Home Design Trends for 2013

Although there are not fast shifts in home décor, we do notice certain trends as they begin to occur. These are more of a slow move in one direction or another that happen over time, but not all at once. As last year came to a close we observed some aspects of home décor that were beginning to trend. Some decorating habits from last year will be long gone by the end of this year and many trends seem to hold on just a little while longer. Here are some of the main home design trends that we are likely to see continue throughout 2013.

How to do a Green Kitchen Remodel

Your kitchen might be the focal point of your home, and what better way to keep it current than making your kitchen remodel a green one? But doing a green kitchen remodel may be easier said than done. Here are a few tips that can point you in the right direction to getting the eco-friendly kitchen you’ve always wanted.

Start off Right

It can be important to get the right start to your green remodel. When you’re tearing things up and ripping things out, consider what could be reused or recycled. Everything from piping and tile to cabinetry and other hardware may be up for reuse or possibly the recycle bin. When it comes to your old appliances, consider handing them down to family or friends or, if they’re in good enough condition, reselling them, possibly on Craigslist or at a garage sale to give them a second life.

A Green Contractor

If you aren’t doing your green remodel yourself, then you’ll likely be searching for a good contractor. When you’re conducting your search, you might want to look for contractors that have experience with environmentally friendly work and let them know your expectations up front. This way they will know what to expect when it comes to the work they’ll be doing and the products and materials they should be purchasing.

Create an Efficient Kitchen

When you’re planning your green kitchen remodel, there may be more to it than just adding some compact fluorescents light bulbs and energy-efficient appliances. Although that might be part of it, it’s important to ensure your remodel remains conducive to your needs. When designing a kitchen to meet your needs, your green considerations might allow you to reduce waste, use less water, motivate you to recycle, allow you a spot to collect garbage for composting, design your kitchen to let in more natural light and reduce lighting needs with energy efficient-windows, and add eco-friendly accessories.

Conclusion

If you find that your kitchen is your kingdom when you’re at home, then it can be important to find a balance between this space being environmentally friendly and still remaining conducive to your cooking needs. While going green may be important to you, ensuring that your kitchen is functional and efficient when you’re in it can be equally critical to the enjoyment of the space.

Steve is president of a home remodeling company in Houston and has been in business for over 25 years. He has experience in all aspects of the industry from custom home building to kitchen remodeling. To see some of his work visit http://www.uniquebuilderstexas.com.

What choices you should think about when remodeling a room

When remodeling a room in your home there are many choices to think about before starting this task. You should consider your home’s equity, your home’s needs, beautification, the time you have on your hands, and your budget. When remodeling a room or your home as a whole, each of these components plays an important role on what choice to make in remodeling.

Let’s say you want to update your bathrooms appearance to increase the equity of your home but your kitchen needs work done as well, not for beautification but because your kitchen needs major repairs. Naturally, the kitchen repairs would be more important then increasing your equity by updating your bathrooms. Your home’s needs always come before wants in this scenario.

The time you have on your hands and the budget you have to work with are of great importance in choosing which room to remodel and how the remodeling should be done. Your bedroom may be too small and your bathrooms may need updating. When do you want the overall work done? How much is each job going to cost if done one at a time? Can you get a discount if you hire the same person to do all the work at once? These are important decisions to work out before you get started on remodeling any room in your home.

Having a plan, your budget worked out, knowing what you want done, and how you want the remodeling done before getting started will make the process of remodeling less stressful. Using these strategies in choosing what room to remodel or how you want the room remodeled will also help you make the process of remodeling a room simpler and more efficient saving you time and money.