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Contemporary Pendant Lighting – What Every Homeowner Needs to Know

Contemporary pendant lights enables you to add that stylish finish to your room while keeping in line with your overall room design. These designs offer you a wide choice of styles, sizes and finishes to enable you to find the best design that will enhance the space and to anyone walking into the room.

The first thing you need to do when looking for contemporary pendant lighting is to find its use. Where will you be using it? Is it going as your main light or just a feature in the room? Do you need the light to produce enough light and ambiance to fill a large space? Deciding the use of your lighting will help you find the best design to suit your space moving forward.

Many people use contemporary pendant lighting as a show stopper. When guests walk into your room for the first time, you want to hear a “wow!” The good news is that lighting can help you do this reaction.

Lighting plays more of an important role than many people realise. Giving your lighting the least attention and focusing on the big things in the room can cut the chances of your space being spectacular in design. Your lighting needs to tie in with your overall design to create that “wow” factor that you are looking to make.

Many homeowners use contemporary pendant lighting as a decorative feature in the home. Imagine having a staircase that leads you up to the next floor with the ability to look down below or a landing walkway with a vast space below.

Placing a pendant light at these intervals can create a spectacular decorative display that isn’t only a show stopper, but also a functional light to make the stairs safer for those walking around the home at night.

These lights give you versatility, enabling you to find the perfect size and style to blend into any room design. You can completely transform the feel of a room through the lighting you use.

The contemporary pendant lights can give you that stunning, advanced and stylish finish that can complete the room with ease, making it a space you are proud of.

There are a number of rooms when contemporary pendant lights blend into the space with sophistication and style. They are often used in the kitchen. Placing three lights above the kitchen counter can create a focal point and make a visual impact that’s guaranteed to remember and be the envy of family and friends.

These are often used in the bedroom to replace bedside table lamps. It has become exceptionally popular to place a pendant light on either side of the bed to replace the traditional and overdone side table and lamp design.

Contemporary pendant lights are also used in stairwells and entrance halls. You have to choose carefully to make sure you choose the light that is a good size for the space.

One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is to create a design with a light fitting that is way too big or too small. Measurements should take into account the room, the size of the ceiling and the impact you are trying to make.

Ensure you only buy your contemporary pendant lights from reputable suppliers that have built up a solid reputation in the lighting industry. The suppliers is able to give you an extensive range of contemporary pendant lights within your budget to help you complete your room to the highest standard.

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Choose Best Discount Flooring to Enhance the Value of Your Home

After a long, tiring day, when you come back home, all you want is to feel the comfort and serenity of your home. If you have lived in your home for too long, you may feel the need to change a few things here and there to refresh it. Sometimes, even adding new plants to your garden or changing the wallpaper of your house seems to make a lot of difference.

Renovation is the most basic step to add value to your home. It requires a lot of time and effort, but the end result seems worth it. The biggest question in front of everyone who wants to renovate the house is which part of the house would one want to change. Some might want to merge two small rooms into one to add a spacious feel. Some might want to build a backyard patio; others might want to repair the odds and ends that need fixing. Renovation means different things to different people. It could also be changing the flooring of your home. Since your flooring is the most prominent aspect of the empty spaces of the house, choosing the right flooring is an important decision that can either add or reduce the value of your house. Also, it can increase or decrease the resale value of your house.

Where to start?

A lot of people are confused about the various flooring options available in the market such as laminate, vinyl, hardwood and tile flooring. Before narrowing down your options, you must make a list of parameters or needs on the basis of which you would choose your flooring. For example, some people might find the cost of flooring an important factor. For others, the durability may be important. Some people are more interested in the patterns and textures of floors. Hence, you need to decide the list of parameters on the basis of which you would judge the flooring options.

Hire an expert

With the advancement in technology, there are many varieties of options available within one variety of flooring. For instance, within hardwood flooring, one has the option of choosing between per-finished, solid and engineered flooring. Each type of flooring has its own features and characteristics and for a layman to have knowledge about all of them is next to impossible. Hence, it is important for you to hire an expert who has professional knowledge about all the flooring options available in the market and can help you choose the perfect flooring for your house. It is important for you to specify your constraints that you have set for the kind of flooring you require, so that he/she can give you the options accordingly. Hiring an expert will also save a lot of time and makes you more efficient in deciding the kind of flooring you put in your house.

