With the rising cost of assisted living facilities, many senior citizens are choosing to stay in their homes longer. The trend to “age in place” is growing in popularity along with the trend for elderly parents or grandparents to move in with their children and grandchildren.

When two generations share a home they can usually live cheaper collectively. Whether it’s contributing rent or serving as cost-free daycare, move-in parents can help ease the family’s cost of living while avoiding the isolation and higher expenses of living alone.

The three major factors to consider when remodeling a senior addition to the family are safety, comfort, and costs. By sitting down with an experienced home remodeler you can find creative and affordable solutions.

Design for safety. As we grow older, we tend to lose flexibility and balance. Senior citizens are more likely to have fall related accidents and suffer significant injury from falls. Therefore, we want to look for ways to reduce the likelihood and severity accidents.

Talk to your builder about installing slip resistant flooring. Remove high-gloss flooring tiles and cover polished floors with carpeting, where possible. While throw rugs are nice decorative touch, they can cause slips and falls. Wall-to-wall carpeting with thick padding will reduce the risk and impact of falling.

Staircases are a particularly dangerous place for senior citizens. Consolidate living space to a single level to make it safer and less strenuous. When you can’t get away with single-level living, make sure stairwells are well lit and free from any tripping hazards. Securely anchor handrails in hallways. Consider installing a stair lift.

Remodel bathrooms for safety, as well as comfort. Replace bathtubs with walk-in stall showers. Have professionally installed safety grips installed by toilets and inside the shower. Your remodeler should be able to recommend safety grips that are both effective and aesthetically pleasing.

Design for Comfort. Make sure your elderly loved one has a comfortable living environment, and not just a safe one. Many families are choosing to remodel their homes with two separate living areas. A home designed with two separate living areas, but not as a legal two-family rental is sometimes referred to as a “secondary suite” or a “mother-in-law house.” In the Northeast, this type of layout called a mother-daughter house.

Consult with your local building code so that you don’t inadvertently modify your house into a two family home without the proper permits. Two separate entrances allow the senior to have more privacy and independence without feeling as if they are living on top of the family.

It’s important to redesign your home with reselling it in mind. Poorly modified homes often require lots of renovation. Follow proper interior designing principles when adding safety features or your senior living area might end up looking like a hospital ward.

Separate thermostats will keep everybody happy. Seniors often feel the need for more heat in the winter and less air-conditioning in the summer than younger people do.

With a separate entrance and living space, seniors can have more control over the look and feel of their homes. The buffer between living spaces will let you enjoy your sleek and modern design without clashing with that tacky recliner Grandpa doesn’t want to give up.

Countertops should be higher than normal to reduce stooping and bending while shelves should be lower to avoid overreaching.

Make sure you have good lighting. Incandescent light fixtures are better than fluorescent bulbs because they produce less glare. Light switches should be illuminated so they can be found in the dark. Plug nightlights in hallways or mount motion sensitive light switches.

For additional safety and privacy, install an intercom. An intercom will allow for easy communication without intruding into each others living areas. Additionally, get a medical alarm or senior alert system so that an elderly relative can summon help when no one else is home.

Home Design Costs. Home remodeling is not cheap, but there are several ways to finance. A reverse mortgage can help pay for renovations, but only if the senior continues to live in the mortgage home as a primary residence. Before taking out a reverse mortgage it’s important to consult with a qualified, unbiased financial and legal adviser and not just a mortgage salesperson.

Thanks to ElderKind.com for these tips on safer living spaces for senior citizens.

Whether we want to admit it or not, most of us are in a friendly competition with our neighbors – whether it’s to have the greenest lawn, the biggest deck, or the newest addition to a home. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition – especially when the additions that you make to your home could increase its appeal and market value.

Despite the state of the economy in the past few years, home improvement spending is on the rise. As of 2011, money spent on remodeling increased by 9.2% to $125.1 billion – up from $114.6 billion in 2010, according to data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies from Harvard University.

So where is your money best spent when it comes to home renovations? Check out these top three must-have home improvements that will make your neighbors jealous:

1. Wooden Deck

According to Remodeling Magazine, adding a wooden deck to your house will yield a return of roughly 80% of the cost of the project when and if you sell your home. Basically, this home improvement is a smart investment when it comes to making a convenient addition to your home.

Not only will you use a deck often in warmer weather, but it will up the resale value of your house so that you earn more money years after the project is finished. For most people, a deck provides an attractive addition because it creates the illusion of more space in a small to medium-sized home.

