How to Get More Natural Light into Your Home

Natural light can make your home look brighter, cozier and more spacious. Moreover, it can lighten the daily mood inside your house. If your home lacks natural light, don't fret. There are things which you can do to allow the sun to shine brightly on its every corner. Here are some tricks you might want to try.

Go for large windows and doors. If you have the budget, install large windows and doors in every room of your house. This could increase the amount of light entering your home. Also, look for a perfect wall in your living room, dining room or kitchen which you can convert into glass or folding doors. Apart from making your home more receptive to sunlight, they could create a breathtaking and natural surrounding for your home.

Use light-coloured paint for your walls. Light-coloured paint allows sunlight to bounce on your walls unlike dark-coloured paint which usually absorbs it. If you want to create a warm ambience, add a touch of neutral paint colours like brown, gray, rust or tan on your walls.

Lighten up your ceilings and floors. Ceilings and floors are light reflectors too. Paint your ceiling with white or light-coloured paint leaving the natural wood panels. Add skylights or recessed lightings to get more sunlight into your house. Choose wooden, ceramic or stone floors with a polished finish over carpets which absorb light.

Trim the greenery outside your home. Are there any trees, bushes or vines growing around your windows and doors? These greens could block the sunlight from entering your house. Trim them regularly.

Keep your glass windows and doors squeaky clean. Thick grime keeps generous amount of sunlight from filtering through your glass windows and doors. Wipe them clean from the inside and the outside to ensure much light penetrates every corner of your home.

Adding natural light to your home comes with a lot of benefits. Besides reducing your energy costs, it could lower the risks affecting your family’s overall wellbeing. Read this infographic Solatube to learn about the other benefits of natural light.

From Visually.

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Why Ventilate Your Home Today

A clean indoor environment is of great importance due to the many hours that you spend within your home. The indoor air that you breathe in should be fresh and clean to ensure that you do not get any respiratory complications. The only way your home can have a continuous supply of fresh air is through effective home ventilation. As long as your home has adequate ventilation, condensation which leads to a damp home will not take place. The structure of your home will not suffer decay and will remain intact for a long time.

There are different methods of ventilating your home such as the natural method. Natural ventilation is the free flow of air into the home from doors, windows and openings around the building. However, if you are living in a home that is insulated, you will need to have a mechanical ventilation system that will air your home.

Source: UNSPLASH

Mechanical Ventilation - You can opt to use mechanical ventilation in order to effectively get rid of stale air from your home. You can decide to install fans in the specific location where moisture build up and pollution is originating from in the home. For instance, you can install fans in the bathroom, kitchen or on the sub floor to get rid of moist air and replace it with drier air from outside. You can also decide to use whole house ventilation where the entire house is ventilated by a set of fans which bring in the fresh air and duct systems which get rid of the stale air.

Heat Recovery Ventilator - A heat recovery ventilator is an efficient home ventilation system which captures the heat from the outgoing stale air to heat up the incoming fresh cold air. It is made up of a fan which brings in the fresh air and another fan which gets rid of the stale air. The system has a core where the exchange of heat from the stale air to the clean air takes place.

It is a good idea to contact a ventilation expert who will assess your home from the ground to the roof. The expert will then recommend a ventilation system that will effectively air your home. You should ensure that the system which is installed is quiet enough and has a warranty.

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Four Reasons Why Shipping Containers Make Wonderful Homes

Shipping containers are now breathing new life into the simple metal box by transforming into postmodern homes. And with today’s housing affordability crisis, urban density, and tight supply of developable land, it comes as no surprise that shipping containers are being widely hyped as an easy building alternative. But is that all there is to them?

Let’s take a quick look at some of the other reasons why shipping containers make wonderful homes.

Shipping container homes are inexpensive. Buying a used container and converting it to a house is more affordable for middle to low-income families than buying one in the cheapest areas of the city. A 600-square foot of living space, for instance, may cost $35,000 or less—and this already includes the price of the container, as well as the design and actual construction of your home.

Shipping container homes are easy to construct. Creating a container home is rather simple especially when you get a really good one from a reliable provider. With a bit of proper planning and creativity, anyone can pull off something truly wonderful. If you have the budget, you can hire a contractor to design it according to your needs and just do the job of setting everything up. On an average, shipping container homes take a couple of months to complete and be ready to be lived in.

Shipping container homes are safe and durable. Shipping containers are originally intended to carry heavy cargo, and so they are designed and built to be durable enough to endure rough and unpredictable weather conditions. And thanks to their sturdy framework, they are basically structurally sound against earthquakes, making them very safe.

Shipping container homes are rich in personal style. Shipping containers are so flexible, they can be transformed into practically any design you want. And you know what that means: it’s easy to incorporate your personal style into it. Building shipping container houses allows you to create the kind of home you have in mind—a home that reflects your exact personality; a home that makes you stand out from the lot.

Shipping container homes are eco-friendly. Using shipping containers to build homes lets you save on building materials like brick, mortar, and wood, which are all capable of damaging the surrounding environment during construction. And with just one container, you are able to save about 3500 kilograms of steel. No more recasting of steel (which requires a large amount of energy) because you can use them as they are.

