Room Design

4 Quick And Easy Living Room Makeover Tips

August 26, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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“I have company coming this weekend and my place just does not look right …” How often have we spoken these words to ourselves when we have important visitors coming over for the weekend? And how often have we struggled to make our homes presentable and appealing for these guests? You have cleaned every single room, top to bottom, rearranged furniture and even swapped old photos for new ones in the photo frames in the living room. Yet, there is still something missing and you just can not put your finger on it. You know that your home needs something, yet sometimes the only thing it needs, is a quick makeover.

Quick Home Makeover Tips On A Budget

Who said that you can not give your home a quick DIY makeover under a budget? Perhaps that person needs some lessons in the creativity department. You can easily do a quick makeover for your home even if you are on a budget, because all you need are simple additions that can bring a significant amount of style and comfort to your home.

1. Fresh Flowers

You do not have to spend so much on perfect and expensive flowers and you do not have to place them everywhere in the home. Purchase some dull or neutral looking flowers for about $20 and then mix them up with some vibrant fresh flowers and greenery for about $20 as well. You can fill them in a large vase and place it in an empty corner of your living room.

2. Throw Pillows

If your living room seems a little dull, then why not bring life into it by adding some throw pillows? Opt for light colored pillows for a dark room and darker colored pillows for a lighter room. You can also blend in some trendy or vibrant colors to a neutral colored room. Better yet, your visitors will certainly feel comfortable as they lean back on your couch. For as less than $50, you can find two to fours throw pillows depending where you buy them.

Extensive Home Make Over Tips

If you have time and money to spare, you can always splurge on your quick home makeover. These are changes that can last for a longer period of time and you can always mix and match to complement them.

1. Paint

For a more ambitious makeover, you can always create a stunning look in your home with paint. You can choose a more contemporary color if your furnishings are more on the modern side, but you can always stick to neutral if your furnishings have a more rustic appeal. You can also experiment by painting a feature wall, such as the fireplace wall or use color blocking to highlight a certain wall and its decor.

2. Custom Furniture

Another quick makeover option is to have custom furniture or accessories made. Custom pieces can add character to a home and speak about the personality of the people living inside the home. By simply having a few pieces of custom furniture and accessories incorporated into a living room and dining room, you can achieve an artistic environment to entertain visitors and succeed in impressing them with your home.

Valerie Kandria is a freelance writer specializing in home design and custom made furnishings. She offers advice on home makeovers, how to create extra spaces and add style to a cramped home. Click here to learn more about custom furniture and accessories.

Mortgage

4 Property Investment And Loan Management Apps For Your Smartphone

August 24, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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Smartphones are really clever these days. They get to predict correctly what you are about to do, your favorite pages, and other essential services you might want to learn about. The smartphones are also home to many efficient apps that can practically help you in so many ways when it comes to your daily life. In this article, I am going to focus on 4 great apps that help you deal with your investments and loans as well as highlight the best reasons to go for each of them.

Mortgage and Home Loan Calculator

This application can be downloaded in the iTunes or from App Store downloads. It is one of those calculators you can’t afford to put down especially if your money comes from investing in real estate or you have taken a mortgage which has payments you feel do not add up.

Why do you need this?

This app is designed to make you easily keep track of your spending habits so your financial status is easy to handle by sorting out bills, payments, the mortgage and all that.
You become more cautious of where you invest because the app prompts you to make informed decisions.
They help you compare between mortgage payments of one financial services provider to another, bearing in mind the entire quantifiable variable so that you choose the cheapest option.

Real Estate Search

This application is designed and developed by app developers from LoopNet.com, aimed to be used by would-be investors and other businesspersons to find houses, or property to lease or sell from your phone or any other device you could be using.

The other convenient thing about it is the fact that after you have selected a few properties the app can help you manage, filters, and view photos of the property you want to buy or lease. Being an iPhone app, ‘Real Estate Search’ is suitable for anyone who wants to invest in real estate.

Why do you need Real Estate Search?

It will help you get the properties you want by detailing their location and asking prices.
It is convenient since all you need is your gadget in order to know what properties are available and where they are.
Real Estate Search is a cheap app, considering the profit it might bring you when you resell the property or rent it out.

