Category: General

3 Secrets to Making Your Own Custom Home Office Furniture

There’s no doubt that having custom home office furniture makes it so much more fulfilling to work at home. Now, imagine if you made those pieces of furniture yourself, wouldn’t your motivation for success be so much stronger? It is much cheaper than having your furniture built by a professional, and it doesn’t take the skills of a master carpenter or even the know-how of a life-long handyman to do it. You can do it, and all it takes are the three secrets in this article!

Here’s a clue — nobody ever said that you had to build everything from scratch. Making furniture that is customized to your particular needs and to exactly fit your new home office space is a hundred times easier with these 3 secrets: Rebuild, Re-purpose, and Refinish.

To rebuild means to look at stuff you already own, or small pieces you find at yard sales, close-outs and the like, with an eye to recombining them into something new. Take a pair of small stools for example, and a small set of drawers. Ideally, look for ones that are a bit lower than your hip. If you need to, cut off a bit from the stool legs so that they are the same height as the drawers. Now get an old table top with missing legs or a sheet of 1-inch thick plywood, lay it on top of the drawers and stool so that it forms a table. A few nails, a bit of sanding, painting and polish, and you have a unique table you built yourself. It will only be up to your patience and supply of elbow grease as to how professional looking the finished product will be.

Re-purposing is easy. Old serving trays can become your table in- and out-box, those touristy cups and mugs you used to collect in your travels can be your pen holders, and finish off with the homey touch of an antique bottle turned into a flower vase.

Refinishing is done according to your particular taste, and in fact, it’s the easiest way to turn something mass-produced and store-bought into something entirely your own. Some people like their custom home office furniture to all have colors that come from a certain matching palette they learned from an interior design magazine, some like the curio-shop flavor of pieces that obviously come from different places and different times. Your taste may lie anywhere between the two, or even beyond. All you will need is imagination and possibly some paint, lacquer, sandpaper and finishing techniques and instructions that are widely available on the internet and in books, and you can make that filing cabinet that just came from the yard-sale down the road into something with a bit of your personality in it.

Remember, your office doesn’t have to look like the gray cubicle you used to slave in when you were an employee. As long as you’re comfortable working in it, and it has everything you need, it will be perfect. If it has custom home office furniture that you rebuilt, re-purposed, and refinished yourself, well, that makes it even more than perfect.…

Garden Leisure – Patio Furniture

The weather is getting warmer and the sun is starting to shine. There are buds on the trees and plants and flowers are starting to poke their heads above the ground. It looks as though Spring is just around the corner and now it is time to start planning some garden leisure time. We spend so much time working it is nice to be able to have some free time with our family relaxing in the garden.

After winter the garden requires nurturing back to health following the harsh weather. The garden needs tidying and the patio and patio furniture needs checking for wear and tear. Can you clean it down, repaint or varnish it, or is it beyond repair and needs replacing or do you just prefer to go for a new look and replace it anyway?

When choosing your patio furniture make sure it is functional and the items will fit on your patio area comfortably. For a more informal and relaxed patio area try some lounge sofas and add cushions to all the chairs and with a low matching coffee table you will have a perfect outdoor lounge area. There is some really good quality all weather ratten patio furniture that lends itself perfectly to this relaxing lounge theme and it is complemented by the matching patio dining table and chairs which will turn your patio into an out of doors lounge and dining area.

With high quality comfortable patio furniture you will be able to dine, relax and enjoy the tranquility of your garden on hot summer days and warm summer evenings.

Adding brightly coloured flowers in planters to the patio area and hanging baskets with trailing plants and a gazebo, for some shade when the sun is too bright, will give a complete freshness to your outdoor living space and make it feel homely.

You could create a small children’s play area with beanbag seating and outdoor play equipment which will keep the children entertained while you relax.

For more formal patio areas there are ranges of seating and patio dining sets in both cast iron or wood, but they do require maintenance every year. The cast iron furniture usually needs repainting and wooden furniture has to be treated against the weather. Both are hard wearing and durable and with deep cushions can be made comfortable.

