Wood Castle Construction

If you are looking for furniture that is looking out for you, you should stick to the category of bedroom furniture.

The key to modern bedroom furniture is function over form. While this may not mean much to you as a saying, when it comes to certain bedroom conditions, the simplicity of modern bedroom furniture offers an ability to get around without too much trouble.

While you know where things are in your bedroom when the lights are on, how well can you negotiate the space when the lights are out? This same space can seem like a totally different location without illumination. When the lights are out all that furniture can become the evil enemy.

Consider this scenario. You have to go to work very early, before the sun comes up, and your spouse is sleeping. While you don’t want to wake them up, you need to get around the room and get yourself ready for work.

While you could do a little pre-planning, and have your clothing set out before you leave, you still have to get around the room to get to the bathroom and make your final arrangements to get out the door.

The furniture you have put into your room and where you have put it will make a major difference in how easy or painful this process can be.

First, let’s set this scenario in a room with fancy Victorian furniture. The tables, chairs and other pieces in the room have sweeping cabriolet legs, fancy edges, and are larger than life. From the time you get out of the bed, your mind makes sense of where things should fit in the room but the first thing you notice is that the leg on your nightstand curves outwards, because you have slammed your shin into it. Next, you move towards the dresser. Simultaneously your stomach hits that fancy, outstretched corner of the dresser top, and your toe stumps into that protruding claw foot. While you may not have turned on the lights, you will still likely wake up your spouse when you cry out in pain.

Now, let’s offer this same scenario once again, but this time with modern bedroom furniture. When you get out of the bed, your shin will stay intact, as the legs on a modern night table would never stick out. They will be exactly where they belong, under the table, holding it up. Next, move on to the dresser. Your hand will find the top of the dresser before the rest of your body finds the protruding pieces, because there are no protruding pieces.

Modern bedroom furniture pieces were created to be just the right size to do their job, and not to have any excess material that you don’t need. When you are negotiating a room in the dark, this means there really is more floor space to make your way around, and less of an opportunity to cause any damage to your body in collisions with any pieces of the furniture.

I recently did all this research right before we purchased our new refrigerator. Since the refrigerator is one of the larger appliance purchases for your kitchen and will probably last you 10-15 years you need to choose wisely. I was surprised to find that there is such a variety in refrigerators these days. There are many styles and sizes, different colors and finishes and many features to choose from. Then of course you must check out if it is Energy Star qualified. Here is a summary of what I found out. Hope it helps you out!

Styles

1. Small Basic Refrigerator – These are best for smaller families, apartments or small kitchens. Generally it is about three to six inches narrower than your regular size refrigerators.

2. Top-freezer Refrigerator – These are still the most popular refrigerators around and are less expensive than some of the other styles below. They are generally spacious and very good for everyday use.

3. Bottom-freezer Refrigerator – These are very similar to the top-freezer version except the refrigerator is on top and the freezer is usually a pull out drawer on the bottom. It is more convenient as most of your daily use items are at eye level. The bottom freezer though can be awkward as there are no shelves and making it difficult to find specific things.

4. Side-by-side Refrigerator – This has two separate areas for the refrigerator and freezer side by side. The freezer side a little smaller. This style will be good for smaller kitchens where a wide door clearance is a problem. Most of these come standard with an in-the-door ice and water dispensers. You do lose some space on the refrigerator side as a result of this configuration and you will not be able to fit things like wide platters, cakes boxes and pizza boxes.

5. French Door Refrigerator – This is a mix between bottom-freezer and side-by-side refrigerators. The top refrigerator portion has two French doors but the inside shelves are the full width. The freezer is a pull-out drawer. Again you have the benefit of not having to bend down to reach your everyday items.

6. Built-in Refrigerator – This is the custom refrigerator that lies flush with your kitchen cabinets and can be made to look just like them. These of course are expensive. These days you can also find refrigerators made the depth of standard cabinets so it looks like a built in. This route is significantly cheaper than custom built-ins.

Features

* Automatic defrosting – Most new refrigerators have this as a standard feature and I think it is a must. Gone are the days of having to unplug and defrost yourself.