Wikinvest Portfolio Manager

This app is developed to help you manage all you investments in one touch. It classifies all your equity, your real estate, your stocks and other valuables in its portfolio and helps you know how each is doing. This means that you can go on a do the things you like to do such as golf, a drink with friends and other social affairs while the app keeps track of any changes in the market and gives you notifications as it interprets stock markets for you in form of charts, graphs and in written form.

Why do you need Wikinvest Portfolio Manager?

It is an application worth buying and subscribing to because it keeps you ahead of the market by giving you information that your competitors might get to hear of latter, since it is always on the lookout for anything that might affect your portfolio. Wikinvest Portfolio Manager makes it easy for you to find what you are looking for and with time, it knows what you prefer in terms of property and other investments.

Craigslist

Craigslist is popular for advertising, buying and selling things; it is an app with buying for anyone interested in rental, and property that is on sale. The good thing is that everyone uses it, therefore you can use it to advertise the properties you want to sell or rent out or conversely you could find the property you are looking for and therefore have a chance to meet the seller or buyer. It is a free app in iTunes but it offers you many advantages:

Why do you need it?

It is pretty popular with buyers and sellers and therefore offers a ready market for your property and can also help you find other properties you can invest in.
It is free, and easy to use and every property or item displayed has a clear photo from different angles to further feed your curiosity and help you know the state and determine what to do.

You can manage the advertisements on your phone and therefore you will be in a position to choose the categories of the items you want to buy so that you do not get things that are irrelevant to you.

Nancy Baker has contributed today’s article, which she wrote for Benson Mortgages, a firm that caters to mortgage refinance in Toronto. She is a warm hearted person with a lot of extensive knowledge on the current financial trends.

Green Living

The Smart Homeowner’s Guide To An Energy Efficient Roof

August 22, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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At a time when energy costs for home heating/cooling are ever-increasing, any efforts that you, as a homeowner, can make to lower these expenses are worth consideration. Not only can more energy efficient options help you to stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, but they can also help you to save a lot of money on your heating and cooling costs.

Some Energy Efficient Options

Replacing older, low SEER-rated HVAC equipment with a new, high-efficiency unit is one popular tactic for lowering energy consumption and also improving indoor air comfort. Another, less-expensive alternative is to do some air sealing around your home, looking for places where air infiltration is robbing you of cool, conditioned air in summer and expensive, heated air in winter. Caulking, sealant, weather-stripping and insulation are all inexpensive ways of protecting yourself from energy losses caused by air leaks.

One energy-conservation step that can make a huge difference, especially during warm weather, is the installation of a “cool” roof. Just like wearing light-colored clothing on a hot day will keep you cooler and more comfortable, a light-colored roof on your home will help keep it cooler and more comfortable during hot weather. Besides the obvious comfort benefits, a cooler roof will also allow your air conditioning system to work less in keeping the indoor temperature at a desirable level, save energy dollars, extend the life-expectancy of your cooling equipment and reduce your home’s carbon footprint.

What Exactly is a Cool Roof?

Roofing material and special coatings that may be applied to it are what determine the energy efficiency of a roof. There are lots of options. Two factors that play a major role are:

Reflectivity – the amount of sunlight that is reflected (rather than absorbed) by a roof.
Emissivity – the amount of time required for a roof to release absorbed heat.

The U.S. government’s Energy Star Program, which is well-known for rating home appliances for efficiency and economy, also has a rating system for roofs. According to Energy Star, with an energy efficient “cool” roof, the temperature of the surface can be as much as 100°F lower than a conventional roof. Added benefits outlined by the California Energy Commission include:

Savings on air conditioning and peak electricity demand costs.
Extended roof life and fewer maintenance costs.
Increased indoor air comfort.
Reduction of air pollution and smog formation.
Less waste materials from roof replacement going into landfills.

Low- or Steep-Sloped Roofs

Roofs generally fall into one of two categories: low-sloped or steep-sloped.

Low-Sloped

Low-sloped roofs are typically found on commercial and industrial buildings or on multi-family dwellings. The most practical method for making these roofs “cool” is to apply one of the many cool coatings available. These coatings, which come in liquid form with the consistency of a super-thick paint, can be applied over almost any surface, including gravel, metal and asphalt. Besides adding a reflective capability, additional benefits include added durability, retardation of algae growth and the ability for the surface to basically clean itself when it rains.

As an alternative, reflective, prefabricated, single-ply membrane sheets may be glued or fastened to cover the roof surface.

