Six Tips to Upgrade Your Kitchen Decor

The kitchen is the central part of any home. It’s where we cook, eat, and enjoy conversation. Because of this, it deserves to be a place of comfort and joy. Equally important, it should reflect who we are. Take a look through these six kitchen renovation tips to feed your inspiration, get the creative juices flowing, and assist you in your kitchen makeover.

Remodel the Flooring Day and night, the kitchen is the hub of constant hustle and bustle. This is why it’s crucial to pick a durable material that can sustain the recurring hullabaloo. Limestone and granite, though expensive, offer a firm yet sophisticated veneer that is easy to pair with other decor. Alternative materials such as ceramics are more traditionally used as they are known for being reasonably priced and come in a wide selection of styles. Another classic but still elegant option is wood flooring, which exudes a rich warmth that can serve as a beautiful contrast to its neighboring fittings.

Try Out Some Backsplash Tile If you’re looking for a way to make your kitchen really pop on an eye-level perspective, installing stylish backsplash tile in your kitchen - especially around the sink and stove -  is one of the surest ways to go about it. There are hundreds of surfaces with beautiful patterns to select from, so you may want to flip through a catalog and work with a designer to inform yourself of the most suitable options and prices that are available in your area.

Balance the Light Eating breakfast with your eyes uncomfortably scrunched because of bad lighting is something all of us can do without. Counter this by getting a dimmer installed. To up the ante, consider an arrangement of recessed lighting or rows of track lighting positioned around the kitchen’s perimeter to reduce intense glares. This way, daily activities can be happily accomplished without the discomfort of an unavoidably bright, centralized source of light. Lastly, installing a skylight or a casement window above the kitchen sink is a great way to bring in natural light and air ventilation; if interested about window installation opportunities, feel free to contact Wallside either by phone or email for any window-replacement questions you may have.

Activate Your Green Thumb Who doesn’t like plants? Being a place of recurring activity, the decision to introduce a few of these calming, oxygen-producing machines to your home could only help matters. With the right placement and lighting, household plants bring a subtle, earthy tone to your home’s atmosphere that can be used to offset our technology-dominated dwellings.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Over the past couple decades, engineers have made significant improvements to the functionality and design of sinks. From luxuriously crafted basins, multipurpose mixer faucets, to nifty add-ons, the design aesthetic and usability of sinks have dramatically risen over the past couple of decades. Browse through home remodeling websites or catalogs to gain inspiration for ideas and discern the type of upgrade you’re looking for.

Personalize with a Theme Although it is common for a kitchen to have a matching color scheme, a less-opted method is creating a theme. If done subtly, it can be a great way to bring some character to a room. Homes located on a lakefront or beach coast, for example, are often adorned with a sailboat or fishing theme. One idea is to tailor the theme’s concept to a family interest; a family interested in Hollywood movies, for example, could spruce the kitchen with film-related novelties.

Simple Ways to Improve Your Curb Appeal

Your home’s exterior is the first impression a passerby has of it. The display of the landscape, shrubbery, lighting display, and numerous other additions have a significant impact on a home’s value. Commonly deemed “curb appeal,” the importance in performing regular upkeep of a house’s outward appearance cannot be overstated; it is a major component to what prospective buyers take into account when searching for a new residence. Keeping this in mind, you may want to consider these additions to sharpen your curb appeal:

Build a Pathway Nothing says “inviting” like a smoothly paved walkway leading up to a front door. Capitalize on this by installing one at your home, too. Consult a guide online to find the right materials and build one yourself -- or, hire a professional for projects with heavy materials or a yard with complex conditions to work around.

Groom Your Lawn A lawn with a trimmed, vibrant sea of grass will always benefit a home’s look. Be sure to maintain regular maintenance so that it is properly mowed, fertilized, edged, watered, and free of any invasive weeds.

Install Replacement Windows In addition to the energy savings to be had, replacing dated windows can make a huge difference on your home’s exterior appearance. Installing new, energy efficient windows will greatly improve your home’s value and add a polished touch to its curb appeal.

A Little Mulch Never Hurt Anybody In addition to the rich look it offers, mulch is extremely helpful to the health of a yard’s plants, soil, and shrubbery. It prevents weeds from sprouting and encapsulates essential rain and precipitation so that the surrounding environment has a balanced amount of moisture to sustain itself. Additionally, there is a wide array of textures that mulch comes in, each of which fosters a unique aesthetic and set of functions with bark chips, grass clippings, and shredded wood known to be traditional favorites.

Dapper up Your Garage Door Depending on its location in relation to the street view, the garage door can play a crucial role in your home’s curb appeal. Though it usually isn’t the first item on the renovations to-do list, there’s no reason it should be left unnoticed. To revamp your garage doors, your best bet will be to work with a contractor who specializes in the craft; work with the professional so that the remodeled look complements the theme and design of your home. The price of a garage makeover varies depending on the extent of the restoration (materials used and sophistication of design), but it’s safe to say that an average job will most likely have you spending a few hundred dollars.

Other Ideas to Consider: - Add a reading bench (placed under a tree for shade, if possible) - Plant shrubbery and flowers with vibrant colors

Maintenance Tips for Vinyl Windows

Well-kept windows are essential for maintaining proper visibility and a fresh curb appeal for your home. Although vinyl windows are excellent at enduring tough weather of all kinds, they can still get dirty and are prone to repair from time to time. Read below for some tips on how to properly keep your windows nice and clean.

