5 Home Décor Tips for Techno Savvy Home Owners

There’s no place that hasn’t been touched by technology. Anything that you can point to is tied to a technological system. The shoes you wear can count the steps you take, your watch counts your heartbeat; your smartphone, glasses, the chair that you sit in, the car that you drive in—there’s nothing that hasn’t known the magic of tech.

So, when surrounded by innovation, it stands to reason that tech-savvy people would welcome it home, making their home interiors smart and creative. A futuristic smart home can be built from the ground up, or you can just add the technology needed to your existing décor.

Some technologies have been integrated and becoming so common that they are no longer a novelty. Others have been rapidly gaining traction, and within a few years it would be common for everyone to live in a smart house. With technology, you can control the ambient light, temperature, and mood of your interiors with just a touch.

Check out these interior design tips by leading interior designers in Bangalore that let you gear your home a notch, while keeping it green on the side.

Futuristic Sockets

 

image:en.wikipedia.org

The electrical socket hasn’t undergone a drastic change in decades, which is why the latest improvement is catching up. As the laptop and smartphone era took off in success, people became acquainted with USB ports and their importance.

Almost every mobile device comes with a USB port for charging, together with extra adapters and cables. To do away with the extra accessories and clutter, Fastmac has brought in the U-Socket that has changed the face of the traditional electrical socket.

Now, with the conventional outlet, you can have two USB ports adjacent to it. This is more a matter of convenience, allowing you to stay free from coils of cables. Moreover, it can also help you save up on energy, since many electrical adapters and appliances can drink power even when not in use.

Thus, with U-Socket, you can plug in your mobile devices while contributing your bit for the environment.

Circadian Lighting

Most interior design firms in Bangalore these days have replaced CFL lights with the LED ones; a move that has also helped in saving energy costs. You can go a step further and opt for the smart LED bulb, which is almost definitely found in most smart homes.

Smart LED bulbs can change the colour of their emitted light to align with your body’s circadian rhythm. This means that your lighting system indoors will be synced to your sleep cycle.

The bulbs use Bluetooth connectivity to communicate with your phone. This allows you to change and personalise the colour temperature you need indoors. From an energizing white light in the morning to a relaxing orange glow at night, you will be able to control it throughout the day.

Matte Finishes

Interior décor, especially contemporary style, leans heavily towards stainless steel finishes. This trend is being replaced fast by matte finishes, and by the end of this year, we will probably see stainless steel being old news.

With matte finishes, you don’t have to worry about dirt, smudges or even fingerprints. They repel or hide any mark you make with your stained hand, and they can also be cleaned easier than the stainless steel finishes.

Moreover, they have an ultra-modern approach when incorporated into your home décor. Matte finishes can blend in with existing décor, whether stainless steel, black or white, thus saving money in transitioning to the new look.

Merging Productivity

Having a centralised electronic system can help you in taking your productivity up a higher rung. An integrated home system indoors, which has an integrated network and video conferencing, has the capability to access remote offices, enabling you to efficiently work from home.

What’s more is that such a centralised electronic smart system can also sport home automation features that will allow you to control your indoor temperature online. You can also add in security systems, cameras and other controls like smart lighting, thermostat etc. which can be accessed remotely as well as internally through touch screen pads.

Such a system will allow you to watch and control your home even when you are outside.

Transparent Tech

 

image:pinterest.com

Until recently, having a room dedicated to a big-screen TV or home theatre, with large speakers was a trend. Large entertainment units dominated the room, leaving little space for other interior furnishings.

But that is quickly changing with slimmer and adaptable technology. You can now have televisions installed into walls or have them slide out from the ceiling or wall, keeping them hidden or transparent.

Large speakers can be installed in walls, keeping them neatly aligned and barely noticeable. Such an arrangement lends a sophisticated touch to the interior décor, and also takes away the hassle of cluttered wires and space. Audio and video equipment that are housed in such a way can also be controlled remotely through a touchpad.

Is there Any Real Science in Vaastu Saastra: On Vaastu-Compliance for Homes

Vaastu Shastra, much like astrology and religion, used to be at the forefront of human knowledge, until things like the laws of motion, electron microscopes, IoT, and geospatial satellites became part of our lives. It should not be ignored, however, that Vaastu Shastra, which is a doctrine, can add value to your quality of life at home. But do you really need a Shastra? Or can you figure it out yourself?

