Home Improvement Info

Cottage style homes are usually known for their quaint, romantic charm. The design usually includes a soft color palette with pops of carefully chosen bolder shades and natural, rustic materials.

For the walls in a cottage interior, simple and natural is usually the name of the game. If you are giving your home a cottage style makeover, there are several wall covering options will give your home an authentic country cottage look.

Painted

One of the common types of interior for a cottage home is a painted wall in an appropriate shade. Soft colors are usually the best wall color options for a cottage style home, so choose a white or cream shade.

These colors are neutral, which allow you to pair them with a variety of other accent colors.

If you are designing a beach cottage, you can opt for a light blue or yellow shade to give the walls a fresh, seaside look. Pale green is another common color option for painted walls in a cottage style home.

Wallpapered

Wallpapered walls are another common interior type for a cottage style home. Wallpaper allows you to add a pattern to your walls for added visual interest.

A simple striped pattern provides a cozy look and may be paired with other patterns to add texture to the room’s design. You can also opt for a floral pattern if you prefer a romantic cottage look.

However, if your room is on the small side, ensure that the flowers aren’t too large because a busy pattern can make the room feel more cramped. A subtle checkered pattern is ideal for a cottage style room as well.

Beadboard

One of the most traditional wall treatments for a cottage style home is beadboard paneling. You can use the paneling to cover an entire wall, or pair it with chair rail so it covers only the lower portion of the wall.

Once it is installed, you can stain the beadboard to provide a rustic look or paint it to match the wall for a seamless interior.

If you prefer a contrasting look, you may opt to paint the top portion of the wall white or cream, and use another shade for the beadboard, such as blue, yellow or green.

Brick

Brick walls are another attractive interior type for a cottage style home. Brick provides rustic texture and adds visual interest to the space.

However, brick walls in a cottage home are traditionally painted to cover the reddish-brown color.

Off-white or cream are the most common paint colors used, but a pale shade of blue, yellow, green or lilac can be used to create a brighter look.

Feng Shui is an ancient philosophy from China that promotes the belief that all objects in the environment have energy that influences other objects in the home.

When decorating with the principals of feng shui in mind, the key is to create balance and allow Chi or energy to flow in the unique space within the home.

Chi is made up of yin and yang, opposite forces, along with the elements water, wood, fire, metal and earth. The belief is that when balance is achieved in the home, the occupants will have improved health and energy.

1. Use color to decorate according to Feng Shui principals, and bring the appropriate element into each area of the home.

In Feng Shui, red represents good luck, green represents peace and blue represents water and growth. Decorate with graphics that are symbolic of what you desire in your life. For example, fish symbolize wealth. Read the rest of this entry »

Most houses—whether they are brand new and awaiting their first owner or an older model trying to look its best for prospective buyers—are composed of walls that are typically covered in white in an attempt to create a clean-lined, blank canvas.

But color can be just as important to the overall look and comfort of your living space and all of the shapes and angles that compose it.

Although the thought of wandering through the color swatch selections at your local home-improvement store may seem like a daunting task, pairing color and design doesn’t have to be a complicated chore.

Getting Started

Despite the traditional rules that suggest rich colors for dining areas and flesh or pastel tones for bathrooms, tossing most of those rules out the window is often the first thing that Marin County, California-based architectural color and design consultant Moira O’Sullivan does when working with a new client.

“When it comes to people’s tastes, I try to find out what colors they gravitate toward, and which ones they feel good in,” she said.

O’Sullivan suggests that, when starting the process of selecting colors you take cues from the architectural style of your home.

For example, if your house is colonial style, whites, browns and similar neutral colors are a good place to start. Read the rest of this entry »

Assembling your own furniture can be a daunting task, especially for larger pieces. If you assemble a piece of furniture on your own, allocate enough time for the task.

With organization and strict adherence to the product’s step-by-step instructions, assembling your own home furniture can be a rewarding and money-saving experience.

1. Determine whether you can move the box containing your new piece of furniture alone. If not, enlist the help of others to move it near to where you are planning on placing it once assembled. This will help you avoid having to carry the assembled furniture up the stairs or trying to fit it through a doorway.

2. Clear an assembly space that is larger than the finished piece of furniture with extra room for tools and trash. Solid surfaces like wood or cement floors are best. Avoid plush carpets as they do not provide a flat work surface and small components can be lost in them.

3. Open the box and remove its contents. The cardboard may be moved to your designated trash area or be used to protect the work surface. If you are using the box to protect the work surface, break it and lay it flat on the floor. Read the rest of this entry »

Considerations for choosing a modular home foundation include the condition of the land, construction time and price. These options range from the most economical and quickest foundation types to those that offer extra living space or storage and are the most expensive. The climate of the area in which you live can also come into play when choosing a modular home foundation.

Pier and Ground Anchor Support

The most popular method of anchoring a modular home to the ground is the pier and ground anchor support system. This quick to install modular home foundation can be adapted for almost any region.

Piers are installed under the main beams and the mating line of the modular home. Concrete and steel are the most popular piers used for this type of modular home foundation. The piers are secured into the ground to ensure the modular home is anchored properly.

Crawl Space

A crawl space modular home foundation is an alternative to owners who want the look of a block wall but cannot afford a full basement or where land conditions do not permit one. A block wall gives the appearance of a full basement.

A footer is excavated, then a wall is built from concrete blocks, poured concrete or even treated lumber. The floor joists are attached to the crawl space wall to secure it. Piers are used to support other key points as directed by the modular home manufacturer. Read the rest of this entry »

The main purpose of the foundation in most homes is to transfer the home’s weight to the ground, soil and rock on which it rests. Your home’s foundation is something that can be easily overlooked.

