Kitchen layout- Choosing a right one for your kitchen !!

Kitchen Layout

In the earlier days, kitchens were a small, dingy area at the rear end of the house. They were not given much importance and were only meant for cooking purposes. However, times have changed and people are no shyer to experiment with their kitchen design. Different kitchen layouts are invented and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. While designing the kitchen space, the biggest hurdle is to how to make the kitchen area an open space and yet accommodate all the required accessories and appliances. We all like to have a kitchen that can have a small dining area. Space constraints, however, prevent us from including a dining region.

Choosing The Layout

While choosing the layout of the kitchen, different factors need to be considered. You need to decide whether you want an island kitchen. An island kitchen will surely cost you more and you need to be ready to spend that amount. You also have to determine the design of your kitchen. Do you want your kitchen to be designed in a modern or traditional way? Next you have to decide what all appliances you want in your kitchen. Remember not to crowd your kitchen with too many appliances and only keep those that are essential. You also have to decide what type of lights you want in the kitchen. You can have light fixtures attached to the ceilings of the kitchen or you can have those fixtures fixed beneath the kitchen cabinets.
Choosing a right kitchen layout is very important no matter whether you are remodelling an existing kitchen or designing a new one in your new residence. You may choose between an island layout or a peninsula layout depending on the location of your kitchen. What is important is that there should be good connectivity between the kitchen and the dining area. An island kitchen layout will enable the cook to have a conversation with other members of the family and not make him/her feel isolated in the kitchen.

Marble tiles for your floors..

BEAUTIFYING OUR HOMES
 



Marble Tiles



We all want a home that imparts a peaceful and a comfortable feeling when we return home from a tiring day at work. Some others might want their homes to look beautiful to impress their guests and neighbours who may visit their home. Whatever be the reason, we all want a home that boasts of beauty and yet is functional. We like to try out different tips to beautify our homes. Painting the home in neutral shades is one way of enhancing the beauty of the home. Walls painted in different shades can give your home calm or a bold look. Another area of attention is the floors. Marble tiles for the floors are an excellent option when it comes to doing up the floors. Marble tiles can lend your flooring an elegant appeal that is hard to miss. Sure, marble tiles are expensive compared to other types of flooring but they last for ages and score high on the aesthetic factor.


Marble Tiles

Installing marble tiles is a complicated procedure and you should do it only if you have a sound knowledge of DIY fittings. It is always good to have professional masons install the marble floors in your house. The last thing you want is the tiles to be fitted incorrectly and you having to spend extra on re-fitting them. Professional masons know their task well and hence it is best to hire them for the installation. Cleaning marble tiles is not that complicated. You do not have to buy expensive products from the market to clean your marble tiles. A simple mop can get rid of all the dust and dirt from the tiles. However, you should not pick cleaners that are acidic in nature or those which have neutral PH.

Know more about Ceramic tiles

The field of house flooring has undergone a host of changes in the last decade. People no more stick to the conventional flooring ideas but are ready to experiment when it comes to selecting the flooring for their homes. Different types of flooring have become popular in the recent times. One such type is ceramic flooring.

Ceramic Flooring

Ceramic tiles are a good alternative to the boring look standard tiles. Ceramic tiles come in a pool of different patterns. You need to choose a pattern that complements your requirements as well as suits your budgets. Apart from this, you can choose different patterns for different areas of your home. Ceramic tiles come in a vast range of colours and designs so you will not fall short of options when it comes to choosing tiles for your home.

Variants in ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles that are pre-grouted come in sheets which aid in simple and quick installation. Another variant, quarry tiles, are known to be tough, water-proof and thick and are ideal for surfaces that draw a lot of traffic. The Satillio type of ceramic tiles originates from Spanish designs and looks hard yet are decorative. Slate tiles are also another type of ceramic tiles. Slate as a material is brittle and comes in various hues of grey with different shades like violet, blue, black and different shades of black. However, you should be careful that slate ceramic tiles in dark colours are not exposed too much to the sunlight. If they are exposed to the sunlight, then they may start fading in colour.

You need to select tiles that have a long shelf-life. You can opt for light coloured tiles or tiles that have sober patterns as these tiles are easy to accessorise. You need to remember the fact that too dark or too light coloured tiles will easily show off any dust that has caught on the tiles. If you go for glossy looking tiles, then any footprints will be easily visible on them. If you want your room to appear larger, opt for big sized tiles. If you want a more cosy and intimate feel, go for smaller tiles.

