Articles on Improving your Home

· Reforming your new Home      >  read article
· Why not landscape inside your Home?      >  read article
· Good Design Pays      >  read article


Reforming your new

Home

You have just bought your new Spanish home – but it is not exactly how you want it. It is time to embark on what the Spanish call reforming, the Americans remodelling and the Brits renovating.
The first priority is setting a budget. Even if you are independently wealthy you still need to establish a realistic budget . . . and manage it.
The most important step is finding a professional contractor for your job. Ask around amongst friends who have had similar work done but – unless you are an expert DIY person - it is probably best to hire a professional who knows his way around the Spanish building laws and regulations. A well-written contract – as opposed to a casual, and very Spanish, verbal agreement can prevent costly mistakes on a big project.
Whatever you do, go through the design process first and choose everything you want to include in the new rooms, from appliances to light fixtures. This will define your budget and prevent hasty (and costly) decisions later in the project.
When you specify the work be sure to include it all in the contract to avoid confusion – that means the model, size, colour, and other specifications of equipment, quality of materials etc. Even then allow for a 10-20 percent cost over-run.
You can save money by some judicious shopping around to see if you can achieve a similar look with a less expensive product. At the same time balance out how labour intensive some design features may be, for example laying ceramic tile on kitchen work surfaces and splash backs.
Be creative. There are often many ways to create a design, some more expensive than others. If all the room really needs is a facelift, make the most of changes with paint, as opposed to structural changes.
Heavy or textured wallpaper can work wonders as well. You can save money by wallpapering a slightly damaged wall rather than replacing it. Faux finish painting or other textured decorative painting techniques also can hide minor damage or irregularities that flat paint won’t.
Creating more space can be a big cost and it is often difficult to add space to some modern Spanish designs. One alternative is to steal space from a neighbouring room. You may be able to find space for a bathroom expansion from the wardrobe space in adjoining bedroom. You can make up some of the lost storage by finding small spaces in between wall studs for small niches or built-in shelves.
You can also try stealing space with optical illusions. There are many ways to make a small room appear larger. In the kitchen you can save by reusing existing appliances, and build your new cabinets around them. In any event try to keep the major fixtures, appliances and utilities in the same places as moving plumbing, wiring and phone jacks can be extremely expensive.
Choose neutral colours they are less expensive to start with and wont look dated when the colour trends change. White sinks are much cheaper than colour varieties, for example.
Use the existing flooring if it is still in good condition. Refacing existing kitchen cabinets eliminates the need for new flooring, countertops and appliances altogether, it is a major saving.
In the bathroom consider reglazing a bath instead of replacing it, especially if it is still in relatively good condition. This can save you more than half the cost of a tub replacement-and minimize the dust at the same time! Cultured marble sheets are a good choice for bath surrounds, instead of ceramic tile. You will save considerably on labour costs and the marble sheets are much easier to clean.
Define what is truly needed in the bathroom. Sometimes an extra bathroom is planned when installing a double sink in an existing bathroom so husband and wife can clean their teeth side by side would meet the need.
Above all ensure you get the home you want at the cost you can afford.
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Why not landscape

inside your Home?

