Accessories for MuslimsThe Qur’an is basically the Muslims’ guide on how to live their lives. Tasbihi is an Islamic devotional act that is aimed at glorifying Allah through repetitive utterances. Prayer mats in rectangular shape, the prayer mats that are usually designed with pictures of holy places in Islam signify that one recognises that there is a creator. Therefore, as Muslims bow and prostate in prayer, need to feel that they are in that clean atmosphere. What to avoidHajji Muguluma says that photos should be avoided because they are a form...
Monday, January 31, 2011
Preserv flowers at home -Now
Maintenance guideShe adds that different flower qualities go for different prices and are cleaned in a different way. For gold, one has to use a dust-blower to take off the dust. “Most of the gold-like flowers are of broom and palm sticks that are designed and painted to suit the beauty of the home,” she says. Ms Upendo explains that for other artificial flowers, they can be dipped in soapy-like water and later put in plain water. Thereafter, they can be hanged upside down so that the water dries up. One can also clean them using a cleaning or...
Back on real estate trade
The common mistake from property owners is that of assuming that they are managing a building forgetting that the building can’t generate monthly returns unless the tenant in it is paying promptly. * Money wasters This mistake costs many property owners millions of revenue over time. If you don’t have a plan to manage your tenants, you lose money to common acts of. * Failure to follow up on tenants. You might just not have the time to always follow up on your tenants. Depending on how many tenants you have, it is not an easy task...
Checklist II Revise for your home
The neighbourhoodYour neighbours can keep an eye on your home when you are away, so introduce yourself to establish a good rapport. One of the best ways to meet new people is by walking around. It is always the best way to introduce yourself to your new surroundings, feel a sense of community, and at the same time, get in shape is to visit your local recreation centre. Ms Namakula advices one to find local information on schools, libraries, community activities and local businesses through one’s local chamber of commerce website. Also, one should...
Checklist Revise for your home
Keep your documents safeAccording to Mr Stephen Siminyu, a home owner in Ntinda and Busia, one should endeavour to safely keep all the papers associated with their new home. This includes all contracts, cancelled checks, sales receipts, owner’s manuals, and home warranty documents. Make sure that you read your entire product and home warranty documents to ensure that you know what to do in case something goes wrong. “Today, there is a high tendency of deception where some people sell houses that belong to another party. Therefore, ensuring that...
real estate business-for
Though the middle class is not fully established, it is also growing at a fast rate that demands development of the real estate. This could be a good start for one to want to invest in the real estate. However, investing in real estate can be an expensive venture, but a joint venture can make it so much easier. With the joint venture in real estate, you do not have to be a professional or understand how real estate works to venture in it. You can also sign a joint venture agreement before investing to help you run the business smoothly. A joint...
Sunday, January 30, 2011
How do we raise good children
What do you do when your child does something that not only shocks the life out of you but turns out to be something totally unexpected like the Reverend’s child who turns out to be the village drunk? I read the story of the minister’s son who committed suicide with the pain and shock that comes with such tragedy. I was even more alarmed when the minister came forth and blamed his son’s death on himself. As a parent no one can claim to be totally immune to such an incidence and although we all mean well for our children, I was thumbs up for the...
that comes with casement windows
Steel casement windows These are the most popular casement windows and they still give that aesthetic look. They have been people’s preference on houses and buildings for some time. Almost every village, now days has people making these steel casement windows. Advantages Aluminum is resistant to bad weather conditions. Mr Mbaaga says that aluminum can still give the beauty that one needs without painting it. However, that doesn’t mean that one cannot paint it any colour of their choice. If one is planning on putting up a storied building, Mr Mbaaga...
Demolished house
The land originally belonged to my grandfather who had all the documents of this land. After 18 years of occupancy, other people started claiming that I was illegally there till the day they sent me away. It was a Friday morning at around 6:30am. I was in my living room having breakfast when I heard a grader driving into my compound and within a minute, I had people banging the house. When I asked why they were going on with the demolition, they told me that they were going on with what the court had told them to do. The fact is that I did not...