Choosing the perfect flooring for your house is very important because it enhances the beauty and features of your home. Flooring can make it cozy and comfortable to live in. It’s important to spend some time in knowing the details about each flooring and choosing the perfect one. Best flooring discounts can help enhance the value of your house.

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Home Lighting – Factors to Consider for Choosing the Adequate Lighting Material for Your New Home

Modern day lifestyle is full of stress. There are so many things that keep people busy these days and, therefore, it becomes essential for choosing a perfect lighting solution for the home as its impact can be seen in the character of the house.
In fact, the overall surroundings of your home get reorganized after instituting perfect florid lighting solutions. It can be daunting to find out the right decorative illumination setup for every room and considering a few factors may help in the installation of adequate lighting panels in the house.

According to the need of the present times, people prefer smaller houses to bigger ones as these are easier to maintain. That is why, the present generation houses are smaller in its size compared to the old designs. Illuminating a smaller area is quite challenging as any wrong light alternative can make the room look claustrophobic and dull. In fact, a smaller space with an inadequate light appears like a narrow cave. Considering a few factors for having a perfect brightness can change the psyche of the concerned area.

Factors to consider for implementation of the splendid lighting solution to your house:

1. Figure out the places in the home to be illuminated

2. The next important step is to determine the areas to be decorated with lights. It provides an idea about the number of luminous panels required for installation in the different areas of the house. A well-lit home accounts in having various sources from where the light gets bounced through the walls and adds to the ocular width to the room.

3. Lighting is just a one chapter of the entire novel. You must also remember that there are different areas in a house, and every space needs to be brightened according to the requirement of the owner. While a hall and the dining room must be brightly ablaze, a bedroom needs a more private look. Therefore, the addition of dimmer panels to it is a better option. Installing a spotlight with brightness control option work excellently for maintaining the privacy of the bedroom. As the kids room is always supposed to be more colorful, the scheme of the room needs more enhancement by adding bright panels to the area. Implementation of fairy, nautical or pendant lights to the kids room is an excellent choice and offers a more playful charm to it. In the same manner, a chandelier and wall lights are a classic pickup for a hall.

4. Night lighting – The requirement of night lighting is critical to meeting the interior decoration needs of a house. Therefore, it must not be overlooked at any cost. Every room must have a provision for a night light.

5. Light and color of the walls must complement each other

6. A light that matches the walls of the room is an incredible idea for creating an enthralling contrast of colors that is the gateway towards emphasizing the beauty of the place.

7. Aspects of cleaning – There can be a few decorative illumination panels that might have intricate patterns and can be difficult to clean. The owner can always buy simple lights and can avoid buying lights having elaborate designs.

A quick survey will help to find out that markets are full of LED, crystal, and other lighting options. You just need to identify the price of the product and look for more customer reviews to learn about its performance.

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How to Resurface Your Hardwood Floors – Sandless Method of Wood Floor Restoration

If your hardwood floors have lost their shine, started to get surface scuffs and scratches, or just need some cleaning and sprucing up then sandless resurfacing may be just what you need. This process works for all types of hardwood floors including; solid unfinished (floors that were finished on site), solid pre finished (floors that were purchased already finished in a factory), and engineered wood floors. Depending on the type of wood flooring you have this process can vary a bit.

I will cover the required steps for each type of flooring.

* Bona brand “Prep” or Basic Coatings brand “Tycote” (these are etching solutions that help ensure a new coating will bond to your floors – note: only needed for pre finished solid or pre finished engineered floors)

* A wood floor finish that is compatible with the etch product; if you are getting the Bona product I’d recommend Bona Traffic HD finish or Bona Woodline finish, or if you get the Basic Coatings Tycote, I’d recommend their Street Shoe Finish.

