Saturday, August 24, 2013

Looking For A Change Around The Home? Try These Interior Design Tips!

Basic redecorating of your current home will be definitely less expensive than buying a new one. Things like applying a new coat of paint, putting up new curtains, and installing more lighting can make a dull room fabulous. For more practical and creative interior decorating ideas, read on!


Start buying art from your favorite artists or make some yourself to save some money. You may not have considered art before, or may not care for it. However, one good painting or print can really pull a room together. A painting can inspire the decorating for the rest of the room.


A good interior design tip is to always think of what your going to use a room for. A child’s room could be decorated with colors that are lively and vivid to coordinate with their personalities. You would not be able to use those colors in a den.


Lower the costs of your interior design projects by seeking out the same high quality designs from mass merchants. Designer goods are very expensive and it’s easy to find comparable goods for lesser costs. Go with the designer brands only if you cannot find comparable quality offered at a lower price point.


Mix patterns and textures to create a sophisticated design in any room. Varying textures create interest and depth in a room, while patterns provide a contrast to smooth pieces such as wood furniture or window glass. If you want your space to look more modern, textures and patterns can help.


When you are doing interior design you should think about what the room is used for. Think about how you will use this room: Will you be the only one there, or do you plan on entertaining guests frequently? When planning your living areas, take into account friends and family who visit frequently. Your bedroom, however, should be designed with only you and your partner in mind.


Pay close attention to the little details. Small things can sometimes have a big impact. For example, instead of changing your decor on a large scale, like replacing your floor or purchasing new furniture, you can change fixtures, cabinet hardware and window treatment to project a unified theme.


A fast way that you could do to update your interior is by focusing on accessories. Decorative arts, figurines, lighting fixtures and flower arrangements are all easily replaced. Replace the drapes in the living room or purchase new towels for the bathroom. Small solutions likes these make your rooms give off a fresh vibe and will not be costly at all.


Be aware that there’s a risk of cluttering up a room with excess furnishings when you get into an ambitious interior decorating job. If you have too much stuff in too small a space, it is going to appear cramped. Rather, choose fewer items in order to maintain an airy feel.


You should make sure that you decorate your fireplace in the right fashion. This can be achieved by placing correctly balanced items on your mantle. A mantle that is unbalanced can ruin the look of a room.


Replacing your kitchen cabinets can be a cost effective and easy way to drastically change the look of your kitchen. Wood can be replaced by glass for a more modern, airy feel to the room. Along with staples, place some artistic objects where they are visible through the glass cabinet doors.


Position a mirror opposite a window to make your room look brighter. As long as the mirror is big enough, it will reflect light back into the room, almost creating a second window. The room will become lighter and brighter.


Many of us have a small room in our home which we would like to make it seem larger. Try painting these ares with light colors. If you have a dark colored room, it certainly appear smaller than it is.


You do not have to face all of your furniture towards the television in your living room. It is always nice to have a conversation area or an additional spot to sit in away from the noise of the television. This area can be used to share a cup of tea with friends while you catch up.


Be open to painting options that do not only use solid colors. There are numerous online tutorials you can use to help you with your next interior planning project. Using some imagination and creativity in your wall painting projects can easily change a room from just okay to exciting in little to no time.


The use of area rugs in a room can make a beautiful difference in the appearance of the room. But, it’s crucial that the rug fits well into your room. Make sure that the dimensions do not look odd in the room by getting the right sized rug. Conversely, a smaller room should be furnished with a smaller rug, as it is not desirable for an area rug to encompass the entire room.


A fast method of updating your living space is putting the emphasis on accessory items. Refresh the accent pieces, lighting and fans. Use anything small and bold that will give you the design edge you want. A few easy changes, such as these, can give rooms a fresh, new look without breaking your wallet.


Do not overdecorate your walls, a few items will work. Get rid of the things you do not need and put other items into storage. If you have a lot of collectibles or other items on display, do not add extra artwork to the walls. Too much stuff simply clutters up your home and makes it more difficult to enjoy what you have.


