What’s old is new in this week’s Pinterest Picks featuring the best in Upcycled goods. New to upcycling? IMRE Green IQ expert, Danielle Hogan, is here to inspire you. Upcycling is the process of converting salvaged, second hand or waste materials into new materials of better quality – visually and environmentally. Take a look at Danielle’s picks, and find more ways to create beautiful things with items you may already have in the home at the IMRE Home IQ Pinterest page.
Last week, the Sustainable Furnishings Council hosted a webinar showcasing a grounding in the environmental issues related to home furnishings. IMRE Green IQ participated and learned a few ways to keep our homes environmentally conscious.
What other tips would you add to this environmentally conscious list?
Moving is always an exciting event. Whether you’re leaving your parents house for the first time, moving into your first home, or just moving into a new place, there are many things to consider. How you’re going to decorate your new living space is one.
Having just moved, I have been researching, reading and watching design blogs, books, articles, Pinterest and television shows for tips and ideas on how to decorate my new California home. One of the best lists of tips I have come across is a roundup from Family Circle and top designers. From the research I have done, and in starting to decorate my home, I have found that the following tips are most helpful for making a house a home:
What other tips would you add to this list of making a house a home?
More than five million Americans work from home, and over the next few years that number is expected to increase significantly.
As someone who regularly works from home, I find this trend hardly surprising. There are a number of advantages to both the employer and employee to working at home. I enjoy my short “commute” in the morning, my casual attire, and seeing my son at lunch.
Working from home successfully takes careful planning though. The first step, and I think the most important one, is having the right set up for your home office space.
When I first started working from home five years ago, I made the mistake of using an old table for my desk and a chair I had moved with me from previous college apartments. The table wasn’t big enough for me, and the chair was terribly uncomfortable. My printer was on the floor and my phone jack was on the wrong side of the room. The set up was awful.
I spent that first weekend re-thinking and planning my home office set up, and now five years later I’m so glad I did. Taking time to plan your home office is critical to making working from home go smoothly. Here are five home office design tips for a great set up:
Buy good furniture and supplies
You should try to make a home office as much like a true office as possible. Find a good office desk and storage solutions. Get a speaker phone or head set – you’ll likely be on the phone a lot. Get an oversized calendar and a dry erase board for quick notes and appointments.
Find a comfortable chair
If you invest in anything for your home office space, make it your chair. It’s where you’ll spend most of your time. There is a big difference between a cheaply made office chair and a quality one. I have a swivel office chair with a high back and adjustable lumbar support .
Limit distractions
My friend Ryan shared with me another good tip to keep in mind. Ryan shared, “I have a TV in my home office, but I’m very disciplined not too turn it on. I can imagine a TV in the office can be very distracting for some people.” Since you’ll be spending a lot of time in the home office you don’t want the room to be too distracting for you.
Keep it warm
My home office is painted a warm buttercream color. I like having the space a warm color. It helps keep the mood relaxing and peaceful, which is especially helpful during a stressful workday. Additionally, you’ll want a paint color that is easy on your eyes.
Personalize it
My friend Meghan reminded me try to personalize your home office as much as possible. Her office has black and white photos of Baltimore from today and from years ago. She also has a letter “B” on her bookshelf for her last name and a few personal pictures on her desk and bulletin board. Much like you’d personalize a traditional office, you should do the same at home.
Do you work from your home office? What other home office space advice would you share?
If you are a list maker, like me, (who has admittedly been a list maker from “way back”) then you know the thrill of crossing something off of your list! Perhaps that feeling of a task done, that feeling of accomplishment in finding the perfect paint color, is why we make a list to begin with. For those of us who are passionate about design, décor and all things home, our lists are not just written lists but visual lists, files of inspiration to assist in our ongoing pursuit of designing the home we love.
Interior Designers, home design magazines and blogs are full of design tips lists sha red to guide us in our home design endeavors at every turn. Interior Designer Thom Filicia recently shared with Elle Décor magazine that top considerations on his list for great bedroom design are – color, pattern and texture. Top of the list for New York designer Sheila Bridges is to design impactful entry areas that leave an unforgettable first impression. I love the orange color impact she gave to her own apartment entry. I am sure Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year – Tangerine Tango will be inspiration on my home design list this year.
As your own 2012 Home Design list takes shape, I offer these three tips that remain on my list every year:
If you need inspiration for your visual lists, follow IMRE HomeIQ on Pinterest!
We would love a peek at your 2012 home lists if you would like to share.
A recent study found that consumers on average visit no more than three stores when furniture shopping. In comparison, they will visit an average of four stores when shopping for clothing and apparel.
You would think that consumers would put more time and effort into buying big-ticket items like furniture, but it seems the opposite is true.
One argument is that you care more about what you look like, so you will spend more time buying clothes (and let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier to pick up a shirt here and a necklace there than dropping a G on a couch every other week). Clothing is also available in a wider range of stores, allowing the consumer more options for browsing. For clothing retailers however, this poses a challenge as they get more people coming through their doors, but less people actually making purchases when they visit.
So what can furniture retailers do to glean purchases from those who shop less for large purchases? The study notes that retailers should focus on up-selling current customers and creating customer loyalty. Bringing in new customers could be lucrative, but when furniture shoppers are only going to two stores, prying them from the competition could be tough.
Bottom line: Flash sales and deals don’t drive significant or lasting cash flows. Focus on customer service and taking care of your current customers. Word of mouth recommendations and return visits will pay off in the end. Maybe someday your customers will even convert to monogamy when it comes to furniture shopping?
