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  • Tips, Tricks and Gadgets for the Perfect Hi Tech Garden

    Tips, Tricks and Gadgets for the Perfect Hi Tech Garden

    When it comes to designing your home, hi tech gadgets are probably a top priority. However, when it comes to your lawn and garden, you probably never realized there is technology that can make your lawn greener, your flowers more vibrant and your veggies, well – veggies, all the year round. Here are a few tips, tricks and gadgets you probably never thought about that will help you have the ultimate hi tech lawn and garden.

    Gardening Apps for Your Smartphone

    While an app called A Gardener’s Handbook: Volume 1 is available for free (Android) in the Google Play Store, there are probably a dozen or more such apps that will help you figure out why a pepper is growing on your tomato plant or your greens are actually more yellow than green. If you are looking to cure your lawn of chinch bugs, there is a solution and technology is here to help you find it NOW, not after your lawn is fodder for every pest in the neighborhood.

    Garden Cams or Simple Wireless Security Cams

    How many times have you woken up in the morning only to find that bites have been taken off all your greens and every single strawberry has been eaten off your plants? Wouldn’t you like to know what is happening so that you can rid your garden of these pests?

    If so, you can get a garden cam for right around $200 on Amazon or use a remote web cam to keep an eye on your garden throughout the night. Simply set to record on time lapse and you’ll probably catch those little critters in the act. After all, you can’t rid your garden of a pest if you don’t know what it is, right?

    Did You Know You Can Control Brother Sun?

    One of the biggest problems for those growing in greenhouses is that there are plants that thrive on a specific amount of sunlight during the day. Sometimes the days are too long for a plant to go into a flowering stage where the ‘fruit’ will be produced so even farmers with greenhouses need to wait for a 12/12 (or less) cycle of light to darkness.

    Some gardeners make it their daily duty to completely cover the greenhouse with a light deprivation fabric but you can also buy an amazingly innovative automatic light deprivation greenhouse that automates everything for you based on controls you have set. In other words, you can control it to darken your greenhouse for 14 hours of the day, letting sunlight shine through for only 10 if that is what is ideally suited for your crops. And the best news yet? You set the controls once and let the greenhouse worry about the rest! (Unless there is a power outage or surge that is!)

    It’s a No Brainer!

    Then there are the hobbyist gardeners who know absolutely nothing – or very little at best – about what kinds of plants do well in their region. Some will try to grow tropical plants in the far northern regions of the country while others will try to grow plants that require a winter dormant season in South Florida.

    Others still will space their plants incorrectly or water them too infrequently for their needs and all of this could have been avoided with a neat iPad app called Garden Plan Pro that offers advice on everything from spacing plants to what kinds of plants do best in your region to checking the weather before you begin preparing your garden bed (or lawn). Why a no brainer? Because you can know relatively little and Garden Plan Pro along with iPad will fill in all the blanks for you so that you can literally have the best lawn and garden in town – and without a single original thought!

    And Now You Can Say a Special Thanks to the Techies Who Made It All Possible!

    These are just a few of the tips, tricks and hi tech gadgets that will have you gardening like a pro in no time at all. From auto daylight-sensing grow lights and light deprivation greenhouses, to gadgets that tell you the ground is too moist or too dry, there is something technology has to offer that will tell you what you need to do, and how.

    All this is possible because of technology and if there isn’t already a solution, don’t panic, some techie somewhere is already working on it! Perhaps the only thing not available is a robot to do the actual labor for you, but then again, those are probably in prototype as well!

  • Ideas for choosing Dining Room Chairs

    Ideas for choosing Dining Room Chairs

    Our dining room is more than just a place for food and family. It is a good opportunity to show our good taste, and the interior decoration competence.

    Image by kirkandmimi from Pixabay

    Just like we put our personality into decorating our living room or bedroom we need to put the same into the design of our dining room.

    Choosing the best wooden dining chairs for room is just as important as choosing the best tables. If when you choose the tables you consider aspects related more to style and aesthetics, the intervening elements in case of the chairs are influenced by comfort and body position.

    Image by Solomon Rodgers from Pixabay

    Before you buy new chairs, you should know with certainty their destination, because they differ among themselves: kitchen chairs, bar stools, dining room chairs and so on.  It is advisable to respect these markers and use the chairs for their intended use for your maximum comfort. The dining room chairs have the seat and the back higher than the kitchen chairs and the height lower than the bar stools. In general, the chairs for dining room are more stylish or have more decorative elements than the kitchen chairs.

    Although many people see the dining room chairs as accessories, they are very important furniture pieces and that’s why you have to pay attention to some important aspects when you want to acquire new chairs.