By planning your garden leisure time now it will save time and money, and avoid the last minute panic of trying to find the furniture that you want when the sun does start to shine. While everyone else is rushing around trying to furnish their patios, you will be able to sit and relax on your new patio furniture and enjoy the free time you have because of your forward planning.…

Furniture Shopping – How to Purchase the Different Designs

Modern furnishings can be purchased from various stores. Different shops deal with certain types of furniture that may include classic as well as modern designs. It’s also possible to buy reproductions of the classic furnishing at a lower price than that of the originals.

Modern Classic Furnishings

There are a number of designers who deal with modern classic furnishings. Buyers can find original designs online on various sites that list modern furnishings for sale. When buying items online, it’s important to consider the shipping costs of transporting the goods from their location. There are certain sellers that require buyers to pick up their items locally.

Modern Reproduction Furnishing

Certain stores deal specifically with reproductions of classic modern furnishings. Such stores make their items based on the specific designs of the original furnishings or use the original pieces as a guide for making their own designs. Buyers should not purchase modern furnishing reproductions from any store they happen to find. The quality of the furnishing may vary dramatically and the buyers may end up having pieces that are poor reproductions of the original. Before buying reproductions, take a thorough inspection of the item before making the purchase to confirm that it is well made. This presents a challenge in case of online transactions because inspection of goods before buying may not always be possible. However, buyers should buy furnishings from stores that have a good return policy.

Factors to consider when buying furniture

Shopping for home items can be exhilarating and fun. However, choosing the wrong furnishing color, quality, comfort or style, can spoil the whole experience. The most significant factor in getting the right products is planning.

A successful purchase can be accomplished easily when buyers know what they want, how much they want to spend on the items and where they want to buy the items.

Basic Decisions

Buyers need to make some basic decisions before making a purchase. They should be clear on what they intend to buy. Before purchasing a piece of furnishing consider its function in the room where it’s going to be located. Most furnishings today are designed for different functions. Buyers should also consider whether the new furnishings will coordinate with or complement the existing ones in the room.

Measure

Determine the area where the furnishings will be located. Use a tape measure to measure the length, width and height of the free space where the furnishings will be placed. Note the dimensions of the desired furnishings. Try to figure out if the furnishings will fit in the allocated space. This is a very significant step to undertake in getting the right furnishing size.

Budget

Set a realistic budget for purchasing the furnishing. It’s wise for buyers to find the best deals on relatively expensive items such as furnishings. The best way to pay for such purchases is probably in cash. However, buyers can avoid paying interests by going for same-as-cash payment options with zero interest.

One of the best places to begin shopping for furniture is on the internet. Here buyers will discover the traders offering the best discounts and shipping deals. The items can be bought directly from the websites or people can use the information on the sites to buy from stores.…

Protecting Your Furniture While Moving to Your New Home

While moving and shifting, the thought of protecting the furniture does not occur to many. This is surprising. People usually focus on protecting everything but their furniture. Furniture pads can come in handy in this regard.

While you buy things that are needed to facilitate the process of moving, make sure to buy furniture pads.

Do not be fooled into thinking that nothing can happen to your furniture. It is just as prone to damage to as your precious glassware and crockery. If your house adornments require care, so does your furniture.

You would not like an all scratched up designer coach that coach you a ton of dollars. You would not your antique cupboards corners get all damaged as they are loaded onto the truck or loaded off it.

Owing to the size of the furniture, it is much more likely to get damaged. The chances of your furniture hitting doors and walls are very high. Furniture is hard to move, and this lends to its vulnerability to being damaged.

Dents could appear on the surface or edges can become severely damaged. All of this can be prevented by using appropriate furniture pads.

If you have hired professionals for packing and shifting process, then they will know their job well. They will pack the furniture and shift in the safest manner. However, if you are doing it yourself, it will be worth it to take care of your furniture by buying furniture pads. As you must have heard, prevention is better than cure.

However, you need to relax. Moving or shifting is hard. Nonetheless, there are procedures that can be followed to make this job easier. Therefore, you need to unwind. You are shifting to a new house after all. It calls for celebration not for fretting over the safety of your things.…

Bathroom Furniture – Mold Problem and Its Solutions

Meant for convenience, relaxation, soothe, respite and leisure, a bathroom gets the utmost attention of the homeowners to make a place that is capable of serving all the above purposes. Along with the functionality, this place is also given a special position in the home d?�cor and everyone wants to make it a place of luxury by adding and installing various types of fixtures and accessories. Bathroom Furniture is the most imperative accessory among all and it is meant for the storage of different things including the cosmetics, clothing, different tools, razors, lotions, potions and shampoos.

