interior home: December 2009

Where Our Trash Went...

We once had a friend who went environ-MENTAL on us all of the sudden--and quite forcefully at it.

Have you had one of those? You know, the kind that monitor your plastic bag usage? The kind that only let you use two squares of toilet paper at a time, and only if it's a number two? The kind that if you stay at his house, shower is limited to a minute and a half?

Well, it was no fun hanging out with someone like that, but reading this LA Times article makes us wonder if he does have a point. The article is about how trash is being disposed after it left our homes.

Some of the main points in the article:

1) The amount of waste we generated is enormous and permanent. More and more landfills are filling up and new spaces are needed.

2) We consume more alcohol and eat less healthy than we are willing to admit.

3) We waste a lot of food. 10% of garbage is edible food, and there is no discernible difference between the rich and the poor.

To read the entire article, click here.

It really makes you think about how much we consume and how much we waste, doesn't it?

Kitchen Countertop Options

If you are building a new home, there are countless options for countertops. Countertops are priced by the lineal or square foot, most often with the template, delivery, and installation included in the price. Prices vary significantly, too, depending on the material, texture, complexity of the edge, the number of holes, the type of sink you are using, and how many seams there will be. You will want to consider the countertop's longevity, durability, maintenance, and installed price.

Laminate $15-$45 per square foot: economical, not scratch or heat resistant; not built to last
Ceramic Tile $10-$30 per square foot: economical, scratch and heat resistant, but high maintenance
Butcher Block $30-$65 per square foot: easy to install and repair, durable but maintenance required

Solid Surface $35-$100 per square foot: seams only visible from the underside; stain and heat resistant but may crack or get scorched from hot pans; scratches can be softened (Corian® solid surface colors by DuPont®, right)
Quartz $50-$100 per square foot: good for busy kitchens; stain and heat resistant, low maintenance
Engineered Stone $50-$100 per square foot: extremely durable, resists heat and stains
Marble $50-$140 per square foot: New England slate, from New York, Vermont, and Maine, is durable, non-porous, and requires no sealing; price varies by color
Limestone $60-$100 per square foot: low-traffic kitchen. It withstands heat very well

Natural Stone / Granite $50-$200 per square foot: density, strength, water absorption, and acid resistance (granite countertop, right)
Concrete $80-$120 per square foot: very popular, but porous and absorbs stains easily, must be sealed regularly

Living Room Designs

Beautiful Room

Throwing a party or just hanging out with friends? Staying in and watching a movie or playing on your Xbox? Relaxing after a hard day of work or lazing around on a Sunday? Living rooms from Zalf become a platform for much more! Contemporary living, neutral shades and modern fixtures accentuate the theme of the room to give you a comfortable living experience. With bare necessities strategically placed in the rooms, one can enjoy the benefits of easy living. Take a tour of the snaps.

Home Interior Wall Design with Ricardo Gomez Paint...

Black Living Room

Black-White Living Room

Bookshelf Room

Center Tables Living Room

Modern Living Rooms

Living Room Designs

Minimal Furniture Room

Simple-Room

Furniture Living Room

Spacious Room
Modern Living room Interior Design

Furniture Living Room

Modern Living Room

Living Room Design

Furniture Room
Living room Design - black and white

Japanese Kitchens

Purple Kitchen Ideas by Spazzi

How do you tell if a particular kitchen is Japanese or not? Hmm… when you have robots to watch over what you cook and have trendy cartoons adorning the wall, you KNOW it’s Japanese.

Japanese-Kitchen

Spain Kitchens - modern kitchen cabinets with Euro

Japanese-Kitchen

Culinablu modern European kitchens - new kitchen

Japanese-Interior
Black & White Modern Kitchen Design

The above images are of the 2 freshly released ones from the Core line of kitchens from Japanese kitchen maker Tokyo Kitchens.
The Core concept is based on ‘Living in the kitchen’. Brings togethor cooking eating and relaxing togethor in the kitchen.The design image was inspired by Laputa, the flying island in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and the movie Castle in the Sky by Hayao Miyazaki.
And it’s not just robots and cartoons actually. Tokyo Kitchens have other outstanding kitchens in their lineup. Check out images below.

Kitchens-Modern-Kitchen-Cabinet
Design Ideas,Modern Kitchen

Modern Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen Design
Modern Revolving Circular Kitchen from Compact

Modern Kitchen Design

Kitchen Cabinet

Purple Kitchen Ideas by Spazzi

All the kitchens shown above fall in the modern category. Not all Japanese kitchens follow the same style. Infact, in Japan, where land is very expensive and plots too small flexible and multipurpose rooms are only too common. Take a look at the one below which incorporates a bedroom and study too!

Japanese Kitchens

Superman and Batman Kids Rooms

Many feel that a child’s room is incomplete without some art in it! Either it’s a drawing from school that’s up on the wall or a couple of toon decors, the wall becomes a canvas for creativity!
More is less with kids and keeping that in mind, Warner Bros have tied up with CIA International, to bring in the coolest DC cartoon characters to your kids room. Cupboards, cabinets, beds, desks – you name it and it’s available. The use of bright, fresh, bold colors and a few subtle hues allure your child into a far flung world of fantasy. If he/she is a batman or superman fan, these would come highly recommended!

Superman-in-the-room
Modern Bedroom Design - Luxury and Stylish

Superman Kids Room

Batman Room

Wonderwoman-Room

Superman-for-the-room

Superman

Children Bedroom Furniture Sets

Italian Contemporary Bedroom

Sports Kids Room Design

Sports-Theme-Kids-Room-Football

Sports-Theme-Kids-Room-Soccer-Team
Christmas Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Theme-For-Kids-Rooms-Fresh-Green

Bedroom Lighting

Kids-Rooms-Blue-Color
Bedroom Lighting

Kids-Room-Furniture-Childrens
Bedroom Furniture Collection

Decorating-Ideas-Yellow-Kids-Rooms

Kids-Rooms-Furniture
Kids Room Desing

Decorating-Ideas-Kids-Rooms-Bedding

Children-Bedroom-Kids-Room-Decor
Kids Room Desing

Children Bedroom Furniture Sets

Construction of New Homes Rebounds in November

New building permits rise more than expected -- a hopeful sign for industry

WASHINGTON - Associated Press, 12/16/09 - Construction of new homes, helped by better weather, rebounded in November following a setback in the previous month.

The gain is a hopeful sign that the housing recovery is continuing, a development viewed as critical to lifting the overall economy out of recession.

Read the whole article here.
Source: MSNBC.com

Restaurant Interior Design Inspiration

The world’s first ever undersea restaurant called ithaa which is translate as ‘pearl’ in the native’s language in Maldives, Dhivehi. This restaurant has a great restaurant interior design with the luxury interior design also. It is the biggest restaurant décor inspiration because one of the things that we really enjoy when we get, is the ambience and the décor itself. Here are some tips for great restaurant interior design:
1. Knowing and understanding your target market. Just by determining what your customers are demanding, you can instantly create a design in your own mind that will suit best their lifestyle.
2. Ask help from the experts. It is so important to recognize that you cannot do all the restaurant interior design by yourself and sometimes it will be best for you to get help from the experts.
This amazing restaurant design inspiration brought to you by Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa

Restaurant-Interiors-Design

Luxury Interior Design Undersea Restaurant

Undersea-Crazy-Restaurant-Interiors-Design

Great-Restaurant-Interior-Design