Romancing the scenic surrounds

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Vinita and Sid interiors culls out a hill-top home in Vizag that will stand the test of time, both design-wise and beauty-wise
When one has a sprawling space on a hilly terrain with a 3600 view of sea and hills, one aspires to maximise ones outward-looking home to the tee. Vinita and Sid interiors have accomplished just that for their client Mr. K. V. Prasad at the 10,000 sq. ft. Rushikonda residence at Vizag, Vishkhapatnam. Situated along the eastern Ghats, the residence overlooks the Bay of Bengal; and the designers have taken every possible opportunity to enhance the breathtaking views of the Bay, while offering the resident couple an extremely functional home.

The sprawling villa boasts a custom-built kitchen, master and guest suites, media room and lounges, all outward-looking, encompassing the panoramic views of the surrounds, whilst maintaining an intimate and relaxed environment within. Planning turned out to be a major challenge, say the mother-son designer-duo, as each of the three levels had to be chalked out individually, following the natural topography of the site and keeping the theme as close to nature as possible.

The resultant plan has three split-levels of landscaped sit outs, carefully designed to offer gorgeous panoramic views of the surrounds, while allowing nature to blend in with the interiors through large openings at each level, also allowing natural light and breeze into the home.

Proximity to the sea also meant a discretionary selection of materials and finishes that would endure strong sea breezes and high levels of humidity. This especially applied to the use of electronics, since it is a contemporary home with all amenities and the wide glazed spans of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Consequently, the house exhibits a juxtaposition of modern materials and finishes against the backdrop of warm natural elements, bringing the spaces close to nature, offering the residents a practical and low maintenance abode. Leaves carved on doors, thatched roof gazebos, a natural tree root adorning the two-floor stairwell as well as art and patterns inspired by nature all offer an underlying organic and natural feel to the modern spaces that seamlessly flow into each other.

A natural material palette of marble and wood flooring, teak wood furniture - suede, velvet and veneer clad, interspersed with statement pieces along with a subtle colour palette of warm beige, white and cream hues and tints, in an uncluttered ambience reinstate the natural language in a modern setting. Each space and corner is unique in its conception and design, from the light and airy master suite to an earthier guest suite, or the dining adorned with intricate pieces to an open and clutter-free living room, while easy to maintain, high quality fittings and fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchen render them practical.

Rushikonda truly is a blend of natural contemporary spaces, reflecting the very unique personalities of its residents, offering them a home by the sea, upon the hills, close to nature that will stand the test of time. check out the visuals on indiaartndesign.com

Plantation Windows

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What are Plantation Shutters?

Plantation shutters are an elegant window covering made of two or more framed panels of fixed louvers. The louvers within the frame are moved by a rod that is attached on the outside of the louvers. When homeowners want to open or close the louvers, they move the rod up or down. With plantation shutters, homeowners can choose how much light they want to let in and in what direction by angling the louvers. If homeowners want to enjoy the full view of their window, they can pull back the panel of louvers, exposing the entire window.

What are the Advantages of Plantation Shutters?

Many homeowners choose plantation shutters for a variety of reasons. One main reason is that they like how the shutters give their home a refined appearance. Another benefit is the ability to control the lighting of a room. Homeowners can adjust the louvers to allow as much or as little light as they prefer. Unlike blinds or curtains, shutters do not have gaps for light to enter when shut and they also help to block external noise. In addition, homeowners choose shutters because they require minimal maintenance with a simple dusting.

What are the Disadvantages of Plantation Shutters?

Shutters can sometimes be initially more costly than other window treatments. However, they are worth the long term investment because they are more durable, lasting longer than blinds or curtains. Plantation Shutters also add to the resale value of a home and can be custom built to fit unusually shaped windows and arches usually at little additional cost.

What Styles Do Plantation Shutters Come In?

The style of the plantation shutters is affected by the following factors: louver width, size of the shutter, and color. A homeowner looking for a classic look should consider shutters with narrow-width louvers while homeowners who want a more modern look should choose shutters with wider louvers. Other than louver width, the color of the shutters is also important. Shutters now come in a variety of colors including white, black, grey, grey green, beige, oak, or cherry. The more popular colors tend to be white and oak because homeowners can easily coordinate the design and color scheme of their rooms around these colors.

Lastly, the size of the shutter can influence the appearance of the shutter. Most homeowners choose panels that completely fill the window space. Other homeowners choose to have shutters that only go up half the height of the window. These shorter shutters are often seen on smaller windows or kitchen windows. They make the windows look like that of a European caf. With all these options, homeowners can shape the look of their shutters however they wish.

Personalize Your Space with Decorative Picture Frames

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Most people pay little attention to the frame that surrounds a picture, dismissing it as simply a convenient way to hang the piece from a wall. However, frames have been around almost as long as art and, over the years, have become appreciated as something more than the finishing touch that adds dramatic flair to the pictures they enclose.

