This very simple box with its hinged-top lid panels is ideal for storing items such as copier or computer paper, old job files and children’s artistic endeavours.
The box used here is 2.4 m long to suit the standard length of MDF board, but could be shorter. The completed box can be positioned under a window and finished off with cushions, or placed anywhere in your office or study, depending on layout, so that it doubles as a piece of furniture. (more…)
A deskmate is a mobile storage cabinet which is stored out of the way under a desk and rolled out when needed.
There is a number of different configurations ranging from simple storage of paper, envelopes and a few files you may be working on, to a deskmate which can store a printer on the top with the paper feeding from the shelf at the hack. (more…)
The cozy book-lined study of past generations is rapidly changing into the home office of today. Even if you just want a little office space for family records and financial matters — it pays to organise it properly to suit the job at hand.
Although a ‘study‘ conjures up a very different image from that of a ‘home office‘, it is used for the same activities: paperwork, reading, study, peace and quiet, household accounts, correspondence, and so on. A home office, however, suggests something more streamlined and modern (and possibly even profitable!). (more…)
9 The next task is to cut out the table top to the size 1218 mm x 598 mm. The width can be increased or decreased if desired, but the height must remain at 1218 mm to fit inside the cabinet, unless the shelf heights are also adjusted. Once the table top is cut out it is ready for laminating, which will bring the total size to 1220 mm x 600 mm.
10 The first surface to laminate will be the exposed side of the cupboard (you may find it easiest to have the cabinet laying on its opposite side for this). (more…)
A number of materials can be used for shelving. Our table on types of shelving provides a list of those in common use, with a suggested maximum span or bracket spacing for average loading.
For supporting heavy loads, sometimes called gallows brackets. Welded steel brackets for shelving up to 300 mm wide can be purchased ready-made, or they can be constructed from timber to suit shelving up to any reasonable width (say 600 mm). (more…)
Just because a piece of furniture looks old and shabby, it does not mean it has to stay this way or be discarded.
Old or antique furniture was usually made from quality timber and had a craftsman- like finish. Furniture makers of yesteryear had time to create well-designed pieces that were both functional and very stylish. These qualities alone make furniture recycling a worthwhile exercise. (more…)
Openings in houses may be voids, doors orwindows. Voids tend to be in areas where security is not a consideration, such as between rooms in an open-plan living area. Doors provide a means of access and security to the building. Windows, however, are designed to provide daylight and a means of ventilation. They should also provide a view, but still allow for privacy when required. (more…)
The toilet is hissing, spurting, gurgling and generally not sounding too health Maybe you’ve tried one of the following options to silence it — lifting, hitting, ignoring, or for those of you with a violent disposition — kicking! The latter became the most often tried remedy for us as we’ve been plagued by malfunctioning toilet for the best part of our independent lives. How silly, considering a pair of pliers and 5 minutes of fiddling would have solved the problempermanently, if only we’d known.
When you flush the toilet, it starts refilling wit water immediately so the next person who uses the toilet can follow suit. The toilet float-valve stops this flow of water as soon as the cistern is full. If the toilet float-valve does not work, the water keeps on running, driving youcrazy and wasting a lot of water. (more…)
If you want smart, unstereotyped accessories, consider using baskets, even if your decorating budget is limited. Take a look at the many places where you can use them to advantage.
Baskets can be made from the slimmest of twigs, from rushes, thin strips of wood, or any other flexible material woven together. They range in size from small serving pieces to enormous storage trunks. Depending on the shape and type of weave, baskets can go well in classic, country, or contemporary rooms. (more…)
A master suite may not contain every one of the elements that make it measure up to a heart’s desire, but if one is on the first planning, he can have a good number of them. The sleeping area (starting point) should have an adjacent sitting corner and a home office and hobby corner, both boons to daily happiness.
Highly desirable are separate bath and separate dressing rooms with his and hers storage places for seasonal properties like bedding and bath linens.
If one has all these, then a private balcony or patio, screened or planted against the public eye, is the next step to private affluence. The coordinating factor for all is color and pattern. (more…)
Where do you find a guest room? In most homes there is some area that can be converted to this special use. A remodeled and redecorated basement or attic may be your answer, may give extra living space as well. If you are planning a master-bedroom addition to the house, turn the old master bedroom into a spacious teen-ager’s room, let the smaller nursery be your guest room. Even an unused storage space in the basement or on an upper level will serve, if you make it cheerful through lavish use of light and color. Do try to locate it near an existing bath, or provide lavatory space. (more…)
Colour has the most profound influence on the atmosphere of any room, but with a vast array of papers, paints and fabrics to choose from it is a subject that can seem bewilderingly complex. Reaction to colour, combinations of colour, patterns and texture deeply affect the way we feel.
Some make us feel secure, others make us initially optimistic but pall after a short time.There seem to be innumerable variations with few set rules. Some people have a natural eye for the fine gradations of colour, others can barely detect the difference between yellow and ochre. (more…)
Beds are among the most important pieces of furniture you will buy—learn what you need to consider to make the best selection. When you shop for pillows, linens, and blankets, you will find items available for every budget and taste.