Are you a window shopper or a quick customer when it comes to furniture shopping?
Understanding the Audience and Concept Are Ket to Marketing Universal Design
It’s stating the obvious to say that the Baby Boomer generation is aging – we’re reminded often, thanks to the media. However, it is this generation – or more specifically, their situation and needs – that is paving the way for how the rest of us will prepare for the future. Some examples include how the country is approaching healthcare, longevity of careers and retirement planning. One of the more uplifting and interesting trends is how houses are designed, remodeled and laid out to allow for folks to age in their current homes. This is a trend known as Universal Design.
According to Rebecca Stahr, ASID, CAPS, CSP, and president of the Universal Design Alliance in Atlanta, Universal Design is “a user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future.”
The Universal Design Alliance, you ask? They’re not alone. There are more groups dedicated to this concept than you’d think. In addition the UDA, there’s the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, the International Association for Universal Design, the Universal Design Living Laboratory, and more.
The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University identified seven key principles of Universal Design:
Principle 1: Equitable use. The design has to be useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
Principle 2: Flexibility in use. The design must accommodate a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
Principle 3: Simple and intuitive. The design must be easy to understand regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge or language skills.
Principle 4: Perceptible information. The design should communicate necessary information regardless of the user’s sensory abilities.
Principle 5. Tolerance for error: The design must minimize hazards and adverse consequences associated with accidental or unintended actions.
Principle 6. Low physical effort. The design should be able to be used efficiently and comfortably with a minimum of fatigue.
Principle 7. Size and space for approach and use. All spaces should be designed to provide for easy approach, reach, manipulation and use regardless of user’s body size, posture or mobility.
You’ll notice that the real heart of Universal Design encompasses designing for all abilities, genders, sizes, strengths, races and ages. The design aspects include space usage, colors, appliance choice and location, height, size and placement of furniture, doorway widths, and more.
Some believe that the concept is extremely marketable to the Boomer age group, as mentioned above. One blogger even calls Universal Design the “special sauce in mature marketing.”
However, others believe that what began as a concept for the disabled, is being repacked for the Boomer age group in what could be an off-putting way. Chuck Nyren, author of Advertising to Baby Boomers, believes that without truly understanding the Baby Boomer mentality, marketing Universal Design can come off as condescending or a reminder of old age. However, he remarks that when marketed intelligently, “whether they know or not, the majority of Boomers would appreciate the benefits of UD.” Nyren’s philosophy on marketing Universal Design goes back to a marketing basic. And in this case, it’s not “Know Who Thy Thinks Thy Audience Might Be”, it’s truly, “Know Thy Audience.”
So more folks are doing the staycation thing, eating in has become the new eating out & they’re even growing their own food. The common denominator of all those things? The kitchen. Preferably one that is a pleasure to use & spend time in – that time we used to spend someplace else.
What is Garden Friendly?
One of my clients has a worm composting bin in her kitchen. If you make them correctly, the worms are perfectly happy to hang out in their cozy home, & not venture forth to co-mingle withyour foodie zone. They pull double duty – munching away on your table scraps, & producing rich compost for your garden out back. And the smell is minimal. Really. I smelled it myself.
Zoning the kitchen
But just in case you’re worried about separating the worm operation from the human ones, there’s always the option for a stand alone cabinet with countertop. That way there’s room for neatly sorting & sifting what goes in & comes out of the composting system. We often use pull-out shelving for the worm bin itself. Frees up the counter for the table scraps while you sift, or for filling the transport bucket to the garden. 
Somewhere near that same cabinet we store cardboard, which becomes compost while it keeps the weeds from taking over the garden. Sometimes we spec an entire tall cabinet dedicated to just the recycling. Since larger sheets of cardboard work better at thwarting weeds, they get their own section of a tall & deep cabinet. The remaining sections are dedicated to the usuals: glass, plastic, newspapers.
Prep for the dormant season
What do you do with the backyard bounty you can’t give away or consume as quickly as it’s produced? You freeze it. A freezerless fridge allows more space for garden goods – especially if it’s a big garden. Some people are even opting for smaller refrigerators, or even under counter fridges for 2 reasons:
Last but not least
Aside from the normal cooking features like an oven & range, we try to maximize counter space by both the sink & cooking areas. You need a place for cleaning newly plucked lettuce & peppers, & getting them ready for your taste buds. There’s also a mobile countertop option on a cart that
can be stored out of the way.
And for those who don’t want to bother with transporting the goods from the backyard to inside, there’s always an outdoor kitchen & grill option. Or, you can just graze directly in the garden.
Learn more about garden friendly kitchens by visiting Eco-Modernism’s Web site: http://www.eco-modernism.com/
Today, Home Intel’s Industry Insider Series continues with insights from Regis Verliefde of Danfoss. According to Regis, many homeowners do not think of radiant floor heating systems when they remodel their homes. However, Danfoss wants people to understand that radiant floor heat is an affordable luxury that never goes out of style.
According to Remodeling Magazine, findings from a survey recently conducted by ServiceMagic reflect a surge in optimism among homeowners and service providers as it relates to state of the home improvement industry.
In addition to getting a pulse check on consumer sentiment, the Remodel & Repair Survey also allowed ServiceMagic to identify the following three trends based on comparing service requests by industry for the first quarter of 2009 with the same period from 2008.
While these trends are not necessarily earth-shatteringly new, they reiterate what we have been hearing in the home industry for a while now. Reports like these serve as further evidence that while homeowners may be feeling more optimistic about the economy, they are not ready to spend money on large, expensive and unnecessary remodeling projects.
