Dining Room Walls Interior Design 2011

Paint dining room walls white or neutral with a bright accent wall, such as a rich red. Or, choose a modern color for the entire room such as cool gray or lime green. A large, abstract painting can serve as the focal point for your modern dining room. Other options for wall hangings include floating shelves or frames in which to display china or other collectibles. Remember, the bottom line in modern design is minimalism, so avoid hanging too many objects on the walls and keep the attention on one dramatic focal point. To complete the look, choose simple window treatments such as sheer, flowing white curtains or clean roman blinds.

Dining Room Interior Designs 2011

Best Dining Room Interior Designs

Dining room designs are often neglected when in the whole scheme of residential interior design. Attention is made to the best dining room furniture rather than the dining space. This mistake or oversight is made by bothinterior designers and home owners. Sg Living Pod post today will highlight to day some of the common problem s faced by designers when it comes to dining room designs and ideas.

Dining Spaces

Formal dining areas are in a separate room, while informal dining areas are more commonly out in the open—frequently attached to the living room, family room, or kitchen. Dining room furniture should be inspired by a sense of grandeur, impression, and elegance. To truly make a dining room formal, you need to pay attention to details from the window treatments down to the place mats.

Setting The Mood

For a different mood, consider creating a serious, luxurious space set aside specifically for great meals and conversation.

To create a modern dining room, whether you are starting with a bare room or you’d like to update a traditional dining room, adhere to several principles: clean lines, clear and bold colors and minimal decor. A space can be modern as well as warm and inviting, and a modern dining room can be created on nearly any budget.

If you are operating on a low budget, there are several ways to subtly alter your existing dining room furniture to give it a more modern feel. If you have a traditional table that has seen better days, try repainting it a bright, modern color such as red, lime green or electric blue. This will completely change the look of the table and give the room a fresh pop of color. Cover your chairs with simple, white slipcovers, which are easy to wash.

Source:livingpod

patio pillows... a chic for cheap find

I saw these at Target last week. Imperial Trellis!!!??? I wish navy was my color. What a steal and surprise from Target.

Spring Skiing at its BEST! NH Ski Up

Join us at the 2nd annual NH Ski Up on Saturday, March 19, 2011 for great skiing, snowboarding, networking, tailgating, and a BBQ!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Skiing, Snowboarding, Networking, Tailgating & BBQ

$45 per person includes full day lift ticket and BBQ on the "beach" at Mt. Sunapee State Park. If you are a season's pass holder at Mt. Sunapee, or want to go and not ski, the BBQ is FREE!

Tickets are limited! Register at http://nhskiup1.eventbrite.com/
Want more information and pictures? Visit these sites:
http://www.facebook.com/NHSkiUp
http://www.sunapeeregionblog.com/2011/02/the-2nd-annual-nh-ski-up-at-sunapee-is-here/

my shiny, new kitchen sink

Lime cleaner left streaks and ruined the finish on the chrome faucet six months ago. I was secretly happy we had a reason to replace the faucet, but the sink was a trickier problem to address.

The hardest part when replacing an undermount sink is finding a sink with the exact dimensions as the cutout in the countertop. It took six months to find an off-the-shelf sink in the exact dimensions. We were afraid to go with a special order, just in case it didn't work.

Step 1: We scoured the web and all the hardware stores. Finally, a score at Home Depot. A single bowl undermount stainless sink from Kohler's company, Sterling. $250 off the shelf. I am thrilled Home Depot now carries a single bowl undermount stainless style, something they didn't have when we first started looking.

Step 2: Hire a willing granite company to send their crew to torch, pry and buff the shellac from existing sink and install the new undermount. $220 for 2 guys for 2 hours. Check.

Step 3: Back to Home Depot and Lowes to find a replacement faucet for just the right amount of holes (3 existing in the granite). This limited us because we wanted a soap dispenser and easy to turn-on-with-messy-hands lever, but not a goose neck (divides the kitchen). I found the perfect faucet at Lowe's. A bronze Price Pfister for $160 and a $20 bronze soap dispenser.

Step 4: Max rigged the faucet to be installed without the deck plate, used plummer's putty to seal the new stainless drain (Home Depot, $30) and reinstalled the old disposer and new faucet. (30 minutes.)

Result: Shiny and new. The single bowl makes the whole kitchen feel bigger. Not to mention much more practical for washing platters, pots, babies, puppies, watering orchids.... The soap dispenser - soap bottles = eco happiness and one less thing on the counter!

Success six months in the making for something seemingly so simple.

Lesson learned: Be careful what product you use to clean lime.

(it wasn't me!)

And one more tip: Add felt pads under the sink bottom and sides to muffle sound. (Wal-mart, $2)

Next on my Spring to-do list: re-do kitchen grout, freshen flowers beds and a dining room paint project. Stay tuned!

Schumacher ad L O V E

Schumacher's upcoming ad in AD featuring:

Gustavian Bergère Chair

Upholstery: Lismore Linen Plain in Oatmeal

Pillow: Montauban Stripe in Dove / Haze

Drapery: Ambala Paisley in Greige

NAHB: Ten Tips to Sell Your Home

Photo courtesy of NAHB

Are you building a new home but need to wait until you sell your current home? If so, you’re not alone. Here are ten tips to selling your home, provided by the National Association of Home Builders:

You may think your house is perfect just the way it is, but a prospective buyer may not see it that way. To give your home "curb appeal" and make it more attractive to buyers, there are some tasks you should see to before you place that "For Sale" sign in your front yard.

Many of these suggestions are simple, common-sense items; others will require some time and investment. But you'll reap the rewards when a buyer walks into your house and exclaims, "This is the home I've been waiting for!"

1. If your home needs to be painted, this is the time to do it. The interior paint job should be fresh and clean and in a single, neutral color throughout. This is not the time to experiment with lilac walls in the bedroom. The same goes for the exterior. Don't forget shutters and windows. If your home has vinyl or aluminum siding, be sure it's clean. Moldy, dirty siding will tell a buyer that your home has not been taken care of properly.

2. The green shag carpeting still gracing your floors should be replaced. Old, matted carpeting will be a detriment to your home selling. Real estate agents all have a dozen stories of a home that sat and sat on the market until the old carpeting was replaced. Then, it sold immediately. If you have hardwood floors under old carpet, tear up the carpet to expose them; today's buyers love hardwood floors.

3. Make a list of all those little repairs you've let go. Then fix each one. The hole in the screen, the loose doorknob, the doorbell that doesn't work and the leaky faucet must all be repaired before buyers start looking at your home.

4. If your home's appliances, like the dishwasher, oven, refrigerator and washer and dryer, are old and outdated, it could pay to replace them. Buyers do not want to be faced with the possibility of having to replace appliances upon moving in to a new house. Shiny, new appliances already in place will be a big selling point.

5. Clear your house of clutter and debris. Get rid of piles of old newspapers and magazines, the old clothes that don't fit, the closet full of small appliances that don't work, dust-filled collections of knickknacks, etc. Clean, open spaces make your home look bigger to prospective buyers.

Continue reading here

When you are ready to start thinking about building your new home, the first step is to hire an architect. Bonin Architects is licensed in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York (inquire as to other states). We're happy to talk to you about budgeting and costs, green building materials, and sustainable home design!