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How To Take Care Of Your Cuckoo Clock
A cuckoo clock is a humorous and charming addition to any home. In addition to notifying you of the time with its classic “cuckoo,” these conversations pieces are historically made in the beautiful Black Forest region of Germany, so they make...
Maintain Your Home’s Integrity -- Unearth Architectural Gems for Added Value
(ARA) - Your home’s architecture defines the flow of your living space and your daily routines. Maintaining the original intent of your home’s space and design can positively affect your resale value. On the other hand, nothing can lower aesthetic...
Make Big Profits With Fixer-Upper Houses
Many people are enticed by the prospect of making money by repeatedly buying rundown homes, moving into them, fixing them up and reselling them for a profit. The strategy has become even more popular in recent years, thanks to homeowner-friendly...
Ten Convenience Built-Ins That'll Save Your Busy Household Hundreds Of Hours Each Year
Planning to remodel, repair or build a new home? Looking for
some terrific features to include that can save you tons of time
in shortcuts, efficiencies and saved steps? We can help! We
started collecting over 1,000 uncommon, affordable...
You Can Have a Mosquito Free Yard
In addition to the fact that mosquitoes are both annoying and cause some level of discomfort when you’re unfortunate enough to be the entree on their daily menu, they also carry disease which can affect the animal, bird and human populations. In...
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Small Is Beautiful
Remember the studio apartment you had in college? That one room apartment served as bedroom, living room, kitchen and den; it probably held a daybed, a television, a coffee table, and maybe even the stove and refrigerator along one wall. Moving into a real home after experiencing such a cramped way of living can be a huge relief. So it comes as a surprise to some that home owners today are deliberately building smaller. If you've got the cash, some think, why not slap on as much square footage as possible?
But sometimes building smaller means building smarter.
It's a fact: small is more efficient than large. Building a large house requires a lot of building materials and manpower, and consequently, a higher cost. That's why many larger homes are built with lower qualities of wood and other materials- if the builders used the best materials, they would price themselves right out of the market. A smaller home, on the other hand, can be built with high-quality materials and attention to detail, and still not fall into an impossible price range. If you're not particularly in need of floor space but you love the idea of oak trim and vintage cabinetry, then it might be in your best interests to build small.
No matter how much you spend to build the house initially, a smaller house will save you money in the years to come. Heating and cooling costs of a smaller-sized home will be a fraction of what they are in larger properties, and repairs on a one-story roof run much cheaper than those on a three-story mansion. Painting or
siding the exterior of a house that doesn't have as much exterior is an easy job and well within most home owner's budgets.
Of course, there is the space factor. But unless you have a large family or another reason why you need lots of square footage, don't rule out small homes as being too cramped and claustrophobic. In the hands of the right designers, smaller spaces can be given wonderful, wide-open feelings that rival those of larger houses. Smart designers know the tricks of opening up a small space and giving it the flow it needs to feel larger. Rooms that open into each other, a lack of hallways and narrow entryways, and large windows can all help a small home feel gigantic. A light style of furniture and simple, bold pieces on the walls complement a small space perfectly and give it a clean, contemporary feel. Imagine living without the compulsion to fill your space with "stuff." Imagine a home where one or two quality chairs and a sofa can make a room come alive.
So if you're considering building or buying, consider going small. It's the new, budget-conscious wave in home design.
About the Author: Kirsten Hawkins is a real estate expert from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.king-of-real-estate.com/ for more information on real estate, mortgages, and finding the house of your dream.
Source: www.isnare.com
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