Posts Tagged ‘Four’
Four Great Reasons Why you Should Consider Plastic Adirondack Chairs
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Plastic Adirondack chairs find themselves right smack dab in the middle of a class of furniture that is both functional and attractive. Of course, people can agree to disagree, and there are certainly those who would not dream of owning an Adirondack chair that wasn’t made out of wood, usually teak, cyprus, cedar or redwood. And that’s okay. I totally understand this attraction and preference for wood. But plastic does have it’s place and it isn’t really as cheap or tacky as some may think. Here are some reasons why I think plastic Adirondack chairs deserve your consideration.
First, the notion of modern plastic Adirondack chairs should not bring to mind the classic inference about plastic. In fact, these chairs are anything but wimpy, brittle, or cheap. They are actually quite nice. They are durable and stout. Depending on what you end up finding to purchase, a plastic product in today’s world very well may end up being just a strong, if not more so, than many of their wood products out there. With modern molding techniques and designs, you can expect plastic Adirondack chairs to hold up to all of the weight and use that you have come to expect from the wooden counterparts.
The second reason why I think plastic Adirondack chairs deserve consideration is their general appeal, both tactilely and visually. To the eye, they are quite pleasing, they are available in a wide range of colors and styles. If you want a pink chair, you got it. If you prefer a more classic brown or tan color, no problem. They are even available in blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and reds. Since plastic products can be colored any color, selection should not be a problem. One of the most popular and attractive choices are chairs that have a wood grain molded right into the panels of the chair. This not only gives plastic Adirondack chairs a more natural look, it also makes them more satisfying to the touch. Since our tactile senses are such a critical part of how we experience our furnishings, this should not be overlooked. The look of wood without the downside. Pretty cool.
And that leads me to my next point, which is that plastic Adirondack chairs have the natural advantage over most wooden chairs when it comes to maintenance requirements. When you have a typical wood chair you often have to take care to keep it either stained or painted. If it stays out in the elements too long you then have to watch out for slivers, cracks and chaffing in the wood. These can become dangerous to the user if ignored. If you keep things sanded and coated you will get a lot of life out of your wooden chairs, but with the plastic option you just don’t have to worry about any of that. Just set the chairs out where you want them, use them, and don’t worry about the affects of weather.
And finally, plastic Adirondack chairs are more economical than wood. They usually cost less initially, and require much less cost over time in terms of maintenance and upkeep. If you want sticker shock, price a teak, cedar, or redwood chair. Wow!
Appearance, cost and minimal maintenance all make plastic Adirondack chairs preferable over wood. Give them your consideration and see if you agree with me.
Tags: Adirondack, Chairs, Consider, Four, Great, Plastic, Reasons, Should
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Painting Idea – Four Awesome Ways To Make Ordinary Rooms Exciting
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Need a new painting idea? Want to make your home more saleable? Here are 4 ways you can turn your home into a treat for the eyes. All 4 are interior painting ideas and are low-cost ways to re-decorate your home.
1. How To Liven Up Bathrooms or Kids Rooms With Fun Tropical Designs – One of my painting customers was always good at this. She loved to wallpaper and did neat designs in bathrooms. Things like using wavy stripes on the upper half wall. And dots on the bottom half with a “fun” type of border in the middle separating the two.
She made it look like the beach scene. They also had a summer home at the lake and you got the “feel” of it all at their main home like in their downstairs main bathroom off from their kitchen. It was all done in light, tropical, pastel type colors.
2. Kitchen Painting Ideas – How to liven up kitchens, even bathrooms and bedrooms with painted stripes. I painted stripes in an upstairs hallway bathroom for another customer. They also chose a fun type of beach design. Yes, you guessed it, they too have a beach house. It’s a condo at Lake Michigan and this seems to come out in their decorating as well.
Again, their main home also is the one I painted stripes in. The stripes were a light blue and a lime color. We used a carpenter’s level to make the lines straight and vertically level. And we used a special blue painter’s tape that won’t “bleed” and is great for painting nice sharp-looking stripes.
When it was finished his wife bought a shower curtain, some porcelain containers for the sink area and a wastebasket. They all were colors that were like the stripes. The colors and the design in that bathroom make you feel good. They make you feel like you are on vacation at the beach!
3. Bedroom Painting Ideas – here is how to make your bedroom and even game rooms and home theatre room ceilings come alive when the lights are turned down or off. Picture turning out the lights at night and it looks just like someone removed the roof and you are staring up at the night sky.
This is one of the neatest bedroom painting ideas to come along. It feels as if you were sleeping outside on a warm night underneath the stars.