Steep-Sloped

Sleep-sloped roofs, typically found on homes, commonly incorporate the use of painted metal or tiles to gain increased efficiency. While ordinary tiles made from clay or concrete may only reflect an average of 10-30 percent of the sun’s rays, pigments added to special “cool” tiles can achieve as much as 25-70 percent reflectivity. Metal roofing containing special pigments can reflect as much as 20-90 percent of radiant heat, depending on the color used. They are also very durable.

Any company that offers professional roofing services should be able to advise you on what’s best for your particular climate, aesthetic desires and budget requirements. A “cool” roof is an investment that returns in energy savings and comfort level, plus it’s a green alternative that’s beneficial to the environment.

Nicole loves her beautiful little home that she shares with her husband. She enjoys nothing more than spending the weekend drinking lemonade and doing DIY projects around the house.

Apartment

Delve into True Luxury at The Lofts at Promenade

August 21, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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Your home is not only shelter from the environment, but it acts as an extension of your personality, goals and dreams. The Lofts at Promenade is not your typical apartment community. With amenities found at five-star resort hotels and loft designs that rival even the most luxurious and contemporary Los Angeles pad, The Lofts at Promenade deliver the best of apartment living – luxury, convenience, style and a true urban atmosphere.

Loft Amenities

Located on Long Beach Boulevard in Long Beach, California, The Lofts at Promenade are created to enhance the lifestyle of all its residents through innovative designs, chic interior spaces and a world-class location. Constructed for residents who crave a vibrant, social lifestyle this loft community offers designer floorplans constructed to integrate the vibrant lifestyle of Long Beach into your home.

Every loft at this community features modern concrete flooring, light-filtering roller shades as well as industrial light fixtures and hardware. Although each loft comes with standard items, the goal of The Lofts is to spark creativity among its tenants by allowing residents the option of upgrading fixtures or adding unique additions to their home.

No matter how you customize your living space, each loft is designed with dramatic panoramic views of Long Beach, 10-foot ceilings with exposed metal ducting, in-home washer and dryer, two-toned color schemes and a gourmet kitchen highlighted by European-style cabinetry, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. With 13 unique floorplans, The Lofts at Promenade are far from your cookie-cutter apartment community, and whether you’re a single professional or a contemporary family there is a floorplan designed with you in mind.

Living Your Life

The Lofts at Promenade understand that your home is only one facet of living in an apartment community. Upon leaving your contemporary loft, you may take the elevator to the Rooftop Sky Lounge where you can indulge in the rooftop swimming pool, spa and lounge in one of the cabanas. The Sky Fit Health Club is a fully-functional fitness center with Yoga and Pilates classes and equipment.

While residents may never want to leave the posh and fashionable amenities found within this community, exploring all Long Beach has to offer is as easy as hopping onto the “Passport” shuttle. From The Lofts, residents can easily explore all 5 Districts of Long Beach, visit the Queen Mary or relax on the pristine sands of Long Beach, which is only a few blocks from the community.

Green Living

Five Ways To Go Green On House Designs

August 20, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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Each year, it seems that we all want to change a thing or two in the home. And then there are times when we want to change the entire design, especially of the home’s interior. But when considering some changes in the home’s designs, do you take going green into consideration?

As more and more people are aiming to have a part in saving the environment, green home designs are gaining in popularity. If you are looking for ways to go green on house designs, check out the tips below.

1. Green up with hardy house plants

Setting up some greenery in the house is a sure-fire way to add a green element to your home’s design. There are a wide range of house plants to choose from, but be sure to choose those that are easy to maintain and the hardy types. You can choose spider plants, pothos, snake plants and philodendron. The plants should ideally be set on areas of the house where there is sufficient natural light so the plants can grow and survive. With a small patch of greenery in the home, your house will come to life and you’ll always wake up to a refreshing morning.

2. Decorate your home with local furniture

One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy home furnishings that have been manufactured locally. That’s why the next time you shop for a piece of furniture, make a point of checking where it’s made. Ideally, the furniture you should buy is made in your own state, city or town. In fact, ask around if there are furniture manufacturers near your neighborhood. Or, you can look around for local antique stores to see if they have tables, sofas or chairs that you can refinish.

