanging fabrics from ceiling to floor has to be left to professionals. It can be complemented with electric blinds; in this case the curtain will serve as just a decoration indeed.
Proper lighting is always a basic task. In this case, a really big and beautiful chandelier can be hung. Pay attention to not only the size filling the room but giving enough light also. If everything else is neutral, it will attract the eye.
If it is a living room, plus stairs can be built here, this way one hasn’t return to the main stairs for going up. A nicely carved metal or wooden spiral staircase is a perfect eye candy. Let’s put the library here, so the bookshelves can reach to the ceiling, they will be easily accessible also.
It’s an extreme case, but a motor-cycle or a smaller boat can be stored by hanging from the ceiling. Pay attention to fit in the style of the flat and don’t transform the living room to a depot. In this case, planning and creating the hanging system must be always done by a professional!
Of course, there are many other possibilities besides those above. Ask for help of an interior designer for esthetically highlighting the double room height.
Mediterranean style
Mediterranean style is continuously popular in Hungary. Usually Italy, especially Tuscany comes to mind about it. The main features can be different in the countries of the region but there is a united picture in public awareness of the interiors. The style itself is a bit rustic and rural, with a warming total effect.
Colors are the most determining during construction. Warm earth colors give the most of the palette: terracotta, oranges, several browns, sunny yellow, dull red and claret. Off-white, moderated turquoise, black and dark green appear as additional colors. From materials let’s choose terracotta, glazed ceramics, black wrought iron, natural stones and brown woods.
The floor is usually covered with glazed tiles or natural stones. This provides pleasant coolness inside the house under the warm climate. This is not so comfortable here in Hungary in winter but laying some smaller woven carpets fit to the style is a solution for this if the weather turns cold.
The walls are mostly plastered and painted. The smudgy, bleached-like, even Venetian plastered thick walls help a lot also in keeping the summer heat out. The doors and windows are made of wood. Shutters are not only functional accessories but decorative elements also. Curtains are light, let the soft breeze in but keep the most of the insects out. Roof tiles are harmonizing with the whole house. A fireplace is needed there also in winter.
The garden complements the sight. Meals are usually kept outside under the shadows of pergolas or trees. Water elements (lake, plashing, fountain) make the heat more tolerable.
Many products fit to the style can be purchased here in Hungary because of the popularity of it: pavements, ready-made wall paints, decoration accessories, fabrics and furniture. Ask for help of an interior designer for creating your Mediterranean style home!
Shoe tray
Frosts are over, the ground becomes muddy because of spring rains and roads are wet in towns also. These can be seen on our boots and shoes of course: we bring the dirt to the porch and hallway. Only some can afford to have a mudroom where all muddy things can be left and it doesn’t matter if the floor becomes dirty. If there is no close hallway or it is small, this is a bigger problem.
Common solution is a plus mat in the hallway to put shoes on it. Its disadvantage is getting dirty soon, and if it is made of rubber, the muddy water remains on its surface and has to be cleaned daily.
A shoe-storage tray is a solution for this, which can be bought in shops also – but we can easily make one by ourselves, this way it will be unique and fit to the interior. All we need is a tray with higher edges. This could be made of metal, plastic or wood (it’s easy to make one from rods), depends on the style. If we just simply put the shoes in it, they would stand in the dirty water. So, let’s fill the tray with a material which lets through the water to the bottom of the tray. This way the soles of shoes can dry out. This material could be small river-gravels, white chads, bigger decor pebbles (black, white, grey) but even glass gravels too. These can be washed in some weeks.
Using corks is a decorative but less lasting solution. Juxtapose them tight. We can raise their lifetime by lacquering top and bottom of them. We can put an outdoor plastic or metal grille in the tray also. In this case we can fill the holes with small pebbles or put a leachy faux-grass on it. Some hard-bristle domestic brushes without haft placed with bristles-up are spectacular and useful solution also.
It’s a more creative way to reuse a fitting object instead of a tray: e.g. a drawer, an old tool box without its lid, a smaller suitcase etc. Its width is important because the biggest shoe/boot should be fit in easily. We can fix wheels or legs on the bottom of them for the more interesting look.
Ask for help of an interior designer for solving smaller problems clever and stylish.
