interior design ideas: January 2009

Haggling as an Art Form?

The New York Times has a great article today about how to haggle when you go furniture shopping:

Read on:

"But these days, the thinking goes that it’s a buyer’s market for anyone looking to buy anything. And, as it happens, I’m currently in the market for everything, having just moved into a new apartment where the sum total of my décor is two card tables and an old leather recliner. I may not be a regular customer of the design boutiques of SoHo and TriBeCa, but if there is ever going to be a time for me to furnish my home in high style, this would seem to be it."

Read the complete article

We can't help but put in our two cents on this subject.

Now, we know the economy is tough. It's painful to watch. Too much so actually. The worst part of it is, we know it will get even worse in the next 12 months. But we hope that the consumers will see the OTHER side. As a consumer, you have the option of to spend or not to spend. As a furniture store owner though, you are much less flexible. There's rent, employees, utilities, overhead, advertising--fixed cost that come out of our pockets every month.

As we talk to our colleagues in the business, we find most of them are suffering, big time! Especially the small ones. Many have taken out home equity and/or maxed their credit cards out just to keep the business open. Most do not pay themselves a salary. Many of them are barely scraping by.

So when you do shop for furniture and decide to haggle, think about this a little. Stores have to make a profit to survive, and even though the common perception is retailers mark up like crazy, the truth is that after all the overhead, most of them are lucky if they can end up with a profit at the end of the month.

Here is another NY Times article on the home furnishing melt down.

Yes, do haggle if you can, NICELY. Keep in mind, though, stores need to make money to survive. And they are suffering just as much, if not more, than you are.

Otherwise, there won't be any place for us to shop!

Green Home Design Reduces Carbon Footprint

A green home minimizes the negative impact on its environment through its home design. Here are a few considerations your architect takes into account when designing a green home:

1. Site: Evaluations and analysis of access, slope, ledge, soil, bodies of water, and vegetation in order to limit the home’s impact on the site environment. This includes the site location (farmland, wetland, protected species habitats) and proximity to public transportation, parks, schools, and stores.

2. Size: A green home is efficiently designed to keep the square footage to a minimum. This reduces the amount of energy to heat and cool the home, lighting, and the quantity of building materials used.

3. Solar: Whether or not you plan to install a solar energy system to heat your water or produce electricity, there are several other solar considerations in green home design. Designing the home for passive solar makes the most of solar energy by harvesting it into the homes’ natural energy flows. Passive solar systems include day-lighting strategies, heating and cooling control techniques, and natural ventilation. When a whole-building approach is taken, energy savings can be great both in terms of reducing the home’s carbon footprint and the costs associated with heating, cooling, and maintaining the home.

4. Energy: Lighting, heating, and cooling systems are an important consideration in green home design. Renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, and geothermal systems use the earth’s natural energy to heat and cool your home, as well as provide electricity to run appliances and technology. Water usage, including toilets, showerheads, and sink faucet aerators, is another important green home design consideration.

Of course, you want your new home to use minimal amounts of fossil fuels, last a long time, and cost you less money. Many home design strategies don’t cost a dime in materials but can save you hundreds of dollars on heating and cooling costs. The result is a beautiful, healthy home – both for your family and the environment.

Anne Selke for Vanguard Furniture

Do you love colors? We do. In fact, we are totally obsessed with it. To us, there is nothing else that can elevate your mood so quickly, so completely.

We saw the new furniture collection from Anne Selke for Vanguard Furniture and we just love it. Anne Selke is the creative force behind Pine Cone Hill, a very pretty bedding line. Her furniture reflects her aesthetic perfectly. It's pretty, colorful and liveable.

Here are some samples of the furniture. You can see the complete collection at the Vanguard web site.

Rants and Raves-BoBo Intriguing Objects

Have you ever been in love at first sight? We have. With an object, that is.

We first saw BoBo Intriguing Objects at the Atlanta Mart last year and we've been meaning to write about it. BoBo stands for Bourgois and Bohemian, and we have to say, that just describes the products PERFECTLY.

We love this line because it takes reclaimed wood and makes them into amazingly beautiful things-- kinda rustic and organic--but in a very refined and sophisticated way.

