5 Often Overlooked Ways to Up Your Home’s Resale Value

Remodeling your home is one of the most important ways to increasing its resale value. Of course, people commonly focus their remodeling projects on the kitchen and bathroom areas, as these are staple ways to up the resale value of the property, but remodeling doesn’t stop there.

If you’re considering selling a house in the future, be sure to look at these remodeling ideas that are all too frequently overlooked.

Shelving and Storage

This may surprise you, but it’s often the small things that make a home more attractive to buyers. For instance, closet features are always of interest to home buyers. People have a lot of stuff and they like having the convenience of great shelf space to store objects and keep the clutter out of their walking space.

You should assess what your closets offer. Are they large? Are they well-designed?

Shelf space is hugely important. If a potential buyer can’t find a place to store their vacuum cleaner or exercise equipment, they may be much less likely to buy.

If you don’t have very much bulk storage space to offer, focus on practicality. Improve shelving options throughout your home.

You can add more creative shelving options to the kitchen, such as base-floor shelves. If you have a kitchen counter, consider installing more cabinets there, as well.

If you have a guest bathroom, you probably aren’t taking enough advantage of the shelving possibilities. Guests like bathrooms where they have plenty of places to put their things without feeling intrusive.

There’s always space to add more shelving and storing features. Take advantage of it. If you’re going to sell a house, you need to offer buyers as much useable space as possible.

The Staircase

The kitchen, bedroom and bathroom are called “high-impact areas.” In other words, they greatly influence a potential buyer’s impression of a home. Another high-impact area is the staircase.

Don’t overlook your staircase. How a person feels when they walk up the stairs is very important. A staircase that is loud and creaky doesn’t bode well for a buyer’s impressions. You want a strong staircase that is safe and comfortable.

Consider the surface of your staircase. Carpeted staircases are very popular because they are quiet and pleasing on the feet. Be cognizant of safety features, though. Using a very shaggy rug can make it hard to balance, while using a shiny wood surface can cause slipping.

Homebuyers are very aware of a bad staircase, so if yours isn’t up to par, focus your remodeling efforts here. This is a very important area of your home.

Natural Light

Potential buyers are always interested in a home with plenty of natural light. Even if you don’t have very large windows, you can still make this aspect of the house attractive. Try installing nice drapes or curtains. This draws people’s attention to the windows and also makes the windows seem larger than they are.

Adding mirrors is a great way to increase natural light flow in a home. Mirrors also are useful for creating depth in a home, as well, so if you want a room to feel a little bigger than it actually is, adding some mirroring can help.

“Curb Appeal”

Remodeling all too often overemphasizes interior details. The truth is, when a potential buyer walks up to your house, what they see at that moment may set the tone for whether they’re interested or not. Real estate agents commonly call this “curb appeal.” Giving your home a nice curb appeal is essential for getting the best offers.

Start with the small things. Get some new handles and doorknobs for your entrance ways. Clean your porch and repaint it if necessary. Gutters rust and may need to be cleaned and repainted, as well. Windows should be spotless and any weathering damage should be assessed and repaired. What about your lawn? Is it green and healthy looking?

Additional Property

If you have a shed out back, is it in good condition? What about your garage? Always look for room for improvement. Sheds and garages can take a lot of abuse of the years, so make sure they look attractive and inviting.

Cement cracks should be filled in and walls repainted. You may want to upgrade your garage door, as well. Having a garage door with good technology, security, insulation and a stylish appeal will make your house much more attractive to potential buyers.

Prints: The Next Home Design Trend?

2014 is full of so many great interior design trends like bringing the outdoors in and reusing existing, pre-modernism buildings for new establishments. But 2015 is going to be even better. One of the biggest trends debuting in the upcoming year isn’t one specific color or accessory, but a type of print. Plaid, polka dots and stripes are both traditional and classic, but this trend kicks these patterns and more, up a notch. For small rooms, large rooms, kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms the newest trend is large print.

Not just limited to on one wall of a room, or in a center, circle rug, but in all different places throughout the home or office this trend can be utilized and make anything stand out. This also lets decorators, designers and home openers use a bigger variety of colors and textures that might no typically work well together. In fact, a large pattern that includes three completely different colors can be a great platform for designing the rest of a room.

One way the large prints are being used is for furniture upholstery. As an alternative for either expensive leather or typical solid colored cloth, large printed cloth can be used to transform an old chair into something brand new. This style of furniture is less busy and easier to match than a smaller print or vintage printed chair. In a yellow room, a chair or couch with a large blue, white and yellow pattern can pull the whole room together.