    Image by Jean-Paul Jandrain from Pixabay

    The dining room chairs must be comfortable with cozy seat and backrest, with matching sizes and assorted with the room decor. Besides the color, trim and ornaments that relate more to the aesthetic appearance, you need to take into consideration also the quality and comfort of the chairs. The materials used, the dimensions of the seat and backrest are essential criteria when you want to choose the best dining room chairs.

    How to choose the best dining room chairs

    The frame of a chair it is very important because it influences the resistance to the use, to weight and durability over time. The frame of a chair must be made of good quality and strong materials, using joining techniques that offer resistance and security.

    The dimensions of the chairs are also very important. The height from the ground for the dining room chairs must be chosen depending on the height of the table, personal preferences, and family constitution. Seat width varies from one model to another, the larger width is more comfortable and can be used with ease by full-bodied people also. The backrest height is generally determined depending on personal preference, but for the dining room chairs, is recommended taller backs.

    The Materials used for the chairs, whether they are full dressed or only the seat or the backrest, they must be of good quality for a better resistance, especially to friction. Depending on the adopted style in the room, you can choose fabric or Quality Leather Dining Chairs. An important aspect that you must have in mind when choosing the materials, is the ease with which it can be cleaned and maintained, and also if it needs special cleaning or care.

    The shape of the chairs must be chosen depending on the underlying table, the adopted style in the dining room and personal preferences.

    Most chairs for dining room have the classic form made from single-material, square seating and high backs, but there are chairs that combine several elements and materials and with various shapes such as oval chairs, triangular backrest, and oval or tripod legs.

    It is better to choose chairs that are in harmony with the table and with the entire room to create a pleasant appearance.

    The price is the equivalent of paying for quality, durability and the technology of a product.  We recommend you to orient yourself to quality products, made from resistant materials, produced by manufacturers with tradition, although maybe you will pay a higher price, in time you’ll see that the investment was made wise.

  • 10 pampering accessories every bathroom needs

    10 pampering accessories every bathroom needs

    Whether you want to indulge in a weekly pampering session, or you’re always on the go and want to make every second of luxury count, here are just 10 items to keep in your bathroom that will make every pit-stop feel like you’re staying in a top-flight hotel.

    1. Bath bombs and crystals

    These pampering essentials are a must-have for people who love to soak away their worries. Bath bombs will fizz and pop in the water as every colour of the rainbow, every scent you can imagine, and even glitter explode out of it. If you want the scent without the fuss though, opt for crystals.

    1. Body scrubs

    Used to exfoliate the skin, take away dead cells and leave you feeling silky-smooth to the touch, body scrubs come in all shapes and smells. You can even make your own at home if you’d like to keep things organic.

    1. Spa oils

    After you’ve gotten out of the tub and you want to lock in the moisture, opt for an all-over body oil, and a separate facial oil for more delicate skin. It will help keep the skin supple, and aid repair over night.

    1. Candles

    Whether it’s the scent you love or the soft mood lighting of these around the bath, candles can help you to relax all of your senses after even the most stressful day. During the winter season, choose the smell of festive wreaths or Christmas cookies to send you off to sleep, while beach scents are ideal for summer.

    1. Reed diffusers

    If you’d like to drift off to sleep knowing you won’t burn down your bathroom, you can always get the scent without the candle itself in the form of a reed diffuser.

    1. Reading material

    Having a collection of magazines or books close by will entice you to make the most of your time in the bathroom. It’s also ideal for forcing yourself to put down the smartphone and give your eyes a rest from a screen.

    1. Matching towels

    No hotel suite would be complete without some plush, matching towels. Pick some up that complement the décor, and remember to check the thickness which is a good indication of quality. You can also pick up some stylish heated towel rails (such as here) so that you’re always toasty.

    1. A vanity mirror

    For those of you who have the space for a seating area in your bathroom, turn it into your own mini dressing table by adding a vanity mirror. Applying make-up has never been such a treat.

    1. Manicure kit

    Always keep a compact manicure kit nearby for a quick pampering top-up; crystal nail files give a much cleaner finish and last many years longer than regular ones.

    1. Luxury soaps

    You don’t have to spend a couple of hours in your bathroom to enjoy a pampering session; keep matching sets of luxury hand soaps, lotions and moisturisers by the sink, for every guest to enjoy.

    What are your pampering essentials?

  • Designing The Perfect house

    Designing The Perfect house

    We spend more time in our homes than in any other spaces. Our home ideally offers a safe, relaxed environment in which to relax, communicate, be entertained or learn.

    We all want to live in our dream house, making sure we have the space to enjoy our lifestyle and feel like home. The perfect house is designed for our needs that we have at the different stages of our lives. The smartest design is flexible enough to be adapted over the years when we are designing our house to fits our particular life stages but also our house has to be built well and to require minimal intervention over time. Any subsequent intervention of building in need of repairing something done badly means a loss of money and extra stress.