There is a wide variety of decorative picture frames available, whether you choose to shop for them at the local mall or have a custom frame designed specifically for a particular piece of art. Brightly-colored, ready-made frames can proclaim Its a boy! while providing a spot to show off the newest addition to the family. Others are designed to look like everything from the family car to a favorite pet with slots for the pictures you want to display.

If your budget will allow you to spend a little more on the frame for a particular piece, there are styles that reflect the elegance of bygone eras while others add dramatic flair to the art you want to showcase in your home. It pays to shop around and look at different types of decorative picture frames before you decide which ones are right for you. There are Internet sites where you can download a copy of the art you want to frame, and then see how it looks in a range of styles. This free feature can be especially valuable if youre just starting to decorate or are considering renovations to your home.

Sometimes, homeowners prefer a unified look, adding the same type of frame to the art that decorates every room, while others choose different styles that reflect the taste of individual family members. While it may not seem at first as important as where youre going to place that new sofa, decorative picture frames can add or subtract much from the overall style of a room.When hanging pictures, remember that some pieces are best shown individually, while others are more effectively displayed as a group. When grouping pieces of art together, it isnt always necessary to select the same frame for every picture. While the decorative picture frames dont necessarily have to match each other, however, they should relate to at least some of the furnishings in a room. If your tastes run toward country or more traditional furnishings, it is often advisable to look at wood frames first. If you enjoy modern or eclectic dcor, then the clean lines of metal will probably work best.

Some people enjoy using just frames to decorate their living space. A variety of gilt-edged, ornate frames, interspersed with different colors or textures of contemporary styles, can sometimes create an interesting accent in a room. It can also be an inexpensive decorating choice because unique finds often turn up at flea markets and garage sales.

The history of decorative picture frames can be traced back centuries to the early years of the Christian church. While a type of border or frame appeared around art about 3,000 years ago, the church first used the type of frame we are more familiar with to define religious art. The heavy, jeweled-encrusted frames sometimes were as elaborate as the colorful images they enclosed.

Kitchen Renovation The Biggest Mistakes To Avoid

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A properly executed kitchen renovation is guaranteed to add value to your home, especially if you intend to sell. It's also sure to enrich your living experience, if you're doing it simply to improve your living standards.

However, it can all go very wrong, which is quite painful, especially considering that an average kitchen renovation would cost about $19,123 (based on data from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) 2013/14 report). Therefore, you must avoid committing these major renovation mistakes:

1. Neglecting The Rest Of The House

If you intend to only renovate the kitchen, you should be sure that the rest of the house will match up to this new look. If not, you'll simply end up with a big contrast that will make your beautiful cooking area look completely out of place in a dull-looking house. Apart from ruining your personal experience in the home, such a renovation is not likely to substantially increase the value of your home.

To avoid such a calamity, make sure that any remodeling you intend to perform in the kitchen, or any other room, is complemented by the overall look of the house. You just might have to upgrade other areas of the house to achieve this.

2. Spending Too Much Or Too Little

Most people who focus on the cost of a remodeling project are missing the main purpose of renovating. Each home owner must set clear goals for any renovation project - not just trying to get the best price. Such goals may include: increased energy efficiency, greater durability, and aesthetic appeal, among many others. Obviously, the cost of renovation will vary depending on varied forms of renovation required to achieve different objectives.

If your main concern is energy efficiency, you're sure to focus more attention on energy efficient appliances (appliances account for 31% of residential energy use in Australia, based on a 2008 report by the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA)). Such a renovation project is likely to cost so much more than a simple improvement on the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen.

Moreover, trying to cut costs on an energy efficiency upgrade will be counterproductive. On the other hand, you wouldn't want to spend too much on improving the look of your cooking area.

3. Remodeling For The Past

When you decide to undertake a renovation project, what aspects do you consider? Do you think of the inconvenience a particular layout has been creating and how much you've always wished to change it? If you have, then you're probably remodeling for the past, rather than the future.

You may end up changing something that you found irksome in the past, only to find out much later that there actually was some use to it. To avoid regretting any changes you make in your house, you should consider how your lifestyle is likely to change in the future.

For instance, you may currently live alone with very few guests in your house, but that might soon change if you get more friends visiting regularly. Alternatively, a married couple should seriously consider any changes they intend to make, since they might have children in the near future, who won't spare any precariously positioned fixtures in the kitchen.

How to lay out a kitchen

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Your kitchen is one place you will probably spend a good deal of your time, particularly if you like to cook. Kitchens need to be practical and easy to keep clean and tidy. Plenty of cupboard space is vital so that everything can be stowed away when not in use. Of course you may be limited in what you can do with your kitchen due to size, dimensions and where the service points are. Do not let this put you off as there is plenty you can do even with a small kitchen.

Small Kitchens

With a small kitchen, you can have wall mounted cupboards as well as under counter cupboards, drawers and shelves. It is entirely up to you which style of cupboards you have and there are many to choose from. Your budget will play a part here, but there is no reason not to have a style that you like. Your sink and cooker will probably be fairly set in where they can go, so everything else will fit round them.

