Tag Archives: bathroom

At this time of year, the vegetation’s green colour is at its best: tender, pure, intense, bright. As we see this brand new greenery pop through our windows, we wonder why we haven’t spread it indoors. Today is the day we stop wondering and we just do it.

Green is soothing, a quality much appreciated in a child’s bedroom. Green is purifying, which makes it an ideal colour for the bathroom and the kitchen; but, especially the bathroom where blue and white, combined with the green, create a natural and fresh look. Green also evokes health, spring freshness and good living.

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If the fenestration is abundant, that’s even better because the natural sunlight will give the green more radiance. If you add mouldings, stone and parquet flooring to this decor, you will create the most natural design.[……]

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Windows are not only used to regulate the indoor temperature, let in natural sunlight and block outdoor noises from coming inside. They can also be used to create a multitude of decorative designs. The trick is knowing how to use them to their best advantage.

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The window itself can be aesthetically pleasing, through its shape (circle, half-moon, quarter-moon, octagon, oval), its material (wood, PVC, metal), its glass (frosted, stained) and its coverings (curtains, textiles, blinds, sheer fabrics, shutters).

The French door fits into an interior wall. It provides more light to a room or adds a beautiful element to the decor, acting as an interior window. It can also slide into an exterior wall, which we, Canadians, call the patio-door.[……]

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The title might surprise you, but it’s the truth. Just a touch of black can make any spring colour, like yellow and green, pop in a room thanks to the magic of contrast. See how.

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Even a hint of black can improve the look of any room by providing more depth to the dominating colour. Orange, yellow and pink are all the more vivid when paired with black.

Others will say, on the contrary, that a touch of black will tone down any overbearing colour. It helps to soothe plenty of bold colours that can be irritating over time. It’s a fact. Black will mellow down any colour proclaiming to be overpowering.

This trace of black can be a trim molding halfway up the wall or a crown molding, a door, an entire staircase or parts of it, the woodwork, a curtain, the upholstery fabric, the ceiling beams, the den, a lampshade, a wrought-iron structure, a strip of wallpaper or a screen.[……]

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Most people renovate their homes for more space or more comfort. Some also remodel their homes in order to sell their property more quickly while getting the desired price for it.

But you shouldn’t start renovating carelessly. Follow these guidelines.

  • It would be irresponsible to carry out overwhelming work in order to sell your home quickly. Disaster will probably strike. Some upgrades, worth a few hundreds or thousands of dollars, should do the trick.
  • Check every nook and cranny in your home to find any defects. Neglecting this step might give the future buyer the wrong impression. Imagine if he or she arrives with a building inspector? Omitting to inspect your home is not the best way to go, even if you end up selling your property for the desired price. If the future homeowner ends up dragging you into court for latent defects, not only will you see your profit melt away, but your quality of life will diminish.
  • Start by facing your home and put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Is the frontage appealing? Is the front door impeccable? A neglected exterior usually implies a careless homeowner in the minds of future buyers.
  • Go outside and walk around your property and think of the things that would bother a buyer and try to address the problem. For example, you live in a noisy neighbourhood because of the traffic. Find out how much building a green wall or a solid wall would cost to reduce the noise.

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Like most renovation jobs, a patient and meticulous do-it-yourselfer will have no problem laying ceramic. In case of doubt, leave it to a professional. Redoing a ceramic floor or even a part of a wall is quite unpleasant. Here are a few guidelines to help you determine if you should do the work yourself.

  • Laying ceramic is not as easy as pouring a concrete floor or laying a carpet. Especially if the choice of tiles requires various cuts.
  • The range of required tools and instruments is impressive. You will need to rent or borrow them.
  • Remember, generally speaking, the ceramic used to cover a wall is different from floor ceramic, as it is much more fragile. However, there is model of ceramic that applies easily to the floor, the wall and even the work surface in the kitchen. Lastly, there is a model reserved exclusively for floors, which is the sturdiest of all ceramics. [……]

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We see it as outdated, obsolete, even tacky at times and yet each time it is reborn to become even fresher and richer. Ceramic never ceases to amaze us. It’s the phoenix of decorative materials.

We were originally seduced by the practical side of ceramic: shock resistant, watertight, not affected by changes in temperature, easy to wash, perfectly hygienic. It was the ideal material for the kitchen (floor and work space), the bathroom (floor and walls) and the vestibule (floor).

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Years have passed and designers have recognized the potential of ceramic in terms of aesthetics. They have embraced it enthusiastically. The days when ceramic was associated with being poor are long gone. Today, ceramic offers almost infinite possibilities when it comes to decorating.

Ceramic imitates natural stones, wood, marble and concrete. Sometimes the designs are quite surprising, such as snakeskin. This explains its astonishing ability to make a floor come alive. And even make it sophisticated. Ceramic comes in so many colours, textures and motifs that you have an abundance of choice.[……]

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A master of illusion, reflection and transparency, generator of freshness and pureness, light sensor, ground breaker, glass is a fascinating material. Decoration professionals use it in abundance.

A good way to measure the power of glass is to install a glass door or a large window in a room. Everything lights up. The space is bigger, light floods the room, the atmosphere becomes joyful.

Glass is a material that likes to take over a space. Surpassing the wall openings, it spreads throughout the house: glass floor (brick or paved), glass staircase, glass furniture, glass partitions and interior doors. Entire houses have converted to glass. They are transparent from one exterior wall to the other, covering 80% of the area.

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Glass makes reflection dance, which adds to the cheerfulness of a room. Reflections bring the smallest objects to life, from trinkets to the mirror. And the dance becomes frenzied if metal, polished stone, lacquer or other reflective material join the party.[……]

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