Friday, July 31, 2009

HGTV winner

How HGTV winner is chosen?

Reality show that has made many people won a well-decorated brand new home. HGTV Dream Home Giveaway is show that only teaches you how to renovate your home in a better and easier way but also make you win your dream home with the perfect location.

Hgtv Dream House: Kitchen Designer

HGTV allows million of entries every year which they get either through online or by mail. With this exciting reality show you can also get to see how the best interior designer decorating the home and you can learn the process.

Hgtv Dream House: Marooco Style

But the main question that arises is that how they choose their winner? Firstly the entries are divided into batches. One is the online batch as other is the mailing batch. The batch holding the online entries are numbered 19-782 and the other batch is numbered as 1-18.
Hgtv Dream House: Dream View from your House

The lucky winner is drawn from the chosen bin which is selected randomly. If one of the near bins is selected then computer will scroll through the entries that are presented in that particular bin. The process continues until the space bar is pressed.

Hgtv Dream House: Winner of Hgtv Dream House

Apart from winning the house you can also get the chance to win some other valuable things, like a brand new car or other finished products. The winner is generally announced in the month of March. This year it was the surprise announcement that took place on 15th march.

Hgtv Dream House: Kid's Room

Smith was the winner this year; she won a dazzling house in California. You can be the lucky when next time, what all you have to do is just enroll yourself and grab the opportunity to make a cream home for you and your family.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Remodel your Bathroom

Remodel your bathroom with the HGTV dream houses

If you want to remodel your bathroom then the HGTV dream houses offer the excellent projects which will redecorate your bathroom completely. As the part of the home improvement the remodeling of the bathroom is gaining popularity among the every age group.

Hgtv Dream House: Remodel Bathroom

The remodeling can range differently from just painting or the replacement of the countertops to doing the remodeling of the bathroom by tearing the cabinets, floors, sinks, tubs and then starting from all over again.

Hgtv Dream House: Beautiful bathroom

The HGTV dream houses provide you with some of the basic instructions that should be considered while doing the remodeling of your bathroom. While thinking of the remodeling of the bathroom the person should properly plan accordingly this will help them to reach the ultimate design which they are dreaming for.

Hgtv Dream House: Big Bathroom

Before starting, think carefully whether you want to yourself do the project or want to hire the interior designer or the contractor of the bathroom remodeling. At this point of time you should also think about the budget that you want to spend on the remodeling and redecorating your bathroom. You should also plan carefully whether you want to just do small repairing in your bathroom or give it a complete new look.

Hgtv Dream House: Small Bathroom

The other thing which is to be kept in the mind is the measuring of the proportions of the whole bathroom and getting the idea of using the space that is available at the best possible manner.

Hgtv Dream House: Decorate your Bathroom

You should decide how you will arrange everything in your bathroom. Considering the main factors like if you want to enlarge your bathroom or keep the area as it is and then redecorate it accordingly.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I Love These Because....


They provide beautiful mood lighting in a room.   They are the perfect thing to fill in blank wall spaces on either side of decorative mirrors or art work.   They are gorgeous in a dining room or flanking a fireplace in a living room, or on a covered porch.  But the best part is, they require no electricity so they are also perfect for off-the grid cottages, and around your bathtub (where you should never ever have electrical sconces or low chandeliers).

The vintagey looking mosaic mirrored back will provide some sparkle and their Morrocan inspired shape adds a hint of the exotic.  And imagine the different looks you could create simply by using coloured pillar candles like tobacco browns or olive greens....... 

No electrical wiring required, and......they're only $39.  


Photo:  West Elm, Medina Candle Sconce $39 (US).

Monday, July 27, 2009

Increasing popularity of HGTV Dream House

Increasing popularity of HGTV dream house

Any reality show that not only teaches you home renovation but also offer you a chance to win a dream home in a classy location can make that particular show admirable. Based on this concept a popular reality show called HGTV dream home is catching everyone’s attention and making more and more people to take part in the show.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Dream Living Room

The simple reason for the popularity of this unique reality show is that it provides the viewer with great and exclusive ideas for renovation and also an opportunity to win a beautiful house and some other valuable prizes too.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Outside Kitchen

The show that started long back in 1975 is still getting the same appreciation; people watch this show to make their home well-designed. Till now many lucky people have won dream house through this show and many more will continue to win.

