interior decorating

All posts tagged interior decorating

Benefits of Having Houseplants in your Home

by Bevony on 19 February 2020 Comments Off on Benefits of Having Houseplants in your Home

Having plants around will have a positive effect on your mood and your brain. They can help you to be more relaxed and to feel better. Walking into a house full of lush houseplants can take the edge off after a long and hard day. They call it Biophilia, according to Dr. Edward O Wilson. He theorizes that all humans want and seek connections with other life forms including nature. His definition of biophilia as “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life”.

We can all agree that bringing plants indoors brings a significant acoustic element. When you make use of plants such as moss that have natural textures the acoustics of the room are heavily impacted.

Some homeowners welcome plants and look forward to all the care and maintenance tasks that come along with them. There are others that like the idea of plants but don’t have the time or the interest to care for them. The latter will be happy to find that there is a new market of plants just for them. Enter the era of preserved plants. These plants have had their growth stopped. They are then treated with preservatives and color enhancers to keep them in tip-top condition. They won’t need sunlight or water so they are easy.

For those who want to care for their plants, many have a lot of trouble as they try to keep their plants alive. One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make is to overwater their plants. Then they forget to put the plants where they can get natural light which is equally as important as giving your plants adequate amounts of water. If you are worried about your plant getting too much of the sun’s rays you can easily place it at a window and leave a sheer curtain to take off some of the rays.

Caring For House Plants

Instead of following a watering schedule, you want to look at the soil your plant is in. 

  • If you have cacti or succulents you wait until the soil is completely dry then give it a good soaking and leave it alone.
  • If you have classical tropical foliage you need to place them where they can get the right amount of light. You want to hold off watering until the soil is partially dry up to three inches down.
  • For all other types of plants, you want the soil to be moisty evenly. Check the soil every day and only water when it feels dry.

With that said, you can add some houseplants to your space to bring it to life. Treat them well and enjoy their presence. If you are not sure if you will be able to care for your plants, try out one and see how it goes then you can commit to more plants for your home.

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Why You Need an Interior Designer for Your Custom Home

by Bevony on 15 January 2020 Comments Off on Why You Need an Interior Designer for Your Custom Home

If you are considering building a custom home in Victoria, we can help you with everything you need. We have a team of professionals that can help make your dream a reality. Among the team members are capable and expert Interior Designers. They can take your vision and turn it into a reality when we are done building your home.

An interior designer can help to bridge the gap between your vision and the home. This way, we the builders know exactly what the end product will be like. When you have this input early on in the building game it ensures a better quality build in the end.  A designer can ensure that your needs and wants work for you and your family. While also ensuring they work with the building restrictions of the area, the geography of your lot and any municipal bylaws that may apply along with any neighboring homes close by. 

What Does an Interior Designer Do?

An interior designer is not the same as an interior decorator, but the two are often confused. The interior designer does a lot more than an interior decorator. They are involved in the build process whereas an interior decorator is involved after the completion of the building. The interior designer ensures that design spaces are safe, functional and finished in a way that is aesthetically pleasing according to the homeowner’s vision. 

An interior designer will work very closely with the team of architects, engineers and the contractor that is building your home. They will ensure that the spaces that are being created will meet all of your needs. An interior designer can work with you to give you an idea of what different colors and textures will look in a room. They can inform you of how these colors, spaces, lighting, and furniture can all work together. 

Your interior designer will be reading blueprints. They will be knowledgeable of all the latest trends. They are aware of municipal building bylaws. An interior designer is up to date with local building codes and know about the universal accessibility standards. An interior decorator does not require knowledge of all these things to do their job.

Why You Need an Interior Designer?

If you are renovating or building a new home from the ground up you will find that having an interior designer can be very advantageous. That is why when you hire SilverBeam Homes you are hiring a team that includes a skilled interior designer to assist you all the way. Our designer will be your liaison between the build team and yourself. This will help to ensure that your vision does not die in the hands of the builders. Here is how you can benefit from having our interior designer on your side. 

Stay Within Your Budget

We all understand the importance of staying within your budget. Our designer will not only help you to stay within your budget but will also advise you on ways that you can save money. With their knowledge of building codes and average material costs, they can even help you stay abreast of what is best if you ever want to resell your house later on down the road. 

Our designers have years of experience and they can use that experience to help you to prevent costly mistakes. They know about how materials will stand up to the BC climate and geography and have a wealth of knowledge to impart so you can make the best decisions when spending your money.

Save Time

When building a custom home you want to get it done right the first time. The whole point of a custom home is so you don’t have to have things redone. Your designer can help you save time by ensuring that your design works for now and for the future of your family and what those future needs may be. An interior designer will ask the questions that matter at all the right stages to ensure that obstacles are seen from afar and dealt with so they don’t mess up your timeline. 

Get Honest, Expert Opinions

It can be so easy to get overwhelmed in the design process as there are many choices. When you work with a designer they can narrow down these choices so that the ultimate decision is a lot easier to make. As a neutral third party, they can make the process of decision making even easier.

Protect Your Interest

When you are working with a professional interior designer you are less likely to get ripped off. They will work with their usual suppliers and partners to provide you with all you need. This way you don’t even have to be very involved in the sourcing of suppliers and supplies.

Get You Better Deals

With a track record of success, an interior designer will have their regular suppliers as mentioned above. As such they may be able to get you deals you would not get otherwise.