Large Kitchens

A large kitchen gives you a lot more to play with and you can really have fun planning where everything will go. As with the small kitchen, your sink and cooker will probably be in place and you just work round them.

Flooring is an area that should not be neglected. Choose a suitable type of flooring which will be easy to keep clean but that is not slippery. You can buy special carpeting for kitchens for those who prefer a carpet. Kitchen floor tiles are very easy to keep and are very practical, however, they are very unforgiving if you drop breakables on them. Linoleum is a good alternative to tiles and there is a cushioned underlay that helps retain heat if you have a stone or concrete floor. It is also easy to keep clean, so for those of you with busy family lives and pets, a washable floor is essential.

Kitchen Planning

When planning your kitchen, draw up the proposed layout on paper so that you can see where things are going to be positioned. This will allow you to get an idea of what the finished kitchen will look like and will give you the opportunity to change things before you buy your cupboards. Make sure you have enough worktop space so that when you are preparing and cooking food, you have enough space to actually do your cooking and preparation. Try to ensure that there are enough cupboards to stow things away. There is nothing worse than trying to prepare a meal in a cluttered kitchen.

Planning a practical kitchen takes time and effort, but you can be sure that at the end of it you will have a great kitchen that you will enjoy using and being in. Think carefully about how you can make the most of the space you have available when you are considering the layout. Take time to plan, that is the key to your success.

Getting The Best From Small Kitchens

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Cooking these days is not the same as when we were youngsters, with the meat and three vegetable dinners each night. This is largely due to the cuisines that have been introduced into our country, and the modern willingness to experiment with new foods. Numerous cooking shows on television have also put the kitchen into a higher bracket of popularity and modern designs have actually put many of them into the limelight. Preparing, cooking and serving meals have now become an art form instead of a chore and a great kitchen is a bonus.

Kitchens Brisbane have advanced a long way over time, and have places for everything, with easy to access pull out shelving, swivel stands for corner cupboards also allowing ease of access and making them a place you dont mind having to work in. Of course a large airy kitchen is a joy, with all the right appliances, ample bench space and plenty of storage for everything. But unfortunately, all kitchens are not the same in area, and modifications must be made in order to accommodate them. However this does not mean the kitchen is not adequate; it just means adapting areas to make space more available.

One way of making a room appear more spacious is using white paint on the walls instead of darker colors which close in a room. Putting brackets on the wall in the cooking area to hang egg flips, slotted spoons and ladles etc, will save on drawer space, and magnetic brackets which hold knife sets for cooking are also a good idea for the same area. An island bench in the middle of the kitchen is great where bench space is limited, and by making the bench top wider on one side, this will enable a stool or two to go underneath. Great for sitting and chopping food, or just checking out recipes! Have one end of the bench made into shelves to hold your recipe books, and storage for food preparation utensils and bowls, or perhaps appliances. This can all be included in your kitchen design Brisbane at the planning stage.

If space allows it, a closed in mobile tray that can be used for storing crockery and cutlery for the dining table inside, and beverages or other items on top, is a very useful idea for making the most of a small kitchen, and it can be rolled back in place when not in use. Mug trees dont take up much room on the bench and save extra cupboard space. These are just a few ideas for smaller kitchens.

Get Organized 3 Barriers Keeping You From Being Organized

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One of the most important tips and strategies for maintaining organization involves setting up a system that is user-friendly. It needs to be convenient. If it is too difficult to do or if it demands too many steps, you will not do it.

3 Barriers Keeping You from Being Organized

1) Inconvenience of locating files.
I would venture to guess that within the multitude of papers on your kitchen counter, a chunk of them just needs to be filed. You probably looked at each piece of paper and did the put it in a pile to file later move.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You open the mail and deal with the paperwork in the kitchen, but have your filing cabinet in the home office down the hallway, upstairs or in the basement. If this is the case, filing is not convenient for you.

Your solution involves one of two options. You can either move your paperwork processing close to your file cabinet or you can create a file system in your kitchen.

2) Closed containers or boxes.
Storing items in closed containers or boxes does appear tidier. But if your items only make it to the top of the container or box lid and do not get put away inside of the container, you have defeated your purpose.

Why dont you just put the items in the container or box? It comes down to convenience. Many times it is too many steps to do so. In some instances it may includeunlocking the lid, lifting it off, putting the item inside, closing the lid, and latching the lid. That is five steps.

Your solution comes down to something very simpleremove the lid. Now you can just drop your item in. That is one step versus five steps. Which would you rather do?

3) Failure to create a home for all things.
I know you agree that if you put all things away where they belong you will be able to find what you need when you need it. However, if you do not have a designated home for something, you find it easier to drop it on the counter or shove it in the closet.

How can you make sure things have a home and get put away? Simply said, you will need to get over the discomfort and inconvenience of making a decision. Clutter is simply the failure to make a decision. Discipline yourself to make a decision and act upon it. Focus on your self-talk and be sure to cheer yourself on.