Myndu Interior Design

Our next door neighbors decided that their kitchen was getting too small for their growing brood and, as soon as their youngest boy reached first grade age, they did some renovating.

They took down the walls between the kitchen and the dining room, and those between the dining room and the living room. The result is a bright airy space which showcases their collections in a cohesive display from the living room art work to the dining room stemware, silver and china cabinet, on to the new kitchen island with their vintage copper pots and pans hanging from overhead hooks.

At the party they threw to celebrate the new look, I told them that I had smelled something delicious cooking the minute I entered the door and it was making me hungry. I said this was the perk in having an open kitchen. They said the downside was that despite the overhead chimney/exhaust, some cooking aromas escape and don’t travel well to the living room.

They showed us a cooking range they had set up beside the barbecue grill on the patio, for cooking aromatic dishes like curry, dried or fermented fish, and garlic roasted peanuts.

They said that of all the cooking aromas that circulate well in the three areas, the smell of stewing beef is the best.

I totally agreed with them because, standing next to the terra cotta wall of their living room with drink in hand, the smell of beef stew wafting my way made it hard to wait for dinner to be served.

Whatever climatic zone you belong to, there will be those weekdays when you feel so hard-pressed that you end up wishing for a year of Sundays.

You don’t have to work in an office to feel the pressures of living in the ever faster lanes of this century.

Many people have resorted to meditation, yoga, aerobics, comfort-food and head-standing but I have a simpler remedy that may also work for you: A hammock.

Yes, that word is hammock, not humvee. I believe the hammock is a “must-revive” in any modern home. If you are just about to organize your wedding, put the hammock in your wish list of gifts.

Whatever kind your body feels right in – abaca rope, cotton macramé, nylon mesh, curved rattan weave – just get one. If you can’t find any, make one with a sturdy blanket tied at both ends with a strong rope. Attach it to two trees in the yard if you have those, or if it’s cold outside try your bedposts, or big hooks in the wall. I personally prefer the kind the military uses in the field because it gives around the contours of your body, the mesh is just right for the air to breeze through and is lightweight and compact you can carry it in your pocket.

Lie down in it; give a little push with your foot to get it swaying, and doze off or daydream for at least 30 minutes. You will find your body slowly unkinks — it’s incredible. Shades of our months in utero! Just don’t get carried away too far into nirvana unless it’s bedtime.

Thirty to forty-five minutes a day on the hammock; that’s all it takes, and you will get the feeling that every day is a lazy Sunday.

I got a frantic call from a friend asking for help in organizing an instant garage sale because she had to clean-up, design and decorate her attic in one week, for a nephew from across the pond who would be staying for the summer.

We were both very busy that time and had a hard time matching our schedules.  We called up friends for help and some found time to come over.  Again, it was difficult finding a day that week when we most of us could come to help until someone suggested that we hold the sale on-line on a pick-out and pick-up basis.

That was brilliant.  Our teenage children (who all had excuses for not being able to help) were suddenly available, with their laptops and notebooks, cell cams and printers.  One created the website, others took pictures of the items, and some went around with flyers announcing the sale and the website.  The incentive was 50% of the proceeds.

The sale was successful, our teens discovered a new summer business and my friend finished decorating the attic for her visitor.

If you are in need of an efficient heating system, you probably are looking for something that works properly and at the same time will not cost you a lot of money. Well, there are several options available. Here are a few:

1. Solar heating- Obviously this only works if you in a sunny country. Once the system is installed, the solar energy is very cheap to run since this does not require you to use electricity. The disadvantage of this is that in winter or on cloudy days, you will not get much hot water like electric heating systems do.

2. Hot water tank- This water heater can supply you hot water just fine but the disadvantage is that water can escape easily. Another additional disadvantage of using this is that you have to wait a little longer for water to be heated again, not to mention the high electricity bill you can get upon using this heater.

3. Tankless water heating system- This includes the use of a heating system in which water is heated upon its use rather than being heated inside a tank. The great advantage of this system is that this saves power (or gas that is often used for such systems) and saves a lot of water because it heats up over a long period of time.

The “sandwich generation” is a term often described for forty and fifty year olds. There are a lot of people today who take care of their elderly parents since many seniors do not want to move into old age homes and would rather prefer to live in their homes as long as possible.

If your elderly mother want to come over your house to visit you, there are ways you can adapt your home when your mother comes to stay.

The first thing you have to make sure is to provide your parents a comfortable and safe bedroom to sleep in. As much as possible, your parents’ bedroom should be located on the first floor so they can avoid climbing up and down the stairs. You should also try to invest a recliner bed so they can adjust the bed whenever they want to.

