Contemporary AA house

This beautiful, simple and elegant house is located in Mexico City, Mexico and it was a project developed by Mexico City-based design studio Parque Humano in 2011. It’s a modern creation, with a contemporary and minimalist design. The main idea was to create a sort of retreat from where the owners could observe and enjoy nature without bothering or being bothered.

Casa AA sits 2,240 meters above sea level and it’s a very welcoming and open structure. The house features a living, dinning, kitchen and multipurpose room, three bedrooms, gazebo and a swimming pool. As you can see, there’s a very nice balance between open and private areas. The house has been designed and built around an open landscape and it’s like a pavilion perfect from being in close proximity to nature. In order to enhance this function, the design includes several floor-to-ceiling walls and windows that allows natural light to get inside and that also provide beautiful views.

Among the basic materials used when building this magnificent house, the bricks played a very important role. The bricks are great insulator, especially during summer when the heat can be very disturbing. The interior of the house is almost entirely wrapped in wood, thus creating a very relaxing, comfortable and inviting atmosphere. The furniture has also been chosen in matching colors, like beige and brown.

Dream House for the contemporary living style

Having a house in the tropical climate with natural scenic beauty and peaceful surrounding all around is no doubt a dream or a fantasy coming true. Khosla associates present the house of your dream with clean and cozy interior and surrounded by elegant exterior to please all of your aesthetic, romantic and artistic senses which inspire your life.

Ground floor with large glass windows provides the view of the beautiful landscape to please the eyes. Spacious area of terrace connects the house to the magnificent outdoor area. Several windows provide more light and air to the living area and the bedrooms. This tropical house is a value-for-money property with cozy environment. The walls are treated with warm colors. The woodwork around the house is designed and built custom made always to the highest perfection and specifications. The concept behind the planning and designing of the house is to provide its owner the pride and realization of their ideas and dreams.

Tips for a Modern Kitchen Design and 15 Modern Kitchen Design Ideas from Moben

Kitchen is one of the most important places in the house because we spend most of our memorable moments in the kitchen. It is not only the place where the meals are cooked, but also a place where the family sits together and has a lovely conversation over their breakfast and other meals of the day. Hence, one should always pay close attention when it comes to designing a modern kitchen.

There are many kitchen renovation magazines and websites that showcase some of the best kitchen designs that they have but you should keep in mind that every house has different needs and space area and therefore your kitchen design should be unique as per your needs.

A kitchen is made up of lot of different items that should be available when they are needed. Hence, the kitchen cabinets should be designed in such a way that the items that are used regularly are easily available. This not only makes the kitchen look better, but also makes it efficient as you don’t need to look out for utensils when you need them. If you have a smaller apartment you can still go for newer designs by Moben where cabinets are designed in such a way that they still hold the same amount of utensils, but in a compressed style.

The color of the kitchen can not only add to the ambience of the house, but also plays on the mind of the people in there. Hence, modern kitchens should always have bright colors that have a strong impact on the minds of the people living there and even on the guests when they visit your house or apartment.

Gadgets are an integral part of the modern kitchens and therefore you should ensure that you have all the gadgets like blenders, mixers, and other chopping gadgets that would make your cooking work easier. Smaller apartments should try to have a modern kitchen where these gadgets are hidden or their visibility is minimized because your kitchen might look overloaded because of the lack of space.

Always go for functional furniture like tables and chairs that are ergonomically good, but at the same time they should not take up too much of space. You can take a look at the different ranges provided by Moben to get an idea of what kind of furniture you should purchase or design for your modern kitchen.

How to Design a Cool Garage

Using a garage space for storage of a car is a good way to maintain your car. However, owning a garage space that can also be used as a functional and attractive space is no doubt a better idea. Designing a cool garage design will allow you to use the typical garage space in a useful manner. As your tastes and needs are personal, you need to consider the features of the garage that are vital to you and how to employ the space. The design decision will rely on whether you need the space as a workshop, spare living area, music practice space or merely as an attractive and functional storage space for varied household objects.

Below is a list of steps that you need to follow in order to design a cool garage –

1) First of all, you need to decide the purpose which the garage space is going to cater. A garage space for storage of a car is quite simpler to design rather than designing a functional garage space.

2) Secondly, you need to measure the available space in your garage area. You will also need to measure the length and width of the vehicle to ascertain the space your vehicle shall occupy. Assure that you leave two to three feet extra on all the sides, so that the car gates can open easily without hitting the walls or other objects. The leftover space will be the space that can be used for varied needs.

3) Analyze your needs and decide upon the purpose for which you are going to use the functional space. For instance, if you desire to use the space as a workshop, you need to install a hanging rack for your equipments, tools and supplies.

4) Draw a plan for your garage on a sheet of a graph paper. An easy way to do it is to allot each square for one foot. Use the measurements made for an accurate drawing. Do not forget to leave the extra space for ease of movement.