A home is a place where you can feel comfortable and safe, and shipping containers can help you build one—one that also reflects you, your lifestyle, and the things you love. If you want to learn more about the wonders of shipping containers, here is a pretty nifty infographic from ContainerSpace, which will help you achieve just that.

From Visually.

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How to Care for Your Tile Floor

Many home owners choose tiles for their floors. This is mainly because they are water resistant and are easy to clean. Needless to say, tiles will also ear out in time and if they’re not care for appropriately. Keep your tiled floors looking great with these tips and tricks.

Source: UNSPLASH

Basic Maintenance
This involves the usual sweeping or vacuuming of floors to remove any dust or debris before using any cleaning products. Clean your tile floor using a damp mop at least once each week to decrease wear and abrasion from grit and soil. Do this more frequently for heavy traffic areas.

Tips for Preventing Damage
If you have to use scouring powders and sealants, test them on a small area before cleaning the full area. Use a sealer on grout joints shortly after installation and use products compatible with cleaning grout joints. After cleaning, rinse the entire area with clear water to remove any cleaning solution residue. In the event that tiles are broken or damaged seriously, don't remove them yourself as inexperienced hands can widen the extent of the damage. Let a qualified tile contractor do the job.

Things to Avoid
Acid or bleach based cleaners shouldn’t be used for routine maintenance. Avoid wax-based cleaners and oil-based detergents, and use sealants on grout joints only. Steel wool pads or any scouring pads containing metal shouldn’t be used on tile because they can hurt its quality.

Do invest in high-quality floor mats and protective pads under heavy furniture for an extra layer of protection to your tile floors. Place floor mats at entrances and exits. They collect and trap corrosive substances like dirt, sand, oil, grit, asphalt, or even driveway sealer that can be tracked in. Placing mats in high-traffic areas like in front of vanities, kitchen sinks, and stoves is an effective way to reduce tile wear.

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How to Choose Flowers for Your Floral Arangement

Just about everyone loves the appearance of fresh flowers, or the smell of sweetly fragrant ones. Most people love to bring flowers into their homes to brighten them up, particularly if they don't have a garden to enjoy. If you're one of them, you're probably buying flowers from the supermarket or road side stall and putting them all together in an nice arrangement. But if it's your first time to pick fresh flowers, what are exactly are you going to do?  Here are some tips you might find helpful.

Pick a color sequence of no more than three colors. It's easy to get carried away while browsing a flower shop—but making something beautiful is easier when your flowers match each other. In the winter, we're fans of purple and orange; white, green and blue; or, in honor of a holiday like Valentine's Day, red, white, and pink.

Source: UNSPLASH

Get inspired. If you fall in love with one color or type of flower, carry it around the shop with you. Then, match up the potential accompaniments, seeing if their colors and shapes work well together.

If you're making multiple bouquets, pick a base flower. Look out for an inexpensive, filler flower in a neutral color—and then stretch it throughout all of your arrangements. This allows you to buy in bulk—and to have fun picking special items for each separate bouquet. You can use white limonium as a base flower; they're small, elegant, and allow the bigger, more colorful flowers to pop.

Be wary of the flowers on sale. They're on sale for a reason; the store is trying to move them quickly. If you're looking for your flowers to last up to a week, it's best to buy them full-price.

Big flowers stretch the farthest. If you're on a budget—or if you're nervous about making your own arrangement—go for a larger type of flower. They take up more space in a bouquet, so you can buy less of them—and they're easier to work with while building a bouquet.

Think about timing. Some flowers, like roses and tulips, benefit from a night in water. If you're building a bouquet for the same day, it's important to keep this in mind.

Prune. Just because you buy the flowers a certain way doesn't mean they're finished. Trim away all extra leaves, thorns, branches, and other distractions; you want the flowers themselves to shine.

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Four Reasons Why Some People DIY

Do-it-yourself or DIY projects can range from room painting to room construction. And, there are as many psychological reasons for starting these projects as there are tasks to be accomplished. In fact, many people are starting with their DIY home projects which they’ve daydreamed about when they were still young kids. Keen to know why people DIY? Just continue reading. :D

Completed projects can provide the DIY-ers with a feeling of satisfaction. Being splattered with paint or damp with sweat from a hard day’s work on the roof or in the garden can be very satisfying to some people. Those who renovate or create their houses from scratch are satisfied to know that they have the ability to create places to live that are different from all the other homes in their neighborhood.

Source: UNSPLASH

DIY-ing  boosts brain power. It is a wonderful way to gain new skills or knowledge. For example, your problem-solving abilities are improved when reading up on techniques online or discovering how a broken appliance ticks. Each project you tackle will teach you something new.

DIY-ing  boosts confidence. To some people  DIY-ing allows them to have more over their world or their surroundings since they are closely involved with the design and construction process. Moreover, they rely less on the products, services and expertise of others. Through their new skills and confidence, they have the freedom to create quality that spreads to all areas of life.

DIY-ing cultivates 'best self' and 'self discovery'. People keep their minds and bodies active when doing DIY activities. Working with their hands become easier and a natural way to get their heart rate up. Moreover, DIY-ing reveals what matters most to the DIY-ers and offer a great way to express their personality.

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