home exterior: November 2009

Paperwhites!

Have you planted paperwhites yet? Forcing paperwhites has become a yearly holiday tradition for me! I love watching them grow! It's so amazing how fast they sprout up! I plant mine in soil and I like to cover the soil with moss and a sprinkling of plastic snow! Plastic snow has really grown on me over the years. I used to think it looked really tacky but now I like it! The paperwhites below are

Modern Kitchen Remodeling Designs With Smart Layout

The most important thing in designing a good kitchen is about the functionality and efficiency. Intelligent design would be a solution in the convenience of kitchen users in the move to prepare and process food. So, it's a good solution to create a smart kitchen in new or kitchen remodeling to get a modern kitchen.

Modern Kitchen Designs With Smart Layout

Kitchen layout in the photo has a very unique space and attractive, which lies directly connected to the kitchen dining room and family room. The relationship between this space can be optimized by designing a kitchen set double line.

One L-shaped cabinet against the wall of the kitchen and other cabinet placed between the kitchen and dining room. Function is a connector between the two areas. Between them given the distance of about 2.2 m, resulting in circulation while working will be smooth. --contemporist--

Streamlining Tight Space on Bathroom Designs

streamlining space is mean, how to make the room looks simple and minimalist with reducing the spacious of the room. Here are the ideas on streamlining the space on bathroom designs. There are several steps to make the room looks streamline, Create and design a frameless shower, locate it near the bathtub in one line, see this picture that describe how to design a frameless shower and how to locate it.

To minimize the visual impact of the double sinks, a wall-hung vanity appears to float over the floor. A wall-hung toilet produces a similar effect. Overhead, a skylight also helps create a more spacious, open feeling.

In a neutral-toned bathroom, choosing one or two vibrantly colored focal points can really complete the look. In bathroom designs, the other thing to get streamlining tight space is choosing the bathroom style, modern style may look simpler than traditional style, but the best modern bathroom designs aren't about cutting out ornamentation. Instead, they're about making every element in a space functionally beautiful.

The solution is adding the visual features, on above picture it describe how to adding the bathroom features with mosaic tile and the mirror, A tall, narrow mirror is enhanced by a frame of small green mosaic tiles that relate to other strong vertical rectangles in the room's design. A vanity cabinet of precisely crafted wood is a sleek piece in the best modern tradition. The overall effect: clearly chic yet soothing. --howstuffworks--

Show & Tell Friday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! I'm breaking the rules of Show and Tell a little today and sharing something that is not from my home or garden. This is where Lauren and I had Thanksgiving dinner today! I know...not a very traditional Thanksgiving but it was nice!It's the Dolce-Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California. It's a hotel and conference center. I bet everyone that

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish all my U.S. friends a very Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful to have "met" you all! You really have enriched my life!

Best Home Design on Italian Contemporary Calipte Bathroom

Best Home Design on Contemporary Calipte Bathroom

Italian Bathroom decoration usually used a new and modern style, such as this contemporary calipte bathroom accessories from Compab, suitable for any best home interior design.

Compab reality take root of this activity since 1996. The firm get ahead for the bath furnishings sphere. The models made of Compab are designed and developed to meet the true needs of modern living, where even a bathroom is the expression of the personality of the people who furnish it according to their taste and therefore

Thanksgiving Past

I'm still not feeling well at all, in fact it sometimes feels like I'm getting worse not better. The mornings are the worst. When I get up in the morning it feels like I've slept with a pile of bricks on my chest! The pain goes all the way to into my back! I really feel for people who have chronic pain, I just can't even imagine living like this all the time! This is day 5 of this and I'm going

Xil Bathroom Furniture from Karol with Uncommon Design

Italian bathroom is still the best architecture style, here are the best bathroom design from Karol, named Xil, a furniture piece with an uncommon design. It intentionally transcends the solutions that have been used up to now in the bathroom. The thick forms and solid wood worked by skilled artisans and the unique flame veneer finish of the trims in both the furniture pieces and the mirrors turn it into an aristocratic object that maintains the needed functionality of the bathroom area.

