TJK Remodeling

Archive for the ‘Remodeling Design’ Category

Your basement could be multi-functional. Given careful planning, you can remodel it into something worth your time and money. Nowadays, a finished basement design has become a very popular investment. How to improve it is easy, manageable and relatively affordable too. In fact, with a little creativity and knowledge in art or interior design, you can turn your basement into the most beautiful and favorite hangout place in your home.

Don’t be discouraged. Here are some of the things you can make out of your unattended basement.

– Office Space in Your Home. Supposing you have a small business run at home and you need an office. The basement can be the perfect place to set this plan up. Assuming that you have a finished basement design already. All you need to do is furnish it. Add office furniture and all other office supplies, equipment, and useful stuff like lamps, book shelf, etc. Don’t forget to install a phone and a fax machine.

– As a Small Gym – A treadmill doesn’t require a huge space. So does any set of weights. You can always put it in a corner in your basement. A good place would be near the window if you like to work out with the cool breeze of fresh air. That way you’ll also have the feel of a semi-outdoor while doing your regular exercise.

– Children’s play pen – There are really no furnishings needed on this one. Although you might need a removable rubber carpet on the floor to go with your finished basement design. Kids can be messy and unpredictable. Accidents can happen. A rubber mat should keep them comfortable in their place. And for extra safety precaution, consider setting up a railing around them.

– Private Entertainment Room – Take advantage of the lack of lighting and convert it into a new facility. Some homes use the dark corners in their basement as a mini theatre. Others would use it as a dark room. Not only is your finished basement design space optimized, it has brought a new experience too.

– Basement bar – Converting your finished basement design into a bar is a cool idea too. That would take away your problems in where you want to hold mini parties with your friends on weekends. But remember to have proper ventilation or a room temperature balance because it can get warm and sweaty when it’s crowded.

– Guest room – If you have a big family and have used up all the rooms for your kids, why not use the basement as another bedroom. You can have your guests use it. You in-laws perhaps if they come over to visit the kids.

– Your Own Music Studio – Your finished basement design is probably the most well insulated place in your house in terms of acoustics. If you have a teenager who loves to play in a band, you might want to explore this option. A music studio can be cheaper and only needs good sound insulation.

There may still be more but these are just the common things done for a basement. If your basement is spacious, you can accommodate all of the above mentioned. It’s really up to you. A very good finished basement design should be flexible in terms of use. Just make sure it’s still cozy and can make your friends or guests feel welcome. This little den in your home can go a long way.

There are many things to consider before building your custom garage. This article is going to take a look at some options that you can use to plan your custom garage design. The basics may not be completely obvious to you, so read on and then you should be ready to go.

Options For Custom Garage Design

The easiest way to start your custom garage design is with the floor. A custom garage floor will add a real uniqueness to your garage and is the best starting point. First thing to do is pick the colors that you want to use. Some ideas for what to use include your family crest, college colors or even your favorite sports or race team’s colors.  You then need to plan the size of your custom garage design.

I would plan to have enough room to fit three cars comfortably. This way you can have room for all your vehicles and ample space to plan your garage. After you have lain out a basic floor plan you can draw in the garage door. This part of the custom garage design is very important as most doors will come in fairly standard sizes. Check with local retailers to make sure that a door will fit into your custom garage design.

In addition to the physical width and height of the door, you are going to also want to start thinking about the material and how thick the door is. If you plan on working in you garage in the winter and want to be warm, you are going to need something with some insulation. In addition to keeping the garage warm in the winter and cold in the summer, a thicker more insulated door will block unwanted sounds better as well.

Now that you have the structure of your customer garage design laid out, you need to start planning on what you are going to put inside. Cabinets, work benches, and wall hangs all need to fit inside the garage and still allow room for the vehicles. At this point you may end up needing to go back to previous steps and adjust your custom garage design to meet the requirements of these components.

That is about it. Once you have designed in all of those different components you should be good to go. Now you just need to get started buying and building all the different parts from your custom garage design.

Why have a kitchen-diner?

We all want a kitchen-diner, whether its family-sized or petite. After all, not only is a dining area highly practical it’s also one of the first things buyers will look for when the time comes to sell up. Knocking through a dining room to make an open-plan kitchen is worth the investment and even fitting a breakfast bar in a small kitchen is a very good move.

What goes where?

If possible, your eating area should always be nearest the garden. If you live in a flat, put the table near the windows. If you do have a garden you’ll have the option of installing French or concertina doors, which means you can open up your kitchen to the outside space.

Table moves

Where you put the table is dictated by how your units are configured. In a large, rectangular room, it makes sense to put units down two adjacent sides, and the table just off centre. In a smaller room, you might be limited to a breakfast bar, either as part of a kitchen island or as a narrow shelf against a wall. Don’t buy a table or put in a breakfast bar that’s too big for the room – allow a good metre between the units and the chairs. Need to save space? Oval or circular tables take up less room.

Work the colour

Lighter colours – for both walls and units – will naturally make the room appear bigger and brighter. You needn’t be limited to light shades either – dark woods such as wenge give a formal feel, which is ideal if you’re into posh dinner parties. Lighter woods have rustic charm while industrial stainless steel gives your room all the kudos of a professional kitchen.

Lighting rules

Good lighting in a kitchen is always a given – you’ll need task lighting above your cooking and prep areas but go for low-level lighting over the dining area so you can vary the mood. Failing that, dimmer switches for the main overhead lights are a must. As for ventilation, it’s very important in a kitchen-diner so investing in a good-looking (or concealed) efficient cooker hood will be money well spent.

Details

Home comforts, such as a stove, an armchair, sofa, pictures or even a low table with a lamp go a long way to personalising a kitchen. Bear in mind that this room will be used a lot so wall coverings or paints, fabrics and tabletops should be able to wipe clean easily, while chair and sofa covers should be removable and washable, and rugs easily cleaned.