Monthly Archives: October 2020

How to Install Interior Log Siding

Eclectic Homes / / by

One way to jazz up an wall that is painted or wall-papered is by simply installing interior . For simplicity of setup, choose logs which fit together to produce a wall. It’s possible to place the logs over completed walls and secure them using a single nail at every stud. To create a appearance replace wall trim using a thicker material that looks like the logs.

Build wood extensions for every electrical outlet and light switch inside the room. Rip 1/4 inch in the face of 2-by-3 lumber saw. Cut the ripped 2-by-3 in half to form two bits of 1 1/4- timber. Cut two pieces 4 inches long and another two 3 3/4 inches long. Set both 4-inch pieces horizontally. Place both 3 3/4-inch bits between the 4-inch bits to produce a rectangle box. Flush the outside edges and place 2-inch brad nails through the bottom and top pieces to connect them.

Find the breaker box before removing the covers, and switch off the power. Remove the screws and pop the switches’ and outlets’ face plates off. Remove the screws which secure outlets and the switches and pull it out to expose the wires. Loosen the fasteners which secure the wiring. Pull the cables through the wood expansion you constructed, together with the resin box expansion, and reattach them to outlets and the switches. Reattach outlets and the switches to the box by slipping 2-inch screws and into the resin extension piece and the box inside the wall.

Eliminate the present wall, window or door trim and transfer the span and cuts. Cut the new working your way round the room piece by piece and install it , trim.

Twist a stud finder throughout the wall to mark the location of every stud. Place a 48-inch carpenter’s degree vertically on every mark and scribe a line up the wall for nailing. Starting at the bottom, place the course of log siding on the wall using the tongues. Place the carpenter’s flat until the centre bubble is within the lines and make adjustments.

Place 10 or eight penny nails through the bottom and top edges of the log siding at the points at which each stud is situated. Use a circular saw to cut the lengths of log siding to fit.

Install log siding in addition to the course’s next course , allowing the grooved ends to slide the tongues of the class over. Stagger at which two cut boards come collectively final, at least four feet by those in the former class, or all the butted joints. By placing nails into every stud through the top edges and secure this course of siding. Continue laying the siding until the wall is complete.

Measure the positioning of every switch and outlet as you work your way up the wall and transfer these measurements to the log siding. Equip a jigsaw with a wood-cutting blade that’s long enough to cut through the log piece so it matches around the outlets. Drill a 1/2-inch hole which you are cutting out, which can be referred to as waste material, via when the opening isn’t near a border of the log piece to slide the jigsaw blade.

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What Paperwork Do I Want to Sell My House?

Renting and Tenant Rights / / by

A home sale requires a large amount of paperwork. The vendor is responsible for providing and completing specific types of documentation when purchasing a home. A homeowner who fails to fill out or furnish the necessary legal paperwork may shed a purchaser or face legal actions following the sale is finished.

Function

The wide range of paperwork needed to sell your home serves different functions. The deed, or instrument used to show your legal ownership of a home, contains the home description. A real estate description would be that the measurements of your house described in words; a backup is necessary for legal documents utilized in the sale process, like a sales contract. Proof that liens and invoices because of the home are compensated or present is required for a home sale, and also documentation of outstanding liens on the home must be provided to the parties involved. A general disclosure of the house’s condition is called for in most areas.

Types

Property tax receipts function as evidence that the taxes on the home were compensated. Receipts for charges, to get garbage collection or like a fee to use the public sewer, are required for to market a home. A statement of your utility account for water service ought to be obtained from the company. A financial disclosure statement, which lists all the liens on your home, notifies the parties concerned concerning the obligations currently connected to the property. The payment history from the homeowner’s insurance policy can be required for the sale. An overall disclosure statement will record all specific restrictions, problems or obligations with your own home, such as a rental agreement with a present tenant.

Effects

Documentation of outstanding liens, like mortgage obligations, allows the actual estate lawyer or professionals required to organize a last payoff of the lien at the time of the home’s sale. Receipts for tax bills prove the liens were compensated, and also the new homeowner won’t cause the charges. The present status of water accounts and specific assessments allows you to determine what portions of the monthly bill the purchaser is liable for at the time of sale. The disclosure to the purchaser prevents you from being sued later about a problem that existed like a leaky roof, at the time of sale.