Here are some samples of their products. They look WAY better in person, we must tell you. You can check out the rest of the products on BOBO web site. They are a little bit pricey, but that's because the quality of the workmanship is so high.

At the moment we do not carry BoBo products yet, but if you are interested in anything in particular, drop us a line.

Benefits of Building a Green Home

Why build a green home? Every positive action counts. Many people assume that if you are going to build a green home, you’ll be spending far more money than a regular home. This is not true.

From my vantage point, any improvement to any portion of the home building process helps the environment. According to the Brookings Institution, by the year 2030 there will be 34 million new housing units constructed and 23 million existing units will be replaced. Imagine the impact on the environment that any small change could make when we consider the construction of 57 million housing units by the year 2030 (the Brookings Institution estimates there will be 34 million new housing units constructed and 23 million existing units replaced over the next 21 years). Now imagine the impact of the amount of energy consumed by those 57 million units during a conservative estimate of a 50 year building life span!

In the United States, approximately 40% of energy consumption is attributed to non-industrial buildings (residential) and 32% is in heating & cooling alone – it’s staggering! The global climate, carbon dioxide, natural resource depletion and increasing energy demands are all relevant and of great concern.

If you wish to have the largest effect for the smallest effort & investment, work with an experienced architect to design and build a better insulated home with durable, low maintenance materials, more efficient heating and cooling systems, utilize natural day-lighting and perhaps even harness some of the available solar energy to produce hot water or even electricity in a solar power home. Look into geothermal and wind power. Small steps in aggregate will have a significant impact.

The result will be enormous to the environment. Better yet, your green home will be healthy and you’ll spend far less on energy bills, building maintenance, and material replacement costs.

Lee Jofa Fabrics-Thread Collection

We drove down to Lee Jofa at the Pacific Design Center the other day to see what's new. We're glad we did because Lee Jofa just introduced a wonderful collection called "Threads".

Thread is a very decadent, very luxurious collection (and yes, they are REALLY pricey), but if you are in a mood for something very upscale, take a look at this line. The colors are muted and subdued; the texture is absolutely sublime, and the look is incredible.

Here are some samples of it. Now, the images alone do not do this line any justice. They look way better in person. You can see the entire collection here. For pricing information or to order samples, please visit our fabric site.

Home Accessories from Lazy Susan

As a home accessories vendor, we are constantly looking out for new vendors with interesting stuff we can buy. Recently, we came across a really cute home accessories line called Lazy Susan.

Now, home accessories are our absolute favorite thing to buy. Truly, there is no better way to instantly add pizzazz to your home.

Here are some samplings of their products. Lazy Susan does not sell directly to the public. We'll be posting their products up on our home accessories site shortly. In the mean time, you can view the entire product line at Lazy Susan web site.

Northern New England Home Show, Manchester, NH

Bonin Architects & Associates is exhibiting this weekend at the Northern New England Home Show, Manchester, New Hampshire. Stop by our booth (#1703) and talk to us about your plans to build a green home! Feel free to bring your ideas and sketches. We'll be able to help you get started on a home design that will fit your family's wants and needs, make the most of your site, help protect the environment, and save you money in energy costs.

If your building plans are affected by the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act which protects New Hampshire lakes and ponds, we can create a home design that meets your needs and preserves the environment in accordance with the regulations.

Make plans to see the seminar "Green Home Design" by Jeremy Bonin, AIA NCARB LEED AP at the show Friday at 6:30 PM, Saturday 11:00 AM, or Sunday 11:00 AM. You'll learn about sustainability, guiding principles of green home design, the phases of design, passive green design, and active green design.

Show information:

Northern New England Home Show

The Center of New Hampshire @ Radisson Hotel

700 Elm Street

Manchester, NH

Manchester Home Show Tickets

Why Hire an Architect For Your Home Design?

Architecture plays a unique role in our everyday life. An architect has the expertise to combine your wants, needs, and aspirations with your goals of energy efficiency and sustainability to successfully match your project objectives.

Architecture affects people every moment of every day. We reside in homes where we sleep, cook, eat and spend time with our families; we typically travel to a building to work or a school to learn. Architects address requirements such as function, aesthetics, economics, environment, safety, and regulations and translate these into a home design that matches each owner’s personal taste and family dynamic.