Area rugs can make a great addition to any room. That said, it is critical that you select an area rug properly scaled for the room. If you are placing this rug in a larger room, make sure that it mirrors the length. Moreover, smaller rooms require small rugs since you want to avoid for the rug to overwhelm the room.


Think ahead when planning out how to design small living spaces. You need to consider that space that you will be using. To make it work, think about getting furniture that has more than one function. Including the right amount of light on those pieces gives the small room a much bigger appearance.


Always consider how long you intend to live in your home before you embark upon a large interior planning project. Should you be moving within the next five years, a simpler, more neutral look might suffice. Something you think looks great may not seem so to a future buyer.


The quick and easy interior design trick? Paint your walls. Over time, walls need a fresh coat of paint. Just put some color in the room and repaint a bright color.


You can make your home look any way you wish through interior design. Making careful choices when it comes to lighting and furnishing can make a big difference in a home’s appearance. Use the ideas you’ve learned about here to realize your dreams.


Books can add a touch of sophistication to your home office or living room. Pile books up on a shelf, or color block them for added interest. Just be sure that both bookends and the covers complement the existing colors of the room.



Looking For A Change Around The Home? Try These Interior Design Tips!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Online Video Marketing | Video Dominance over Text

Utilizing online video marketing for the services your business offers or product(s) you sell is undoubtedly extremely important.


Just look around you:



  • The amount of commercials you see on TV is staggering – they are all videos even if displaying only text messages.

  • The advertisements on Internet portals serving news – majority of them are videos.


Have you ever asked yourself why are they serving so much of that video footage instead of writing articles. Or even if there is an article, why is there a video accompanying it?


The answer is simple, because it works! And it works because most people prefer watching one minute of video versus skimming over a page of text. Look at the numbers below and think about showing your potential clients what you have to offer, grabbing their attention and forcing them to pick up the phone and call your number.


online video marketing infographic

Courtesy of: BuboBox.com

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Custom Coffee Table | Concrete Glass Tops | Copper Tubing Legs

I designed and build this coffee table as a projection of a half-moon shaped staircase and adjoining entry hall. The 1 1/4″ steel wire mash reinforced concrete slab is approximately 60″ long by 27″ wide and supported on 1.5″ diameter copper frame and legs. Upper glass top is a 24″ square.







Custom Coffee Table | Concrete Glass Tops | Copper Tubing Legs

Friday, July 19, 2013

Benefits of Using Wordpress for your Business Website Design

I started using the WordPress platform to create websites in 2010. Similar to every other product, there was a learning curve… I also wanted to compare static HTML coded websites (which I used to work with before) to dynamic WordPress based websites.


Since I prefer working with images and modules versus lines of letter and numbers (to be honest with you I don’t love coding that much), WordPress was easy to embrace. Although it has been developed as a blogging platform, its various, typical to blogs functions can be active or inactive, making WordPress extremely flexible and fairly easy to adopt to anyone’s needs.


What’s the benefit for the average business owner? Dynamic WordPress websites are considered CMS, or Content Management Systems. This means that with a little basic training, they can be updated with new pictures, texts, videos, etc by a business owner (fairly simply, too). However, building a website based on WordPress and using custom graphics and modules that will make it more appealing to you can present a challenge for those who are not familiar with computer functions outside of e-mails and news websites.


I believe there are a few ideas business owner should consider while contemplating building / having their business website developed using a WordPress platform:



  1. If you are willing to invest some of your spare time into learning the basics of WordPress, you’ll be able to build your local business website using FREE WordPress platform, FREE templates (thousands of them), and you don’t even need to purchase a domain name. While a WordPress domain name does not look very professional, it is available to use and won’t cost you a penny.

  2. Assuming the design and deployment of your local business website is performed by a third party, you can quickly take control of your website’s main functions after brief training as soon as the site is ready. You’ll be able to add, edit existing, or remove any content.

  3. There are literally thousands of free and purchasable plug-ins (scripts) that extend the functionality of a WordPress based website. Their installation usually only requires the click of a mouse and the plug-in you are looking for probably already exists. Just ask me if you need one!