    The Reserve Residences is a brand new concept design by Far East Organization that is located at Beauty World MRT Station. This concept tender features brand new modern designs for the cosmopolitan individual that includes smart home features by Far East as well as green features including solar panels to cater to the sustainability of the environment around Bukit Timah. The Reserve Residences is the first concept tender by URA to include these unique design features for the perfect house.

    There are various techniques if we want to create the perfect house for our family, and some have become de rigueur in recent years.

    Building a new house is always one of the biggest projects of our lifetime, which is why we need to be sure we select the right house plan for our needs, lifestyle, and budget.
    While there is plenty of help and advice found on the self-build portal, future owners must take into account many aspects such as:

    Future owners must take into account many aspects such as:

    • Design – the most important criterion in choosing a design firm should be a portfolio. The correct design of a house in terms of functional and cost optimization starts with the plan.
    • The team of builders. The selection of well-prepared construction companies that does not increase costs by requiring repairing errors or using quality materials is essential.
    • The resistance structure. Getting to facing with structural defects is not only costly but also stressful. That’s why structural defects insurance helps to protect a house-building project from unsuspecting problems. A structural defects insurance is very important because the structural defects in a new house can take time to become apparent. For more information and for expert advice in construction insurance go to CRL website and find out all about it.
    • Installations. Choosing quality materials for installations is also important because they remain hidden and are difficult to be repaired later.
    • The finishes. Choosing of adhesives and quality polishing plaster coats it is also an important aspect to keep in mind.
    • The construction area it is also among the most important aspects to consider when building a house. The landscape matters a lot and building your house on a hill has a different requirements and design challenges than building on a flat ground.

    Designing your house can be a wonderful milestone in your life, so take your time to ensure the house plans reflect the home of your dreams. Identify your needs, wants and limitations and work with professionals to design the house that fits your lifestyle. Taking into account the aforementioned tips can take you from the very first stage of organizing your thoughts to the final stage of realizing your dream home.

    Don’t forget to consider your very own pool!

  • Perfect Place For Your Home Office

    Perfect Place For Your Home Office

    Educational institutions are not the only place you’ll find a fun & inspiring atmosphere, sometimes you can find it in places you’d least expect it, like a home office!

    Our client based in San Mateo, was in search for a home interior designer who could transform their room into an office space to tutor students in the evenings. In order to better enhance their learning experience, we value the importance of creating an enjoyable atmosphere for kids, so we couldn’t wait to take on this project!

    After a long day of school it can be tiring to have to attend tutoring, so our aim was to incorporate uplifting colors to create an empowering space for kids to feel positive & motivated in.

    Although we had a small budget we used our resources effectively & decided to keep the walls off white & add in pops of color that livened up the interior office & maintained a well balanced space.

    To perk up the room we used a beautiful velvet teal arm chair with a neutral colored pillow, a fun multicolored patterned pillow for the desk chair, an abstract rug that contained colors that complimented the wall & decorative accessories in the room, & teal patterned wallpaper. Overall it was a fun project & our clients loved the outcome!

    We used the following resources to decorate their beautiful space: Wayfair – Modern Look – Cp2.

  • Taulia, Best Creative Design Ideas

    Taulia, Best Creative Design Ideas

    In the heart of San Francisco resides Taulia, a financial supply chain that strives to create innovative strategies in order for external companies to produce huge savings.

    They were in search for a commercial interior designer that could bring about attractive, fun, & contemporary elements to their work area in order build the ambiance of their office space, & enhance work performance.

    Their business purpose in general gave us a lot creative design ideas to work with as they dealt with a lot high end brands, as well as international clients, & had locations globally.
    Our goal was to transform this vacant industrial space & provide it with a mid century contemporary vibe that was inviting to employees & visitors alike.

    For the lounge area we used bold neutral color wall paint with pops of colorful furnishings such as sofas, pillows, innovative center tables/pieces.

    Each room ranging from the conference rooms, work area, reception area, & lounge area had themes complimented by a collection of various furnishings to highlight the space.

    We used international post stamps, abstract art work, patterned theme wallpaper, & unique wall art that contained positive words & locations all over the world to create an entertaining environment that tied back to Taulia’s main function. The project turned out to be a delight & fun space for everyone to work in.

  • Add a touch of glamour to your boudoir

    Add a touch of glamour to your boudoir

    If you were to create a wish list for your ideal boudoir space, what would be included? Perhaps a large, walk-in closet? A luxurious en suite bath with a soaker tub? Or maybe your dream would be to have a separate dressing room space, with space to display your wardrobe, comfortable seating, great lighting, and all of the personal touches that make the space truly yours? If that’s the case, you’re going to need to accessorize your space properly.

