Forget Granite: Meet Aurastone!
By Vera Darius
As a decorative painter I am always excited to discover new innovative products. I have recently discovered a product called Aurastone™ and I wanted to share it with you.
According to the Aurastone™ website “it is an architectural coating used in the faux finishing industry. Decorative artists and designers alike are quickly integrating the Aurastone™ system for a number of reasons. The Aurastone™ finishing system is unparalleled in durability, versatility and aesthetic appeal.
Aurastone™ is simply the most user-friendly product available. Hundreds of decorative faux effects can be created utilizing our one-bucket system. Many faux finishes involve four to five steps to create the desired look. The cost of these additional layers and left over materials can add up quickly, cutting into your profits. Utilizing Aurastone™ eliminates many of these laborious processes because most Aurastone™ finishes involve only two or three steps. In many cases labor can be cut by fifty percent utilizing the Aurastone™ system. Since Aurastone is a one-bucket system there is virtually no wasted or unusable product.”
Key Advantages of Aurastone Compared to Granite or Marble
Courtesy of Aurastone.com
Granite stains easily with fruit, peanut butter, olive oil, bacteria, etc.
The possibilities for this product are endless. Consider finishing your old outdoor furniture or perhaps making your furniture virtually indestructible by refinishing it. Can you think of an exciting use for Aurastone in your home? Share it with us in the comments!
Vera Darius is the Owner of Genuine Art Effects a company specializing in painting and decorative finishes. For more information on Aurastone or to arrange an in home consultation, call Vera at 604-831-2383 or visit her website at www.genuinearteffects.com
Sustainability for Singles: Save Time & Money
By Jeff Echols
As a single woman, what are two of your most important commodities? Maybe you answered time and money. And, unless you’re of the likes of Warren Buffet or WalMart, you probably don’t have enough of either. That’s one reason that sustainability should be important to you.
Admittedly, sustainability is a term with an increasingly broad definition. It takes on many forms and applies to every facet of life on Earth. You may not have any interest in rain water harvesting, regional transportation, local farmers markets or solar panels but as a home owning single, take note; sustainability can save you time and money. The kind of sustainability that I’m referring to is the kind that involves making decisions and taking actions that allow you to maintain and improve your quality of life.
I recently heard an expert say that you should plan to spend between 1% and 3% of the purchase price of your home every year to cover maintenance issues. With the median home value in the United States being in the neighborhood of $200,000 that means that you’d better have $2,000 to $6,000 to set aside. How’s that sound? Have you budgeted that much? And, since we’re on the topic of budgeting, how are your utility bills? They keep going down right? I know mine don’t.
So here’s today’s Sustainability Tip for Singles:
Whenever you need to repair or replace anything inside, outside or around your home, spend as much as you can to use the most durable, long-lasting, energy efficient materials, equipment and appliances possible. The payoff will be long-term and it will come in the form of savings in time and money. You’ll spend less time calling and waiting for the handyman service, not to mention writing fewer checks to the service. And you’ll pay less for utility bills. The added bonus is that there are a number of State and Federal tax benefits available related to the purchase of those energy efficient products.
So protect those most valuable commodities in your life and take a sustainable approach to maintaining your home, your most important investment.
Jeff Echols brings over 20 years experience in design, construction and renovation to his Renovation Resources Blog with the goal of educating, inspiring, informing and motivating homeowners wherever they are in the Renovation process. In addition to his blogging and other Social Media efforts, Jeff also focuses his architectural and construction management talents on a variety of project types as an Associate at ONE 10 STUDIO in Indianapolis, Indiana. Read Jeff’s Blog at http://www.renovation-resources.blogspot.com or email Jeff at jeffechols@renovation-resources.com
‘Going Green’: 5 Home Makeover Tips
By Dana J. Smithers
Many of us have been doing ‘green’ makeovers for years, just not realizing that we were doing is until it became a popular term. As a professional interior decorator and redesigner my clients often call on my services to give their home a whole new look, in just one day, using what they already have in their home. Seeing the transformation and knowing that these women feel SO much better about their home is one of the most satisfying aspects of my business. You can do your own ‘green’ home makeovers by following this simple formula below, but there is one thing you need to do before you begin:
EMPTY THE ROOM YOU ARE WORKING IN…
Most people would never think of doing this but this is the KEY to doing a successful home makeover. Once you decide which room you are going to do your ‘green’ makeover in, get rid of all the clutter and any items you do not really love. Start by taking out the smallest items first and begin grouping them putting like items together eg. Art with art, candles with candles, lamps with lamps, plants with plants, etc. You can leave in your one biggest piece of furniture but take the rest out systematically.