* Floor Buffer – You can rent a floor buffer at nearly any tool rental store and at some home improvement stores. If you’ve never ran a standard buffer you may consider getting a square buffer as these vibrate rather than oscillate.

* Vacuum – I recommend one with a soft bristle or soft felt brush.

* MicroFiber Dust Mop

* Applicator – I recommend an 18″ t-bar style application made by Duratool. Lambswool applications, and smaller nap paint rollers can also work for this.

* Brush – I prefer the foam style 3-4″ wide brushes .

* Buffer Pad – White Pads (1-2) also available at tool rental store (additional red or maroon pad if you have pre finished engineered or pre finished solid floors)

* Sanding Screen 150 or 220 grit – These are also found at tool rental stores or online. An alternative to these are Norton brand sand dollars buffer pads.

Prep

The first thing you’ll want to do is prep the space you are doing. You’ll want to remove all furniture and any other items that are on the floors you are doing. It’s also a good idea to use some painters tape to tape off the baseboards, and to tape off adjoining surfaces/floors that you want to protect. You may also want to hang up some plastic film in doorways to help contain the dust created. You’ll also want to clean the floors and make sure that there are no pieces of debris as these things could get caught under the buffer and scratch the floors.

Buffing

After prepping the space now it’s time to buff the floors. Take the white buffer pad and put in on the bottom of the buffers drive head. Then put the sanding screen under the white pad (the screen is what you want to be touching the floor). Now start the buffer and moving in a back and forth motion buff over the floors trying to go with the grain of the wood. Try to cover every inch of the floors very well.

After buffing the floors now you want to take a used piece of the sanding screen and lightly hand sand in areas of the floor that the buffer wouldn’t reach such as corners, under cabinets, under radiators etc. This is just to also etch the surface of these areas too.

The next step will vary a bit based on the type of flooring you have.

If you have pre finished flooring, the next thing you want to do is to buff the floors again. This time you want to use just the red or maroon buffer pad. Now what you’re going to do is a wet or damp buffing. You want to mist some of the Bona Prep of Basic Coatings Tycote onto the floor using a spray bottle. This step is to etch the surface of the floors and to ensure that a new coating will bond to the coating that is on the factory finished floor product. You’ll want to do this very well to ensure you get every inch of the floors and that every inch has an etched or dull sort of look to it. You’ll even want to take a piece of the buffer pad and get into the corners and other tight spots that the buffer wouldn’t reach.

(note: you can use this step on wood floors that were site finished too, especially if you have any doubts about a new coating sticking to the existing finish you have or if you have used any wax based cleaners or refreshing products that are wax based as they can prevent new coatings from sticking to the floors)

Cleaning

After you complete the buffing part of the project, now you want to clean the floors very well. You’ll want to vacuum the floors really well and then dust mop them really well.

Coating

Once you have cleaned the floors, now you’re ready to apply the coating(s). Follow the manufactures directions for the amount of square feet of coverage per gallon. Apply the finish with the grain using whatever type of application you picked up. Be sure to work in sections.

Let Dry

After you have applied the coating now you’ll just want to wait the manufacturers recommended dry time before walking on the floors. You can find this on the finish container. Then you’ll want to wait the manufacturers recommended time for curing before putting furniture back into place.

Repeat if Desired

If you’d like you can also buff the floor again and apply a 2nd, or 3rd coating for added protection. I recommend buffing after each coating with a 220 grit sanding screen and following all other instructions aside from using the etching products as they will not be needed once one coating is applied.

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Learn More About Inground Pool Prices, So You Can Buy the Right Pool for You

For most companies, inground pool prices are fairly standard – but only if you get the standard pool. When you want a custom inground pool, prices can rise based on the materials used, the size, and the filtration system you choose. That’s why it’s so important to do your research; otherwise, you could get stuck with hidden costs that you weren’t anticipating.

Here you can find a more in-depth look at how inground pool prices are calculated in NJ. This way, you can plan out the right budget for your installation, design and construction, and still end up with the pool you always dreamed of having.

