Easy Ways To Brighten Home Rent Prospects

One way to shine in a competitive housing market is to create a good first impression.

According to home-renting experts, some quick tips for speeding up this process include burning candles during open houses, filling the home with the aroma of fresh-baked cookies or invest a bit in making your entrance door unforgettable by adding some side panels , luxurious handle and apartment number or impressive greenery pot in the front door.

By investing several thousand BGN in new kitchen countertops or a bathroom refreshment will give the home a whole new look and that you will most likely recoup your entire investment, if not more. By changing the faucet and shower, adding different curtain rod and clean bright shower curtain you can literally change the look of your entire bathroom ! Add some shelving and storage and contemporary decorative items to appeal to the younger families who need more storage space and more aware of the aesthetics. To complete the look change the handles of cupboards to make it all work. And if your floor is from the previous decade cover it with nice textured bathroom rug to add that extra chic!

Change the textile

Another easily done, and low cost encasement is window treatments , long clean curtains can make the windows look grand and the ceiling higher.

Keep in in natural color scheme with light tulle , chiffon or roman blind inner layer to brighten up the room yet to hide unwanted looks and a more dense curtain to keep the light away completely when needed and to add vertical lines to draw the eye and make the room feeling grand.

A quick fix can make a significant difference but you don't have to spend a fortune.

An inexpensive yet effective way to increase a home's curb appeal while adding value for its next owner: Add dimmers in key rooms of the home. The technology today allows to change the switches to smart and dimmable without the need in neutral wire.

Dimmers can improve the mood in large and small homes. Cramped for space? A dimmer turns a family room into a home theater, a homework station and a workout room, while an eat-in kitchen can be transformed into a romantic dinner-for-two paradise, just by adjusting the lights.

Want to really be a standout in your market? Add a wireless, whole-home lighting control system that lets you turn lights on and off from the car, your bed, the patio or any room of the home. This type of system significantly increases home value while providing added safety benefits, such as tying in with a security system.

Dimmers are available nationwide at home improvement centers and lighting showrooms.

*images source : Pinterest

The mysterious floor plane

Hardwood floors can be installed anywhere in a home and can be prepared from several species of wood such as elm, ash, oak, cypress, teak, cherry, walnut, rosewood, hickory, and maple. The hardness, stability, color, and alterations in color vary with wood type. Chestnut, Douglas fir, and North American Cherry offer low hardness whereas hardwood from Brazilian Walnut, Caribbean Cherry, and Bloodwood is extremely hard. The stability of hardwood flooring has an inverse relation with the moisture inherent in the wood and is independent of the engineering. The appearance of unfinished hardwood flooring plays an important role in the grading process.

The commonly assigned grades to hardwood flooring include clear, select, common 1, common 2, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3.

Hardwood flooring enhances the look of a room and when laid in harmony with the furniture and other elements in the interior design of a room, it bestows an elegance that synthetic flooring is unable to match.

Hardwood flooring can be installed using the following methods:

Nail Down: Nails are used to attach hardwood to the subfloor either on grade or above grade. Nails are usually used for hardwood with a thickness of 1.9cm

Staple Down: Nails can be substituted with a pneumatic stapler for attaching the hardwood to the subfloor. Stapling is easier to accomplish as compared to nailing and is therefore favored by DIY enthusiasts.

Glue Down: Patterned wood panels or parquets can be glued to the subfloor on, above, or below grade. The subfloor can be either wooden or concrete.

Floating: Engineered and Long-strip floors can be installed using the floating process in which a pad of foam is place

d between the floors and the subfloor. The hardwood boards are held in place by means of adhesive that is applied in the tongue and groove portion of each board. Floating enables the installation of hardwood on uneven surfaces.

Hardwood flooring is easy to maintain and the following guidelines should help homeowners to ensure the beauty and longevity of their hardwood flooring.

• The flooring must be swept and vacuumed regularly to prevent the accumulation of dust that may scratch the finish

• Doormats and rugs at entrances prevent sand particles from abrading the hardwood flooring

• Furniture and chairs should have padding on the legs in order to prevent scratching the floor while dragging/moving furniture

• The dimensions of hardwood flooring are liable to change with humidity; a relative humidity of around 45% should be maintained all year round

• A rug or mat should be placed in front of workstations, washbasins, kitchen sinks in order to prevent scratching and staining from utensils, detergents, and water

• Hardwood flooring should be protected from direct light, whether natural or artificial. Intense direct light can lead to discoloration of the floor

Hardwood floorings can be treated with surface finishes that lend it a gloss, increase resilience, and make it water-resistant. The finishes consist of urethanes and polyurethanes. A hardwood floor with a surface finish does not require waxing.

Wax finishes penetrate the cells of the wood and offer a low-gloss finish. Periodic buffing helps to restore the sheen of wax-finished floors. Hardwood flooring used in areas of high traffic such as stores and restaurants are impregnated with acrylic finishes that increase its hardness and durability.

Understanding your style

We all have our distinctive style when it comes to our persona ... well most of us

Our clothes, our accessories our scent all those create one social image of a person.

But how do you capture a person in the space, how can a dwelling represent one persons style to to say a whole family when each member has his own way and his own social image?

Here are some tips on how to determine a style for your home

Take some items from your wardrobe, the ones that you love, examine them,

Their texture, color style ( is it casual or official, is it flowy or rigid, what color it is, what accessories go with it ...) all those will help determine the style of your home.

