Philadelphia, U.S.A. — Loop du Loop has featured a write-up aimed to help those who dwell in small spaces maximize the look and feel of their home. Tanja H. Ellis, who is sought after for both her professional photography and work in interior design, took note of the suggestions.

Small dwellings are no longer considered a negative, especially with the rapid shift in preferences from the proverbial McMansions to much smaller homes. Yet small spaces can pose design challenges.

The article offers up four main tips to get started with maximizing a small space. The first is to showcase height wherever possible. Spaces that offer up tall ceilings can feel spacious when attention is called overhead. A simple way to take advantage of ceilings is by painting them a vivid color. Any homeowner can draw the eye upward by hanging curtains near the ceiling and allowing their luxurious fabrics to fall to the floor.

Likewise, the article notes it is important to create a point of focus. A unique element, like a fireplace, can serve as such an anchor. Another option it to choose a wall to highlight with a bright color of paint or a collection of artwork.

In her comment on these tips, Tanja H. Ellis noted, “Small homes lend themselves to major design statements. One need only keep a few rules of thumb in mind to create beautiful and functional rooms.”

Whenever space is tight, the article suggests staying away from matching sets and opting for multi-functional pieces whenever possible. Ottomans that open up to store blankets and tables on casters that can roll from room to room save space while adding to overall function.

In regards to matching furniture, adding a unique set of chairs to complement a sofa creates much more visual impact than selecting pieces that match entirely. A number of such pieces can be found a thrift stores and flea markets. With just a bit of paint and new upholstery, old furniture gets new life in a small home.

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Fairfax County, U.S.A. – Sun Design Remodeling Specialists of Fairfax County, Va. has won two national remodeling industry awards for the creativity, professionalism and overall excellence of its projects and exceptional customer satisfaction.

Sun Design has won a national Chrysalis Award for a residential basement project in Fairfax County. Chrysalis Awards honor the finest remodeling projects in the country. Some 81 remodeling companies from across the United States were named winners. Winning projects were selected from 420 entries judged on overall design, creative use of space and materials and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure.

Sun Design has also won The 2012 Guildmaster Award (with Distinction) which is given based on a lengthy track record of exceptional customer satisfaction. The awarding organization surveys recent actual customers of homebuilders, remodelers, real estate developers, and home services contractors across the country and makes awards based on specific testimonials provided by those customers.

This has been one of most spectacular periods in Sun Design’s 24-year history. Earlier this month, the company announced it had its best sales month ever in March 2012. Sales were more than $1.8 million, beating its last record of $1.6 million in June 2007. The company won a national CotY Award as a “Contractor of the Year” from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), in April of this year, for a dramatic remodeling project in Fairfax, VA.

Sun Design President Bob Gallagher, said, “This is really an exciting time for all of us at Sun Design. We’re beating records, winning the hearts of our clients and growing the organization to exceed the expectations of each and every client.”

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Palo Alto, U.S.A. - Even as new and existing home sales and prices climb, homeowners are prioritizing aesthetics before profit, according to a recent Houzz & Home Survey conducted among users of the Houzz app and website. Houzz is the leading online platform for home design and remodeling, with more than four million unique users each month.

Among homeowners planning to build, remodel or decorate in the next two years, 86 percent cited “improving the look and feel of the space” as an important driver for remodeling projects, while only 47 percent cited “increasing home value.” The gap between these priorities was consistent across all income levels and demographic groups.

Homeowners say they are more likely to cut back in other areas, such as vacations and other big-ticket purchases, than to delay or decrease the budget for their home improvement plans.

“We expected that in this economy Americans’ highest priority would be increasing home value, but instead we found people are focused on pleasing themselves, not the next owner,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz. “Homes today are doing double or even triple duty as workplace, stay-cation, gym and more.”

Take out a loan to get that beautiful home? ”No way,” say 70 percent of today’s homeowners. They’d rather cut back elsewhere or do some of the work themselves.