Unlike the other Karol’s series, Xil cabinets are available only in wood finish, which can be combined to elegant waterproof leather doors available in 5 different colors. The materials used for the tops are the same of those used in the other series.

Since 1980 Karol has been producing bathroom furniture out of Siena, Italy. Today the range production has been considerably diversified in order to offer distinguishable bathroom furniture lines, enabling to solve problems, often due to lack of space. Supported by advanced technologies, Karol is now really able to satisfy all needs and furnishing requests with an excellent quality to price ratio.

These Italian bathrooms evocate to admire and pleasant to be caressed. All bathrooms designed to satisfy the desire to have functional, perfectly accessible space done in a trendy high-end Italian design. Karol offers captivating design where the characters are the color, the play of depth, the top with rounded border, and cheerful choice of glass counters. All collections furnished with standing consoles, wall hang cabinetry, available in solid beach wood, cherry, wenge, or in wide range of lacquered colors. Crystal counter tops and backsplashes, spacious drawers, tall units, and linen closets complete these streamlined bathroom lines. The modular bathroom systems from Karol immediately hit the eye: these are modular elements which allow great flexibility in contemporary bathrooms. These light, dynamic lines give bathrooms a personality. And yet function is never forgotten: in fact Karol makes any bathroom design flexible so it can fluctuate as needed; the elements are not bound to the surrounding space and can be added, even at a later date. Karol has long designed bathrooms with an eye to functionality and owner’s personality. All characteristics of the bathroom are represented: high functionality, elegance, and above all the ability to easily furnish any space with only the best in Italian contemporary bathroom design.

Crystal counter tops and backsplashes, spacious drawers, tall units, and linen closets complete these streamlined bathroom lines. The modular bathroom systems from Karol immediately hit the eye: these are modular elements which allow great flexibility in contemporary bathrooms. These light, dynamic lines give bathrooms a personality. And yet function is never forgotten: in fact Karol makes any bathroom design flexible so it can fluctuate as needed; the elements are not bound to the surrounding space and can be added, even at a later date. Karol has long designed bathrooms with an eye to functionality and owner’s personality. All characteristics of the bathroom are represented: high functionality, elegance, and above all the ability to easily furnish any space with only the best in Italian contemporary bathroom design. --Karol--Italian-interiors--

Prevent Mold in Your New Green Home

Mold and mildew can not only cause structural problems in a home, they are the cause of many illnesses and allergies – making them one of your home’s worst enemies. Cleaning and getting rid of mold can be a very difficult, expensive, and time consuming project. If you’re building a new energy efficient home, an important consideration in its construction is controlling moisture to prevent mold and mildew buildup.

There are two types of moisture that can enter a home: bulk moisture and vapor moisture. Bulk moisture can get into a home around windows, doors, and leaks in the roof, as well as from condensation from pipes and ducts. Vapor moisture forms as a result of cooking, showering (yes, those long, hot showers), laundry, changes to the humidity level in the home, and just general living.

How do green homes manage moisture? A few ways are by having:

A well-designed floor plan and careful placement and orientation of the home on the lot to take advantage of solar access and shading;

Energy efficient insulation system to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer which heps reduce condensation and mold growth;

Well-sealed, energy efficient windows and doors;

Good ventilation with heat recovery ventilation (HRV) units and extraction fans in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Moisture control starts with the green home design. Talk to an architect about your plans to build a healthy, energy efficient home for your family and build a new home that manages moisture and prevents mold!

New Finds!

Thank you for all the nice comments yesterday. I went to the doctor, had an EKG, blood test, and a chest x-ray and they all came out good so my doctor thinks something in my chest is inflamed, either cartilage or tendons or something... I have to take Ibuprofen (Motrin) 3 times a day for awhile and then I'll have a follow up appointment with her next week. Hopefully it will be gone by then! I

Small Kitchen with Circle Design

What is the main problem in arranging a small room? One of the solution is using a minimalist furniture, loft furniture or using a creative shape room like this circle kitchen. With less spacious, this kitchen is suitable for your solution on kitchen remodeling, or create the new one.

