Monday, February 8, 2010

Dream Room Designs



Children always have some things they want to have. Oftentimes, they want to have things possessing their favorite color or cartoon character. If you are creative, you can make him his very own wall art with himself together with the cartoon character or superhero that he likes. It is nice to see him having a personalized item that he can truly call his.

More so, once you see that smile in your kid's face, you know that all your efforts and time spent in making the art is worth it. Just make sure that your kid is there when you make the art so that he can tell you if he does not approve of what you are working on. At least when he tells you this, you can make the necessary changes to suit his preference. Nevertheless, if there is nothing much left to do, you have no choice but to make the most out of what you finished. You can just add some decorations to make the art better.

Aside from the cartoon character as his wall art design, you can have a theme in his room to make it more interesting. For example, if you see that he loves animals, perhaps you can turn his room into a mini zoo of some sort. You can make his bed frame have animal heads on the top. The door can have a lion's head painted in the front. He can even have a somewhat forest kind of painting in the walls so that he can easily have that feeling that he is in a forest with the animals.

Dream Kitchen Designs



Many of us have a certain visualization when it comes to our “dream” kitchen. It is important to know and understand that we can actually create the kitchen in the design that we wish, but it is important to consider a few things prior to engaging in the home improvement project of designing the dream kitchen. Here, you will learn about the important considerations on dream kitchen designs.

The first consideration that must be made when you are in the process of designing your dream kitchen is to know that the kitchen is the main room in the home. Each and every single person that resides in the home frequents the kitchen many times throughout the day. This is where people cook, eat, commune…it is important to respect this area, and make it “family” friendly. When designing this room, remember how many people frequent this room, and the type of activities that take place in this room.

The next consideration that should be made when designing the dream kitchen is the potential of selling the home. Many individuals often decide to sell their home for one reason or another. This means that the dream kitchen design should include features and techniques that others are likely to find rather appealing. It is important to remember that you should design your dream kitchen the way that you like, but you should also consider the future purchasing market as well.

The next consideration that needs to be made when it comes to the design of your dream kitchen is the functionality of the space. Remember, this is the room in which you create your meals, cook them, and do other types of preparations. You will want to ensure that you distance the kitchen components so that they are comfortable for you. You may wish to create “workstations” around the kitchen to make meal preparation an easy task. While it is important to go with your own style, it is essential that it is still “functional”.

Kids Dream Home



Home decoration has become a matter of prime concern. Not only has it set a sense of competition, fashion and trend amongst people to make their house look best, it is also necessary to assure a comfortable life to your beloved ones. Obviously you take in extra efforts to embellish your house with the classiest items as well as the best kids’ bunk beds. Bunk beds are very convenient for the reason that they save space and they can be bought at reasonable prices. These double decker beds are great if you have children who share a room. Children like to have their own space and the best kids’ bunk beds give them each their own bed so that they do not fight over who is taking up more space. In fact bunk beds can help your children to grow up together playing with each other making their relationship strong.

Often it is seen that the children enjoy personalizing their belongings with stickers, posters, etc. So if you permit, your child may get some really interesting and knowledgeable posters and frames for his room. He might also use stickers on his bunk bed. This will definitely enhance the beauty of his room and at the same time adding a personal touch will make him take pride in his room and his belongings. He will love having the best kids bunk beds as the main piece of furniture in his room. In fact, the best kids’ bunk beds have not only become a place for them to sleep or relax, the bunk bed becomes a fun area where they can climb up and down the ladder or stairways. Why settle for traditional twin beds, when these bunk beds are so much fun for the kids. The best kids’ bunk beds just stand out in the room because of their color, which come in natural shades of wood or white and kids get attracted to it right away. people love doing up there kids room with nice and bright furniture and you could buy one of the best kids’ bunk beds to create a great ambiance in the bedroom for the kids.

Small Home Plans



Small house plans are small home plans or floor plans. Small house plans are popular but are not a style of home. Small house plans make sense for many people and families because they are more affordable. Small house plans can be anything from a cottage, ranch style or even cabin or almost any other style home. If you choose these types of plans, you will save money and cost of material. It is also less expensive to build a small house than a large home.

Some small homes have two floors and come with or without a basement. Some more common small homes have crawlspaces for extra storage. Traditionally they have a room off the kitchen which you can place a washer and dryer. These house are frequently Cottage or Bungalow style.

More about small house plans

Some other small house plans consist of homes that keep the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms to the end of the house and the living room in its center. This gives more simplicity and also a sense of luxury to the house.

Small house plans are normally defined as houses with less than 1800 square feet, excluding a basement. These house are also space efficient and less expensive to build on a small plot of land.

