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

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”

Metaphors

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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.” 

Inside and outside

Tags

Community, Homes

 

Here’s a revolutionary thought: Why not patronize merchants within walking distance of your home?  And yes, walk there!

The information age has reversed the concept of inside and outside… private and public. Television and the Internet give us access to the world inside our homes.  But we must go outside to reclaim the spirit of our community.

Photograph by Jamieson Thomas

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Life

The basement is the original laboratory

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basement, Homes, real-estate

• The basement is the original laboratory. 
•  It affords freedom for children  (young and old) to experiment.
• This is where projects are born and dreams come true.

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

Mundane tasks

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business, Homes, Houses, mundane task, real-estate

The next time you find yourself resenting some mundane task around the home, just proclaim that you are managing your family estate.

“Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart” is available at Apple’s iBookstore.

Patriotic thoughts

Tags

Homes, Memorial Day, Residence

• Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson designed, built, and loved their own homes.  If you currently feel overwhelmed by yours, remember: The Founding Fathers also ran the country at the same time…

• The personal residences of every U.S. President are still standing, except one belonging to William McKinley.

Like a child

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Build, child, Construction, Design, Dreams, Homes, Memories

Everything is a house to a child….a tree and the space under a table.

 When thinking about a house, see like a child.

 A little home for little people: The dining room table can be truly amazing. The flat plane of the tabletop becomes a roof, while the lacy cloth that hangs down on each side provides as much security as a brick wall.

• Children live with a sense of awe. They live with amazement, not judgement, and their possibilities are endless. Are you living in awe of your surroundings?

  Design and build as if you were passing your home down to your grandchildren.

 Before you begin designing your home, visit your childhood city or town and take pictures of the houses that inspired you. Return to the homes in your memories…

 

Excerpted from “Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart,” available soon at Apple’s iBookstore.

“Daniel’s Fort” photograph by Jamieson Thomas

Generosity

Tags

Conversation, Homes, kitchen

• 
• It is a generous act of service to prepare and offer food.
• Invite someone over to eat with you on a regular basis – not for a social extravaganza, but for the celebration of friendship and life.

The quirky ones

Tags

Architecture, Dreams, Homeowner, Homes, New Home

    The homes we all remember the most are the quirky ones.

 

    The backstairs that connected Mrs. Hinkle’s kitchen to her bedrooms were woefully narrow and steep. A single overhead bulb illuminated the twisting, dark blue treads. But the terror of climbing them inevitably disappeared when visitors reached an awkward landing. It was there that they first glimpsed sunshine streaming through the bullseye window at the top of the stairs.

  Certainly it would never qualify for the pages of any glossy architectural design magazine.  Perhaps this is why we remember the quirky homes: they have vitality and offer a richer, more stimulating experience. Odd proportions are much more intriguing than safe or expected combinations.

   We all have these eccentric spaces in our memories: The secret narrow hallway that connected two rooms through the back of closets, the doorway that went behind the stairs.

• The homes of our memories give form to the homes of our dreams.