When designing a room, the large printed furniture can be a great guide. For example, a black chair with a large floral pattern of light green and light purple can help with choosing wall paint colors, bedspreads and other décor pieces. Light green walls with a purple bedspread and black accents will match and all interact with each other for a cohesive, intricate design.

Of course, furniture isn’t the only place that a large print can be used. These prints can now be found in wallpaper designs. For an accent wall in a dark colored room, a large print adds colors and breaks up solid color. Four walls of a large print should be avoided, as it will cause too much chaos on the walls, but one of two walls utilizing this trend is a great idea.

One of the main benefits of a large printed wallpapered wall is that is rarely requires additional pictures, décor or detailing. Most designers don’t want to cover up the pattern but rather show it off. Therefore, it can be left alone to speak for it, holding its own in any rooms it’s featured. For a young woman’s room, an extra large zebra printed wall in a pink or gray room can be the atmosphere and room a complete hit.

If the large print won’t work on a wall, give it a try on the floor. Rugs in different patterns and fabrics can be purchased that contain this trend. This is a great way to add a large print to any room without completely replacing the carpet. Rugs also add depth and can transform a lain room into something with layers of design. Round rugs can be a focal part to a kitchen or living room, while a rectangle rug under a bed adds warmth. A large patterned rug is also a fun element for children’s rooms or modernly styled dens.

If furniture, wallpaper or a rug doesn’t fit the room, large prints can also be found in accent pieces and décor. For example, large paisleys, animal prints or essentially any element in the form of a picture of painting is always an option. This piece can be moved around the room and is less permanent than wallpaper and could be less expensive than a chair or couch. This option can also be added to any existing, already designed room.

Large patterns can have anywhere from one to five or six different colors. This means that adding something with a large pattern to a room will be easy. These prints are affluent and diverse. The variety of colors in each also makes a large printed piece easy to match with any room. Keeping an eye out for these prints in stores, magazines and on TV will be easy since this trend works for essentially any type of style. Classic homes can benefit from a large, Victorian pattern in pastel colors, while a chic, modern home can find a geometric, large print that has bright colors and crisp prints.

8 Essentials to Saving on Construction

Contracting, materials, planning – building a house takes a hefty budget with lots of planning. You can still save money on costs, though. A little cleverness can go a long way, and you don’t necessarily have to make sacrifices, per se. Read on to find out some essential tips to saving on money on your homebuilding project.

Plan ahead

Think about site preparation. This means being aware of all the stages of homebuilding, not just the straight-ahead construction. When you buy a lot, there’s likely to be plenty of dirt filling and natural obstacles that need to be cleared.

The more you take these factors into account, the better prepared you are. The key is to stay on schedule. While not every consequence can be accounted for or perceived, having all of the likely ones in check is crucial to sticking to your plan.

Work from Stock

Custom-drawn building plans can be expensive, but most custom home builders offer more affordable templates that you can adjust to what you need. You can save real dollars by sticking with a stock plan. Then, if you have your own ideas you want to execute, you can just customize off of the base idea. Don’t assume you have to start from scratch with your plan. Start with the basics and move from there.

Find your materials

Consider what materials you need and what materials you can save money on. For instance, you should get nice quality materials on the essentials, like doors and windows. Smart homebuilding isn’t just about aesthetics, you want a house that is safe and secure.

Other major materials can be changed, though. Like flooring – hardwood and ceramic flooring may be in the plans but it may not fit so well in the budget. For the meantime, you can install vinyl floors, instead. Metal roofing is another great low-cost option. It’s also fairly low maintenance, so you’ll save even more money in the long run.

Don’t be afraid to scavenge, either. Demolition sites, construction zones, junkyards – these aren’t glamorous places, but they are potential jack pots for salvaging raw materials, like bricks, old doors and wood. Some of the time, you may be able to get these materials for no money at all. Just haul it away. Make sure you have permission, though.

Avoid Changing Materials/Plans Mid-Build

You can’t always conceive of future circumstances, but changing your mind on what you want to build, while you’re building it, reeks havoc on a budget. Try not to change orders. Whenever the plan changes, the schedule gets delayed and the budget bleeds. This is why it’s best to know what you want to build and how you want to build it before you do anything, at all.