Benefits

Financial disclosures allow you to settle all owed trades on the house by the time of sale, avoiding the possibility of a lawsuit from a purchaser or lender afterwards on. Presenting tax receipts proves you paid the property tax bills in full and aren’t responsible for new charges. Evidence of homeowner’s insurance may allow your buyer to obtain a new policy more easily and stop your own deal from stalling. Special assessments and water bills can be prorated, meaning you are only accountable for the portion of the bill for the sale for the days you’re still the proprietor. Providing copies of present bills ensures you won’t pay for services you did not use.

Misconceptions

You don’t need to have your initial deed to sell the home. A backup can be obtained from the county recorder’s office where the property is located for a fee, such as $5. The certified copy may service as the official deed for your home in a sale. A file of your initial mortgage loan records can be obtained from the county recorder’s office to the financial disclosure, so in the event that you’ve misplaced the original records, a legal backup is readily available for the lawyer to see. You can obtain a certified copy of the loan records from the county recorder’s office if you are not using a lawyer.

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FHA Appraisal Process

Eclectic Homes / / by

If you have procured an FHA-insured loan, then found the home that you want to purchase and started a sales arrangement, then you’re ready for another stage of this FHA approval process, that is the assessment. While FHA appraisers place an emphasis on safety throughout their process, the objectives are two-fold–to be certain the home does not have any major safety problems and to determine the home’s actual market value for the purposes available.

Ordering the Appraisal

As of February 2010, FHA-approved creditors aren’t in control of purchasing home appraisals. The FHA now uses appraisal management companies to randomly assign home assessments to FHA-approved appraisers. It follows that creditors will have less contact with appraisers throughout the home evaluation process, which eliminates some level of bias or favoritism on the part of lenders selecting appraisers. It’s possible to determine whether the appraiser assigned to evaluate your home is in fact FHA-approved by assessing the FHA’s site, which includes a clearinghouse of approved appraisers nationwide.

Touring the Home

The appraiser’s first task is to see the property. FHA appraisers put a focus on safety when they walk through the property, but it should not be mistaken with a home inspection, that provides a deeper look at what may be wrong with the home. A FHA appraiser seeks to locate big problems that can affect value, including leaky roofs, poisonous chemicals, insufficient heating and cooling , and poor water and sewage drainage. These problems may result in the appraiser advocating they be fixed before a loan is accepted, in addition to reducing the value of the home.

Documentation

The appraiser can also be required to assemble documentation of his trip. That documentation includes photos of the exterior of the home from the front, the back and the road. The appraiser must produce a sketch of the interior floor plan along with a location map of interior appliances and other major products. The appraiser’s results must be included on FHA form 1004 and must possess the FHA number of the home. The appraisal must document the estimated life of the home.

Valuation

One of the appraiser’s key functions is discovering your home’s worth, which can be done after the walk-through. The appraiser has three choices to figure worth. The price strategy determines how it would take to build a property similar to the subject home. The sales comparison is when the appraiser compares the subject home into three similar homes in the area, all recently sold, and then corrects or deducts predicated on corresponding items and closeness to local amenities. The appraiser may additionally use the income approach, which is typically only used if you are working to finance rental property. In cases like this, the appraiser values the house’s monthly rent based on the local marketplace, and worth accordingly.

Conclusion

The appraisal process is complete when the company sets the home’s market value, based on information gathered in the walk-through, documentation and valuation stages. The sum will not automatically be the purchase price the buyer and seller are negotiating. Rather, the appraiser figure is likely what the lender will use to put financing limits to the buyer of the home and reflects an educated guess of the home’s real value.

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How Can I Reduce the Interest Rate on a Home Equity Loan?

Eclectic Homes / / by

Home equity loans are provided to borrowers who own real property. Most lenders provide home equity loans with interest rates which are based on an applicant’s credit history and credit score. The percentage of your home’s equity which you use has an effect on your rate of interest. If you secure a loan with less than 70% of your home’s equity, then you may get an opportunity to acquire a lower rate of interest.

