Tag Archives: houses

Tips for Choosing the Right House Color

Choosing a new house color can be quite tricky. It takes some thinking and observation. We’ve gathered some pointers that can hopefully help along the way to choosing the perfect color for your dream house.

1. Accentuate

Photo by: Andersen Windows / Flickr: Creative Commons

Photo by: Andersen Windows / Flickr: Creative Commons

That’s right. Accentuate architectural details like window trim in a contrasting color, which in return will add character and charm. It’s always a good idea to emphasize your entryway.

2. Trends

Unlike fashion or sporty car models, color houses seem to stay in style for years. For that reason, what you choose today most likely will still be trending the following day, or even year. Take a walk around your neighborhood, or other neighborhoods that have caught your eye and observe the colors other use. You might get new color ideas, and find they work perfect for your house.

3. Dark vs. Light

Photo by: John / Flickr: Creative Commons

Consider that darker lights in the lower portion of a house can suggest permanence and stability. Lighter colors make a house appear larger in size and more inviting. Know what you want your house to portray and go from there. It is after all, a reflection of you.

4. Don’t accentuate the wrong things

If you have air conditioning units or gutters, you might want to work them into the house. Don’t work around them, make them work for you. Don’t accentuate them in anyway, just the opposite , try to drive the eye to the better assets your house has. Again, emphasizing on the entryway is always a must.

5. Don’t ignore the neighbors.

Photo by: Daniel R. Blume / Flickr: Creative Commons

Be creative. If you’re one to always stand out, do so. However, when choosing a color don’t choose one that will clash with your neighbor’s. When you take a stroll around the neighborhood, look at the other colors the neighbors use and try to find that median, where you find a color you’ll be happy with, yet also mesh well with the neighborhood’s colors.

6. Don’t ignore the landscaping

Take into account everything that’s around your house. The color you choose might help bring out those beautiful flowers you work so hard to grow. Compare and contrast earth tones if you have a lot of greens growing around you.

7. Do not wing it

Photo by: Erik Söderström / Flickr: Creative Commons

This is something that not only you’ll have to live with everyday but, also other people. Plan it out at the best of your abilities, and don’t be scared to paint a small portion of the house with the colors you’re considering. At the end, you’ll be sure you got the right one.

Photo by: Loren Kerns / Flickr: Creative Commons

Well dear readers, this is where we end our post. Do let us know if any of these tips helped you out at all. Feel free to comment below the steps you took before choosing your house color, and why you decided on that color? We’d love to know!

Find the original article here.

The 5 Most Unique Buildings Around the World

Ever come across dazzling architecture and think, “how?!”. Yeah, so have we.

Here we’ve gathered a list of buildings from around the world we thought were worthy to mention. Some even seem to be from the future!

1. Indira Gandhi Planetarium, India

From the exterior you can immediately tell this building portrays a planet-shaped like figure, specifically Saturn with a series of rings. The building was built in 1993, a bit before it’s time you could say. Definitely breathtaking.

2. Nautilus House, Mexico

Built 9 years ago by architect Javier Senosiain. The structure follow suit of its name, Nautilus. The buildings main purpose was to seem one with nature, which you could say was achieved. Even inside the building, you’ll find a garden.

3, Piano and Violin Building, China

This amazing building was built in 2007 and it’s located in Huainan City, China. This building required a team of people to design, and several students from the Hefey University of Technology. Truly charming, indeed.

4. PricewaterhouseCoopers Building, United Kingdom

Most green building on this list. Not literally, of course. PricewaterhouseCoopers’s building in the UK uses renewable energy sources with advanced technology. Almost a building of the future!

5. House Attack, Austria

Located in the Moderner Kunst Museum in Austria by artist Erwin Wurm. The story behind this building is simply a family hurtling themselves onto the roof, which is why building is called “House Attack”. Creative, don’t you think?!

Well dear reader this is where we end our post. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this list and would want to share it with your friends. Maybe you’ve seen a couple of this? Send us pictures. Let us know which crazy building you’ve seen.

Find the original article here.

The 6 ways Minnesotans can adjust their home for climate change

Winter is already here, but with the holiday hectic activities we might’ve forgotten how to prepare our houses for this abrupt climate change. Here’s how:

1. Sign up to power your home with renewables with Xcel Energy.

That means that for the next months although your bill might seem a little higher than usual, it won’t be as high as it could go. This is because Xcel won’t charge the usual $4 fuel charge that you usually see on your bills.

2. Clean your gutters.

With the heavy rain fall that will come after the snowy winter ends. The extreme rainfall could exceed the capacity of your gutter, and cause exterior damage to your home. Avoid this by cleaning them. Furthermore, be also sure to check your sprouts and be aware that the water should be flowing far away from the foundation but not fast enough for it not be absorbed into the soil.

3. Don’t place your valuables on your basement floor.

Purchase waterproof containers. Even if you think water doesn’t get to your basement, it’s better to be prepared. Store your valuables in a high place, where you know they won’t fall.

4. Consider adoption.

This might sound silly but think about adopting a tree! Or, planting one. This is just to add some environmentally conscious advice, in general. Since you know, trees are always highly needed.

5. Consider condensing technology.

“”These systems are very energy efficient and have the added benefit of being small enough to mount on a basement wall rather than sitting on the floor and thus reducing the likelihood that the heating plant will be ruined and a house made uninhabitable if water gets into a basement,” Hamilton wrote.”

6. Check the street sewer’s drains.

Clean sewers without debris or trash prevents localized flooding when the heavy rain fall occurs.

Find original article here by MPR News.