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Decorative Fypon Elements For The Whole Home

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Homeowners are often looking for new and affordable ways to update the look of the interior or exterior of their homes. As they investigate the different options, they may find that certain construction materials offer more convenience than others and Fypon urethane falls into that category. Environmentally conscious homeowners will appreciate an option that doesn’t deplete the amount of trees and forestation across the country. With many weather resistant qualities, Fypon products are ideal for exterior home improvement projects, and homeowners who are looking for a way to update the look of their entire home will appreciate the versatility of Fypon decorative elements.


Just what is Fypon urethane?

Fypon is actually the name brand for products made from urethane foam and forced into the decorative shapes and designs that are so popular in new homes and in remodeled older homes. These products provide homeowners an alternative to wood. Without needing to provide the continuous maintenance that wood products require and without feeling guilty about reducing the forests for their decorating purposes, homeowners may use Fypon elements on the exterior and interior of their homes. Some examples of decorative elements include:

                Exterior Elements

  • Louvers
  • Trim
  • Keystones
  • Door and window surrounds
  • Pediments
  • Crossheads
  • Pilasters
  • Balustrades

Interior Elements

 

  • Faux beams
  • Decorative trim moldings
  • Window trim and brackets
  • Ceiling trim and brackets
  • Interior balustrades
  • Ceiling medallions
  • Column wraps

While many people will think of these elements in the traditional white, there are also many other colors available for either exterior or interior applications.

Benefits of Fypon for Exterior Decorating

There are many decorative reasons to consider adding Fypon decorative elements to the front of the home or for any of the doorways and windows around the sides and back of the home. The framing around doors and windows creates a multi-dimensional look and enhances the existing beauty of the home. Adding extra details such as sunbursts, molding, rams head pediments and more will provide a fresh, new look to the exterior of the home and will also create an appearance that stands apart from the other homes in the area. Homeowners will also appreciate the use of these decorative elements as they work to seal up any areas around doors and windows that may have been a source of drafts or air loss for the home. With Fypon elements, homeowners can create a variety of different decorative styles and may be able to reduce the amount that they pay for their heating and cooling costs. Plus the weather resistant qualities make this decorative material a worthwhile investment.

Fypon Benefits for the Interior of the Home

Many of the benefits relating to the use of Fypon will be the same both inside and outside of the home. The added detail can frame an attractive display or may be used as a display in and of themselves. Molding full of grape bunches, twining leaves or other decorative patterns can increase the formal tone of a room or could be used to create a traditional and homey feel throughout the home. Cleaning and other necessary maintenance inside the home may be simplified when Fypon elements are used.

Whenever a remodel is in order or if the time has come for a complete change with a new home, Fypon decorative elements are an affordable and convenient alternative to wood décor. Both resistant to the elements and adaptable for many indoor and outdoor decorating, Fypon elements are growing in popularity in the building and reconstruction field.L

Lawrence Reaves writes for Accent Building Products, a home improvement company offering kitchen cabinetry, fireplace mantels and a wide variety of Fypon accents for your home.  Check out Accent Building Products and the productst they offer here.





Practical Feng Shui for the Home

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Feng Shui for many people is something mysterious and somehow magical. But if you analyze the basic principles of this ancient Chinese art, they are in fact rational whether you believe it or otherwise. This system of beliefs lies on the theory that energy flows through everything. It is the practice of placing objects in such a manner that they allow and not hinder the proper flow of energy. Arranging the home the Chinese way brings luck even to the non-believer. Here’s how:

Doors

Make the flow of chi (positive energy) from the front entrance to the back door continuous and unhindered. Doorways should be cleared – no big furniture or seats should block the way. This makes sense – who wants to hit her shins against a carelessly-positioned chair, anyway? Hang wind chimes outside huge doors to deflect sha, or negative energy. Aesthetic-wise, they make nice accents as well, to break the monotony and massiveness of the wood.

Stairways

Poorly positioned stairways deflect chi that enters from the front door. Stairways that are opposite front doors direct good vibes into the second floor, thus starving the ground floor. In a practical sense, such accessibility also poses danger should anyone break into your house.

Winding staircases – not spiral staircases that seem to bore a hole into the earth – are ideal for the flow of chi.  They are good for small units because they don’t take up so much space.