Improve your credit score to acquire a house equity loan at a lower rate of interest. Make payments to satisfy past-due obligations, such as collection accounts, tax liens and judgments. Additionally, pay your credit card accounts to levels which are less than 30% of the charge limitation for each account.

Refinance your house equity loan. You are able to save money on closing costs if you refinance with the lender who services your house equity loan. Inform your current lender you want a lower rate of interest on your house equity loan. The loan officer will seek your consent to pull your credit report. An acceptable credit score may help you qualify for a lower rate of interest on your house equity loan.

Shop for home equity lenders. Review offers. Ask a fantastic faith estimate and a Truth In Lending disclosure form. Compare the annual percentage rate for each lender, to determine the offer with the lowest price.

Submit a program to the home equity lender which provides a lower rate of interest than your current loan. By refinancing your home equity loan, your rate of interest can be lowered.

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Real Property Assessment Guidelines

Eclectic Homes / / by

Real property is a valid term for the property you have –not only the land itself but the soil and minerals under it and some other permanent structures constructed on top of it. Everything is categorized in the law as private property. Real property is subject to taxation by various authorities, such as county and city government and school boards, based on the assessed value.

Time

All states set a specific date for analyzing the value of property; for instance, the very first day of July in New York state and Jan. 1 in California. The assessor will set the market value for the property on that date orif the law restricts the resale worth –will set the value in line with the law. In California, for instance, many pieces of property can not be assessed for over the preceding year’s worth, plus around 2 percent inflation.

Fair Market Value

“Fair market value”–what a savvy buyer and seller would agree is the acceptable price of this house –is a common guideline for assessing property. To figure out fair market value for your house, assessors check recent sales of similar buildings or property. They might also look at the construction market to determine what it might cost to construct a duplicate of any structures on your house and factor that information in. New York’s Department of Taxation says that sale or construction prices on one building are not enough to establish market value: To value property correctly, the assessor will need numerous examples of similar sales or structures.

Use

Some owners don’t use their property in its”highest and best use,” and this may affect how it’s assessed. If you own a farm beside a shopping centre, for instance, the fair market value would be based on someone getting and creating the farmland; a few states, however, attempt to preserve agricultural land by assessing it according to”current usage,” which means a lesser value and reduced taxation. New York State assesses all property based on current usage, unless it’s vacant–neither assembled nor farmed–in which case it will be assessed for its potential usage.

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How to Calculate Prepayment Penalty

Budgeting Your Project / / by

Most loans that required prepayment penalties were high-credit-risk subprime and Alt-A loans in the 1990s and early- to mid-2000s. Lenders designed prepayment penalties to ensure they received reimbursement from the loan in case the loan was paid off early. Prepayment penalties generally lasted from a few years after the loan closed. The amount of the prepayment penalty varies depending on the lender that demanded it. Penalties can choose the form of a flat fee or a portion of the remaining loan balance.

Read your present loan note. It will let you know that the length of the prepayment penalty and the sum. Some lenders provided declining prepayment penalties. This usually means the prepayment penalty might be 3% the first year, 2% the second year and 1 percent the next year. Most loans with prepayment penalties let some of the loan to be compensated penalty-free. Your note should also contain this information as well.

Determine where you are in the prepayment penalty cycle. If your loan provided a declining prepayment penalty, the lender will often base it on the amount of payments have been made. If your loan’s prepayment penalty drops once payment No. 13 is obtained and you have already made 12, wait 1 month and make the 13th until you pay off the loan.

Obtain your loan balance in the lender. At times the loan balance will be on your monthly mortgage coupon or on the company’s website. If you can’t find it at these places, call your lender and request that the loan balance. Do not request a loan payoff amount because the lender may charge you for this. Wait to request the official loan settlement sum till you are prepared to really pay off the loan.

Subtract in the equilibrium any volume you can pay with no penalty. Multiply the difference by the prepayment penalty. If your loan’s balance is $200,000 and the amount you can prepay without penalty is 10 percent a year, subtract 10 percent in the balance of this loan. $200,000 times 10 percent equals $20,000. The balance of $200,000 minus $20,000 equals $180,000. If your prepayment penalty is 2%, then multiply 180,000 times two percent to equal $3,600 — the prepayment penalty.

