Home & Garden

Guest Author: Darren Wilson

Brisbane, the capital city of Australia’s sunshine state Queensland, is known for its dynamic economy and sub-tropical climate. This is the primary reason why a lot of people are tempted to set up their dream home in this beautiful and spacious city. While most Australian residents usually live in detached houses with gardens, this sprawling city is also ideal for custom-made dwellings because of its vast areas.

Building your dream house is an exciting but challenging investment. Therefore, appointing custom home builders in Brisbane is a practical way to bring your dream homes into a reality without the possible risks of homebuilding disasters. But is it worth hiring custom home builders? Here are some reasons why it is a must to hire a professional custom home builder to help with your home construction in Brisbane.

Knowledge and expertise

Custom house building projects involve intensive skills and knowledge. Only a handful of construction professionals are equipped with the proper degree of expertise required to understand all the elements involved in the whole construction process. When you have a custom home builder, you get to have expert professionals who thoroughly understand the entire project. They are there to ensure that all the critical aspects of your home constructions plans are executed on time, professionally and correctly.

More buying power

Custom home building firms have experiences in constructions of houses spanning years. It’s safe to say that over those years, they have developed stable and reliable relationships with local construction suppliers whom they purchase fixtures, building materials, and the likes. And because these firms often buy in massive quantities, they can get the best products with the best prices and discounts. Meaning, they can pass all these savings to the clients.

Reliable sub-contractors

Most subcontractors love working with experienced and established home builders with impressive reputations. Looking for reliable subcontractors can be challenging not only because of the many options available, but also most homeowners cannot select the best company to hire. But if you have a custom home builder for your project, rest assured that these builders work with the most suitable sub-contractors around your area. Make sure they are equipped with the skills and expertise needed to have your home professionally built within your timeline.

They help you save time.

Managing a home construction project is time-consuming. You can’t just fit it during your ‘free time’. At the beginning of construction, most homeowners may feel like they can balance their time between job, social life, family, and the house construction project. But after some time, it can be daunting and overwhelming. When you go for a custom builder, a massive load of stress is taken off of your shoulder. You can focus more time on your life and leave the contractor to manage the time of your home building properly.

Streamline process

Even the slightest delay of your home construction project can create a significant impact on the whole process and can also summon added expenses to your build. All these can happen when your subcontractors don’t have proper scheduling, or when the project is done without the right sequence. You can avoid all these when you hire custom home builders. Their years of practice have made them perfect their craft and become more knowledgeable about streamlining their project seamlessly.

Homebuilding is a very daunting task, especially when you’re starting from scratch. But with the right custom home builders Brisbane, you can finally have that dream home minus the stress and unnecessary costs.

 

Among the top concerns of homeowners is if their homes are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. The type of heat pump that your home uses can significantly contribute to these factors, so be sure to do your research to understand how they work.

Geothermal Heat Pump

Image via Flickr by Matthew Paul Argall

If your main concern is to be as energy-efficient as possible, then a geothermal heat pump is the best option for you. This heat pump works by heating and cooling air that passes through a series of loops or coils that are buried underground. It doesn’t matter if you live in a cold or hot climate because the underground temperature stays consistent.

Installing a geothermal heat pump carries an upfront cost, which is why it’s important to talk to a service provider about the installation process. Since the coils have to be buried, the type of terrain that your house sits on and the style of coil that is used play a large role in cost. You also have to consider how the installation process will disrupt the natural landscape, and whether or not all of these factors mitigate the benefits of this type of unit.

Split-Ductless Pump

If you’re adding on to your home or living in a small space, a split-ductless pump could be an excellent option. This unit is also energy-efficient, requires very little work to install, and is less prone to disrepair or leaks. It needs a single hole through the roof and works almost soundlessly.

There are some major differences between the styles of heat pumps, especially between a split-ductless pump and a traditional HVAC unit. Installation costs could be three times more if you were to replace your HVAC with a split-ductless pump. You also have to clean the split-ductless pump monthly or risk having to spend hundreds of dollars on professional services. The efficiency of the pump also requires specific placement within the room to work properly. If it is placed improperly, you could lose out on all of the energy-saving benefits.