Pool Installation and Construction: the Advantages of an Inground Vinyl Pool

There are three “main” types of inground pools, and prices vary between them: vinyl liner, concrete or Gunite, and one-piece fiberglass. For most homeowners, a vinyl liner pool is the best type of pool to buy, because:

    • Pool installation time and costs. Vinyl liner pool installation is relatively easy for pool professionals, as we get a lot of practice doing it. (It’s NJ’s most popular pool type.) In contrast, both concrete and fiberglass pools are expensive to install, though fiberglass pools take less time to install than other kinds of pools, since they’re all in one piece. Gunite pool installation is the most expensive on the market, and it can take months to complete
    • Maintenance costs. One of the things we hear the most in this job is how expensive it is to take care of a pool. Part of your hidden costs come from chemicals and upkeep. Fiberglass pools can be damaged by the sun, and concrete pools can be damaged by excessive chemicals, hard or soft water, or metals. Vinyl liner pools need balanced chemicals too, but the upkeep is fairly minimal.
    • Easier repairs. A vinyl liner is good for about 10-15 years, but patch kits are inexpensive if you find a small hole. Gunite, or fiberglass pools, on the other hand, require costly resurfacing every 7 years or so. Concrete pools are susceptible to cracks, and fiberglass pools can buckle or float.
    • Longer warranties. When you’re researching inground pool prices, make sure to look at the warranties. Vinyl liner pools come with much longer and comprehensive warranties, on average, than other types of pools
    • Company’s reputation. Warranties are only as good as the companies that stand behind them. Check how long the company has been in business under the same name, and how they back their workmanship and manufactured goods they use.
  • Customization. Custom pools cost more at the outset, and the maintenance can be more expensive. But nothing beats a pool that flows with the design of your outdoor living space. Concrete is the ideal material for custom pools, as the design ideas are limitless. However, we’ve come a long way in creating custom pools with vinyl liner, since most NJ homeowners prefer vinyl over concrete.

It’s a good idea to shop around when it comes to inground pool prices – and it’s very important that you don’t take any price you see at face value. There are added costs for custom pools that come with the design and installation, and it could cost you more if you choose a company that doesn’t work with engineers or landscapers. Additional costs may arise if you decide you want a heater or a running water feature, like a waterfall. Whatever your budget is, make sure to ask your candidates the right questions about costs and fees before they break ground, so you can avoid an unpleasant surprise later. Always remember that an inground pool requires fencing, so make sure that you include that cost in your budget.

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The Beauty of Subtle and Dim Lighting With Diffuser Light Panels

One of the things that we come to associate with hospitals is the typical white and glaring light. One day there is enough to make somebody never want to buy fluorescent lights, ever again! If you have been at that stage where you’ve felt sick of the cold and harsh lights in your room, hotel or office, you might consider adding some drama with the help of diffuser light panels.

Being extremely convenient to use, they guarantee that your experience of the room will never be the same again.

Subtle and dim lighting with beautiful diffusers

There are a number of reasons why we recommend a shift to subtle illumination. Places like hotels are large open spaces where there’s almost always an excess of illumination. In contrast, they offer your tired guests some subtle lights to help them relax.

A similar principle defines the use of dim lighting in homes, where certain spaces benefit from the use of fluorescent light diffusers. A living room can become a perfect place for relaxation and entertainment with the right luminescence.

Used unwisely, light panels may often end up being extremely difficult to deal with – you might even say that they are an eyesore in many such cases. But not so with decorative light diffusers, which have an allure and attraction to them. Outdated plastic diffusers are being more and more regularly replaced with acrylic light diffusers, to provide better texture, style, and durability to your panels.

Diffusers offer a special magic carpet ride

From ceiling light covers to diffusers for glaring fluorescent lights, we cannot praise the comfort of having subtle lighting. By underplaying the amount of light present, the lights enable you to promptly underplay design deficiencies or presence of unusually bright colors in the room.