In fact, even upscale homeowners are taking a hands-on approach to building, remodeling and decorating projects. The survey found that while 45 percent of homeowners at upper income levels ($150,000+) are choosing to hire an architect, interior designer, general contractor or another remodeling or decorating professional to complete a project in its entirety, an equal number of them are combining professional help and DIY efforts, a proportion only slightly smaller than the 49 percent taking this combination approach in lower income brackets.

Kitchens and bathrooms are the most popular remodeling projects among Houzz users, with 48 percent of respondents planning a bathroom remodel, and 45 percent redoing a kitchen in the next two years. Midwesterners have the highest budgets for kitchen and bath remodels at $30,500 and $13,600 respectively, while the South is allocating the least at $23,800 and $11,600.

The Houzz & Home Survey analyzes the remodeling and decorating project history and plans among Houzz users in the U.S. and Canada, motivational drivers behind these projects, homeowners’ plans for hiring remodeling and design professionals, the factors that go into selecting a service provider and the impact of the economy on residential decorating and remodeling plans.

Other Key Findings:

• In the next two years, 72 percent of homeowners surveyed plan to decorate or redecorate, 40 percent plan to remodel or construct an addition, while 10 percent are planning to build a custom home.
• Custom homes are popular in the South, where a whopping 21 percent of Jackson, Mississippi homeowners surveyed are building the home of their dreams from scratch.
• 57 percent of Houzz homeowners planning to complete a project in the next two years will hire a general contractor, 35 percent a kitchen or bath professional and 32 percent will hire a carpet or flooring professional.  Thirty percent are planning to hire an architect, 26 percent an interior designer and 24 percent a landscape architect or designer.
• About half — 52 percent — say they will save money by completing some projects themselves.
• The largest projects in terms of average spend in the last five years were custom home builds ($577,000), complete home remodels ($193,000), pool additions or replacements ($34,000) and kitchen remodels ($25,000)
• 6 in 10 Houzz homeowners hired a general contractor in the past five years, and half hired a carpet or flooring professional. Windows and kitchen and bath professionals were each hired by 28 percent of respondents, while architects and landscape professionals were each hired by 24 percent of respondents.

For the accompanying infographic visit: http://info.houzz.com/HHInfographic.html

The Houzz & Home Survey was emailed to registered users of the Houzz app and website in February 2012. Results are based on 29,127 respondents (87 percent homeowners, 13 percent renters). Edge Research conducted the survey.

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Carol Tanzi, ASID, a.k.a. The Goddess of Garbage, is an award-winning interior designer in the San Francisco Bay Area obsessed with recycling and designing with trash. She has been at the forefront of the recycling movement for more than two decades. And, in this economy, when people can’t afford to buy new home furnishings and nice gifts, her message is coming through loud and clear, making The Goddess of Garbage the go-to expert.

She has received national recognition for using recycled materials and reuse items to create attractive and appealing home and office decor, furniture and accessories and for her dedication to teaching people, including children, how easy it is to recycle and reuse almost anything.

Carol Tanzi‘s Crafty Projects Have Green Style

With consumerism on the wane, and environmental consciousness on the rise, Carol’s eco-friendly and thrifty ideas perfectly match the green shift in our culture. Her do-it-yourself projects are attractive and useful, while encouraging scaling back and returning to a more sensible waste not, want not outlook on life.

You can see the Goddess at work at http://www.goddessofgarbage.com. Check out the stylish stools made from discarded tire rims, tables made from trashed radiators, and desk sets crafted from old cans. Her projects are easy for anyone to do, proving that you are never too young or too old to recycle.

Dumpster Diving, Yard Sales, and a Space Only a Hoarder Could Love

Carol is energetic and enthusiastic, and a dumpster-diver who can’t resist a yard sale, thrift shop or pile of curbside trash. Her storage space and office, crammed with finds for projects, would scare a neatnick, but The Goddess of Garbage is on a mission. Her goal is to educate, inform and show the world a new way to recycle and reuse. She wants to change the way people think about trash, one dumpster at a time.

“I don’t create anything I wouldn’t want to have in my own office or home. I get huge satisfaction from rescuing castoffs that would otherwise end up in a landfill,” Carol says.

Carol is dedicated to teaching children about recycling. Her dream is that the younger generation will make green living a way of life.

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