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5 Things LEED Interior Designers Want You to Know

Decorating Guides / / by

If you are interested in going greener in your home, you’ve likely encounter the expression “LEED” or even “LEED Certified.” LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an application created by the U.S. Green Building Council that offers third party verification of green buildings. Buildings can earn LEED points in several of distinct regions; the goal is to make spaces that are more sustainable for the planet and fitter for the people living inside them. Among those groups of professionals that can help you navigate the tricky waters of the certificate process is LEED interior designers.

We talked with Philadelphia-area interior designer and LEED accredited professional (AP) Amy Cuker of Down2Earth Interior Design, and 2 specialists from San Francisco Bay Area’s Niche Interiors: interior designer and certified green building professional Jennifer Jones, along with junior designer and LEED AP Lynn Trinh. Here are five explanations about what they’re doing.

Amy Cuker, MBA, LEED AP

1. Just because LEED designers are green doesn’t mean they forfeit fashion. Recall a LEED interior designer was an interior designer initially and chose to further her or his training to become a LEED accredited professional — so you can expect the identical level of taste and professionalism as from another design expert.

“I like to point out to my clients that first and foremost, you need to make design decisions that are practical for you and your loved ones,” states Cuker. “Reuse or repurpose items that are still workable, and if purchasing new items, buy items that are top quality and timeless. If something is not practical or falls apart or goes out of fashion, I don’t care what percentage of its contents were recycled, or if it came from a certified forest. It is still heading for a landfill a good deal earlier than a one-piece bit whose design is lasting. In this manner being a fantastic LEED designer does not really differ from only being a really good, thoughtful interior designer, period.”

Niche Interiors

2. LEED designers look beyond the labels to locate truly sustainable products and materials. It is all too easy for the average user to get fooled by “greenwashing” — claims that a commodity is ecofriendlier than it truly is. A fantastic LEED designer can steer you on the real deal.

“LEED designers are educated about the sort of materials and finishes used in residential interiors — we now use this knowledge to assist our clients create homes that are healthy for their own families and the environment” says Jones. “We decrease carbon footprint by sourcing locally, define responsibly and sustainable harvested timber, and source and repurpose vintage furniture to decrease waste.”

Amy Cuker, MBA, LEED AP

Cuker adds, “Often when designing a kitchen, as an example, I will have a conversation with a client about sustainable materials. Sure, you can find solid-surface countertops with a great deal of recycled quartz mixed in, or you may use bamboo timber, which regrows super fast, so these are billed as sustainable options. However, when you have a closer look, these products almost always come from abroad. If your stuff have to journey across the world to get to youpersonally, is your carbon footprint still low enough to call these options sustainable?”

She’s “I must admit I don’t always know the answer, but I always raise the question, so that if there’s a choice that’s sustainable and local, and functional and beautiful, we can have more optimism regarding the sustainability of our design decisions.”

Niche Interiors

3. LEED designers can help you have a healthy home. Families that have or are anticipating children could be especially interested in moving greener at home for health reasons, and a LEED designer can help you accomplish that goal.

“Indoor air quality is one of our main concerns when selecting paint, furniture, cabinets and carpeting,” states Jones. “As designers we educate our clients on which goods off-gas harmful compounds, and we eliminate or decrease the usage of them as much as you can.”

Niche Interiors

Jones continues, “For example, we define zero-VOC paints, which emit no harmful chemicals and are safe to use while clients are still living in their property. We also design custom eco-friendly upholstery that contain no flame retardants, which are linked to a wide variety of medical complications, such as impaired fertility and IQ.”

Amy Cuker, MBA, LEED AP

4. LEED designers are not terrified of hand-me-downs. “If your parents or grandparents were thrifty, so they were also kind of green. If they’re willing to pass something old down to you, don’t dismiss it out of hand. Just take a close look and see if there’s any way it may be used or displayed in your modern life,” states Cuker.