The open floor plan
Over the last two decades, homes have become increasingly open. Whether is due to the fact that families have become smaller hence less privacy or improved building products that now allow designers to eliminate walls previously needed to bear loads, is another issue of discussion. The resulting floor plans feel considerably more spacious, cosy and warmer than older homes divided by conventional walls yet we are talking about the same floor area. Adjoining kitchens, dining areas, living rooms, lounge and entertainment rooms are ideal for today’s...
pillars of house design
Designing high-end custom homes has become my specialty with each home being treated differently getting the big picture right and making sure small details come together. If a client wants a covered area outside and you do not provide it, the big picture is incorrect. My work is to make sure that whatever the client desires, I find a way to get it to them. Looking at our recent designs, they seem to be unique among other contemporary projects in their ability to incorporate process and culture into master planning from the start. There...
Sector Property build
More than two years after the global financial crisis first hit property prices, developers in the Emirates are still facing steep challenges. Only Emaar Properties, the country's first master developer and the builder of the tallest tower in the world, the 828-metre Burj Khalifa, has remained consistently profitable during the past two years. This is largely a result of its growing portfolio of hotels, shopping centres and retail outlets, which boost income every quarter. Gross profits for the last fiscal year may have declined by as much as...
casting the hobbit now
While casting good-looking chaps and chapesses might be fine for slushy teenage vampire flicks, it seems the world of dwarfs and dragons is a very different kettle of fish. The line-up for Peter Jackson's forthcoming version of The Hobbit is slowly taking shape, with the welcome news last week that Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum respectively. The roles of each of the 13 dwarfs accompanying Bilbo on his merry little quest have finally been filled. But the news that Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of...
then walked away
It sounds like the kind of escape only screwball cartoon characters enjoy, but a climber who plummeted more than 1,000 feet down a mountain yesterday was found standing up, reading a map and with only a couple of bruises as souvenirs for his near-death adventure. Friends feared the worst when they saw the 35-year-old lose his footing and fall at the summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor, a peak forming part of the Grey Corries range five miles east of Ben Nevis in Scotland. And his rescuers admitted later that they flew to the scene expecting, in that...
royal wedding street parties on house
Legislation introduced by Labour seven years ago prevents locals from blocking through roads using home-made signs and says party organisers must use professionals, say local authority officials. Some councils are waiving road closure charges for street parties on Friday April 29 but say they have no power to by-pass Government legislation about traffic management on through roads. Cambridgeshire County Council is one local authority which says it will not charge to close roads for royal wedding street parties. But a nine-page online council form...
could reduce 'greenhouse gas
According to the Livewell report released by wildlife charity WWF and the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, red and white meat are "hotspots" for environmental impact. Latest figures showed the UK diet currently includes around 16% meat. The Livewell 2020 regime would also involve eating more fruit, vegetables and cereal, and less processed products to reduce the environmental impact of the food industry. Authors of the report said the low-carbon diet, which still allows for chocolate, crisps and chips, would cost £28.40 per person per...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
High-Impact Design for now
“This home was definitely designed from the inside out, from the interiors to the architecture,” says architect David Cooper, a principal at ACG who was hired to design the renovation. “In a lot of cases the architect would have a strong role in definition and scale of spaces, but here the challenge was how to achieve the objectives of the interior designer. We were given design documents, not construction documents, and had to figure out AV, HVAC—all...
Kitchen Refined on room
Zoning requirements were the least of the dilemmas since the owners wanted their new home sited essentially in the same spot as the original so as to preserve the landscaping, trees and pool, as well as retaining walls and an existing guest cottage. Unlike many homeowners embarking on new construction, these clients wanted “to build only what they needed,” reports Sullenberger. “They didn’t want a lot of extra square footage.” The requisite two-story foyer and formal living room were not on the wish list and the couple with two sons asked for only...
Keeping Clean room
Sometimes what you don't do can be as important as what you do. Such was the case in Oderzo, a town 40 miles northeast of Venice, when architect Simone Micheli saw the raw attic he had been commissioned to build out as an apartment for Marco and Elena Bergamo. Micheli did his best not to get the most out of the 3,200 square feet available. "The idea was to create warmth-but more empty than full," he says. Marco Bergamo adds that he and his wife agreed it was important to maintain "very open spaces" delineated by just a few elements. The couple...
