There is nothing like the look of a refinished hardwood floor. You’ve spent money on your investment, so its important to protect your hardwood floors from damage to ensure that they will reward you with a lifetime of elegance and beauty. There are many preventive measures that you can take to help maintain the sheen of your floors including sweeping and vacuuming your floors regularly, wiping up spills as soon as they occur, and protecting your floor from scratches by using various furniture pads. There are also excellent hardwood floor cleaners available that help to not only clean your wood floors, but to protect them.

While it is much easier to prevent damage to your hardwood floors than to repair them, unfortunate situations may occur and it may become necessary for you to replace or repair a floorboard that has become damaged. Fortunately, replacing a floorboard is much easier than having to redo the entire floor.

If you spill water on your hardwood floor, it is imperative to clean it up immediately and dry the area thoroughly. Preventing water from soaking through the finish is the best way to keep your floor damage free. However, if the water soaks through and you notice a hazy or foggy area, you can try removing it with some trusted home remedies.

One method that has been used to remove water damage from wood floors includes using toothpaste or cigarette ashes on the spot. Using a soft cloth, such as chamois and toothpaste or cigarette ashes mixed with a little mineral oil, gently buff the area until the spot disappears.

You can also repair white or darkened water stains yourself. First, using painter’s tape, block off the area that has the stain. Next, you will need to remove the finish off of the area. You will be retreating the area and as your final step, applying new finish. To remove the finish, use either sandpaper or a steel wool pad and sand the finish off of the area. Next you will mix 1 cup of Oxalic Acid with hot water and blend until the crystals are thoroughly dissolved. Now, apply the Oxalic Acid and water mix over the stain, let dry, then brush off. Keep repeating the process until the water damage is completely gone.

After repairing the water damage you will need to restore the finish. If you have refinished hardwood floors, you may need to stain the new floorboards. It is important to note whether you have a Polyurethane or wax finish and buy the same finish for your area. After applying the first layer of the finish, let it dry. Before adding a second coat, go over the first layer with a fine steel wool pad. After wiping away the debris, you can successfully add your second and final layer.

You’ve invested money, and perhaps a lot of time to get your floors looking amazing. By taking care of them, you can avoid costly hardwood floor repairs and keep your floors looking good as new.

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Tags: interior design, refinished hardwood floorsinterior design, refinished hardwood floors

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Understanding color psychology helps home makers choose colors for home decorating.

Color affects human beings every day of their lives, even during their very earliest childhood. In fact, studies have shown that babies respond more readily to bright, primary colors than to pastel colors.

The favorite color of most preschool children, up to the age of five, is bright red. Young children, between five and ten years old, show a preference for bright yellow. Adult women generally prefer blue-based colors, whereas men tend to prefer yellow-based tints.

Even education levels and the degree of sophistication seem to affect people’s color preferences. In general, highly educated and sophisticated people favor complex colors, while those with less education and lower income favor low intensity, simple colors.

Ethnic Traditions Affect Color Preferences

Our personal history also has a significant influence on our color preferences, and using heritage colors has been proven to make people feel more contented by making them feel more connected to their ancestry.

Colors and Climates

Climate affects color preferences, too, and people respond differently to various colors, depending upon the climatic conditions in which they live. For example, Scandinavians have a preference for light yellows, bright whites, and sky blues, in contrast to their long, dark winter nights. San Franciscans, who live in an area that is often foggy and overcast, generally aren’t fond of gray, but gray is a popular color among people in Miami.

Historic Colors

Color preferences have also changed over the course of history. In the mid-1800s, very bright colors were popular, but they were replaced by more subdued tertiary colors such as muddy reds, greens, browns, blues, pinks, and ambers in the 1870s and 1880s. The darkest shades could be found in dining rooms.

Pastel and cream colors came back into fashion in the 1890s, and were popular during the latter part of Queen Victoria’s reign. But as fashions changed and furniture began to become more ornate, heavier, and more elaborate, room colors also began to change, becoming richer and darker, although Victorian bedrooms remained light and cheerful.

Color affects human beings in many ways, on both the conscious and subconscious levels, every day of our lives, and a thorough understanding of the effects of color is very important when making interior design decisions for the home.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Interior Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and blog, see http://www.joytothehome.com/

Tags: color psychology, Ethnic color traditions, home decorating, interior design, Jeanette Fisher, Psychologycolor psychology, Ethnic color traditions, home decorating, interior design, Jeanette Fisher, Psychology

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Dear friends, if you are planning to improve/renovate or
refurnish your home then this article can be a very
useful guide and save your lot of time.

