Category : Tips

Decor Life at home Smart Residential Living Tips

Black is bold and beautiful

Good news for those who want to use black color to their home décor but are tend to attach the belief of evil or darkness to the color black. According to feng shui, you need not have to avoid black color when you are beautifying your home to welcome good energy. Black is the color of sophistication. If you haven’t by now given black a thought, follow these easy tips to infuse the color into your home elegantly.

Less is more: Start with something small. Black is a color that is best incorporated in segments/parts. You can try incorporating a hint of black with cushion covers, carpets, rugs, ceramic vases, black candles and candle stand. You can also use black curtains to add the illusion of height If the ceiling is low, black curtains add the illusion of height; if the ceiling is high, the pop contrast arrests attention – a win-win situation.

Bedding it right: A glossy black bed frame adds stylishness to your bedroom but ensures to balance it with lighter hues for your bedding, throw pillows and rugs. A black bed head is going to straightway draw the eye; use this to your advantage.

Stripped/Layering: Classic black and white stripe are best used in the dining space. A lot of people find it uncomfortable to commit to a space that is entirely outfitted in black. They should go for layering with a good dose of black and white stripes.

Dress up your doors: Go for polished black colored wooden paneling on the main door or bedroom doors to add drama. Even door handles could be black to give it a different look. Make sure you do not overdo black in your decor – it can make the home look creepy. Think synchronization by having one black piece per room. This will make the whole look come together.

Black lights: Try black colored shades in the living room or bedroom. This gives your space a fashionable look. Black shades are perfect for rooms that are based on neutral accents.

Black bath: Use a black and white pattern wallpaper or introduce black patterns to your bathroom walls. It looks striking against white fixtures and cabinets.

Black walls: Having a wall emphasized with wallpaper, especially that has the shades of black, make a statement. Metallic look with black undertones should be the way to go. Works best in small spaces that lie in between utilitarian rooms like an entryway.

Rules for Black

1. It is best to use it as a contrast combination and 2. You can use it in shades of grey.

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Buying property Real Estate Tips

Guidelines to distinguish between a good floor plan and a bad floor plan

There are many ways to judge while buying a property when it is mainly for the end-use purpose. One of such things is the floor plan. There are various things and components that contribute to making a good floor plan.
Here are few guidelines to distinguish between a good floor plan and a bad floor plan and how you can classify these:

View
For a pleasing view of the home, keep the kitchenette away from the entrance. The visitors should have a vision of the living room interiors and there should not be any obstruction in the inside view.

Common area
Space used by huge cupboards, big doorways are a waste and are of little use in average-sized apartments. Rather, go for built-in furniture such as convertible sofas, shelves, desks or tables that can also be used as iron table etc.

Room size
Choose a rectangular room over a square one. A good floor plan is the one that has a room of at least 12 ft long and 10 feet in width.

This means that in India the typical size of the bed is about 7-9 ft in length. The extra 5 ft space should be left for free movement in the room as well as placement of other things.

If you are thinking of a master bedroom, space should be at least 7-10 ft along with a master bathroom and a walk-in closet.

Loading
Homebuyers should make sure that the loading area should not be more than 30 percent and less than 25 percent as the common area spaces get compact.

The variance between carpet area and the super area is known as loading and is generally 30 percent of the total floor plan area.

Furniture
Any furniture in the residential space is kept at least 3 feet away from the wall. Make sure that there is enough space for placing furniture at different angles to avoid overcrowding.

Kitchen
A good floor plan provides an open kitchen as it offers easy access to other parts of the house and makes the common area appear large.

Make sure the kitchen and dining area are side by side as these are the most used areas of the home and should have a suitable access.

Bathrooms
This factor totally depends on the homebuyers’ necessities. Generally, a 1BHK has 1 attached bathroom while a 2BHK flat might have two, one attached to the room and the other one with the hall.

For a 3BHK flat, the third bathroom can be replaced as a storeroom, if you have a small family. It is suggested to keep the common area bathroom functional for guests.

Balconies
The area used for building the balconies is not calculated in the Floor Space Index (FSI). However, real estate developers add this in the carpet area to manage the loading.

Therefore, go for a larger balcony rather than several small balconies to make sure healthy ventilation.

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Decor Life at home Tips

Tricky ideas on how to make a ceiling look higher

Ceilings play an important role in maintaining a sense of space and freedom. We all love to live in large rooms with plenty of space; however, everyone’s is not lucky enough and often they have to settle for low ceilings that make each room look smaller and tapered.

But this does not mean that we have no choice but to feel crushed in our own rooms. With the right ideas, you can make low ceilings look higher, creating a more open and appealing living space.

Lighting: It is advisable to refrain from lamps that hang from the ceiling, such as large pendulum lights or lush chandeliers, and rather focus on wall lights. From these, the light should spread all over the ceiling, which creates low ceilings appear higher.

Usually, it is suggested to opt for indirect lighting. One should go for installation spots, which offer a coherent mix of scattered and focused light and give the impression of a more spacious and airy room. In addition, refined floor lights can also help focus the attention away from those low ceilings. The right lighting has an enlarging effect on rooms with low ceilings.