Inspection The first question you may ask yourself is how often you should conduct maintenance for your windows. Although there is no set standard, it never hurts to give them a checkup every season – so about four times a year. When it comes to cleaning the windows, however, the best way to ensure a consistently shining look is to wash them every two weeks (on the interior, at least).

Sealing Gaps It’s very important to check the frame for any areas that look like they need to be sealed. If you’ve experienced any new drafts, a gap could be the culprit. This will want to be handled as soon as possible because air leakages will raise your energy bill. To combat this, inspect the area where the glass pane meets the frame and fill any gaps you detect with caulk.

Scrub Window Panes Equip yourself with a scrubber, warm bucket of water, cleaning solution, roll of paper towel, and a squeegee for gunk that is tough to remove. Tilt the sash in a position that makes scrubbing most convenient, remembering to dry with a paper towel afterward.

Exterior Rinse A hose is an effective tool for spraying away buildups of dirt and grit on the exterior of your windows. Also, be careful not to spray too hard as this could possibly damage the window.

How to Use Colors to Your Advantage When Decorating Your Home

As studies have shown, different colors can elicit unique human reactions. Before tackling your next redecorating project, it can be of great benefit to brush up on the psychology of colors and learn how they can be utilized to promote wellness in our homes. Take a look at the guide below on how to effectively use colors in the main living spaces of your home and hone in on the role they play in our day-to-day lives.

Living Room Nine times out of ten, people go to the living room to relax. Cater to the laidback atmosphere here by instilling colors that match this relaxed vibe. Green is a color renowned for being a calming mood-neutralizer that people have surrounded themselves with for centuries because of its tranquil-provoking benefits. Balance green with other earthy tones such as tan and grey to create an earthy, inviting zone where friends, family, and new guests can all together feel at home.

 Kitchen Hues of red, yellow, and orange are among the most popular colors to garnish a kitchen in. Although potentially intimidating due to its striking presence, reds are enjoyed because of the sense of vitality, strength, and passion it naturally instills. Pale yellows are valued for emitting a warm, revitalizing glow and for raising self-esteem levels, which might not be a bad option considering it’s the first place we start our day. Alternatively, peach colors nurture feel-good energies such as joy and creativity.

 Bedroom The bedroom is your personal dojo to unwind, so it’s essential to furnish it with none other than peaceful, relaxing qualities. While reds and yellows are empowering, they may not provide the appropriate mood for a space like the bedroom where winding down is top priority. Instead, narrow your selection to tones that make you feel safe. Subtle shades of blue are excellent at achieving this; also, diversification is key so make sure to incorporate other harmonious elements such as creamy whites, soft greys, and a gentle black.

 Dining Room The dining room is all about connection and conversation. Blue is the color of clarity and communication, thus is an effective choice for encouraging honesty in family discussions. Another renowned preference is orange, as it is a powerful in eliciting pleasure and high-spirits.

Bathroom Generally, the bathroom is the only other private quarters in a house other than the bedroom. Taking the role of where we bathe and freshen ourselves up, a fresh and wholesome tonality is most appropriate whereas dark, intense shades should be done without. Overall, a “clean” ambiance that complements the room’s essence is the most fitting approach to picking your bathroom’s coloration.

How to Improve Lighting in Your Home

The way lighting is used in our home impacts the mood, visibility, and quality of the work and activities we do. Consider these techniques below for inspiration on how you can enhance the lighting in your home.

Provide Balance with Table & Floor Lamps It’s not unusual that there may be areas of a room that are noticeably dark when the room's attention is focused in the center around a dining table. Even if there is no furniture, a quick fix to this is add a table or floor lamp in the predominantly dark section of the room. If there is a natural surface or counter to place it, use a table lamp; if not, a floor lamp will work just as well. Additionally, rooms with recliner chairs or couches should have at least one lamp next to them for sufficient visibility.

Introduce Overhead Light Fixtures There are a multitude of overhead light fixtures, each of which shed light in varying directions and volumes. These are three of the most popular lighting fixtures, all of which offer unique functions for directing light.

• Track lighting: a row of fixtures that hang from a track installed in a ceiling. These specialize in showcasing pottery, artwork, and other decor by distributing light via a row of separate fixtures; best fit for kitchen and living room spaces.

• Recessed lighting: fixtures installed into the surface of a home’s ceiling; installed with a custom trim. These fixtures offer a sharp glow that can be directed to highlight specific aspects of a home’s interior. Commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms, entrance halls, and workspaces

• Pendant lighting: Makes for a decorative counterpart to hang above a kitchen table, cooking area, dining table, or any space where a large concentration of light will be needed - areas where conversation and activity are highest.

Dress Your Windows Up Shades, drapes, sheers, and blinds are all practical types of light-limiting decor that can be used to control the lighting in a room. Get creative by combining drapes and shades to maintain multiple variations of lighting and keep pesky glares away from your television or computer.

Set the Mood with a Dimmer Switch Incorporating a dimmer switch to a room is superb way to influence the space’s tone and atmosphere, and can be utilized best for dinner, watching movies with family or friends, and working in office environments. To install a dimmer switch, you will have to replace the basic switch already in place. Watch the video below for a step-by-step tutorial.

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Use Candles for Ambiance Serving a double package of subtle lighting and pleasant fragrances, candles illuminate a minimal amount of the surrounding area they’re placed in and are a top choice when it comes to setting a natural, relaxed mood. Candles are great in calm parts of the house like the bedroom, bathroom, and living room.