“Our layout landscape may look homogenized if you source all of your inner accoutrements from chain stores,” she adds. “However, something that has been passed down will have personal history. And if it stuck around this long, it is very likely to be of better quality than many objects currently being generated. By way of example, these are my parents’ 40-year-old orange crushed-velvet couches [revealed], which have now taken up residence in my living room”

Amy Cuker, MBA, LEED AP

5. Not every job is a great candidate for LEED certification, but LEED designers may still help your home. Some variables may be outside your control when it comes to green home design, especially if you already own your home and aren’t starting from scratch. However, you can still use a LEED designer that will assist you make your home as green as you can — and that’s a fantastic thing.

“There are many reasons why homeowners may want a LEED certification,” Cuker states. “Perhaps they believe sticking to the LEED standard will guarantee a certain level of indoor air quality and health for those occupants, or maybe they believe they’ll get better resale value within their home, or maybe they simply believe that by having a home that is certified, they are setting a fantastic public example for others to follow”

She’s “But homeowners should know that it takes a large amount of administrative effort, and related professional fees, to acquire the official certification. A nonrated home could be every bit as green as long as it employs sustainable plans. Do not let the hassle of going through the certification process stand in the way of making the healthiest design decisions possible. Do what is right for your home and the entire world, whether or not you opt to take part in the LEED certification process.”

Amy Cuker, MBA, LEED AP

“As an interior designer, I’m frequently brought into a job after the site has been chosen,” Cuker elaborates. “Once chosen, the site and its characteristics — like its proximity to public transportation, how water runoff is managed, what percentage is paved etc. — are pretty far outside of an interior designer’s control, and those things depend when opting for LEED credits. If you can not do much about the site, don’t let it prevent you from employing sustainable strategies where you are able to.”

She offers this guidance: “LEED gets got the most widely recognized brand name for green building certification, as a result of the hard work of the U.S. Green Building Council. However, LEED is only 1 tool to assess the sustainability of a home. There are many others out there as well, and homeowners may want to explore alternatives and decide what is right for them.”

Niche Interiors

Inform us Would you consider working toward LEED certification? Curious about anything else LEED interior designers do? Share your ideas and questions in the Remarks section.

More: What Is LEED All About, Anyway?

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8 Ways to Dress Up a Drab Hallway

Decorating Guides / / by

The hallways that link living spaces to sleeping spaces to the exterior of a home are just as important as bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. Whether you’re working with a short hallway, a hallway with a sharp turn, a spacious hallway or one that is a tight squeeze, it is possible to make it feel as special as the rest of your home. Ensure that your hallways come alive with built-ins, light, vibrant rugs and more.

Hanrahan Meyers Architects

1. A vibrant rug. If your hall could utilize a pick-me-up, add a vibrant rug for immediate style. The stripes on this rug help a narrow hallway feel wider. The lengthy rug, which extends from 1 end of the hallway to the other, has a stunning effect. Can’t find a rug that is long enough? Try sewing a number of the very same rugs together to create a faux runner.

Hufft Projects

2. An image gallery. This designer took advantage of a extra-long hallway by hanging a row of family photos and art. While identical frames and matting can seem graphic and bold, this eclectic mix of colors and sizes adds warmth to the room.

The best way to Receive your art positioning right

Avalon Interiors

3. Cabinetry. Use a broader hallway and assemble in some custom cabinetry for additional storage and display space. The cupboard in this photograph serves as a display shelf for arenas. Its neutral colour of paint keeps the hanging artwork as the focal point.

John Maniscalco Architecture

4. Pendant lighting. Most interior hallways do not have windows, meaning adequate artificial lighting is a must. Try adding hanging pendants rather than the conventional surface-mounted lighting. The right pendant will light up your hallway whilst incorporating design flair, also.

Mark pinkerton – vi360 photography

5. Wainscoting. Hallway wainscoting is an excellent decorative design element, but in addition, it will help protect drywall from scrapes, bumps and marks. Traditionally, the wainscoting was installed in transitional spaces like this, to protect active rooms out of heavy traffic.

