5 Tips To Creating A Bar Area In Your Finished Basement

If you are looking to build a man cave in your basement where you can hang out with your friends, the cave must feature a bar. So, how do you go about building an eye-catching bar set-up in your abode? What are the things you need to consider in order for your project to succeed? .

Here are 5 tips to help you create a bar area in your finished basement. For information on bar stools and accessories, read more at danetti.com.

Tip 1: Purchase bar stools and seating

Selecting the best bar stools for your home is not exactly as easy as a walk in the park. It´s because there are various factors to consider and some of these factors include style, looks, comfort, and convenience etc. You can go for the common backless bar stool if you are looking for something that can be easily concealed. However, backless bar stools don’t fare well in the comfort department. If comfort is your priority, you should acquire a bar stool with arms. If you want to swivel around, you can opt for a swiveling bar stool. If you have plenty of cash to burn, you should purchase a wood bar stool because they go well with any style. However, if you are looking for something modern and something that complements small space, you should buy a metal bar stool.

Tip 2: Bar Molding

So, what does bar molding achieve? Well, bar molding plays an instrumental role in preventing the spills from leaking. Apart from that, it also allows one to rest his/her arms on the bar top. You can easily acquire bar molding accessories and they are available for purchase in various wood varieties. If you are not good with carpentry, you should purchase a pre-cut bar mold design that can be installed to your bar easily.

Tip 3: Pay attention to the lighting

It is important to get the lighting right in order to set the mood. The bar in your basement need not necessarily have to be as dark and dusty as your favorite bar. Instead, you should focus on installing LED-strip kits and flexible light strips. These strips are available for purchase in various colors and can be customized to your preferred length. And, you can fit these light on the bar top or bar cabinets to give your bar area a refined ambiance.

Tip 4: What about the back bar?

If you have a wide range of liquor at your disposal and you want to display them, you should consider installing open shelves in the back bar. However, if you don’t have various different bottles to showcase, you can instead opt to place large, framed mirrors to act as showpieces. You can also install 3-D wall panels and tiles to improve the aesthetics of your back bar.

Tip 5: Refrigeration

So, what kind of refrigeration works best if you need to keep your beer, wine, and mixer cool? Well, you can invest in an under-the-counter beverage center that boasts of the feature, temperature control.

 

Have you ever considered turning your basement into a home bar?

 

3 Ways To Modernize Your Bathroom in 2017

The bathroom is considered as the second most important room inside our homes next to the kitchen. It is almost impossible for us to last a day without going to the bathroom. To put it simply, it is where we usually start and finish each day. While the bathroom is considered as a judgment-free zone where we shouldn’t worry about how we look and where we can read books without a hurry, it is also considered as the ultimate judgment zone of every home. Urine-stained toilets, hair strands clogging the sink, or tiles covered in mold; everything about your bathroom will have a lasting impression on your guests.

For resorts, hotels, and other commercial establishments, having well-designed bathrooms is a positive step towards attracting more customers. Because of the elegance and sophistication that it adds, bathroom detailing is now considered as an essential element in high-class interior home designing. Regardless of how simple or sophisticated your home is, it is still important to update your bathroom once in awhile. This place where people relax, think of new ideas, and be at peace in solitude, deserves a revamp too. Learn more about the three interesting ways on how you can modernize your bathroom in 2017.

A Bathroom Makeover by Bathroom Fitterin Manchester

  1. Refresh your bathroom with new shower doors and curtains.

If you are not on a tight budget, then consider having a new shower glass door installed. Otherwise, buy new shower curtains instead. For less than $300, you can purchase a sliding glass door with a standard aluminum frame. The simpler the glass door, the better. If possible choose shower doors with glass surface treatment which repels water more effectively and makes cleaning and stain removal easier.

Heritage and delicate pastels are seen as two of the most popular bathroom design trends in 2017. Floral patterns are great too. Complement the designs of the shower curtains, bath mat, and towels for a more elegant appeal.

A Bathroom Makeover by Kate La Vie

  1. Replace your fixed bathtub with a freestanding bath.

A built-in bathtub often makes a bathroom looked cramped and tight while a freestanding bath offers a more spacious look. It also gives your bathroom a more luxurious appeal similar to an expensive spa. With freestanding baths, there is a wider range of designs to choose from; rounded or oval, cast iron or copper materials, and much more. Considered as a centerpiece of an elegant bathroom, a freestanding bath effectively eliminates some tiling issues and demanding maintenance procedures.