3. Use organic interior paint

Did you know that the home’s interior is three times more polluted than the exterior? That’s an amazing fact according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some of the hazardous pollutants to the home’s interiors are paints with extremely toxic finishes. That’s why it is highly recommended to use organic paint to minimize the toxic load. Organic paints such as those from BioShield and Ecos are free of poisonous toxins.

4. Consider environment-friendly flooring

If you are considering replacing the home’s flooring, go green instead of buying conventional materials. There are various options to choose from such as linoleum, bamboo, reclaimed wood and cork. These are naturally occurring materials and are highly sustainable.

5. Try the minimalistic approach

The less you buy unnecessary home decors, which actually significantly contribute to the growing environmental issues, the more you will be able to help in saving the environment. Only buy decors that are absolutely necessary to complement the home. Don’t clutter your home with too much furnishings and decors, because if you think about it, the more minimalist your approach is in decorating your home, the better it will look.

There are lots of other practical ways to make your home greener and more environment-friendly, but the above tops our list of practical tips for greening the home.

This article is written by +Christine Cooney , the writer for www.DFDHousePlans.com an online home and floor plan website. She has written about everything from craftsman house plans, architectural home designs, floor plans, blueprints and small green home plans. Christine, a writer in this industry for many years takes pride in what she writes and pride in the company she writes for.

Uncategorized

What To Do If You Have Bed Bugs

August 18, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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Bed bug infestations are stressful. Waking up to find dozens of bites all over your body is no way to have to start your day, and it takes much more than your grocery store insecticide to get rid of these tiny pests. If you suspect bed bug activity in your home, you need to act quickly, carefully, and thoroughly.

How do I Know I Have Bed Bugs?

The first step to a bug-free home is to confirm that you do have bed bugs. In most cases, the first signs are the bites — itchy red welts, usually in a trail along your arms, underarms, or shoulders. While some people experience itching and burning after being bitten, others may feel nothing at all. While these marks are certainly alarming, you have to be sure that they really are bed bug bites; they may be a skin reaction of some sort, or bites from another critter, like a spider or mosquito.

To be absolutely sure that you’re dealing with a bed bug infestation, carefully inspect the seams of your mattress, the edges of your box spring and bed frame, and inside small nooks and crevices of your bedroom. If a credit card can fit in a slot, a bed bug can too. While the odds of seeing live bed bugs crawling around during the day are slim (as they are most active while you’re asleep), you may find traces of their activity:

Feces are usually thin black spots or streaks, composed of digested blood that was excreted by the bedbugs as they returned to their hideout. To confirm that the mark is from a bed bug, try dabbing it with a wet paper towel; it should leave a red smudge.
Blood stains are small red spots, often left in trails. They are usually from bed bugs spitting up some of the blood that they had been drinking, or from them being crushed by people rolling over in their sleep.
You may also find molted skins. There are 5 stages of development during a bed bug’s maturity. During each stage, a bed bug will shed their skin to make room for a larger skin, like a snake. The skins will be transparent with a gold or amber tint. Since the skin is part of the bed bug’s exoskeleton, it will retain the shape and size of the bug, including its legs and joints.

The bed bugs themselves are reddish-brown and oval-shaped. They have six legs, small front wings, and no rear wings (bed bugs have lost their ability to fly through evolution, so their wings have no function anymore). They’re very small, usually only a few millimeters long, and are decorated with dark bands. If a bed bug has recently fed on its host, a deep red tint will show through its transparent skin.

Once you’ve confirmed that you do have bed bugs in your home, you’ll want to act quickly to kill the bugs and their eggs, and to prevent future infestations from occurring.

MM Novato is a blogger at www.bedbugsupply.com.

Home Improvement

5 Simple Steps to an Organized Garage

August 15, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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The garage is one of the most underutilized areas in the home. Many times people begin to place boxes, totes, and miscellaneous items in their garage. Soon enough, the garage becomes a cluttered dumping ground for the whole family. The garage is the optimal space to store and organize your family’s things and should be fully taken advantage of. Here are a few simple steps to an organized and functional garage.

Decision Time:

The first step to an organized garage is making decisions. If an item hasn’t been used in the last 3 years, chances are you’ll never use it in the next 3 years. Make decisions based on this rule of thumb to rid yourself of a lot of unnecessary clutter. Separate items in a “keep” pile and a “donate” pile.