Plants bring harmony

We know the ancient Greeks brought plants into their homes and most of us have struggled to keep pot plants alive - we feel happier with some greenery around us.
Certainly business takes it seriously many new office blocks feature massive plantings, sometimes trees reaching through several floors of the building.
Why do they do it? Partly it is because it adds to their image. However, there are hard financial reasons and interior landscaping, as it has become known, seems to help improve productivity and employee retention, while reducing sickness and absenteeism.
In hospitals studies have shown that plants reduce stress levels and recovery times are shortened.
All good reasons to give the lounge an ‘interior landscape’, especially here in Spain where there are so many more plants to grow – as long as you keep the water coming.
Many people pay scant attention to plants, which, apart from the benefits to the environment, means they miss out on a relatively cheap way to visually enhance their homes.
The recent architectural trend towards minimalist interiors with glass and steel predominating may be regarded at sophisticated in Hampstead but it is rarely seen in Spain where we tend to like our buildings to sit in the landscape and our interiors to reflect the warmth and light of the country.
That doesn’t just mean warm woods and terracotta it also means the natural greens, greys and startling bright flowers of the countryside.
In Spain it is so much easier to make your living space part of the garden or terrace and link your home with the landscape. Most of us, even apartment dwellers, still feel the need to grow something in our window box or garden.
Gardens are trendy again and interior gardening is moving in the same direction. The trend is to link the interior space with the external spaces carrying interior design features into the garden and the garden into the home.
For those who want to ride the design wave – which has been given considerable impetus by TV shows such Home Front in the Garden - here are a few basics to look at before you start populating your living room with the products of a rainforest.
Light is crucial and in Europe we measure light in lux. People and plants need 500 lux shining on them. This is a base level for plants to live.
Some plants need much more, for example a “Ficus Benjamina” tree requires an average of 1000 lux for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In reality, if you live in Spain, light is not a problem, unless you are trying to grow your houseplants in a cellar. You do need to take temperatures into account. Indoor plants can be categorised as tropical or temperate. Tropical need a stable environment that doesn’t fluctuate by more than 10 degrees Celsius a day and always keeps a minimum temperature of 12 degrees Celsius.
Temperate or Mediterranean plants, such as citrus, need cool nights, which fall below 10 degrees Celsius.
If you have air conditioning humidity should be in the range of 38%-41% as dry air will bring problems with pests and certain plants will not thrive. Naturally ventilated air doesn’t present a problem, so open a window.
In reality, that means you can grow almost anything indoors in Spain. In fact you can have your own miniature Kew Gardens – the real thing is now a world heritage site, of course.
It would certainly be a good idea to grow plants native to the Iberian Peninsula. Experts reckon there are around 9,000 varieties but three are already extinct and three more on the verge of extinction. Another 185 are endangered, 272 are officially vulnerable and 484 are already rare.
That makes it important not to acquire plants from the wild but to make sure you use reputable nurseries and garden centres – and there are an increasing number along the coast.
Just for reference –if you really want to go back to Southern Spain’s root plants - the original coastal vegetation was of Aleppo Pine, Stone Pine, Holm and Kermes Oak with many introduced exotics, including cacti and century plants. Inland, Holm Oak, Pyrenean Oak, Portuguese Oak and Cork Oak become more widespread.
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Good Design Pays