2. Home Security System

Choosing from one of the many alarm systems on the market is a sound upgrade to make to your home. First and foremost, it will protect your family and ensure all of your valuables are kept safe when you are out of the house or on vacation.

For most people, a home security system is the best investment that they can make because it guarantees peace of mind both inside and outside of the home. And, once again, installing a state-of-the-art home security system will increase the value of your home and up the market price if you choose to sell in the future.

3. Interior Décor

If your home is in desperate need of a facelift, or if you’re in a pinch to sell your home quickly, hiring a professional decorator for the task is a wise investment to make. When you hire a professional decorator, you will pay one flat fee. This means that you won’t have to take on the task of decorating your home yourself and attempting to buy all of the coordinating furniture, knickknacks, pictures, and other accessories to fill a room.

A professional decorator could cost anywhere from $35-$500 per hour and will quickly remedy any aesthetic issues that may prevent your home from being sold quickly. If your home isn’t on the market, the touch of a professional decorator may be all you need to stylishly upgrade your home and enjoy it for years to come.

Improvements to your home can do more than add value to it; it can add to your overall quality of life. A new wooden deck might be the feature you need to help you relax after a long day. A home security system will solve that anxiety you’ve been feeling when you travel. New decorations around the house will make it feel “new” again. Most importantly, these home improvements are sure to get the neighbors talking.

This article was brought to you by BuyerZone’s Home Security Systems writer, Sylvia Rosen.

What is Mediterranean Style?

One of the most popular European kitchen designs is the Mediterranean look. This represents the areas that border the Mediterranean Sea, such as some Italian and Greek regions. As the climate in these regions is typically quite warm, there is an emphasis on outdoor seating areas, open kitchens and elements of nature. The color schemes greatly resemble that of the architecture in the area, with lots of blue and white tiles, ornate materials and a background of stark, clean whites. To incorporate this in your own kitchen, opt for white walls and a tiled backsplash in blue and white.

What is French Country Style?

This European style is not quite modern, but relies on more rustic, rural touches to look throughout French. The color scheme should not be limited to one or two colors, but include softer hues like blue, red and yellow. The decor is not upscale or ornate, but can include embellishments like carvings in the wooden cabinets or in the wooden chair-backs. For a quick way to transform your own kitchen into a French country home, add in some brightly colored cafe style curtains, mismatched china from a flea market and fresh floral bouquets. This French style can be elaborated upon for the whole house.

What is Tuscan Style?

This European kitchen style is part Mediterranean and part country, with airy spaces and colors that reflect the natural environment. Tuscan chefs are famous for using copper pots and pans, which add a unique color to the scheme. Consider the addition of an island to recreate a Tuscan style kitchen in your own home, along with large windows that look outside. Instead of modern appliances try to hide their facades with wooden veneers to give it a more natural look. Luckily a Tuscan kitchen does not need to look polished, and reclaimed woods or distressed secondhand furniture can look striking in a Tuscan style kitchen. Consider these simple tips for a Tuscan style that many will pay a fortune for.

Contemporary European Kitchens

While the Tuscan, French country and Mediterranean kitchens are all very popular styles, a more progressive and modern style is that of the contemporary European kitchen. This style is efficient and sleek, using high quality materials and awareness of space to create the perfect room for preparing, cooking and even eating foods. Kitchen islands are very popular, as long as space permits. In some kitchens the island takes on a curved appearance to better fit the given space. This gives the room an even more unique touch. While many modern American kitchens embrace lighter colors, the contemporary European kitchen might very well consist of darker materials paired with stainless steel appliances. Lighting underneath the cabinets still provides illumination so that the space does not feel too small or constricted.

How to Decide on a European Kitchen Style

Unless you are building a home from the ground up, it is important to pay attention the rest of the home’s style before deciding on a kitchen theme. A progressive, contemporary European kitchen with dark cabinets and a sleek island will look out of place in a rural barn, but a French country kitchen might be perfect. Stick to a cohesive look throughout the house whenever possible. Consider minor renovations like refinishing cabinets or purchasing new kitchen furniture rather than redesigning the entire space. Minor renovations like these can still drastically transform the look and feel of a space without taking months to complete and a large budget.

Whether you dream of creating a contemporary kitchen in your modern apartment or a Mediterranean feel in your open plan home with a view, one of these European kitchen styles is bound to be the perfect solution.

