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…)
Flexibility is the key to successful storage in double-duty rooms and multipurpose areas. This need not result in makeshift mayhem. These stylish space-savers have been designed to make the most of in-between areas.
There are so many ways to keep things in order and easily accessible — be inventive and resourceful with every little space you have.
One area which needs to be flexible is the hallway, and as this is where visitors gain their first impressions, it is logical to give thought to its design and fittings. If possible, there should be at least one chair and a table large enough to take parcels, letters, magazines, a telephone, message pads and directories. (more…)
The living room is usually the room most on show to visitors — it is, in many ways, your indoor home entertainment area. Make your storage system visually appealing, easily accessible and compatible with your lifestyle.
Your furniture and especially your storage units should be as visually appealing as possible, yet still comfortable and user-friendly.
To establish your storage needs, consider who will be using the room and what its main function will be. Do you want permanently fixed storage or do you want to rearrange the room from time to time? Is there a natural focus in the room? Could a collection of objects or a large piece of furniture — such as a bookcase, cabinet or wall unit — be incorporated to display a prized collection? Is the living area mainly a family room? (more…)
Shelve it, stack it, stow it, store it! Shelving is one of the easiest and most versatile ways of dealing with domestic clutter. Place items on view or design a system to hide them away.
Good storage, as much as having good installations to handle it, is a state of mind and relates to a very human desire to put things away or hoard. Before choosing a suitable storage system for your lifestyle, there are a couple of points you should consider.
Do you want to conceal things or display them? Most household items are well hidden away in cupboards and nooks, whereas some items, like collectables or ornaments, are possessions you would like to see. (more…)
Comfort is the keynote in bedroom planning, not only for the average eight hours of rest each day, but for the entire 24 hours. The bedroom should have an atmosphere that is conducive to reading, writing, sewing, and knitting, or just plain relaxing. It should have a feeling of privacy, yet should be the kind of a room where the door can be left open, and it will reflect the mood of the decor of the rest of the home.
Although furnishings should be chosen for comfort, convenience, and beauty, it is the background—colors, patterns, and textures in walls, floors, window treatments, bedspreads, and upholstery—that does the most to create a feeling of comfort and tranquillity. (more…)
Bedroom planning for children’s rooms begins with deciding on the uses to which the room will be put. A boy’s room needs very different furnishings and arrangement than does a girl’s room, a small child’s needs are different from a teen-ager’s. They should be much more than just a place to sleep and change clothes. There should be a place to study without interruption, room to play, pursue their hobbies, and to entertain their friends.
Bedrooms for children should literally “grow” with them. Furnishings, floor coverings, and built-ins should not only be decorative and practical, but should be chosen so they will be adequate during the growing years and beyond. If the basic items are selected with this idea in mind, the room can be transformed from that of a youngster to a teen-ager with minimum expense. (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…)
Bedroom furniture has undergone a drastic change in recent years. No longer is it displayed, priced, and purchased in “suites” as it was for so many years. A suite consisted of a bed, or twin beds, a chest of drawers, and a vanity and bench, or dresser. No matter what style a person preferred, there were the same furniture pieces.
Now, bedroom-furniture manufacturers offer complete groupings from which to make your selection. Each collection will usually have beds in twin, double, queen, or king size, chests in more than one size, dressers in single, double, or triple versions, armoires, bedside tables, desks, and multipurpose units. (more…)
Outdoor benches can serve many purposes, from coffee tables to end tables, from a grouping creating a conversation center to doing double duty as buffets for patio parties. Purchased ready-made, they can be inexpensive benches keyed to the style and color of the exterior of your home. Complement the exterior of the house by choosing materials that blend with or duplicate other materials in this area. Using a wooden siding, stained or painted to blend with the siding of the house, is an example. Whether you buy the benches or make them yourself, remember that your patio should be as carefully considered as any room inside your home. Plan for maximum use of space—be sure the benches fill the area where they are to be used. Movable seats should weigh no more than 35 pounds unless they are equipped with casters or wheels. The maximum comfortable seat height is 17 inches; the minimum can be as low as 6 inches. (more…)
The dictionary definition of a bench is “a long seat for several people,” a reminder of benches in parks, in bus stations, and in railway depots. At home, benches can be used in almost any room of the house, the basement or garage, the lawn or the patio.
There are benches on which to sit while studying, lounging, eating; benches to hold TVs, stereo components, luggage, accessories; work benches for basement, hobby room, or garage.
Bench materials include wood, stone, marble, wrought iron, cast aluminum, and tubular metals. Bench tops may be solid, planked, or slatted wood; upholstered or cushioned; or laminated plastic material. (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…)
Cotton material used as a filler or padding in furniture, upholstery, and quilting. When a softer material is needed, wool or a mixture of wool and cotton is used.
School of design founded in Weimar, Germany, by the architect Walter Gropius (1883;- 1969), when he succeeded Henri van de Velde as director of the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts in 1919. Officially named Das Staatliche Bauhaus Weimar, the school had two basic aims: to synthesize the fine and applied arts and to do away with the distinction between artist and craftsman, particularly in the field of industrial design. (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…)
Yellows are stimulating and refreshing and will make the coldest or gloomiest room look sunny and cheerful, so they’re good for kitchens, work areas and daytime living rooms. If you find the brighter shades too much, try a pale primrose or a sandy ochre to give a softer effect.
Pinks are soft and restful — again, useful in a living-room colour scheme (especially if you want to create a more elegant, less everyday look) and their calming effect also makes them good for bedrooms. To avoid too sugary an effect, a yellowy pink such as peach is a good alternative. (more…)
There’s no magic formula for decorating a home. There are no foolproof instructions that can beat your own instinctive knowledge that you’ve got what you want and that it suits you. What you do need is confidence, and the aim of this is to give you that confidence, with guidelines to help you discover your own taste as you make the basic decisions involved. Working your way through it, you’ll be able to build up a clear picture of your likes and dislikes in colours, fabrics, patterns and furniture design, and gradually put together a style of your own.
A first home isn’t quite like any other — it has all the excitement of a new beginning, and you can’t wait to put your own stamp on it. And the big advantage you’ve got over more experienced decorators is that you haven’t already amassed too many possessions and furnishings to limit your options. (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…)
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…)
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