What are the Different Types of Cladding?

Renovating your house is an undertaking where you get to both improve the value of your house, or add an aesthetic appeal to it, or do both at the same time – depending on what part of it you’re fixing up. 

The great thing about house renovation is that it almost always means that you will single-handedly improve your house in multiple ways if you decide to do it. 

For example, if you fit new energy-efficient windows, you will not only save energy but also have a clearer view of the outside and also – the value of the house will inevitably go up with the new upgrade, too.

If you decide to clad the walls of your house, on the other hand, you will achieve a tri-fold improvement of your property:

1. More insulation (meaning less expensive heating and air-conditioning bills)

2. Added value to the building (in case you decide to sell at one point down the road)

3. Massive aesthetic enhancement.

In this article, we’re going to talk about this type of house improvement – exterior cladding. To be more precise, we’ll talk about the different forms of cladding there are.

Here’s the deal.

Natural Stone

Representing one of the best-looking types of insulating wall cladding, natural stone is the first choice for many people around the world. 

Houses that have a natural stone exterior possess a special sort of appearance that gives off the impression that your house is a part of the natural order, so to speak, while also retaining its sturdy structure.

The benefits of cladding your house with natural stone don’t with just its aesthetic appeal, though. 

This material is also an excellent insulator, so if you have a wall clad with natural stone, your heating costs will certainly go down, too. Also, natural stone does not absorb that much moisture, so you won’t have problems with it soaking in massive quantities of water every time it rains, either. 

Brick 

Another excellent solution for cladding your house would be brick. 

While this may seem a tad confusing since bricks are already used as a material to build the house itself, another layer of special bricks can be added to the base layer for purposes of cladding. 

Typically, this cladding brick layer will then be made out of a different sort of brick – usually, one that is more aesthetically appealing than the base layer.

The great thing about using brick for this purpose is that you can create unique and interesting visual patterns, so you have plenty of options to make your house stand out from the rest of the bunch in your neighborhood.

Metal 

Apart from its role in increasing the strength of concrete, metal can have one other interesting role in house building – exterior cladding. 

The great thing about metal is its endless malleability, meaning that you can get in a wide variety of shapes and forms, which is typically not the case with other cladding materials. 

What’s more, no matter what the pattern or design of a metal cladding solution – you can always rest assured that it will be sturdy and add further reinforcement to the structure of your house. 

Timber 

Representing possibly the most sustainable and eco-friendly cladding solution out there, timber cladding can be a great solution for folks who care about climate change and want to be a part of the push against it, in a way.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you would have to sacrifice anything in terms of the quality of the cladding, just so you can brag to your friends about how eco-conscious you are. 

Timber, in general, is a great insulator, which is why it is routinely used for building forest shacks in colder climates. Also, looks good as it comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Last but not least, timber is tough and fairly weather-proof, so even if you live in a rough climate with plenty of precipitation, chances are – you won't have any problems if you decide to go for a timber wall cladding.

All in all, listed above are all materials that are already well-proven to be effective when it comes to the purpose of wall cladding. Depending on what your needs and tastes are, each of these can do a terrific job for improving the insulation rate, the strength of the structure, as well as the look of your house’s exterior. 

How to Decorate Your House in Minimalist Style By Wooden Furniture

Minimalism is a style of decoration that exercises restraint. In this style of decoration, space and lighting play the most significant role. To achieve this style, you have to pare down most of your furnishings’ to the essentials that you may need that will provide the maximum minimalist impact.

The Choice of Furniture

1. Shelves

In a minimalist setup, you need to make sure that when you are selecting shelves; they are perfect for the design you are going for. Wooden shelves are a significant part of the minimalist setting in that they will stand out and bring the room to life. When selecting wooden shelves, you must know the reason and location you want to put the shelf. The positioning of the shelves is an essential aspect of ensuring that the room is perfectly decorated.

2. Chairs

Every house needs chairs for people to sit on. This is some of the chairs fill up the house. When you want to create a perfect minimalist ambience, it is paramount that you select the best designed wooden chairs that will fit well with your theme. Suppose you need different chairs for different areas. You have to ensure that you have selected the perfect ones. Chairs for dining rooms and the personal office must not be of the same design. Select a wooden chair that articulates the mood of the space you want to put them in. you may also decide to pick the best teak furniture to add more elegance.

3. Tables

Just like chairs, tables play an essential part in any room scenario. We use tables to put our food when eating and when studying in the home office. A wooden table is the most common type of table in any minimalist setting in that they fit perfectly well with any available theme that you may be going for. Wooden tables come in a variety of styles, from antiques to elegant tables. When selecting a table, you need to check if the table you want to use has a perfect flow with the chairs and the room.

4. Built-In Furniture

When you have a permanent home, you can fit in all your minimalist furniture permanently. This set up is perfect in that it will cut the cost of purchasing single units. All you have to do get to built-in the units you want. It is still essential to make sure that you understand the style and flow you want to achieve. The reason for understanding the style is that you will not have the liberty of dragging furniture from one corner to the next, and this is because they get fixed permanently.

Minimalist Ideas

When you are thinking of minimalistic ideas, believe that less is good and less is elegant. When you use a minimalist style of décor, you will achieve maximum space and ensure that your small room looks bigger than it actually is. A correctly done minimalist interior design is a sight that no one can forget. This minimalist trend has become the new home design trend to create a bright and open house atmosphere.

Minimalist    Design

When you are considering a minimalist design, the best type of furniture that will go well with the setting is wooden furniture. Wooden furnishings are perfect, last long, and above all, they are readily available. Another advantage is that you can decide to make wooden furniture that will be unique to your design.