Think Realistically

Building a home can turn into a money pit if you’re not realistic about your needs. For example, be prudent about storage space. We all feel like we need more of it. This leads to people overbuilding, though. They end up sinking a fortune into a giant garage or an expansive addition.

Yet they could have gotten all this extra space through much cheaper means. If they have the lawn space, they could just build a shed and spend a fraction of the money. Or they could fix a nice alcove spot under their stairs. Plus, never underestimate the value of a good attic. There’s no need to fall into the trap of building costly structures for storage needs. You can find cheaper means to this end.

Be Around for Construction

It can be exhausting: getting all the plans laid out, the schedule determined, the materials found and the orders ready to go – but this doesn’t mean you should disappear when construction finally starts. You always need to keep on eye on what’s going on during the physical building of the house. Plans can change and problems arise. You should be around to handle these things. Don’t assume it’s all out of your hands just because the wheel starts rolling.

Maintain Accountability

Keep communication tight with your contractor. You should always check to make sure the plan is on schedule. If the budget is increasing and the work is falling behind, you should immediately address this and find out why. It’s your contractor’s duty to deliver the services you both agreed upon. If he or she isn’t delivering what you need, don’t cheat yourself with leniency.

5 Tips to Finding the Best Lot to Build a Home

The construction lot is where it all begins when it comes to building a house. The choices you make when buying land will play a large role in how much capital you have to build the physical property.

It’s not always easy to find real estate that suits your needs and fits your price range. However, as experienced home builders, we have some tips that may help. Read on to find out how to choose the right vacant land for your dream home.

Check out the so-called “undesirables”

The perfect lots are will often cost more if you have conventional preferences. Expect to pay more if you want a corner lot with a great view.

If you want to spend less on the location and save more for your new construction, you may want to consider going for the less desirable lots. These lots aren’t always worse than the premium-priced lots. Sometimes, they’re just overlooked. You can avoid problems by exercising due diligence when buying properties.

Lots that may be considered too narrow or uneven won’t sell so easily, so you’re likely to get a nice price for them. The right design for your new home can alleviate some of the problems with lots. For example, if the lot doesn’t have a great view, building your home higher can allow you to access the views you want from the upper levels.

You can also change the land of the home site, itself. With the right general contractor handling the landscaping, a so-called “problem lot” may not be much of a problem, at all.

If you want to find overlooked deals, look for:

hillside lots
fill-in locations
oddly-shaped locations.

Clever landscaping can bypass obstacles and leave you with a great location.

Consider all the “water-side” lots

Everyone wants a house on the beach, but many of the people who buy up these lots know that they’re going to be spending a fortune for the location alone.

Beaches are highly desirable, but sometimes risky too. For example, storm damage is a more serious risk when there are no obstacles between you and the ocean.

Building codes tend to be stricter near oceans, and that can also come with unwanted extra costs. Even if you’re lucky enough to avoid storms, your insurance policy may charge you some additional costs in the form of increased premiums. You may also find that warranties are less comprehensive near oceans if you don’t have a storm-proof house.

You can still have a water-adjacent property without paying ultra-premium prices for your building lot. Consider searching properties near a lake or canal. These are locations are more affordable and safer investments. At the same time, you still have the convenience of building a home near the water.

Go for the combo deal

Choosing the right lot for your building site can be difficult, especially when the current homeowners offer a huge plot of land at a high price.

You may only need a section of that land to accommodate your floor plan. Unfortunately, many property owners aren’t keen on dividing up what they have to offer, as this knocks down the value of what they have left.

A way to get around this is to find someone to co-pay with you on a larger piece of land. This is an arrangement where partners agree to complete a sale by dividing up the land between different buyers. Effectively, you’re acting as a broker to help the property owner find buyers for the parts of the land you don’t want.

Carefully consider zoning requirements before you pay for the property.

This way, you can acquire this desired lot and then divide it with your co-payer. It’s a great way to get a fantastic section of land and especially useful if you have a willing family member or close friend to join you in the investment.

Be aware of site preparation

When looking at potential lots, be aware of natural obstacles and challenges to the construction. This could be anything from trees and boulders to ditches and mounds. Think about hauling in the dirt, planning septic tank locations, and doing extra work to ensure water drains in the right direction.

Always consider if a lot will take too much site preparation. The type of home you prefer may need to take advantage of a larger lot. The more prep that needs to be done, the more costs you’ll incur before you even get to the building phases.

If you find a lot you like, which needs a reasonable amount of site preparation, carefully consider a plan of action to get everything ready in time for building.

