Kitchen Design
Design Ideas, Renovating

Space Saving Kitchen Design Trends

March 3, 2018

Space-saving kitchen design does not mean compromising on style or functionality. Various trendy kitchen design ideas, from innovative storage options to chic small-scale appliances, can help you maximize the space in your home. Following the advice of Kitchen Professionals, some of the most recent trends in kitchen design include:

  1. Small, mighty appliances – You can place revamped vintage appliances such as stoves and vintage-look refrigerators that are available in smaller sizes. These devices provide the required functionality without sacrificing on style. It would be best if you looked for vintage appliances that can fit in your kitchen space.
  2. Single-bowl sink – Opting for a single-bowled sink over a double-bowl counterpart can save you a lot of counter space. You can find small-scale single-bowled sinks in all varieties and styles.
  3. Under-mount sink – If you want to save every inch of your kitchen space, opt for a small, under-mount, single-bowl sink. This way, you can keep more counter workspace beside the sink since its edges will be well concealed.
Types of Timber Floor
Design Ideas

Timber Flooring – Beauty and Durability

December 9, 2017

The appearance of a room is limited only by the quality of the timber flooring material used. Blackbutt, Jarrah, Karri and Oak are great options. At the point when you are building your new home and looking at designs, don’t overlook the choice of hardwood timber flooring just because of the additional cost. From an aesthetic and structural point of view, you can’t go wrong.

Important qualities of flooring material is that it should look great and have the ability to withstand appliances and furniture as well as the foot traffic in certain areas. If the floor you choose to install can satisfy these requirements and be both beautiful and durable, then it should be given serious consideration when planning your home.

Handyman
Home Maintenance ,

Mr Fixit

November 17, 2017

If you own apartments, offices, or have an investment property or two and in which you have paying renters, then there will always be some property maintenance that needs to be done. Whether it’s done while the people are still living there or they have just moved out and you need to fix a few things before the new tenants shift in, you should have a handyman scheduled to do these jobs for you.

Fast Fix

It’s common knowledge that something that needs fixing, if not attended to quickly, will definitely get worse. That, of course, means it will cost a lot more money. So, as they say, taking care of business as soon as possible might mean a lower cost. Whether the handyman is a permanent employee depends entirely on the number of properties you own. A block of flats and a couple of houses could mean almost full – time employment. That’s a serious overhead you need to consider in your running costs.

Blocked Drains
Home Maintenance

Blocked Drains – What you Need to Know

September 15, 2017

Whose responsibility is it to attend to a blocked drain? If the drain is on your property, it’s your problem to unblock it. Plumbers advise that if you are renting, you should check with your real estate agent to find out who is responsible for plumbing issues like this.

In some instances, it might be the council’s responsibility. If you are unsure, you can visit the council website or give them a quick call.

Unblocking Drains

There are many ways to unblock a clogged drain. Some are relatively easy, others not so easy. Here are a few things you can do before you call a plumber.

Baking Soda (or Bicarb Soda) and Vinegar

It’s an old way to do it, but it works often enough to head the list. Most households carry these items, which are environmentally friendly – more so than caustic-type chemicals.

Here are a few mixtures and methods you can try. Mix half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of vinegar, then toss it down the sink quickly. The other way to use this combo is to wait for the sink to dry, then pour the baking soda and vinegar into the sink. Leave it overnight or for a few hours, then clean it with boiling water from the kettle.

alfresco furniture
Design Ideas

The Easiest Choice in Purchasing Outdoor Furniture

July 23, 2017

When you book a holiday to Bali or any other country, the last thing that is likely to be on your mind is purchasing outdoor furniture. But once you arrive at your holiday destination and decide to check out all the shopping opportunities you may well change your mind. Bali and other parts of Indonesia have some beautiful, handcrafted alfresco furniture that you may well want to take home with you.

That’s where you can run into a lot of problems. It is not that easy to arrange for safe transport, given the furniture must go by sea and you will need to arrange for the many different legs of the journey. First it has to be taken to a local port, then packed into a container and loaded onto the right ship, then after it arrives in Australia you’ll need to organise a truck to bring it to your home.  This seems to be a lot of hassle, especially when you are on holiday and want to enjoy yourself.

