Bathroom Fixtures

What exactly is a bathroom fixture? Is it just the lights? The faucet? Where can you get them? An item permanently attached to the bathroom is a bathroom fixture. Not just the lights! Stay with your bathroom's style and theme when picking out bathroom fixtures. Make sure to stay within budget too. It is very tempting to get all the cool gadgets and latest bathroom fixture inventions. I still want the towel warming rack I saw. Most bathroom fixture manufacturers have collections, so you can buy all the fixtures at one to make sure they match.

When you hear "bathroom fixture" you may immediately think of just one thing such as the bathroom lighting. At least that's what I used to do. The term bathroom fixture actually encompasses quite a few things such as bathroom sink, bathtub, shower, faucet, toilet, bidet, lighting, vent fan and cabinets.

When searching online for a bathroom fixture, it's best to search for the specific item instead of a general term. The more specific you can get the better the search results. So instead of bath lighting or bathroom lighting search for bathroom vanity lights or hanging bathroom spotlight.

If you're a guerrilla shopper, you like to get in, grab the stuff and get out as fast as you can. That's exactly how I shop. I suggest going to a large home improvement store or bathroom store that will have the bathroom fixture for you to order at once. Stores like Home Depot and Lowes are perfect for this. These stores will carry bathroom fixtures that coordinate all the from the same manufacturer and they can be installed too. But if you can do it yourself, these stores are the cheapest way to remodel your bathroom.

If you like to shop around, find unique items then I recommend going to specialty bathroom fixture stores. There are stores devoted entirely to lighting, plumbing, faucets, sinks and cabinets. These stores would have a wider variety of fixtures. But you would have to go to each store to get your bathroom fixture picked out. I have found though that the specialty store salespeople really know their bathroom fixtures. If you are not sure what you want, or can't find something in your price range, I would definitely consult with them. That specific bathroom fixture is their specialty!

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Kitchen Island Plan

Whether you are constructing a new home or refurbishing an apartment, this is your chance to make your kitchen stand out by incorporating a contemporary kitchen island plan in your construction or redecorating project. Kitchen islands are very popular in contemporary (and functional) kitchen designs because it certainly makes cooking and entertaining or watching over the children as you prepare dinner a lot easier.

There are a lot of options available not only in terms of design but also in terms of accessories that you can incorporate in your kitchen island plan before you begin your work. You can incorporate a sink, a stove top and other kitchen accessories in the kitchen island design so your home improvement project becomes a well-planned and financially controlled endeavor.

There are unlimited resources available in choosing a kitchen island plan through the various sites in the Internet however, if you are a gifted individual with carpentry skills nothing is more satisfying than a do-it-yourself kitchen island plan that will certainly match the rest of your kitchen and the home in general.

What of ready-to-install kitchen islands? As much as possible, do not buy this type of kitchen islands no matter how avant-garde they may look because they may not match your overall kitchen and home decor and you will end up spending more than necessary or become dejected because one part of the house does not complement the rest!

If you do not have the time to tackle a DIY, you can hire somebody to make a custom kitchen island that you have chosen from kitchen island design resources and kitchen island ideas all over the Internet. Just make sure that complete bill of materials is listed down to the very last nail that you will use and that the kitchen island plan you want fits perfectly in your kitchen layout.

Doing your own custom kitchen island or having a professional do it for you ultimately results in big savings which you can use to customize your kitchen island design even while it is still on the design phase. Having a custom kitchen island can provide your family with more work space not to mention eating space.

You can outfit your kitchen island design with storage drawers and cabinets for kitchen utensils and a myriad of other things in order to maximize the space used up by kitchen island after it is constructed. If the fancy strikes you, you can even opt for a mobile kitchen island design which you can roll out to the patio for those times when your family wants to enjoy a barbecue at the backyard! Or you can have a mobile and fixed kitchen island if you desire.

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Architectural Tutorial: Cupola

Is it pronounced "queue-pola" or "coo-pola" or "cup-ola?"  To-may-toh, to-mah-toh.  Either way, what is it?

Officially defined by good 'ole Merriam-Webster, a cupola is simply "a small structure built on top of a roof."  The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture defines a cupola as "a dome, especially a small dome on a circular or polygonal base crowning a roof or turret."  However, these days, people have used the term "cupola" to define structures that aren't necessarily dome shaped.  

Here are a few examples of Visbeen-designed homes with cupola's perched atop their roof...

There is another type of roof-type structure that has often been grouped under the term cupola but is actually a little different.  A monitor is a raised structure running along the ridge of a double-pitched roof, with it's own roof running parallel with the main roof.  The long sides of monitors usually contain windows.  It has been said that these structures were named monitors because they were often used on the rooflines of larger estates, especially lake or oceanfront residences, so that someone could monitor what was going on around the home from an aerial location. (I'm hearing "The British are coming! The British are coming!" in my mind right now.  Maybe Paul Revere wouldn't have needed the midnight ride if he had a nice monitor to sit in.  Just a thought.)

So, "queue-pola" or "coo-pola?"  Either way, they add a bit of architectural interest and a lot of whimsy to the roofline of a variety of home styles.

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Home Depot Kitchen

If you check out the internet for Home Depot kitchen appliances, you will realize that you will get really plenty of results for the same. This is because they are very popular with people all over the world. However, I do believe that you are not the kind of person who will just buy something because of the fact that a lot of other people are buying it. I believe that you are the kind of person who will first learn the reasons why the item is popular and why it is a good one, before committing any of your funds towards it. This article is going to look at some of these reasons, so that you yourself can determine with your own mind whether or not you should go with them.