A Bathroom Makeover by Pink Little Notebook

  1. Consider replacing new tiles or repainting your bathroom.

Replacing old and stained tiles with brand new natural or neutral-colored ones is probably the best way to modernize your bathroom. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, then you can buy second-hand vintage tiles instead. But never do the task yourself if you are not skilled enough to do the job. Fixing errors are actually more expensive than making sure that the tiles are properly installed in the first place.
Repainting is a much cheaper way to give your bathroom a new look. It is also easier to do and you can save up on labor by doing the job yourself. The only downside is that you may not be able to use your bathroom for a couple of days or so. Use a moisture resistant primer in order to prolong the life of the main coating. Apply a finishing gloss paint and let the paint dry completely.

Are you planning any changes to your bathroom this year?

5 Top House Cleaning Tips For Dog Owners

Being a dog owner has many, many benefits but it always comes with one unavoidable nightmare – dog hairs, which can and do spread like wildfire and get almost everywhere! Having two large dogs paired with two long haired cats I know something about this nightmare. So today I want to share with you my main house cleaning tips which hopefully will help you minimise the hairy mess our pets can make.

Being a dog owner has many, many benefits but it always comes with one unavoidable nightmare – dog hairs, which can and do spread like wildfire and get almost everywhere! Having two large dogs paired with two long haired cats I know something about this nightmare. So today I want to share with you my main house cleaning tips which hopefully will help you minimise the hairy mess our pets can make.Generally to keep your house clean as a dog owner you have to remember that cleaning the house itself is only one part of the solution… keeping your dog in perfect health is another…

Good diet

Some of you might think at this point what the hell does their diet have to do with keeping a clean house… well, a proper diet for your dog will help you with unnecessary shedding. Healthy, well-fed dogs, which have a well-balanced diet will shed less, which as a result means less hair to clean up in general, which means less cleaning!

Daily grooming

No this isn’t a joke. A daily 5 minutes dog grooming session will go a long way. It will remove all the dead hairs from your pooch and significantly cut down on the amount of loose hair floating around the house. Grooming during their daily walk is the best way to go. We normally do it near the end of the walk when the dogs are tired and less distracted.

Buy a good vacuum

Invest in the best vacuum you can afford. Read the recommendations and make your choice wisely as this will be your main cleaning tool. I personally use a Bosh Athlet ProAnimal for my mid-week daily cleaning and a Dyson Animal for a proper weekend cleaning session. And yes, you really need a vacuum designed for picking up dog hairs… it makes things so much easier!

Create a dirty dog zone

If possible, designate a dirty dog zone somewhere outside (or inside your house) where you can clean the pooch after muddy walks. In our last home we used the conservatory for this purpose, now we use a half enclosed porch. This space should be used for cleaning your dog before they are allowed into the rest of the house. If you can’t find the space for a doggy zone, you can simply lay a big dog towel (also known as that old towel you don’t want anymore) by the main door and train your dog to sit on it after entering the house. This will give you time to clean your dog’s paws before they get mud all over your floors.

Clean as dirt comes

I know we are all busy and a daily cleaning routine isn’t always on top of anyone’s fun list but if you clean every day the little mess your pooch left behind, you will greatly reduce the spread of the hair all over your house, you will get rid of pet odours and you will be able to enjoy fairly clean pet friendly home (I said fairly because as much as you might want and try you will never have The perfect home with pets around, but you know what… that’s ok… they are worth it).

Those are my basic cleaning tips for keeping our house in order whilst enjoying the company of some very hairy friends.

What would you add into my list?

Have you found some secret top tip for aiding us in keeping our houses clean?

How To Use LED Lights to Adorn Your Home

Colourful LED strips are a great source of light, and they also contributing to an impressive ambiance. This has made them take the centre stage in the world of exquisite lighting ideas. The best thing about these strips is that the possibilities of incorporating them into homes, outdoors, offices, etc. are endless.

how-to-use-led-lights-to-adorn-your-homeIf done right, they can look cool and futuristic. Being thin and flexible, they can find a place even where the reach of traditional lighting sources had been impossible such as that under the panes and cabinets and in drawers, etc. The way they shed light on things and illuminate the space in a perfect manner, one thing can be made out that they are here to stay.

