Your Total Home Organizing and Decluttering Guide
January 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Take it slow or be a speed demon — this room-by-room approach to organizing and storage will get your home in shape no matter how you roll
Party’s over, folks. It’s that time of year — now that the stockings have been taken down and the confetti has been swept away, any excuse to hold off on decluttering your home is long gone. Take advantage of the new year and give your home a fresh start. We’ve compiled some of the best cleaning and organizing guides from Houzz, room by room, to help you start off the year with a clean slate.
January Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home
January 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment
January brings fresh starts and renewed hopes for the year ahead. Of course, with the excitement of the holidays done and months of winter stretching out before us, January can also be a bit of a downer — especially for those in cold climates. Make the most of the first month of 2014 by taking time to say goodbye to the old year (and the holiday decorations), give your home the TLC it needs to see it through winter storms, and dream up plans for the months ahead. Here are 10 to-dos to get your year off to a good start.
6 Ways to Define Your Workspace at Home
December 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
If you’re ever had the opportunity (some might say misfortune) of working from home, you know that the distractions are endless. Every time you look up from your computer, there’s a stack of personal mail that needs attention, a glass that should be washed or a household member eager to tell you a story. All you want is to be transported to a secluded island (preferably with Wi-Fi) so you can refocus on the task at hand.
You deserve a dedicated space that promotes concentration and creativity, with a bulwark to protect you from diversions lurking around every corner. Here’s how to get it.
Homes Around the World Wish You a Merry Christmas
December 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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.
6 Smart Ways To Splurge on Your Home Remodel
December 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
When Kimberly of Serendipity Refined designed her master bath, she treated herself to a towel warming drawer, which she says is especially nice during Chicago winters. Image: SerendipityRefined.com
Every remodel should add value to your home; that’s our mantra. But HouseLogic knows that some luxuries just make your home life sweeter and easier — and there’s terrific value in that, too.
Here are some of our favorite remodeling splurges that are great for your life now and someday may pique a buyer’s interest.
1. Central Vac (aka Whole-House Vacuum)
What: A super-suction, built-in vacuum system that features convenient inlet ports throughout the house where you plug in 25-to-50-foot lightweight vacuum hoses. The collection bin is usually located in a basement or garage.
Why: No more dragging heavy vacuum cleaners up and down stairs and throughout the house. With central vacs all you need to schlepp is a lightweight hose fitted with a power brush.
Central vacs have up to five times the suction power of portable vacuums, and they store dust far away from where it’s collected — great for allergy sufferers. Some high-tech systems have retractable hoses that disappear into the wall.
Tip: Make sure you have enough ports — at least one for every 500 sq. ft.
How much: $1,500-$2,500 to retrofit a house; add about $500 for retractable hose.
2. Steam Shower
What: A sealed shower attached to a steam generator that turns the stall into a steam room. You can build a steam shower from scratch or buy a prefab fiberglass unit.
Why: Steam relaxes, opens sinuses, soothes muscles, and cleans pores. Installing a steam shower is a major project that includes wiring for the generator; vapor-proofing walls, floors, and ceiling; installing a tightly-fitting door; and having a bathroom fan outside the shower to suck up the extra humidity.
Tip: A sloped ceiling in the shower room ensures that condensation runs off.
How much: Fiberglass unit: $1,000-$5,000; framed-in unit and generator: $7,000-$10,000.
3. Heated Bathroom Floors
What: Thin, thermostatically-controlled electric radiant mats that install under tile.
Why: No more cold tootsies when stepping out of the shower in the morning. Many systems come with timers so warm bathroom floors await you each morning.
Tip: Heated floors help stem mold growth in humid places.
How much: $15.59/sq. ft. for material and installation (not counting cost of tile or adding 20-amp GFCI dedicated circuit with 110 volts, $97-$245).
Related: More About Radiant Heat
4. Super Skylights
What: Roof windows that let sunlight in. Upscale models feature insulated glass, solar-powered shades, and rain sensors that’ll automatically close an open skylight in bad weather.
Why: Nobody likes dark, dreary rooms and hallways. Skylights let the sun shine into areas you can’t brighten with windows — hallways, interior rooms, even closets. Skylights save you money on heating, cooling, and lighting bills.
Tip: If you plan to open and close skylights, order screens to keep out bugs and roof debris.
How much: $500-$3,500 (depending on size, glazing, and complexity) installed.
5. Towel Warming Drawer
What: A stainless steel, heated drawer that slips into cabinetry, plugs into an outlet, and warms towels.
Why: Because there’s nothing more snuggly than wrapping a warm towel around you after a bath or shower.
Tip: Towels take time to heat up — some people say as much as 45 minutes — so you’ll have to plan ahead to have a toasty one ready when you are.
How much: $1,700-$3,400.
6. Whole-House Electrostatic Filters
What: Also called “electrostatic precipitators,” these dust-removing wonders are incorporated into your HVAC ductwork. They charge polluted air with a high-voltage current, and then collect particles on plates with the opposite charge. Great at removing tiny particles that slip through regular fiberglass filters.
Why: Whole-house electrostatic filters remove smoke, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, and dust, improving air quality and health. But they also create ozone as a byproduct which is a lung irritant, so the health benefits could be a wash.
Tip: The filters last indefinitely, but you’ll have to clean the plates, some say as often as once a week; others advise every 2-3 months.
How much: $600-$1,000 installed.
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.
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.