The first thing that you need to understand about the kind of items that are stored and sold at Home Depot is that they are usually of very high quality. Indeed, you might find yourself in a situation whereby you buy a product and then realize that it has rusted just a few days after purchase. If this is the case with you and if you have ever experienced such a thing, then you will come to realize that with Home Depot kitchen appliances, you will not have to worry about this. This is because of the fact that when they are made, eth appliances are designed to last for a very long time.

When you see something that you like and would like to buy, you never really want to go to the shop only to realize that they do not stock whatever it is that you are looking for. If that is one of your fears, then you will always desire that you go to the shop that has a lot of variety so that you will not be troubled in making your purchase, and you will not want to move from shop to shop looking for your product.

The other main advantage of the Home Depot kitchen appliances is that there are few other places indeed where you can get quality goods at prices that are as affordable as those that you will get in this store. This is the third reason why the appliances are so popular with buyers both in the internet and offline. These three reasons were a good place to start from, although the list is no way exclusive.

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Table

Tables are an essential furniture item for any room and come in enough styles to compliment any decor. They are the products of skilled workmanship and artistic design. Tables satisfy both functional and aesthetic needs and are used for domestic, business and ecclesiastical purposes. Tables have great utility value since they can hold reading and writing tools, crockery items, televisions, computers or other such things. The origin of tables dates back to 2600 BC. No ancient Egyptian home was complete without a beautifully decorated table of wood or metal. Small tables made of precious materials were common in the middle ages. Ancient Greeks used small low tables, whereas ancient Italians were fond of rectangular tables with an arcade of columns through the center.

Tables usually come in striking, simple designs in glass, stainless steel, or wood. Tables with metal powder coated finishes are also available. Tables are categorized according to the area of the room for which they are intended, such as center table, corner or side table, or patio table.

Tables come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small candle stands to large banquet tables. Some tables can be folded, and are convenient to transport, while others are fixed. Tables may be rectangular, round, ellipsoid, curved, or angled. Tables often have drawers and compartments, which provides additional space for storing valuable things. Tabletops can be either foldable or have slides under a rest.

Game tables, dining tables, picnic tables, and writing tables are some among the numerous types of tables available. Even though a wide variety of good tables have come to replace the heavy ones of the bygone days, the elegantly handcrafted antique pieces are still in great demand. Depending upon period and style, tables are classified as Gothic, Queen Anne, and Empire. Nowadays, countless numbers of furniture showrooms and galleries have come forward with their prestigious collection of decorative antique tables.

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Inside Home Depot

Just in case you have somehow skipped the 20th century inside a cave, Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States with 2,193 stores across the country and in foreign shores. In fact, you can build your own manmade cave with their construction supplies. Also, this home improvement giant also accepts commercial credit cards like MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. However, if you are after the best deals with this retailer, you might want to secure a store-issued Home Depot credit card.

There are two main types of the Home Depot cards. First, the Consumer Card and the Consumer Rewards MasterCard are mainly for homeowners who spend smaller amounts on construction materials for basic home repair, renovation and maintenance. Second, the Depot Commercial Cards and Depot Business Rewards MasterCard are targeted towards the small to large size businesses that spend larger amounts on construction supplies. As such, they are often engaged in interior design, office and residential building construction and other related industries.Of course, each card has its advantages depending on your home improvement needs.

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Professional Builder Magazine just put out their list of 101 Best New Products in the housing industry.  For the last year, Professional Builder has featured these newly introduced products on the pages of it's publication and the readers have spoken.  The list contains products in the following categories: Windows & Doors, Exterior Products, Interior Products, Outdoor Living, Structural/Insulation/Housewrap, Mechanical/Electrical and Construction Tools & Equipment.  There are definitely some cool new goods out there these days!

Professional Builder's 101 Best New Products

By Professional Builder Staff

August 22, 2013

Among the hundreds of building products introduced by manufacturers during the past 12 months and featured on the pages of Professional Builder, the readers, through responses and inquiries, selected these standouts as the 101 Best New Products for this year’s annual review. Products that could impact your business are grouped in the following categories for your convenience:

Windows and Doors

Exterior Products

Interior Products

Outdoor Living

Structural/Insulation/Housewrap

Mechanical/Electrical

Construction Tools and Equipment

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Bathroom Remodeling Software

Bathroom remodeling software is a software solution that helps in remodeling bathrooms. It makes the initial tasks such as designing, estimating, and scheduling much easier.

Bathroom remodeling software can be divided into two modules: designing and estimation. The software helps you to design the bathroom according to your budget and ideas. Designs can be viewed in three-dimensional formats, and expenses for the whole process can be formulated.

The graphic program in the software allows you to draw the floor layout before mapping the bathroom in specified dimensions. The software enables you to create a three-dimensional model of the existing bathroom with available facilities. Then, you can start designing and make desired changes in the bathroom. You can also modify the position, size, and number of accessories in the bathroom. The software has a good sense of interior design and style, which aids redesigning of the bathroom without the use of paper and pencil.

Bathroom remodeling software offers an accurate estimate of the whole process, including the cost of the contractors as well as operating expenses such as demolition, framing, bathroom flooring, bathroom cabinets, plumbing, and electrical work. The cost of different bathroom fixtures, necessary tools, and other decorative bathroom elements are also included in the estimate. The software also assists in contract writing and management of the remodeling project.

Remodeling software also calculates the material and labor cost, after updating the material prices and the current labor costs. Bathroom remodeling software also sets time schedules for the workers, material deliveries, and various project-related tasks.

There are also contact details of designers, in case you are seeking help in redesigning your bathroom. The built-in address book in the bathroom remodeling software helps you to organize and record leads and contacts. If you are employing people, the software is capable of tracking receivables, creating professional billing statements, and handling allowances.

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