Zen Interior Design
April 20, 2010
- Image by TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) via Flickr
Zen Interior Design
If you want to redesign your home into the Zen style,
there are key areas to start. Zen interior design
usually brings to mind scenes of peace and
tranquility, a link with nature and a minimalist
Japanese style.
Clutter and loud colors are not used, neither are
complex patterns, excess furniture or lots of
ornaments. Zen actually isn’t even a style at all. It
is best described as a pure state of being.
Many people think Zen is associated with the Japanese,
but its actual origin is from China. Zen can be
described as a branch of Buddhism that focuses on
meditation to gain enlightenment.
Zen is about inner awareness and true awakening of the
pure Buddha mind. Creating a Zen style in your home
can be easy. The mind must be brought into the correct
state of mind.
The focus is on the here and now, calmness, stillness
and on just being there.
The first step is to go through each room and clear
the clutter. Move out ornaments and knick-knacks.
In Zen, it is important to clear the clutter in order
to clear the mind. Be brutal when going through your
items.
What you decide to keep should serve a purpose. If you
don’t have the heart to get rid of something, store it
away out of sight.
Also, rid your home of any extra pieces of furniture.
This means walls, ceilings, and floors also. Anything
elaborate or fussy is not Zen.
Then it is time to think about color. Colors should be
soothing and calm, not loud or bold.
What To Avoid During Bathroom Makeovers
April 12, 2010
- Image by Brock Builders via Flickr
Extreme Mistakes: What To Avoid During Bathroom Makeovers
Tired of your old bathroom? Then you can do a simple or an extreme bathroom makeover. Of course, it would depend on your budget and what your really want for you bathroom. Remodelling could be a tough job. Whether you are doing it for the first time or you have renovated any part of the house before, there are some difficulties that you are bound to face.
When doing a home renovation, some homeowners tend to be carried away and would commit several mistakes along the way. Here are the most common bathroom renovation mistakes that we should avoid.
• Poor planning.
If your bathroom renovation is not even planned well, then don’t expect it to go well. Planning is not just about thinking the design, it is about knowing what would work and not work with your space. If you fail to come up with a satisfactory plan, surely you would encounter some blunders like fixtures or furniture does not fit in the space or problems with lighting or plumbing.
• Doing everything on your own.
Unless home renovation and bathroom design is your profession, you would definitely need professional help. Do not think that just because you read instructions on how you can install tiles in the bathroom, you are qualified to do it. When facing extreme bathroom makeovers, you would need the help of carpenters, installers, plumbers and electricians. If you try to do it on your own, it could even result to problems in the future.
• Not exploring your options.
So you heard about this great contractor, great bathroom furniture shop or any bathroom necessity provider, and you settled for them rightaway. Before you do not, you need to explore the market. Just because your friends said that they were good, you would get them. You need to find somebody who will be able to translate what you want or need. When doing bathroom remodelling, you would need to get at least three quotes from different stores and different contractors. This way, you get to analyze who will best provide your need.
• Having a very tight budget.
Of course, the reason why you have the budget is so that you would not overspend. But some homeowners tend to make the mistake of getting too tight with their budget, so when something happens they are unprepared for it financially. When making your budget, at least give it 20 to 30% allowance.
• Overlooking function and safety.
There are many homeowners that really want to have a stylish bathroom, unfortunately, they tend to overlook that a bathroom is still a bathroom. You and your entire family will be using it. Aside from being stylish, you would also need a bathroom that would cater to the needs of the family. Include organizing each family member’s personal care and stuff in the plan. This would maintain your bathroom in its glory. In addition to that, you would also need to ensure the safety of your bathroom. The floors should be slip resistant and you should have grab bars in tubs and shower areas.
• Poor ventilation.
Ventilation is important to keep molds and mildew from covering your newly installed tiles. Ventilation gets overlooked most of the times. Most homeowners would notice it after noticing the unwanted growth of molds in their bathroom walls. Not including it in your remodelling would cost you more money in the future. It would also put your extreme bathroom makeover in jeopardy.
