Posted by bethany on Oct 26, 2009 in
Writing It can be hard to identify what your personal style is when it comes to the home. This lack of certainty is often the first hurdle to overcome before re-decorating, or even purchasing a single piece of furniture. Hiring an Interior Designer is a great solution for people who would rather have someone else help them through the process of re-design.
However, some enjoy tackling this task on their own without the help of a professional. If you choose this route, here is a simple method that can help you along.
Step One. Gather as many magazines as you can get your hands on.
Step Two. Go through the magazines and mark any images that jump out at you.
Step Three. Scan and print the images.
Step Four. Arrange all the images together on a table or on the floor.
Step Five. Observe. Make notes about common themes you see. Are there common textures present? Perhaps there are a few special colours that stand out consistently? You may spy a little detail that you never noticed before! (When doing this with a friend of mine, we noticed that all the pictures she selected had coloured trim – there wasn’t a single picture with white trim!)
Step Six. Make a plan of action. Look around your home and determine what will stay and what will go based on the style cues you received from the previous step – sometimes what you get rid of is half the battle. Make a list of to-do’s based on a time-line or an overall budget. Knowing what needs to be done and when means you can take on each task step by step.
Step Seven. Make a mini style-inspiration-card and keep it by the door. When you go out shopping use it as a guide for your purchases.
Step Eight. The main rule for creating your own look in the home is:
Go With What You Love.
Images:
Better Homes and Gardens April/May ‘09
Better Homes and Gardens Winter ‘08
Better Homes and Gardens Winter ‘09
Country Living – March ‘09
Posted by bethany on Oct 19, 2009 in
Writing Crossland Sheds is local Comox Valley company that provides quality hand-built storage buildings to residents across Vancouver Island.
Hugh Van Hecke, a carpenter with over 20 years experience, decided to put his residential construction experience into developing a business that would meet the needs of the local community. After five years and nearly five-hundred happy customers, Crossland Sheds is becoming a household name for sheds on Vancouver Island.
Part of the success of Crossland Sheds can be attributed to the hassle-free building process. Because of the stream-lined system Hugh has created over the years, these sheds are usually built on site in about 8 hours - that’s just one work-day!
All that the customer has to do is provide Crossland Sheds with 9 12″ cement pads which need to be 1″ thick. The builder (in the case below, it’s Hugh himself!) will lay them out in the appropriate spots.
The rest of the process goes like this:
After the cement pads are put in place, three 4″x4″ pressure treated runners are leveled on top as the foundation for the shed. These runners allow for air flow under the shed, keeping moisture away from the building.
The floor is then constructed with 2×4 floor joists every 12″. This specific placement of floor joists is required for homes in the BC Building Code. Although it is not required that sheds are built to all building code standards, Hugh chooses to build these small structures to meet the demands. Sheets of 1/2″ plywood make up the floor of this particular shed. This will be more than enough support for a standard garden shed. However, if a customer requires extra support, like in the case of a custom motorbike garage, the floor can be upgraded. (Yes, Hugh has built custom Harley Houses – very cool!)
After the floor has been secured to the floor joists, the walls are put in place. The walls are made from 2×4 construction framing and a product called SmartPanel™. This product has a 50 year transferable warranty. (SmartPanel™ is primed and ready for paint – painting is required for the warranty.) The doors, which are specially built to be extra durable, are hung with 6′ aluminum piano hinges that will not rust or warp.
When the walls are up and the custom trusses are in place, the roof is sheeted. A layer of tar-paper is properly applied to the sheets and then 20-year roofing shingles are nailed on top.
After a thorough inspection of the shed, paying close attention to the doors for smooth opening and shutting, the work-site is cleaned up. At this point happy customers to come on out and marvel at their new shed.
Crossland Sheds offers many styles and sizes of sheds. Optional features include work benches, shelves, lofts, windows, skylights and ramps. Talk to Hugh if you have any other special requests. You can visit the website, www.CrosslandSheds.ca , for more information.
1-888-751-4885
This particular shed is a 10×10 “Islander” with 6′ sidewalls. The price of this shed is $2499.00 +tax installed.
Sources:
Interview: Hugh Van Hecke – Crossland Storage Sheds
Photos: Two Happy Customers
Posted by bethany on Oct 14, 2009 in
Writing Concrete countertops are becoming more and more popular these days. When I first heard about concrete countertops I thought, “hey! we could do that ourselves!”. But after looking into the process I’ve come to realise that the task should be reserved for those with prior experience in the art-like process.
Eager to meet a local professional concrete guru, I arranged some time with Kai from Fusion Concrete Design to talk about what he does and and how he does it.
Kai got into the whole concrete thing after picking up a book by concrete countertop pioneer Fu-Tung Cheng. Kai has a background in Fine Art and he figured that a career choice which combined both his artistic training and the trades wold be a good fit. He started off by creating a table, and from there he’s moved on to perfect his technique in order to offer his clients a unique and refined product.
I asked Kai about the “green” aspects of concrete and discovered that the countertops can be created “plastic free”. (As most of us know, traditional plastic laminate countertops actually contain formaldehyde – not very healthful for the environment or our bodies!) Once the concrete countertop is set in place, natural sealants such as bees wax can be used to prevent staining on the surface. However, these natural sealants will need to be reapplied frequently in order to remain effective. Kai recommends that a combination of epoxies and urethane be used as a penetrating protective layer if a maintenance free worktop is desired.
In regards to price-point, Kai says that concrete countertops start at about $60.00 a square foot. This is a bigger investment than traditional laminate but is a bargain compared to the price of granite or quartz tops. Plus, in my opinion, it’s a much better investment because it’s also a work of art. Each countertop is hand-formed and custom made.
Contact:
Kai Kneeland
Fusion Concrete Design
250-218-6298
fusionconcretedesign@live.ca
Posted by bethany on Sep 18, 2009 in
Writing One of the easiest and fastest ways to change the look of a room is to change the colours. This is a great reason to invest in neutral pieces when big-ticket items such as dining table sets are purchased. This will allow you to do a weekend makeover, like the below sample, with more ease.
It’s not always easy to incorporate colour. When in doubt, go with what you LOVE. I usually start by making a folder of images, fabrics, and paint chips which appeal to me. Then I lay out all the images and look for similar themes and colours. Most of the time an obvious pattern emerges.
With new paint colours and a couple key accessory purchases, an entirely new look can be achieved. As an example, a simple dining room makeover can usually be done in a weekend.
Here’s my virtual DIY makeover to inspire you. Hopefully you’ll be so inspired by this that you’ll embark on a real-life makeover this weekend!
paint
+
lighting
+
dining-ware
=
Get the Look LOCALLY
Paint – Benjamin Moore House of Colour
Chandelier - Try The Light House for something similar
Dining-ware – Mixed set shown here from Otter’s Kitchen Cove
Happy Decorating!
