Childproofing Your Kitchen

If you have an active toddler at home, you would know that child-proofing is a must. Toddlers are in that stage wherein they are constantly trying to assert their independence and that means trying anything and everything, which can potentially be dangerous. 

If you want to keep your sanity as a parent and to keep your toddler safe and healthy, you have no choice but to childproof potentially hazardous places in your home, such as your kitchen.

Childproofing need not be complicated nor expensive. The key is to never underestimate your child’s resourcefulness, strength and skill. Here are some easy ways to make sure your kitchen is safe for your child.

• Make sure items that are off-limits such as glass and china, sharp knives, utensils that can poke an eye such as skewers, graters, peelers, as well as potentially poisonous substances like medicines, cleaning products, alcoholic beverages and the like, are secured in storage areas away from your child’s reach.
• Install child-guard latches on drawers and cabinets and appliances such as the refrigerator.
• Keep chairs, stepladders and stools away to discourage climbing.
• Install a gate to keep your child away from the kitchen whenever you can’t closely supervise.
• Use the back burners of the range when cooking.
• Keep the dishwasher locked at all times.
• Keep sponges out of reach.
• Make sure that your garbage and recycling are in tightly covered containers.
• Clean up spills immediately to avoid your child from slipping.
• Do not leave cleaning or utility buckets lying around.

It is possible to keep your kitchen both a happy and safe place for your family. You can get some peace of mind by employing some of these tips to childproof your kitchen.

Using Throw Pillows To Enhance Your Home

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Are you looking for ways to liven up your home? One simple and inexpensive way to do so is to use throw pillows. Here are some ways on how to use throw pillows to enhance your living space. 

• Brighten dull spaces, such as a neutral sofa, by using bold, bright-colored throw pillows. Try a splash of red or orange. 
•  Experiment with throw pillows that have different textures. This will not only cater to your sense of sight but to your sense of touch as well. 
• Instead of just using color, you can also add graphic details to a simple sofa or chair as well. Patterns create visual interest to an all-neutral room. Use throw pillows as accent pieces not only on your sofa but on your bed too. 
• Try using pillows with different sizes and shapes. In order to achieve a natural, casual ambiance, add pillows to your overstuffed or upholstered furniture. 
• If you have a lot of wood furniture in your living room, you can balance all that wood by using soft cushions to make comfortable sitting areas. 
• Scatter cushions to create a comfortable, relaxing ambiance in your garden. Since kids love plopping down on the floor, give them a fun play area by placing comfortable pillows to sit on. 

Enhancing your home need not be challenging or expensive. Pillows are very easy to update, so you can very well use any of the tips above to add new life to your home. Just remember to be open to experiment, and most of all, have fun.

How to create a garden in your condo balcony

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 Not every one of us is gifted with ample space to work with in our living areas. In fact, with the ongoing rate of population growth in the country, building vertically is the trend in the construction industry. Living in a condominium is now very popular in that, with just a small space, you get to house plenty of households.

Of course, this does not come without its disadvantages. One of this is making do with sharing a common space with complete strangers. Fortunately, some units come equipped with a balcony that serves as a unit owner’s individual private space.

• Start with your flooring. Choose a non-permanent paving solution that can be easily removed should you decide to change it or if your building administrator does not allow permanent installation in your balcony. This can be in the form of loose pebbles, loose concrete tiles, or loose wooden decking. 
• You may also explore other choices for this. Put plants to serve as noise buffer and natural air filter. Unknown to many, thick planting materials can protect your house from the noise outside. It reduces the amount of sound waves that can get through the unit. 
• Aside from that, it is also a good air filter and cooler, and, if chosen wisely, can make a place more aesthetically pleasing. To make it more functional, you may even plant herbs that you can serve in your kitchen. 
• Place vertical elements to make the space more interesting. It can be in the form of tall plants, hanging pots, or sculpture.  
• Make the space interactive by providing a seating area. The balcony can serve as your escape from the noisy life downstairs through this. You can also enjoy your place more if you get to sit on this space every once in a while. 
• Lastly, decide on a conversation piece. It can be a water feature, a rock sculpture, or a painting. Just make sure that the whole family (or household) will be involved in choosing your piece. 

Living in a condo unit need not be limiting. You just have to be open-minded and use the resources you have. This way, you will love every minute you spend in your space.

Urban Scope Design Tip: Create a Custom-Made Furniture Piece

Courtesy of urbanscopedesigns.com

Our custom furniture design services are top-notch and guaranteed to satisfy our discriminating customers. This custom-made foyer table lends a Zen-like vibe to this modern home. We used accents of river stones and horsetail plants to emphasize the relaxing, modern tones of this furniture piece. For inquiries on how you can have your own custom-built furniture, please visit www.urbanscopdesigns.com and make an inquiry.