Where to find small house plans

If you are interested in small house plans you should always look for the best deals on blueprints. Blueprints or plans are available from a variety of sources and at many different prices. Two of my favorites are coolhouseplans.com and dongardner.com. Plans from coolhouseplans have prices ranging from $585 for five sets of blueprints up to $1,175 for CAD files. If you are not familiar with CAD files, these are Computer Aided Drawing files, meaning that they provide all the information needed to build the house on CD-ROM and have blueprints that can be printed and as often as needed and in any quantity.

Dream Home Sweepstakes



Have you heard about something like "home improvement sweepstake"? Well, home improvement sweepstakes are real! They are indeed like competitions which are managed by many large electrical stores and mortgage companies. But what is the real prize involved in these types of sweepstakes? In most cases, the most common prize involved in these kinds of sweepstakes offered by these large companies is a home improvement or new home luxury. And the winner is usually not pre selected but rather chosen at random.

These home improvement sweepstakes are usually started by home repair stores. These stores generally carry out competitions monthly and the lucky winner gets a brand new home makeover courtesy of the store! It's a win-win situation for both parties. For the store, this is a great way to generate extra sales since contestants can usually only enter the competition by purchasing certain items in the shop keeper's store. Competitors, on the other hand, have the opportunity of having a free home improvement or new home luxury!

There are other kinds of home improvement sweepstakes as well. There are some in which you get to select the competition that you want to enter via plain entry forms. For instance, you can select to compete for a free power roller attachment, a life-time guarantee on all electrical appliances, free gift cards, free deliveries on selected items, etc. All these are actual sweepstakes that you have the opportunity to be part of.

Dream Home Giveaway



Everyone has an idea of what their dream home would look like. Purchasing or a building a new home is an exciting time as well as an important life investment. When people search for their dream home, they are often too involved in finding the best home for them that they often forget about the location. A dream home is often associated with the dream location. If you are happy with the home, but unhappy with the location, you may discover that it is not the dream that you imagined.

When you are looking for a dream home, people will focus on important home features such as the home design, floor plans, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the size of the rooms and closets, and other special features such as lighting and wiring. All of these attributes are important to meet your specific tastes and requirements. However, the location attributes are an important consideration.

The following list outlines important considerations when choosing your dream location:

Property Needs: If you are building your dream home, you have to make sure you are set up for utilities and extras such as internet, sewer, water, and modern wiring. You also have to make sure the property is large enough for further additions such as sheds, garage, garden, pool, gazebo…etc. You want to make sure that the land meets your current and future needs. Taking your property needs into consideration will make it easier to find an ideal location.

Dream Home Remodeling



Dream home remodeling may not always be a dream experience. Many people have waited years to start building their dream home. They have labored over the designs, cabinets, and floor plans. Now the time has finally come to start building their home.

Handling the Stress

Once the building or remodel process begins the stress may at times be overwhelming. Building homes takes a lot of people and making sure all those people are doing what you want them to do can be a difficult task.

To help manage the stress that comes with this time you can follow these simple steps.

1. Be Prepared - Don't start building your home until the design is finished and you even know what the interior design is going to be. Creating a home before the plans are finished is a sure-fire way to disaster and a whole lot of stress.

2. Budget - Have a budget and stick to it! One of the biggest mistakes people make in new real estate is not properly planning their budget. Create a thorough list of all your costs and leave a big cushion. You don't want to get halfway done and run out of money. Then you'll have a half finished house that you will still have to make payments on.

3. Get Help - If you are not an experienced contractor then don't try to act as your own general contractor. It will be worth your money to hire someone else that is trained. Plus the amount of stress a general contractor can relieve is worth its weight in gold!

Modern Dream Home



Arguably since the 1950s, the ceiling fan has been a staple of every home, even though the likes of the air conditioning system have replaced it in recent years for no apparent reason other than technological innovation and novelty value. However, the contemporary ceiling fan is making a bit of a comeback at the moment. It has been modified and brought up to date with manufacturers that are making the most of the environmental concern of society at the moment.

Contemporary ceiling fans are more sophisticated than ever before. They have been updated to fit in with modern décor so that they appeal to homeowners today and will continue to do so well into the future. Some have a sleek and stylish look that is both pleasing to the eye and able to fit in with a whole range of décor themes, including the minimalist style that is so difficult to buy for. Most contemporary ceiling fans also have lights incorporated so that they kill two birds with one stone. You do not have to find room for a light as well as a fan and that ultimately looks better than overcrowding your ceiling too.

Contemporary ceiling fans come in a variety of colours so that you can choose the one that reflects you best. Traditional ones only tended to come in one or two colours and you had to make do with that but now you can choose pillar box red if you so wish! It truly is a consumer market!

