Create Custom Garage Doors In 5 Steps

Custom garage doors are the ultimate finishing touch to your outside space, allowing you to make a design statement and complement the style of your house. Follow these easy steps to create your very own garage door:

Step 1 – Choose Your Style

There are a number of styles to choose from, including panel, roller and carriage doors. Make sure your custom garage doors fit the style of your house. The beauty of custom designing your own fittings is that you can specify particular finishes and materials.

Step 2 – Do-it-yourself or Hire a Contractor?

Retractable panel doors (up and over style) and roller doors are best custom designed by you and made by professionals, but carriage house style doors can be straightforward for the do-it-yourself enthusiast to create himself.

Step 3 – Measure the Space Accurately

Whether you are fabricating your custom garage doors yourself of getting a contractor to make them for you, you will need to take accurate measurements of the garage opening, and also the space available on either side, so that you can decide where any opening mechanism will be fixed.

Step 4 – Order or Make Your Custom Garage Doors

If you order your doors from a professional company, make a note of the amount of time they will take to be delivered. There is no point removing any existing doors today if your car and other garage contents will be left exposed to the elements for another 6 to 8 weeks!

To make your carriage house doors you will need to order the panels from a lumber store. Hardwoods such as oak and redwood are the best choices of lumber due to their high tensile strength, weather resistance and attractive appearance. When you have two panels of appropriate size to make the leaves of the doors, you now have to fit the lock. To make sure that you make the holes in the appropriate place, lay the leaves of the door next to each other and mark a line where the male and female parts of the lock should go.

Step 5 – Install Your Custom Garage Doors

If the doors were made by someone else, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installation for tips on installing and replacing garage doors.

If you made the doors yourself, mark on the sides of the garage door where the hinge brackets should go, and decide whether you want the doors to open inwards or outwards. Outwards will save space in your garage. Fix the hinges to the doors, and screw them to the wall. Stand back and admire your handiwork!

Read more »

5 Tips for Fooling the Eye and Making a Room Look Bigger

“In a small space, everything counts.” – That’s the main idea behind this article, and how we can make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks.

Small rooms can feel confining and uncomfortable. Luckily we can utilize certain design concepts that fool the eye and make our rooms seem much bigger and spacious. Some solutions for small spaces, that can make a room in your home look larger are color techniques, furniture arranging, and lighting considerations can give the look of space. These are a few of the topics that we are gonna to present in this article. By the way … Maybe you want to sell your house and there is one thing you can do to make the house easier to sell. This thing is make the house look bigger. So let’s begin …

Some time ago I’ve wrote an article where I’ve discussed about room colors and their influence on our moods. Today you’ll learn how to use colors rto make your room look bigger. Cream colors and icy blues are just a few of the best color combinations that can open up a tiny room into a bigger living area. It is all about illusion. Light colors make your room look bigger and brighter. Light and brightly colored walls are more reflective making a space feel open and airy, which will help
to maximize the effect created by natural light. While dark colors absorb light, making the room look smaller. For optimum effect, select soft tones of blues and greens, and always remeber that brighter rooms look bigger and more inviting.

You can paint your walls light and use dark colors for the border and trim. Paint your wall trim and moldings a lighter color than your walls. When you paint your moldings light, the wall appears further back, making your living room appear bigger.

Sometimes furniture can take a lot of space. To avoid that here are some useful tips :

• Use multi-function furniture like a chest that can be used as a coffee table, sofa beds, chest of drawers, and beds with drawers for storage etc. Stick to clean lines in the furniture. Use an extendable dining table, folding tables and nest of tables, which can be tucked away when you don’t need them.
• Place the large pieces of furniture against the walls so the open space in the middle isn’t broken up.
• Scale the furniture to fit the size of the room and don’t block walking pathways. With furniture and accessories blocking the view into a room and out to open spaces, a room will look cramped. By moving furniture out and away from walkways, you’ll open up the space and make it feel larger. If you can see the floor, the room will look larger. Having oversized sofas or too much furniture will make the living room look smaller.
• Consider having at least some of the furniture pieces the same color as the walls. Even the bigger items like armoires and chest will begin to blend in to the room and widen out the room. You can add some detail by stenciling in a design or accent onto the furniture.
• Setting your furniture at an angle works because the longest straight line in any given room is it’s diagonal. When you place your furniture at an angle, it leads the eye along the longer distance, rather than the shorter wall. As an added bonus, you often get some additional storage space behind the piece in the corner, too!
• If the furniture in your room is tall, that might be making it seem as though the ceiling is lower than it actually is. Make sure there is plenty of space between your furniture, too.
• Choose a sofa and chairs with open arms and exposed legs. A glass table, will keep keep the appearance of a open and free space. This allows light to filter under the furniture, making the room appear airier.