5) Use your drawing for planning your garage needs. Garages generally have unfinished sides that can be used for creating built in shelves for storage of books. High cabinets can also be incorporated as they do not block movement.

6) Use lighting and colors to make the area be functional and look cool. You may also decorate it with art and make the garage look livelier.

Design a 3d home interior

The latest buzz in the home improvement industry is to design a 3d home interior. 3d home interior is nothing but designing your home starting from the basement to the roof with the help of 3d designs. The project is not only interesting but a lot of fun also.

There are a large number of interior computer software programs that allow users to create their own 3d home interiors in accordance to their requirements and preferences. Depending upon the budget you are willing to spend, a realistic design can be created with the appropriate interior computer software program, printed and handed over the interior designer to give him an idea of the design you wish your house to feature.

First and foremost, you need to purchase a home interior computer software program. There is a large variety of interior software programs available in the market wearing varied price tags. Needless to be mentioned but high priced software simply implies a large number of features and high quality. However, it is always recommended to purchase software that is easy to use. The average price of such software are $35 -$40. There are certain interior programs such as Google sketchup online that can be downloaded for free.

Once you have the software with you, you need to acquaint yourself with the features of the software. Play around with the software and explore the varied tools and features offered by the software program. Take help of the instruction manual or the user guide to familiarize yourself with the program further in details.

Start designing your 3d home interiors. The process is as simply as clicking, selecting and dragging the appropriate pieces and themes into the specified rooms. Paint the walls of various rooms in different colors and textures, select different size cabinets for the kitchen, experiment with varied types and sizes of furniture and so on to see how the rooms look. Keep in mind to save every new design created so that you can efficiently compare the designs in order to determine the best design.

Lastly, print the best 3d home design created by you. The printed design can be used for reference purpose while designing your interiors. Alternatively, you may hand over the printed design to the interior decorator and ask him to reflect the identical design in your home.{pictures from an Israel based studio}

Stylish and colorful kitchen design from Divine Kitchens

Spending time in the kitchen is inevitable. Even if you like to eat out often, you still need to cook from time to time. There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal that you enjoy with your family and loved ones. We all know that so we keep that in mind when designing our homes. The kitchen is a very important aspect. Most of us dream at a spacious kitchen, with modern pieces and plenty of cooking space, with lots of vibrant colors and an overall stylish look.

This is also what the owner of this house wished for after consulting with Mariette Barsoum, the owner of Divine Kitchens out of Boston, and Heidi Marika-Perez, Divine’s interior designer. They both help design this beautiful kitchen that probably looks like most of you would like to have in your homes. It’s all possible with a little expert help. Every kitchen is designed according to what the owners like or dislike and what they wish to include in the kitchen. Since every kitchen is different, so are the designs, Every one is unique. Let’s just take a look at this one.

It’s modern and has very nice color touches that create a very nice contrast. The colors have been chosen to complement the owner’s many brightly colored Le Creuset pots. So everything has been designed according to personal aspects and wishes. The kitchen is very spacious and also very functional. The furniture is modern and elegant and the overall image is very welcoming.

How to Design Your Dream Home

Everyone in this world always wants a dream home. Everybody has the idea of a dream home and they visualize how their ideal home should look like. The ideas everyone has are different from the others but the way one implements them or rather should implement is same. There are some desired features which one must include in their dream house plan.

One of the most important things that one has to keep in mind when designing their dream house is to take care of the Age in Place Design or what is commonly known as Universal Design. This is one feature which should be a part of all dream houses. This is not something anyone can see as such but this has to be incorporated in the functional design of the house. This design basically means that house can adapt easily to the aging of the owner so that they can stay comfortably in their old age without any problem.

The dream house that one designs should have an efficient design for the kitchen. The kitchen should have lots of place for storage and counter space that allows for easy working. The working area for the person should be carefully designed ensuring their convenience and cooking.

The other important thing to consider when designing the dream home is to ensure that the main bedroom or what is commonly also known as the master bedroom of the house is located on the ground floor especially when one is planning on a double storey house. This is keeping in mind the Universal Design as when someone wants to stay in the house for a long time, which one will naturally want to in their dream house, they should make sure that the bedroom in on the ground level or the main floor of the house so that there is no problem in the old age. Having one bedroom on the main level is of utmost importance to make the house functional.

Another very essential thing that one needs to keep in mind when designing their dream house is to ensure there is adequate storage in the house. Over a period of time, there are many things that one collects and thus, ensuring a place for storage is essential. Apart from the basic things as mentioned above there are some other things also depending on individual needs and requirements which one should ensure when they design their dream house.

HGTV Dream Home

Welcome to the dreamland of HGTV Dream homes. HGTV Dream houses are known to be one of the best constructions. All the homes are offered with spacious rooms, with the best facilities and luxuries. The professional services of HGTV are commendable as they take you through an orientation of the whole process of construction. Right from the quality of wood used to the detailed methods that follow every step is put on the website. You can follow up on every stage to see how the work has been progressing.