Replacing your old light fixtures is a much simpler process when you realize how easy they are to install over your existing lights. Being adjustable in size and shape means you never have to compromise. With diffusers, you do not only get a matching design for your room but a wide variety of choices: scenery, cartoon characters, abstract patterns have all made their way into the world of light diffusers, so you have the comfort of choosing what you like best.

Say goodbye to the same old lights that you’ve grown used to seeing every day of your life, with the help of decorative fluorescent light diffusers.

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Replacing The Doors Of Your Home Intelligently Makes A Good Home Improvement Investment

Upgrading your home by replacing its doors is a major home improvement investment. Quite often, the expense involved makes people hesitant of taking the plunge. The correct way of making any investment decision is by weighing it against the benefits that are expected out of it. The same goes for replacing the house doors.

To help you consider the wisdom of going in for the replacement, you should consider the advantages new doors bring. Here are some of the main ones

    • Replacing the doors of your home improves the curb appeal of your home. After all, a new product is bound to look brighter and more attractive than a faded and worn-out one.
    • It breathes freshness into your daily living. You get bored of seeing the same patterns and colors day in and day out. The new doors bring a refreshing change that revitalizes the home and are also easy on the eyes.
    • The replaced doors enhance the resale value of your home. They improve the exterior look of the place, which is a major factor influencing the decision of the prospective buyers. They also give the home a ‘well cared for look’ and convince the buyers that the rest of the property must also be equally well-maintained with quality products.
    • New doors make your home more secure and safe than before.
    • The replacement doors help you make great savings. The modern doors made from fiberglass and steel are very energy-efficient and installing them helps you maintain a comfortable home with lower energy usage. Thus, investment on such doors works out to be very advisable and affordable.
  • The energy-efficient new doors also a great option for conservation of the environment. Having a home that uses lesser energy than usual and saves on the usage of natural resources gives you a good feeling. It also makes your home more desirable and increases its value.

While replacing the doors of your home makes good sense, you must also make sure that it is done sensibly. The things that have to be taken care of include:

· Make sure that you get the latest technology and buy energy-efficient doors. Even if these cost a little more initially, they will work out to be more economical in the long run.

· Make sure that the doors are properly insulated and there is no heat/cooling leakage.

· It is advisable to hire the services of a professional to remove and install the doors. You can find a reliable local home improvement company offering door-related services by searching across a good online business directory.

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Swimming In Pools How To Enhance Your Experience With The Right Accessories

Everyone loves their swimming pool in summer. It is the meeting place for children and the one place where everyone loves to go. Having the right swimming pool parts can really make a difference to the way in which you enjoy your pool. For instance, you cannot successfully use your pool if you are always worrying about whether or not your cleaning system is working properly, or whether or not you are exposing yourself and your children to harmful algae. One of the most important systems that is present in a pool is definitely the pump and filter system. This is the system that the water flows through and where everything gets regulated. It is imperative that pool water be kept moving or else you will end up with stagnation. This in turn leads to the breeding of algae and all sorts of other unsavoury forms of water wildlife that you would rather not have in your pool. Getting it back from this point is often very expensive and costly, so instead of battling with that, just get the right swimming pool parts from the start.

What you need to achieve success with your pool

There are a few staple swimming pool parts that you will need in order to have a sparkling pool:

  • A great pool pump. The pool pump is what helps the water to flow around the filtration system, thus keeping it clean.
  • The filter. The filter is key to any pool system, as it is the element that keeps the water clean. You need to change your filter weekly to remove leaves and other debris that accumulate in it.
  • PVC piping: this forms the bases of your filtration and flow system, so if you have got decent piping, you will never be faced with breaking or leakage of any kind.

These are the basic parts that you will have to keep in order to make sure that your pool stays healthy and clean. This will also enhance your experience when you use it.

The benefits of beautiful water feature fountains

Have you ever wanted to effortlessly beautify your garden? One of the best ways in which to do it is to add a water feature fountain. Having this feature in your garden is one of the best things that you can do. These features can be classical or modern, depending on what you like to see around you. There are also things such as music fountains that play tunes and spew colourful water lit by LED lights. These are definitely the item to get if you are looking to impress your neighbours or if you just want to add some fun to your garden.