1. DETERMINE THE FUNCTION – before you start emptying the room you need to know what you want to do in this room now. You may have a large enough room to have a few different functions going on such as a family room could have a tv area, a
computer or office set up, a sewing area, etc. You may decide to turn your formal dining
room into a computer room since you hardly ever use it.
2. DECIDE ON YOUR FOCAL POINT – your room will have either a natural (view) or created focal point (television, art wall) or a built in (fireplace, bookshelves). You want to place your furniture so that your focal point can be seen and people can be comfortably seated to take advantage of your focal point. You can have 2 focal points but one should be more dominant. Rotate your focal points seasonally if you have a nicer view in the summer than in the winter, the fireplace may be the focal point for
winter.
3. BUILD THE ROOM BACK UP – work with your largest piece of furniture first and decide on the best position for it, keeping your function and focal point in mind. For living room furniture placement try putting your furniture (sofa and/or chairs, loveseat) in a parallel formation, a ‘U’ shape or an ‘L’ formation. Build the room back up with the tables, bookcases, lighting and large plants.
4. HANG YOUR ART – see if you can group some of your pieces of art that you have spread throughout your home. Decide on a common element and make the outline of a rectangle or a square. If putting over something hang the bottom 4 – 10” above it, and if gallery or floating art mark the centre 56 – 60” from the floor. If you need help with this check out my Trade Secrets to Hanging Art Like a PRO! ebook.
5. GROUP YOUR ACCESSORIES – these add your finishing touch to your home. When you emptied your room you would have put all your like accessories together so it should be easier now to see where they fit in your home. Group in ‘3s’ when possible
with the tallest at the back, middle object, and smallest in front. You want to create peaks and valleys with your accessories.
This is the home of a divorced woman. She loves the condo she bought but is not happy with how she has everything arranged. She loves to read, entertain and look outside when she is at her desk.
Before - Living Room
After - Just What She Wanted!
Before - Dining Room?
After - Music Room!!!
• You can buy gliders/sliders at large hardware stores to make it easier to slide/glide your furniture over different types of flooring.
Dana J. Smithers, Founder & Creative Director of PRES (professional real estate stagers) Resource Centre is a professional interior decorator, redesigner and home stager. She has taught a professional home staging and redesign course for 6 years and is known as the ‘Staging Guru’. She appears frequently on television, radio, newspapers, magazines and in e-articles. Check her out at www.PresStaging.com or www.SunOnMyBackRedesigns.com for articles and Do-It-Yourself e-book on How to Hang Art Like a PRO
Green Design: 7 Ways to go Green with Your Next Renovation
By Kathryn Haley
More and more people are concerned about the environment and individuals are asking what they can do. While doing a home improvement project may not seem to be eco-friendly, there are ways you can improve your home and be green at the same time. Here are 7 ways you can go green.
1/ Use Green paint. No I don’t mean paint everything green. I mean use zero VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint. Many leading brands are now using these zero emission paints. You can find these paints in a wide variety of colours and they are available in both interior and exterior grade.
2/ Use Eco-friendly flooring. Consider using Bamboo or cork. Bamboo has a modern feel to it and Cork is comfortable to walk on. There are also eco friendly hardwood flooring options that are easy to install and look great. For carpet, look for wool or linen and consider sisal or grass for area rugs.
3/ Purchase Energy Star rated appliances. Most of the top brand appliances are offering energy efficient options. They allow you to save time and money and you can get rebates back from the government.
4/ Recycle materials you already own. Have fun and get creative with the things in your garage. Break up old tile and create an interesting table top or backsplash. Take old scraps of fabric and create colourful throw pillows or a piece of wall art.
5/ Use HardiPlank siding instead of vinyl. Vinyl siding is flammable and toxic to produce. HardiPlank is made from wood pulp and it comes either pre finished or ready to paint. It won’t rot, crack or split.
6/ Buy Green furniture. Again I’m not referring to the colour, not that I have anything against a green sofa. More and more furniture designers are getting into the green movement and creating pieces made from recycled materials and eco friendly fabrics.
7/ Change your lights. You can now find a great selection of fixtures that use LED lighting or Fluorescent bulbs. They both use 75% less energy than incandescent fixtures. If you aren’t planning on changing the fixtures themselves you can still be green. Switch the bulbs to CFL’s or compact fluorescent bulbs. They last 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs.
Hopefully you can incorporate some of these tips in your next renovation project. Ask your favorite retailers to show you their eco-friendy lines. I think you will be surprised how much is out there now in green products.
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