Hgtv Dream House: How To Start?

The USP of this show is the way in which they teach home renovation or improvement to the viewers. Their method and ideas make home improvement look simple and fun. People get different ideas for decorating their home from this show.

Hgtv Dream House: Bathroom

The impact of the popularity of HGTV can be measured easily as there is a tremendous increase in the sale of furniture and home furnishings. Many people gets inspired watching this show and decide to modify their home. They are keen to beautify their house by updating kitchens and bedrooms.

Hgtv Dream House: Dream House

HGTV also provides endless instructions of home improvement projects starting from the garden to your bedroom construction. To participate in this show is also very simple, you just need to access the HGTV website and get all the information you required.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Dealing with Obstacles


A rough 3D sketch helps clients decide how to deal with unexpected changes

Despite how much preplanning and investigation is done prior to embarking on a renovation, you don't really get a true picture of the extent of new work required until after the demolition phase.  Often after the demo you'll discover structural or mechanical elements that need to be worked around or beefed up.   Quick decisions have to be made on how to deal with these obstacles without adversly effecting the design, the budget or the schedule,  but it can be difficult for clients to visualize how the proposed changes will look.   The quickest way to help them make their decisions is by showing them photos of similar situations or in many cases, I quickly draw up a rough 3D sketch to illustrate a point. 

In this case, I was working with a client on a kitchen renovation and after the demolition it was determined more support was required for the floor above and new beams needed to be added across the kitchen ceiling.   We didn't have much flexibility in where they could be placed which meant they weren't necessarily going to be equally spaced or centered within the room.  There was no space above the ceiling to install these and the homeowners didn't want to lower the entire ceiling, so,,,, since the beams were going to be visible, we had to decide how to finish them.  

My clients wanted to clad them in antique wood (as the new kitchen cabinets were being custom made from antique hemlock) to create a beamed wood ceiling effect, but I was recommending we just drywall them and paint them out white.  The house itself is a century home but the interior has been renovated in a very pared back modern style with lots of vintage mid-century modern furniture.  The house throughout is white with old wood floors.  The new kitchen design was what i would call a modern-industrial style, a combination of wood, concrete and stainless steel with simple clean lines.   

My suggestion on how to treat the new beams was to just ignore them.  The best way to not draw attention to something - is to make it blend in.  They weren't completely convinced and thought it might be a good opportunity to add more interest to the kitchen by making the beams a feature.    So I did these sketches to illustrate how the contrast of the wood on the ceiling would look.



The view from the hallway as you enter the kitchen.

As these sketches illustrate, cladding the beams in wood does two things - it creates high contrast with the white ceiling, and visually it brings the ceiling down.    In my opinion, this detracts from the impact of the understated, cabinetry free wall we had intentionally planned.


View  from the Dining Room

The view from the dining room is a good example of how the wood beams make the ceiling appear lower.  Often people will angst over obstacles like this and worry and stress about how to deal with it, and its easy to waste a lot of time and effort trying to recreate the wheel in attempts to disguise it or over-design it.  

When I'm faced with these obstacles, I deal with them in one of two ways:
 1. Make a feature out of it.  Only do this if you can integrate this into the overall design so it looks like it was always planned to be there, it should enhance the rooms design concept not detract from it.  The size, the placement, the way its finished should not look out of place with all the other elements in the room.
2. Understate it, make it blend in, make it disappear.  It may not be perfect, but it is holding the roof up,, providing you heat or  supplying you with water so its better than not having it at all!  If you look closely at magazine photos in your piles of inspiration rooms, you can spot obstacles treated like this in most rooms if you look for them, but because the room is so fabulous you never even notice it. 