If not planned ahead, site preparation can slow down and drag out a construction project, causing huge increases in costs. You don’t want to run into these avoidable consequences. Plan ahead as much as possible.

Check out the neighborhood

If you want your future house to fetch a high resale value, be aware of where that house will be situated. Look at the houses around it. A big McMansion surrounded by much smaller properties won’t get a fair resale price. Context is very important.

Neighborhood qualities should always be considered. What’s the community like? What are the income levels and crime rates?

Houses, no matter how lavish and amenity-filled, simply won’t be as attractive as similar properties located in safer communities. So, don’t get so hung up on the lot, itself. What’s around the lot can be even more important.

A lot could be considered the most essential step to the homebuilding process. After all, it’s where it all begins. Because of this, don’t rush into buying a lot; look at all the options, and then some.

A good philosophy is to organize your priorities. Think about what you absolutely require in a property and what aspects may be open to variation and flexibility.

Different lots will likely have their own pros and cons, so be willing to practice some pragmatism and creativity. The more thorough you are in your search and the more thoughtful you are in your approach, the more successful your homebuilding venture will be from the very outset.

Kitchen Trends to Inspire You

The kitchen is a homey nook in any house, a room where meals are made and families sit down and share their day over dinner. However, over time, even a good kitchen can become a little bit boring. If you’re in the market to remodel or redesign your kitchen, you will want to choose a trend that will be popular for many years to come so that you know that you made a solid investment. If you’re feeling a little uninspired, the following kitchen trends will look great and stun family members and guests.

Let Some Color In

If tired colors like black, white, gray, and beige seem a little boring to you, then let your kitchen shine with some real hues. Sinks especially look great with a dash of green, red, orange, blue, or yellow. These colors will make doing the dishes fun, or at least you can tell the kids that when you put them on dish duty. Try to pick a shade that will complement rather than clash with the rest of the colors in your kitchen for the best look.

Embrace Hydraulics

In a world where technology continues to change on the daily, some of that has filtered into home decor. For example, kitchen cabinets, shelves, and pantries now tend to include hydraulics that allow for quick opening and closing with very little effort on your end. You won’t have to hear the slamming of cabinet doors any longer. You can also save time with meal preparation anytime you’re in the kitchen.

Forget Manual Appliances

Ideal for children who made a mess or someone with sticky hands, sinks and other kitchen appliances are now automated. Rather than require you to manually turn on a sink, these appliances may need you to tap them or have a sensor that detects motion so that the sink turns on automatically. If you’re someone who cooks a lot and constantly washes your hands when dealing with raw meats or cracked uncooked eggs, being able to wash your hands without contaminating the sink handle is a lifesaver. There’ll be less mess for you to clean up too.

Turn on the Lights

Of course, a beautiful kitchen will still look dull if you have those same old lights that were there when you bought the house. By choosing bigger light fixtures with interesting and brave designs that still match the rest of your kitchen, you modernize the space with very little effort. If you don’t have a ton of money to spend, changing out the lights alone could be enough to make your kitchen suddenly much more impactful.

Consider Going Gray

If you have a relatively small budget for improvements in your kitchen, you can make a big impact by changing the color scheme from white to gray. While white is still a popular hue, according to HGTV, gray will soon make resurgence. Therefore, embracing the color now will ensure that your kitchen looks modern for years. Cabinets and countertops in the demure hue attract the eye somewhat more than regular white does.

Reconsider Your Countertops

Countertops are an expensive investment, and so they may have been one that you’ve been holding off on until you can save up enough money. However, if you’re dealing with faded or unattractive countertops, the wait can seem so much longer. HGTV recommends that instead of buying that top-notch brand name countertop that you saw in a magazine or online that you buy a close copy instead. For example, instead of a pricy granite countertop, the one you purchase may be made out of strong laminate. It looks just like the granite version but doesn’t have such a huge price tag.

Store to Your Heart’s Content

With hydraulics and more evolved cabinets, shelves, and pantries, storage space has increased exponentially. The designs of these spaces keep the regular homeowner in mind who has a lot of cups, bowls, utensils, plates, Tupperware, and kitchen appliances to neatly put away. If you’re someone who’s always cramming for space with your current cabinets, upgrading these and your pantries can allow you to enjoy a cleaner kitchen.