Circle Kitchen from the New Zealand firm of Compact Concepts is one of those “what in the world?” products that ends up making more and more sense when you begin exploring it a bit. It’s a design concept that would be at home in an apartment, loft, condominium, hotel room, holiday home, or retirement residence, as well as in an office or foyer. See details product at cleverkitchen.

Vacation!

photo credit: FlickrI have a week off of work and wouldn't you know it...I'm not feeling good! I had a coughing attack on Friday night. It only lasted a few minutes but my chest has been so sore since Saturday morning so I'm going to the doctor today just to be safe. Hopefully it's just heart-burn or something simple. About 5 years ago I thought I was having a heart attack at work. I was

Arcitecture of Modern Theater Building in Melbourne

This is an attractive design building of modern theater building in Melbourne, created bt ARM, this architecture design was the winner of the Victorian Architecture Medal. The amazing Architectural design of all side and structure. Not only as a building theater but this is also a world charm with indigo Melbourne for a high art. Walls and a unique layout of the building and architectural design of the framework should. A national survey of 600 architects conducted by the Architectural Review Australia found ARM to be considered the most influential architectural office in Australia in the period 1982-2007

Ashton Raggatt McDougall or ARM is a firm of architects based in Melbourne, Australia known for "architectural outspokenness". Founded in 1988, the firm has completed internationally renowned design work and the principals are Stephen Ashton, Howard Raggatt and Ian McDougall. Their design work has been featured on two Australian postage stamps.

Best Home Design on Modern Zenit Bathroom

The elements which make up the Zenit collection can be used to furnish any size room with quality thanks to their versatility and essential lines. The Castiglia associati project is a synthesis of various factors, from the exclusive washbasins to the quality materials and workmanship. With this collection, the bathroom plays an important role in interpreting the domestic scene using furniture choices that can be personalized through compositional and chromatic variations.

An apricot and orange matt lacquer finish. Twin mirrors with mirrors with mirrored fascia (5 cm thick) and built-in light fixtures. Satin finish towel-rail.

matt plaster-white lacquer. Washbasin base units with pull-out drawer and round washbasin in white ceramic. Top in Parapan 5196. Open vertical hanging cabinet in etched glass. Mirror with mirrored side fascias and lower profile in aluminium, halogen light fixture.

glossy black lacquer band Parapan 5290. Washbasin unit with pull-out drawer and round washbasin in white ceramic. 31 cm deep. Top in Parapan 5290. Table mirror with mirrored side fascias band halogen light

10 mm thick etched glass cubes. Horizontal mirror with side light fixtures and a four-drawer unit.

Washbasin unit with pull-out drawer and basin in marble agglomerate (Marmorit). Etched glass shelves; hanging mirror with aluminium lacquer edges and double halogen light. --rifra--

Best Home Design on Italian Classic Bedroom

Italian bedroom designs are usually designed in modern style, but there are also a lot of them that designed in classic design, here are several best Italian classic bedroom design for best home design.

On the first picture, there is the Lago di Garda, a best bedroom design that inspired to the newest trends of fitting the bedroom, to create an atmosphere by using classical, clean and rational function, but also strong lines. made of materials and sophisticated designs for creating a new classical style to provide solidity, safety and warmth. See more classic bedroom on guppoatma.

Show & Tell Friday

It's time again for Show and Tell Friday! This week I would like to share my items I got from Vintage & Vogue. If you haven't been to my blog this week, please scroll down to my posts I did on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see how beautifully this shop is decorated for Christmas! I fell in love with these two cherub ornaments with the hanging crystals! Everyone needs a castle! The colors on

Giveaway Fun!

What a fun day! I get to announce the winner of my monthly giveaway and the winner of the Pfaltzgraff giveaway and also announce a brand new giveaway!!!First the winner of my monthly giveaway for November is Laurie from Bargain Hunting with Laurie.and the winner of the Pfaltzgraff Holiday Dinnerware is Evelyn (no blog), she chose the Winterberry pattern.I'm also pleased to also announce that

AIA Architects: Billings Index Sending Positive Signals

A new press release generated by the American Institute of Architects reports a positive change in the number of inquiries for possible new projects, calling this “an early signal towards a recovery for the design and construction industry”.