New Dream Home



While some people may prefer to buy a home and raise a family outside of the city, many others are choosing to stay inside the city limits. Urban houses are designed to help conserve a city’s green space while providing a chic housing style for homeowners. You will never see two urban houses with the same design or style. Custom home designers are able to work with the property holder to create each room to match their living style while efficiently using the space allowed.

Owners Provided with Numerous Styling Options

Custom urban homes are highly desired by those that want to live in a city and still have a say in how the home is constructed. There are many different features that can in incorporated into the home for a unique look. Urban architecture generally follows some of the same characteristics that loft homes use. High ceilings with many windows are common elements designers utilize.

Unlike other housing options, urban homes won’t be limited to certain design features because of community restrictions or landlord rules. You will own every part of the house, which gives you countless options when it comes to developing both the interior and exterior design. Urban architecture is very functional so that every area of space is efficiently used. Open floor plans with multi-level living space creates spacious rooms that are well lit with natural sunlight.

Dream House Ideas



Most of us aspire to someday buy a house. Even today, when most of us inhabit rented apartments, we still dream of the day when we will move into a place of our own. It is not that rented apartments do not provide that sense of belonging. It is just that there is a far greater sense of belonging when you can say that every square foot of the house is yours. However, purchasing a house of one's own is a major investment. Several years earlier, affording a house of one's own would have been outside the financial abilities of most of us. However, things have changed a great deal. Now, we have access to scores of great loan packages which allow us to purchase just the house that we want.

However, one cannot just go to a loan provider and come home with a huge loan. This may be possible in the case of short term loans such as the payday loan variety. But a house is a long term investment. Any lender who is willing to advance to you one a large enough sum is certain to try and ensure that the loaned amount is likely to be repaid to them. To lend to a borrower who appears to have trouble when it comes to repaying the amounts is bad business. This would result in losses, and no lender wants to put his profit at risk.

In fact, it was this attitude which, for many years, made those who had bad credit seem like second class citizens. It is understandable that each of our actions will be greeted by consequence. And, defaulting on a loan or having a history of bad credit is not likely to bring the banks hurrying in to lend us money to buy our dream homes. However, in the past, people with bad credit had to bid goodbye to all probabilities of taking loans later on.

Dream House Photo



Which is why I created http://www.HouseBuying-Tips.com. Now, you can learn ahead of time how to save yourself lots of money. So, here are the first two mistakes you should avoid when buying your next house:

#1: Know EXACTLY what you want before you start house hunting, AND put it in writing!

Owning your own home is a great feeling. It’s the American dream. And it’s one of the biggest purchases you will ever make!

So the more time you spend preparing, the easier your life will be.

One of the most important things you can do to get ready to buy your first house is to decide EXACTLY what you want - and write it down on paper.

Sounds simple. But over the next few months you’ll see that the house buying process is one of the most intense, stressful, busy - and exciting - times of your life. So, BEFORE you start looking for a new house, it’s a good idea to have a very clear picture of the type of house you want.

It’s certainly helpful to have a picture in your mind. But as you get further into the process, you’ll find it helpful to have a list you can refer to (especially when the “files” in your mind start getting overloaded!)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Dream House Wallpaper


This style focused on harmony and symmetry using pale colour schemes and delicate furniture to produce a room that was airy and light.

Floors were often bare with oriental style rugs although grander houses may have had stone or marble flooring. Walls were panelled but often only reaching dado height with the top being papered or painted. Wallpaper were made using simple repeat patterns although towards the later half of this period they were also block printed often in stripes or simple shapes. Furniture was delicate and sofas with a hoop back were typical. Fireplaces were the focal point of the room and should be elegant with basket grates. Pictures were hung in formal groups to flank the fireplace and other ornaments would have included porcelain, fans and lacquer work.

Victorian Era (1837-1901)

The Victorians used theirs homes as a reflection of their status. It was an age of imitation and reproduction with many styles influencing interior design from Gothic to Rococo. For the dolls house enthusiast this means lots of ornaments, overstuffed chairs and sofas, and patterned wallpapers and carpets.

Fireplaces would have been ornate and made mostly of cast iron with mantles stuffed to bursting with ornaments and often fabric draped across. Stairs would have been covered with a central runner, stained either side. Room moulding would have been plentiful with ceiling roses a must! Fabrics for curtains etc would have been highly patterned and very rich.

Dream House Interior


Different periods in history reflect very different interior designs. This article looks at the key characteristics of the most popular dolls house periods from 1714 to the early 1900’s and will help to ensure your house looks its period best!