Bathroom Furniture is one of the most expensive accessories as compared to other accessories of this place. Situation gets worsen when the wood furniture show up mold growth and the charm and appealing looks of the furniture vanishes making it ugly and unfit to use. Mold loves the moist places and lavatory is one of the best places with moisture availability round the clock. The mold growth on or inside the storage cabinets or vanities renders these accessories unusable and causes a great nuisance and economic loss to the home owners.

There are different solutions to this problem, you cannot eliminate the moisture from your bathing place but it can be reduced to minimum by proper ventilation of this place. You should regularly apply polish or certain wood oils such as cedar wood oil to your furniture as it has a natural ability to repel the molds and the insect pests of the household. There are certain fungicides available in the market which can be applied with furniture paints and varnishes, using these fungicides may be of great help in this regard.…

Three Reasons People Switch Up Their Kitchen Furniture

Once and a while it can be nice to shake things up a bit. Over time you get set into a basic routine and that can dig down into a rut if you’re not careful about it. Often people will change up their entire wardrobes, careers, relationships, and go out of their way in the process of adopting a new style to get themselves thinking differently about their lives. If you find yourself in a rut you might consider changing up your kitchen furniture.

It can be difficult to make drastic changes all at once so it is a good idea to start small and build up gradually over time. The furniture in your kitchen is a good place to start because there are many benefits to updating its look. There are four basic reasons that people change the look and feel of the furniture in their kitchen, whether they are looking to make purely a stylistic change from rustic to contemporary kitchen furniture, or just want to get new stuff.

Here are three reasons you might consider going out with the old and bringing in something new:

Your Appliances Won’t Look Out of Place

As technology evolves so too must we. Kitchens have come a long way in the past sixty years or so because there have been rapid developments in appliance technology. Refrigerators have gotten colder, more spacious, and sleeker while stove-tops have moved from gas to electric. Your microwave looks entirely different from the one your grandmother used to own (if she ever even owned one) and don’t even get me started on the toaster oven.

To keep your kitchen from looking like a mixture of decades passed you should update it with brand new furniture from time to time.

Your Old Stuff is Breaking Down Anyway

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” they always say but what if your stuff is starting to fall apart? The most common reason to purchase new furniture for your kitchen is that your older stuff needs replacing. Over time table legs and chair backs will get chipped and worn down. The table leaves will get disjointed from constant use and the seat cushions will fray and crack. To avoid the shambled look of a slumlord you can take the opportunity to make some changes.

Save Some Money

In this troubled economy it is good to find ways of making money. You can kill two birds with one stone by selling off your old antique kitchen furniture set at a garage sale or something and replace it with cheaper pieces.…

First Impressions Count

A first impression is important and no matter what anybody says they stick, No matter how fair or unfair these initials impressions are, people and products alike get judged usually within 5 seconds. So, you want to make sure that the appearance you give is how you wish to be perceived.

If you walk into a job interview or turn up at a place where the dress code is formal, in some jogging bottoms and a t-shirt which you would normally lounge about your house, in order to be comfortable, you are probably going to get judged as somebody who is not bothered and lazy and will not end up getting the job. If you walked in wearing a smart shirt and black trousers you will get judged as someone who is prepared and serious about getting the said job. This impression is the same with anything, including businesses. It works both ways. If the person showing up in smart attire to the job interview arrives at a dirty and untidy establishment they may reconsider as well.

Having the right kind of atmosphere in a restaurant is very important. When people decide where they want to go out for a meal they have to think about what they want. Of course the first thing to consider is what type of food option they fancy but the next thing they think of is what kind of place they want to go to and what type of people will be there. Somewhere quiet, loud, child friendly etc. and what depicts where these type of people go is the ambiance created by the restaurants’ furniture and music. Everything links together to give off a certain feel. The faces of eating places have changed drastically over the years due to the amount of interior designs and items available to purchase to make your place look amazing!