On this project the final decision was made to understate the beams by painting them out the same as the ceiling.  As I promised them, in the end, when the kitchen was all complete they would blend in, become unaware of them and wonder why they were ever concerned about them in the first place.  I'll post more drawings and photos of this incredible kitchen reno in future posts...



Hgtv Dream House so Desirable

Why is HGTV dream house so desirable?

HGTV dream house is a house of dreams as it includes all the pleasures that are sought after in a world class home. The living room of this house includes a modish décor. The interior décor of this home also includes a formal touch.

Hgtv Dream House: House for You

This home can be counted as one of the most stylishly and elegantly designed homes in existence so far. The living room of this home is designed in soothing blue color palette. The furnishing is also of great quality that makes the visitors feel like being in a world class home.

Hgtv Dream House: Dream House from Stone and Wood

Talking of the dining room, it includes boldly colored walls. The dining room is decorated with abstract art and rustic acessories. One of the most alluring aspects of the dining room decoration is that it includes traditional as well as European style furnishing for impressing the guests like never before.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Desirable House?

The outdoor area of this house is also as attractive as the inner. Exclusive arrangements are made in the outdoor of the house for parties. There is an outdoor refrigerator and oven where one can store edibles for the guests attending the outdoor party in this house.

Hgtv Dream House: Living Room

The kitchen in this home is also as attractive and efficient as expected. The kitchen looks attractive with inclusions such as Victorian-style cabinetry. There are two quartz-topped islands in the kitchen as well.

Hgtv Dream House: Small Bedroom

The kitchen in this dream home includes extensive storage space, kitchen appliances made of state of the art technology and built-in wine cabinets that collectively makes the cooking an easy task for hostess

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Improving your Backyard with HGTV

Improving the backyard with the HGTV dream houses

There are many people who want to like spending their free time in the backyard of their house either gardening or just enjoying the warm sun while reading their favorite books.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Backyard

If gardening is your favorite hobby and want to improve the backyard of your house then HGTV can definitely help you with all the necessary information about the gardening and taking care of the gardens of your home. The shows of the HGTV are basically dedicated in helping the viewers to make the most effective redecoration of not only their houses but also the gardens.

Hgtv Dream House: Choose your Backyard

If you want to redecorate the backyard of your homes then there is lot of research to be done before taking the final decision. Apart from the shows of the HGTV dream houses which provide you with all the information and the innovative ideas which will help you in redecorating the backyard of your house easily.

Hgtv Dream House: Design your Backyard

You can also keep an open eye viewing the backyards of your friends and neighbors. You can always take an idea from the backyards of their homes. You can also take some of the ideas from the botanical gardens and the local parks where you will be able to view the most stylish and the beautiful forms of the various ways of the gardening and the landscaping.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Dream House Backyard

There are other options apart from just adding the flowers, plants or the trees in your backyard. You may add a deck or the backdoor patio, if you don’t have one in your recent backyard. You may even add a greenhouse or a conservatory. All the additions in the backyard depend upon the size of your yard.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Overview of HGTV Dream House

Overview of HGTV Dream House 2009

The 2009 HGTV dream house is positioned in Sonoma, also known as the California Wine Country. Sonoma is famous for its outdoor activities such as mountain biking and hiking, indulgent spas and indeed for its luscious wine.

Hgtv Dream House: Master Bedroom

Layout of HGTV dream house 2009

The HGTV dream house 2009 is a huge double story farmhouse style residence covering about 3600 sq ft of comfortable and convenient living space. The foremost floor of the house includes a family space, the dining and living rooms along with a gourmet kitchen with eating nook and also a study room.

Hgtv Dream House: Room to Work in

The second level of the house incorporates two bedroom mini suites, the master bedroom with a magnificence spa inspired bathroom plus its personal sitting space and laundry area. There is a separate two-car garage as well.

Exclusive features of 2009’s HGTV dream house

The California’s Sonoma wine country is the most eye-catching place in whole United States and 2009’s dream house take complete benefit of the impressive settings. There are back and front wrap around porches for taking pleasure in the gorgeous scenery a true pleasure. HGTV’s 2009 master bedroom is lined with panes appearing out over the rolling hills and the forests.