Let us explore the different teachings of Vaastu and explore how you could have come up with an equally good or better plan!

Kitchen in the south-east corner

You can place your kitchen south east. But, in India, fresh breeze comes in most of the year from the southwest. A kitchen well ventilated and lit by the morning rays helps keep it hygienic, so may be the east component helps. How about just south? So this shastra one makes some sense. They also say that north-west corner is the second-best option, but it's more important to know if your kitchen heat is well let out, causing less pollution, and not in the direction of where someone might be resting or exercising on your premises.

Putting a whole, uncut lemon in water

...Makes the water taste good. Beyond that, all that talk about shooing away negative energy is not worth putting your money on. Energies are not evil or good, they are either physical quantities, already discovered, or yet to be discovered by Physics! Don't fall for such vaastu tips unless you want to do it for no reason.

Position of the entrance gate

Again, all that talk about negative energy and bad habits creeping into people's lives should not be heeded when someone tells you to put the gate in the north-west corner. Entrance gates should be conveniently placed, so that you can go in and out with heavy furniture, not create any hindrance, free up the driveway, and offer maximum security to your family. Position of the gate is all about what your peripheral architecture can accommodate. It's your choice, how welcome you want someone to feel without compromising the security of occupants.

No mirror in bedrooms!!!

Mirrors are great to make your bedroom look bigger, up the chic quotient, and for some, it even improves sex life. Moreover, without a bedroom mirror what will you do when you really need one? How about that morning rush and the dreaded tie knot? Besides, how is it any shastra's business what you do in your bedroom? They say mirrors lead to ill health and family discord. Can you imagine, and tell yourself, "Yeah... because bedroom mirrors are in these days, divorce rates are increasing!"

Vaastu tips are popular in urban India like Villas on Sarjapur road, as it loves to take tradition along in its headlong journey into modernity. But it's more important to take your cues from modern science, think for yourself and cater to your needs. Also make sure your plans are in congruence with the lifestyle of individual members.

Ask yourself, in the endeavour of making your "dream home" come alive, will you be focused on your objective like a good homemaker, or blindly believe in things even though they may have little effect on your life. The golden rule is this: keep it clean, don't clutter at all, try to leave maximum floor space, allow enough ventilation and ensure that none of your rooms get over polluted from kitchen smoke or any other kind of smoke. Ultimately, it is about staying clean, staying healthy and breathing sweet to make your "home sweet home".

Unique Properties to Inspire Your Inner Decorator

Unique Properties to Inspire Your Inner Decorator

If you've been struggling to find a new place to call home, then look no further. This guide has been specifically designed to look at some of the most interesting places in the country, with the ultimate goal to inspire you and get your creative juices flowing. It's no secret that a well-decorated house can be a lifelong treasure, but it can be difficult to get that initial inspiration. It's with that in mind that this guide has been curated, with the hopes that it will give you the inspiration you need to either find a place that fits your dreams or to find one that can give you an idea of how to transform your existing property into something similar.

Alpaca Farm

Just the phrase "alpaca farm" should be enough to get your mind wandering. Places like the alpaca farm for sale Berkshire County MA, as outlined by West Mountain Farm, are great for creating a rustic feel in your home, as well as providing a calm and relaxing atmosphere. Although these types of properties are great for retirees who are looking to settle down, they also provide a fantastic exercise opportunity for young children who crave adventure and the outdoors. If you've been struggling to find a property for a large family, then there are few places that are more exciting, or accommodating, than an alpaca farm.

Repurposed Properties

Sometimes the best homes are properties that weren't even really homes to begin with. Nowadays, you can find old firehouses, churches, and other unique properties that are available for sale. Although you might get some strange looks when you first move in, there's no doubt that there's something special about these kinds of properties. Once you step foot in your new home, there's no telling how it'll inspire your inner decorator.

Natural Homes

So-called "earthships" have steadily grown in popularity in isolated areas of Arizona and New Mexico, since they're entirely reliant on the sun for their energy. If you're interested in living in an entirely eco-friendly environment, and don't mind being secluded from others for long periods of time, then an "earthship" may be exactly what you want out of a property.

