Master bath Update

An outdated master bathroom is one of the first things you see in the morning and one of the last places you visit at night. While a full bathroom renovation may not be in the budget, changing the wall color, new towels and fixtures might be all it takes. If you don’t replace the tile, tub, shower or toilet and can keep the cabinets, you’ll save quite a bit of money.

Visit a bookstore that has a wide variety of home magazines such as “Better Homes and Garden,” “Sunset Magazine,” “Family Circle,” “House and Garden,” and “Beautiful Home.” The magazine racks will also contain special issue publications on home decor, bathroom renovation and interior decorating. Pull a stack of these magazines and see which ones have articles on bathrooms. Bring them home with you. If you’re updating a bathroom, magazines are better resources than books. Magazines are trendier than books, which take from 12 to 18 months to get to publication after they’ve been written and photographed.

Page through the magazines and pull out photos of bathrooms that appeal to you. These tear sheets will be the basis for your update. After you’ve gone through the magazines, start comparing the photos you like to determine what appealed to you. For example, you might find that a clean-lined serene spa-like bathroom is what you like, rather than the cheery flowered bathroom you thought you wanted.

Put the towels in the bathroom so you can see which colors go with the tile that’s already in place. Retiling a master bathroom is a big undertaking, so if you can use what’s there, you’ll save time and money. After you’ve selected the towels you like best, take them to the paint store and choose a color for the walls that’s several shades lighter than the towels. Be aware that certain colors will change the way skin tones look. Green may throw a greenish cast on your complexion, while pink makes skin slightly pinker. Since the master bathroom may be where you’ll be putting on makeup, that’s important to keep in mind.

Paint a broad swatch of your selected color on one wall of the bathroom. See how it changes in natural light and incandescent lighting. Getting ready for work often means getting up before the sun rises and using the bathroom with incandescent lighting. If the paint works out, paint the bathroom the new color.

Return the towels that didn’t work for the bathroom and purchase enough bath towels, hand towels and washcloths in the colors that did work. You only need enough to place on the racks as part of the decor. Use older towels or buy inexpensive white towels to use for showering and bathing.

Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books. She writes about gardening, cooking and business. Dee’s dogs rule in her home. Her business site offers Internet Marketing Experts.

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Being Creative Kitchen Design

Every cook wants the ideal kitchen. Unfortunately, the cooking areas we start out with are not usually our dream kitchens, but just as easy as a genie can make a wish come true, you can design your perfect kitchen. It is as easy as rubbing the kitchen design lamp. As soon as you rub the lamp, your kitchen is suddenly overcome by gentle flashes of light; these little sparks are kitchen design ideas. Certainly, your kitchen does not seem as dull and gloomy as before, but there are so many design suggestions. Where do you begin to plan the ultimate kitchen?

The first spark of illumination suggests that you audit your kitchen. Which aspects of your kitchen do you like and which features do you dislike? Of course, the elements of your current kitchen that you do not like should be removed, or if this is impossible to do; then the unwanted items should be camouflaged as much as possible. Would you like a particular theme for your kitchen? Popular themes include industrial, contemporary, shabby chic, retro and French countryside. Having the answer to this question will make your kitchen appraisal much more efficient.

The next gem of the kitchen design ideas recommends that you not be afraid to attempt your own kitchen design project. Nobody will work harder than you, and it is quite difficult to scream and yell at yourself when a mistake is made. Sure, some issues will have to be left up to the professional technicians, like electrical connections and complex plumbing tasks, but there is a great deal you can do yourself, such as painting and installing minor appliances. Home improvement stores gladly provide complimentary advice and catalogs, and many kitchen suppliers offer online computer guidance and kitchen design software programs which allow you to map out your kitchen design ideas without difficulty. The entertainment industry is there to help you as well. Nifty thoughts on renovations can be found via television on home improvement channels, and there are scores of DVD’s and magazines that will encourage and support your mission to create your ideal kitchen.