Air-Sourced Pump

Despite being an older type of unit, air-sourced pumps continue to be a popular choice while still being energy-efficient. They cost less to install than newer options and efficiently heat and cool entire homes using only one unit. It uses a process of refrigeration in which a coil full of liquid creates a heat exchange during the winter and then reverses that process during the summer.

Air-sourced pumps are prone to leaks, and the refrigeration unit should be regularly serviced to ensure it continues to work efficiently. It also primarily runs off of electricity, so check whether or not you live off of a gas main, as a gas-powered pump could be more efficient for your home. If this unit seems like the right one for you, be sure that your home is properly insulated so that you can reap the benefits of the energy savings.

Not all heat pumps are created equal, and every home has different needs. Be sure to thoroughly research the different types of heat pumps before you buy one because the installation and repair costs will vary depending on the terrain, size of home, and climate.

 

When thinking of ways to increase the value of a property, most people overlook the exterior. Adjusting a property’s landscape is a sure way of ramping up its value by as much as 10%, according to realtors. Curb appeal is significant in real estate as it is the source of the first impression. Likewise, the allure that the landscape provides could be enough to get a buyer excited enough to consider making an offer.

Here are some collected ideas on how to get your landscaping on point and increase the value of your property if you’re planning on selling your property.

Match Landscaping With the Architectural Style

If you wish to get a return on your landscaping investment, then make sure the landscape design rhymes with the house architectural style. Likewise, when dealing with craftsman style homes, you can never go wrong with simple and classic landscaping that incorporates structured bushes and shrubbery.

“Keep in mind the landscaping is the first thing home buyers will see. First impressions are huge when house shopping, landscaping can be the thing that makes them come in with positive eyes.” – Chance Realty

Modern additions such as koi ponds or opulent fountains are ideal for houses with modern architectural designs. Modern style homes would also rhyme well with lots of greenery made up of grass and flower beds. However, be sure avoid squares or formal looking gardens and abundant airy blossoms

Mow and Edge the Lawn

Nothing looks enticing and good like a well-attended and carefully maintained lawn of green grass. The quickest way to upgrade your lawn is to mow and edge it. While edging, avoid 90 degrees angles and straight lines as they are not natural in nature. Incorporating too many straight lines on the lawn may make a garden look unnatural.

Edging prevents grass from growing beyond the yard’s boundaries and makes a garden appear restrained and tamed. Likewise, it provides the impression of lower maintenance. Well-defined edges not only make a lawn look gentle and discreet but also shows the buyer’s how meticulous you are when it comes to property maintenance. a well-maintained lawn may give buyers an early impression of a well-maintained property in pristine condition

Plant Trees

You can never go wrong with trees as they add beauty and a sense of peace to a home and the neighborhood at large. Homeowners seek properties with trees given the benefits they offer. For starters, well-distributed trees in a property screen off unfavorable views while also muffing off sound from nearby streets. In addition, trees tend to reduce winter heating bills and also cut down on summer cooling bills

A study by Landscape and Urban Planning has already shown that street-facing trees have the potential to increase the value of a house by up to $10,000 in addition to ramping up their demand. While planting trees, you would have to avoid weak tress as well as those prone to diseases and plagues.

Add Color to Lawn

In addition to trees, you can add color to your lawn by planting a wide array of flowers that complement the house architecture. Varying colors of flowers will not only brighten the garden but also add color and texture to the right places.

However, when picking flowers, pick those that are able to provide bright colors and rhyme with the house theme. For instance, during the summer, you can go with a sunflower garden with the rest of the year featuring annual yellow flowers. However, it is important to minimize the number of plants in the garden to give it a uniform look.

If you already have flowers mulching and weeding is important to ensure the garden appears low maintenance and well kept.

Add water Features and Walkway

A backyard oasis should add to the mix of an exquisite landscape. The relaxing sound of water moving around the garden works magic with most buyers, given its ability to mask distracting sounds. In this case, you can consider adding a foundation or a small pond.

