Tag Archives: walls

Perfection does not exist in a shabby chic decor and that’s exactly what makes it so charming. Distressed but vibrant furniture overshadows new furniture. It fits easily into this decor that is soft, joyful, organic, and let’s admit it, a little bohemian. Shabby chic is silky-soft. At the heart of this style is distressed furniture. As if the wood was worn out by sea salt, or simply over time. The furniture looks like the kind you would find at a flea market or antique store. You can see the wood through the cracked paint. In some instances, several coats of paint let different layers of colours peek through.

Shabby chic becomes a full-blown style when the walls, ceilings and floors also have a worn-out look, if not to say neglected. The whole room seems weathered. Almost everything looks distressed but without the dusty and old appearance of antiques or the tacky and playful side of pure vintage.

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Shabby chic can be mellow and not so mellow. The first variant gets all of its potential from a stark and sober decor, almost bare, where the furniture takes centre stage to express the style. The second alternative welcomes various decorative accessories: candlesticks, crumpled fabrics, dried flowers, patchwork, glazed silver. In this instance, shabby chic meets vintage.[……]

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A floating parquet floor is still quite popular and gains in quality. Its most significant asset is that it suits almost any decor. Moreover, its installation is relatively straightforward. Here are the basic guidelines.

  • A few days before the installation, lay the planks in the specific room to allow them to get acclimated.
  • Make sure the solid base on which the floor will be installed has no trace of moisture.
  • There is no need to remove the existing floor (unless it is carpeting) to install the floating parquet floor as long as it is properly levelled so that the surface is clean and smooth.
  • You will need to install a membrane to stifle sounds and vibrations. It will also act as a thermal insulator. It can be made of polyethylene foam or cork.
  • When laying the planks, make sure to leave a gap of approximately 10 millimetres between the floor and wall to allow the wood to move freely when humidity and temperature variations force it to expand. Otherwise, the planks will curl.
  • Begin with the straightest and longest wall, uninterrupted by the door for example, and finish with the wall with the most cut-outs. Thus, the imperfections will show less.
  • All kinds of spacers, long ruler or string, can help you keep a consistent gap around the room’s perimeter. Baseboards or quarter-round moldings will hide the joint along the walls.

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A plant product that is sustainable, recyclable and rot-proof: cork is sought after as a floor covering and is considered one of the most efficient insulating material for walls, doors, roofs and floors. In addition, it looks beautiful and inviting. In short, it’s a God-given product.

Let’s start with the basics. Cork is often used as a subfloor for a hardwood or floating floor because of its sound and crush-resistant properties and its elasticity. A more discreet role, but an efficient one, nonetheless.

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Far from being unattractive, cork is most usually used above ground, in the form of slabs, as a flooring material. It has numerous qualities. It is flexible, effective against vibrations, soft to the touch, and pleasant to look at. A dozen shades, if not more, are available on the market.[……]

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Even the basement does not escape the concept of a sustainable house. If you are planning to remodel the lower floor and are concerned about the future of the planet, here are a few guidelines you should follow, according to Écohabitation experts.

This would be the perfect time to check for radon. We have been hearing more and more about this carcinogenic gas. You can find the detection device in a large shopping centre or a hardware store. If the level is high, Écohabitiion recommends a system designed to evacuate the gas.

Insulating the water heater and plumbing pipes will considerably reduce your energy bills.

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Opt for synthetic (recycled) gypsum for the walls and ceilings instead of the natural one. It is more ecological.[……]

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If you decide to open the inside of your home to natural stone, you have opted for a durable, chic material that requires little maintenance.

Stone works in numerous places in all rooms: interior and exterior walls floors, walls and retaining walls, staircase, wine cellar, work surface in the kitchen, vanity top in the bathroom.

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A stone floor is the most solid and durable there is. To make it more ecological, use lime mortar during installation. The most widely-used stones are slate, granite, limestone, marble and quartz, as paving stones or slabs. They allow for all sorts of possibilities in terms of finishes depending on the desired look: sponging, sanding, polishing.

For exterior paving, don’t forget to establish a minimum 1.5% slope to facilitate rainwater drainage.[……]

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From stripping the African hut, the cradle of humanity, we have , we have switched to decorative abundance throughout the centuries. In 2015, we have the impression of going back to square one as we progress toward the world of tomorrow. We are stripping things down again. The living room is no exception.

Living room decor will be marked by simplicity, but without austerity. In fact, tomorrow’s living room will have more of a lounge atmosphere. And God knows how much the lounge style can burst with beauty and freshness!

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Screens on the walls, futuristic furniture, projectors and recessed lighting, tomorrow’s living room will go from the contemporary style to a more dazzling style. Everything will be designed, from the bookshelves to the staircase.[……]

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Also known as “gyprock,” “sheetrock” or “plasterboard,” sheets of gypsum are found everywhere in the structure of modern houses. In fact, gypsum has become the reference material over the years. So what could be more natural than to choose this material to finish our walls?

You would think it wouldn’t be complicated to buy this wall component. However, once you get to your building centre, you’re faced with a variety of dimensions and colours. Which one do you choose?

First you have to know your needs. Are you going to use it in a regular room, or a humid area like a bathroom where air quality is very important, or a space that needs to be fire-resistant?

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