Perfectly Choreographe
The main room still incorporates living and dining areas and an open kitchen, but he gave the latter some definition by adding a tiny island. More important, he zeroed in on what he terms a "dysfunctional" short corridor that led to the bedroom by passing between the bathroom and side-byside closets with awkward pivot doors. Ripping out those closets and building new ones on the bedroom's blank end wall accomplished a double objective: squaring off the room's bowlingalley proportions and widening the corridor enough to create a place for Architecture...
Cammpers Happy now
The SandCastle's two levels of sleeping and activity areas, totaling 19,000 square feet, spiral around a courtyard. Lined, outside and in, with a sandstone finish, the building looks as if it might actually have been sculpted from the dunes the hotel sits behind. Poking out from the exterior walls at odd, Flintstonian angles, iroko-clad volumes are meant to evoke boats and beach cabins. Windows can be slightly lopsided. "If you look at children's paintings, the shapes are irregular, spontaneous. When lines aren't always completely horizontal or...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Home building reality
Meet our newest Reality Home Building family – the Albanos. Chuck and Simone are both retired from the Coast Guard. They have been married for 17 years and made their home in Essex, Connecticut, in a very old house that they have spent their entire married life renovating from top to bottom. “We essentially rebuilt the house,” Chuck said. “We took it from the worst house in town to one of the best houses in town, but it took a lot of time and work.”Like...
Design play on now
Once you reach the park, however, and turn toward the main facade, the center erupts with life. A towering glass wall extends up the front of the building, exposing the entire lobby. Inside, rehearsal rooms are set on top of one another like unevenly stacked crates. When I first saw this view — at night, with the rooms lighted from behind — it made me think of gigantic figures on a stage jostling for space. It also suggested the lobby of Charles Garnier’s 19th-century Paris opera house, a soaring space where the public is as much a part of the...
self on sense
Three years later, Franceski has added to those innate good lines to create a home that thoroughly reflects her design sensibility. She’s accomplished her goals using classically styled furniture and accessories enhanced by a sense of whimsy, an element of surprise or a contemporary flair—all punctuated by eye-catching artwork. “Spaces shouldn’t be too stuffy or take themselves too seriously,” says the designer. But before the transformative décor took shape, Franceski’s first, dramatic step was to bleach the floors. “They were dark-stained,...
Galery Living
Evelyn Avery knows a thing or two about displaying art. For almost 20 years, the proprietor of Avery Studios has been a go-to source for top designers seeking European period paintings and one-of-a-kind custom frames for their clients. Until recently, Avery would travel to DC from her home base in Atlanta and settle into a suite at The Willard or The Jefferson, where she would show designers her latest artwork and frames, then take special orders back to her factory. But last August Avery made a bold change: This Southern doyenne of gold leaf and...
interior designer
Virginia McLaughlin may look like your typical grandmother, but this sprightly, petite woman is anything but. Upon meeting the Frederick, Maryland-based artist, most people are bowled over by her mental and physical agility—and her energy, which, at her ripe age of 88, is remarkable. However, so is the fact that she’s still working, doing what she loves as she has for decades. She sees herself as a latter-day itinerant painter—an artistically gifted person who, in times gone by, traveled about decorating other people’s houses and possessions. ...
New Start To Your Life
While starting off with a career plan, there are many options and titles ready to confuse you with what you actually want and who you are. So what is the best possible way to discover a new career for your future? When you are on the hunt of a career that can interest you, it is best to go through the internet and search on your favorite search engines. You can also opt for the career placement tests to learn about the smartest career available for you. These tests make you aware of the skills that you possess and which, you can utilize to the...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Reduce food packaging
The UAE's reliance on takeout, and the waste generated from it, are clearly out of control. If I could invent one environmentally friendly campaign in the UAE, it would replicate the TakeOutWithOut effort in the US. Launched with the catchphrases "Fill Your Stomach, Not the Landfill" and "Change Comes from Without", it is a new take on the environmental mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle. Instead the organisers ask that consumers "ReFuse, ReTake and ReConsider". Tell the restaurant you are ordering from that you don't need disposable plates,...