Donate:

Once you’ve separated your things, donate gently used and useful items to your local charity. Donating to a local charity is a great way to give back to your community, recycle and receive a tax deduction. Who wouldn’t find those reasons appealing? Now, you’re ready to start organizing your garage!

Designate:

Now that you’re left with the items you could never part with, it’s time to assign them to a designated spot. Sports equipment, off-season items, tools, and yard equipment should all have a space of their own to call home.

Bins and Labels:

Store things in clear plastic bins to easily identify its contents. If you prefer a more uniform look, store things in a colored bin and label them according to their contents.

Bring Everything Up:

In order to maximize on your available space and create more usable square footage, store things up on the wall, above windows and doors and from the ceiling. Utilize shelving, hooks and overhead racks to take advantage of wall and overhead space to store things up and out of the way.

Store off-season and less frequently used items up high. This keeps them out of the way while still allowing for easy access when they are needed. Store more frequently used items, such as kids’ toys and sports equipment and yard tools lower on the wall and in cabinets for daily easy access.

By taking full advantage of your garage you will discover just how much space it actually has to offer. By storing and organizing your items up off the floor you will once again feel in control of your garage.

Monkey Bars Garage Storage Systems is a garage storage and organization company serving Sacramento homeowners with solutions and tips for an organized garage.

Uncategorized

Real Estate Agent Social Media Strategy That Works

August 12, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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If you are a real estate agent it is time to look into how you can really start to move the homes for sale you have in your listings. The housing market may be stale at the moment, but somehow realtors with some skill are managing to move homes every week. Their secret is simple; they have tuned into the world of social media and are using it to their advantage to get the word out about the properties they have for sale. It is simple to sell a home if you have the right real estate agent working on your side.

Social Networks

The very first thing that you need to do is take a good look at your current social media strategy because there is a very good chance that you can revamp it to help you out. While you might be on Facebook and Twitter, consider whether or not your business is on these social networks yet. If it is not you might be missing out on a prime opportunity. Every day real estate agents are selling dozens of homes via social networks, and you can be one of them.

It is worth it to jump online with your business portfolio starting with your friends and then branching out to their friends. Before long you will have a strong business following and then you can use the profiles to share photos of listings, advertise your services, and more. Why settle for waiting customers and potential buyers to come to you when you can proactively market to them every day with just the click of a button.

Social Apps

After you are done working with social networks you should consider looking into social apps that can also help you get the word out about your listings. There are dozens of social apps out there that allow you to broaden your reach and advertise your listings. For example, Instagram and Pinterest are typically used for sharing photos, but you can use the easy app to share photos of your listings and hopefully encourage a few more sales from people that like your homes. Taylor Morrison is a great example of a real estate company using these platforms well.

On the other hand, there are some social apps made specifically for real estate agents as well. Zillow for example is a great app that contains listing of top homes in almost every region. It is also one of the most used real estate apps by potential clients so you want to make sure that they pick up all of your listings promptly and that all of the listings are correct. By keeping an eye on these kinds of apps you can make sure that are working for you.

Self-Promotion

Finally, while you are busy work with these social networks and social apps make sure that you spend some time on self-promotion. Without self-promotion you are not going to get any new listings or clients, and that is the real backbone to your business. Therefore, from time to time make sure you promote your own business or real estate logo while online.

Alan Martin is a real estate agent in Utah. He also blogs about social media and online marketing.

Home Improvement

Popcorn Ceiling Removal: Tile Options For Your Popcorn Ceiling

August 10, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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When you want to find an affordable way to update your popcorn ceiling, you might want to consider ceiling tiles. They are an easy, economical choice for a new look to any room in your house. However, you may be surprised to learn how many options are available.

Acoustic Tiles

Acoustic tiles are designed to reduce noise because it absorbs the sounds. These tiles are usually made from fiberglass or spun mineral fibers. White is the traditional choice for color with acoustic tiles, but you can also find them in beige, blue, or gray. These tiles are often used in music rooms or homes with more than one living space.

You can choose from different brands and thicknesses of acoustic tiles. They also have different levels of sound absorption all the way up to 80 percent so you will want to choose carefully.

Plastic Tiles

Plastic is an economical material for people who are on a budget. They are designed to be fire safe and often provide some insulation. Some plastic tiles are even made to look like tin tiles with the metallic finish. You can also find ones with ornate patterns or borders that look like crown molding. They come in different colors and can even give the appearance of stone.