Hgtv Dream House: Family Room

2009’s HGTV dream house kitchen

The decorators of HGTV dream house 2009 used the stunning Sonoma, California settings at its best for entertaining and emphasizing family. For instance, the grand kitchen incorporates two islands for preparing a huge party simpler, particularly if there are loads of people to assist. Two refrigerators in the kitchen makes the storage of food easier both after and before you fete. Since, the HGTV 2009 dream house is in the Wine Country, two wine refrigerators are also there.

Hgtv Dream House: Start building your House

Monday, July 20, 2009

HGTV Dream House Rooms

HGTV dream house rooms

HGTV dream house is a house of dreams as the interiors are designed exclusively to make the fascination of modern man come true. You can feel like being in heaven once you get into this house. The rooms are just so beautiful and well equipped that you will be left speechless and hypnotized by the finish.

Hgtv Dream House: Potting Room

Living room- The living room of this house is made more chic than formal. You can get a contemporary feel after getting into this room. The décor of this room is made more beautiful by the neutral and discreet furnishings and soothing blue color palette. The lustrous artwork and fanciful accessories make this room look attractive and highly appealing for the guests.

Hgtv Dream House: Dream Room

Dining rooms- The dining room of this house is as beautiful as it should be in a palace. The dining room includes formal décor that can attract attention of the guests by the traditional and European style furnishings. You can feel attracted also by the appealing and loud wall color paint. The abstract art and rustic accessories are other aspects that make this room look beautiful.

Hgtv Dream House: Working Room

Family room- The family room of HGTV is made equally beautiful by the modern art pieces. The most alluring attractions of this house include gas and shag rug fireplace which provide warmth into the room. You can feel a cozy feel inside this beautifully decorated room designed exclusively for the guests coming with their family. The family room is designed exclusively to make the guests feel as comfortable as their own home.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Dining - Inside Out

Update July 20th:  I was sourcing some dining chairs for a client today and came across a couple of stunning chairs that are perfect for indoor and outdoor use and they're pretty reasonably priced, so I just had to include them with the post below ! (Room above: Hand Interior Design).


Web Chair $120


Stilt Chair $175



This will be my last post on outdoor furniture for the season, considering the weather’s been so lousy this summer we have yet to dine outdoors even once this summer.  But if we get lucky enough to enjoy a warm summer evening dining al fresco, then this is how I would make it more magical...


TAKE COVER.  For outdoor dining, I prefer a covered porch or awning rather than an umbrella, the post in the middle drives me crazy.  But i think my favorite summer product this season is Ikea’s Dyning Gazebo canopy, offerred in either a rectangular or trianglur shape.  You can string up one or two or three of these between trees or posts to create a dreamy canopy effect that looks like boat sails......  Great for irregular shaped spaces, and situations where awnings and permanent roof structures are not an option.  This is ingenious and a steal at $29.  



AVOID MATCHING suites of furniture.  Most people seem to have grasped the concept of not buying suites of dining room and bedroom furniture like our parents did, but somehow this concept hasn’t translated to our outdoor rooms yet.  Even though there is more of a selection than ever before, when it comes to outdoor furniture (most of it more expensive than our indoor pieces),,,,,I always seem to see entire backyards or decks furnished with matching sofas, coffee tables, dining tables, chairs, bar carts and side tables all from the same collection.  I know its usually less expensive to buy the entire set, but they will sell these pieces individually too so perhaps its a case of people rushing to furnish their outdoor spaces so they can just get busy enjoying them?




BRING THE INDOORS OUT. Whether its indoor dining or outdoor dining, chairs are always a big investment, because you need multiples.  Four, six or eight.  So why buy chairs that are only suitable for outdoors?  Stretch your patio budget by only buying 2 or 4 outdoor chairs, or one long bench, or,,,,,if you’re really tight on space and dollars, skip the outdoor chairs altogether and think multipurpose.   If you purchase chairs for your deck or balcony and they look like patio furniture then you minimize the amount of use they’ll get (I don’t think it ever looks appropriate to use them indoors, even in a pinch) and you’ll have to find dedicated storage space for them in the off season.   But taking your indoor chairs outside,,,somehow always looks decadent.