Match Your Kitchen to the House

If you’re going all-out and completely remodeling your kitchen, HGTV suggests that you try to pick a design that will match the rest of the house as closely as possible. This creates a type of connectivity between room to room that you cannot achieve otherwise. The trick also makes your kitchen that much more attractive, meaning that you’ll want to spend more time there than ever before.

How to Make Your Home Look Futuristic and Fun

The future is now. If you want your home to look like the kind of residence you’d find aboard a top-notch spacecraft, you can. Rooms like the bathroom, living room, backyard, office, and bedroom can all be transformed by simply swapping out objects and replacing them with funky, fun, and futuristic options.

Bathrooms

If you want to revitalize and update your bathroom, consider switching your sink. If you think that you’re bound by bland white porcelain models, the world of sinks has expanded greatly. For children, Meridiana, a company based in Italy, has produced deep, bowl-like sinks decorated to look like soccer balls, baseballs, and basketballs. For those that don’t have kids, you’ll appreciate a sink designed by Flux, which features a transparent bowl-like sink and a large circular storage container beneath that comes in a range of modern colors.

Pendant Lamps

The lights that illuminate your home can also look fresh and futuristic. Pendant lamps make a huge impact on their own, but when you find some with interesting designs, that impact is far greater. For example, lamp producer Slamp has made a pendant that looks like a large purple flower. The flowing and bending glass connects with straight edges to produce a creative piece.

If you appreciate more contemporary decor, a brand called Alma Light has a drop-down light, which simply looks like a large light bulb with a chrome base. It’s simple and would work in any type of room that has plenty of decorative touches and needs utilitarian lights. A brand called Zero produces beam lights that you can adjust like spotlights around a room as needed.

Lounge Chairs and Footstools

Even the standard lounge chair has been redesigned with more flair and fun in mind. Egg chairs will certainly stand out to guests, as these have deeper seats for a more comfortable feel. The footstools that accompany these types of chairs tend to have a heavy dip in them too for the optimal relaxation experience.

For a really futuristic lounge chair, invest in the Gaetano Pesce piece called the UP5 chair. Recalling ancient art and its preference for voluptuous women, this chair mimics those curves with a rounded top and raised arm rests. The footstool is also circular. Infectious stripes of bronze and beige cover the entire chair.

Metal Fire Pits

If you don’t own any fire pits, you may want to consider changing that. Most of these metal warmers have evolved with home decor trends to look sleek rather than bulky. Having one of these will actually add rather than take away from your home. Some of them are colored metal and look more like decorative sculptures than fire pits, while others embrace their metal roots and feature artistic designs around the edges to make using these a delight. You can also find more standard designs if these match your preferences. However, no matter what kind you choose, if you plan on doing any outdoor entertaining on a cool autumn night, a fire pit will keep you and your guests warm while generating lots of wows.

Offices

Whether you work from home or take your job home with you, if you feel like you don’t get enough privacy in your home office, you’ll be pleased to know how far office trends have come. The OfficePOD is a United Kingdom creation that is a completely separate entity from the house. As the name suggests, it’s a pod that you erect in your backyard or other outdoors space to get some work done and have a nice view as well. Before you buy your OfficePOD, you can choose whether you want air conditioning or heating in it, what kinds of light sources you want, what power sources you’ll utilize, and what type of ventilation you want.

An OfficePOD will last you for about 25 years and can be moved, making it a worthwhile investment if you need to get some work done. You can buy pre-designed OfficePODs or even completely create your own according to your needs.

Tree-Shaped Bookshelves

Enchant your children and any guests with tree-shaped bookshelves. These come in a range of thicknesses and designs; some have thinner branches where you can place your books while some are wider and able to store more books per branch. If your current shelf isn’t inspiring you, one of these might. They also come in a range of colors, making them attractive. These bookshelves go right against a wall just like any other, but they take up far less space and increase the aesthetics of your home. You’ll want to toss your regular old bookshelf.

Using Red to Decorate Your Home: Attract and Wow Guests

Red has always been an attractive color, and anyone who wears it tends to exude confidence and catch everyone’s eye. Similarly, the hue can have striking effects when used in home decor. Obviously, with such a strong color as red, you shouldn’t go filling a whole room with it. Painting your walls red could be seen as too extreme, but small decor touches and household objects can really charge up a room that may have otherwise been bland or tame. If you want to use red around the house but need some inspiration, you can start with these ideas.

