Almost all people assume that they need a big spacious family home to feel comfortable. Size seems to matter a lot when we’re talking about houses, but… is this really the case?

Sure, with a big home you get more space which means you should have more room to store things and end up with less clutter. But, you also have a home that’s considerably more expensive than a smaller home in the same location. All the money you can save by getting a smaller house can be used to help your family in other ways.

Photo Credits

Most people put off small homes purely because of the size issue they think exists. They think it will be hard for a family to live in a small home. But if you are living within the city and with condominiums slowly taking its pace, tiny living is now considered. Besides, many find that living in a small home is easier and there are ways you can turn a small little bungalow into a very spacious family home.

Below are few ideas that will help you:

Put Things In Storage

It’s fair to say that most people take up space in their home with items they don’t really need. We’ve all got big things or items of furniture that rarely get used, and we can do without. However, we might not want to sell them as they could have emotional value attached to them. The same goes for things like children’s toys that litter the place, but we don’t want to throw out as they remind us of significant times in our kid’s lives. Now, there are places like Canning Vale Storage Units that offer storage space for anyone that needs it. You pay for a unit and put all your things there that aren’t essential for your home, but you can’t bear to get rid of. This frees up loads of space in your house and can make rooms a lot bigger, making life more comfortable for you. In this side of the world though, these are not offered however storage boxes are available.

Get More From Your Rooms

Another idea is to take some rooms in your small home and get more from them. What I mean is that you can take your kitchen and stick a table in there for everyone to eat on. If you have a dining room, you’ve now got a free room to use for whatever you want as everyone eats in the kitchen. Likewise, you could make your children share a bedroom, which might free up another bedroom to be used for something else to give your house more space and more functions.

Photo Credits

Make Use Of Your Garden

A small home with a garden can be an absolute blessing. With a garden, you now have some extra space to utilize. You can build a garden shed and automatically grant yourself some extra storage space, freeing up room in your home. As you can see on the Absco Garden Sheds website, there are loads of different varieties and sizes you can buy. This means you can take up a small section and still have room to turn your garden into something beautiful.

You see, you don’t need a big house to create a lot of space. Living in a smaller home is easy when you know how to make it more comfortable and practical for your family.

Photo Credits

Renovating your home is an exciting experience, but it can be soured by construction contractors or builders if they aren’t as honest and upfront as you would like. Most homeowners have had bad experiences with builders at least once, whether they’ve presented you with a much higher bill or carried out shoddy work on your property. We had a bad experience with contractors when the husband ask him more details of the material’s prices. It way too different from the actual price in the stores. It can make you feel foolish for not choosing your contractor more wisely, but the thing is, there are some things that builders simply won’t tell you, which makes it difficult to choose wisely.

Here are some of the most common things builders will neglect to mention when you’re in the process of hiring them:

Their Low Bid Probably Isn’t Accurate

As a homeowner, you probably get a number of quotes before hiring a builder, which is the sensible thing to do. What isn’t sensible, however, is to choose the builder who’s offering you a significantly lower price than the others. That’s because he has probably underestimated his bid purposely in order to get the work, and once you’ve hired hi the price will keep rising. This is particularly problematic if you plan to get the money for the renovations from a homeowner loans company, or if you’re on a very tight budget. It is, then, a much better idea to ask him to show you detailed figures for the job or go with a different builder entirely.

There are Extras Built into the Contract

A lot of builders will add hidden extras into their contracts, which you might not need and which could end up costing you money if you don’t double check before hiring them. For example, some builders may put low-cost materials into the contract, only to try and get you to upgrade with persuasive language later on, or they might quote a lower number of hours to complete the job than actually necessary and then charge you by the hour for any time they run over. This is really something you need to look out for.

They Don’t Have Insurance

I can’t state how important it is that any builder you hire to work on your property has their own appropriate insurance. A lot of builders will neglect to declare that they don’t have insurance, or skirt over the issue when you bring it up, and if they do this, you should be very wary of hiring them because, should they be injured on your property, you could be liable! Ideally, you should always ask to see their insurance documents before you sign any contracts.

Photo Credits

They May Cut Corners

I can pretty much guarantee that your builder isn’t going to tell you upfront that they may well cut corners on your job, but many do. Usually, they will ensure that any cosmetic jobs that you can plainly see are done to the high standard you’re paying for, but they won’t do quite as good a job on hidden elements of your renovation like hidden plumbing and drywall.

If you can, it is then, a good idea that you, or another person you trust, is on hand to supervise them. This should ensure that they do exactly what they said they would with the quality of materials you’re paying for.