Lighting is a key element in opening up a space.

Let the light into the room too. Buy letting the natural light flow into the room, you will be surprised at how this will open up the room and make it look larger. If you do not have a lot of natural light, you can add some lighting features to the room to make it look bigger. You will be amazed at how this small addition can make a big difference.

If you have access to natural light, make full use of it. Bring it into your home through windows. Full height glass panes work best. Having a large picture window can make a room seem bigger because a barrier between visitor and outside view has been removed. Instead of seeing a dimension-defining wall, visitors see an expansive view of the outdoors. Make sure window coverings are sheer, or are pulled back, to bring more light in. If the view is bad use hanging plants and potted flowers near windows. Lamps will bring in colour and focus attention.

Don’t cove your walls with a lot of pictures. One large painting works better than a group of small paintings. If there’s too much going on, all clamoring for attention, it can make the room feel busy and crowded. So, when decorating a small room, create a focal point, one area or feature that will draw the eye. In the dining room, the focal point will probably be the table. In the bedroom, it’ll probably be the bed. Make that focal point the star of the room. Arrange the furniture so that focus isKeep your room tidy and organized. There’s nothing that makes a small space feel cramped more than having too much stuff. With things neatly arranged and out of sight, the space that is in view will feel orderly and open. A cluttered room equals a smaller room.

drawn to that area, and keep the décor in the rest of the room to a minimum ( limit the number of accessories ).

Keep the floor as clear as possible. This is one of the most important ways of maintaining a sense of spaciousness. One more tip – Take out large rugs to create the illusion of more floor space.

Mirrors can make your room look larger. Use a focal point and angle your mirrors towards it, which will give the illusion of depth. The mirrors also reflect both natural and artificial light to make a room brighter during the day and night. They bounce light deep into the room, making it appear larger. This is especially effective with near a window so the outdoors can be reflected. Mirrors on the walls and glass tabletops will make it seem like there’s a more open flow. You can also use mirrored cabinet doors to make spaces feel large and uncluttered
.

Read more »

Make Your Small Bathroom Look and Feel Larger

Unless you live in a custom-built home with a luxurious bath and dressing room, you probably wish your bathroom were larger. Without adding any more square footage, you might feel less cramped if you use some of our tips to make your small bathroom look and feel larger.

It's true that a small bathroom can feel cozy and intimate. But it can also feel claustrophobic and depressing. Depending on yourdecorating style, it can be quiet and sophisticated, charming, or sparkling like a jewel box.

No matter what style you decorate your small bath, though, it will always be a small bath.

But with a bit of visual magic, color change, and lighting, you can transform your small bath into a cozy retreat.

A bathroom is a very special space, but the theories about space enlargement apply here as to any other room in the house. Use some of these decorating tricks to make your bathroom look and feel larger, even if it stays the same size.

Select Colors for Serenity

Pale, soft color schemes tend to give the illusion of more space. I'm not saying that the small bath has to be pink, but avoid strong, exciting colors. Use the brights for accessories and towels, but select pastel tones, neutrals, and whites for backgrounds. "Cool" colors give the feeling of serenity.

Brighten Up the Room

Without taking up any counter space, you can add extra lighting to "open up" the look of your bathroom and add interest. Recessed can lighting can be installed into the ceiling and focused on any work space. Wall sconces or a countertop lamp will add warmth. More expensive alternatives for bringing more light into the room would be skylights, larger windows, or Solatubes.

Trade a Large Vanity for a Delicate Pedestal Sink

A vanity cabinet provides nice storage under a sink, but takes up lots of floor space in a small bath. Replacing the vanity with a pedestal or wall-mounted sink can be be fairly inexpensive. Your bath will definitely feel more open. Find alternative storage space with a small shelf or organize a nearby linen closet. When you remove the vanity cabinet, you'll probably have to repair the flooring.

Cut Back Anything That Sticks Out

Even the smallest piece of furniture or accessory that sticks out into the room can stop where your eye goes and make your room seem to "shrink". Remove wall shelves, hanging racks, or decorative accessories on the walls that cut into the room and make it look smaller. Of course, you may need some of the pieces for comfort and their usefulness, but if the room feels bigger without them, think of some other way to supply the space you need.

Read more »

Make Your Small Bathroom Look and Feel Larger

Unless you live in a custom-built home with a luxurious bath and dressing room, you probably wish your bathroom were larger. Without adding any more square footage, you might feel less cramped if you use some of our tips to make your small bathroom look and feel larger.

It's true that a small bathroom can feel cozy and intimate. But it can also feel claustrophobic and depressing. Depending on yourdecorating style, it can be quiet and sophisticated, charming, or sparkling like a jewel box.