Hgtv Dream House: Fitness Room

HGTV offers many products for HGTV Dream house. You can have a tour through their online shop see the various products available for sale. They are all reasonably priced which are basic accessories for your bedroom and other home purposes. You can also get to know the quality of each room by taking a tour through their drop menus. There are photos of each room displayed along with the videos.

Hgtv Dream House: Dream Location

There are even sweepstakes offers for online customers who are above 21 years of age and legal residents of the US. The lucky ones may win HGTV Dream house in the most exotic locations. Application can be done online or even ordinary post.

Master Retreat: 70's Sidesplit

Since the end of August I've started on so many new projects, a few of which I'll be working on over the next 6 months to a year - and will tell you more about them in future posts. Since before the end of August I've wrapped up a lot of projects so I'd like to get some of these after pics off my plate so to speak before I move on to posting about the more recent stuff I'm working on. The 70's suburban sidesplit I furnished for a single mom and her daughter was completed earlier this year, for me it was the first time I took on a project that didn't involve any renovating whatsoever - that had all been done before I came on board. You can read more about the background story of this project here, and see after photos of the Daughter's room here and the Guest Bedroom here.

Like the other bedrooms in the house the master bedroom was on the small side but typical for a sideplit, it had a small walk-in closet and a tiny 3 pc ensuite and no redeeming architectural features at all. It had brand new hardwood floors and a fresh paint job when I first 'met' this room. My task was the same for this space as it was for the entire house, furnish it from top to bottom from scratch and have it completed and move-in ready in less than 3 months. Although she invested in a designer, her spending budget was modest so every splurge would need to be balanced with a few great finds.

The Before: this is what the room looked like the first day I saw it, the painters were just finishing up (talk about bad timing!). Once again I would have to work with ICI's Bavarian Cream. : / My client has a love for all things feminine and glamourous and traditional and elegant and french inspired and she wanted her new room to be all those things, but she's also young, professional and stylish so it had to be done in a way that looked modern and fresh (and by modern I mean current).

The After: I had a custom diamond tufted headboard and end of bed bench made, added an elegant crystal chandelier, a luxurious wool area carpet and glamorous mirrored chests on either side of the bed. The ruffled bed skirt, damask duvet cover and shams are from Au Lit.

Ready-made lined cream linen drapes with inverted pleat top and full length sheers dress up the not so fabulous looking window. I found an antique walnut dressing table with 4 big drawers and after contemplating several options for new chairs, my client found this antique chair stored in her mother's basement, it belonged to her much loved aunt. I thought it worked perfectly with the vanity and loved the fact that it had sentimental value. This chair and one pair of antique lamps were the only things that my client brought with her into this house. She does plan on reupholstering the seat or adding a slipcovered seat with 3/4 skirt. The etched mirror accessories are vintage from Chatelet Home. The knobs on the vanity were replaced with crystal ones since this pic was taken.

I had originally purchased a potted orchid for the dressing table but by the time I had returned and taken most of these photos,,,,all the potted orchids in the house had died, she's now replaced them with artificial. This is a bad Iphone pic, for some reason I have no decent after photos of this area of the room,,,I think its because from every angle I tried to shoot it I was getting a bad reflection in the mirror..

When it comes to designing spaces or furnishing a room, I'm most particular about lighting more than anything. Sometimes its to my detrement because I can get really hung up on finding something that I feel works just right,,,,,,,style, size, function,,,if its not just right,,the entire room falls short. These lamps are one of my favorites and are from Crate & Barrel. I like the simple form of the base and the drum shade which adds a modern touch to the space, it has a subtle crackle glaze, the soft curves and silk shade are so elegant. I think their simplicity pairs well with the traditional crystal chandelier. It was near impossible to find a pair of these in stock but after much begging, pleading and phoning I did manage to score a pair at the 11th hour.

The wool area carpet had a traditional feel to it, it had a taupey cream coloured border with a grey/blue main field. The end of bed bench wasn't ready in time for move-in (the day this shot was taken) but was delivered only a couple of weeks later....

Diamond pique lace edged coverlet & euro shams, and lace edged pillow cases were great finds from HomeSense as was the sunburst mirror.

The bench was delivered a couple weeks after move-in...

When I delivered the bench I also brought along one more finishing touch (which is now my most favorite thing in the room), a cream coloured velvet pillow with feather trim. My client was completely in love with her new room already and this little find sent her over the moon. : )

Feather pillow, HomeSense.

Even though everything in this room is new to my client except her aunts chair, I'm happy that all things in the room aren't brand new - it was important for me to mix in a few antique pieces so the end result is a mix of new and old, splurges and saves, ready-made and custom made, feminine and tailored,,,,, but best of all I think we achieved traditional without looking dated.