Likewise, there should be a walkway leading to the small pond that makes the entire lawn easily accessible. A walkway should lead potential buyers in the right direction to experience what the entire curb has to offer.

Increase Privacy

While trees do help in obscuring unfavorable views from the streets, windows are also a selling point for most homebuyers looking for privacy. While windows are ideal for letting natural light into the house, they should always act as a barrier preventing people from the outside from seeing inside.

Wrapping Up

Landscape appeal is not some random myth that real estate agents use to get more money from home buyers. A real phenomenon works all the time. Therefore giving your curb a boost by carrying up the above-mentioned upgrades can significantly boost your property value.

 

The kitchen is known to be the heart of the home, which is why a lot of families have the desire to upgrade their kitchens through renovations. Remodelling your kitchen has numerous benefits such as adding value to your home, enhancing aesthetics, increasing efficiency, and many more.

If you are currently planning for the remodelling of your kitchen, then you should read on as this article will discuss smart reasons why you should visit kitchen showrooms for renovation.

Design Inspirations

One of the most significant advantages of visiting a kitchen showroom is being able to see numerous kitchen designs. Seeing different designs first-hand is beneficial because you can then draw inspiration from them for your kitchen renovation.

There is no shortage of kitchen room designs on the internet; however, the main disadvantage is that you can only see it virtually. Going to kitchen showrooms is still your best option because not only can you see the designs, but you can also have a feel for them as well.

Communicating with Designers

With the advancement of technology nowadays, numerous communication platforms enable clients to talk to contractors and designers, platforms such as messenger applications, e-mail, internet calls, and the like.

Communicating virtually is excellent because of the convenience that it brings, but kitchen renovations shouldn’t be taken lightly, which is why it is still better to talk face-to-face.

According to an article by Forbes, face-to-face communication builds trust, understanding, and a real sense of a shared mission. Talking to designers face-to-face helps them understand what it is precisely that you want for your kitchen, which makes your objectives and goal clearer for them.

Assess the Capability of the Designer

One of the blunders you can make when renovating your kitchen is selecting a design on a website and then hiring a designer to do it without looking at their past work first-hand. Fortunately, visiting a showroom provides a solution to this.

Going to a kitchen showroom gives you the chance to see a particular designer’s past works. This is helpful because you can then assess their capabilities if they are perfect for the job or not.

New Technology

There are numerous smart appliances for the kitchen nowadays, WiFi-enabled cooking pots, sensor-based kitchen sinks, smart refrigerators, and a lot more. Visiting a kitchen showroom gives you the chance to see smart kitchen appliances that may not be available in the market, which you can use for your kitchen room upgrade.

Having a kitchen with newer technology is genuinely beneficial, because not only does it increase efficiency, but it also raises the financial value of your home. This means that if you have plans to sell your home in the future, rest assured that you will be able to sell it for a reasonable price.

Renovating or remodelling your kitchen is one of the most significant decisions you will make for the betterment of your home, which is why you should plan for it deliberately.

It would be best to avoid designers and contractors that offer low renovation prices because it could be a marketing scheme to persuade you to hire them. You would be better off by hiring a reliable and trusted contractor or designer that has a reasonable price and high-quality service.

From the reasons mentioned above, visiting a kitchen showroom is, without a doubt, the best thing you can do for your kitchen renovation. Visit one today and be a step closer to your dream kitchen!

 

Imagine a room, or a house, or even an office without having windows in it. Yes, it makes the space incomplete, and that’s why windows are so essential. It may give you a scary scene of being an inmate forever.

There are significant reasons why windows even exist in rooms and other places, for providing ventilation, sunlight, and fresh air. To some, it may cause claustrophobia, and some may feel prisoned.

Now since we have started talking about windows, we shouldn’t leave the curtains far behind. After all, they are a combination. One is necessary, another a luxury. The first one is for protection, the other for enhancing beauty.

These days, interior designers keep every detail in cover – while drafting walls, flooring, furniture, etc., and also the window designs and trendy curtains.