Chairs

No matter what kind of kitchen that you already have, you can remodel it easily by changing out your current dining chairs and replacing them with brilliant red ones instead. If you have a white kitchen, the red will look electric against such a light color. A modern one-hued kitchen like all white or all black will become even more amazing when you incorporate some red chairs into the room.

No matter what kind of chairs that your dining room calls for, red works. Metal chairs, wooden chairs, bar stools, even upholstered chairs all look alluring in such a hue. If you have a metal, wooden, or painted dining table, chances are that the red chairs will complement it instead of clash with it.

Couches

A picturesque living room or lounge becomes all the more enticing with red furniture like couches or loveseats. If you’re worried that red wouldn’t work with your current living room, you’d be surprised. The color blends with a number of other hues like white, black, brown, beige, and blue. You can probably keep the rest of your living room the same and just replace the couches to breathe new life into the space.

If you prefer, you can get pillows for your couch. These can be a single color like white or black or can have touches of red in them. Just avoid all red pillows for these will blend into the couch and reduce the overall effect.

Rugs

For those who are a little nervous about incorporating red into home decor, try swapping out your current rug with one that has red in it. Chances are, if you purchase a rug with a complicated design, it will include a whole slew of complementary shades so that the red will not stand out as brightly. Such a rug will probably match your living room already, especially if you already have a red couch. In that case, you may want to choose a rug with a deeper and darker shade of red so as not to overpower the room. If you opt out of the red couch, your rug can be as daring as your own style dictates.

Pillows and Decor

Feel the energy of red when you crawl into bed every night. You can decorate your bedroom or other rooms with the hue easily by putting red on the walls. Buy a piece of artwork or a picture in the brave color to immediately capture attention when someone walks into the room. These pieces don’t have to be pure red; a darker shade like brick red will still have the same kind of show-stopping effects.

You can also use a red bedspread or red pillows. Again, you should avoid using both if you want to create an interesting contrast. Red pillows on a white or black bed set looks wonderful and vice-versa. By investing in some red sheets or a bed set, you can try this trend but not permanently.

Doors

If you’re already in love with red and want to use it for years to come, paint your front door the hue. With this task, you can choose a number of different shades of red. According to HGTV, more modern doors will probably look best with a darker shade like brick red rather than the bright natural shade. If you have a brick exterior for your home, this dark red color will complement that beautifully and look better than a white, beige, brown, or black door.

For older-looking doors, you should also try a darker color, but a contemporary door would look great with bright, regular red splattered across it. If you have a country style front door, then you should consider using a kind of red that has hints of purple in it, HGTV recommends.

Rather than replacing your front door entirely, which can be expensive and time-consuming, painting the door takes a day or two, doesn’t cost a lot of money, and instantly upgrades your home for years to come.

Transform Your Home Starting with the Staircase

Home remodeling can easily turn into a complicated mess. Walls need to get knocked down, floors need to be ripped out, furniture needs to be replaced – all these big jobs mean big bills to pay, and that’s not always something we want.

Believe it or not, there are many great ways to transform your home, working with what you already have. This means spending way less money and getting to use your creativity to update your pad. Just take a look at your staircase.

Let’s Talk Staircases

A staircase is full of possibilities. Think about it: a staircase is nothing but a hollow structure. Underneath those stairs is a sizeable amount of space. Some people call it an alcove or a cupboard. To a lot of homeowners, this is just a vacant area, or maybe some kind of storage unit, but there are much more clever ways to utilize the space underneath your stairs.

If you have a lot of books, try fixing a cabinet space in this area. This way, you can have all of your books tucked underneath the stairs. Not only can this look stylish, but it can take away the need to keep a cumbersome bookcase in the house, freeing up more walking space.

If you have a pet, you may want to try turning this vacant area into a kind of dog house or kitten corner. It won’t take much. You can even fix a small pet door, if there’s a wall already there. Fill up the alcove with a nice dog bed or even a play center for your cat to climb on.

There are so many more uses for a staircase alcove. Most people just turn this space into a shoe closet, but where’s the fun in that?

If you have a sizeable wine collection, with very little investment you can turn that space into a wine storage area. People oftentimes sanction off a huge chunk of their kitchen space to store their wine. There’s no point to this. Underneath a staircase, the wine can be stored in a dry space where sunlight will never hit it. It’s like a mini-cellar with very little work involved.

If you like to exercise, try building an exercise station there. You can keep all your free weights and mats in one place. Fix a door and you can exercise right at home, put away your equipment and then shut the door. It keeps the clutter of equipment out of the way.