Tin Tiles

If you want the look of real tin, you can still find these tiles to cover your popcorn ceiling. However, they are more expensive than other types of tiles and are more difficult to work with. You need proper tools to cut the tin to the correct size, so you may want to have the job professionally done if you choose this type of tile. You can also use other metals such as brass, copper, and steel to achieve the look of tin tiles.

Cork Tiles

Cork is a great choice of material for people who are concerned about using eco-friendly products. They are also easy to install and come in waxed or unwaxed options. Waxed cork brings out the color in the tiles along with the texture; it also gives tiles a shine. The unwaxed choice allows the natural look to shine through. This type of tile also provides good insulation.

Other Criteria for Tiles to Cover Popcorn Ceilings

You can get lightweight or heavier ceiling tiles, depending on the material and requirement for noise absorption. Most tiles are either designed to be vacuumed or cleaned with a damp cloth. The majority of tiles measure a square of 12 inches by 12 inches but you can find other sizes up to 20 inches if you prefer a different size for your ceiling.

Other things to consider include the warranty and the price. There is quite a range in price, depending on material and size. One tile can cost from just a few dollars to close to a hundred dollars. Cost will increase if you need a grid system for your tiles. How you install your tiles will depend somewhat on the condition of your ceiling. It can be helpful to talk with a professional to know which options work best for your situation. They can look at the condition of your current popcorn ceiling and offer advice, but the final decision is up to you.

Before you buy your tiles, you will want to decide on the style you are looking for as well as the colors in the rest of the room. They are a great way to update your room and hide the popcorn ceiling without the cost and complication of replacing it. You can choose to handle the project yourself or hire a professional company to get the job done easily and quickly.

Olger Fallas Painting is a house painter in Maplewood New Jersey specializing in removing lead paint from old homes.

Interior Decorating

Work Better In An Organized And Appealing Home Office: 6 Makeover Tips

August 8, 2013 Jonathan Clark

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Many homeowners these days now have home offices that act as a personal extension of their offices where they can continue to work on unfinished office reports. Chances are your home office is one of the least aesthetically pleasing rooms in your home and since you spend a few hours in the evening and the weekend in it, you might not even notice how disorganized, small and boring it has become. In fact, it may no longer look like a home office anymore nor feel that way either. Do you have a home office that you have not been able to spruce up in a while? Perhaps you need to take some time and determine what is wrong with your home office and apply the necessary changes.

Why You Need To Give Your Home Office A Makeover

In many cases a home office is where most people spend plenty of time in compared to the laundry room. However, your working environment can affect your productivity, energy levels and creativity. It can also reflect you perception of personal success and your confidence levels. So when you have an uninspiring working space that is constantly filled with clutter, you can expect your business goals to be affected. Home offices usually require makeovers not only to improve the appeal of the room, but to help homeowners feel good and work better towards their goal. As such, if your home office lacks personality, is utilitarian in nature, always has clutter, is always disorganized and has decor and colors that does not complement a home office, you need to do a makeover.

1. Remove Clutter

Clean up your clutter and organize your things. Stick to a personalized organizational plan that is tailored to you and your workflow.

2. Create A Floor Plan

Create a floor plan that allows you easy access to all your items on a daily basis. Tailor it to the type of business you have.

3. Design Interior

Start designing your home office with something that inspires you. You can build the room’s interior based on what you love and what you already have. However, you can also bring in character to your home office by incorporating custom furniture or furnishing pieces, such as a stool, table or even mirrors. Custom made pieces speak about your personality better compared to ready made pieces.

4. Sufficient Lighting

Never overlook the lighting in your home office as it has a major impact on the finished design. Make sure that you have at least two sources of light, but it will not harm to have three.

5. Choose The Right Wall Color

First find a wall color to match an item in your home office, and then find items to match the wall color. Just do not make the mistake of matching your wall color to the exact color of the item of your choice. Always use a tone, tint or shade of the item’s color instead.

6. Establish A Focal Point

You also need to establish a focal point which is the first thing you will see upon entering your home office. Focal points are essential in all interior designs, but home offices do not usually have them. You can also make your desk your focal point by hanging grouped artwork behind the desk.

Valerie Kandria is a freelance writer specializing in interior design, custom doors and custom made furnishings. She offers advice on interior makeovers, how to create extra spaces and add style to a cramped home.