Sanitary ware industry in India

Sanitary Ware

Sanitary ware industry in India

Though most of India’s population resides in the rural areas, the number of people residing migrating to urban areas is slowly increasing. It is estimated that around 27% of the total population of the country reside in the urban cities and metros. However, a distressing fact is that the entire population does not have easy access to proper sanitation. Shared toilets still are present in many localities. As per the government records, around 50 % of the urban population do not have proper sanitation facilities. The situation is even worse in rural areas where only 6% of the total population have some access to sanitation facility.

Growth of sanitary ware industry

Not with standing the gloomy picture of the sanitary facilities in the country, the sanitary ware industry is growing at a great pace and has expanded its market to great extents in the past five-six years. A lot of companies have entered the market scene, each trying to introduce a novel product, thereby capturing the market. As the demand for sanitary ware products grow, these companies have intensified their production operations. A fact to note is that the growth of the sanitary ware industry is directly dependant on the growth and development of the real estate industry.

In India, the net worth of sanitary ware industry is pegged at around 500 crores and shows a yearly growth rate of 3%-4%. There are many major players in the market, of which Johnson sanitary ware is a trusted name. Johnson sanitary ware is an offering from H & R Johnson which has its presence felt all over the world. Johnson sanitary ware produces a range of bathroom products suiting every budget. They have the affordable bathroom fittings for the budget spender as well as some expensive, luxurious pieces for those who want to create a dream bathroom.

  

Home remodelling advice for beginners

Home Remodelling

When you want to take up the task of home redecoration, you can get information and advice from different sources. No doubt, each of these sources seems as reliable as they can. However, you need to have patience and an eye for detail for the right advice coming your way. When you are looking for home décor solutions, you will get a lot of suggestions as to how to do the whole remodelling with minimum costs or which remodelling plans take the least amount of time and yet give your home a fresh, new appeal.

When it comes to home remodelling, most home-makers look for suggestions and advice that can make their home look perfect. However, the definition of perfect will differ from person to person as choices are not the same and so there is no hard and fast rule as to which design is perfect and which is not. You do not have to strictly follow all the rules and guidelines given in a décor magazine to make your home look beautiful. You can always tweak them a bit to suit your budget as well as personal choices. Here are a few ideas that you may want to opt for while remodelling your home.

1- You can opt for colours for your walls that will catch the visitor’s eye. However, you should make it a point to see you do not opt for over-the-top bold colours or you are bound to make a mess of it. You can look for some fresh and unique shades to enhance the aesthetic sense of your home. 

2- When looking for paints, opt for durable paints as they will last long.

3- You can arrange your home furniture as per your wish. Keep the furniture as per your style and convenience. Try to avoid the designs followed by the rest and portray something different and unique for your home. 

4- You can always mix and match themes and styles to create a truly customised style for your home.

Bathroom taps- Its time you give them some more attention

Taps

When you take up the task of bathroom remodelling, you need to set aside a fixed budget for the task. This is for the simple reason that you do not want to go haywire with your bathroom remodelling budget and ensure that everything is covered. When deciding on the bathroom remodelling budget, you have to take into consideration different factors like the bath, shower, flooring tiles, taps, shower cubicle and the basin. Often, it has been noticed that people tend to forget that taps are an integral part of their bathroom and they fail to set a good budget for bathroom taps. You must know that without a proper tap or even a basin, a bathroom is completely useless and serves no purpose. So it only makes sense that when you are drawing up a budget for your bathroom remodelling, remember to keep a good amount for your taps and basins.

Plethora of choices

When you are shopping for bathroom taps, you will find no dearth of choices in the market. Bathroom taps come in different colours, styles, finishes and patterns. With so many choices available, you surely will be confused as to which is the right tap for your bathroom. It is thus important that you spend some time on researching a bit so that you decide on the right type of tap for your bathroom. Remember that a wrong choice of bathroom taps can have a disastrous effect on the entire look and feel of your bathroom.  You can also get creative with your bathroom taps and go for the gold-plated bathroom taps. Gold-plated bathroom taps are known to be eye-catching and a look of class to your bathroom. However, you should ensure that you do not go overboard with the gold look as this may end up making your bathroom look cheap and tacky.