That’s exactly the look you can achieve with this painting idea. It’s called being an illusionist because you are creating the illusion that you are actually looking at the nighttime sky – a night sky filled with stars that actually twinkle! And it doesn’t totally have to look like an illusion. It can be a light show with neon like colors and spaceships and sci-fi characters.
4. Faux painting is another great low-cost way to liven rooms up. By picking up a “glazes brochure” at any paint store (Benjamin Moore has a really good one) you can learn how to do several basic faux designs that can make any dinning room, bathroom, even a bedroom look like a million bucks. My favorite design is called “color washing” – a painting idea that looks fantastic in any home!
As a matter of fact, there are million dollar mansions that have beautiful faux painted walls. By using the instructions given in the Benjamin Moore “Glazes” manual and by practicing on washable vinyl sheets you will become a master faux painter in no time flat.
After you master 4 or 5 basic faux designs you can even attend workshops where you can learn advanced designs like marbling. These workshops can be expensive but worth it once you consider how much per hour you can charge for your work.
Tags: Awesome, Exciting, Four, Idea, Ordinary, Painting, Rooms, Ways
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Kitchen Remodeling Kitchen Zones – Remodeling Kitchens Four Kitchen Zones Kitchen Designs and Proper Kitchen Planning for New Kitchens
Monday, January 19th, 2009
Kitchen Remodeling Kitchen Zones
Food Prep Cooking Baking Cleaning
Kitchen Zone One: Food Prep
The food prep zone is the area of the kitchen where you slice and dice. If your kitchen is spacious enough to accommodate an island cabinet, the food prep zone would be well placed there. It’s helpful to include another sink for rinsing fruits and vegetables, as well as including a refrigerator drawer for milk and eggs if your main refrigerator isn’t easily accessible.
In your food prep zone include:
Pullouts
Drawer for knives
Drawers for mixing, measuring and serving items
Pullout trash center
Kitchen Zone Two: Baking Zone
This area is built for fun! 
The baking zone of the kitchen is where cookies, breads, and casseroles come to life. Aside from the appropriate countertop space and material (marble slabs work best for rolling dough), you’ll need to keep a number of your kitchen’s supplies within easy reach.
Include:
Drawers for storing small items like cookie cutters
Storage Bins for flour and sugar
Pull Out Tray divider for baking sheets and pizza pans
Drop down cookbook rack
Drawers for rolling pins, measuring cups, and teaspoons
Easy-to-reach cabinet space for heavy casserole dishes and mixing bowls
Storage for oven mitts, pot holders, and trivets
Divided utensil storage for spatulas and wooden spoons
Pop-up stand for your mixer
Kitchen Zone Three: Cooking Zone
The cooking zone is always a hot place to be. The kitchen’s cooking zone is where fire enters the picture. Centered around the range or cook top, this is the spot where stir-fry, spaghetti, and sauces and steaks sizzle. You may want to keep your microwave and toaster oven here as well.
Include:
Deep drawers for pans
Shallow drawers for pot lids
Spice drawer (or cleverly hidden racks in pull outs)
Microwave cabinet for concealing and saving countertop space
Utensil drawer for spatulas and spoons
Kitchen Zone Four: Cleaning Zone
Next to your sink and dishwasher, the cleaning area of the kitchen is the home of water and washing. Keep “water dependent products” like your coffeemaker and salad spinner nearby. You’ll also be emptying the last bits of lasagna and soup into containers here, so keep storage supplies nearby. Include space for an adequate number of cleaning and drying supplies, as well as a convenient way to store clean dishware.
Include:
Pullout rack for dishtowels
Plate rack for storing daily or occasional dinnerware
Under sink pullout for dish washing detergent and cleaner
Tilt out sink tray for sponges. Drawer for aluminum foil, paper, and plastic wrap storage
Pullout drawer for Tupperware, divided for lids and containers
Although not directly involved in the four zones of the kitchen remember the “dining zone.” There is more flexibility involved with designing your eating area, however do consider adding easily accessible storage for tablecloths, place-mats, napkins, or infrequently used chinaware.
Footnotes: Although used in this article the word Remodelings may not be an official word.
Topics of Article Include:
Kitchen Remodeling
Kitchen Zones
Kitchen Remodelings
Kitchen Planning
Kitchen Designs
New Kitchens
Kitchen Zones
Kitchen Remodeling Kitchen Zones
Remodeling Kitchens Four Kitchen Zones
Kitchen Designs and Proper Kitchen Planning for New Kitchens
Tags: Designs, Four, Kitchen, Kitchens, Planning, Proper, Remodeling, Zones
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