Long, horizontal furniture: With the right choice of furniture, a room can seem higher. But it is a no-no to overstretch the room because every additional piece of furniture would toughen the feeling of restriction. A long, horizontal chesterfield or table can help to make the ceiling look taller, especially those low sitting furniture. Add a low, long coffee table and slim sideboards. All of this furniture will make a low ceiling look like it is a high ceiling.

Enhance the wall design: It is a clever option to make a low ceiling look higher is by painting that wall a perky color. One of the most preferred tips in the design world is this: vertical stripes stretch optically and conjure a slim silhouette. For rooms with low ceilings, means the vertical stripes focus the attention upwards and make the space seem taller. This design trick can also be applied through wallpaper. However, it is important to confirm that the wallpaper meets the ceiling and that no empty wall space left. Transform your room to meet your taste with our amazing wallpaper murals printed on premium quality, eco-friendly and sustainable papers. All types of paper we use are durable, non-toxic and easy to install & clean.

Hang Wall Art high: Hang artwork slightly higher than you normally would. For some reason, this trick helps to create the impression of higher ceilings. It tends to make the floor look further down therefore making the ceiling look higher up. Hanging small frames above windows and door openings also tricks the eye into thinking the room has higher ceilings.

Mirrors: Mirrors help to improve light to the room which makes the room appear larger. When a ceiling is mirrored in a mirror it looks higher than it is. Mirrors can be hung on the wall or leaned against the wall to create the look of taller ceilings. Go for larger mirrors over smaller ones.

Floor-to-ceiling curtains: Hang curtains as high as possible. Floor-to-ceiling curtains lengthen a room.

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Smart Residential Living Tips

Affordable ways to winterize your home

It is challenging to conclude what is most unpleasant about winter— the constant cold feet and hands, or the fear of opening a heating bill after a month of leaving the thermostat turned up overnight. Since overwintering for a period of time is not an option, the best way to manage is to make sure your living space stays as warm as possible.

Here are a few simple and reasonable ideas to weatherproof your home for winter:

Close the storm windows are the simplest yet most unnoticed way to keep the cold air out. Be sure that your storm windows are in good shape and closed properly all around your home. Storm windows help to provide an added layer of protection against the cold winter air.

You might be surprised to know that heavier shades or drapes will both enhance your space and add a warm layer between you and the tedious weather outside. If your windows are facing the sun, let the sunlight in and turn on nature’s heater.

You can buy a door draft stopper and place them on your outside doors to help keep away the draft that oozes under the door. You can also buy a plastic “door sweep” that runs along the bottom of the door to seal it.

Protecting your hot water heater saves energy by reducing heat loss through the sides of the water heater by 25-40%, which will help you save currency on your energy bills.

Electrical vents can let a surprising amount of cold air in. You can seal those vents to keep electrical outlets sealed and remove the covers whenever you feel like.

Loading up on insulation is one of the best ways to save your energy bill so add more between your attic floor, walls, and basement ceiling to stay pleasant. The basement probably needs a knowledgeable contractor because of the issues of moisture, which can lead to mold.  You can also seek out greener types of insulation made from recycled materials like newspaper, denim or wool that are formaldehyde-free.

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maintenance Smart Residential Living Tips

Handling of Cash/Payments in your Society post ban on Rs.500/1000 notes

In a landmark announcement Govt of India has rendered Rs.500/1000 invalid legal tender. This has a widespread impact on how we transact in the society on day-to-day basis.

Lets look at some of the important aspects:

1)   Cash in hand (Collections made till Nov 9): Deposit the notes in your bank account without any issue

2)   Reassess if your society will fall into Service Tax bracket (Rs. 5000/month or Rs.60000/annum per flat) and do the needful registrations and declarations to avoid any complications

3)   Move to electronic media for all payments collection (Either netbanking or preferably to a Payment Gateway to handle all modes(credit card, debit card, netbanking & international payments) )

4)   Remember if you are depositing more than Rs.10 L in this financial year as cash in your account, you have a high probability of IT scrutiny and hardships

5)   Ensure you have filed IT Returns for your Society

Keeping the above in mind we have to look into two aspects of money management and how you can do the peacefully:

Money Collections:

1)   Preferable mode of payments should be electronic. Handling cheques and cheque returns is a big cost. You can also move to a payment gateway to handle all electronic payments including international payments( netbanking, credit cards, debit cards & international cards: Know more here )

2)   In case you still are collecting cash, avoid collecting banned notes. Also ensure that you deposit all your collections and withdraw petty cash separately instead of using the collections directly.

Payments:

1)   Use cheques or electronic payments for all payments as far as possible.

2)   For payments to workers, ask them to create bank accounts and deposit the same in it.

3)   Use small petty cash for any other services provided to you

4)   Any recurring payments should be moved to electronic medium

Please find attached the benefits of using CommonFloor Groups online payments and comparison with other modes of payment.  GET FREE ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY

We hope you have a smooth transition to electronic money management for your society. Please reach out to us to help you make the transition: Call 080 4278 2600 or  SMS to +91 9901002797  or write to cf-groups-help@commonfloor.com

Disclaimer: This post is for general information perspective. Please talk to your Chartered Accountant for specific queries about your society.

image courtesy : hindustan times

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