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Posts Tagged ‘lighting’

Adding A Home Office

by admin, 3:57 PM on March 14th, 2012, Comments Off

More than 33 million workers in the U.S. — including employees, contractors, and small business owners – work at home at least a portion of the time.  That number has risen more than 17 percent since 2006.

Designing a home office is a big undertaking.  Prior to designing a home office, we will assess how you will use it and what requirements it must fulfill. Will this be your primary workspace, or a secondary space?   You may spend eight or more hours a day in the space we create, and the decisions we make today can enhance the success of your work.  Here are some key considerations for a home office design.

Location

This is one of the most important considerations of home office planning. Your basement may offer a quiet, isolated space, but natural light may be limited.  Do you have young children?  An office off the foyer may not work. Do you meet with clients or receive frequent deliveries? An upstairs bedroom might not be best.

Organization

A functional home office needs to include space for computer(s), file storage, printer, phone and possibly a project area for non-computer activities.  Having computers and peripherals within easy reach makes for a more functional workspace.  One element that often gets overlooked is wiring – power and computer connections.  A good home office includes plenty of electrical outlets and allows for convenient, yet tucked-away access to cords and cables.

Light

Window placement in home offices can dramatically affect your work.  South-facing windows give direct light all year long, but can create glare in fall and spring.  North-facing windows reduce overall natural light and demand more artificial light in the room.  East and west-facing windows can brighten a room early and late in the day.  We’ll consider your light sources when we design your home office to maximize natural light and minimize glare.  Task lighting is also important.  Consistent natural light may not always be available, so bright under-cabinet or recessed ceiling lights can improve home office lighting.

Health

If you are working from home for someone else, they are required to ensure that you’re working in a safe and comfortable environment, meeting all the federal and state requirements.  If you are working on your own, it’s up to you make your workspace as comfortable as possible.  We’ll make sure your new space is as ergonomically designed as it can be.

A home office can add to your productivity.  Contact our design team today to start designing your new workspace.

Green Remodeling Tips

by admin, 3:26 PM on December 2nd, 2011, Comments Off

Going Green is easy and cost-effective.  By choosing products carefully and including energy-savings goals in remodeling plans, we can help you dramatically improve the energy efficiency in your project.

Install an under-the-counter water purifier

Under-counter water purifiers have about 10 times the filtering capacity of a faucet-mounted version. A model with a top-quality activated carbon filter will remove heavy metals, bacteria, and pesticides. Expect to pay $150 to $200 for an activated charcoal purifier with a replaceable cartridge, which is peanuts compared with the total remodel and easy to do while the project is under way.

Install energy-efficient lighting

Fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps use up to 75% less energy than comparable incandescent lamps. In fact, according to EnergyStar.gov, a single CFL bulb will save $30 to $40 during its expected lifespan of 10,000 hours. But make sure you keep task areas well lit: Consider efficient halogen and LED lighting sources anywhere you’re planning to chop veggies or measure ingredients.

Make recycling easy with built-in recycling bins

Most cabinet manufacturers offer options for lower cabinets that include pull-out recycling bins to keep contents organized and out of sight.

Install Low-Flow Showerheads and Toilets

Most older models waste large amounts of water. In fact, more than 30 percent of indoor residential water use is flushed down the porcelain throne.  A low-volume flush toilet uses only 1 gallon of water per flush instead of the 5 gallon flushes common in older toilets.

Also save water and money, and still have ample water pressure, with a low-flow showerhead, which can slash bathing-water consumption 50 to 70 percent. The devices are inexpensive and simple to install. Many styles and features are available, including flow-adjusting dials and a pause button.

Choose Windows and Doors Carefully

Up to 35% of your home’s heating or cooling can be lost through windows. This makes it essential that you increase the thermal performance of your windows. Placement of exterior windows and doors can be optimized to take advantage of natural light and heat and to open up airflow. Double-glazing will reduce heat loss in the cold of winter and louvered windows can catch a breeze in the heat of summer.

Ask our design team how we can help you save money and go green in your remodeling project.

Designing a Blockbuster Home Theater

by admin, 11:06 AM on October 14th, 2011, Comments Off

A true home theater includes more than just a big screen and loud speakers.  An epic movie-watching environment has good acoustics, elegant storage and lots of comfortable viewing locations.  We build home theater rooms that any space and budget.

Most home theaters are created in basements.  Controlling light is usually easier in a lower level and walls and ceilings can be insulated to prevent unwanted sound from getting in or out of the home theater.