Knowledge is power! get to know the basics.

That said, you can’t pull from the huge variety of design styles at your fingertips without knowing what they are.

Even the most unique, compelling spaces out there are inspired (at least in part) by the essential design styles that came before them. The old saying that you need to know the rules in order to break them applies to design, too!

I've rounded up the essential design styles everyone should know, whether you’re trying to craft your dream home or just figuring out what you don’t like about certain spaces. Read on for design styles old and new that you can adapt and build off of today. Who knows—you might just discover a new aesthetic to try on your next project.

Traditional & Transitional

homey • symmetrical • timeless • calm • luxurious

The traditional interior design style pulls from classic, timeless shapes from the past: mainly the 18th and 19th centuries. Traditional design will often incorporate antiques or reproduction pieces designed to look antique.

Furniture will be ornate, but rooms will favor symmetry in order to portray a feeling of calm and order. Classical artwork will be incorporated, dark woods are popular and jewel tones are used a lot. Fabrics will be heavy and luxurious.

Transitional style interior design allows more freedom when decorating your space because you can combine items from different eras.

So if you find yourself drawn to traditional design elements, but perhaps want to mix things up with something more contemporary so that it doesn’t feel stuffy, then the transitional style might be perfect for you!

Industrial

moody • masculine• striking • inviting • old-world charm

The industrial design style derives from taking an old warehouse or industrial factory and transforming it into a chic loft or living space.

The style emerged in the early 2000s and is still popular today. Many stores, restaurants and companies have embraced the industrial style, partly due to the nature of the buildings their businesses reside in.

Rooms that feature exposed bricks, beams and pipes, cement/concrete, metal staircases and huge windows.

If you have any of those features in your home, you are well on your way to being able to create a fantastic industrial-style space.

Otherwise, it’s going to be quite a bit more difficult to successfully achieve that look. Without those inherently industrial features, what you’ll probably end up with is something that looks a little more contemporary or mid-century.

Contemporary

trendy • fluid • ever-changing • present • ambiguous

Quite simply, contemporary interior design is what is in style TODAY.

The word contemporary literally means “belonging to or occurring in the present”.

What is contemporary today, may end up looking dated in 10 years time

Some people refer to contemporary style decorating as “modern”. Contemporary and modern are not the same thing. Although by definition the two words MEAN the same thing, in the world of interior design, they are actually two separate styles.

Contemporary is what we described above: what is in style TODAY. Modern refers to any “forward-thinking” interpretation of design that began in the 20th century.

Minimalistic

essential • curated • deliberate • careful • uncluttered

Minimalism is becoming increasingly popular, affecting many of today’s interior design styles.

At its core, minimalism takes an interior, or an object, and strips away any and all excess components. You are left with the essential structure, the core elements, and a clear, simple and hopefully exciting design.

The construction of minimalist interiors is incredibly difficult to pull off: you can’t just choose a couple of pieces of furniture, chuck them in a white room and call it a day. Since everything is pared down to its essence, nothing can be masked or covered up. As a result, careful consideration is required for every shape, form and material.

Minimalist interior design keeps it simple and ensures that every object in the room has a place and a purpose.

Midcentury modern

functional • streamlined • open • sleek • uncluttered

The mid-century modern style (or “MCM”) has been taking the world of interior design by storm for the past several years.

It’s essentially the interior design style that emerged in the middle of the 20th century in America and in Scandinavia. Post-WW2 American designers were excited about experimenting with new materials like plastic and plywood, and wanted to explore all the possibilities of mass production.

Mid-century pieces are often a mix of organic and geometric forms, with clean lines and gentle curves. Admittedly it’s not always the most comfortable, but that depends on a lot of different factors, like whether or not your piece is vintage or made with today’s modern materials.

Modern Farmhouse

classic • restrained • cozy • elegant • warm

A little more refined and contemporary compared to traditional farmhouse, the modern farmhouse style has just that little bit more of an edge to it.

It’s a fascinating interior design style, being a mix between contemporary minimalism, industrial elements and warm traditional country.

You can use architectural salvage (somewhat sparingly!), but the finishes shouldn’t be quite as worn as they would be in a traditional farmhouse.

Keep the walls light and bright, the furniture comfortable and the feeling inviting.

Save the wall quotes, mason jars and sliding barn doors for traditional farmhouse decor.

Mediterranean

natural • laid-back • inviting • mismatched • eclectic

Mediterranean-style interior design is a riff on the décor found in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.

Whether you’re channeling a warm, carefree summer in Santorini, Capri, or Ibiza, the best Mediterranean-style interior design focuses on indoor-outdoor living; natural materials and finishes; and an effortless, minimalist-chic approach to decorating that is rooted in centuries of life along the beautiful Mediterranean coast. Mediterranean is a variation of coastal design, which is a broader term based on the generic codes of seaside living.

Though Mediterranean style has a timeless appeal, it can be interpreted in both classic and more contemporary ways. The original features of older homes like natural stone walls, exposed wood beams, or tile floors might preserve the character of the property, while adding contemporary furniture and decor make the home feel current. Contemporary Mediterranean architecture and interior design might focus on modern lifestyles with bigger rooms, larger energy-efficient windows, and modern luxuries like swimming pools, but old school materials and architectural details may be preserved or added as a nod to history.