Author Bio: Donna M. is an interior designer and freelance writer. She enjoys offering her expertise to homeowners looking to go beyond the average designs below the average budget. She has also written articles about saving money in many other areas such as car insurance. Check out her guide here:  http://www.carinsurancecomparison.com/car-insurance-guide.

Many homeowners who have an older bathroom desire something more modern and appealing; however, a complete renovation may not be practical or affordable. Installing new tile in a bathroom is a project that most homeowners can do themselves and it does not have to be as costly as they may think.

Installing New Bathroom Tile

The most time consuming part of the project must be tackled first, which is the removal of the bathroom fixtures, large and small. This includes the shower stall, vanity, light fixtures, sink and commode. Upon removal of the shower stall, it may be necessary to repair the wall after installing the new shower base. This should be accomplished through the use of water resistant sheet rock. The new shower base should then be installed and the plumbing reconnected.

Preparing the Sub Floor

Removing the existing floor covering is the next step. Depending on the type of floor being removed, it may be necessary to install cement board over the old sub floor, and its surface must be clean before beginning the installation of the new floor. Cement board can be installed over the old flooring, but if one chooses this route, he or she must keep in mind that this will raise the height of the floor by an inch or more, making it necessary to plane the bottom of the bathroom door.

Laying the New Tiles

It is necessary to mark the starting point prior to laying the new tiles, which should be made with a pencil precisely in the middle of the room. Next, one must use a trowel to spread a generous layer of glue on the sub floor. As a general rule, the area covered with glue should be equal in size to the amount one can tile in a half hour or less. This ensures that the glue will not dry out before the tiles are put in place. Grooves should be made in the glue by holding the notched side of the trowel toward the outside of the area where the glue was placed.

One should begin by positioning the first two tiles, which should be installed on either side of the pencil mark. A spacer tile down should then be positioned in the corner where the first two tiles meet, and the tiles should be pressed together firmly in the direction of the spacer and towards the floor at the same time. Completing this step correctly is essential, as this will determine how snugly the tiles fit together. An adequate amount of time should be allowed for this step, as it does little or no good to finish the task quickly, but end up with loose fitting tiles that look sloppy and unattractive. It is also imperative to start in the middle and work outwards to avoid becoming “tiled into a corner.”

When all of the tiles have been installed, the grout should be added. When the grouting has dried, the bathroom fixtures should be carefully reinstalled, and any excess glue or grout should be wiped up with a wet sponge. The tiles should be allowed to set for 48 hours, and the grout should be polished with a damp cloth or according to the directions on the container of sealant.

Tracey Roper is a content contributor for floorwarmers.co.uk, an electric underfloor heating company based in the UK

Doors

Next time you rent office space, do not forget to check the state and quality of the doors, their locks and hinges. If they creak, fail to close properly or are in any way damaged, definitely take the issue up with the owner or broker. Down the line, poorly functioning doors will cause you lots of nuisances. If your office space is small, but the nature of your employees’ work allows for it, consider taking out all the doors and creating one large open space. Alternatively, you might decide to have screens put in, to delineate spaces with various functions, or install sliding doors, which take up substantially less space.

Storage Space

Messy offices are not only ungainly to look at, but they often create inefficient employees, who are having a hard time focusing on their tasks at hand because of the clutter. What can one do in order to avoid this issue? Invest in good storage solutions. Figure out if your current space configuration would allow you to set up a storage room, no matter how small. If not, invest in good cabinets for each employee, or at least for the ones who appear to be drowning in paper work at the moment. Make sure each cabinet can be locked. It is also a good idea to purchase filing cabinets on wheels, since they are much more efficient when cleaning, or for the case in which you might decide you want to change the office’s current layout.

Window Coverings

Windows are essential in design, since they basically set the mood for the entire room. Windows in offices are all the more important, since your staff needs to be exposed to natural light as much as possible. Consequently, take a look at your current window coverings and figure out if they truly are the best solution for your offices. If your HQ is in an elegant, old-style villa, chances are your windows are fitted with shutters in massive wood, which you can’t quite replace in the bat of an eye. However, you can light up the room by getting rid of classical, massive, dust-ridden curtains. Replace them with lighter, airier fabric panels or curtains made in lighter materials. Vertical curtains and aluminum blinds are rather passé in terms of design—so if yours have been around for ten years plus, perhaps the time has come for you to bid them farewell.

Whether you own an auto repair shop, detail cars as a hobby or simply want your garage to be an easier place to clean, I’ve found that applying a concrete floor coating can do wonders to the overall look of any garage. Once you have all the tools, the entire process is relatively simple.

Epoxy floor coating has a lot of advantages in a garage environment, especially as it resists oil stains and wipes clean very easily, similar to a kitchen counter. It can be especially handy in the winter months with the antiskid additives, which help when water has beaded up.

Just make sure that you choose a coating color that is appropriate for a garage—as this Toronto newspaper article points out, white will leave all kinds of scuff marks if you don’t plan on cleaning regularly. If you want to update your garage floor, here are the steps you will have to take:

Prepare your floor – In order to bond properly, your floor needs to be completely clean and porous. If you have potholes, you will need to patch them, and if your concrete is sealed, you will have to use a chemical stripper.

Etch the floor – When you purchase all your supplies (usually found in a kit), you will have some etching solution. Wet your garage area and use a bristle broom to etch the floor in small sections. After you are done (etching in both directions), use the hose again to rinse the garage clear again.

Mix the epoxy paint and begin painting – You will mix the hardener and the paint until they are completely blended, and then wait thirty minutes for the chemicals to react. After that, you have two hours to completely paint your garage. Be sure to use a roller for speed, but touch up the corners and seams with a brush.

Apply color flakes – Color flakes help hide any discoloration in your garage. When the paint is still wet, sprinkle the flakes over the top at the same time as you are painting. You might want to have someone help you with this.

Prepare and paint the top coat – Once you mix the top coat, you will again have to wait thirty minutes for the chemicals. Like the first concrete floor coating, you will have two hours to evenly distribute the top coat.

Once you have completed all these steps, you simply have to wait for everything to dry completely. Don’t drive a car on your new coating until you have waited 72 hours, but then enjoy the ease of a hard concrete floor coating in your garage space.

by Don Brown

When you are selling your house, keep one thing in mind: Potential home buyers do not use a lot of imagination when house shopping. That is to say, if a potential buyer walks into a house that has dirty and stained carpet, they can be easily turned off and disinterested instead of realizing that changing carpet isn’t that expensive.

There are five features that can make or break a closing. If you are putting your house on the market, look at the following features in your home from the potential buyer’s point of view. If you think it looks old or unattractive, so will they and may very well dismiss an otherwise wonderful home.

1. Kitchen Cabinets & Counters

It used to be that the living room was the favorite room of the house. Nowadays, the kitchen is where the family gathers most frequently and spends the most time. The size of the kitchen doesn’t matter as much as the overall appearance. The cabinets are the first to be noticed. If they are old and outdated, it could be an instant “no, thank you,” from a buyer. An outdated counter is less noticeable but just be sure the cabinets match the counter in color. An updated kitchen is extremely important these days. If you put money into only one room in your house, let it be the kitchen.

2. Lawn

It is not necessary to completely overhaul your lawn for a new buyer. You don’t know what their plans may be. However, it is terribly important to tidy up the lawn as much as possible. If a potential buyers uses any imagination at all when looking at houses, it will be in the lawn and garden. This is an easy and enjoyable area to personalize. Just remember, if a front or back lawn is overgrown and full of dead bushes and weeds, a buyer will be instantly turned off. Simply remove all dead bushes and mow the grass. If necessary, pull up all the dead grass and leave the new buyer with a blank canvas, so to speak. It is better for a buyer to see a clean field of dirt instead of a yard deeply in need of cleaning.

3. Light Fixtures

In the same way that kitchen cabinets can instantly date a house, the light fixtures have the same influence. If the light fixtures in your home are basic and lack any definite style, you can possibly get away with neglecting this feature. However, if you have the extra time and several hundred dollars to invest, switching out old fixtures for sleek new fixtures will charm any buyer. It is not just the look of the fixture that is either attractive or unattractive. The amount of light and the color of light that the fixture gives the room has a sub conscience effect on how a person feels about the room.

4. Flooring

Treat your flooring as you would if you were staying in the house. If your carpet is dirty but fairly new, shampoo it and keep it vacuumed for viewings. If the carpet is in such bad condition that shampooing does not help its appearance, it must be replaced. The last thing a new home owner wants to do is shampoo carpet or lay down new flooring. Also, tile and wood floors always increase the value of a house and tend to be desired by most people.