Tim Barber Ltd Architecture

6. Bookcases. Some enthusiastic readers can never have sufficient space for books. Extend a library out to the hallway to create additional screen space for cherished books. Whether built-in or bought, bookcases can add a functional and aesthetic element to broader hallways.

Shannon Malone

7. Murals. A floor-to-ceiling map installation can transform an awkward hallway into an educational opportunity. Don’t like the look? Wall decals and murals are available in all kinds of customizable options, and they are often less expensive than background.

Michael Abrams Limited

8. Framed mirrors. For people who love the gallery seem but do not know what to put in their frames, a hall of mirrors are the best answer. An installation similar to this can highlight a great collection of frames, or just bring additional visual and light space into a small and dark hallway.

More inspiration: Browse thousands of hallways in each style

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An Artistic Life Fills a 150-Year-Old Home

Coastal Style / / by

Patricia Gelman’s 150-year-old beachside home is equal parts living area, studio, classroom and community gallery. The Paris-born artist uses her spacious lease to refinish and showcase flea market pieces from all over the Earth, instruct her golden- and silver-leaf techniques, and host biannual exhibits featuring other local artists. This mixture of imagination, education, community and travel gives her interior a complex but accessible fashion.

Esther Hershcovich

in a Glance
Who lives here: Patricia Gelman and her puppies Robine and Persefal
Location: Ajami, Jaffa, Israel
Size: 300 square meters (about 3,230 square feet); 1 bedroom, 2 baths, plus 2 studios and a gallery
That’s interesting: Local picture makers and fashion photographers have utilized her house for shoots.

The house centers around this living area and a courtyard. Her dad played with this baby grand; it’s the only piece Gelman comes from her youth in Paris. The floor tiles are original to the home. Mementos from her travels and flea market finds constitute much of the decor.

Gelman recently discovered that the home had been a synagogue, and in various times it had been inhabited by craftsmen. “I feel like it was intended to be a studio,” she states.

Esther Hershcovich

A sitting room close to the front entry features an Asian screen and chairs refinished with a fabric which Gelman printed. The art above the buffet is just one of her original pieces and is printed on acrylic with feathers supporting it.

Esther Hershcovich

She had a favorite card enlarged to poster size. The seats, with legs, are from a flea market. The bookshelf was created by A local artisan.

Esther Hershcovich

Gelman’s bedroom off the primary living room contains a bathroom that opens to the central courtyard.

She restored the original door, re-creating its original appearance, and refinished the flea-market corner shelving unit with silver foliage. A print of a painting by French artist Gustave Caillebotte hangs above the bed.

She converted two other bedrooms into art studios which double as classrooms. A third bedroom serves as a gallery for her newest pieces.

Bed: Ikea

Esther Hershcovich

Esther Hershcovich

A living area window displays a view of nearby Jaffa Beach, where Gelman often walks her puppies.

One of her paintings hangs over a flea-market seat. She painted the acrylic wool in dual layers for added texture, a current technique she’s been experimenting with.

Esther Hershcovich

This refinished buffet in the living area is just another of her art projects.

Esther Hershcovich

The open door results in Gelman’s gallery, where she hosts exhibits twice per year. A current event featured a painter, stage designer, photographer and a lecturer on philosophy and art. She is also hosted iron-sculpture artist Udi Dayan, son of the former defense and foreign minister Moshe Dayan, and photographer Gilli Schwartz.

Esther Hershcovich

Eclectic furnishings in the gallery include a modern painted acrylic seat, a seat from the 15th century, a golden Baroque-style table and other pieces from Austria.

Esther Hershcovich

Sunlight pours through the courtyard and in the gorgeous original arched windows with trefoil-like details. As a result of her gentle climate, Gelman often keeps the doors and windows open.

Esther Hershcovich

Esther Hershcovich

Gelman uses this outdoor sink to wash her paintbrushes.

She loves courtyard dining in a vintage desk the previous owners left behind.

The door contributes to the primary living area.

Esther Hershcovich

“I never believed I’d live in this gorgeous location,” says Gelman, photographed in the entry to her property.

My is a series where we visit and picture creative, personality-filled homes and the men and women who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more jobs.