Bath taps- The most important accessory for your bathroom

Bath Taps

For all you lovers of modern bathroom décor, taps is one accessory that is hard to miss. For any type of a bathroom, taps are an essential accessory. Without the right taps, your bathroom remains mostly redundant. You may not believe it but taps serve more functions that many other items in your home. If you shop for the right type of taps for your bathroom, they can turn out to be very fashionable and help to augment the appearance of your bathroom.

Different types

If you do not know what goes in the making of bath taps, well there are many things that are used to produce bath taps. A variety of materials are used for making them. Bath taps are available in various designs, colours and forms. Apart from the different styles, bath taps also come in different patterns like mixer taps, basin taps and shower taps. All these type of taps are designed for different functions. In general, bath taps help to manage the flow of water, curb wastage of water apart from lending a very fashionable look to your bathroom.

Choosing the right one

As there are different styles and patterns of bath taps available in the market, you can mix and match different taps for your bathroom but ensure that whatever taps you choose, you should be well aware of their installation requirements and their different designs and whether the varying designs will merge with each other or not. If you do not want to take any chances, get all your bath taps in one colour. If you want to experiment with different colours, you can always hire a design consultant to advice you on the best designs and colours of taps for your bathroom. 

Two home renovation mistakes you should be aware of

Home Renovation

Home renovation can be a tricky subject. What home décor trends might work for one type of home might not be suitable for some other type of home. Nevertheless, many home-owners end up making some or the other mistake while they take up home renovation. These may be small mistakes but will cost you unnecessary expenses when you go about rectifying them. Some home renovation mistakes can also cause injuries. Here are a few mistakes that you should avoid while taking up home renovation.

Select the right ladder

Most of us like to keep ladders in our homes as they are useful for a lot of things. Though they have a lot of uses, ladders can prove to be extremely dangerous if not handled properly. When you are shopping for ladders, you need to keep in mind certain things. The first thing is you need to get the ladder of the required height which maybe needed to complete the home renovation task at hand. If you get the right length of ladder, you surely do not have to stand on your toes to reach any object.  Also you need to ensure that the ladder is comfortable enough and has a lot of space for you to stand safely. The steps of the ladder should be stable and make sure they are secure before you bring the ladder home.

Right screwing and nailing

Another thing associated with home renovation is nailing and screwing different parts of your home. Before you start hammering screws and nails in the floors and walls, you need to have knowledge of the exact location of all the electrical wires and water pipes. When hammering screws and nails in the floors or walls, the last thing you want is flooding in the house or a nasty electrical shock.

These are some of the few things to keep in mind during home renovation. Hope you enjoyed reading it. 

Four reasons why you surely cant resist marble stone

To adorn your home walls or floors in beautiful marble tiles is surely a dream come true. The touch that marble tiles have to them cannot be replicated by any other tiling material. Apart from looking aesthetic, marble offers many other benefits. Here are few benefits of marble listed down which have made every home-owner attracted to this naturally occurring stone. 

Plethora of designs to choose from

One striking reason which makes marble tiles so popular is the variety in which they are available. Marble tiles come in a pool of styles, colours, patterns and designs. Such a vast variety makes it easy for you to choose the right tiles to complement your home décor. 

Graining patterns

Attractive marble tiles come in mismatched designs. This is because they are natural marble tiles and do not have a strict pattern of design. These natural marble tiles have wayward veins and grains which may not be repeated in other tiles. However, these marble tiles when installed on the floors create a distinctive and unique look. If you want some kind of patterns in the design, then you can opt for composite marble tiles which are made artificially. These marble tiles have a consistent graining pattern.

Glossy touch

Marble tiles come in a smooth, shiny surface that makes them even more attractive and pleasing to the eye. They have a glossy feel to them which makes them even more eye-catchy and gorgeous looking.

Practical benefits

Apart from the aesthetic qualities, marble tiles also offer some practical benefits. Marble tiles do not heat up in summers and keep the flooring cool which also helps to bring the room temperature down. Marble tiles are easy to clean and you do not have to spend on expensive solvents to clean these tiles. Due to all these properties, marble tiles attract scores of home-makers when it comes to interior decoration. 

What comprises a good interior design?

The way we design our homes speaks a lot about our tastes, preferences and even our personalities. This is the major reason why people nowadays take a keen interest when it comes to designing their homes. Right from choosing as big as the furniture for the home to small things like décor accessories, people now take a keen interest in everything.