A popular trend in kitchen design is knocking down walls to extend the kitchen into the living room or family room, resulting in an open-air kitchen living room of sorts. If your family always has to be around you, even when you are cooking, then the incorporation of this design style will be a great addition to your new kitchen. You will be happier because your family can see you, you can see them, and this will make time in the kitchen less stressful for everyone.

Renovating with convenience in mind is probably the most popular of all kitchen design ideas. The ideal kitchen will have more than enough storage space, an easily accessible pantry, and cabinets without doors with gliding shelves. Pots and Pans are sometimes hung above the island or counter within arm’s reach of the chef, and utensils are all placed together in a central location. Having kitchen supplies organized for handiness by use is one way to ensure that cooking in your ideal kitchen is practically a magical experience. Remember, it all begins with the rubbing of the kitchen design lamp.

Looking to find the best information on kitchen design layout, then visit www.kitchendesignlayout.net to find the best advice on small kitchen design for you.

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Bathroom Remodels 5 Tips

Bathroom online design can help you create the bathroom that is just right for you. Online bathroom design means learning as much as you can about what designing the most functional and attractive bathroom really requires.

The bathroom can be more than a room for personal hygiene or grooming. For example, if you have the space, you can add home exercise equipment and a music system or TV in your bathroom. As you proceed with your bathroom online design, begin keeping a notebook with your ideas and magazine clippings of what you want your bathroom to be like.

Here are 5 bathroom online design tips that may apply to the bathroom that you’re creating:

1. Bathroom Lighting – your bathroom lighting can be natural or artificial. Lighting is used to illuminate and brighten the space and lighting can affect how you feel inside your bathroom. Use a window, a wall skylight or roof skylight to bring in natural light or a nice outside view. And a skylight that opens is good because the moisture created by bathing or showering can be reduced. Artificial lighting can be an overhead general light, a light over the vanity mirror or wall sconces on each side of the mirror to provide sufficient light for grooming.

2. Bathroom Ventilation – bathroom online design should analyze bathroom moisture. Since a bathroom generates humidity and moisture, this airborne water can cause problems with the bathroom finishes. A properly-sized power ventilator can be installed that will pull moist air out of the bathroom to the outdoors. Ventilating fans sizes are indicated by how many cubic feet of air they can move each minute (cfm). Use a ventilating fan that will remove air from the bathroom to the outdoors about seven or eight times per hour. For example, a 6’x8’x8′ bathroom equals 384 cubic feet, divide by 8 times per hour equals 48cfm size fan.

3. Bathroom Tile – if you are using bathroom tile and will have solid-color ceramic floor tile, use a different color tile to create a border around the bathroom floor. If you will use the same color tile for the floors and walls, select a different tile size for the walls or lay the wall tiles diagonally to create visual contrast. Use a different color grout between the tiles to make a more interesting look.

4. Bathroom Wall Decor – if your bathroom walls are soft or neutral colors, use colorful bath linens and bath mats to create a nice contrast. Good bathroom online design means the accessories such as towel rings and soap dishes should complement the materials, fixtures and colors used on the walls and floors. For example, do not use modern-looking chrome towel holders with antique brass faucets.

5. Bathroom Storage – plan how you’ll use the bathroom wall space. Having shelves or cabinets over the toilet, using corner shelves and placing towel bars above one another increase your available storage space. A medicine cabinet with mirror can hold grooming supplies, medicine and toiletries. An attractive combination sink and vanity and a shower caddy in your shower can provide additional bathroom storage.

Doing bathroom online design means reading as much as possible, thinking and planning what you want and need in this important room. From materials used to the bathroom layout to the finished colors, having a successful bathroom project is about knowing what options you have, then choosing the best ones for your project. Learn as much as you can about online bathroom design before building begins so you can have the best bathroom possible.

Copyright 2006 InfoSearch Publishing

Learn more bathroom decor ideas [http://www.yourdreamloghome.com/bathroom-decor-ideas.html] plus bathroom layout, lighting, storage, bathroom vanities, small bathrooms, childrens bathrooms and more online bathroom design. David Buster is VP of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of [http://www.yourdreamloghome.com] – a website for home lovers.

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