Bigger might look better!

Tags

bathroom renovation, Build, Construction, Design, Homes, Houses, interior design, mirrors

There are plenty of ways to “open up” your living spaces by fooling the eye to make others (and yourself!) think that your home is much, much larger than it actually is. It doesn’t always require tearing down walls or major renovations. Here are a few tricks to make your home a real “treat!”

1.Go With Glass
If you are doing a bathroom renovation, choose glass shower doors over a shower curtain, which becomes a visual barrier instead of letting your eyes take in every inch of space that exists. Similarly, you can replace wooden doors for french doors, or any doors with interior glass panels.
2.Hang Mirrors
You can choose either individual mirrors, or mirrors that go from floor to ceiling, to reflect light and make a small room feel more open. Think about what parts of the room you want to see reflected before hanging anything.
3.Choose the Right Furniture
Avoid heavy, solid furniture or skirted sofas. Instead choose pieces on raised legs, or made of clear materials, that have less visual weight.
4.Raise & Widen Your Curtains
Extending the curtain rod beyond the actual window- both in terms of height and width, makes you think the window is larger, and the ceilings taller, than they actually are. If there are two or more windows side by side, try one curtain on the entire wall – hanging separate pairs unnecessarily chops up the space.

“Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” is available on Amazon.com

The Entryway

Tags

Architecture, Build, Construction, Design, environment, Home, Homeowner, Houses, real-estate, Residence, Shelter, style

Though you live in your backyard, the world inevitably beats a path to your front door. Well-designed entryways can offer, privacy, light, charm and character to your home – without breaking style or the budget.
A new door, some well-placed windows or a fresh coat of paint can work wonders on a tired façade or an out-of-date entry. According to architect Richard Hartmann, “The ambiance of your home actually starts outside. It’s a whole sequence of events. Meandering through landscaping on a slightly curved path, for example, enhances the experience. ”

Here are a few tips for adding style:

* Add window boxes. They add color to a plain exterior when they’re overflowing with plants or flowers.
* Replace old hardware with brass numbers, handles, a mailbox or kick plate. Ceramic or hand-painted house numbers are good alternatives.
* Add a new front door, sidelights or transom. If you can’t afford to replace the door, add decorative molding around the one you have.
* Use clay pots or sculpture to spark an uninspired entry.
* Add an awning over doors or windows. With Florida’s seasonal rain showers, it’s practical as well as pretty.
* Add carriage lights on either side of the front door or low-voltage path lights along the walkway. They can help bring your best foot forward.

Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof! is available on amazon.com.

The home library

Tags

Architecture, books, Build, decorating, environment, Home, Houses, interior design, library

The home library links us with the past, present, and future in a way that is portable, affordable and aesthetically pleasing.

If you want to understand someone’s true personality, take a look at his or her library. Just as a peek into a person’s medicine cabinet can reveal a great deal about their medical history, the books that they read offer a psychological profile of their tastes, interests and values. Book-centered rooms are the ultimate escape on a winter’s day, the place to head for to think and read, regenerate your spirit and ideas.

· The library is a room of secrets. Add a hidden compartment to your bookcase, something Mr. Holmes would approve of.

· Books you love to read, plan to reread or need for reference, should never be out of reach.

· Standing on chairs or beds is no substitute for a sturdy, stable library ladder.

· Two comfortable chairs and good lighting are the most important elements of a well-stocked library.

Excerpted from “Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!”available on amazon.com

Better than a lien

Tags

Architecture, Build, Construction, Home, Homeowner, Houses, New Home, real-estate

Life is more complex today. In the past to ensure payment for work, masons secretly would place a glass pane inside the chimney flue to prevent its use. Only after they received payment would the mason climb to the top of the chimney, drop a brick and break the glass.

Excerpted from Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!

Dig this!