The interior designs we choose for our home should not just be pleasant to look at but also should be comfortable and soothing for the home owner. We live in a fast paced world where we are constantly being bombarded with different types of information like what we should wear, what should we eat and what should we buy. But seldom, we pay attention to the design of our homes or rarely do we give a thought to how we should design our homes and what should be the perfect interior design for our home. The interior designs that we choose for our homes can have an effect on our creativity, moods and energy levels. So it only makes sense to have the right interior designs for our homes.

There are some simple ways by which we can spruce up our homes by going for the right interior designs. Here are a few points that need to be focussed on.

Harmony

It is very essential that all rooms in your home have a strong sense of co-ordination and harmony to them. Any amount of disharmony will only make the room look disturbed.

Focus points

Every room should have focus point. This is the main foundation of any interior design. The focus point should be such that it easily draws attention and stands out from the rest of the accessories. A focus point can be anything like an art display, family portraits or an architectural wall piece.

Visual balance

Visual balance is another pillar of a good interior design. Visual balance implies balancing the room’s visual weight and effortlessly spreading it out to other areas of the room.

These are some of the basic fundamentals of a good interior design.

Take the right steps when designing your bathroom

Bathroom Fittings

There are many reasons why people like to redesign their bathroom. For some, it may be a welcome change form the old, full appearance of the bathroom. Some others may have moved into a new home and want their bathroom to have a completely new look. While for some, the prospect of attractive returns upon selling their property lures them into bathroom remodelling. It is a fact that bathroom redesigning gives the best investment return compared to any other type of home remodelling. People are now experimenting with bold designs and themes for their bathrooms as they want this space to look entirely unique and special. There are many ways by which you can alter the appearance of your bathroom.

The first step when taking up a bathroom remodelling task would be to get the right bathroom fittings. Bathroom fittings are the heart and soul of your bathroom. Bathroom fittings include sanitary ware, cabinets and countertops. Though getting the right bathroom fittings may not comprise the entire redecoration procedure, it is no doubt an integral part of remodelling. To make your bathroom look lavish, you can replace the cabinets with new ones apart from changing the counter tops to granite.

Once you are done replacing the bathroom fittings, you should start looking for the right tiles for your bathroom. The selection of appropriate tiles would entirely depend on your family members and also your needs and requirements. If you have a job, then you surely would not have time to clean up the tiles everyday. In this case, you would like to have tiles that are anti-stain and scratch free. You can also co-ordinate the colour of your tiles with the walls and get a paint that completely compliments the flooring.

Few reasons why home-owners prefer ceramic tiles

Ceramic Tiles

Many home-owners like to have ceramic tiles for their home flooring. Compared to other types of flooring, ceramic flooring offers a lot of advantages. With so many benefits attached with ceramic tiles, it will be quite irrational if you do not opt for ceramic tiles for your home. Some of the benefits of ceramic tiles are listed below.

Ceramic tiles a have unique appearance to them. By installing ceramic tiles for your home, your home will not just look elegant and sophisticated but these tiles will also add the right colour to your room. Apart from this, ceramic tiles are also known for their durability so you would not have to worry about replacing them for a long time once you have installed them. When you are looking for floor tiles, you surely want tiles that are sturdy and also able to withstand high traffic and pressure apart from the regular wear and tear caused by people walking over the. Ceramic tiles are designed to withstand high pressure and they are an ideal flooring option for washrooms and kitchens.

If you are interested in the history of ceramic tiles, you will be surprised to know that ceramic tiles were first seen on the banks of river Nile. Obviously, they were the more traditional version of ceramic tiles but it just goes on to prove that even the most ancient of civilisations were aware of the various benefits of ceramic tiles. Reports suggest that ancient civilisations used ceramic tiles for their flooring and kilns.

Another great advantage of ceramic tiles is that they are known to be extremely versatile. They have no limitations as to the area of their installation. They can be installed in the kitchen, living room, washroom, kitchen tops and any other surface. Wherever you install ceramic tiles, they will always look good and stylish.

Why vitrified tiles are a good option?



Vitrified Tiles



Though many home-owners like to have hardwood flooring for their homes, they forget that it is not strong enough and cannot withstand high traffic. Though hardwood flooring looks elegant, it is quite delicate and requires a lot of maintenance to keep its appearance intact. For those who are looking for attractive alternative to hardwood flooring, vitrified tiles is a good option. Vitrified tiles not just look attractive and pleasing but also are stronger compared to hardwood flooring. They are much tougher than most other flooring options. With vitrified tiles, you can give your home a modern, new look that is hard to miss.

