Merry Christmas! Sit back, enjoy the fire, let that Christmas meal digest and enjoy visiting some Houzz homes around the world bedecked for all the festivities.
10 Ways to Do More With a Customized Workspace
December 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Use a small space efficiently or get every last feature you desire. Custom desks and shelves make any home office work smarter
Why settle for a regular desk when your workspace can offer so much more beauty, space efficiency and flexibility? A custom or semicustom piece can suit your space and your style to a T — and may not even be in the home office at all, but in the kitchen, living room or bedroom. Check out these 10 innovative options, from console-style built-ins that can handle your computer and TV to multilevel work surfaces made to accommodate awkwardly placed windows, and slender L-shaped arrangements that can be tucked into the tiniest of spaces.
Tapping Midcentury Mod and Views in Seattle
December 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A love of midcentury modern architecture and ownership of a structurally sound 1950s house may be a match made in heaven. But the owners of this home in Seattle wanted more, specifically mountain views (that could come only from a second-story addition) and an open living and eating area connected to an outdoor space. The architects at Coop 15 preserved the house’s foundation, chimneys and one exterior wall, creating a new house that nevertheless taps into the client’s appreciation of midcentury modern design. Let’s take a walk through the house, focusing on the first-floor open plan that is the heart of the house and the family’s activities.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of 4 and their dog
Location: Seattle
Size: 4,300 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Landscaping Tricks to Manage Stormwater Runoff
December 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Help rainwater absorb slowly back into the earth with paving grids, gravel beds and other porous systems
Since I live in the greater Seattle area, I thought this post from Houzz was relevant.
If you’ve ever lived at the bottom of a hill during an extreme weather event, then you know intimately about stormwater runoff. I have distinct memories of watching my bunny rabbit’s cage float down to the bottom corner of the garden during major downpours, at the Dallas house I grew up in. Many family rescue teams had to be sent out to retrieve my furry friends.
Part of this was surely due to the fact that the Texas summers would dry out the land, and the big rains would be too much for the land to absorb so quickly. The result was a huge torrent of water gushing down the hill. However, it certainly didn’t help that all of our neighbors (ourselves included until we knew better) had huge, paved decks, effectively sealing off the majority of the earth that could otherwise absorb some of that water.
Last week I talked a bit about how a green roof is one way to help manage stormwater runoff. Another simple and straightforward way is to make sure that the landscape of your garden is permeable, including your hardscaping, paths, decks and driveways. I am by no means a landscaping expert, but in designing homes I often need to specify pavements as well. The following are a few applications where porous paving could be a good call.
Christmas lights in Australia claim Guinness World Record
November 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
An Australian family has reclaimed their Guinness World Record by stringing up more than half a million Christmas lights around their suburban home.
Guinness World Records official Chris Sheedy confirmed Monday that the Richards family of Canberra set the record for Christmas lights on a residential property with 502,165 twinkling bulbs.
The family first entered the famous record book in 2001 with 331,038 multi-colored lights. But they were trumped last year by a family in LaGrangeville, New York, who illuminated their home with 346,283 lights.
The Richards home with its lights on more than 50 kilometers of wire in suburban Forrest will be open to the public from the weekend to raise money for charity.
Apparently their electricity bill will run about $2,000 for the month.
[pb_vidembed title=”” caption=”” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmxWYuaG9e0″ type=”yt” w=”680″ h=”385″]
See photos and full story here: CBC.
For the best-ever take on one-upping the Christmas-lighting-Joneses, check out this guy’s lights in England: Daily Mail.
Villa Kanousan: Odd-Angle Apertures for Light & Views
November 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This has to be one of the most intriguing homes I have ever seen!It looks like some kind of space/time disaster has struck this otherwise modest and minimalist house, pierced wildly with strangely-shaped voids that connect interior spaces and provide exterior illumination.
In fact, from the outside this home by Yuusuke Karasawa is all the more ordinary at first – a basic cube on all sides, surrounded with wood siding. At least it seems typical until you start to notice the slanted windows that draw your eye inside.
Between rooms, strange geometries and surprising framed views are formed both between rooms and toward the surrounding landscape. There are essentially infinite new ways to look at the home thanks to these curious visual interventions.
To let this effect play out in full force, most of the home is as minimal as possible in terms of shapes, materials and details. Simple wood floors give rise to white walls and ceilings, doors and stairs, all playing the role of backdrop to the otherworldly interplay of solid and void.