Although these are just a few of the unique properties that you can call home today, that doesn't mean it's all of them. Hopefully you'll find a property that you can be proud of, even if it requires a little touching up to be absolutely perfect.

 

DIY Tips: Household Pest Remedies

The summer season in the Philippines can be so much fun. It can bring in as many beach days as you want in order to refresh yourself from the sun’s rays. However, it is also important to note this season can also become a pain, particularly because your cool home can become a refuge to many pests.

It’s a good thing that there are household items for you to utilize in order to avoid having a pest problem—you may even consider using them as a DIY termite treatments this summer.

Here are some of the household items you may use:

Peppermint

Dried mint leaves, together with peppermint essential oil, can help you combat several household pests, such as ants and flies. All you got to do is mix in 15 drops of the essential oil and a cup of water together. Then, place the solution inside a spray bottle so you can easily spray it on crevices, cracks, and spots that ants frequent.

Eucalyptus

You can place the eucalyptus essential oil (or leaves) inside your storage spaces, such as cupboards, cabinets, and closets. This method will immediately deter pests from entering these areas and ruining any items in there. The best thing about this household item is that it doesn’t smell foul, which means your clothes will still end up smelling really good.

Vinegar

The best thing you can do with vinegar in order to avoid any pest problem in your home is to use it to wash your floors. By doing this, its smell will linger and deter the pests from entering that area in your house.

If you are already having a pest problem at a certain area in your home, you can leave some vinegar inside a small container in that area to deter the bugs from staying in the place.

Citrus

Do you hate spiders?

If you answer yes, then here’s some good news for you: you can easily prevent them from entering your premises by mixing a natural spider deterrent spray. Just combine a quart of water, 5 drops of soap, and 5 drops of orange essential oil. After you are done creating this mixture, you can spray it to places where these little critters prefer to lurk and you can expect for them to hurry and scurry away.

Coffee grounds

People certainly love their coffee. But this is not the case for the ants the live in and around your house. In fact, they hate it so much that sprinkling coffee grounds over their nests is enough for them to deem it inhabitable.

Here’s a tip: you can prevent ants from entering your home by sprinkling coffee grounds around your entrances (doors and windows).

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another thing humans simply can’t get enough of. But did you know that cinnamon essential oil and ground cinnamon is detrimental to pests?

You read that right. Cinnamon can totally get rid of your pest control problem. Much like coffee, you can sprinkle it over problem areas in and around your home. Or you may also smear pure undiluted cinnamon essential oil to those places.

Soap and water

Soap and water is probably the most common household item you can use in order to prevent pests from residing in your house. This combo can actually be used as an instant cockroach killer. Just mix in 1 tsp. of liquid soap and 1 cup of water. Place this inside a spray bottle and spray it to a cockroach. This will immediately clog its pores, meaning it won’t be able to breathe and eventually die.

Sugar and baking soda

Another cockroach killer you can rely on is sugar and baking soda. All you got to do is mix them equally together. Supposedly, the sweet scent of sugar will attract and lure them. Once they taste it, the baking soda that they consume will mix in with the acid in their stomach and kill them.

These household items work wells if placed in the areas they frequent, so be sure to investigate which place in your house needs it the most.

Lavender oil

Do you want to bar mosquitoes from entering your windows?

You can do this by simply getting a piece of ribbon and placing a few drops of lavender oil on it. It will instantly deter them from entering your premises as they hate its scent very much.

Basil

Do you find yourself wanting to “adopt” a home-grown plant?

Here’s a tip: plant and grow basil near your house’s entrance. By doing this, you will be preventing flies from coming into your home. You might want to even place it near your dining area so you can avoid these pesky pests attacking you while you and your family are eating.

All these household pest remedies sound really simple enough that you may end up believing they won’t work at all. But there’s really only one thing you can do so you can be sure; try them out and see for yourself!

About the author:

Katrina is your average gal living inside the metro who has passion for writing, travel and photography. She admires nature at its finest and always wanted to become one of them. Dreaming to have the Cinderella life one day, humming with the birds, dancing with the clouds.