Vitrified tiles are manufactured essentially with the vitrification process which involves mixing 40 % clay and 60 % silica. This combination of clay and silica is termed perfect to form vitrified tiles. 

As a result of the process of vitrification, the end product is hard and non-porous. Being hard and non-porous, vitrified tiles easily score over other tiles like marble tiles and other stone tiles. Stone tiles and some of the marble tiles are porous and can get spoilt easily if there is much of water retention. 

Advantages 

Another good thing about vitrified tiles is that they hardly require any maintenance. Vitrified tiles are a perfect option in places which experience a lot of traffic as they are designed to be non-abrasive. Another unique advantage vitrified tiles have over hardwood and other types of flooring is that the designs for vitrified tiles are printed with soluble salts and can easily penetrate the surface of the tile to about 3 mm. This implies that vitrified tiles have their designs which are entrenched at a depth of almost 30% of the tile’s thickness.  With so many advantages, you surely cannot miss on having vitrified tiles for your home. 

Two simple ways to save water in the kitchen

All the activities in the kitchen are carried out by water and without clean water; the functionality of the kitchen remains zero. Be it cooking, washing or cleaning, water is required for each and every activity.  With water being used for a number of activities, it becomes important to use water judiciously. With the water crisis in different parts of the world, it is even more essential to save water and avoid wastage of water.

Washing process

Apart from leak-proof appliances, water conservation also depends on how you clean and wash the different ingredients. While washing vegetables, do not hold them under a running water tap. Instead, take the vegetables in a bowl and pour water in it and wash them. This helps to save a lot of water.

Leak-proof appliances

The first step towards saving water in the kitchen is to install only those appliances and accessories that come with a fixed guarantee and are from a reputed brand. Ensure that the pipes used in the kitchen are strong and designed to be leak proof. If the pipes have any leakage, then this can cause wastage of water. The market is filled with a host of appliances that guarantee no leakage but you should do your homework before you decide on any appliance for your kitchen. Apart from the pipes, it is also important that the taps that you select for your kitchen come with no leakage. Leaking taps can cause a lot of water wastage, reducing the amount of water in the main tank. Hence, always opt for taps that are completely leak-proof.

Saving water in the kitchen does not solely depend on the quality of appliances that you install but on your practices and methods on how you use the water. Water conservation is the need of the hour. 

Ceramic tiles- Ideal tiles for your bathroom

Ceramic Tiles

Selecting tiles for your bathroom can be a no easy task no matter how much easy it looks to be. Be it selecting floor tiles or the wall tiles, choosing a right type is important. Many people jus lay importance on the aesthetics and the beauty of the tiles, not giving much importance to the practicality. Apart from looking attractive, bathroom tiles should be suitable for your bathroom and should be practical in the given surrounding.

For your bathroom floors or the walls, you want tiles that are easy to clean, moisture resistant and durable. Ease of cleaning ensures you do not have to waste hours in the bathroom trying to remove stains from the tiles. As the bathroom is a place which will be attracting a lot of moisture, you want tiles that are damp resistant as the last thing you don’t want is someone slipping and falling down on the wet bathroom tiles.

Ceramic bathroom tiles

If you want bathroom tiles that provide ease of cleaning, durability and resistance to moisture, then ceramic tiles are an ideal option for you. If you are worried about the prices of ceramic tiles, then no need to worry as prices of ceramic tiles range from being very cheap to highly expensive. Depending on the type of tiles that you like to have for your bathroom, you can choose the price range for your bathroom tiles. Ceramic tiles come in different materials like porcelain, clay, shale. These ceramic tiles are fired at high temperatures till they become hard enough. Bathroom ceramic tiles come in a pool of different shapes, sizes, patterns, textures and designs. Some of the popular shapes available in ceramic bathroom tiles are octagons, rectangles, squares, diamond shaped tiles and hexagons. 

Giving your kitchen the coffee shop look

Out of all the areas of your home, the kitchen is surely a heart of your home and it surely deserves much attention. You have probably spent hours in your kitchen sipping coffee with your friends and family. A new trend of kitchen décor that has been emerging lately is the coffee kitchen décor. This is considered to be one of the hot décor trends and is sure to jazz up the look of your kitchen. 