No matter what style you decorate your small bath, though, it will always be a small bath.

But with a bit of visual magic, color change, and lighting, you can transform your small bath into a cozy retreat.

A bathroom is a very special space, but the theories about space enlargement apply here as to any other room in the house. Use some of these decorating tricks to make your bathroom look and feel larger, even if it stays the same size.

Select Colors for Serenity

Pale, soft color schemes tend to give the illusion of more space. I'm not saying that the small bath has to be pink, but avoid strong, exciting colors. Use the brights for accessories and towels, but select pastel tones, neutrals, and whites for backgrounds. "Cool" colors give the feeling of serenity.

Brighten Up the Room

Without taking up any counter space, you can add extra lighting to "open up" the look of your bathroom and add interest. Recessed can lighting can be installed into the ceiling and focused on any work space. Wall sconces or a countertop lamp will add warmth. More expensive alternatives for bringing more light into the room would be skylights, larger windows, or Solatubes.

Trade a Large Vanity for a Delicate Pedestal Sink

A vanity cabinet provides nice storage under a sink, but takes up lots of floor space in a small bath. Replacing the vanity with a pedestal or wall-mounted sink can be be fairly inexpensive. Your bath will definitely feel more open. Find alternative storage space with a small shelf or organize a nearby linen closet. When you remove the vanity cabinet, you'll probably have to repair the flooring.

Cut Back Anything That Sticks Out

Even the smallest piece of furniture or accessory that sticks out into the room can stop where your eye goes and make your room seem to "shrink". Remove wall shelves, hanging racks, or decorative accessories on the walls that cut into the room and make it look smaller. Of course, you may need some of the pieces for comfort and their usefulness, but if the room feels bigger without them, think of some other way to supply the space you need.

Read more »

Make Your Small Bathroom Look and Feel Larger

Unless you live in a custom-built home with a luxurious bath and dressing room, you probably wish your bathroom were larger. Without adding any more square footage, you might feel less cramped if you use some of our tips to make your small bathroom look and feel larger.

It's true that a small bathroom can feel cozy and intimate. But it can also feel claustrophobic and depressing. Depending on yourdecorating style, it can be quiet and sophisticated, charming, or sparkling like a jewel box.

No matter what style you decorate your small bath, though, it will always be a small bath.

But with a bit of visual magic, color change, and lighting, you can transform your small bath into a cozy retreat.

A bathroom is a very special space, but the theories about space enlargement apply here as to any other room in the house. Use some of these decorating tricks to make your bathroom look and feel larger, even if it stays the same size.

Select Colors for Serenity

Pale, soft color schemes tend to give the illusion of more space. I'm not saying that the small bath has to be pink, but avoid strong, exciting colors. Use the brights for accessories and towels, but select pastel tones, neutrals, and whites for backgrounds. "Cool" colors give the feeling of serenity.

Brighten Up the Room

Without taking up any counter space, you can add extra lighting to "open up" the look of your bathroom and add interest. Recessed can lighting can be installed into the ceiling and focused on any work space. Wall sconces or a countertop lamp will add warmth. More expensive alternatives for bringing more light into the room would be skylights, larger windows, or Solatubes.

Trade a Large Vanity for a Delicate Pedestal Sink

A vanity cabinet provides nice storage under a sink, but takes up lots of floor space in a small bath. Replacing the vanity with a pedestal or wall-mounted sink can be be fairly inexpensive. Your bath will definitely feel more open. Find alternative storage space with a small shelf or organize a nearby linen closet. When you remove the vanity cabinet, you'll probably have to repair the flooring.

Cut Back Anything That Sticks Out

Even the smallest piece of furniture or accessory that sticks out into the room can stop where your eye goes and make your room seem to "shrink". Remove wall shelves, hanging racks, or decorative accessories on the walls that cut into the room and make it look smaller. Of course, you may need some of the pieces for comfort and their usefulness, but if the room feels bigger without them, think of some other way to supply the space you need.

Read more »

6 spring lawn care revival secrets

Most parts of the U.S, are emerging from a fairly mild winter, but while the snow hasn't built up too high and temperatures haven't been that low, now's probably a good time to take a look at a part of your property you've been neglecting the past few months: your lawn.