* Power Failure Warning System – This alerts you if there was a power outage while you were not around. It usually also displays the highest temperature reached so you can make a decision on discarding spoiled food.

* Ice Maker – These are pretty standard these days

* Filtered Water – Whether you have an in-door or in-refrigerator water dispenser or just an ice maker, having your water filtered is a good idea.

* Water Filter Indicator – This will notify you when it is time to change the water filter.

* In-Door Water and Ice Dispenser – This is usually standard on the side-by-side refrigerators but is harder to get on the others. Recently the French Door models are starting to give this option. This is a great feature to have specially if you have children. Less wasted energy by fewer occasions to open the refrigerator.

* Rollers – You can lock and unlock wheels as needed making it a lot easier to move the refrigerator. I find this great for cleaning.

* Adjustable shelves and trays – This is something that to me is essential. Almost makes you refrigerator custom for you. I tend to readjust shelves fairly often so to me ones that are easier do do will be important.

* Larger shelves in the door – These can accommodate gallon jugs of milk or large soda bottles.

* Cooling Zone – Cold air from the freezer section is diverted to the refrigerator door helping milk and juice, usually stored here, to remain fresher longer.

* Electronic Temperature Controls – This ensures precise temperature control in the refrigerator and freezer sections.

* Express Chill and Express Freeze Settings – This is great for when you just can not wait.

* These days some refrigerators even come with things like a television, radio, or DVD player built into a door.

Colors and Finishes

Most refrigerators come in various color choices along with your basic white and black. Stainless steel finish is very popular these days and will cost you approximately $250-$300 more. Some manufacturers are now offering fingerprint-resistant stainless steel. This is just a clear acrylic coat on the finish that resists marks. You can also opt for faux stainless that also resists finger prints.

Energy Efficiency

When shopping be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR yellow label which is required to be on display. This label provides an estimate of how much energy the appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products, and lists approximate annual operating costs. Manufacturers have to meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and US Department of Energy so this a good representation of efficiency. Although you may notice that higher efficiency costs more, remember you will save a significant amount on utility bills every month and help the planet.

Energy efficiency is very important but so is getting all the features you really want for the long run. So choose wisely! Good Luck!!

So you want another dining room, but you don’t want to have to add on to your home? Well why not create one outside on your patio? Choose a dining table made to withstand the elements and fire up the grill.

Outdoor dining tables come in many shapes and sizes from round to square and small enough for two and large enough for twelve. The best wood for your outdoor dining table is teak. Teak trees grow in the Indonesian jungle and their wood, rich in natural oils, is highly resistant to the elements. Once used in ship and bridge building due to its strength and natural resistance to water and rot it works extremely well for fine -outdoor furniture. It will resist rot and water and is immune to anything Mother Nature dishes out.

You’ll be able to dine outdoors in comfort and luxury when you choose teak dining tables for your patio. Rather than trekking to your local home and garden stores when patio furniture is in season why not try shopping online? You can browse the vast selection from the comfort of your easy chair and be privy to some of the best prices around.

To narrow your choices you might want to decide on one aspect you want in your new dining table and go from there. For example maybe you want a round table or a table that seats eight? Once you choose one thing to focus on you can keep slimming down your choices until you find the table of your dreams.

If you have a large family or enjoy entertaining you might want to choose a table that seats six to eight and extends to accommodate ten to twelve dinner guests. If you don’t have the space or the people you may want a smaller square table with a tempered glass inset top or a small round one with a mosaic marble top. Once you choose a table you should get enough matching teak chairs to accommodate your guests and if you are planning to host outdoor luncheons as well as dinners you might want to invest in a teak market umbrella as well. Most tables come equipped with a hole to accommodate them.

Once you chosen your teak dining table complete with chairs and umbrella you will be ready to indulge in the simple pleasures of summer. Unlike any other season summer allows us to experience things that bring us true happiness. We feel alive breathing the fresh, warm air and soaking up the afternoon sun. Leisurely days grant us the luxury of slowing down to truly enjoy life. And gatherings with friends and family around teak dining tables laden with good food bring us together to share memories and laughter. So get the grill fired up and set the table for fun. No matter size or shape of teak dining table that you choose there’s plenty of room for the good times to unfold and transform any summer from ordinary to epic.