The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards defines the role of an Architect as "the primary building professional qualified to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public through the enhancement of the quality of the built environment and the richness of space and form”. Buildings inhabited during those functions are essential to our lives and our health. Architects are ethically bound to continually better that built environment.

For instance, Architecture entails more than just a physical building. It involves:

· Correctly interpreting the client’s dreams, visions, and objectives
· Exploring all possibilities
· Studying and responding to the site and its environment
· And translating all these into a home design that will exceed expectations

Sustainable architecture or green building is only a small part of a greater whole. It has been said many times that “sustainability” is a good short term goal for home design. Sustainability is simply the equilibrium, a tipping point where we are no longer damaging the planet that we inhabit with the effects of our daily lives through manufacturing, power production, construction, transportation, agriculture which affect our global ecosystem. Sustainability, by definition, is actually the point at which we cease to harm the environment. Beyond sustainability is where we begin to repair the damage done, which, ultimately, is the goal.

There are many great minds working toward both of these goals with ideas and solutions far greater than most people’s typical reach; however, anything that can be done better and is financially feasible should be done.

Green architects enrich the design and the project through integrity, conscientious design, environmental awareness, and the application of skills specific to their trade – keeping the ultimate goals of energy efficiency and sustainability clearly in view. Should your home design be anything less?

Floor design Winchester City museum

Found locally, this design of floor of mosaic is under very good conditions. The house it in was not obviously had under the heating of floor, because there is choking of an ironmonger who was held on top. The damaged correction on the remote side is where a tree had developed by the buried mosaic. The twisted design of border of cord is called guilloches .

Roman mosaic floor

Winchester City museum

floor design custom

the unlimited floors out of wooden can take your floor on a new level with their customs borders and inlay the beauty. We use the design of floor of Oshkosh 'the collections originator-inspired by S, and let us encourage you to explore combinations of the exotic wood, glass, metal and products wrought by stone. Offered are multiple elements in each collection which can be placed in a whole room, a level, or your whole house. Moreover smaller decos can be employed to make echo a topic on walls and frames.

floor design custom

Floor design home

The floor is more than right a surface which serves the other parts of a basic building. Recently the traditional ones of the floor coverings like the carpet, wood, tile or the linoleum tested a Rebirth: modern technologies, the new colors, the models and the ornaments are applied and of various materials are combined. In this volume approximately 50 originators and manufacturers are introduced with their exceptional projects and innovating designs. The projects extend from the carpets for the interior with paving broad plazas. This book proves that the design of a floor is a demanding task what influences distinctive the effect a room or the place creates. An index with the information of contact of the originators is included.

Floor design home

Floors German-based home

The mare parquets GMBH, a printer German-based of large size, was accustomed to its UltraVu 2600 to print a coloured underwater design vibrating and little commune of floor to carry out the advertising agency of Madrid, Estudio Cruz. The floor was installed by initially applying a layer out of plastic to the existing concrete, and then sticking the self-adhesive vinyl graphs to the base-layer. Glass shots and the crystals were adhered to the printed image and a matt cover was covered. The final contact was the installment of a special durable transparent film which helped to create a glance of gleaming water.

http://www.efi.com/products/production/superwide/vutek/applications/floor_graphics/images/Mare_Estudio_cruz_TF.jpg

Floors German-based

Floor Plan Samples home

These plans of stage are only one sample of various houses which we can establish for you. Each one can be modified to adapt to your need. Click on top the additional bonds to see more information on the plan.

It is our package at the basic house. With 3 rooms to lay down 2 baths, garage of 2 cars, and a full basement, this 1200 pi square at the house is for the first time the perfect purchaser at the house which has the price and quality with the spirit. This house has a simple design but always has qualities of ideal efficiency which are associated with a house of Robert B. cellulose the insulation, the envelope of house, and the windows of Peeled round a package at the effective house outside. The evaluation starts to $129.000, plus the cost of the fate.

Floor Plan A

Basic design home decor

The decor is completed with an odd mix stuff blending antiques, Spanish style, and modern design. Every flat surface has an ashtray somewhere. In fact, a floor lamp may even have an ashtray built in.