They Shouldn’t Come to Your Door

Builders who come to your door trying to convince you that you need a new roof or that your foundation needs to be repaired are never going to tell you that good builders don’t need to go from door to door plying their trade. Most of the people who do this are little more than scam artists and opportunists looking to take the money and run or do a shoddy job and pocket the difference. If a builder calls on you at your home, thank them for pointing out the ‘issue’ but politely decline their offer and have your own builder check it out to see if any work really needs to be done.

They Aren’t Registered

Unfortunately, there are a lot of cowboy builders out there operating without a license. They’re hardly going to tell you this, which is why you should check that they have a license, and check that the license they have covers them to do the kind of project you’re paying them for. If it doesn’t, don’t sign a contract!

Now you know the things builders won’t tell you, you can be sure to ask them and ensure that you only hire kosher builders who will do a good job on your home renovation projects.

One of the best things to do when you finish a long day at work is to grab a cold one and go and sit in your garden to relax or get that small screen and do a little surfing 🙂 . If you have a big outdoor space, this article are many ways in which you could improve your garden so that you’re able to chill out and when the time comes, entertain in style.

1. Building a reusable barbecue in your garden will create a focal point for you and any guests you may have over. They can be made out of brick which will be able to withstand the heat of your barbecue. There are many different styles that you could go for, including large arched barbecues, or you could go for a more simple design. Search online and in DIY magazines for inspiration. They’re fairly inexpensive to buy the materials for and will last you a good few years.
2. Having a swimming pool would definitely create an atmosphere in your garden. Too expensive for average earners but  if you can afford, why not? Whether you’re choosing to have a quiet swim at the end of the day, or having friends over for a pool party, it’s bound to spark attention. Although it’s possible to build your own pool, it’s probably best to hire some swimming pool builders who can do the job professionally, and save you the hassle.
3. Laying out some decking in your garden would give structure to your garden and be a perfect place to display your garden table and chairs. You could also put some potted plants on your decking to keep the greenery alive. Plants are also known to help reduce stress, improve concentration and keep the air around you cleaner. Imagine gazing over your beautiful garden, while the sun sets after a long day at work. Perfection.

Photo credit

4. Buying a water feature to display in your garden would create an incredible ambience for you to relax to. The sound of water trickling, and other nature sounds combined are known to destress and calm the mind. Plus, water features are pretty to look at and fairly inexpensive to run, obviously depending on the size of it.
5. Where would a relaxing garden be without a hammock? If you’ve got the space to display one, I’d definitely recommend it so that you can get comfortable with a good book or some relaxing music and let it take you away for a little while.
6. There are tons of garden ornaments available to buy, so take a look at the range in your local DIY store. Pick a theme for your garden and buy ornaments that will tie it together. Some ornaments have solar panels fitted so that when it is dark outside they light up your garden without wasting any electric. Cool right?
7. Having a vegetable patch in your garden will create another focal point, and also contribute to you being more self sufficient. It will also save you money on the fruit and vegetables you decide to grow.

There we have it, seven ways in which you can transform your garden into a haven of relaxation. Try implementing these ideas today and begin enjoying your garden!

Photo Credit

In a family house, the kitchen often acts as the epicentre where so much of the socialising and bonding is done. It is a place you gather together, whether you are baking cookies as a family or enjoying some home cooked meals. So, the question remains: what makes a great kitchen? Well, this varies from person to person, but this article is here to shed some more light on this question in the attempt to give it a more definite answer.

A Triangle Setup

If you are currently in the process of redesigning your kitchen, you should be thinking in triangles. Though this may sound strange at the moment, there is a very good reason for this. You want your chopping space, fridge and oven to be at each corner of the triangle so everything is easily accessible when you are cooking. This way, the whole job gets done much more efficiently. Makes this separate from your eating space for which you can buy solid teak or oak wood kitchen and dining furnitures from online store. Try to clear the space between the points of the triangle as much as possible so you can move between them freely.

A Durable and Wipe-Clean Floor

In the kitchen, the floor has to put up with a lot. Spills are a natural fact of life, particularly if you have young children, so you want the cleaning to be straightforward. Also, you may end up spilling hot liquid or food on the floor so it needs to be fairly durable as well. Tiles are a good option as they are easy to maintain. Their one disadvantage is that things break on them easily. If this is a concern of yours, you could go for rubber floor tiles or cork instead.

Good Quality Sinks

If there is one thing that it is worth investing a bit of extra money in your kitchen, it is the sinks. A double butler sink is a good option as you can leave something to soak while still being able to do the rest of the washing up. And if you really want to go all-out, you could go for a hydro tap which dispenses cold, filtered and water hot enough that means you don’t have to boil a kettle every single time.

A Dual Purpose Oven

The clearest combination to go for is an electric oven with a gas hob as this takes care of the cast majority of your cooking needs. And on your gas hob, you will want four or five different rings so you can comfortably have a few saucepans going at the same time. Electric hobs don’t really measure up in the same way as their gas counterparts.