Dining room

Round tables signify stability and the Earth (and money), so get one for your dining area. Round tables also encourage participation of everyone during dinner conversations.

Kitchen

Your sinks represents water and your stove signifies fire, which are two clashing elements, so these two shouldn’t be placed side by side. Besides, imagine the damage if you accidentally splash water on your electric stove! Remedy with a wooden plank or counter in between (the wood represents earth, which balances the two out).

While you’re at it, paint your kitchen white, a “reflection of purity” – and a color that makes it easy to spot stains.

Toilets in the kitchen are a definite no-no because they produce negative vibes (the flushing action of the toilet represents the flushing down of wealth, which is symbolized by the food in the kitchen). They produce diseases, too.

Bedroom

The Chinese carry their deceased feet first out the door, so never sleep with your feet directly towards the doorway. Besides, you wouldn’t want anyone to look up your nightgown, would you? It is not advisable to hang picture frames on the wall behind your bed as doing so may bring you nightmares and unhealthy results. Do not place your bed too close to the window as well to prevent bad dreams. Your bedroom must not be situated very near to the kitchen as the latter is related to fire which is a symbol that could be very fatal to anyone’s bedroom.

Lastly, placing a mirror right in front of your bed is also a no-no because they are said to be the hiding place of ghosts and other earthly creatures that you don’t want to see.

Keeping these Feng Shui tips in mind can be advantageous especially if you intend to sell the property sooner or later. You might not expect it but there are actually quite a number of people who value this oriental concept in home building. It will be easier to sell your unit as even believers will be drawn in by how your unit’s design agree with the dynamics of Feng Shui. On the other hand, potential clients who don’t really buy this superstition will most likely just shrug it off and not care whether or not the unit’s design adheres to such principle.

Meanwhile, if you are not too sure about the authenticity of this concept, perhaps you just have to decide based on the premise that following the principles of Feng Shui poses no direct harm on your home, the inhabitants, and your budget. It does not necessarily entail a lot of bizarre addition to the home fixtures, nor does it require bigger funds for home building, so you might as well give it a try. While it may or may not directly bring in “luck” and prosperity to the home, it could heighten your earning potential especially if you are building for real estate business.

Cedric Loiselle is an experienced writer who enjoys imparting useful information to many readers. The topics he usually writes about include finance, home improvement, relationships, and health. Looking for a good property manager? He can give sound referrals be it for Louisiana, Baton Rouge, or New Orleans property management.

DIY vs. Hiring an Interior Designer

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interiors

So it’s time for you to start working on tearing down that old drab wallpaper, repainting the walls and redecorating. While many people think this is an easy project to take on by themselves, it’s not as easy as one might assume. As much as you think you know about something, experts always know more. Here are the pros and cons of doing it yourself vs. hiring a professional interior designer and why you might want to consider hiring someone to do the job for you.

Knowledge

Being on the DIY side means you know what you want to have done and you know what the final product looks like in your head.

On the other hand, an interior designer is a trained professional with experience. Interior designers understand spacial layouts, can envision the full picture, have other professional contacts and guarantees satisfaction. They also have expensive software that they can use to visualize room setups, so while you may have the concept in your head, they can create it on paper to ensure it’s exactly what you’re looking to do.

Decorating


You look through magazines and see the perfect furniture for your newly decorated room but it’s at an astronomical price. Because of this, you can only buy furniture that fits your budget and a lot of the time, that’s not what you are looking for. If you hire an interior designer, you have the time and freedom to research and find replicas of your favorite furniture for a fraction of the cost, allowing you to essentially have your cake and eat it too.

By hiring an interior designer, their expertise is guaranteed to get you the most bang for your buck and help you to avoid making any costly mistakes. The interior designer also can work with a clients budget to create the perfect space for the client with the furniture that makes the most sense.

Time

There are both pros and cons of doing a project on your own time. If you have a family in the picture, once you dive into a big interior design project you can find that it consumes all of your time and leaves little to no time for your family. If you have a full-time job, it could be extremely difficult to find any additional time to do anything besides work on this project. On the other hand, if you’re performing this project on your own, you have the ability to do it at your own pace in the comfort of your home.

As an interior designer, this is their profession which means they can do the legwork for you and save you the time and exhaustion of running around trying to get this project done. The experience an interior designer has can help consolidate the time that it would take you or someone else with little experience to complete the project.

