Living the Olympic Dream in Your Own Home

It is a year on since the glorious London 2012 Olympics and big plans are in place for developing the Olympic site including around 11,000 new homes through residential development. 

Unfortunately many Olympic sites across the world have not quite lived up to expectations after the event and some are even ghost towns, but it looks like the site in Stratford East London is going to go from strength to strength. With great transport links, well established shopping and fabulous venues already in place it's looking like a great place to live in the coming years.

What is being planned?
The Olympic Park is going to be known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from this year and the London Legacy Development Corporation is driving the massive developments forward.
The housing development is going to include 11,000 new homes in an environment that will be dedicated to creating a strong family and community feel. There will be specific neighbourhoods with different feels, five in total and they will be surrounded by open areas, green spaces and parklands. An ideal environment to live in, yet so close to central London via quick transport links.

The housing will be varied with planning going to include apartments in the more high density area of the site near Stratford City and all the cultural amenities it offers. There will be family homes in the less built up areas of the site including Georgian terraces and Scandinavian styled dwellings along the waterways.

Infrastructure plans include not only new roads but also sports and culture venues and activities and even a brand new high street that will run from the park in the north to the new neighbourhood to be known as East Village.
 
A new kind of living environment
This development will see thousands of people move to Stratford in the next few years. Not only will they experience a new style of living in London they will be living in a development striving to be energy efficient and low carbon. There will be green insulation, combined power and heat sources, heat pumps and green roofing.
 
Leading architects and designers from across the world are involved in developing the housing that will be on canals, in parkland, urban based in Stratford City and even in the former Athletes Village.
 
Something for everyone
All ages and incomes will be taken into account in the development. Homes will be available to rent or to buy and there will be affordable options to either partially rent or partially buy. It is a great plan for London that affordable housing in a fantastic environment will be available where people can also benefit from excellent infrastructure, transport links, cultural venues all in a rapidly growing area.
 
The rejuvenation of Stratford prior to the Olympics in 2012 was remarkable and went a long way to creating a great centre for entertainment and the arts and a growing retail centre that many people from all over London travel to. Now that affordable housing in an environmentally and family friendly environment is on its way, the former Olympic site will be part of a ground breaking residential development.
 
AUTHOR BIO:
Della is an experienced freelance writer who has been contributing to websites and blogs for over ten years. She has been focusing recently on affordable housing and residential development opportunities across the country including those spearheaded by Pervaiz Naviede. Residential development is an exciting and fast changing area and he intends to follow it with intense interest.

Interior Design Ideas for Commercial Property

This article discusses ways to decorate a commercial property and how to blend a classy or homely and welcoming interior with an industrial exterior. It includes styles of decor to try and ways to make the space welcoming and conducive to buying.

Decorating a commercial space is a completely different job to decorating a home or house as your need to consider not just a few residents but all of the potential customers that may come through the doors. It is important to create the right ambiance but to also maintain an air of professionalism and competence that will make customers feel confident in your ability or product.

Keep it welcoming for all

You need your interior design style to suit the kind of customer you are hoping to attract, as well as making existing customers happy. So if you are decorating a nursery then bright colours and murals are ideal, but you will also want parents to feel that they are leaving their children in safe hands so clean looking areas and child friendly furniture are also important. If you are running a trendy bar you will need to appeal to the right clientele, but be aware that too trendy tends to go out of style very quickly, so focus on a timeless classic look. Use the materials that you have; painting commercial shutters can make your premises look great even when it is secured, so take the opportunity next time you have to get roller shutter repairs and paint the shutters at the same time.

Blend into the surroundings

Rather than decorating and covering up industrial structures and brick or steel work try including it in the look. This is a cheaper way to decorate and can look very good and professional for the right type of company. A bar decorated in this way will hold its style for a lot longer than one that has a lot more effort and is in the latest of trends which will look old and tired quickly; and exposed red brick gives a warm feel to offices or shops; just coat the exposed sections with clear sealant to minimise dust. Wooden framework is particularly attractive; sand down any exposed bits and use wax or a matt varnish to bring out the grain and colour of the wood and you will have an expensive looking space at a fraction of the cost than it appears to be.

Decorating a commercial space can be a tricky task, but as long as you think of the customers you are trying to attract and use the space and materials that are already available you can create some stunning effects with minimal cost and effort. Visualise what you are planning and then put yourself in the customers place and don't forget practical considerations such as enough space to move about.

AUTHOR BIO

Peter Smith is an interior designer who loves decorating commercial properties and has caused the need for commercial roller shutter repairs many times when he has turned his hand to mural painting on a steel roller shutter that secures a premise. He loves the contrast of modern and classic and particularly likes the look of exposed brick in a commercial environment.

Buying for the First Time in Northern Ireland

The housing market has had a rocky road over the past few years and mortgages have been hard to come by. Now the situation is easing and some specialist providers are specifically serving the first time buyer. We look at the process of buying for the first time.