    Expert Beauty Tips

    One of the biggest reasons most women want a dressing room is so they have a place to apply their makeup. Instead of simply dedicating a drawer in the bathroom to storing your makeup essentials, a dressing room can give you a dedicated space to store and display your cosmetics, clothes, shoes, handbags, etc. When it comes to creating a spot to apply your makeup, there are a few thing you’re going to need.

    Amazing lighting

    As any beauty lover knows, great lighting is imperative to any well-appointed beauty room. Natural light is great, but it’s not enough. You’ll need to have more intense lighting to get true-to-life colours for your makeup.

    Comfortable seating

    No one can do their best makeup application work while standing. More than that, makeup is about taking some time to oneself, time to relax and pamper yourself a little. To do that, you’ll need some comfortable seating for your vanity. This can be a chair, a stool, a bench, or any other type of seating that suits you best. The important thing is that it is comfortable, well-scaled to the room, and easy to clean in case of those inevitable makeup mishaps.

    A great mirror

    Another must for any beauty space is a great mirror. Two, in fact. In addition to a vanity mirror with lights around it say that women should have a tabletop vanity mirror with magnification. The larger vanity mirror is for general makeup application and for getting a full view of one’s overall look. The vanity mirror, on the other hand, is for close-up detail work, such as tweezing brows, applying mascara or eyeliner, or other more delicate types of cosmetic work.

    Lots of storage

    Finally, a great beauty room should have lots of storage. If you love makeup, you probably have a lot of it, and don’t plan on diminishing your collection any time soon. You will want some storage that not only keeps your makeup organized and clean, but that also allows you to display some of your prettier packages and to keep your most-used items close to hand.

    Are you thinking about creating a beauty room in your home? If you’re lucky enough to have the space for it, go for it! It’s a luxury many people can’t afford, but if you can, a beauty room can be a way to bring a little touch of Hollywood into your every day life.

  • How to recycle yard waste

    How to recycle yard waste

    “If you did not keep your yard in reasonable order, then your whole life would be similarly untidy. A messy yard told Mma Ramotswe everything she needed to know about its owner.”

    ― Alexander McCall Smith, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine

    A man is generally known by the company he keeps, why then should the cleanliness of his yard matter? Should it?

    If someone visits you for the first time, and they have to walk across a messy yard before reaching your living room, they might not have a great impression about your approach towards life. No matter if you serve them with a cup of kopi luwak, a bad first impression is not so easy to cover up. But it’s not all about impressing people, is it? Cleanliness is a practice not a project.

    But even the ones who keep houses clean end up procrastinating cleaning their yards. We figured, it’s because people don’t know where to start. Don’t worry about that, we are here to inspire you.

    Our yards need a lot of maintenance which generally results in production of waste. It could be anything ranging from tree trimmings, leaves, weeds to grass clippings. If you are able to recycle this waste, it helps in saving landfill space across the country.

    Let us understand how and why you should recycle yard waste:

    Why?

    On one hand, you’ll save a lot of landfill space, as yard waste can be termed as green waste. Green waste is anything that is biodegradable. Such waste can be turned into rich organic material rather than landfilling it. On other hand, you are helping to keep our planet from global warming, When the yard waste decomposes in the absence of oxygen, it creates pollution. By recycling it, you are saving the environment from the harmful effects of greenhouse gases coming out of it.

    Recycling Yard waste

    Compost at Home

    There are various DIY methods to create compost at home. To form a good one, you will need equal amounts of green and brown waste and sufficient moisture. Dead leaves and twigs are the brown waste; grass clippings and vegetable waste is the green waste. This compost can then be added to the soil and it will help the plants to grow.

    Hire a professional green waste removal service

    If you do not want to recycle it on your own, you can get a professional green waste removal service which provides recycling options. They will come to your place to collect the yard waste and put it to proper use. Make sure to find out what is taken as green waste and what can’t be included. For example: you must not mix dirt and rocks with the yard waste as they won’t compost.

    Go a step ahead, reuse!

    Recycling is beneficial but even better approach is reuse. Instead of throwing away your yard waste or making a compost and recycling it, you can do the following:

    ● You can spread the grass trimmings over the grass instead of throwing it away. The trimmings decompose and provide nutrients to the soil.

    ● Grass cuttings and dried leaves can be used as mulch. Spreading the mulch around the base of the plants help them regulate temperature and also provide them nutrients.

    Conclusion

    Yard waste should find its way back to the environment without harming it. The best way to do so it to recycle or reuse it. If you wish to recycle it on your own, there are various ways you can do it. If you want tutorials on how to do the same, you can find them online and try it at your home. If it is inconvenient for you, go ahead and hire a paid service.