Cracks and other damage can look unattractive, reduce the overall value of your home and lead to more serious structural problems. Steps can be taken to fix foundations to maintain the quality and value of most homes.

1. Hire a professional to determine the reason or cause for your foundation problem. This person will be able to provide one or more repair solutions. Many consultations are free of charge.

2. Dig a hole into the ground under the damage site, which is usually marked by a sinking section of the foundation.

3. Run a cable down to the bottom of the hole. A cable that has a strength of around 200,000 p.s.i. is best.

4. Thread concrete blocks or pilings down the cable. Most jobs use about seven concrete pilings.

5. Place a concrete cap at the top of the pilings. This cap should be level so it supports the hydraulic jacks used in subsequent steps.

6. Insert the hydraulic jacks on top of the concrete cap, and operate the jacks to lift the section of foundation to its proper level.

7. Insert concrete cylinders, which will replace the hydraulic jacks by holding up the foundation.

8. Fill in the open spaces with soil to seal up the site.

Heating Systems

A heating system produces and distributes warm air throughout a building for the purposes of temperature control. Heating systems run off gas or oil and can produce both hot air and hot water. The central component of a heating system is a gas- or oil-fired furnace.

The furnace contains an internal combustion mechanism that produces hot air. A separate component of the furnace contains water and is attached to the building’s main water line; the furnace heats this water, which is then stored in an insulated hot water tank and is available for use. The hot air is then piped through the house and expelled through a radiator or baseboard vents.

Some heating systems use steam radiators to heat the house. Once the room is warm, excess steam is condensed back into water and returned to the furnace through a cold water return pipe.

Air Conditioning Systems

An air conditioning system produces and distributes cool air throughout a building for the purposes of temperature control. An air conditioning system runs off of an electric motor attached to a compressor, which is a mechanical device that helps turn refrigerant chemicals (such as Freon) into a cool gas.

A fan is also attached to the electric motor next to the compressor. The fan sucks in warm air from the outside, which is then funneled into the compressor via a tube near the air intake area. Read the rest of this entry »

A hutch is a cupboard, usually with open shelves on top, that is a mainstay of country-style decor. Antique hutches usually held dishes in a country kitchen or living room and were used for both storage and display.

If you are lucky enough to have an antique hutch, you can make it a feature of your room or have it blend into the background, depending on what color you paint it.

The Disappearing Hutch

If your room is small and your hutch is enormous, you may want to downplay its bulk by painting it the same color as the walls. The hutch will blend right into the room, but you’ll still have all that useful storage and display space.

Hutch as a Focal Point

If you want your hutch to be the room’s focal point, drawing all eyes as the most prominent feature, then choose a color that stands out from both the wall and the other furniture.

If your walls are a light color and your other furniture is all white or light-colored wood, for example, then paint the hutch a bright or dark color. You might choose blue, green, gold, red or a dark wood stain, for example.

Hutch as China Display

If you use your hutch to display antique china, then paint the shelves and interior a color that complements the china. A dark color will set off white or pale dishes, and a white or cream hutch will make bright dishes pop out. Read the rest of this entry »

Oriental home decorating creates a relaxing mood. All of the elements flow together to follow the principles of Feng Shui, which teaches that everything in nature has either a positive or negative influence on everyday life. Pick colors and styles that create a soothing atmosphere.

Furniture

Furniture in this style is made from wood painted in intricate designs with brass hardware.

Oriental furniture is lower to the ground than that of Western cultures and gives a light and airy feel.

Living room chairs have wood frames, with straight backs and just the seats padded. Dining room tables are made of wood and tend to be round instead if rectangular.

Color Schemes

The Japanese use white and black with minimal red accents. Other oriental color schemes focus on neutral colors with accents in shades of copper, amber and honey, all colors found in nature. Colors have powerful meanings in Oriental decorating.

Red stands for happiness, marriage, prosperity; yellow fights evil, while green represents family, harmony, health, peace and posterity. Blue and purple are for wealth.

White also has multiple meanings–children, helpful people, marriage, mourning, peace, purity and travel. Gold is for wealth, gray is for helpful people and wealth, and black is for career, evil influences, knowledge, mourning, penance and self-cultivation

Accessories

Accessories used in Oriental home decorating include wall fans, which have frames made of bamboo and panels made of hand-painted paper. These fans can be as large as 60 inches wide and 35 inches high. Shoji screens originated in China and have been an important element in home decorating since the 8th century. Read the rest of this entry »

Showcase your ancestry as you bring the symbols of Celtic design to your walls. Let guests know when they enter that you are Celtic and proud of your heritage. Whether your wall decor reflects the symbolism of the Celts or the folklore, guests are sure to notice and question you as to your origins.

Wall Mural

As the Celts were fierce warriors, a wall mural of a Celtic battle or one of the warriors defending the keep can make an interesting accent wall. Or, go for the mysticism of the Celtic and design a mural of a fairy circle with the green grass surrounded by trees; one of the leprechauns within a bed of shamrocks with a rainbow and a pot of gold; or a sea scape of the cliffs with the crashing ocean waves, so reminiscent of the Celtic countryside.
Border

For a more subdued design, a border of a Celtic symbol may do. By hand, scroll a Celtic knot along the middle of the wall at chair rail length, 36 inches from the floor, and place pieces of stained wood trim above and below it to set it off. Or, place a wallpaper border of shamrocks, a Claddagh ring, swords or various countryside scenes on the wall. Pull colors from the wallpaper design for paint colors for the upper and lower portion of the wall for a cohesive design. Read the rest of this entry »