Give Your Bathroom Some Space: How Marble And Quartz Make Small Bathrooms Look Bigger

We partnered with a home improvement company. for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

If you are residing in an urban area, most probably you would have come across small bathroom situations in your dwelling. You must have pondered over numerous ways to renovate the space to create the illusion of a larger space. Bathroom worktops are an essential component when you think of renovating them. But the market is filled with options like tiles, wood, granite, marble, glass, quartz and whatnot. 

There are plenty of neat tricks to create the illusion of a larger space. You’ll notice some ideas can be contradictory, but that’s true just on the surface. Making an area appear spacious isn’t always a straightforward solution. More often than not, it requires you to strategize and visualize the idea for the best results. Additionally, you may want to consult professional marble cleaning services.

Let us look into a few top reasons why marble and quartz should be your next choice for those fancy worktops your bathroom very much deserves.

Play with Size of Materials Used

This is a trick known to many designers. Varied sizes of the material are installed making rooms appear bigger than they are. Breaking away from uniformity and conventional patterns to a new approach can give us our desired result.

There are many types of patterns like the elongating diamond pattern, the Versailles pattern, or the standard grid. About two or three sizes of marble or quartz can be chosen for a set pattern enhancing the overall look of the bathroom while setting the illusion of spaciousness.

Color me Light

It’s a universal fact that the usage of light, earthly, or pastel colors can make any space look bigger. Bathrooms with white or off-white decors look larger and cleaner. They can be a great choice for master bathrooms. You can easily find quartz and marbles in these colors to favor this trick. It might be a little difficult to maintain them but then nothing amazing comes without a cost.

Ease of Integration

One of the key tips to the illusion of space in bathrooms is to decrease color contrasts. All components of the bathroom should be in the same color mood tone. This means that you can play around with only one or two colors for the cabinets, worktops, shower curtains, and fittings. The benefit of using quartz or marble is that you can find them in a myriad of colors. 

Therefore you won't have to compromise with your taste as well as quality. Strategize carefully – uniformity can very easily turn to blandness, rather than elegance.

Experiment with Styles and Approach

Contrary to the above-mentioned point some people love to experiment with darker colors to illusion larger space. The trick to use is to establish only one color tone throughout the worktops, walls, and floors. You can experiment with vanity style and make your worktop just like those fancy granite worktops of London.

Given that the city is starved for space (what modern-day metropolis isn’t?), designers have come up with great ways to make the best of our modern shoebox dwellings. 

Light it up

To further open up space, use the perfect lighting. Make sure that you have a good light right above the marble or quartz bathroom worktops. With the glow of light, marble and quartz both reflect with luminance making the appearance of your bathroom look exquisite just like in great upscale hotels.

The thing to keep in mind is that lights should not be too bright, which can give you a headache or too dim making it impossible to find stuff in your bathroom vanity or cabinets.

Not Straight, Diagonal is the Way

When placing the material on your worktop, consider getting it installed diagonally. This will give a break in the vision of your visitors and will make space appear much bigger. This will also depend on the design of your bathroom and the better judge would be the designer renovating the space.

As we already know, breaking away from conventional arrangements and sizes is a neat hack to make an area appear spacious. Be careful and make sure such changes blend with other fixtures and overall design.

Mirror on the Wall

Over your marble or quartz worktop install a mirror complementing it. For larger space illusion get more mirrors fixed on the walls other than just above the vanity. The light reflecting on these mirrors, worktops, floors, and walls will make the space in the bathroom seem almost double. So, the more the mirrors, the better the sight! 

Seal it well

You can easily seal marble or quartz bathroom worktops yourself or get some professional help. It will make them less porous and help wipe the water or soap stains easily. This will also increase the age of the material making it a good choice for many years to come.

Cover the Gaps 

During and after the installation of the worktops, do keep a note of any gaps or edges that can decrease the luscious look of marble or quartz. This trick can supplement the vision of continuity and gives a larger space illusion.

How To Make Your Home Look Expensive on a Budget

Our homes are a lot of things; they are our safe places and our retreats from the world. For some, the simple comforts of a home are all that they need to feel welcome. However, when the time comes to show off your home, perhaps for selling purposes, you need a little bit more to show off for a potential buyer or guest. If you don’t have the money to make your place swanky, we’ll tell you how to make your home look expensive on a budget.

Brighten the Place Up

As cozy as a dark home can feel, it doesn’t exactly scream luxury the same way that a brightly lit area does. If you want to spruce up your home’s look for a more discerning eye, making it nice and bright is a great start. Add in a couple of elegant light fixtures in a few rooms, and you’re already on your way to a classier look.

Stick To Minimalism

One of the key components to making your house look more expensive on a budget is to give the illusion that there is far more space than there actually is. To facilitate this, try to keep the amount of furniture in your rooms to a minimum. A cramped room full of stuff makes the entire space look smaller and more squished together, which can make people believe that your home is smaller than it is.

Add in a Few Mirrors

To accentuate the illusion that your home is larger than it seems, you can add a mirror or two into strategic places around your home. Mirrors are great for making spaces seem almost twice as big as they really are, not to mention that they are classy pieces of decoration themselves.

Decorate With Secondhand Items

Who says you have to shell out big bucks just to make your home look nice? There are a ton of secondhand home décor items that can really make your place feel unique and cost a fraction of what they would at a retail store. If you need some extra knickknacks and tchotchkes to fill out your shelves, a thrift or secondhand store is the perfect place to find them for cheap.

Don’t Underestimate Greenery

You don’t need to cough up a bunch of money on expensive flowers and trees to make your home look nice. A couple of small houseplants can really bring a room together, filling in any space that might be a little too barren. Plants provide a sense of comfort and freshness to a home that can make a big difference to the overall look.