Filed Under : 
Sep.28,2011
It is said that ‘only a woman can make a house a home.’ Interior design is the design makes a house pleasurable to live and draws on aspects of environmental psychology, architecture, product design and furniture design, in addition to traditional decoration and wall paint and artistic articles.
The important part of designing a house include things like concept or theme, color, proportion, balance and function of design. Although all interior designers are different, they are all an essential part of the look and feel of a house or a room in general. Designers integrate the above seven elements of design to generate a particular experience that the house imparts.
The first and foremost in house design is the theme of the design. Some individuals may prefer a modern theme, some a traditional one, some a natural one and some others an artistic one. According to the theme that the occupant decides on, the color, the furniture, the accessories and the fabric that is used in the house will differ. Furniture selection and the placement of furniture plays an important part in house designing. If the furniture is not placed in coordination with the walls and spaces, there is a chance that the house will look cramped. The material of the furniture must also compliment the theme and the spatial statistics. Accessories for the house can range from wall paintings to show pieces to draperies, blinds and curtains.
The design of a house can really affect the way a family feels, moods and emotions. Hence, people spend enormous amounts of money in the interior designing of their houses.
Archive for September, 2011
Even plants grown indoors can be plagued by a variety of pests and diseases.
To keep your collection looking at it’s best, keep an eye out for the first signs of trouble. Inspect your plants regularly, and take prompt action against pests and diseases as soon as any are discovered. Pay close attention to the undersides of leaves, for this is where the pests often congregate and fungi attack. Young plants are especially at risk.
To reduce the risk, weed plants outdoors for they harbour pests. Poor ventilation indoors encourages fungal diseases, especially where the temperature is low. In all cases, remove dead leaves and flowers as soon as you notice them. (A long telephone conversation is a good opportunity to multi-task, you can inspect your plants while you are talking!)
Common plant pests:
• Aphids, also known as greenfly, plant lice and aphis (their scientific name) are one of the most common plant pests. Some plants seem to attract them and few are immune. They are small insects, coloured green, brown, black or grey that suck the plant’s sap and cause yellowing, distorted leaves and poor growth. Aphids secrete a sticky, sugary substance called honeydew upon which a black mould often grows. The mould not only looks unsightly, but interferes with the leaves as well. Proprietary systemic insecticides work well.
• Mealy bugs. These are small, grey-white inspects with woolly coats. Their eggs form in woolly masses. Destroy them by swabbing with a cotton bud soaked in methylated spirit or surgical spirit.
• Scale insects. These infest stems and leaves. They are usually pale brown in colour and suck sap. They produce honeydew, like aphids, and weaken the plant. Wipe the insects off the plant using the same action as for mealy bugs.
• Ants. They often cause trouble in warm, sandy soil outdoors and they may enter the home and affect indoor plants. Although ants in themselves are not harmful, they tunnel through the soil, loosening it and disturbing plant roots. They also carry aphids about, transporting these pests from one plant to another. Ants should be treated with proprietary ant-baits and ant-killers.
Common diseases include:
Botrytis – Grey mould is one of the common names for Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that looks like a grey-brown furry mould. When an infected plant is disturbed, clouds of fine dust rise from it. The dust consists of the spores of the fungus. Cool, moist and still air provides the conditions for botrytis to attack healthy plants. Improve ventilation and lower humidity around the affected plant.
Mildew – A great variety of mildews affect indoor plants. The symptom is a greyish-white powdery mould on stems, leaves and buds. Overcrowding and over-watering are common causes. Better ventilation also helps.
Rusts – Rusts are fungi that produce red-brown spots and patches on leaves. Isolate immediately and use a suitable spray for the species of plant affected.
Virus diseases – These diseases cause mottling, stunting and distortion of leaves, and malformation and striping of flowers. Virus diseases are easily spread by handling infected plants. If virus disease is suspected, burn the affected plant immediately to prevent it spreading to others.
It is important to isolate a sick plant so that whatever problem it has is not transferred to other plants in the group. My plant ‘hospital’ is in a separate room with a different aspect from its normal situation. This, in itself, seems to act as a tonic, and I would suggest you move your plants around from time to time even if they do not appear to have any problems.
Regular inspection will minimize damage to your house plants through pests and diseases.
Tags : Dead Flowers, First Signs, Fungi
House designs are powerful symbols that you can use to create a statement to the world on who you are. Buildings have a long lifespan and will continue communicating your statement to the world long after your departure. House designs are also a mark of self-actualization.
The initial step to realize your dream house plan is to contact an Architect. Explain to your architect how you want your house to look. You can search on the internet for similar house images and floor plans. This will inspire you to be able o explain to your architect exactly how you want to design your house.
You can also explain to your architect on what statement or symbol you may wish your house to communicate through design. At this stage, your budget will be important in that it will dictate the size of the house you will have. Mortgage finance is available from Housing Finance, KCB Savings and Loan, Barclays, Equity Bank, Standard Chartered, Stanbic or any other financial institution in Kenya.
The architect will incorporate the design and symbols into a form and will work out functionality from here. Functionality involves how spaces relate to each other e.g. the kitchen should be near the dining room, the bedrooms should be located privately away from the living room, the construction of the structure should be structurally sound and in conformity to the Building Code and all laws governing construction of houses.
Through use of 3 dimensional graphic design software such as ArchiCAD, your architect should be able to present to you the house in 3 D graphic view for you to make your recommendations and changes. This process will continue till you are satisfied with the house design.
Your architect will print the house plan in A1 size format and make 4 copies of blueprint. He will submit the drawings to the relevant local Authority in Kenya, in Nairobi, the City Council.
The Council will go through the drawings to confirm if it conforms to the Kenya Building Code and thus habitable.
Once approvals are granted, usually after a few weeks, you can now move on to the next stage: Construction.
In this stage, you can have your Quantity Surveyor come up with Bills of Quantities, i.e. a breakdown of all the materials and quantities to be used in the house and an estimated cost of construction per item. With this blank document[without the price component], you can invite several building contractors to quote for the construction of the house.with the help of your architect and quantity surveyor, you can select the best in terms of past experience on similar construction and pricing.
After the selection, you then get into contract with the contractor and your architect supervises the contractors work to ensure that he conforms to the design and the agreed quality and workmanship. Construction contracts in Kenya are available at the Architectural Association Of Kenya offices, Professional center, Nairobi, Kenya.
Once the contractor is through with construction as per the drawings, you can then move in to your dream house and live comfortably ever after.