You could even turn the alcove into a kind of relaxation nook. Put a small twin-size bed in with fabric-laden walls. All of the sudden you have a hidden room where you can relax, read and take a nap without getting caught!

Are you a gamer? Do have a kid that plays video games? If you do, you know that video game consoles and TV sets result in a sea of tangled chords and clutter from disc cases and spare controllers. Why not build a video game nook? You can install a hinged door, fit in an electronics station and even tuck in some fold out chairs for an easy gaming set up. Not only will this keep all of the gaming paraphernalia in one spot, it’ll make it easier to tell if your kid’s on top of their homework!

If you’re in desperate need of some convenient office space, why not fix a computer desk area there, instead? You can keep all the wires and tucked right underneath and install a desk unit with a slide-out section for easy access.

Are you a music lover? CDs, record collections, instruments, amplifiers – the typical collection of equipment and valuables can take up a mass of space. This can make it difficult to clean up the house for company. That’s why this alcove area can be so useful.

If you have a nice stereo system, try building a neat space for the main unit. You can then fix the speaker outlets anywhere around the house, using some discrete adhesive strips to line the wiring along the walls. Now your home radiates with music and your main unit is in a secure, easily hidden area. Plus, you can fit a clever cabinet space on the bottom for storing less-used CDs and cherished memorabilia.

Do you like to record music? A staircase alcove is perfect for building a makeshift vocal booth. Just fix the walls with some acoustic materials to dampen the sound, hook up your gear and now you have a perfect, enclosed spot to record music.

There are many ways to remodel your home with little money and lots of creativity, and lots of possibilities can be found right at the staircase. Even if you’re already using this area, whether for storage or otherwise, try reassessing how you use that space. You may surprise yourself with the ideas that come to mind.

Modern Home Trends of 2014: Mixing Indoor and Out

2014 is full of design trends that will have homeowners excited to create a new room or thinking about remodeling an old one. Ethnic prints, bronze accents and corduroy couches are just a few examples of what’s on tap this year. But one trend that it really taking the home design world by storm is challenging the boundaries of interior versus exterior. That’s right, designers and decorators are mixing indoor and outdoor elements to create completely unique room designs that have never been seen before.

A traditional house makes homeowners pick between inside and outside. Inside is for couches, tables and carpets. Outside is for grass, lawn furniture and trees. But homeowners and designers around the globe are sick of this ultimatum. As a result, the two mind frames are being mixed together resulting in relaxing living rooms and breathtaking bedrooms that make visitors feel like they’re comfortably outside (without bugs, rain or a chilly breeze).

A green carpet and blue walls can give the feeling of being outside, but barely. Let’s start from the floor up and discuss what types of materials and décor is now being used by designers to blend inside and outside into one cohesive room. This type of design can work for any type of room kitchen, living, bedroom or bathroom just to name a few. However, for the sake of explaining, a living room is a great place to apply this design.

First of all, ditch that carpet. A natural wood or stone floor gives rooms a grounded feel. Wood and stone are both building and design materials that come right from the earth, so they bring that feeling into any room. And they are just as diverse as a carpet. Wood comes in all different shades and tones, while stone offers the same advantage.

However, stone and wood can sometimes be cold, and not all that cozy when it comes to bedrooms and living rooms, but that’s what area rugs are for. Instead of covering up the whole floor with one carpet, using area rugs creates sections of a room and can utilize a wider variety of colors. A light green area rug on top of wood triggers thoughts of grass, while a blue rug on top of a stone floor, reflects water.

So what about furniture? Luckily, this trend is spreading and now more than ever, naturally-created and designed furniture can easily be found. Wooden furniture will always aid in the natural environment of a room, but there are a lot more options than that. Designers are using outdoor furniture as an alternative to classic couches and reclining chairs. Wicker furniture comes in a wide variety of colors and often features fabric upholstery for more comfort than traditional plastic lawn chairs. Lawn furniture sold in stores today aren’t just individual chairs, but rather sets that come with tables, couches and pillows.

If patio furniture seems like a little much for a living room, there are couches and loveseats on the market made from fabric with patterns like wood or stone that could greatly enhance this interior design without having to sacrifice comfort and traditional living room furniture. On side tables or coffee tables, decoration like rock formations and small plants bring even more life into the room.

Speaking of rock formations, rocks are a very underutilized building and décor material. Fake rock facades are used all the time for home exteriors, but real rocks can be chosen and installed to look natural while creating a fireplace or border around a flat-screen television. Long, flat rocks can be used as shelving and small rocks can be used to fill in any gaps.