Well-Placed Sockets

If you have a kitchen island, you want sockets that extend over here as well, but otherwise you want these liberally scattered throughout the room so you are comfortably able to plug in all the appliances that you have without needing to go through the hassle of plugging and unplugging all the time.

Ultimately, what makes a great kitchen varies from person to person, but these five things certainly make life easier.

Style is a big part of room design. Function, on the other hand, is where many of our design ideas start. And what better place to start building up a creative style from than the floor itself. After all, what could be more functional for any room than the floor? Your choice of covering here must serve the purpose of the room. So how can you make sure it looks just as good as the rest of the space?

Kitchen
A kitchen floor goes through a lot! It’s steamy in here, hot, humid, and prone to spills. It’s logical that the floor has to be very hard-wearing, and easy to keep hygienically clean. Of course, the kitchen floor is the best way to style your room. If you want a cottage kitchen, you might go for slate tiles or rustic red floor tiles. A contemporary kitchen might have large size granite tiles with a high gloss polish. Then there are the hardwood floors with a protective covering.

Photo credit

Bathroom
The bathroom is nearly always humid, and the floor is likely to get wet. Installing this kind of floor takes quite a lot of time as it must be sealed at the edges. Of course, if your bathroom is on the first floor, you might not want heavy granite tiles across floorboards. There are vinyls that look like tiling but offer a warmer, more padded surface, perfect for bare feet. For a seaside theme, why not try a faded or bleached oak wooden flooring?

Photo credit

Bedroom
This is the place where comfort is essential. The style you’re going for is likely to be soft in texture, and light and calming in colour. This is the one room where a carpet could be ideal. You might want to check out these flooring options at a Carpet One store so you can feel as well as see the finish. If you have pets in the bedroom, you might want a shorter, hard wearing pile to make it easier to vacuum the dropped fur! Don’t forget, you can also contrast the carpet colour with a vibrant, patterned rug.

Photo credit

Living Room
This is the room where you entertain guests. It’s also the space where the family will come together to relax and have fun. Many people are choosing hardwood flooring for this room. It’s versatile in fitting as well as in colour. Who doesn’t love a deep grain and high gloss polish? Chances are you’re moving furniture about from time to time for cleaning. You can use caster floor protectors that are safe for use on carpet or wooden floor. Engineered wood is often hard wearing enough without them. Best of all, wooden floors are easy to keep hygienically clean, all year round.

Photo credit

Flooring is often one of the best places to start when you’re designing your colour palette too. Woods, in particular, can be tricky to colour match for fabric furniture or wall paint. This is why it’s good to start from the floor and work your way up in design. Keep it practically stylish.

As parents, we all know that we spend much of our time either looking after the kids or cleaning up after them.

If you are a stay at home mommy trying to work from home, this can make your life very difficult and trying to keep your little ones out of the area from your designated workspace can be a challenge.

One way to preserve your home office space (and your sanity) is to create an area specifically for the kids. If they have their own space, they are much less likely to want to venture into yours.

Photo Credit

So where do you start? Firstly, you decide which room or area in your home you are comfortable with handing over to your kids. It could be an unused bedroom or redundant utility but whatever you decide, creating the perfect playroom will, in turn, make your daily life much less stressful.

If you are lucky enough to have a healthy budget for your project but are short of time, then it makes sense to enlist the help of a team of interior designers. Experts in their field, designers will be able to help your decision process and choose the most suitable materials for the job while staying in budget.

However, if you decide to tackle the project yourself, you may need a little guidance and advice.

Flooring

Kids are messy. Fact. Therefore it is imperative that you choose hard flooring for your play area, it is hardwearing and easy to clean. Footprints, mud, and spillages can all be wiped off quickly and easily without leaving any lasting stains.

Walls

Although you may well decide to simply emulsion the walls with a wipe clean paint, you can make things more interesting. Why not choose a feature wall and decorate it with some laminated wallpaper or pictures to inject some of your kids’ personality into the room.

Furniture

Any furniture that you choose needs to be practical in both colour and design. Dark colours or busy patterns are preferable as they won’t show up marks or stains. If you opt for a lighter colour palette, choose leather which can be easily wiped clean or fabric which has been pre-treated with a fabric protector to repel dirt and stains.
Choose small sized tables and chairs; it will really make them feel that this is their space.

Comfort

Make sure that there is somewhere for your little ones to relax and have some down time in their new environment. Beanbags or cushions with washable covers are a great option, and can also double up as mattresses for sleepovers.

Storage

Kids accumulate a lot of clutter, so it is important to have plenty of storage available to hide it away. Stackable boxes are an inexpensive and practical option which can be added to over time.

If you take account of these few simple steps you are sure to keep your kids happy, leaving you to get on with your day in peace and quiet.