A sturdy cloth woven on the warp, the vertical threads, with ribs or cords. It is usually cotton or wool, but it is made in several other fabrics as well. The texture and weight of most Bedford cord fabrics make them suitable materials for draperies, slipcovers, and pillow covers. (more…)
Whatever the size of your home, you will want to make the most of the space. Your first priority therefore is to make an accurate floorplan. Without one, every decision you make will be based on guesswork, inevitably leading to a series of unsatisfactory compromises on both the design and technical aspects of the project. Even the mathematically challenged should be able, with the help of a friend holding the other end of the tape, to measure the length, breadth and height of the room. Draw a rough sketch showing the general shape of the room and enter the measurements on the sketch. Measure every architectural detail in the room — height and width of fireplace, alcove sizes, chair-rail height, the width and direction in which doors open — it’s often possible that just by re-hanging a door on the opposite side, 75cm/30in or more of wall space can be gained. (more…)
“The more you know, the less you need.” Old Australian Aborigine proverb
Animals, birds, and insects respond to a far greater range of natural stimuli than do people. Dolphins, whales, birds, butterflies, and many other creatures can all detect electromagnetic energy and use this “supersense” to navigate and guide them in their migratory routes. Beyond our visible spectrum, insects use ultraviolet to see food-bearing plants and snakes use infrared to detect their prey. Although our sensory awareness is not as acute as this, our own senses were once far sharper.
Our move indoors, out of the wild and into cities, coupled with the effects of pollution, have dulled our senses, as well as altered the emphasis we place on them. In a world beset with noise, unpleasant air, and bad smells, amid the dominance of visual information, TV, and advertising, we have come to rely heavily on sight and have pushed into the background sensory input from our ears or nose (let alone the subtler messages of electromagnetism to which we may also be sensitive). These “sensory blind spots” have had their effect on our homes. (more…)
Recently, workers in modern offices, public buildings, and schools have complained of recurrent symptoms, including headaches, fatigue and sleepiness, irritation to eyes and nose, dry throat, general loss of concentration, and nausea. Studies monitoring the indoor air of these environments have found a complex mix of pollutants — formaldehyde, radon, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and particulates such as tobacco smoke. But the symptoms are also thought to derive from factors such as fluorescent lighting, air that is too hot or dry, a build-up of positive ions, and a lack of individual control of the environment. This problem has been defined as environmental and is known as the “sick building syndrome”.
Increasingly, Western medicine is having to relate illness not to viruses and microbes but to environmental phenomena. These can be chemical (organic and inorganic substances); biological (bacteria, moulds, dust, and pollen); and physical (electromagnetic, light, temperature, and noise). (more…)
How you balance air quality and energy use will largely depend on climatic conditions. If you live where it is hot and humid, for example, or where it is cold for long periods and energy saving is paramount, you may have to choose mechanical systems that, ideally, incorporate heat-recovery features. In newly built Scandinavian and North American low-energy houses it is now the norm to have integral whole-house mechanical ventilation.
In more temperate climates, where houses are less tightly sealed, you should aim to continue to rely on passive ventilation. Such a system uses the “stack effect” principle, where, due to differences in inside and outside temperatures and pressures, and the height of the stack itself, fresh air is drawn through the house. (more…)
The evolution of the human race and all other living things on the planet has occurred only because of the continuous radiation of the sun. Over the millennia, we have become attuned and adapted to its daily and seasonal cycles; our bodies’ circadian rhythms and inner biological clocks are timed to follow these cycles of light and dark. We wake with the morning light, are most active while the sun is high in the sky and the light brightest, and rest and sleep as day slips into dusk and then night.
Other patterns linked to levels of sunlight can also be discerned: we tend to be sluggish and depressed during short, grey winter days and more energetic and generally happier in the long, bright days of summer. After all, winter sunlight in temperate latitudes is only about one-tenth its summer intensity. Significant changes occur in our hormone patterns due to these seasonal cycles that affect our endocrine glands. The hormone melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland in the brain during darkness or dim light, causes sleepiness, but its overproduction is an indicator of a medical condition known as seasonal depression. (more…)
Due to the environment many of us live in, the sense of smell is becoming increasingly less important. The full capacities of this once vital sense are being subconsciously subordinated to the other senses of hearing and seeing. In other species the sense of smell is much more highly developed as, indeed, it is in those human societies today that remain in close contact with nature and depend on this sense, in conjunction with all the others, for day-to-day survival.
Your nose is an extremely sensitive sensory organ and your sense of smell is many thousands of times more acute than your sense of taste. Because of this, you, like everybody else, have probably experienced a sudden and vivid association evoked by a particular smell, perhaps reminding you of a person, place, or event often from long ago and until that moment quite forgotten.
But air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, dulls and damages the sense of smell. By reacting badly to an unpleasant smell your body is warning you that you should not be breathing that air. But if you have no choice, as many of us don’t, then the warning goes unheeded. But you do pay a price. (more…)
Of all radiation from the sun, the ultraviolet (UV) end of the electromagnetic spectrum has the most significant effects on your health. At low levels of exposure it can be beneficial, but exposure to high levels for long periods can result in premature aging of the skin, melanoma, and eye damage. But there is no real agreement among medical experts on where to draw the line between healthy and hazardous exposure to UV radiation, mainly because so much depends on the type of skin you have (light or dark), climate, altitude, the amount of time you spend in the sun, and your age (children being more susceptible).
One thing researchers are agreed on, however, is that the depletion of the ozone layer, which shields the planet from the worst effects of UV, will allow more of the highest-energy radiation (UV-C) to penetrate. Thus, both moderation and proper protection are thought to be even more essential than ever before. (more…)
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