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The Benefits of LED Lights As Opposed to Traditional Sources

Everyone is on the lookout for solutions that can help them in saving time, energy, money and effort. The good news is that, when it comes to energy, LED lights can be of great assistance in saving energy.

LED bulbs vs. traditional sources

Lots of people believe that investing in LED lights is not necessarily the proper thing to do since their price is quite high as opposed to the normal lights. This is true, but on the long-term, the initial investment will be amortized by the advantages that come constantly. Knowing the downsides and benefits of the LED lights you help you make the right choice.

People know that the former device that was used to transform electricity into light was the incandescent bulb. Besides being the oldest, this is also the cheapest. Even if it is very cheap, its life is reduced to an average of only 800-1200 hours. It also can be said that this is one of the most useless ways of obtaining light, since it transforms only 20% of the energy that is consumed into light. The rest of it is transformed into heat, which is further on needed for normal functioning. Since the amount of heat produced is so high, the risk of fire due to overheating is more prominent than in other cases. Luckily, the LED lights do not come with the same risks, since they remain cool.

The benefits of LED light bulbs

    1. Efficiency: these lights are quite efficient because they have a minimum consumption of energy and a good delivery rate. This happens because they have just a couple of components that help them get started, consuming thus less when getting the system to work. If we are to compare them to the incandescent bulbs, LED lights are 4 times more efficient when it comes to the energy transformed in light.
    2. Eco-friendly: since LED bulbs release less heat, the levels of pollution are also held to minimum, helping the environment.
    3. Safety: once again, the reduced levels of heat have a good impact here. If the heat is reduced, the risks of overheating will also be diminished. Therefore, the bulbs can be kept close to flammable things without any risks.

It is important to realize that the advantages of these lights are very impressive. LED lights represent devices that can modify your lifestyle, help the environment and help you spend less. It’s time for you to make a decision and choose LED lights!

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5 Facts to Know Before Buying a Storm Door or Screen Door

In addition to your home’s entrance door, you may also be considering purchasing a storm door or screen door. These doors, which are installed in front of your home’s main exterior access door, have a number of advantages, including letting light and air into your home while keeping bugs and the elements out. But before you buy a screen or storm door, there are a few things you should know.

1. There are screen and storm doors for all climates. The best type of door for your home depends on where you live. If you’re looking for a screen door, you might be best served by a door that lets in light while also blocking heat. For those in colder climates, storm doors that are sturdy and can withstand harsh weather are important. You may also want to buy a door that allows you to replace the mesh or wire screen with insulated glass panels in the winter.

2. Screen and storm doors are available in a variety of styles and materials. Screen and storm doors may be made out of metal, wood, or fiberglass. The door may feature a full-length or half-length glass panel that can be replaced with a screen when needed, a retractable screen that rolls up into the door when not in use, or glass panels that can be moved to expose screens and provide ventilation.

3. Screen and storm doors can make you home more secure. If you think all screen doors are made of thin, flimsy aluminum, think again. Today, you can buy a well-made screen door that also provides an additional layer of security for your home. If safety and security are a concern, look for a storm door that is made of steel or iron and that includes a high-quality deadbolt lock and laminated security glass.

4. You have options when it comes to screen material. When it comes to choosing screens for your door you have a number of options, depending on your specific needs and budget. Generally, screens are made out of one of four materials:

  • Bronze. This is the most durable, but also the most expensive, screen option. If you choose a bronze screen, apply a coat of varnish every few years to help it last longer.
  • Galvanized steel. This material is strong and is unlikely to tear. However, galvanized steel screens are more prone to rust than some other screens.
  • Fiberglass. If you’re concerned about corrosion, consider fiberglass, which won’t rust.
  • Aluminum. Aluminum screens are affordable, but they are more likely to corrode than some other materials, and they are not as strong as steel screens.

5. Storm and screen doors can be customized. There’s no need to settle for a boring-looking screen door. Today, it’s easy to find a screen door that complements the rest of your home. You can also purchase custom-made storm doors if you want something that is truly unique.