Georgian Era (1714-1837)

This style focused on harmony and symmetry using pale colour schemes and delicate furniture to produce a room that was airy and light.

Floors were often bare with oriental style rugs although grander houses may have had stone or marble flooring. Walls were panelled but often only reaching dado height with the top being papered or painted. Wallpaper were made using simple repeat patterns although towards the later half of this period they were also block printed often in stripes or simple shapes. Furniture was delicate and sofas with a hoop back were typical. Fireplaces were the focal point of the room and should be elegant with basket grates. Pictures were hung in formal groups to flank the fireplace and other ornaments would have included porcelain, fans and lacquer work.

Victorian Era (1837-1901)

The Victorians used theirs homes as a reflection of their status. It was an age of imitation and reproduction with many styles influencing interior design from Gothic to Rococo. For the dolls house enthusiast this means lots of ornaments, overstuffed chairs and sofas, and patterned wallpapers and carpets.

Fireplaces would have been ornate and made mostly of cast iron with mantles stuffed to bursting with ornaments and often fabric draped across. Stairs would have been covered with a central runner, stained either side. Room moulding would have been plentiful with ceiling roses a must! Fabrics for curtains etc would have been highly patterned and very rich.

Dream House Design




First things first, when choosing a house plan you must first find the land that you will be building on. Not all designs will look right or even fit on certain lots, so in order to insure that your

dream home will be a good fit for your lot, you must first purchase the land on which you will be building.

When purchasing the lot, you have several things to consider.

Location - As the real estate agents say - "location, location, location". Whenever you are dealing with Real Estate, the location is a very important factor in deciding for or against a particular lot. You will of course want a lot that is within a reasonable distance from your place of business. If you have children or plan to, you will want to research the schools as well. Also, you will want to make sure that the land that you are investing in is going to rise in value. Investing in land in an

area with upward growth potential is a great way to insure the value of your property will rise.

Budget - Your lot must fit within the budget you have set for yourself. You must also take into consideration whether you are purchasing "raw land" or whether the lot has already been prepped for building. A piece of property can initially seem like a bargain until you later find out that allot needs to be done before you an get a permit to build.

Community - You want to choose a community that has zoning laws that allow you to build the type of home you are planning on. Some communities have home owners associations that may need to first approve any improvements you want to make on your land. If this will bother you, you nay want to seek

Dream Home Floor Plans



There are various websites on the internet that allow you to view some of the finest floor plans. Some of these sites charge you a nominal fee to download the exact specifications of the online floor plan that suits you while others offer the most popular online floor plans for free!

The benefit of browsing through a website that offers online floor plans is that a whole new world of possibilities will open in front of you.

All of us have a dream house in mind that we would like to build and live in some day. In fact, many of us work towards a fine house where we would like to relax in. Sadly, the rising costs of living and even inflation have ensured that this house remains a dream for most.

The same is the case with me. I dream of a fine house with a lavish garden where my family and I can relax and enjoy life. And although I don’t have the means to afford the house right now, I am pretty sure that one day I will be able to afford it. Meanwhile I continue to source out various aspects of the dream house. And recently, I stumbled upon a goldmine – online floor plans!

Speaking for myself, when I went to one such website looking for online floor plans, I was confronted by a mind boggling range of online floor plans for literally any kind of house. This particular website had floor plans that could be searched by any or all of a combination of key words. For instance, I could search for online floor plans based on number of rooms. I could also select to view online floor plans based on the style of construction.

Dream Home Plans




For many people, having their home built for them to their own specifications is a dream that they think they can never realize. Finding the land to build on is the easiest part but then there is the need to find an architect or designer and have the imagination to know how you want your future home to look. This is not as easy as it sounds as it takes vision and an eye for possibilities, which most of us find very difficult to do.

The Internet is an amazing resource with information on almost every subject imaginable. However, I think there are few people who realise that home plans are also available online. You can browse through existing plans or fill in a form with your requirements and some additional details and have them drawn up for you.

The first thing to be aware of is the size of your prospective property. This is the surface area which it will cover and is measured in square feet. Once you have this information you have two options – either to browse existing plans for that size of build, or to customise them further with more personalized specifications that you want in the finished property.

If you choose to narrow the search further you can then enter the minimum widths and depths of the property. Obviously you will have covered the floor space but that figure will be assumed to be a square unless you specify otherwise. If you have bought a plot of land that is particularly long and narrow, for example, you would be wise to enter the exact criteria so that the plans you will view will be appropriate to the land you have. You can also input the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you will require. This is also important if you require an unusually large or small number of either of these. It is also increasingly common now to have one bathroom for every bedroom in your home and so you can specify this if it is what you are looking for.