Designing a Swimming Pool with Glass Mosaic Tile

Incorporating glass mosaics design into your swimming pool
can be just the thing to make your pool come to life, it
will keep your pool from being ordinary and suffering from
the ho hum's.

Colored cementacious finish coatings that are pretty
typical today. After some years they start to wear and
fade. With solid colored glass tile you will never have to
have your pool walls recoated again. This can save quite a
bit of money in the long run.

Glass tile is forever, it will never change its look or
loose it's vibrant color due to the wear of chlorine and
sun. Maintenance is a snap as the glass tile is non-pourus
and cannot be penetrated by staining from unwanted objects
that can wind up in the pool such as leaves.

There are so many colors, sizes and styles available it is
sometimes difficult to choose. Some have a reflective
quality. They are manufactured using a mirror backing with
a transparent colored glass overlay. While some glass
mosaics are opaque and others semitransparent. They all
have unique qualities that work for many different looks
and effects.

There are even photo luminescent tiles that absorb ambient
light during the day and then at night they give off that
stored up light. Glass mosaics are fantastic for your
waterline as opposed to the everyday tiles offered from
most pool companies. Some pool tile suppliers have special
software that allows you to design your own blend or design
of pool tile mosaics.

One feature that colorful mosaics are great for in modern
swimming pool design is the vanishing edge. This is usually
one side of the pool that has no coping; instead the top of
the swimming pool wall is flat and lower than the
surrounding coping. The water flows over the top of the
wall and down into a reservoir and is recirculated back
into the pool, it looks as though the water just vanishes
over the edge.

The beach is a really cool feature; there is no step down
into the pool. It is just like walking out of the ocean or
a pond. The pool bottom is constructed so that it gradually
tapers up to the level of the pool deck . This can be
wonderful for children and older folks. For wheel chair
bound swimmers, the beach can be used as a ramp for the
wheel chair as there is no step to contend with.

Sometimes the entire pool is clad with the glass mosaic and
the glass color gradates from a blue or green into a
gradation of dark to light beige as it meets the pool deck

My favorite pool enhancement is a swim up island bar. You
can sit around it sipping your favorite beverage and chat
with your friends and family while being submerged in the
refreshing cool water.

The colorful mosaics also can help to avoid accidents from
people jumping into the pool and hitting a step or swim out
that cannot be seen because the step or swim out is the
same color as the rest of the pool interior. This can be a
spine-jarring hazard if you jump in and don't see the
underwater object lurking below. The answer for this is
to have your pool contractor install a row or two of the
brightly colored tile along the outer edge and in the
center of the underwater hazard. So when you are
considering the different options in front of you when you
are installing a new pool or remodeling your existing pool,
remember the many benefits that glass mosaic tile can
provide..

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Anthony J. Ventura is a tile and marble contractor with 25
years of experience in custom home construction, design
consultation, and swimming pool design. If you have any
questions or need advice see us at
http://www.pooltileworld.com

Bungalow Decorating - A Quick Lesson

Set apart by it's simple elegance and superior quality, the
Craftsman Style Bungalow was a precursor of today's
continuing trend towards simple, uncluttered interiors. At
the turn of the 20th century, in rigorous rejection of
strict Victorian dictates and ostentatious interior design,
the Arts and Crafts Movement prompted a return to true
craftsmanship. Pioneered by William Morris, this
international movement originated out of the fundamental
ideal opposed to the mass production of the industrial age
and promoted originality in home furnishings.

The Craftsman Bungalow reflects understated elegance,
simple lines, and form following function. The current
trend awareness of environmental issues and "green living"
dovetails into this aesthetic has resulting in a resurgence
of interest in the Arts and Crafts Style.

Typically limited in square footage, the bungalow home is a
model of practical design and creative use of space
traditionally including built in cabinetry and an open
floor plan. Many of today's newer craftsman style homes and
bungalows are much larger than at the turn of the century,
but still reflect open styling and distinct interior and
exterior detailing.

Lot's of windows to bring in natural sunlight help brighten
up the typically darker wood details of many original
craftsman homes. Choose sheer, simple fabrics for window
coverings to allow ample light into the home. A simple
embroidered detail along the hemline will add the
"craftsman touch."

The natural interior colors for your craftsman style home
can be easily inspired by nature. Think of using the colors
of a vineyard, the different hues of fall leaves, the muted
tones of stones. Nature is anything but boring! It is
soothing to the eye to follow your interior colors as they
continue outside, as when glancing through a window or an
open door. Take your outdoor surroundings into
consideration, the colors of the foliage and sky. The
exterior colors should also be subtle and natural, think of
your craftsman home as "growing" from it's foundation.