Decorating 101: Quick style tips to revamp your kitchen

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Your kitchen can easily become your family room. Aside from it being the workstation in the house, you congregate there when you eat your breakfast as you start your day. Your kids even do their homework there. And you get together as a family to talk about the day that passed (which is why this is the most battered and used home in the house). What better way to reward this area than to give it a makeover?

But this being one of the most important spaces in the house, you cannot afford to make a major one lest you want to live without a kitchen for a long time. How do you revamp this space in the quickest and easiest way?

1. If you are used to having closed overhead cabinets, why don’t you change the look of your kitchen by trying open shelving. Make sure, though, that you only put dinnerware that you use on a daily basis as you get to clean them more often from dust. Leave those that you use occasionally inside closed cabinets. 
2.  Try changing the look of your kitchen by updating your knobs and door handles. You just have to scour through hardware stores and you will be wowed by many choices that you have. 
3. Painting is the cheapest way (that has the greatest impact) of updating the look of your kitchen. You may paint your cabinets or the walls. Keep in mind that this is a work area. The paint color will affect the amount of effective lighting for the space. Change the table and chair. Or if you want, you may also paint the existing furniture with fun, quirky colors to modernize the look of your kitchen. 
4.  Add rugs to make your kitchen cozier. Buy ones that are easy to wipe and clean up. 

After doing all these little changes, take an overall look of the space. Only you will know if you have achieved your desired look for your kitchen.

Decorating 101: Easy, chic ways to revamp your bathroom

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Although it can be considered as one of the areas of the house that is most taken for granted, the bathroom is an important part of a person’s life. More often than not, the smallest space is almost always allotted for this area.

But the irony is, we need to go to this room a number of times a day. A clean bathroom is a reflection of a clean personality. However, does it follow that an outdated bathroom is a reflection of an outdated personality? What are the things that can be done to update the look and revamp your bathroom?

1. Be adventurous and put a nice painting on the wall. It can be something calm and serene. Or you can put one that is witty and fun. You may even create your own painting. What a nice place to display your first work of art, right? 
2. Change the accessories. Put on matching shower curtains, rugs, and towels. You can even do this change on a weekly or a monthly basis. Easiest way to update the look of the bathroom! 
3. Put stylish fixtures. Classic mirrors and overhead lighting creates a cozy ambiance. Do this if you want to achieve a calm, peaceful, and serene impression. 
4.  Re-grout your tiles. Not only are you changing the look, you are also making your bathroom cleaner. To do this, make sure that the tiles are cleaned and dried. Apply grout as indicated on its packaging. Leave overnight and be surprised with the new look of your space. 
5. Nothing beats the effect of good old paint when you're renovating a space. Choose a color that you think will suit the feel of the space best. 

After spending some time redecorating your bathroom, why don’t you relax and take advantage of your own private space? If you are able to enjoy the experience, you know that you have succeeded in your task.

How to Create an Office at Home

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Gone are the days when, if you need to work on a computer, you have to go to a computer shop. Nowadays, owning a laptop has become a one-is-to-one thing and almost everybody owns one. It was some time in 2007 when affordable laptops were made available. Even before that, working from home has also been made possible because everybody is wired to each other through the internet. Along with these developments, it has become a necessity to setup your own home office. It takes just one corner of your house for you to have one. But the question is, what are the requirements to having your own efficient, home office?

• Size matters. The wider your desk is, the better. This depends on your comfort and space requirements. You don’t want to be stuck in a space so cramped you can’t even move your mouse (if ever you decide to have one) or even place a pad on the desk where you can take down notes.

• Declutter, declutter, declutter. The key to a clear mind is a clear desk. Especially if you have limited space, this principle is very important. Which is why you have to…

• …set aside storage space. Install drawers and cabinets. Make use of your shelves. And keep all the things that you are not using in their storage spaces.

• Make sure light is sufficient for you to work comfortably. Take advantage of natural lighting. Or if it is not possible, you can install lamps or other artificial lighting. Try different places and different intensities before you settle on a permanent space and specifications for your lamp. This depends on the person who is going to use the space. The standard is to have it above you (so you can install an overhead light) or behind you.

• Aside from lighting, ventilation is also important. Make use of natural ventilation through windows and install fans or air conditioner.

• Hide all the wires. Don’t you just hate it when tangled wires are visible, you can’t even concentrate on your work? Plan the layout of your gadgets and electrical appliances.

• Lastly, personalize your space. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It all depends on your personality.

The things listed above are just suggestions. Having an efficient home office is all about the user’s preference. As long as the person who will be using the space is comfortable, you are sure that the area you have created is effective.