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LEDs plus a Living Wall Color That a Minimalist Slovakian Home

Coastal Style / / by

After working for an architectural studio focusing mostly on low-energy and passive houses in Vienna, architect Rudolf Lesňák moved back to his hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia, and started a yearlong makeover of an “an old, ravaged apartment calling for renovation,” he says. He wanted his new house to unveil minimalist design, comfort and efficient storage. To do so, he custom made every bit of furniture. Along with the glossy fresh white area turned into an perfect background for his most precious showpiece: a living wall that lights up with kaleidoscopic colors.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Rudolf Lesňák
Location: Ružinov, Bratislava, Slovakia
Size: 51 square meters (about 549 square feet); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Renovation cost: 90,000 euros (about U.S.$117,270)

Martin Hulala

Lesňák made the primary area to be simple and uncluttered, yet have lots of storage. He chose the exact same gray tiling to repeat at the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, and the white wall shelves that function as a desk and press stand maintain a minimal profile and feature drawers for keeping small things.

For efficacy, he put all of his electronic devices in a kitchen cabinet; he uses a Logitech Harmony 1100 universal remote to control everything.

Seat: Eames molded plywood dining chair, Herman Miller; tile: Stonehenge Cardoso, Lea

Before Photo

BEFORE: Here is the main space after the demolition phase. The plumbing, heating and electric wiring required to be entirely redone.

Martin Hulala

Lighting is an integral element of the layout, and Lesňák generated a wide range of lighting options, such as halogen mood lights and LED strip lights.

Martin Hulala

Following is a sample of the range of colors available through the strips of low-energy RGB LED lights. Lesňák enjoys mixing colors or changing them based on his or music mood. “Normally I turn it on while watching TV as a complementary lighting,” he says.

Martin Hulala

The living wall consists of golden pothos plant life. “I used living plants, since it has positive impact on my health and mind,” Lesňák says. “Additionally, it produces a natural opposite to the contemporary materials and of the technology.”

The crops get light from the nearby window and grow in hydroponic inserts (pots full of clay granules), relinquishing the need for dirt. Meaning no bugs and no dirt to manage. Aside from intermittent watering and directing their growth, the plants need little upkeep.

More: The houseplant you can’t kill

Before Photo

BEFORE: The kitchen dated cabinets and tiling were needing a contemporary update.

Martin Hulala

AFTER: A combination of matte and high-gloss white kitchen cabinets with built-in appliances contrasts with the custom-made bedroom door (to the left). The door was ordered from Italy with no finish and stained to match the kitchen cabinets. A stainless steel screen on the ideal hides regular small kitchen appliances, since there is limited countertop space.

The kitchen can also be the multimedia heart of the apartment. A printer and components are tucked away from dust supporting the middle square glass cabinet. Utilizing In One technology by Legrand, Lesňák controls his television, air conditioning, window blinds and other electronics with a Logitech Harmony 1100 universal remote. “I like the fact that I can control everything from anywhere inside my apartment,” he says.

Martin Hulala

Gourmet kitchen cabinets make floor maintenance a cinch and also keep the space feeling airy. “We hung all the furniture on the walls so it will not visually decrease the general area of the room,” Lesňák says. A strip of LED lights lines that are dimmed the bottom of the cabinets.

Martin Hulala

It had been difficult for Lesňák to locate a proper sofa, because every square inch counts in this small area. Instead, he custom made this sectional, which also acts as a mattress for guests. Straightforward glass photo frames hang from fishing wire nearby.

Before Photo

BEFORE: The bathroom remodel took four weeks to complete, because just one person was able to work inside the tight area at one time.

Martin Hulala

AFTER: Lesňák made the toilet storage to be visually minimal but accessible as possible. He used exactly the exact same gray tiles that he used from the living area. The shower has heated floors.

Tile: Stonehenge Cardoso, Lea

Martin Hulala

A frosted-glass door reaches the contemporary toilet and bidet.

Martin Hulala

More gray tiles show up in the bedroom, which was retained minimalist. Lesňák used exactly the same fabric to make the custom-made bed as for the sofa in the living room.

Tile: Stonehenge Cardoso, Lea

View additional photos of the apartment

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