When furnishing your home, there are many options from
antique Stickley, Morris, Limbert and other furniture
makers of the day, as well as mission furniture
reproductions at many price points. Don't be afraid to mix
antiques with good quality reproductions. Simple and sturdy
well made pieces will give your home the look you are
after. You can easily mix in textural upholstered pieces in
a simple shapes to soften the room. Embroidered pillows and
tabletop linens also "soften the edges" of the typically
masculine forms of mission furniture, adding color and
texture to delight the eye.

Lighting is another key ingredient to your craftsman home.
Once again, mixing antiques and quality reproductions is
quite effective. Remember to balance overhead lighting with
table lamps and pendants to create flattering light from
several heights in the room. Combine fixtures of different
materials, a stained glass floor light, a hand blown glass
shade on a table lamp, perhaps pendant lights over the
dining room table or kitchen island. Hand crafted artisan
lighting is a great way to add quality to your home and can
give the richness of an antique at a fraction of the cost.

Rugs can vary from Navajo style to the many beautiful Arts
and Crafts patterns produced today.

Remember to add your personal touch with accessories made
of hand hammered copper, Tile and pieces of Art Pottery to
complete the Craftsman Touch.

----------------------------------------------------
Jan Davidson is an artist and designer currently focusing
her talents on creating products for the Arts and Crafts
Lifestyle. http://www.craftsmantouch.com is a great
resource dedicated to providing quality Craftsman Style
furnishings and accessories with wonderful photographs for
ideas and inspiration.

Custom Home Remodeling Increasing in Popularity

With home prices increasing and mortgage rates rising, many
homeowners are opting to turn their current home into the
home of their dreams through custom home remodeling.

The National Home Builders Association reports that
approximately $280 billion was spent on home renovations in
20051. This amount is expected to continue to rise due to
the concern for homeowners to add value to their existing
home along with their desire to modernize their home. A
custom remodel allows the homeowners to reflect their own
style and individual tastes - from integrating a theme to
using unique styling and colors.

Two of the most popular custom projects consist of kitchen
and bath remodels. These traditionally consist of
incorporating a more luxurious look and feel to the
existing rooms and may include adding custom products such
as high-end tiling, fixtures or elements.

With the current trend in creating an "open" kitchen and
living area for entertaining, comes the emphasis of
creating specialty areas specifically designed for
individual family needs. With added square footage to open
up an area, along with stunning granite countertops
throughout, custom cabinetry, and stainless steel
appliances that are as beautiful as they are functional,
homeowners can now created a modern kitchen that takes
center stage and looks fit for a gourmet chef to cook in.

The increasing desire for homeowners to remodel their homes
can also be attributed to the increased interest in adding
value to an existing home. By incorporating additional
square footage, you've not only transformed the living
space but you've instantly increased your home's resale
value. For example, a recent remodeling survey found a
midrange remodel costing $10,499 would recoup 102.2% of its
cost if the house sold within a year2.

Once you've made the decision to remodel, you'll need to
contact an experienced and reputable, licensed general
contractor. When considering hiring a general contractor,
it's important to do your homework and thoroughly research
your options. Your local homebuilder's association is an
excellent source to find out information on local and
established general contractors. Also, ask the contractor
for customer references and contact these customers to find
out what type of work the contractor did as well as their
opinion of the contractor.

What do you look for when hiring a contractor? Hiring the
right contractor is detrimental to your remodeling
project's success. Below are some helpful tips to follow:

. Search for a contractor who specializes in the type of
remodel job you are interested in.
. Find an experienced contractor who is established and has
a presence within your community.
. It's important to find a contractor who communicates with
you and shows enthusiasm about the opportunity.
Your home is one of your most precious and valuable assets.
Be sure to protect your investment by finding the right
contractor for your remodeling project.

1www.nahb.org
2Weston, Liz Pulliam. (2007) The hottest remodeling trends
for 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2007, from
http://www.realestate.msn.com/Improve/Article

Best Way to Clean Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring was first invented by a Swedish company
called Pergo AB in the year 1977. Pergo AB is part of a
larger company named Perstop AB which is responsible for
the invention of laminate tabletops. Even though the
laminate flooring was invented in 1977, it didn't become
available in the United States until the year 1994. In just
a little less than a decade and a half since it's entrance
to the United States, laminate flooring has become one of
the most popular forms of flooring in the country, and as
one of the most popular forms of flooring many people are
concerned with how easy cleaning laminate flooring is. This
is an article about the best way to clean laminate flooring.

The best part about laminate floors is that the best way to
clean laminate flooring does not have to be very hard at
all. In fact, cleaning laminate flooring is down right easy
as the floors are resistant to most moisture, scratches and
stains. Typically all you need for cleaning laminate
flooring is a damp towel, a dry mop and a vacuum cleaner.