Kitchen  Décor



Coffee kitchen décor 

When you use the coffee kitchen décor to décor your kitchen, remember that your kitchen will automatically transform into a trendy and a comfortable zone. You surely want your kitchen to just not look appealing but also be practical to use. One of the unique features of the coffee kitchen décor is that it gives your kitchen a unique popular café look which would surely be envied by your neighbours. If you do not wish to give your kitchen a popular café kind of look, then you can settle with the vintage appeal to give it a classier, diner look. Whatever style of décor you choose, the coffee kitchen will surely not disappoint you and you will be pleased to see the transformation of your kitchen. When you are using the coffee kitchen décor for your kitchen, you have the liberty to choose almost any colour scheme that you like. This is one of the rare features of this décor. With this liberty, you have a good chance of creating an aura of a coffee house in your kitchen without requiring spending a bomb on getting in various appliances or simply painting the kitchen. The colour of café au lait is very popular and gels with any theme if at any point of time, you get bored of the coffee theme of your kitchen.

Get to know more about taps

Taps

Taps are an all important accessory of any bathroom. Bathroom décor comprises an eclectic mix of different styles and designs of taps. Selecting right kind of taps for your bathroom creates a visually pleasing effect, be it a traditionally styled bathroom or a contemporary one. Taps come in attractive finishes and designs and they are considered best in elegance and utility.
Taps are an integral part of bath accessories as they are used for a number of purposes. A bathroom is rendered completely redundant without a proper set of taps. With modern technology making swift strides, taps are designed keeping in mind the latest market trends. Taps are cleverly designed and exhibit an example of utility and simplicity. These pieces blend effortlessly with the theme and colour scheme of your bathroom. If you are wondering about the prices of these exquisite taps, then worry not as these taps are available in the market at affordable rates so you can easily afford them.  Even with low prices, you will not be limited with options as taps come in diverse weights, sizes, finishes and shapes.
If you are looking for designer taps, then cross-water taps are a good option.Cross-water taps have handles that provide a comfortable grip and have smooth finish lustre. Cross-water taps are such that they can be easily handled by the old people as well as the kids. These taps are popular because they come with uniform water release feature and are strictly tested to give an error-free performance, resistance from corrosion, high quality, super design, resistance from abrasion and durability. Apart from taps, mirrors are an all important accessory of any bathroom. Mirrors for bathrooms come in different varieties like frameless mirrors, illuminated mirrors, semi-framed and framed mirrors. The type of mirrors we choose for our bathroom reflects our aesthetic tastes and choices.

Affordable ideas to do up your kitchen

Kitchen Flooring

You may not believe this but as a home-maker, you spend most of your time in the kitchen. The kitchen is a place where you have casual chats with your family members, prepare food for the entire family and thus, having a right look and design for the kitchen is extremely important. Since you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you surely would like to have a new design for your kitchen every few months. However, that may not be possible considering the high costs involved in remodelling the kitchen. However, this is not the end of the world for you as there are many décor ideas which are not just affordable but also easy on the pocket. Today, kitchen décor ideas have made custom –made to suit any type of kitchen ranging from modern, traditional or a country kitchen. 

Décor magazines

For handy kitchen décor ideas, you can scan through various lifestyle and décor magazines to get an idea of what are the designs and themes that are trending in the current period. However, you should stay away from such magazines that are only about pictures and offer no advice on kitchen designing. Seeing the attractive pictures in the décor magazine may lure you into adopting one of the designs for your kitchen, but it is also important that the particular design that you have selected suits your kitchen size and type.

Tiles for commercial establishments

When it comes to choosing the flooring for commercial spaces like malls and restaurants, you have to be careful that you choose the right type of flooring as the flooring meant for residential spaces would not suit commercial establishments. Places like malls and shopping centres have to cope up with heavy footfall throughout the day and at the same time maintain a safe and comfortable environment for the patrons. Hence, the requirements for commercial flooring are completely different from that of regular flooring. Here are a few considerations before your look for commercial flooring.