Read more: http://dornob.com/hole-punched-home-odd-angle-apertures-for-light-views/#ixzz2lgNDiemf
Is Your Home Older Than Its Years?
November 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Would you throw away $20,000? You are if you’re letting your home age faster than it should. Here’s a simple maintenance strategy to keep your home young.
Would you rather spend $4 or $5,000? A cheap tube of caulk can prevent expensive mold damage and rot caused by water, your home’s No. 1 enemy. Image: Cindy Farmer/VeerYou know how Dr. Oz says that if you keep your body fit and your mind nimble, you’re likely younger than your chronological years? The same principle applies to your house.
An out-of-shape house is older than its years and could lose 10% of its appraised value, says Mack Strickland, an appraiser and real estate agent in Chester, Va. That’s a $15,000-$20,000 adjustment for the average home.
But good maintenance can even add value. A study out of the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University finds that regular maintenance increases the value of a home by about 1% each year.
So if you’ve been deferring maintenance, or just need a good strategy to stay on top of it, here’s the simplest way to keep your home in good health.
Focus on Your Home’s #1 Enemy
If you focus on nothing else, focus on moisture — your home’s No. 1 enemy.
Water can destroy the integrity of your foundation, roof, walls, and floors — your home’s entire structure. So a leaky gutter isn’t just annoying; it’s compromising your foundation.
Keeping moisture at bay will improve your home’s effective age — or as Dr. Oz would say, “real age” — and protect its value. It’ll also help you prioritize what you need to do. Here’s how:
Follow This Easy 4-Step Routine
1. When it rains, actively pay attention. Are your gutters overflowing? Is water flowing away from your house like it should? Is water coming inside?
2. After heavy rains and storms, do a quick inspection of your roof, siding, foundation, windows, doors, ceilings, and basement to spot any damage or leaks.
Related: How to Tell if You Have a Drainage Problem
3. Use daylight savings days or the spring and fall equinox to remind you to check and test water-related appliances like your washer, refrigerator, water heater, HVAC (condensation in your HVAC can cause leaks) or swamp cooler, and sump pump. It’s also a great time to do regular maintenance on them. Inspect any outdoor spigots and watering systems for leaks, too.
4. Repair any damage and address any issues and leaks ASAP.
Don’t procrastinate when you spot minor leaks or drips inside your house. Ongoing small leaks can slowly erode pipes and fixtures, and even cause mold and mildew issues you won’t notice until it’s too late.
Say you’ve got a bit of cracked caulk around the kitchen window. It may not seem like much, but behind that caulk, water could get into your sheathing, causing mold damage and rot. Before you know it, you’re looking at a $5,000 repair that could have been prevented by a $4 tube of caulk and a half hour of your time.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/maintenance-repair/home-maintenance-schedule/#ixzz2l75Jnad1
7 Strategies for a Well-Designed Kitchen
November 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Get a kitchen that fits your lifestyle and your design tastes with these guidelines from an architect
What’s the most important room in your house? For me it’s the kitchen. I love to eat, cook and spend time with family, and the kitchen is where I can do it all. With today’s busy schedules, mealtimes are often the only times families have to spend with one another. So how can you have the perfect kitchen for your lifestyle, stay within your budget and maximize resale value?
One of the most important steps in any project is starting with a great design. It’s not just about looks, it’s more about function and adding value to your life. More than any other room in the house, a kitchen has to be well thought out, carefully configured and designed to accommodate multiple functions. You probably spend more time in your kitchen than any other room, and that’s exactly why it’s so important to start with a great design. Consider these seven ways to get there.
1. Avoid isolation. For many of today’s families, the kitchen is the heart of the home and should be a place where people can gather, entertain and relax — not just cook. That’s why an open plan, like in this kitchen, works so well.
The open plan isn’t your only option, but it isn’t going anywhere yet. Consider your family’s needs carefully before choosing a kitchen plan, and know that if resale is an option for you, most buyers these days are looking for an open kitchen.
Open vs. Closed Kitchens — Which Style Works Best for You?
2. Plan a functional layout. If you like to cook and enjoy making meals for family and friends, there is nothing more frustrating than a kitchen that doesn’t function well. Most designs today follow the basic kitchen work triangle of the sink, refrigerator and range to maximize functionality. But take your own needs into account too. Plenty of counter space for prep, especially next to appliances, like in this kitchen, can make your cooking routine go much more smoothly.
Read more about kitchen layouts
Read the rest: