Designing Your New Kitchen: Choosing Ideal Floors

If I could redesign my kitchen, I'd jump at the chance to do so, as you can choose so many fixtures for the room to really make it feel like your own, including cupboards, tiles, lights, appliances and splashbacks. One thing that shouldn't be overlooked though is your floor. Here are some tips on how to choose the perfect floors for your kitchen.

• Do your homework

Before you settle on a new floor, I think it's a good idea to find out everything you need to know about the types of floors available these days. There was a time where every home had lino floors, but you will find a much larger choice now - and it only takes a quick search on the internet or a browse in shops that sell kitchens to reveal as much.

Among the options you'll come across are tile flooring (although this can be costly and it may get damaged easily) and laminate, hardwood, vinyl, as well as concrete. There are many advantages of each type, so I'd suggest reading up on them all to know where you stand when it comes to choosing a floor that'll best suit your budget, practical needs and your home.

• Think about the rest of the house

Once you know more about what types of kitchen floors are available, you should think about how they would each fit in with the rest of your house. You might have always wanted a contemporary kitchen with a stylish black wooden floor, but if you have a very old-fashioned period property, it is unlikely to suit it very well.

So my advice is to always keep your property's decor in mind - this is obviously important when thinking about the entire kitchen if you're redecorating the whole room, but you should also remember to do this if you're just changing the floor.

I'd also recommend thinking about what type of kitchen you have. Lots of my friends have contemporary apartments with one room for their kitchen and living area, in which case floors that suit both rooms are ideal. The Solid Wood Flooring Company's quality wood floors would therefore be among the suitable options for their flats, as wooden surfaces will look great in both the kitchen part of the room and the lounge. You may live in an old country house though, so your choice of floor is likely to vary. While you might still opt for wood floors to fit in with the rustic feel of the rest of the house, I'd recommend choosing a different type or shade of wood, for instance, an antique-looking one, as opposed to a none or black style.

• Consider children, pets and the rest

It can be very exciting choosing new features for your kitchen, but let's not forget about practical details. We all know how much mess children and pets can create, so if you have either (or both), it is wise to choose a kitchen floor that will be suitable.

I'd immediately opt for the easiest ones to clean, as I wouldn't want to spend all day scrubbing away at stubborn stains on difficult surfaces. I would also look for a floor that doesn't scratch, chip or dent easily if something heavy is accidently dropped on to it - it might sound like I'm asking for a miracle, but there are types of floor that are resistant to a certain amount of damage.

Wood floors, for instance, can withstand quite a lot, so you don't have to panic every time a glass jar falls on to the floor or your dog runs through the room with his claws scratching on the surface. After all, you don't want to replace your floor regularly because it's constantly being scratched, do you?

A Guide to Changing Room Design

If you're planning to revamp the changing facilities at a gym, in a school or even in a workplace, there are some fundamental design principles you should bear in mind, as well as a few pieces of furniture that you'll certainly require.

To help you get started if this is the first such project you've undertaken, here's a guide to what you'll need to be aware of when you design a changing room.

Furniture

Firstly, measure your changing room to find out how much space you have to play with and then decide what sizes and types of furniture you'll want. Lockers and benches will probably be among the essentials, although you may also like to include pegs hanging on the walls (or as part of the seating units) to this setup as well.

Think about how many people will be using the space at the same time to help you determine how many lockers and benches you'll require during the busiest periods. Even if you rarely find that your changing rooms are full, it's better to have slightly too many lockers than too few.

Spacing

When you've determined what pieces of furniture you want, don't order them straightaway. Instead, go back to the room with your tape measure and design a floor plan that shows where everything will be positioned.

You need to be mindful that people will be moving around one another while using the changing area - some may need to get into lockers, while others will be getting dressed - so take this into account when you are working out where to position large items of furniture and how much space you leave between them.

For example, in a gap between two rows of lockers where there is also a bench on each side, you'll require a minimum of 1.5 m between the fronts of the lockers. Alternatively, if you use a central bench between two sets of lockers, at least 2.1 m will be required to ensure there is enough room.

Locker height

While it may be tempting to use as much of the vertical space in your changing room as possible, especially if the area is a little cramped, don't forget that not everyone will be able to access high places.

This can certainly be true in a school setting, where kids won't be as tall as adults. You should avoid buying stacks of lockers where the top one could be out of reach, as this encourages people to take risks by standing on benches or other pieces of furniture to get to their possessions.

Aside from the inconvenience, it could result in someone having an accident if they slip or miss their footing.

Flooring

This may not be something you initially think of when you start looking at designing a changing room, but the flooring you select is important in more ways than one. Firstly, if you will be installing freestanding pieces of furniture, is the floor stable and level?

Secondly, is it easy to clean? This is especially important if you're using it for a work setting and people will be removing the dirty clothes they've been wearing to do their jobs and replacing them with clean garments.

Finally, is it safe? What I mean by this is will it become slippery when wet and could this lead to people falling over and injuring themselves? This is likely to be a particular concern in and around shower rooms, so consider purchasing a non-slip floor covering and supplementing this with mats in areas that you feel there is a genuine risk of people slipping.

Do you have any advice for anyone who's setting up their own changing room? You can find out more about some of the best products available to kit out this kind of space here.
   

3 Things to Note When Buying Above Ground Pools

Who doesn’t fancy lying on the deck and sun-bathing! If you want to enjoy the benefits of having a swimming pool in your place so that you and your kids can have fun splashing around in the summer, then getting above ground pools is the best option for you.

Above ground pools allow you to get a swimming pool without digging up a hole in your backyard. It is easy to get one and guarantees loads of fun. Here are four things that you need to keep in mind before you go ahead and buy an above ground swimming pool –

1.    Determine The Space You Have

The first and the most important thing that you need to determine before going ahead and spending on an above ground swimming pool, is whether you have enough space to install one. If you have a small backyard with just enough space to have a barbecue station and dry your clothes, where will you get your swimming pool installed?

However, if your backyard is large enough and can easily fit a new swimming pool, then go ahead. Remember that you need to have space for sitting around and moving without any obstacle

2.    Check To See Whether You Can Have A Pump Line For The Pool Water

After you install the pool in your yard, you have to regularly change the water. You have to ensure this because otherwise, it will get dirty and encourage growth of algae on the bottom of the pool. To change water regularly you have to pump out the used water and fill in with fresh water. You have to install a water line for this purpose.

Make sure you can install the line. You wouldn’t want to have a large empty pool in your yard. Make sure that the released water is drained out properly without any water logging in your yard.

3.    Necessary Tools For The Pool

You will require some tools to properly maintain and enhance your experience of the pool. Your pool maintenance kit should have a net or skimmer to collect the debris that fall on the pool and chemicals to keep away algae and to prevent the water from becoming stale and smelling. You will also require a hose to fill and remove water.

You should always keep a check on the water level inside the pool. If there is excess water, it will spill over the brim when somebody gets in. You will need to keep a tab on the water level to check whether the pool is leaking. For this, get auto water fillers.

Follow the above points and be sure to be safe. Buy the pool and have fun.  Also, research a lot. Going ahead and buying a pool without any research is completely imprudent. These pools are expensive and before you decide to invest in one, you should see which materials are durable and where you can get a good price deal.

Unusual Christmas Present Suggestions that Promise to Make Your Christmas Gifts Truly Unique

You don’t have to stick with the same old things like smoked meats or ties when getting Christmas gifts for your needs. You can find many unusual presents for your family members and your friends to make things all the more interesting for whatever you want to get. Here are a few ideas that you can use when finding gifts that your family members or friends might be interested in.

Specialty Kitchen Coasters and Items

One option to take a look at involves specialty kitchen items that feature unique messages or logos emblazoned on them. These include kitchen coasters, flipping devices and bottle or can openers that feature special messages or symbols on them.

Some of these can feature a message or image relating to someone’s profession. Others might feature the logo of a professional or college sports team. The choices you have to find are interesting to see and can offer all sorts of options of interest.

Wall Stickers are Unique

You can also take a look at removable wall stickers among Christmas presents for anyone on your list. These wall stickers are made with large designs that can be applied to a wall without any nails or tack materials.

These stickers can include many designs ranging from sports team logos to life-size images of famous people. There are all sorts of unique choices to see when finding attractive materials for different interests that your gift recipients might have.

Wi-Fi Gifts

There are several choices available with regards to Wi-Fi gifts. These are gifts that are able to react to Wi-Fi signals that can be received and read without wires involved.

The Wi-Fi gifts that you can get include things like a weather forecaster that can link up to a spot in your home or even an atomic clock that responds to Wi-Fi signals that link to satellite signals. These are interesting gifts that help you to read information on what’s going on with different places in real time.

Handheld Electronics

There are many kinds of handheld electronics that can be used as gifts too. These include such things as portable language translators, tip calculators and even portable dictionaries and thesauruses. These are made with easy to handle keyboards and clear screens that only need a small number of batteries to get running. You might even find some solar-powered options depending on what you find.

These handheld electronics are made to help people out with reading information on different things that they want to know as soon as possible. The fact that they can easily be stored in anyone’s pocket will be easy for anyone to take advantage of.

You should think about these gift ideas when finding something that’s unique and different from the norm. There’s no need to use the same staples that everyone else uses during this time of year. These options are unique items that add to whatever anyone might get when finding something of use for the Christmas season.