Affordable New Home Construction - 5 Tips on Getting the Most For Your Money
Interior Design Styles

Affordable New Home Construction – 5 Tips on Getting the Most For Your Money

- by Christian Harris

With the real estate market floundering in many areas nationwide, this may be the best time to build a new home rather than buying an existing home. Building a home can be affordable, if you follow these tips:

Affordable New Home Construction Tip #1: Estimate First – Plan Second

Just like a kid in a toy store, it’s easy to get carried away once the idea machine is turned on. Extra bedrooms, an exercise room, a studio, a home office – all of these add-ons will have a dramatic impact on your new home’s price tag. Subtracting them from your building plan because they put your project over budget, even if that plan lives only in your imagination, is painful. Better to add them in if your budget allows after you’ve gotten several estimates.

Affordable New Home Construction Tip #2: Location Still Matters

There may be a very good reason …

Affordable New Home Construction – 5 Tips on Getting the Most For Your Money Read More
Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction
Home Improvement Ideas

Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction

- by Christian Harris

As a real estate professional, I can remember the time when at the top of a homeowner’s wish list were things like a master bedroom suite or a gourmet kitchen, but times have changed, and so has the buyers wish list.

While buyers still have these wonderful amenities on the list, they are asking for energy-saving options as their must have items on their list.

Here is a list of options that are affordable and provide immediate savings. Some of these items are: 2×6 walls, house wrap, energy-efficient windows and energy-efficient appliances.

Construction:

Make sure the walls of the home are framed with 2×6 lumber. Using 2×6 lumber for framing allows extra room for more insulation, which will keep the home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

House wrap:

It is installed right after framing, and it literally “wraps” the entire house to create a thermal barrier …

Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction Read More
Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms
Home Decorating Ideas

Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms

- by Christian Harris

No matter how you furnish your home styles are constantly changing so it is no surprise when you take a critical at your home and realise that it is looking very dated.

Kitchens and bathrooms seem to take the brunt more that any other rooms in the house, this would not matter so much but both the kitchen and bathroom cost a fortune to renovate.

Designers seem to constantly come up with new ideas on how your kitchen or bathroom should look and when you thought you had a really up to date bathroom or kitchen after spending a fortune a couple of years ago, they are egging you on to change it to keep up with the new styles and designs.

Think back to when the new coloured bathroom suites came out, everyone had to have one. But the bathroom designers were not content with that, every twelve months …

Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms Read More
Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms
Best Interior Design Ideas

Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms

- by Christian Harris

A designer friend of mine lives by the motto, “White is not a colour, it is a canvas waiting to be explored,” if you saw her home you would agree without hesitation. It is a plethora of rich colours and styles integrating and working off one another to create a beautiful living space. Her rooms breathe panache thanks to imported furniture, tasteful accessories and a keen sense of who she is.

Sadly, not everyone can do what she does without turning their home into a visual assault on the eyes. Her look is successful due in part to her refusal to live by seasonal trends or dare I say, by what the “experts” say we should be doing. You know those words and phrases we kind of understand but still need to Google? Flow. Pop. Accent. Inspiration. Focal point. Statement. Room palette. The list is endless and quite frankly at …

Design-Challenged? Go From Blah to Hurrah on Your Terms Read More
DIY Fireplaces - How to Choose Your Own Stone
Office Interior Design

DIY Fireplaces – How to Choose Your Own Stone

- by Christian Harris

There are many choices for stone material that you can use for DIY fireplaces. Depending on the design of the stone fireplace, the homeowner must decide whether it is appropriate to use natural stone or fake stones. Of course, your final choice must be based on the style, aesthetic value, and maintenance requirements of your stone fireplace design options.

Even though there are other pressing issues that you have to overcome during your home construction or home improvement project, it is very important that you carefully weigh your choices and choices when it comes to the stone fireplace for your home.

Determine the Best Stone for Your DIY Fireplace

So how can you make sure you have chosen the right stone for your fireplace? There are several variables that you need to include in the equation, and before you head to the home improvement showroom, it would be better if …

DIY Fireplaces – How to Choose Your Own Stone Read More