If you are imaginative enough, the ways in which you can put to use LED light strips are many. And those who are looking for ideas to start with, read on to find out some beautiful ways in which you can bring LED light strips to a home as a decorative feature that will last and will also go easy on your pocket.

how-to-use-led-lights-to-adorn-your-home-led-glass-balustradeLED glass balustrade: Your staircase need not be a run-of-the-mill feature of your home. Even if you get a fantastic staircase whose design oozes creativity, after a certain point of time, things will stop looking as fantastic as they used to. But, when your frameless glass balustrade will be powered with an LED lighting strip, there would be virtually nothing that can stop your staircase from looking as great as any other centrepiece in your home. Although this idea is increasingly becoming popular, using it for decorating your home with LED lighting strips is what you too should look up to. Just imagine in the dead of the night with no lighting feature on, how beautiful your staircase will look emitting a dim, coloured light.

LED coffee tables: You can add excitement to the corner of your room by installing LED light strips beneath the edge of your coffee table. You can use this table for your date nights when you want to have dinner in the dim illumination of something equivalent to candlelight.

how-to-use-led-lights-to-adorn-your-home-led-bed-lightsLED bed lights: For a goodnights sleep, darkness is really necessary to lull the sleeper to sleep, which is why it becomes imperative to turn off all lights before you prepare to sleep. But without any lighting, it would become really tough for you to cover even a short distance maybe from your bed to the washroom in case you are required to attend nature’s call. Having LED light strips underneath the bed along the border would be the best thoughtful solution to all your problems. Such light strips offer just enough visibility for you to do the movement in the darkness without hurting yourself.

LED vanity mirrors: There is something exquisite about LED vanity mirrors, which is why every modern home’s bathrooms are furnished with an array of these. It is not that you need to have any special or new vanity mirror for the purpose. All you need to do is get the strips installed around the mirror. And voila, you have given a new life to your bathroom.

There are more ideas that you can put to use like LED couches, shelves, refrigerators, kitchen cabinets and shelves, decks, drawers, etc., etc. Any which way, you will end up turning your space into a fancy, beautifully glowing place by bringing LED lighting strips into your home.

* Picture source: 1|2
** This is a collaborative post.

Autumn Home Decorating Tips

As the autumn is in full swing and the winter months start to draw in, many people think about redesigning their homes to make them warmer and more cosy. The bright colours and pastels of spring and summer are no longer on trend, and warmer colours start to dominate more homes during the run up to Christmas. Along with that, now is the ideal time to start bringing in those warm and cosy accessories, a great excuse to go on a shopping spree for warm throws and plenty of soft cushions!

autumn-home-decorating-tipsRepainting

Although repainting and decorating is more of a summer job, there’s no reason why you can’t get it done on an autumnal weekend, either. If you don’t want to open the windows to air out the smell of paint whilst it’s cold, sticking to re-wallpapering feature walls to include more autumnal colours and patterns can be a great alternative idea to this. Whilst during the summer people tend to decorate in bright and breezy colours to open rooms up and make them look larger, the colder months are the perfect time to decorate using darker colours to create a warmer, cosier atmosphere inside away from the cold.

Cushions and Blankets

Now is the season where nights out become cosy nights in, and movie nights with friends and family become your favourite activity to do on a cold evening or weekend. Stocking up on cushions and blankets makes for a cosier and more comfortable atmosphere in your home, creating the perfect little warm and comfortable haven from the cold weather outside. Throws can be used over sofas to create more warmth and cosiness, or even used as a blanket to wrap up warm in.

Autumn Scents

The autumn and winter season is the perfect time to introduce warm and spicy scents into your home. The floral, light scents that were so popular during the summer can now be replaced by scents that not only make your home smell great, but also warm you up and relax you at the same time. Whether you enjoy candles, burning incense or essential oil diffusers, opt for spicier, warmer scents such as ginger or cinnamon.

Set the Scene

Getting the right lighting in your home is important, especially as the nights become longer and darker during the winter months. With the sun setting at an earlier time each day, homeowners have to make sure that they have the perfect lighting in their home along with keeping their energy usage as low as possible. Low lights and lamps can be an excellent alternative to a main bright light, with spotlights over areas which are going to need more focus, such as over the hob in the kitchen. Not only does low lighting often create a cosier atmosphere, it can help you to relax and wind down before bed.

How are you decorating your home to make it more warm and cosy this year?

* This is a collaborative post.