For bathrooms, make sure that the bars are located right next to the toilet bowl. Make sure that your bathroom has shower seat that can be put inside the shower and easily be removed whenever it is not in use.

A lot of housewives will tell you that they find the utility room as the best and useful room in the house. The utility room is where you keep your washing machine, dryer, laundry baskets and cleaning household materials.

A lot of utility rooms can be found near the bathroom or kitchen. They either can take form of a closed balcony or small room. If you plan to create your own utility room, here are few useful tips to consider:

1. If you have more room to extend, you can make a small, closed-in balcony. Just make sure that it has a lot of ventilation. Try placing fans, extra windows or blinds.

2. The utility balcony does not have to be big. Just make sure that you have space for your appliances.

3. Create cupboards with shelves so you can also place extra things like tool boxes.

4. Try to paint your walls with white, cream or light blue. Remember to use washable paint as you would be working with water.

5. You do not have to make your utility room ugly. You can still decorate it by hanging great pictures on the walls.

Aging in place or generally known as “universal design” is becoming popular in most households. With the current economic crisis, a lot of families are finding sensible ways to renovate their home interiors rather than to move into a new home.

This is what universal design is all about. Originally the UD is all about living without barriers. This is the common home interior design for homes with disabled people. Their interiors are mostly designed for a safer, easier, and comfortable environment.

When it comes to designing a home in accordance to the principles of universal design, you need to know that one principle includes the use for everyone. There are items that everyone can use like for example, area rugs. Normal and handicapped people can both use area rugs at home without affecting their mobility.

Another principle of UD is flexibility. This is about adapting to the current environment based from the growing individuals’ needs. An example can be using night lights at home to properly assist elder people whenever they get up in bed at night to drink water or go to the bathroom.

The goal of the universal design principles is to create a living space at home that would target the individual’s safety and comfort regardless of gender and age.

As one grows older, it is also known that at some point their physical attributes and health also deteriorate. For this reason, redesigning your home to meet your current needs is very important. You should be able to have some practical designs that will let you continue to live comfortably in your home.

One part of aging is the softening of bones and joints. This is generally called osteoporosis. A fall may be extremely dangerous and fatal to a senior citizen. Safety in seniors’ home is very important in taking care of one’s self.

Senior citizens should only live in bungalows. If however, this is impossible, at least have one bedroom on the first floor. The bedroom should also be along nearby rooms like the bathroom, kitchen and living room. The house should also have a ramp or be a wheelchair-friendly. Make sure also that there are proper handrails on every side of the staircase.

Another important thing to also incorporate into your home is to install night lights, most especially in the bathroom and the kitchen. You do not have to worry about getting up at night to take a drink or go into the bathroom.

Being a single parent means that you need to get things done alone. You are responsible for doing the household chores and maintain the house clean and organized. If you have younger children, things get even difficult.

Maintaining one’s home is hard to do these days. You are trying to make all things meet and whenever you work things out at home, you will just realize that there is so much to do despite the hard work you exert every day.

Below are quick easy steps for you to properly manage and keep your home clean and organized all the time:

1. Run a few important household rules for you and your children. This way, you give everyone schedules to do even for yourself.

2. Try to finish one load every day and do it during the times your children are asleep.

3. Wash the dishes every time you use them to avoid piling up in the kitchen sink.

4. Put away the clutter in your home. The fewer things you have, the easier for you to manage them.

5. Put some important but very useful things into your home like for example, putting great area rug in your room. These rugs can cheer you up and make great addition to your interior.

Why do most seniors want to remain to their own place? This is because they want to spend the rest of their lives in a place that is familiar to them. Their homes and possessions are one of the important things they hold on to and kept for years. In short, seniors’ own home is cared and loved for over the years.

However, as they grow older, their home design is getting a bit difficult for them. Like for example, getting up and down the stairs can become tiring. In most unfortunate cases, getting in a wheel chair is another problem in one’s home in terms of moving into its spaces.

How can one possibly adapt to these changes without possibly removing the familiar things possessed over the years?

Adapting simply means taking a few logical changes in one’s home. For example, in your living room, you should be able to maximize the space for you to move freely. Replace bulky items without destroying the original look of the room. You can also try to change your doors to a wider entryway. Your coffee table should also be replaced with something that does not have sharp edges.

These little changes will just make your home living more comfortable without having to change your interior completely. These changes also do not require a lot of investment in your part. You can very well benefit in making smart changes to make your home comfortable as it once used to be.