It wasn't so long ago that buying a house was pretty much the expected thing to do for most people. Mortgages had become relatively cheap and easily available. Some lenders offered 100% mortgages and at the height of easy credit others even offered greater than 100% mortgages, the balance to be used, presumably, for home improvements. Other companies offered self certification mortgages, where evidence of income was not required. These were originally intended for the likes of the self employed, who might find it difficult to provide evidence of earnings but the reality is that they could be used by almost anyone. The credit crunch in 2007 put an end to all that but now there are strong signs that the market is recovering and 25% of house purchases are by first time buyers.

The Challenges For First Time Buyers
It is good to see so many first time buyers coming back to the market but many estate agents Belfast has report that such buyers have a common set of concerns. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most reported concern is simply raising a large enough deposit to qualify for a mortgage with a competitive interest rate. The days of 100% mortgages seem to be behind us and the best rates are now usually reserved for those with a large deposit. The second most widely reported challenge is finding a suitable property. This can be especially difficult in cities and areas where property prices are high, meaning that first time buyers may have to look at moving away from friends and family to find affordable housing.

Personal Concerns
Many potential first time buyers are concerned about their personal financial security. Clearly the economy has been tough recently and jobs have not been as secure as they have been in the past. This has led first time buyers to postpone their first purchase until the economy improves. Other first time buyers report they are concerned about meeting the monthly repayments on their mortgages.

In the rental market, such people could simply move to cheaper accommodation but the mortgage is more of a fixed cost. With houses in the last few years often taking longer to sell, downsizing to a smaller house may not be so easy. For some estate agents Belfast has been a fluctuating market and this is again reflected in the concerns of first time buyers. Whereas house prices in the past were always expected to rise, the current market has been less predictable. It is more important than ever before, therefore, to find an experienced estate agent who has expertise both in the local area and in the first time buyers market. There is no doubt that such advice does exist and the savvy first time buyer will take advantage of it. Renting has become more common in the past few years, especially since the credit crunch began to bite in 2007, but there is no doubt that many people harbour aspirations to get onto the property ladder. Government initiatives and rising house prices will help.

AUTHOR BIO:

Della Moris is interested in personal finance and real estate and writes widely on related topics. She has himself recently become a first time buyer NI after years of renting.

Stone Wall

 A stone wall around a restaurant.

The Weekend in Black and White

How to Find the Right Door Service for Your Home

It may just be the least looked after part of your home — the door. You probably would not think to give it a second thought up until it needs repairing. From a simple mending job like fixing a squeaky hinge to a more involved process like cracks or holes on the door, the doors to your home and/or garage deserve swift fixing so that you and your family stay safe. The best way to ensure that your doors stay intact and free from any problems is to get professional door service.

Any part of your home will generally stay in good condition when you perform a few essential maintenance steps. When it comes to your doors, a professional service provider will be able to offer comprehensive, preventive maintenance work. This will usually include cleaning, adjustment, and inspection. Cleaning may involve scrubbing or washing of moving parts to get rid of built-up debris. Adjustment may be required when door parts become misaligned or disengaged. And inspection of parts, welds, or fasteners may lead to recommending the appropriate door repair.

When selecting a service company to look after your doors, it is best to get one that offers a comprehensive preventive maintenance work along with thorough repair and installation services.

Maintenance, repairs, and installation may cost a fair bit of money. To make sure that you are spending every dollar on the right service company, try to go with a contractor that can present you several cost-effective solutions to fixing your doors. Some contractors may tell you that your door needs to be replaced with a new one but the ideal service provider can come up with a better solution that eliminates a costly replacement. Maybe all your door needs is a fair bit of adjusting or maybe you just need to get new parts. The point is you will want to go with a door expert that knows how to repair your doors and allow you to save money, without compromising your security.

Lastly, you may also want to ask your service contractor about the sort of locks and hinges the company can work on. It is best to choose a contractor that offers proficient hardware service that can maintain, mend, and/or replace wide-ranging locks, hinges, and different types of doors — from wood and metal to automatic doors — as these indicate a high level of expertise and experience.

Doors are often times unrecognized as a very essential part of day-to-day life. Not everyone pays attention to maintaining them and keeping them functional, sturdy, safe and secure. But one thing is common among people; most of us never know how valuable doors are until they start failing. Doors should be kept in optimal working condition to save you from irritation when they are difficult to open, squeaky and loud, unsafe and all other sorts of door problems, be sure to take good care of doors by having them regularly serviced and maintained by professionals.  After all, you can’t have a house or any other structure that has no working door for entry.

About The Author: Kenneth Lawrence is a crafty "handyman". His craft involves DIY concepts. He loves to share guidelines and tips about stuff on home improvement. He writes and reads almost anything that can hone DIY skills and increase knowledge about DIY concepts. Kenneth Recommends http://www.tdlconstructioninc.com for door services around Washington area for door problems that couldn’t just be handled by any DIY guy but requires professional and expert assistance.