When you are creating a dream home, you need to have an interior designer on your team. We understand the importance of this professional and we want you to understand this as well. Now that you have purchased the land and you know what you want your layout to be like, it is time to talk to an interior designer. Let us get you to the next step in creating your custom home here at SilverBeam Homes.

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Wallpaper is Making a Comeback

by Bevony on 5 June 2019 Comments Off on Wallpaper is Making a Comeback

Wallpaper is making a comeback and it’s not the type of wallpaper your grandma used.  Modern wallpaper has different adhesive formulas that therefore allow for the paper to not leave residue behind. Not only do you have wallpaper but there are also even stick and peel fabrics. You can find modern wallpaper in a variety of stylish prints, also that is made from new materials. You can find ones made from dimensional fabrics and a wealth of new materials that make not just installation easy but also removal.

Why Choose Wallpaper?

Wallpaper is a very affordable way to transform any of your rooms. It is a lot more dramatic than paint and so you may not opt to have your whole room covered in wallpaper, but it is a great option for that accent wall. You’ll be happy to know that wallpaper is on trend now and has regained its “cool factor”. Wallpaper can be used as a focal point in your room and also can be used to highlight architectural feature for example to accentuate your fireplace.

How to Choose Modern Wallpaper

  • Embrace bold colors
  • Avoid small patterns
  • Texture and pattern are good
  • Customize a wallpaper to go with your room colors
  • Avant-garde patterns
  • Embossed jewel tones
  • Gold Accents
  • Botanicals
  • Clouds
  • Birds
  • Trees
  • Conceptual interpretations
  • Printed grass cloths in colors that are beautiful and highly saturated
  • Botanicals or Florals
  • Create a wall mural

Why We Love Wallpaper in the 21st Century

You can fall in love with the wallpaper trend all over again for a couple of different reasons. It is a great way to add a layer of texture and/ or color and can really put the finishing touch on a space. Depending on the space that you are using the wallpaper in you can use it to appeal to different senses. It can be used to appeal to the sense of touch and also a subtle color or design can be added to a wall where shelves will be installed. This will create layers of not only colors but also materials and will have a pop of color peeking through from between your shelves.

Wallpaper is a great choice for tying in themes, therefore they are great for kid’s rooms. It can also provide an alternative to purchasing a room full of themed furniture and décor items as well. Strategically placing wall coverings, certain areas or architectural details can be highlighted or details can be introduced where there were previously none.

Where to Use Wallpaper

Use wallcoverings in your living and dining rooms so as to create feature walls, in your bedroom to create a headboard wall or in your powder room. You can even include some wallpaper on your ceiling.

Where will you be adding wallpaper to your new SilverBeam Home? Comment below and let us know how you feel about this new comeback of Wallpaper.

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Reface Your Kitchen Cabinets for a New Look

by Bevony on 17 April 2019 Comments Off on Reface Your Kitchen Cabinets for a New Look

You can transform your kitchen without paying out a load of money to completely renovate the room. The most cost effective and time effective way to give your kitchen a fresh new look is to reface your kitchen cabinets.

What is Refacing?

When you reface your kitchen you still make use of the existing footprint. You will remove the old drawers and doors and replace them with brand new ones. The visible exterior of the cabinets is covered with a material that will match the material on the doors and drawers/. This way the cabinets in the rest of the kitchen will match your new doors and drawers. You will have a fast turnaround time when you choose professionals to do the work.

While refacing is not new as it has been around and in use for many years, it is now becoming a very popular choice because of the affordability of the option. It is a great option for small and large kitchens alike and the process of refacing can be done with a variety of cabinets as well. Once the cabinet’s main structure is sound structurally the refacing can be done successfully. If your cabinets are not structurally sound then you will have to completely redo them as refacing won’t work for such a situation. In such a case it just makes good sense to get completely new structures and not just simply reface.

Image by Solomon Rodgers from Pixabay

Refacing experts note that in around 80 percent of cases there is no need to change the footprint of a kitchen. Even kitchens as old as 40 years old will have good solid cabinet structures. And older kitchens can still look more modern with a simple refacing of the cabinet instead of an entire gutting of the old kitchen.

Homeowners are very aware of the affordability and the aesthetic benefits of refacing and so now refacing are increasing. There are many options for homeowners to choose from including wood grain finishes, over 40 matte colors, high gloss colors, and more than 20 different door styles to provide even the most unique taste with something they can love. With so much variety it is easy for homeowners to find a customized refacing solution which is what most homeowners are looking for – a kitchen outside of the cookie cutter closet.

With homeowners value space and organization these days pull out drawers and cabinets are a big hit. Customers can change their drawers and cabinets and can create their dream kitchen without paying the amount it would cost for them to completely re-do their kitchen. Refacing is no longer about simply repainting or refinishing the old doors and putting them back in place. It is about creating a kitchen space that is aesthetically pleasing and functionally meeting the needs of the family that dwells within the house. You can change to soft close hinges, install pot and pan drawers, extend your cabinet boxes, add crown molding and so much more with a modern kitchen refacing.

When you choose your refacing experts they will allow you to choose your colors and style and typically will have the job done in a week if all goes right on your part. More elaborate refacing and changes can make the process longer and also the schedule of the expert you choose will affect how quickly you can have our new kitchen up and running. Most professionals will provide you with a free in-home estimate to include assessments of the current conditions of your cabinets.

Remember that the professionals know what is in style and they know how to meet your needs once you voice those needs to them. Why not talk to experts on refacing today, so you can get your kitchen looking brand new without the price tag of a full-on kitchen renovation.

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