Moving to the dining room, this is a rather simple affair with a long table and chairs, and a serving buffet, hutch, or sideboard. In the dining room, as the living room, you'll notice colors you don't see any more...orange, aqua, turquoise, bright green, or perhaps a host of bright earth-tones. Window treatments are extremely simple, although the patterns might be complex.

typical layout of the formal living area for a split level circa 1965

The kitchen completes this floor, and is the hub of the household. It has entries to both the living room and dining room; the living room entry is probably adjacent to the stairs leading down to the den and garage. The back door is also in the kitchen, it might be a dutch door. You might also see a large handbell nearby -- useful for calling the children from neighboring yards at dinner time. Decor is simple; a metal table with a formica top. Countertops are also formica with a bright metal band around the edge. Wallpaper has a "theme" look, definitely pictorial, maybe a "Spirit of '76" or possibly picking up on the theme downstairs in the family den. The floor is vinyl tile or perhaps hardwood.

Below: Same typical split circa 1965. This one shows the more common house with no fireplace.

typical layout of the formal living area for a split level circa 1965 in home without fireplace

Home Design Hurricane-Safe

As I reported in last week’s Safety Tips, The Home Depot and the American Red Cross have joined forces to offer free hurricane preparedness clinics for homeowners in nine storm-prone areas.

The Home Depot’s construction and hardware experts have also been kind enough to share the following tips for securing your home against hurricanes:

Hurricane Shutters

Home Design Hurricane-Safe

Prepare Your Home. Install “hurricane straps” or similar fasteners to hold the roof to walls. Prepare to cover windows, glass doors and openings with hurricane shutters or precut plywood. If you live in a manufactured home, check the tie-downs. Also check for potential leaks where wind and water can penetrate by looking for weak spots or gaps in doors, windows and the roof.Prepare Your Yard. Trim all trees and shrubbery near your home as early as possible. There may not be time to dispose of debris right before a major storm hits. Repair loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts.Gather Emergency Items. Gather your disaster kit, which contains all of the necessary safety items.Verify Insurance. Check your insurance policies to ensure you have enough homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. If it’s available, consider adding flood and other hazard-specific insurance. Many homeowners are shocked to learn that their policies do not cover flood damage.Devise a Plan. Develop a family disaster plan so that every household member who gets caught in the storm while away from home knows what to do and where to meet in an emergency. Make sure you understand your community’s safety plan, and compile a list of emergency contact numbers, including an out-of-town friend or relative with whom each family member can check in to report location.

Sustainable, Energy Efficient, and Green - What's the difference?

One of our frequently asked questions is the difference between sustainable, green, and energy efficient.

“Energy efficient” may specifically refer to the home’s energy consumption. A home’s energy usage is primarily heating and cooling. Appliances tend to be the second largest draw now that incandescent lighting is giving way to compact fluorescents, LEDs and other lighting options. Energy efficient homes include one or more systems and/or materials, such as specifying EnergyStar® appliances, using CFL fixtures, instantaneous hot water heaters as well as more broad items such as a tight building envelope, high-quality windows, higher R-values in the walls and roof, and the design of the home maximizing passive solar design strategies, all of which reduce energy consumption from day one.

“Green”, “energy efficient” and “sustainable” all imply some decision to incorporate an effort in the home design and construction process to improve the negative impact construction and a building’s life have on the environment. “Green” and “sustainable” are blanket terms commonly used to address issues ranging from sensitive site design, materials selections from local sources, alternative energy efficient construction types, and alternative energy / heating and cooling options. All of the previously mentioned items, plus many more, address topics such as water usage, energy or power consumption, indoor air quality and rapidly renewable material and construction resources.

I find “sustainable” to be one of the most interesting terms to discuss. In its everyday usage, it most commonly means to design in an ecologically conscious manner. Yet “sustainable design” or “sustainable construction” is only a milestone in the design and construction process for our future - sustainable only means that we cease to damage our environment and that we may continue on our current path without negative effect. The ultimate goal is to restore damages that have been done, to bring a regenerative process into our building efforts.

Jeremy Bonin, AIA NCARB LEED AP
Bonin Architects & Associates, PLLC

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