A common home theater design challenge is finding a place for large equipment and proper viewing positions.  The larger the screen, the farther viewers should be from the screen for optimal viewing enjoyment.   Most home theater systems include multiple components that require storage, cable management and convenient access.  Built-in cabinets are a great way to house these components and all the DVDs, games and CDs you’ll be enjoying in your home theater.

Speaker placement is another critical design decision.  Surround sound systems use speaker placement to create the 3-dimensional sounds you hear in most movies.  In custom-designed theater rooms, these speakers are often housed in the walls or ceiling.

Home theater lighting is one of the finishing touches that make for a convenient and comfortable theater experience.  Dimmer switches are a must and many home theaters include “smart” lighting that can be controlled from a multi-function remote control.

Our creative design team can build the perfect theater for your home.  Call us today to schedule an appointment to start building your red carpet home theater.

Creating A Home Gym

by admin, 2:04 PM on September 1st, 2011, Comments Off

Home gyms are a sensible home addition more and more people are finding worth the expense.  Personal home gyms allow homeowners to work out at their own convenience, to spend more time with family and to exercise confidently and freely.

If you decide to create a personal home gym to save your waistline, and to free up more social time, you’ll first want to consider the space you’re converting into a gym. Basements can be ideal for home gyms.

There are many factors to weigh when creating a home gym, such as your personal workout needs and preferences.  Here is a checklist of considerations that can help guide the design process:

Space

The room will need to be large enough to accommodate all equipment you may add in the future with adequate room around the various stations.  Also a ceiling height of 7 feet or more will make sure there is plenty of room for stretching.

Lighting

Adequate lighting is essential to a comfortable, energizing fitness room.

Electrical connections

The room should have enough to power all the exercise equipment and entertainment system components.

Heating and cooling

An exercise area needs proper ventilation

Floors

Exercise rooms need floors that can withstand heavy use

Walls

Paint that can be cleaned easily might be a good choice

Everyone’s idea of the perfect gym is different, but here’s a quick list of some of the equipment in a well-rounded gym:

  • Dumbbells ranging from 5-40 lbs
  • Workout bench
  • Cardio equipment, such as an elliptical trainer and exercise bike
  • Non-slip mat for stretching

We’ve built many home gyms that fit our clients’ workout goals, budgets and space constraints.  Give our design team a call to learn how we can help you build yours.

Let The Sunshine In

by admin, 4:08 PM on August 24th, 2011, Comments Off

Allowing natural light to enter any room makes it lighter and brighter. It can make the room look and feel larger.  It can also save energy by reducing the need for artificial lighting.  Bringing natural light into a kitchen brings some challenges, though.  The placement and shape of many kitchens limit the number and size of windows you can install.  Color choice can be challenging as well.  But we have options that can bring lots of warm natural light into your kitchen easily and seamlessly.

Natural Light Sources

The first and most common way to bring natural light into a kitchen is with windows.  If you have an exterior door in your kitchen you can also use the door to bring in natural light.  By changing to a door made mostly of a glass panel, you will introduce a surprising amount of natural light.  Another way to introduce natural light into your kitchen is to look to the ceiling for opportunities.  Skylights can bring in a large amount of natural light.  In fact, some lighting experts say skylights provide as much as 30% more light than vertical windows.   Finally, you can introduce natural light into a kitchen with a “tube light.”  If, for example, a skylight will not work in your kitchen, or if the ceiling does not reach the roof, you can install a tube light that runs from the roof through the attic and into the kitchen.

Color Selections

The natural light a room receives makes a huge difference in the way color looks in any given space. It’s important to look at large paint color samples on a wall, not just the 2” x 2” swatches available in the rack at the paint store.  The same logic applies to flooring, furnishing and window treatments as well.

The orientation of a room can also have a dramatic impact on the way a color appears on the walls, countertops, cabinets and floors.  Northern light is often rather cold looking and in the winter can look especially harsh. You can soften this effect by choosing warm colors such as subtle reds, oranges or browns.  Southern light is welcomingly warm. Blues and greens work very well in rooms with a southern exposure and can be used to give the room a year round summery ambience, even in the depths of winter.  Light from the east provides a room with bright sunny mornings but rather muted mid-days and often very dim afternoons. In this kind of room a mixture of a warm and cool tones can help even out the imbalance.  Western light brings the sunshine streaming into a room in the afternoons and evenings.  Neutral shades are best in these kinds of rooms.

Natural light adds energy efficiency and warmth to any room.  Kitchen lighting presents some challenges, though.  Choosing the right types of natural light sources and colors for your kitchen can make a good design a fantastic living space.

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