Budget

Budgets are always a big issue when it comes to redecorating and changing the interior design of a space. If you’re doing it yourself, you have the opportunity of saving tons of money by doing the work yourself and not having to pay labor for trained professionals to come in and do it for you. One thing to keep in mind is that if you make an error due to your handy work, you will have to pay for your lack of experience.

An interior designer might be costly, but the knowledge and experience he or she brings is truly priceless. By hiring an interior designer, you have the guarantee that whatever project they’re doing for you will get done exactly how you want it done and it will be done properly. The peace of mind of knowing your space is being taken care of by professionals is in many cases worth the extra money.

Whether you choose to do the project yourself or hire someone, it’s important to know the pros and cons of each side. This way, when it comes time to make your final decision, you’re well educated and can make a responsible decision based on your research.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer who enjoys DIY projects. Recently she finished a strenuous project that required the use of platform trucks to help her move a lot of her materials. She hopes that others interested in DIY projects learn from her tips to help them with their projects!

How to Increase Bathroom Storage Space

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With sales of grooming products soaring (especially mens) fitting all your age defining skin serums, exfoliating lotions and bronzing creams into your bathroom can be challenging.  Add to that piles of towels, bathroom cleaning products, laundry and jumbo packs of toilet roll; and your bathroom will feel less like a spa sanctuary and more like a clutter haven.   Luckily there are lots of ways to wash away your storage woes in even the smallest of bathrooms….

1)      Built in cabinets

Built in bathroom cupboards put your square footage to good use because they can be built to the exact specification of your bathroom, making the most of oddly shaped spaces.   The size, shape, length, width and thickness can all be altered to fit.  A recessed built in cabinet is the best choice for conserving precious floor space and any unused drywall space is an opportunity for this storage perk.  Free standing bathroom cabinets are another option, and if you’re on a tight budget these are significantly cheaper.  Medicine cabinets are often wall mounted alongside the mirror, but above the toilet is a good spot for maximising a small space.  Whatever style of cabinet you go for today’s cabinets are masters of organisation, with more and more amenities like built in drawer dividers, cosmetic trays, appliance garages (that hide but keep hand things you use everyday like hair dryers and electronic toothbrushes) and even wardrobe-like spaces for hanging clothes and laying out ties.

2)      Vanity Cabinet

A vanity cabinet is a great storage solution because it combines a wash basin and countertop with closed shelving below.   It also gives a bathroom a more stylish look because it hides the sink plumbing.  When choosing a vanity cupboard go for one with ample shelves and drawers so you can store lots of lotions and potions.  This is especially the case if you have teenage girls.

3)      Towel rails

Towel rails or ladders are the best way to keep towels off the floor.  There are lots of stylish designs these days so if you want your rail to be a feature point then be bold and go for an unusual curved or spiral design.  If stepping out of the bath into a warm and toasty fluffy towel sounds like your idea of heaven then go for a heated rail.

4)      No space left behind

If you want a minimalist look why not build some storage into the bath itself.  The hidden space in a tub surround can be a good place to store toilet rolls and cleaning products.  The back of the bathroom door is an often overlooked place for storage potential.  Hooks can easily be installed for hanging towels, wash cloths, shoe holders, dressing gowns etc.  Small recessed niches alongside the shower are handy for keeping shampoos and shower gels, and they stop a wet footed dash across the bathroom to reach forgotten items.  Even shower curtains these days can come with inbuilt storage pockets.

Ben writes about bathroom remodling and currently works for Speedy Services. He loves to redesign and renovate is home and is often found in the tool hire shop.

Our house is too hot!

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Our house is so hot!

We have air conditioners, but it’s been cooler outside lately so we’ve had our doors and windows open, but sometimes it seems the house is warmer inside than it is outside.

I guess that’s because in the summer time we have three windows blocked up with air conditioners. Plus … our houses are close together here and it seems that the breeze or wind is always blowing on side of the house that either doesn’t have windows we can open or that doesn’t have windows.

Grrrr!

I think we need to get another ceiling fan or two. That will help. At least we can keep the air moving in the house. I was actually looking at some ceiling fans the other day and I liked this one by Minka Aire.

I think we might install a ceiling fan in the upstairs stairway. Hopefully it will help push the hot air that builds upstairs down and cool it off.

Is your house warm too due to lack of air flow? Do you use ceiling fans? Does it help?

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