Instinctively we all notice design, good and bad. whether we realise it or not. Good design is not the sole preserve of long-haired Lawrence performing on TV or the sometimes pretentious and always expensive designers who have established their names as ‘labels’ for good taste.
Good design is what any paying customer wants to see when buying a home.
It is important in public places and sometimes it can be wonderful, as anyone who has visited the Islamic gardens of Alcázar in Cordoba or Alhambra in Granada will readily testify.
It is vital in private too, in our homes, where it contributes to our sense of peace, ownership and simply being at home. It also adds to the re-sale value at the end of the day.
Very few places in the world can have such a wide choice of design in modern homes as Spain’s fast-growing coastal plain. The exterior design varies from early tower block to some of the successful re-interpretations of ancient architectural themes in the world.
For over a century, there has been a revival of earlier architectural themes throughout Andalucía. This has included the neo-Gothic but has focused in particular, on the neo-Moorish and neo-Islamic.
In private villas, in urbanisations and even in public works we see such elements as inner courtyards, arched doorways and windows, fountains and the use of brick instead of stone.
The archways of several public buildings acknowledge the Moorish influence, including even the sewage works being built at Benalmádena, to say nothing of the stations of Seville and Almeria and the markets of Málaga and Tarifa.
So, we first exercise our sense of design when we look at the estate agent’s picture of the villa, townhouse or apartment we are thinking of buying in Spain.
Some will be a little boring. although the modernista buildings of Gaudi are now being reflected in odd spots around the Costas, but most will reflect the involvement of experienced architects, familiar with designing buildings for the Mediterranean environment.
Some, like Eduardo Oria, have made a name for themselves by being linked to an outstanding project. His concept of Benalmádena’s Puerto Marina as what the Moors might have been building today if they had stayed in occupation of the Iberian Peninsula is, without doubt, successful and popular as well as practical. The fact that the marina is about to undergo a substantial expansion shows just how popular.
Marbella boasts Renaissance, Baroque, Moorish as well as native Castillian architecture, and there are some simply stunning modern developments all along the southern and eastern coastline that combine mountain and Mediterranean views with buildings which sit naturally in the landscape.
However stunning a building may look from the outside it also has to work and give a feeling of well being from the inside. That is primarily a matter of balance, the experts tell us. Balance, they say, as in nature; is the great equalizer that provides a constant to the space in which it exists.
Here is where the architect and the owner have to come together. The balance in a room is partly a matter of proportion but it is also the use of colour, pattern, texture, and layout. The room needs to fulfil its function and harmonise with the natural world outside the windows, as well as the living style of the occupants.
Rooms need focus and design allows you to decide the direction the eye travels when it first sees the room. If you want harmony then the elements should be working together to form a visually pleasing cohesiveness. Proportion, rhythm and scale all have a role to play and only the individual can decide which balance between subtlety and impact best suits them. Moderation in all things, including moderation.
Of course, cost is a factor but good design is not simply a matter of spending money. If it were then pop stars and footballers would live in the most tasteful homes on earth.
Some of the questions someone looking at the interior design of a new home or a potential new home needs to ask are:
What feeling should the room convey to you or a guest?
Is the style a trend or a classic style?
What colour scheme is in use?
Can the old and new be combined effectively?
Does the layout of the room suit the traffic flow and ergonomics?
What textures would enhance the mood of the room?
Then there is the essential question of light. In southern Spain the natural light has more impact than almost anything else on the look and feel of interiors and exteriors. Light is not simply its presence but also its absence. Shadows give shape and reality and weight.
Nothing has a greater impact on colour and harmony than lighting. Illumination gives emotion, tone and impression, yet all too often people decide to add a lighting scheme as an afterthought when designing or redesigning a home.
Planning ahead saves you time, money and effort. You need to know what you require to achieve the effect you want. Tungsten bulbs, for instance, tend to brighten warm colours and mute cool colours. They are ideal for general lighting especially in bedrooms, living rooms and dining areas. Tungsten-Halogen bulbs are best for accent lighting as they have a small, bright, yellowish-white source that casts crisp shadows Fluorescents are designed specifically to produce even lighting, and are commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms and utility areas. Modern fluorescents fit the same fixtures as ordinary bulbs and are a good replacement because of the quantity and quality of light. There are hundreds of different types of fluorescent bulbs, each for a specific use, with daylight-simulation tubes which give off a warm glow, to growth-enhancement tubes which encourage the growth of plants in artificial environment.
Before you can create well-designed lighting you need to understand exactly how you intend to use a space. First analyse its shape, size and uses. Does the room have windows? If so, how many, what size and what directions do they face? What about a fireplace?
Next, analyse the contents and main uses of the room. Do you plan to read, listen to music, watch TV, entertain guests, play games or just chill out on your own? It is then possible to identify the factors that will affect the way a room might be arranged and lit.
Finally draw a floor plan of your room, which will help you decide where to place your furnishings and position the lighting to relate to the activities and furniture grouping of the room.
Inside and out, good design is related to good taste, usually something you instinctively know you have, just as you know people who have none whatsoever.
When you buy a home in Spain you exercise your good taste by choosing one of the best climates and most wonderful people in Europe.
Then you choose a home that not only has a location but a look that fits with the sense of place and style that suits you.
Finally you add your personal taste, perhaps with the help of the architect and builders if it is a brand new home - through the decoration, furnishing and lighting which helps bring the whole thing together, and turn a house into your home.
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