Some enthusiasts put in a lot of planning before they purchase curtains or drapes for their rooms because they reflect our mood and also determine the quality of our lifestyle. It is true; colorful curtains make a place look lively and happy, whereas dark-colored curtains provide a more comfortable ambiance.

Gone are the days when animal hides were used and hung in their doorways. Yes, that did happen hundreds of years ago in Egypt. But today, you can easily find thousands of fabric choices and made to measure curtains to go with your home décor.

People decorate their rooms with different types of curtains. For example, the grommet curtains and rod curtains are the most commonly used type of curtains in homes. They are simple, elegant, and light-weighted, having a casual look.

This blog will guide you on how to enhance the look of your bedroom with curtains.

Impact the size of your room:

If your bedroom is too small or too large and doesn’t meet your requirements, curtains can change the size of a room in the blink of an eye. You can hang curtains high and wide to make the space look huge. The selection of colors is also essential when choosing curtains. You should avoid large patterns and stripes. And the opposite would be suitable for large bedrooms.

Let there be light:

One of the essential elements of design is lightning in a room. Curtains play a vital role in maintaining how much light should enter your bedroom or other spaces.

To create the perfect atmosphere, you can place your curtains to ensure natural light spreads in your living area. If you have a room facing towards the northern side, you may require to pull in sheers to block the glaring sun. However, moderate sunlight is preferable, along with a roller blind to have a heavenly feel. If you want to get the best results from custom made curtains, the trick is to use it for both; getting privacy and lights.

Complement your aesthetics:

Similar to decorated walls and ceilings, curtains are a must. You can’t go forward without selecting the right color, print, and fabric. A room without a curtain is no room.

Enhance the interior look:

It could be your bedroom, living room, or a place to energize and reflect. Curtains can particularly elevate your mood. It will be classy if you match the colors or contrast the curtains with your furniture.

Additional Information:

If you want to know about the impact, curtains will make outside the bedroom, stay calm. You should pick natural and breezy colors. However, thick fabrics are excellent for privacy and give you a warm feeling during the cold seasons.

Although, if you are looking to get enough light from outside yet require privacy at the same time too, then you should try café curtains. They are hung halfway up on the window giving privacy in the room as well as light. Some people go for blinds as they make a room look larger. Some choose to go for a combination of blinds and curtains for designing their homes. If you want your room to look bigger, then choose lighter shades or the shades of the walls. Heavy embroidered and dark colors of a curtain make a room look smaller.

Curtains are one of the few things that give life to a room. Its color makes the ambiance of the room. Without them, rooms look mostly empty or incomplete. They keep the place warm in winter and cool in summer.

It is also essential to make sure your curtains are regularly cleaned to remove the buildup of contaminants and webs of spiders. Cleaning them will also add to the look of your room because a dirty or a yellowing curtain can portray a poorly managed place, making a room look dirty even if everything inside is cleaned.

Conclusion

Changing the curtains of your home is the most economical way of enhancing your place. You may use the same furniture or gadgets, but for a fresh new look – curtains add the magical twist. So if you want to create wonders, curtains are the magic recommended by professionals for your interior décor.

For many people, a garden is a place where they find calm and relaxation. Gardening and maintaining a lawn have become a form of stress reliever. This might explain why people have invested as much time as they possibly can to keep these spaces lush and green.

If there’s one thing that can ruin the experience, it’s when the garden or lawn is infested with weeds. Spending hour after hour of weeding can take the relaxation out of the hobby.

While some people find weeding a bit satisfying in the beginning, it’s just a matter of time until the chore starts to wear them thin. When this happens, you’ll want to have a strategy to put an end to this leafy menace.

That said, here are six tips to get rid of those pesky weeds that have been tried and tested by lawn care experts from Chesterfield, MO:

Start with prevention

The best way to get rid of weeds is to prevent their growth in the first place. And weed prevention starts by keeping a healthy lawn and garden.

There are several things you must do to ensure that your garden thrives and your lawn stays lush and verdant. Aside from cutting grass at just the right height, you’ll also need to keep them well-fed with nutrients and regularly hydrated.