The best way to clean laminate flooring is to use a basic
ammonia based or vinegar solution of cleaning liquid. You
can simply put a fourth of a cup of vinegar into a thirty
or thirty two ounce spray bottle and then fill the rest of
the bottle with water and you have a perfect solution for
cleaning laminate flooring. Then simply spray the solution
on the floor and wipe it up. You can move across the floor
quickly with this method and before you know it, your floor
will be perfectly clean!

If you want to use a wet mop, make sure you do not leave
any standing liquid or you might saturate and damage the
floor.

Windex is another fantastic cleaner for cleaning laminate
flooring. Other cleaning solutions that can be used as the
best way to clean laminate flooring include the swiffer
wetjet wood floor cleaner or either of the following
solutions:

1. Equal parts of water, rubbing alcohol and vinegar

2. one third of a cup of white vinegar, one third of a cup
of rubbing alcohol, one third of a cup of water and three
drops of dishwashing liquid (this should give you one quart
of cleaning solution).

If you want to do some spot cleaning, for tough spots you
can use either a nail polish remover that contains acetone
or alcohol. Warm water can be used for stains and for
things like gum or wax you should first use ice to harden
them and then scrape them away very gently.

Cleaning laminate flooring is not hard at all. In fact the
best way to clean laminate flooring is the same way you
would clean your counter or table top. You will not need
any abrasive materials or strong chemicals. Usually just
water and a clean cloth will do the trick. Its easy to
clean nature is partly what makes laminate flooring so
popular.

----------------------------------------------------
Laminate flooring is now one of the most popular forms of
flooring in the world.
What do you want to Know About It ?
http://www.installinglaminateflooring.info

Epoxy floors - They are all the same, right?

When I though about putting an Epoxy floor on my well worn
warehouse floor, I tackled the task with the optimism that
my only job was to find out which company was the most
reasonably priced and still gave a quality install. My
education began there. All epoxy floor products are not
created equal!

The first part of my education began with the discovery
that there were several different types of epoxy floor
applications - Epoxy paint, poured applications,
self-leveling and troweled on. Wow!

So, lets put these in perspective before I get into the
details. The quality and durability of these products ranks
from Epoxy Paint on the lower end to Troweled-on at the
upper end, with self-leveling being the middle of the road.

It is important to identify the needs of the job you are
considering. Is it high traffic? Will there be heavy
equipment rolling across it? How about chemical spills?
Will smooth and slippery cause a problem? What do you
expect its longevity to be? Is beauty an important factor?
If your are doing, say, your garage floor at home to make
it easily cleanable, the high traffic and beauty aren't a
factor, and longevity probably won't justify a higher
price. On the other hand, if you are doing a hotel hallway,
hospital halls or a loading dock, most or all of these
factors need to be considered.

Epoxy paint. For the home owner who uses his garage as a
workshop, the cost and ease of application probably
dictates your choice. If you have to redo it in five years,
it still justifies the choice, and it is available in
several colors. You can install it yourself or hire a local
odd-jobs contractor. It would be a very bad choice for
hotels, loading docks, kennels, and other high-traffic or
heavy equipment areas. It is always slippery, it is a thin
application compared to the other two, and there isn't much
beauty to it.

Self-leveling Epoxy floors. These products work great for
small areas. Some can be done by a handy homeowner, others
may need a skilled handyman. If you are doing a shower
area, a small bathroom, steps or small kitchen areas and
many other small jobs that don't require choices such as
smooth or non-slip, this may be perfect for you. Although
they will outlast many other flooring materials and
withstand a lot, they aren't the choice for large areas
that receive lots of abuse. Most self-leveling products
offer a range of color choices.

Troweled-on Epoxy floors. When traffic wear matters, when
you have to make a choice between slippery or non-skid, and
still receive a beautiful floor, this is the first choice.
Most troweled-on epoxy floor companies offer up to
twenty-four design and color choices. It can be installed
as either a smooth (hotel hallway) or non-slip (loading
docks) finish. This type has the longest life expectancy of
the three. It will stand up to heavy equipment, most
spills, and rough treatment. It comes with one caveat; it
is not a do-it-yourself application. In fact, you need to
be sure that the installers are well trained in this
particular product. Many a tradesman with years of concrete
finishing have a hard time getting this product right. If
this product is what you need, make sure that the company
uses well-trained installers before you move ahead.

The next time you walk down a hospital hallway, or Hotel
halls that have epoxy instead of carpet, pay attention to
the seamless beauty of this floor - it's probably a
troweled-on epoxy floor.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on the process, pictures of floors,
color samples and installation pictures go to
http://www.commercialepoxyfloors.com
Lee is a freelance consultant for the DPS Group. Besides
content writing Lee specializes in consulting on websites
and E-commerce. Lee can be reached though his employment at
http://www.thedpsgroup.com