Commercial Flooring

Illusion of space

When looking for tiles for commercial spaces, look for those that can create an illusion of space. Most malls and shopping centres have tiles in greys and beiges as these are supposed to be most neutral of all colours. While looking for tiles for commercial establishments, the most neutral shade is chosen. However, times are changing and more and more innovative designs are coming into picture. These innovative designs for floor tiles are now being taken as an integral part of the floor design process. Opting for carpet tiles for commercial flooring gives you a chance to create flooring that is truly unique, custom-made to suit the area’s colour, taste and mood.

Durability

When looking for tiles for commercial spaces, remember that it is practically not possible to replace the tiles every few years. Hence, for commercial spaces, you need tiles that are extremely durable and have a long shelf life. Places like shopping malls will be exposed to heavy customer traffic and thus the tiles should be able to withstand the load and should be resistant against damage. Apart from damage, tiles for commercial spaces should be resistant to general wear and tear. For commercial spaces, you can opt for carpet tiles that have a dense loop pile construction which can be used along with vinyl flooring. Remember that when it comes to durability, hardwood flooring is the last option you should consider as it is not known for durability.

Why ceramic tiles are best for your bathroom

Ceramic Tiles

When it comes to choosing tiles for your bathroom, one good option you have is that of ceramic tiles. The bathroom is a place where it is difficult to take up redesigning tasks every now and then. So for the bathroom, you want materials that are long lasting and superior in quality. That is what the best quality of ceramic tiles is. Ceramic tiles are known for their durability as they are designed to have a long shelf life. Apart from being extremely durable, ceramic tiles are resistant to moisture and dampness. As they are designed to be resistant to damp surfaces, they are an excellent option in a place like the bathroom which sees a lot of moisture.

If there are old people in the house, you may be worried about their safety when they use the bathroom. But with ceramic tiles, there is no such worry as they are safe to walk on even when they are wet. Thus, you can install them in your bathroom without worry of old people slipping on the wet surface. Another great thing about ceramic tiles is that they are extremely easy to clean. You surely do not want to waste hours everyday just cleaning and washing your bathroom. Ceramic tiles are easy to clean and low on maintenance. If you are very particular about anti-resistant tiles for your bathroom, then you can also get slip resistant ceramic tiles for your bathroom. They are widely available in the market. Ceramic tiles come in different shapes like rectangles, squares, octagons and hexagons. You can also find diamond shaped ceramic tiles for your bathroom. Apart from this, there are many other shapes you can find in ceramic tiles.

Tiles- Perfect option for your balcony



Outdoor Tiles



When we buy a home, we always look for an additional outside space like a balcony or a terrace. Though not all of us are lucky enough to have a separate terrace, most of us have balconies attached to our homes. Though many of us do not spare much of a thought in designing the balcony, there are many who take a great amount of interest in designing the balcony. The balcony is considered an even more important space in hot summers when you desperately look for some place to chill and feel good. You may have a small sized balcony or a large one, but the fact remains is that it should be designed in the right way to gather most benefit from it. If your balcony is decorated in a right manner, it will greatly help to reduce the bad effects of any harsh weather conditions.

When it comes to designing the balcony space, the floor and the walls need to be done rightly done as this will influence how the entire atmosphere in the balcony is. For floors and walls of your balcony, tiles are an excellent option. Tiles are mostly made from natural stone. As they are made from natural stone, it helps to keep the surrounding temperature down when there is scorching heat outside. Apart from the cool temperature, tiles are also known to beautify your balcony and add a unique look to it. They will surely augment the appearance of the outdoor space. If you are wondering about the price of tiles, then worry not as tiles are extremely affordable and you can easily purchase them even if you are working on a tight budget. Thus, tiles are a perfect option for the walls and floor of your balcony. There are different types of tiles in various shapes and sizes and patterns if you closely research the market.

Few unique features of ceramic wall tiles




Ceramic Wall Tiles

 

When it comes to choosing wall tiles, most home-owners always prefer ceramic wall tiles because of the innumerable features they have to offer. Ceramic tiles have a lot of advantages over other wall tiles in terms of both practicality and looks. Though wall tile manufacturers constantly come up with innovative alternatives to various types of wall tiles, they find it much difficult to replicate or come up with something better compared to ceramic wall tiles. Ceramic tiles were popular in the olden days and they still continue to remain popular because of their unique features.