Tags

Build, environment, Family, Florida, Gardens, Home, Homeowner, Houses, Residence

When they bought their Hyde Park home 34 years ago, Flip and Rick Miller began transforming the backyard. The result is an outdoor refuge where they can rest and recharge in privacy and comfort.
“He’s passionate about trimming,” Flip says with a smile. “He gets his aggressions out.”
“It’s tropical – you have to trim or the plants take over,“ explains Rick, a broker with Smith & Associates Real Estate.
The Millers recall listening to a speech several years ago by the award-winning garden and floral designer Rebecca Cole at the University of Tampa’s GREENFEST luncheon, which raises money for Plant Park.
“She kept referring to ‘vistas’ and ‘sight lines,’ Rick says. “When you stand in any spot in a garden and look in one direction, your eye should be drawn to something.”
Heeding her advice, Rick divided the yard into distinct sections, creating visual vignettes with plants in containers. The double lot which surrounds his home now showcases a series of “outdoor rooms,” featuring large pots packed with his favorite tropical plants and succulents.
“During the summer rains I run home from the office to cover the succulents with our vinyl grill cover,” he says. “They need such little water that a week of afternoon showers will cause them to rot.”
Admittedly “manic about clay pots,” Rick believes every yard needs to have a consistency of design.
“Too many different pots takes the focus away from the plants inside them,” he says.
His meticulous attention to detail paid off: The Miller yard currently is featured in the 2013 edition of Container Gardens magazine.
What is the secret of his success? A dolly large enough to move a refrigerator.
“During hurricanes or freezes we say to hell with the cars and move 50 pots into the garage,” Rick says, grinning.
In addition, gardening in containers makes it easy for him to control the soil type needed for specific plants.
Their backyard is not only a relaxing private oasis, but an exciting entertainment space: The Millers hosted soirees for Las Damas de Arte, The Tampa Museum of Art, Rose Garden Circle, and MOSI – as well as 250 people for a neighborhood picnic.
A playhouse built in 1922 – and enjoyed by three Miller children – was converted to a charming tool shed.
“When our children grew up and moved away, Flip wouldn’t let me take the play equipment down,” Rick says. “I said ‘I’ll show her, I’ll landscape around it.’ I planted beach sunflower which is a tough native perennial. And now we have three grandchildren, who love the swings and the slide.”

Photo by Cliff McBride

Realistic expectations

Tags

Architecture, Build, Construction, Holiday, Homes, Moving

• If your home is under construction on or during the holidays, be realistic with your expectations of time and people.

 

• Building a home or moving can take place in any season of your life. There’s never a perfect time for a major change. Just don’t miss the significance behind it all.

 

Excerpted from “Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart”

Write your name

Tags

Build, concrete, Construction, Houses, Memories, New Home

• Never miss the opportunity to write your name into a freshly-poured concrete slab.  For the real stars among us, go ahead and press your palms into it. Don’t forget the date!

Excerpted from “Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart.”

Metaphors

Tags

Architecture, Build, castle, Construction, cottage, Design, Homes, Houses

The use of metaphors during the design process can turn hopes into pictures.

 

• I want my home to look like a … castle, a cottage, a boat, a garden. Words carry such power.  Metaphors transform one idea into an other.  They bridge our abstract ideas with the real world.
  • ” People can be classified according to whether they aspire to live in a cottage or in a palace.” -George Sand

   

  Excerpted from “Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart.” 

Do the right thing

Tags

Architecture, Build, Construction, Design, Houses

• Get a building permit and hire a licensed contractor. Being caught without the paperwork is like receiving a traffic ticket: There are big fines involved along with embarrassment. Do the right thing. Your children and your neighbors might be watching.

“Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Yourt Heart” by Renee Garrison and Tom Szumlic

Imagine a world without power lines

Tags

Build, climate, environment, nature, transportation

As you drive around, imagine a world with no power lines.

Henry David Thoreau once observed, “The world is but a canvas to our imaginations.”

   Imagine your street without horizontal power lines and poles hovering above your head.  Add a thick grove of trees to replace that outrageous billboard. Starting to look more like the “Magic Kingdom,” right?

  It takes energetic and intelligent people to sow the seeds of change. What if the bus fumes consisted of water vapor cooling the city instead of carbon monoxide polluting it?

 People – not institutions – make change. Spend time dreaming of a better and more beautiful world.  Or, as Ghandi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart by Renee Garrison and Tom Szumlic