Feel at home in a new house
One of our friends back home in Montreal lived the expat life for several years: first in remote northern Guinea, where her husband worked on a bauxite project, and then in Warsaw, where he managed the construction of apartment buildings in the Polish capital during the post-communist building boom. When Karen found out that my family was planning our own adventure living in the UAE, her first piece of advice - after being satisfied that we were indeed serious about the move - was to insist that we take our home furnishings with us. "You'll appreciate...
Home Shopping: Unexpected delights in the mail
Nestled behind a petrol station in Corbridge, north-east England, is a converted workshop with two large red metal letters (found in a Paris flea market) above the door. Opened by the retired fashion designers Simon Young and Jenny Vaughan in 2003, RE stocks a vast range of unusual home accessories, from vintage glass jelly moulds to Amish tin barn stars. Luckily, you don't have to travel to Corbridge to shop there; it's all available online via a colourful website that reflects the unique RE look. The "RE-found objects" are organised into categories...
The Hobbit casting
While casting good-looking chaps and chapesses might be fine for slushy teenage vampire flicks, it seems the world of dwarfs and dragons is a very different kettle of fish. The line-up for Peter Jackson's forthcoming version of The Hobbit is slowly taking shape, with the welcome news last week that Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum respectively. The roles of each of the 13 dwarfs accompanying Bilbo on his merry little quest have finally been filled. But the news that Thorin Oakenshield, the leader...
Camera Bags and Cases
Camera bags and cases are the most important purchase you will need to consider once you have bought a camera. Cameras are seen as an investment, as they can usually last a photographer at least two years before being replaced. In order to protect your purchase, you will need a sturdy bag. It is also a good idea to get a case that offers a number of other functions as well. When looking at camera bags, you can think about your needs and purchase one according to them. Padding The inside of the camera bag should be lined with the proper amount...
The Best Designer Jeans For Men
Buying a pair of designer jeans can be a great investment which will not only look great, they will feel fantastic too. January sales are the perfect time to go out and buy some new mens fashion. You can beat off those post Christmas blues with a new look. You may be tempted to save some money by purchasing cheaper high street branded goods. These are sometimes a good buy however they will never be able to make you any money when you sell them, unlike a designer brand. You can often sell them on auction websites or by visiting a specialized vintage...
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Are antique fairs making a comeback? again now
If last year’s figures are anything to go by, scouting for hidden treasures at antique fairs has become a national pastime. LAPADA Art and Antiques Fair in Berkeley Square gained 15 per cent more visitors than previously. Similarly, the two largest antique fairs in Europe, Newark and Ardingly, reported an average rise of 12 per cent on the attendances across their 26 shows in 2010. With such a growing interest in antique fairs, it was only a matter of time before tech geeks designed an iPhone app. Launched last week, the Antiques Roadshow iPhone...
How to find inspiration
After moving from a small flat to a whole house, I panicked: I had little furniture, no budget and zero direction. Inspiration was clouded by the threat of expensive mistakes and "blank canvas" alarm. So where can one turn for ideas? Inspiration is everywhere If you're tuned in, that is. One friend took layout tips from the kitchens in Desperate Housewives, while a bachelor colleague made manly shelves after seeing Steve McQueen's bedroom in Bullitt. Consult the classics From one-room living to how to arrange "things" on shelves and walls, Conran's...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Capital collection of creative ideas
The fashion world has gone back to its atelier and this month, London plays host to the arts. Collecting art is no longer just about acquiring paintings to hang on the wall; nowadays it's about the design itself becoming the art. Which means that instead of just buying something to sit on while you watch television, you are investing in a piece of furniture that is also a work of art. It's also a way of spending eye-watering sums of money on a chair – but that's not the point. There are several art fairs in the capital this month, from Frieze...
Investing in Real Estate Now
Real estate investing is one of the recognised paths to becoming wealthy.There are a number of different strategies that you can use to set yourself up financially for the rest of your life. As with any form of investing,there will be different opinions on what are the best methods to use and the different risks involved.You need to investigate the risks and sort out which strategy suits you best. As with any endeavour that you undertake,knowledge is power,so it is best to read books and research the markets that you are going to invest in. There...
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