Today there are a variety great looking chairs that are suitable for both indoors and out (see photo collage at bottom of post) but you won't find these in outdoor section.   Initially you might have only ever considered these for indoor use, but surprisingly not only will all of these chairs look stunning in your kitchen, home office or dining room, they’re all suitable for outdoor use too!  And as a bonus, they all stack for easier storage if needed.   These are modern, clean lined and would mix well when paired up with chairs of any other style making them super practical. So if you buy a few extras, you’ll be prepared for extra dinner guests at anytime of the year and your mix of chairs will look stylish and chic as opposed to mismatched and makeshift.



EASY TO FIND.  These chairs are available in shops 12 months of the year which means you’ll never have to scour the city mid-way thru summer looking for some stylish outdoor seating.  If you’ve ever shopped for outdoor furniture after the May long weekend, you know how frustrating it can be to find anything.  But what do you do if its your first place, or your first backyard, its mid-way thru June and you’ve got guests coming for a bbq!?  You may not even have dining room furniture yet let alone patio furniture.  Investing in 2 or 4 of these chairs will give you the flexibility to use them inside or out.









I'm partial to these chairs paired with old rustic wood tables, especially trestle style, or chunky teak tables.  If you're outdoor dining space is well protected and you have a place to store a table in the off season, you can get away with almost any inexpensive table or create one using workhorses and plywood or an old slab door, then layer it with table cloths.    

Photos:  Living Etc., ebay, DWR, Living Etc. (3), Apartment Therapy, Chairs clockwise left to right, top; Alonzo Chair DWR $44 (sale),  Air Chair DWR $98 (sale), White Bertoia Side Chair DWR $450, Ikea Urban Chair $50, Navy Chair DWR $415, Ghost Chair DWR $400, Marais Arm Chair DWR $135 (sale), Panton Chair DWR $250

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Outdoor Lounging - A Perfect Pairing

When I came across this image on Desire to Inspire's blog the other day, i just had to re-post it here.  The photo is from the portfolio of New York design firm Meyer Davis Studio it happens to feature the same two chairs I posted about last week, my top picks for outdoor lounging, paired together! And a retro style fireplace,,,has been on my must have list for quite a few years now but after seeing this image, its definitely moving up a few notches.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Friendly Bedroom Idea

Earth friendly bedroom idea from the HGTV dream house

Applying eco friendly style in your bedroom is not a trend; in fact, it is the healthiest task to do while decorating home. Do not allow harmful chemicals or toxins affect your health or your home environment. When decorating home in a healthy manner, it is very essential to consider several points to give your bedroom an eco friendly look:

Hgtv Dream House: Your Bedroom

Breathe easier

The quality of the air is essential, as you in your bedroom you spend maximum time during night. The operable panes for proper cross ventilation or natural ventilation are recommended. Purchase a designer fan for circulating cool and hot air, and avoid spending much money on electricity bills. Additionally, it is feasible to select low, no VOC stains and paints for furniture, ceiling and walls. Wash your bedding every week for cutting down on molding, dust mile accretion and mildew.

Hgtv Dream House: Design your Bedroom

If you are allergic to allergies then avoid comforters and down pillows. In fact, look for organic and hypoallergenic pillows filled with cotton, wool, buckwheat, millet hulls, shredded latex or kapok.

Select a green mattress, box spring

Hgtv Dream House: Bedroom for Kids

Do not forget to invest in the most crucial part of the bedroom, the mattress. Almost everything that you get into your house possess a potential to off gas, therefore when you select products to sleep over, always remember to look at the material used to make them.

Hgtv Dream House: Best Bedroom

Pick a mattress that is toxin free as well as does not include polyurethane foam or fire retardants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Otherwise, consider green options like cotton and wool filled mattress, which are extremely comfortable like the chemical filled mattress.