When it comes to home improvement, most people think that
it’s has to do with painting the house from inside out
and forget about it.

But any architectural structure is much more than just walls
and ceiling. There are many systems working simultaneously
which keep the building under function.

Let’s have a look at these systems one by one.

1) Structural System:

This includes the support system of the entire building, namely
foundation, columns, beams, slabs(in R.C.C structure).
The most commonly used structural systems is R.C.C. Other types
include steel and wood.

While renovating a building special attention must be given to
the structural support system. Slabs should be checked to be
leak proof. Columns and beams which are exposed to external
atmosphere must be checked for damage. R.C.C structural members
are always covered with plaster. This plaster must be without
damage.

In case of steel structures, anti-rust treatment must be applied
wherever necessary.

In case of wooden structure anti-termite treatment must be applied
wherever necessary.

2) Plumbing System:

All pipelines which carry water in and out of the structure must
be checked for leakage. The main are of possible leakage is
at the joints, hence must be carefully treated.

Water taps at the washbasins, inside bathrooms, kitchen sinks,
toilet blocks, should be checked for good and smooth operating
conditions.

3)Drainage System:

Drainage from kitchen, bathrooms, toilets should have an unobstructed
and shortest path to outside chambers. Any clogging of these lines
can cause overflowing of the chambers, hence should be checked
and cleaned.

4)Electrical Systems:

This starts with the main supply of the electricity from the
local authorities. The point of entering the main supply should be
checked for any excessive disturbance in voltage levels, which
might cause damage to electrical appliances inside.

All switch boards and switches in respective rooms should be checked
for proper and safe functioning. Security systems such as
earthing and M.C.B’s should be checked for safe functioning.

5) Doors and Windows

These form an important part of any structure as far as safety
is concerned. Proper functioning of the doors and window
shutters is necessary. If your home has a security alarm system
installed, then it must be kept updated and in proper working condition.

Door and window shutter hinges should be applied with lubricants
for smooth operations. I case of sliding doors and windows, tracks
which allow sliding should be dust free.

6) Glass Panes

All glass panes used on windows and doors should be dust free.
Any broken or cracked glass panes should be replaced immediately.

If the building has a skylight, then it should be checked to be
leak proof and clean, to allow clear and unobstructed sunlight in
the interiors.

7) Flooring Materials

In most cases tiles are used for flooring. All tiles should be
checked for cracks and most importantly leveling.

In every home flooring has a natural slope to avoid clogging
of water if any such situation arises. Tiled flooring
must be checked at joints. Any cracks in joins must be
checked with proper bonding material.

In case of wooden flooring, extra care must be taken to keep
the flooring termite-free.

Wall Plaster and Wall Paint.

All external walls must be checked from outside for a proper
layer of plaster. Plaster prevents the rainwater to seep inside
the structure. If external plaster gets damaged, rain water
seeps inside causing dampening of walls.

All internal walls must be checked for scraping of paint.

Furniture and Carpentry Items.

All furniture items must be termite free and sturdy at the
joints. A coat of good quality wooden polish can add life
to the furniture pieces.

Other carpentry work includes door and window shutters, door
and window frames.

9) Other Accessories.

This includes small thing which matter a lot, such as all the
locking arrangement at doors, windows, towel rods in the
bathroom/wash basins, arrangement to dry washed clothes,
storage arrangements in kitchen/bathroom.

10)External Systems

This can include a solar water heater, electric pumps to push
the water from underground water tank to Overhead water tank.,
Cable TV antennas.

All these systems must be checked for proper functioning.

From the above discussion it is clear that proper functioning
of any architectural structure is dependant of many complex
systems which work simultaneously.

Hence all these must be given attention and respect. Any building
is just like a human body, with movable and stationary parts.
If dealt with proper care can give a very healthy living experience
for years to come.

I hope this article was helpful to everyone.

Copyright 2005 Shrinivas Vaidya

Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster of Bedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .Visit TODAY to get an in-depth knowledge of Bedroom Design, Bedroom Furniture Sets and Bedroom Decorating Ideas.

Tags: home, home improvement, interior designhome, home improvement, interior design

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