The AIA uses its Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading economic indicator that provides an approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending, as a means of gauging an increase or demand for design services.

The October ABI new projects inquiry score was 58.5, following the 59.1 mark in September (any score above 50 indicates an increase). The October ABI rating was 46.1, up sharply from 43.1 in September. This score, however, indicates a continued decline in demand for design services and the AIA remains cautious, saying “it is far too early to think we are out of the woods.”

Using our very accurate BA&A index, we can report a significant increase in new project inquiries for new home construction and green building, especially from people building in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

If you are thinking about building an energy efficient home, visit our website to learn about our Design Services and Architectural Fees (yes, our fees are listed on our website!).

Modern Bathroom Vanities with Lovely Shape Combination

Here are what you can get on spacify, a series of great bathroom vanities with several amazing features. Ceramic sink, MDF mirror, glass tabletop, stainless or brushed steel for legs. Designed with high value of artistic sense, with wooden or stainless material. They also provide much of color option such as blue, mint green, turquoise. To see details, here are several product description of several bathroom vanities:

Semplice Modern Bathroom Vanity.

Simple and clean contemporary chic, with an understated elegance. The white tempered glass sink is the most stunning and elegant aspect of this ensemble while maintaining a very streamlined appearance. Combined sleekness and funk make this a great piece in any bathroom.

Migliore Modern Bathroom Vanity.

If your NYC studio apartment said, `renovate me,` this is easily the vanity that it would scream for. Compact with delicious and simply lavish details that include a three-color contrast of black wood, white sink, and chrome hardware. Unpretentious European style made for easygoing everyday living.

Eliora Bathroom Vanity.

A lovely combination of shapes and forms makes this budget and space friendly vanity a pleasure to have in any bathroom. Ideal to compliment any color scheme and design.

Radioso Modern Bathroom Vanity.

A wonderful pale mint green is as refreshing as a Tribeca artist`s hotel. Very simple lines and execution in the cabinets lead way for over the top sinks to delight the eye. This is perfect for those who seek the understated elegance of less is more statement. This streamlined spacious assembly is perfect for those with room to spare. This European designed offers loads of storage with green cabinets above head and to the side. Porcelain sinks. Modern hardware is brass with a nickel shine

Vintage & Vogue Christmas-Part III

Here is part 3 of my Vintage & Vogue posts. I still have more photos but I think I'll save those for next week. Isn't it all so beautiful! I love all the different themes they have going.Vintage & Vogue241 East Campbell Ave, Ste ACampbell, California**********************************I now have new windows in my apartment and they look so much better! I can even feel the difference. Usually when

Vintage & Vogue Christmas-Part II

Are you ready to see more of the beautiful things at Vintage & Vogue?Every time I look at these photos I see something else I want to go back and get!!!I did buy some things when I was there and I'll share those this Friday for Show and Tell.How cute is this...and this...I'm really in the mood to decorate for Christmas now! My company is having a shutdown the week of Thanksgiving so I'll be home

Best Home Design on Italian Architecture Style

Located near Cuneo in the north of Italy, Casa G is a great example of what innovation and creativity can bring up for a family home. With a lot of glossy furnishings on the outside including the white lime plaster finished walls or the “absolute black” stone, large glass windows and an amazing 300 sqm living area with contemporary furniture, the four bedrooms home sure looks like a dream home to us. One thing that intrigued us though, was the 4 degrees inclined roof that uses a ventilated structure and Canadian tiles, for the elegant looks it has to offer. hdf

Vintage & Vogue Christmas Part I

This weekend I was at my favorite store, Vintage & Vogue not once, but twice! I went Friday night for their Christmas celebration and then I went back on Sunday to take pictures! The farmer's market which is every Sunday in downtown Campbell was still open when I took these photos which is why you can see canopies reflected in the window above. The store looks amazing! All these photos

Minimalist Spacious Room Design with Loft Furniture

This is the loft furniture for minimalist spacious room, suitable for apartment or prefab home design. Designed by Hogarth Architects, this furniture set provided all house function include bed, kitchen and cabinet.

See this staircase, a stair to connect the bedroom (upper) and kitchen (lower).

The bedroom and the cabinet