Restaurants have been around since the 18th century and are one of the venues you know that people will never tire of going to. Everybody likes to eat and socialize so what better place to go when you need a good catch up with some friends or family?

If you would like to modify the appearance of your restaurant or even envision changing the interior to reflect a new idea in your head, you should do it. It could increase the amount of people who venture into your restaurant. Even just a change of chair and table could make all the difference. Restaurant furniture is nearly as important as the food you serve and it will be one of the factors that make customers judge and determine whether or not they want to return in the future.…

Picking Furniture for Your Home

When it comes to picking furniture for your home, one should always be prudent in the purchases that he or she makes. Be sure to plan ahead and do your research with regards to stores and online shops. One can definitely find a good sale or bargain when it comes to great pieces for your home.

When it comes to deciding on what particular item to buy, it is also good to know the over-all theme of your house. Do you have a specific color scheme or theme, like Asian, French, Country, Modern, etc.? You should know the specific look you are after for each room, since it makes it much easier to filter the different types of furniture you can look at. Having too many choices and designs can also sometimes pose as a bit of a problem, especially if you have no idea of what exactly you want. Narrowing down your choices by the kind of materials used or theme of the pieces is a much more efficient use of your time and efforts.

Once you have decided on the theme or the type of stuff you are looking for, you can now canvass for different items and varying prices in the various shops and online as well. Since most stores nowadays have online websites, it might be much easier to browse their online catalogues to get an idea of what they carry. One can usually find all the information you need, such as price, color, material used, size and stock availability, in the online site. This makes it easier for you to check out many stores and compare prices, while searching for good deals. One can also opt to purchase the furniture online, or decide to go to the actual store to see the item in person and make that purchase.

Another thing to consider is the floor area. Make sure to measure the rooms you will be installing certain fixtures in. Some pieces may need more space, like couches, coffee tables, dining tables and other items. If you have an interior decorator, plan the exact placing of items beforehand so you have an idea of the maximum size you can get for that particular piece. For those doing the decorating on their own, be mindful of the space you will be filling in. It is better to have more space rather than have a cramped area.

For those working within a budget, consider going to second-hand stores or flea markets for unique pieces and good buys. These items might need a little work, but it will be worth it in the end. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to ask family and friends who may be disposing of old furniture, but still very much usable and not worn out. You may get these for free or at a very low price. Just remember to always keep comfort and functionality in mind when making a purchase.…

Queen Anne Style Blanket Chest

The Queen Anne style of furniture and blanket chests emerged in England during the reign Queen Anne (1702-1714). Furniture and blanket chests in this style show absolute preference for simplicity. The beauty of line was extremely more important to the wood artisan than was heavy ornamentation. This was in marked contrast to the fashionable furniture that had been created since the Restoration in Europe. Styles such as the Baroque style and the Louis XIV style were too lavish in embellishment and carved design elements.

The Queen Anne style furniture and blanket chests offered simpler pieces which were curvilinear in style with the cabriole leg as the support for most furniture types. This leg made for an elegant line, the S-curve, which is the most important feature of this style. Along with the cabriole leg, the other important elements of this style that derived from the S-curve are the scrolled pediment, scalloped apron, vase-shaped splats and the curved chair back. This elongated S-shaped curve was called “The Line of Beauty” by William Hogarth, a British engraver and satirist.

Many of the Queen Anne furniture pieces were made without stretchers which disrupted the flow of the curves. This was possible since the cabriole legs were cut from one piece of square timber which allowed wood artisans to cut strong, unmovable joints. This style was usually made with all-over veneers, mostly of Walnut, which has beautiful figuring in the wood grain. The only decorative features retained from earlier styles were the cross and feather banding which defined the boundaries of the drawer and door panels and the restricted use of carving detail, especially on blanket chests. When used, small amounts of carving decorated the knees of chair legs, the cornices for bookcases and cabinets, the sides of card tables and the backing of chairs and day beds.These decorative features included forms of scallop shells, lion’s masks, cartouches, husk ornaments and scrolls.

Since the Queen Anne style furniture and blanket chests had so little in the way of wood embellishments, this gave rise to the use of textiles for decoration. The huge demand for upholstered furniture spurred the production of high standard embroidery of exquisite detail, in both home and factory. These furniture textiles combined Indian and Chinese motifs and ingenious flora and fauna designs made from wool and fine silk. Extra special designs employed the use of silver and gold threads. Blanket chests were given large cushions to create a seating area.