Features 

You must be wondering what the so-called features of ceramic wall tiles are. To begin with, ceramic wall tiles are extremely durable. Ceramic wall tiles are endowed with a long shelf life. So once you have fitted ceramic wall tiles for your home, you do not have to worry about replacing your wall tiles for a long period of time. Ceramic wall tiles are designed in a futuristic manner so that they do not lose their appeal over time and continue to look stylish and aesthetic even years after they have been installed. Another great feature about ceramic wall tiles is that they are designed to be water-proof. So they are a great tiling option in places like bathrooms and kitchens where the flooring and the walls are subjected to frequent moisture. Ceramic wall tiles will not retain moisture easily. Ceramic wall tiles are also known to be resistant to stains and marks. Thus, they are a safe option in the kitchen where the walls are prone to catching marks and stains. Another feature that makes ceramic wall tiles extremely desirable is the fact that they are easy to clean and maintain.

Selecting right lighting for your verandah

Outdoor Tiles

If you have a verandah outside your home, then you must of different ways of designing it. One of the important things when decorating any outdoor space is how you do up the lighting. The type of lighting you select for your outdoor space determines the aesthetic appeal of the place.
For your verandah, you may want fancy lights to impress the guests and visitors who come flocking to your house. When it comes to choosing fancy lighting for your verandah, you have a lot of options to choose from as fancy lights comes in a pool of different shapes, sizes and varieties and you can easily hunt for them in the local market. If you want your fancy lights to be custom designed, then you can also place an order for these fancy lights according to your preferences and the look of your verandah. If you opt for the right type of lighting for the outdoors of your house, it will just not add beauty to your home but also provide an enhanced level of security and protection for your home.
Before you start to install fancy lights for your vernadah, you need to check the pavements and courtyards while you wander in daylight as well as in the night. This will let you know at what places you will need the maximum lighting and what places can suffice with minimum lighting. The idea is that the entire verandah of your house is reasonably illuminated. You do not want a lot of light focussed at one place while another place remains pitch dark due to insufficient lighting. Mark the areas where there is a lot of darkness as this will help you to fit appropriate lighting for your verandah.

Replacing damaged ceramic tiles




Ceramic Tiles

  Ceramic tiles are known for their aesthetic value and long shelf life and they come if various shapes, sizes apart from varying degree of thickness. Sometimes, harm may be caused to the ceramic tiles when a hard object smashes on the floor. Damaged ceramic tiles need to immediately removed and replaced.

Once you see that any of your ceramic tiles is damaged, you need to purchase new ones. The damage may have caused uneven ends at the corners. This requires correct shaping to be done. Once you are done with shaping, you have to start the procedure of laying the tiles. To lay the tiles, you need to first prepare the floor surface. To start with, you need to remove all the broken pieces of the ceramic tiles. Following this, hack the dry grouting that is present beneath the surface of the tiles. While doing this, care should be taken to see that the surrounding tiles are not harmed. Ensure that you clean all the debris before proceeding with installing the tiles.

When you finally start replacing the broken tiles and fitting new ones, you should see to it that you do not harm the existing tiles which are in good condition. Before you start to lay the tiles, wet the surface and let it be for around forty minutes. To even the surface, a mixture of cement and sand is used. The ratio is two parts of sand and one part of cement which gives a rich mixture. Add the right amount of water to make the mixture consistent. Spread the mortar in the area. Put the cement grouting on top of the surface. After this, lay the tile on the top and use a mallet to level the tile while pounding it.

Getting creative with your ceramic tiles

Ceramic Tiles

You may be thinking of installing ceramic tiles for your home but must be wondering whether these tiles will add a new look to your home or just look like the conventional tiles. There are many ways you can give a artistic and a creative touch to your ceramic tiles. If you really want to play around with the design of your ceramic tiles, then one easy and affordable option you have is hand-painting them.

If you are wondering whether hand painting will do a good job for your ceramic tile, then worry not as ceramic tiles look amazingly wonderful once they have been hand-painted. Hand-painting ceramic tiles are the most popular method of decorating your ceramic tiles. Once your ceramic tiles are hand-painted, then it just not adds to the aesthetic value of your home but also greatly increases its resale value. All you need to do is put some effort to ensure you get a handsome price when you finally sell of your home. Your home may consist of different parts like the living area, stair risers, counter-tops, fountains, patios, floor accents, display windows apart from wall coverings. Having the flooring for these places will hand-painted ceramic tiles will surely add a new dimension to each of the place. When it comes to hand-painting your ceramic tiles, you can get as creative as possible and paint from anything right from abstract images, geometric shape, ancient designs, historic pictures, Egyptian hieroglyphics apart from Mayan stone carvings. 