The grasses that make up your lawn have likely been dormant since the waning days of autumn. And while your lawn might not have been buried for weeks under snow and ice, a little lawn care now can help it come alive as the days get longer and warmer. If you follow these tips, you might see your grass come back a little faster than your neighbors'. Here's how to get started:

1. Clean-up time. While you weren't paying attention, your lawn was collecting debris, mud, dead grass and leaves. Now's the time to clear it all out, and your best tool for the job is just an old-fashioned rake. Scrape the rake down so that you're really grabbing the old, dead grasses, and make sure you're not leaving any yard waste from last year behind. It can grow mold in the winter.
2. Use that compost. If you've been composting, now is the time to check your bounty. As long as you didn't fertilize your lawn in the fall, it's ready for a light fertilization in the spring, and homemade compost makes a perfect fertilizing mulch. Use a push-powered spreader to get an even coat across the surface of the grass.
3. Get those weeds. Broad-leafed weeds, such as dandelions, are often new or in a weakened state after suffering through the winter. Now is when they should be attacked before they start to flower and flourish. If you'd prefer to stay away from herbicides, this is probably a job best handled by arming your kids with trowels and treating them to ice cream for a job well done.
4. Cover the brown and bald spots. Those particular dead patches where grass has a difficult time growing are ripe for attack now. Cover with seed, mulch and keep moist. Also remember that the local bird population has an eye on your grass seed. Try hanging old CDs from nearby branches and bushes; they're often scared off by the light reflections.
5. Let the air in. Cold and sub-freezing temps can help create compacted soil, which is bad news for lawns. Compacted soil that keeps roots from working deep is a major contributor to moss and weed growth. You can rent a lawn aerator for large compacted areas, or walk the area and drive a pitchfork at least two inches down in various spots to loosen the soil.
6. Rev up the mower. It's probably been sitting around for four or five months, so it's a good idea to get your mower tuned up, including that all-important annual blade-sharpening. Another area that many overlook is a good cleaning, especially on the underside of the mower. Any weeds or molds that you picked up on your last mow in the fall could be ready to drop on your vulnerable spring lawn.

Once the new grass gets going and the old lawn begins to turn green again, you'll be ready to take on the mowing every week. Don't be afraid to cut the grass a little high: most lawns do fine at 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and a higher lawn tends to naturally crowd out invasive weeds, encouraging a stronger lawn for next winter.

Read more »

6 tips for carpet shopping

Unless your house is floored simply with wood and tile, you're going to have to shop for wall-to-wall carpeting at some point. Carpet shopping can be frustrating since lots of confusing terms are used in the industry and it can be hard to figure out which product is right for you. However, here are some tips to get you past the salesperson's jargon and onto a nice new carpeted floor:

1. Do your homework before Halloween. The vast majority of carpet sales are made in the fall as homeowners try to spruce up their homes before the holidays. This also means that there can be delivery delays on popular styles and colors from the carpet factory due to weather and demand, and retailers are not likely to have many sales during this busy period. Plan on the type of carpet you'd like earlier in the year and shop around the first of the year or the end of summer for the best deals.

2. Pay attention to the padding. Although you won't see it, you'll be able to feel the padding underneath your carpet for years, and if it's not a good match you'll know it very quickly. Good carpeting can flatten and become dirtier faster when it's paired with a pad that doesn't work. The thickness of the pad is also critical. The pad needs to be dense enough to provide a good base for the carpet, without being so high that it pulls the carpet from the tack strip.

The Carpet and Rug Institute recommends that most residential carpet cushions should be no more than 7/16 inch thick and no less than 1/4 inch with 6 pounds per cubic feet density, while a Berber or low profile carpet would use a cushion no more than 3/8 inch thick with 8 pounds density. This means that the surface, whether it's urethane foam or rubber, can take up to 8 pounds of pressure before flattening. Dealers can give you more specifics on the different types of padding.

3. What do you have in stock? Most dealers carry popular brands and shades in their warehouses year round, but it's not a bad idea to let the retailer know what color range you're looking for and ask if they have any rolls in stock that might fit what you're looking for. You may get a deal on carpeting that's been in storage for the past year, and you won't have to wait for the factory to send it.

4. Shop for remnants. Every dealer has remnants, which are incomplete rolls from previous jobs. Consider using remnants if you're looking to carpet specific rooms rather than the whole house. This solution could give each room a different look and can save you a lot compared to the cost of a new roll -- one dealer mentions 70 percent savings.

5. Get the lowdown about installations. Your new carpet and padding are going to need some professional TLC to look great from day one. Ask your dealer about how the installations are handled. Specifically, will the installers be moving furniture out of the room and back inside? How much installation experience do they have? What will they do if you notice ripples in the carpet surface after a few weeks?

6. Ask about the lines. Carpeting comes in 15-foot wide rolls, which means that if you have a room that's wider than 15 feet there will be a seam somewhere. Manufacturers have become very adept at creating weaves and piles that hide seams, but it doesn't hurt to ask before the work starts about how seams are handled, how they are attached and where they will be located.

Overall, read through the warranty before you buy so you know about anything you have to do to maintain the product, such as bi-annual cleaning, and see how long the warranty is for the labor on the installation.

Read more »