home renovation

Garden Renovation on a Budget, How to Make it Happen

Angela Manning Uncategorized , , , ,
Garden Renovation on a Budget, How to Make it Happen

If you own a property with a garden then you will understand just how much of a pain this part of your home can be. The thing is that we all want to look out of our window and see a pretty garden or have a beautiful place t relax in when the sun starts shining. In spite of this, when it comes to spending money on the house, we all know that the living room, kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms will always take precedent over an outside space.

With that being said, none of us want to ignore the garden completely and if you want to give yours a make over, without spending crazy sums of cash, then here are some tips to give your garden a sexy budget makeover.

Pallets

Adding decking to your garden looks awesome but sadly those lush wooden panels come with a hefty price tag. However, you can make your own decking area on the cheap by using some warehouse pallets. These pallets are easy to come by and often either very cheap or free from local factories and warehouses. Once you get the pallets you should sand them down, give them a coat of protection and then paint the the color of your choice before laying them down and creating your very own DIY decking area.

Old Chic

If you want to add a touch of style to your garden then you should look at buying or obtaining some old pieces of metal equipment to place around the garden. When you get things like old watering cans, pots and pans or rusty old bikes in the garden, the distressed look of the metal works perfectly with the freshness and colors of grass and flowers. You can pick things like this up in a scrap yard or thrift shop and they won’t take much time to install.

Mirror, Mirror

Mirrors are another great addition to your garden, they can give the appearance of a larger space and they can also add great patterns when the sun bounces off the glass. Even broken pieces of mirror can look good if you add  a mosaic style design and you can get mirrors for very low prices.

Interesting Pots

If you want to add some potted plants to your garden then you need to start getting creative with the pots you use for a truly unique and exciting look to the garden. You can use any type of container to place the plants in and to make it look cool you should think about using things like old wellington boots or even old pieces of clothing like jeans which you can hang off a wall and place the plants inside.

The key to giving your garden a budget make over is to get creative and understand that you do not need to pay the crazy prices which many garden centers would have you believe that you need to.

What to Consider Before Opting For a House Extension

Angela Manning Uncategorized , , , ,
What to Consider Before Opting For a House Extension

With the property market in a regular state of flux in many parts of the world, more and more people who have found themselves in need of more space in the home are opting to extend the home that they are in rather than buy somewhere new. This is a great option for many who don’t wish to uproot their lives and move somewhere else and for people who simply want exactly what they have, with just a dash more space.

If you are thinking about getting an extension then here are the things which you need to consider.

Money

Housing extensions are not cheap and you need to understand that even if you have been given a quote from a particular building firm, they very rarely come in at budget. For this reason you need to ensure that you not only have sufficient money to pay for the extension itself but also that you have enough money to cover any additional charges which will be added on to the cost of the project. On top of this, you need to ensure that you have enough money to furnish, decorate and kit out the new space which you have created.

Permission

Before making changes and alterations to your property you will need to seek planning permission from your local authorities. This is not always a given and there are many laws in place for the protection of others which could prevent your from making changes to your home. Aside from speaking with the authorities, you should also make the effort to speak with your neighbors to inform them of what will be taking place. It is not just the change to you home which may affect the neighbors but also the amount of noise and construction vehicles which may be coming in and out during the project.

Stay or Go

The ideal situation is that you and your family are able to move out for the duration of the extension. This will allow the builders to get on with their job to the best of their ability, it will ensure that the job is finished as quickly as possible and it will mean that you do not put yourself in any danger whilst the work is completed. Not everyone has the means or money to move out for such a long time however and you should understand the consequences if you are not able to move out of your home during the project.

These are the three key things to consider when deciding on whether a housing extension is a good idea for you. Regarding the planning of the extension it is important that you work closely with the architect to talk about exactly what you need from the additional space and find the best way to do it. Whilst this will be an expense operation, you should bear in mind that you will be adding value on to your home and most extensions actually end up paying for themselves when the home is eventually sold.