You may be surprised to know that hand-painting ceramic tiles has developed into a full-fledged hobby for many people and people like to hone their skills into becoming professional painters in a bid to express their thoughts and imagination.

Two simple ways to revamp your kitchen



Kitchen Wall Tiles

 You may have watched innumerable TV shows demonstrating how to design your kitchen the right way. Though you may be excited looking at the different designs presented in the show, you really are clueless as to how to proceed with those designs for your kitchen. For starters, there are simple things you can do that can really augment the look and feel of your kitchen. There are a lot of do-it-yourself and self help ideas which can surely assist you in decorating your kitchen the way you want to do it. Here are some easy tips on how to give your kitchen that unique look.

Kitchen walls

Your kitchen walls play an important part in how your kitchen looks on an overall basis. The first step in giving your kitchen a whole new look is by changing the appearance of the walls. It is also the simplest step as you do not have to spend a bomb and it does not even involve a lot of hassles. You can give your kitchen walls a whole new look by going for a new paint or simply opting for a latest design wall paper. Be it paint or the wall paper, they help to create a unique ambience in the kitchen. Once you are done with the walls, you can then safely proceed with designing the rest of the kitchen.

Kitchen Island

If you are blessed with a larger sized kitchen, then you can always incorporate a kitchen island into your kitchen. The added space in your kitchen can be used for small food preparations or casual gatherings. A kitchen island always helps to smoothen out traffic in your kitchen. If you have a small kitchen space, then you can go for a kitchen cart that occupies minimum space and is functional too.

Choosing a design for your living room



Living Room



When it comes to designing the living room, you surely want to go with something that is not too expensive on the pocket. There are many ways to design your living room in a opulent manner without going too haywire with your budgets. If you are working on a tight budget, then you can look for DIY projects. You can go through various interior designs instead of hiring a interior designer. DIY projects are not that demanding. You can always check on the internet or refer to the various décor magazines and home decor sites to get an idea of how you want to design your home. If you are looking for some ideas to design your home, then read on.

Classic design

Designing your living room in classic design has always been preferred by most home-owners. This is one of the most common of ideas when it comes to doing up your living room. If you have chosen to do up your home is a classic design, then you can be assured that your living room gets a relaxing atmosphere and a unique texture. If your living room has sharp edged spaces and is too geometric, then offsetting it with textures is the right way to go about.

Hawaiian design

Another great theme that you can opt for your living room is the Hawaiian inspired look. This look is not that difficult to achieve as you think it to be. While going for Hawaiian themed look, you need to get a few ornaments and artefacts. Hand-made native accessories, bamboo accessories, woven furniture apart from the classic Hawaiian floral prints and designs make for classic Hawaiian themed home décor.

Getting right tools to clean industrial tiles

Industrial Tiles

Industrial tiles are a lot more different from the standard tiles that we see in homes and other commercial spaces. Industrial tiles or the standard tiles, you must have noticed that tiles began to lose their sheen after some time. They do not look the way they used to when they were installed. You may mop the floor several tiles with all the cleaners present in the market, but somehow the sheen does not come back completely. After certain point of time you tend to give up and let the floors remain as they are.Industrial tiles need to be maintained properly as industrial spaces go through a lot of rough activities and this may harm the tiles or permanently stain them. The first thing while purchasing tiles for industrial spaces is to see that they have a good shelf life unaffected by the regular dents and stain marks. For industrial tiles, many people prefer to go it simple and use a normal vacuum cleaner to clean the tiles. After the vacuuming, a drained mop is used to get rid of the remaining dust. But while using the wet mop, you are scared. There is a danger that that water may seep in to the tiles causing the flooring to swell.
Floor buffers
If you want to be assured of the beauty and the long lasting ability of your industrial tiles, then it makes sense to go for a floor buffer. You must have probably heard of a floor buffer earlier and chances are that you may know a few people who have already gained the benefits of installing a floor buffer. Floor buffers are quite common in markets. Floor buffers for industrial tiles might look difficult to use, but the reality is that they are quite simple to use. While using floor buffers for industrial tiles, always use a new pad every time you take up cleaning the floor. For tough surfaces, you can use cutting pads. For a wooden surface, a finishing pad will do the job well.