Before renovation

Aug13

In case of buying a used property in poor condition, time, money and difficulties caused by the renewal, always have to be considered. If we decide to do it by ourselves, it’s recommended to think some issues over before starting.
Find a constructor who is reliable, working nice and free in the required timeframe. It is not easy, but if we can plan for 6-8 months before starting, it has a good chance. If a construction company is proposed by someone, the situation is luckier since we can go and see their references in the proposer’s home. Quality job means not the same for everybody! That is why it’s worth the time. If we look for a specialist on the internet, always ask for references. It can tell a lot about if it is given wholeheartedly. Ask for proposals from more companies. As soon as the new property is available, take the constructor to a survey and ask for a quote. The latter will contain not only the cost but the contracted time also. Of course, it has a cost (per implementer) but it is worth this little investment compared to the cost of the whole renovation. This way we can choose the best nominee for us. If we don’t want to work with a constructor to reduce costs, be prepared to make coordination tasks, time table, control, and purchasing by ourselves. In this case the renovation usually takes longer time.
Look after the nowadays prices. Costs are continuously rising, so we cannot depend on the paid cost of the new entrance door of our neighbour two years ago, for example. Examine more companies’ websites, where we can buy what and on what price. Obviously, there will be products that might be priced after a measurement (e.g. windows) but we can ask for approximate amounts. If we have an idea of the style and colors, we can choose products in advance fitting for our purse.
An important factor is the delivery time from the order. Only a few things can be bought immediately, from store during a renovation. Shops deliver in 2-3 days from their own stocks, but it could be 2-3 weeks from an offshore store. In case of unique production this can be extended even to 6-8 weeks. These times should be calculated in the order of works and the implementing timetable.
Usually everybody knows the available amount to spend for the renovation. Anyway, we shall count on sudden difficulties which cause plus costs (usually there are) and allocate further 10% for these.
We can ask for help of an interior designer even from the survey of the property before buying until taking the keys of our renovated home. We can save a lot of time, money and worrying with this decision.

Home theater

Aug8

Comfortable and stylish movie-nights at home

Advertising objects

Aug6

Advertisement has thousands of years history. For example Egyptian papyri, a Chinese bronze plate, wall and rock paintings in Africa and South-America certify this. The bigger part of the population couldn’t read in Europe in the medieval ages, so their attention was attracted for the services and goods by pictures (e.g. trade-signs). The first newspaper advertisements appeared in England in the 18th century. Thomas J. Bratt was the father of the modern advertisement who used Bubbles painting of Sir John Everett Millais for the advertisement of Pears’ Soap. The first advertising agency was founded in Philadelphia in 1842. Ads were already on the radio from the 1920s. Television got the leading rule in advertising from the 1950s. Separate channels were started for advertising and immediate shopping by the appearance of cable television (1980s). Internet gave new perspectives in this field from the 1990s. Of course, there are still many printed advertisements beside these, for example on vehicles, giant placards and leaflets. Original packaging of products is among these also.
Ads on TV, internet and e-mail are spectacular but not touchable. However, ads of „old times”, first of all placards, trade-signs, sandwich-boards (wood, metal, cardboard) are already very valuable and even sought after by collectors. A rarer piece is not only a good investment but a great decorating possibility at home also: hanging on the wall as a picture, standing on the mantelpiece or on a shelf, being a part of a vintage collage, getting a new function (e.g. tray, top of a table) etc. They can be focal points by their sizes or colors.
Ask for help of an interior designer for perfect displaying of your collection.

Spare tiles

Aug3

Spare tiles can be used for decorative serving

Sage green

Aug1

Sage green is a soft and earthy grey-green, a mix of slate and citron colors

Swithes

Jul30

Electrical works of our home should always be done by a specialist. However, minimal skills about visible parts (switches, sockets) are needed for planning the lighting, especially when we have to purchase them. It’s easy to get lost among types of switches.
Parts of the switch: frame, button and mechanism.
The frame can be single, double, triple etc., depending on the fact that how many switches or sockets are lined beside each other. All of this can be in horizontal or vertical layout.
Single-pole switch: one light can be turned on and off with it
Chandelier switch: has two buttons, one light can be turned on and off in two sections
Alternative switch: one light (group) can be turned on and off from two different places
Cross switch: one light (group) can be turned on and off from three or more places
Luminance control switch: the amount of flux can be controlled by a button, so the luminance of the light is alterable
Touch switches can be purchased also beside the traditional tumbler switches, which perfectly fit to modern interiors.
Nowadays there is a quite wide range of color- and material assortment. The frame can be made of metal, wood, leather, glass, several types of stones, beside the well-known plastic. These mechanisms can be almost hidden with choosing the most fitting color for the wall, but they even can be highlighted and be made for the decorations of the interior by the assortment.
Ask for help of an interior designer for the choice.

Outdoor stone veneer

Jul27

Stone veneered house – sometimes less is more

Wicker furniture

Jul23

Wicker furniture are present in the homes of mankind for thousands of years. They came in fashion often in modern times and disappeared again. Nowadays this type of furniture is referred with furnishing of gardens and patios. In old times, they could be found in the homes of peasants just as in the castles of the nobles – in a different way of course.
The name above is a summary of products made of floral materials with handmade weaving technique. Several plants are used for this purpose: willow twig, rush, bamboo, sisal (seagrass), rattan, cane. All of them are well paintable and warnishable, this way the not so old, boring pieces can be easily renewed. Basically, there are two groups of wicker furniture: the whole piece was made by this technique or only the back/seat is woven filling the frame. The latter can be found among classic English and French furniture as well as in simple pieces made by the Shakers. This type of furnishing became popular again thanks to the penetration of shabby chic and country styles.
When buying wicker furniture, prefer the ones made of natural materials instead of fake made of plastic. Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper pieces.