Wall tiles for your home

Wall Tiles

Home decor is a tricky subject. What may look aesthetic to one person may be entirely distasteful to another. When you look to redesign your home interiors, you should follow your instincts rather than blindly following others’ advice.

Your house walls are a fundamental part of your home. You must be aware that people like to paint their walls in all different hues and colours to add that extra zing to their rooms. Many people also like to have mismatched colours and different textures for their walls. A new trend that is emerging is tiles for wall decoration. Wall tiles look aesthetic and give a sober yet beautiful appearance to the wall. Wall tiles come in a range of textures, designs and colours. Such is the range that you will never feel short of choices while looking for wall tiles. With wall tiles, you can create different appeals like of a metallic look or a crystal look for the wall. Some of the types of wall tiles are explained below.

Metallic wall tiles

Metallic tiles, which are prepared from stainless steel, are used in residential as well as commercial spaces. They add a degree of luxury to the walls. Metallic wall tiles come in a range of varieties and as a user, you will never fall short of options. There is a very prominent use of different colours while making metallic tiles. You can find metallic tiles in all sorts of hues.

Adhesive wall tiles

In a bid to make the installation procedure simpler, adhesive wall tiles come with an in-built layer of adhesive and also a built-in grout. Self-adhesive wall tiles have a smooth and silky appearance and no produce much mess while installing them on the walls. Adhesive wall tiles can be installed by you even if you do not have much knowledge about wall fittings. You will just have to take measurements, remove the protective paper, thus exposing the adhesive and put it on the wall. Adhesive wall tiles are resistant to humidity and heat and have no restrictions on the place of installation.

Ceramic tiles for your home

Home Decor

The birth of ceramic tiles dates as back as the origin of civilization. Ceramic as material, was only used for pottery items in the olden days. However, ceramics are now used to craft kitchenware like bowls, plates and also used in semi-conductors.
Ceramic tiles are a household name as they are a very popular tiling option. Huge slabs of clay are fired in a kiln which creates hard and long-lasting ceramic tiles. With their innumerable features, ceramic tiles are one of the most rational choices for residential as well as commercial spaces.

Durability

A striking feature of ceramic tiles is that if they are installed in the correct manner, they can almost last for an entire lifetime. You may want to change the look of your home after some years, but ceramic tiles will never let you down. Seeing their unmatched durability and beauty, you will not feel like changing them and replacing with some other type of tiles.

Colours and custom designing

To create ceramic tiles, artificial colours and dyes are infused into the original, earthy colours of ceramics. This infusion creates ceramic tiles in a host of different colours and as a customer; you will not face any difficulty in finding the tiles of your preferred colour. You can get ceramic tiles in any colour that you wish to have. A unique feature of ceramic tiles is that their range of colours remains unmatched to all other types of tiling materials. Depending on the brand that you opt for, you can also ‘custom create’ your ceramic tiles. This means that you can get these tiles custom made in your choice of a colour.

Saving water in the kitchen

Kitchen Decor

We all agree without doubt that water is an indispensable thing in our lives. Without water, there cannot be life and thus water is an essential commodity. Water is an even more important ingredient in our 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.

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.

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. Another way of saving water is to recycle the water. You can create a drainage wherein the used water from kitchen can be used to water your plants in the garden. This ensures there is good recycling of waste water.
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.

Appearance of marble and vitrified tiles

Floor Tiles

There are numerous options when it comes to selecting the flooring for your home. However, tiles remain an undisputed winner when it comes to flooring. Marble tiles and vitrified tiles are the common choices of most of the people. Here is some more information on the appearance of marble and vitrified tiles.

Marble tiles

Many of us are not aware of the beauty and elegance of marble tiles. Marble tiles come with an ethereal beauty that is miles above the standard tiles. A unique feature of marble tiles is that no two tiles are exactly same and there is always some amount of variation in them. The variation can be either in the form of asymmetrical spots, veins or a variation in the hues. Marble tiles should always be installed along with a grout joint no matter whether they are tumbled, polished or honed. The grout joint for the marble tile can differ according to the type of tile. For a polished tile, it can be 1/16 inch while for a tumbled marble; it will be around ¼ inch. The grout joint is essential to hide the minor variations in the size of marble tiles.

Vitrified tiles

A simple reason why vitrified tiles are so popular is because they come in a range of styles, finishes and patterns. If they are to be installed on the wall, then they need to be glazed. Glazing is not important if they need to be used as floor tiles. One outstanding benefit of vitrified tiles is that they can be easily installed without grouts. Unlike marble tiles, vitrified tiles do not differ in size and have a long shelf life. They are designed to withstand abrasions and do not get easily damaged.