5. Paint

There is no need to paint the walls a different color. Simply touch up the walls in the color they currently are painted in. That is, unless every room in your house is painted black or some other unusual and unpleasant color. In that case, wash over it all with a primer at least. In the case that the walls are a usual tone, just touch up the baseboards, doorframes, etc. The only reason a home seller should touch up their paint is to give each room a look of freshness and cleanliness so touch up wherever is necessary. Paint is the quickest and cheapest way to breathe new life into a room. Similar to light fixtures, freshly painted walls have a positive sub conscience effect on potential home buyers.

This real estate resource provided by BuildingsGuide.com, a leading online resource for steel buildings and homes, metal building kits, and pricing tools for the DIY home enthusiast.

Every once in a while we like to recognize other like-minded companies that have a strong focus on sustainability and improving the environment, and today we’d like to give a shout out to an exciting organization, Eco-Libris, that collaborates with publishers and readers to plant trees for the books they read (think carbon off-sets for books). Bookstores and publishers all over the world such as Infinity and Strand are behind this exciting project, and it only costs one dollar per tree with Eco-Libris. Check these guys out at Eco Libris!

Have you ever considered how many areas around your home might be dangerous to your children?  As a parent, child safety is likely one of your top concerns.  Check around your home for the following safety points, so you can make sure that your child is safe and secure:

1.  Sharp corners on furniture

Coffee tables, chair corners and even the arm rests on your sofa can all have sharp points that could cause serious injury in the event of a fall.  If you only have one or two pieces of furniture like this, you could simply replace these with more child-friendly pieces.  Otherwise, you can child-proof them with “bumpers” that are available at most stores that sell child-proofing equipment.

2.  Toilets

Children are endlessly curious about the toilet, especially those who are beginning to toilet train.  Where does that water go, anyway?  You can protect your child — and help keep the bathroom more sanitary — by installing a toilet lock.

3.  Electrical outlets

Electrical outlets are full of possibilities, as far as children are concerned.  So many small items can fit in there.  Protect your child from shocks or worse by using plastic plugs to cover up outlets that aren’t currently in use.

4.  Pools and hot tubs

An outdoor pool or hot tub can go from summertime fun to tragedy in just the blink of an eye.  One of the most important child safety measures you can take is to install a barrier around the pool, like a mesh pool fence.  Never leave your child unsupervised around water.

5.  Burners on the stove

When you are cooking, keep children out of the kitchen.  If they want to help with meal prep, set them up with small jobs at the kitchen table so the stove is out of reach.  Always be careful to turn off the stove when you aren’t using it, and turn pot handles in so you can’t accidentally bump them and knock them over.

6. Flat screen TVs

These tend to be top heavy, and it’s easy for a child to pull one down.  This could potentially kill a small child, and reports of these types of incidents are increasing.  Install child safety straps on your TV to keep it attached to the TV stand, or, better yet, install it on the wall where it is safely out of reach.

A major complaint that many people voice when it comes to granite is that it is too harsh and unwelcoming. And yes, if that is the approach you want to take, granite can be rather cool and imposing. But with a creative outlook and some expert advice, you can transform granite so that it becomes a warm and natural centre to your home. All you need is a sense of adventure, the right feel and type of stone, and the nerve to follow your heart, and before you know it you will have granite that glows with warmth.

Embrace Nature

For some reason, people who feature granite in their homes tend to forget that they are working with something that has been harvested from nature. Engineered granite is an incredible material because it shows off the natural hues of granite while offering slight improvements.  Too many people treat their granite like something that is foreign and alien, and as a result it stands out like a sore thumb. Using a natural array of colours to bolster the image of the rock is a great way to bring out the natural quality of the stone. Work with the colours that you have, and don’t try to disguise your granite – it is beautiful and versatile, and it can easily serve as the focal point of any room. Dress it up and draw attention to the actual surface.

Create an Atmosphere

Any material that is left to operate in isolation is not going to conjure up any significant emotion, and you cannot expect the addition of granite to your home to suddenly make things natural and warm. You need to combine lighting, layout, design and texture to get an atmosphere where granite works. Lead your guests into their granite-floored shower with a granite inlay in the bathroom hallway, set in cream and pale grey. Clash blood orange with bold granite slabs along your kitchen wall to create a sense of excitement and heat. Just do not settle for something you saw in a magazine, and don’t be scared to love a little.

Colour is Your Friend

I alluded to colour earlier. Remember that granite comes in many shades, each with its own mood and texture. Think carefully about what you select, and then maximize that natural warmth with a complimentary colour scheme. Think warm and inviting, not cold and shut off!

This guest post was written by freelance writer Victoria. She has been writing about Precious Metals such as the Australian Gold Nugget Coin.

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