The lack of highly decorative styling in the Queen Anne furniture and blanket chests form also induced the use of many different foot types and cornice styles. Tallboys, toilet mirrors, desks, blanket chests and other heavy pieces used ball, splay, ogee, bracket and paneled bracket feet. Blanket chests of later design were mainly given ogee, bracket or ball feet. Chairs, tripod tables, day beds and card tables used pad, claw and ball, scroll and paw feet. Bookcases and cabinets went through three different cornice phases. The first was a smooth, graceful form, the second had a roman influence and the third was known as the swan neck.

The most distinctive Queen Anne piece was the hooped-backed chair. This new chair,also known as a bended-back, was a very comfortable seat. It featured a solid splat-back which curved to fit the occupants spine and the elegant cabriole legs. Carving was used sparingly. A scallop shell was sometimes added to the seat rail and other designs were added to the knees of the chair legs. The chair arms differed also with the termination being scrolling, shepherd’s crook, lion’s head or eagle’s head designs.

With the curvilinear S-curve as the base in the many design elements, this style reached great sophistication in America. The Queen Anne style furniture and blanket chests crafted, then and now, are unique and dynamic in design.…

Making Wood Working Plans Work for You

Making wood working plans work for you is easy but it requires proper planning and thought put into it. Woodworking plans can be used by either a novice or an experienced carpenter. Woodworking plans can be used for a variety of woodworking projects such as building sheds, decks, log cabins, garages, greenhouses, furniture, etc.

All these various projects improve upon the property and increase its value, add additional room or storage space to be used for various purposes. The furniture is used for decorative purposes in or outside the house or other place. Although wood working is a skillful job, various wood working plans are available to anyone regardless of their woodworking experience, to make simple or complicated wood working pieces.

Wood working plans are available widely and a lot are available online for free or at a cheap price if they were created by an experienced wood worker. The availability of these woodworking plans to a non-skilled individual with the desire to accomplish various projects, make these the perfect gift for oneself or another.

They allow a non-skilled individual to make great pieces of furniture, sturdy storage or backyard sheds, carports, decks, dog houses, bird houses, etc. Wood working plans that have been prepared by experienced wood workers are extremely useful to those without the experience who desire to start and finish woodworking projects for non commercial purposes at a fraction of the cost that it would take to purchase the furniture or hire contractors.

When choosing woodworking plans the first thing to consider is the design of the plan. There are a multitude of plans available for a variety of wood working projects so no matter what project you are interested in, there is a wood working plan that you can use for guidance on your project.

The next thing to consider is the complexity of the woodworking plans and whether you will be able to follow the plan. If you are just starting getting into DIY woodworking plans, it will probably be easier to start with basic wood working plans and work your way up to more complex plans as you get more confident.

You need to consider whether you have the tools to get the projects accomplished. If you do not have the tools on hand, you can purchase them or borrow them from friends and family. You also need to consider the amount of time you are willing to invest in the project and be realistic.

For beginners or those who are not highly skilled, there are various simple but artistic woodworking plans that are easy to follow that are available.

The most important thing however, is to get your hands on good professionally drawn up plans. The quality of the plans makes all the difference on woodworking projects. They should ideally come with good illustrations and diagrams that are easy to follow.

Good wood working plans will come with a materials list, excellent descriptions and explanations to help you follow along with the woodworking plan of your choice. Paying attention to the measurements for each part of the woodworking plan is crucial. If the measurements are wrong, it will only lead to you wasting time and money.

There are various sources of plans such as books. There are also various e-books that are available online that are increasing in popularity and help you can the wood working project accomplished satisfactorily.

The internet is the best source by far. These e-books available online are popular because for a small price, you can get access to thousands of woodworking plans that you can store on your computer and print out as needed. You can also alternatively get a woodworking plan drawn up by a professional.

The woodworking plans are useful in various ways. They help you save money with the various woodworking diy projects available. Wood working plans are easily accessible and the cheap prices make them easily affordable to every one with an interest in woodworking projects.…