Easy Ways to Recycle
Sustainability

10 Easy Ways to Recycle

July 10, 2017

Recycling is one of the most widely known and practiced sustainability procedure in Australia, with many recycling centres for all kinds of goods in nearly every larger town and recycling bins in most places.  Recycling doesn’t have to be a hassle; it is simply a matter of knowing which kind of waste goes where and taking it there on your shopping day or whenever you are in that area so it’s included in your lifestyle. In fact, many things can be recycled successfully without even going into bins. Here’s how.

  • Kitchen scraps don’t have to be tossed into the bin, especially if you have a garden. You can utilise peelings and some other food scraps to make your own organic – and free –fertiliser. This can be spread on or dug into the garden whenever you have enough or when you are gardening. Non-meat products can be buried straight into the garden without waiting for them to turn into compost. This is nature’s way of doing it.
  • Lawn clippings are a much wasted, valuable addition to the garden. They help prevent weeds from growing while keeping the soil moist and cool. Then they break down gradually and provide nutrients for the plants, so why throw them away?
Pergola on Budget
Renovating

How to Pimp Out Your Pergola on a Budget

June 8, 2017

A pergola can create a wonderful outdoor haven that you can use for relaxation, entertaining or alfresco family meals. However, if it is not comfortable and attractive you won’t want to be there for long and neither will the family.  A patio or pergola can easily start to look worn and tatty over the winter months when it is not in use so much, so here are a few tips on how to pimp out your pergola and make it the attractive feature it was meant to be.

  • Comfortable seating is a must. If your pergola is lacking seats, add an outdoor sofa or easy chairs and a table. These can often be picked up online for a song, or you could visit the local op-shop. If you have seating you like, consider giving it a coat of paint to brighten it up.
  • Bright cushions will add a pop of colour, but make sure they are outdoor cushions, otherwise you’ll be carting them inside and back out all the time and that can be annoying, especially if you are carrying your morning coffee.
Fencing
Renovating

How New Fencing can help Your House Sell More Quickly

March 18, 2017

If your house is for sale, you may feel frustrated if it has not elicited much buyer attention. To help a house sell quickly, new fencing may be needed. Fencing contractors can soon construct a new fence for your home, and you may find it sells more quickly.  Street appeal is an essential part of getting buyers to look at your home, and having a brand-new fence will undoubtedly enhance the look of your home from the front.

When someone purchases a home, they don’t usually want the added expense of doing repairs – unless they are buying a flipper, a home they intend to resell quickly after doing it. So, having your home in excellent condition inside and out will help it to sell soon. It could be pristine inside, but if the outside looks neglected or the fence is falling, buyers will be put off going inside it, so they’ll never see that new paint job or the professional carpet cleaning job you did yesterday.

Shade Sails
Renovating

4 Reasons to Consider a Shade Sail for Your Home

February 23, 2017

Shade is an important factor to enhance your life and make you feel more comfortable in the hot weather.  These days, shade sails from someone like Shade Sails Perth are often used to create the best kind of shade and there are many good reasons for choosing them over natural greenery such as trees. The most obvious one is that trees take a long time to grow, while a sail can be installed in a few days.

A sail can be placed close to the home, while having a tree in the same place could put your home in danger of falling branches, bushfires and problems with the electric wiring, not to mention roots from the tree tangling with your house foundations and plumbing.

Why would you want shade so very close to the home?

carpet cleaning
Home Maintenance

Questions and Answers About Carpet Cleaning

November 15, 2016

Q: How often should carpet cleaning be done? Is it better to wait as long as I can?

A: NO. Years ago, holding off on the carpet cleaning was a common theory. That was due to there being no way to clean a carpet without leaving a soapy residue. People used to say that their carpets tended to become dirtier after cleaning. That method of cleaning no longer exists and residue is no longer a problem.

It’s a proven fact that your health can be affected by dirty carpets. Don’t think of your carpet as being a great looking floor covering, or an effective way to muffle room echoes or as a fashion statement. Your carpet is the largest air filter in your home! Those fibres are hanging onto pollens, soils, allergens, bacteria and a heap of other contaminants that, if not in your carpet, would be floating around in the air.

Today, a professional cleaner, using a truck mounted steam cleaning procedure, will do a great job that will not need to be repeated for 12 – 16 months.