A neutral color on the walls will keep attention on the centerpieces of the room, whether it is a stone fireplace or tree-trunk coffee table. A light beige or grey adds to the room without taking any attention of its own. A neutral painted wall is also the perfect canvas for complementary décor. Some ideas for on-theme décor include a fish tank, carved wood sculptures or ornaments, fresh flowers and seasonal gems like pumpkins or colored leaves.

An indoor/outdoor room created the right way will have guests wondering if they are in an outside oasis or an indoor nature retreat. Bringing the outside in adds elements of relaxation, air, ground and nature to a home. These elements that can normally only be found in a backyard or nearby park, are now being experienced in homes across the country. The best part is that this type of interior design totally customizable and creates a one-of-a-kind room for everyone who lives there or visits to enjoy.

Hottest Design Trends of 2014 for Your Bathroom

Your bathroom is not just a functional place. With the right design and the right features, your bathroom can feel like an oasis away from the world. You won’t feel like you need to go to the spa. You can just open the door to your own master bath and feel like you are at a luxurious resort. Even if you have a small bathroom, you can make it feel more expansive than its four walls.

Checking out some of the latest home decorating trends can give you some great ideas for transforming your bathroom. Here are a few of the hottest design trends of 2014 to give you inspiration for your bathroom:

Framed Mirrors

Builder’s mirrors are a common feature of bathrooms. They are the plain mirrors that are stuck to the wall with those tiny metal or plastic hangars all around the sides. They do the job, but they aren’t that pretty.

You can easily frame a mirror with a piece of wood molding, tile or some other decorative border. It’s a quick DIY project that will make a big difference. You can also hire a handyman to do it for you if you aren’t sure about your skills.

Designer Lighting

You don’t have to settle for a simple recessed light in the ceiling or track lighting over your vanity. You can install luxurious lighting anywhere in your bathroom, such as a crystal chandelier over your bathtub or a designer pendant light over the vanity.

A well-placed and well-chosen lighting fixture can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your bathroom. Plus, it’s a simple change that doesn’t cost a ton of money.

Fireplace

If you want really dramatic lighting, you can install a fireplace in your bathroom. You’ll need to have some space to make this one work. However, if you’ve got the square footage, you can install a fireplace next to your bathtub for some romantic or cozy ambience.

A traditional, open fireplace would look great next to an old-fashioned claw-foot tub, or you can install a glass, gas-powered fireplace next to your garden tub. Create a soothing place to relax and forget your cares.

Glass Tile

Tile is the perfect choice for bathrooms since it is resistant to water damage and is easy to clean. Your choice in tile can make a big impact on the look of the bathroom. Think beyond color choice. Glass tile can create a shimmery, almost underwater appearance to your bathroom, especially if you select a blue or green hue.

Experiment with different colors of glass tiles to create different looks. Larger, red tiles, for example, can create a sophisticated and luxurious look.

Floor Heating

Stepping out of a hot shower or bath onto a cold floor is jarring — not at all what you want when you’ve had a soothing and relaxing soak. One of the biggest trends of 2014 is floor heating. The tiles or planks are heated by coils below the floor, which creates a comfortable, relaxing environment. You’ll be surprised at how much the floors can warm your whole body from the feet up.

Curbless Showers

Curbless showers offer a streamlined look that is modern and stylish. Instead of a demarcation between

The shower and the floor, the room runs continuously into the shower. A drain is placed at the center of the shower to funnel the water down, or the drain can be placed under the shower door, catching the water before it has a chance to run out onto the floor.

Water Efficiency

Green is the new black, and eco-friendly designs are popular for every room of your home. Water-efficient toilets, showers and sinks are in style for bathrooms. Check out toilets that give you different flush options for different types of waste and low-flow sinks and shower heads. You’ll save money, and you’ll be doing your part to preserve our precious natural resources.

Multi-Head Showers

On the other end of the environmental spectrum is indulgence rather than conservation. Multi-head showers allow you and your partner to enjoy a warm shower at the same time, with neither one of you standing in the cold while you wait your turn for a rinse. Of course, you can also enjoy the shower by yourself if you want to feel like you are under your own personal waterfall.

If it’s time to give your bathroom an update, consider trying out one of these decorating trends for 2014. You’ll create a new look for your bathroom while also improving its functionality, creating a spa-like space in your own home.