Below are the different tasks and how they must be done to keep weeds from germinating in your lawn while keeping plants and grass healthy:

Deep watering

Deep watering is arguably the easiest way to keep weeds off of your lawn. Remember to water once a week with about one inch of water every time. This will allow the grassroots to grow deeper into the soil and prevent unwanted plants from taking over.

Tall mowing height

Think keeping the grass as short as possible is a good idea? Think again.

The truth is, long grasses are actually more ideal, especially if you don’t want weeds from emerging since they won’t be able to germinate with tall grass impeding their access to the life-giving sun. And without sunlight, weeds won’t be able to thrive.

You must keep in mind, however, that the ideal mowing height varies for different species of grass, as follows:

• Bermuda grass – half to one inch
• Bahiagrass – two to three inches
• Blue grama grass – two to three inches
• Buffalo grass – two to three inches
• Bentgrass – a quarter to three-quarters of an inch
• Chewing hard – one and a half to three inches
• Centipede grass – one to two inches
• Carpet grass – one to two inches
• Perennial ryegrass – one and a half to three inches
• Red fescue or chewing hard – one and a half to two and a half inches
• St. Augustine grass – one to three inches
• Tall fescue – one and a half to three inches
• Zoysia grass – half to one inch

Mulching

Mulching is another way to keep your garden weed-free for the same reason tall grasses help – it prevents sunlight from reaching weed seeds. About two inches of mulch should be able to allow flowers to thrive while preventing weed infestation.

Pull them out manually

Manual weeding is probably the most straightforward way of keeping those pesky weeds from growing. However, even this method requires proper execution to achieve full efficacy.

For one, your schedule for weeding manually should be based on the old adage “Pull when wet; hoe when dry.”

Remember that, when drenched, the soil is easier to work on. This means you should be able to pull out weeds with just a glove, a sitting pad, and a tarp for gathering what you’ve pulled out after a downpour.

When the soil is dry, you can use a hoe with a sharp edge to work up the soil. After doing so, you’ll find that weeds will dry up until they’re a threat to your lawn no more.

Start pruning

Weeds that cannot be pulled out can be dealt with another way: by pruning. Cutting off the heads of hardy weeds will impede germination. This will buy you time until the “weed seed rain” starts for annual weeds.

As for bindweed and other perennial weeds, deadheading can help lessen the chances of reseeding. It also forces them to exhaust their food reserves and root bud supply to limit their spread.

Plant strategically

Did you know that the strategic placement of plants can also help reduce weed infestation?

Planting garden flowers closer together can choke out any emerging weeds since they will prevent the sun from reaching those unwanted growths. This is why many landscapers and gardeners plant in clusters instead of just scattering them around the premises.

When going with this strategy, make sure to limit the space you shave off to only 25 percent of the recommended spacing for each plant. Of course, you should still keep the plant mature sizes in mind when planning for plant placement in your garden.

Water the plants, not the weeds

Water is essential for all types of flora, including weeds. If you’re after getting rid of them, be sure to cut off their water supply. This is where drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses can come in handy.

Since they only irrigate plants close-by or those that are mulched, these irrigation systems ensure that your garden flourishes and stays weed-free. Without water, weeds are bound to wither and die. This strategy has been found to reduce weed-seed germination by about 50 to 70 percent.

However, you have to keep a close eye on deep-rooted perennial weeds like nutsedge and bindweed that thrive with deep watering.

Use organic compost

Aside from being good for plants, organic compost can also help you deal with the weed problem more efficiently. By enriching the soil with a healthy mixture of organic matter and compost, you keep the weeds from germinating.

This, however, has left soil scientists baffled as they still cannot explain why this is the case. Even so, one thing is sure: it is effective in keeping weeds at bay.

Get rid of weeds now

Getting rid of weeds is time-sensitive. The longer you wait, the bigger and more hardy they become. Try the removal and prevention methods mentioned in this article to keep your garden and lawn weed-free. If all else fails, you can always seek help from lawn care professionals in Manchester, MO.