  4. It is extremely easy to connect your WordPress based business website to popular social portals such as: Google Plus, Facebook business fan page, Twitter, your LinkedIn profile, and a YouTube business video channel. Even if you are unsure of how to start socializing your brand or simply don’t have any time, it’s important to do because it has become a business necessity. With WordPress, it becomes almost automatic – with every update on your website, a direct link will be posted through your social media sites.

  5. A majority of recently developed WordPress templates that can be used for website creation are responsive, which means that they adopt to the screen size of a device used to open your page. That means that you don’t need separate mobile and desktop sites and it should look good on a computer monitor, tablet, or an Internet enabled phone (should is the key word here because different operating systems may make the site look slightly different).

  6. Blogging modules allow interaction with your clients and help build trust.

  7. Big brands are using it, like: EBay, Yahoo, Digg, Ford, The Wall Street Journal, Sony, People Magazine, Samsung, Playstation, and many more. They are using it because of its functions, ability to grow, expand, and adopt.


Feel free to ask me any questions concerning your WordPress based local business website development.




Benefits of Using Wordpress for your Business Website Design

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Create and Promote your Own Videos Step by Step | Design and Promotion

For all of you anxious to create your first business video, upload it to YouTube, and start promoting it – this is for you. Here’s a blueprint that will help you get through this process easily and quickly, so don’t skip anything!


I won’t go into details in most areas like teaching you how to operate video software, create captions, annotations, etc since most of the items listed below are very extensive subjects which require further exploration.


Professional, high quality, and expensive cameras are not necessary to create high-definition video clips. Most smartphones already have the capabilities to shoot HD footage, so if you have a camera-equipped phone, search for the 1280×720 resolution option. You might have a higher resolution, even, but footage may sometimes look like its floating unless you have an extremely steady hand or use a tripod.



  1. The only requirement for opening your own Youtube channel is having a Gmail account. Unless you have one already open, a Gmail account using a name you’d like to associate your business profile with is recommended. 

  2. Click the YouTube tab on a top bar of your Gmail account and signup to YouTube.

  3. Try picking a username that is somehow associated with your business, service or product. For examples, a local plumbing business can try: AddisonPlumber or PlumbingChicago. It may be taken, of course, so try adding a digit at the beginning or end. The username can be a maximum of 20 characters and only letters/numbers are permitted.

  4. In the channel description section, write your business information, along with a link to your business website. You can customize the channel by uploading a logo and large image of your company.

  5. There are many ways to create videos with various media types. You can use actual video footage shot at your workplace; I recommend assembling several short clips (7-10 seconds long) unless you are videotaping a conversation. You can also use pictures, transform PowerPoint presentations into a video, or combine both.

  6. To assemble your videos, various free online programs can be used such as Animoto.com (the free version only allows 30 seconds of footage) or one of your native computer programs – Windows Movie Maker or the Mac iMovie.

  7.  Besides assembling your footage, I highly recommend branding each of the videos with your business name, at least in the beginning and end, or even through the entire clip as a semi-transparent logo.

  8. While creating your video, you can use a short intro showing the business logo for a few seconds and an outro at the end, which ideally should be around 20 seconds and display your “Call to Action”. Call to Action should include your best contact information, asking viewers to call, visit your website, share the video, like the video, etc. Give your potential client a chance and reason to contact you now, not later.

  9. Once you have your video assembled and prepared for rendering, set the settings to a 1280×720 resolution, and use H.264, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, WMV, .AVI and .MOV formats, 44.1KHz Stereo MP3 or AAC audio, frame rate as the original video. I believe that for your basic marketing purposes, your video should be somewhere around 1 or (maximum) 2 minutes long, unless it is extremely entertaining.

  10. Before uploading your video to YouTube, make sure you name the newly created video file using your main keyword phrase (use Google Keyword Tool for suggestions), or a variation of it, along with your best contact phone number. In the plumber example, your title could look like this: Plumber in Addison (708) 123 4567 Emergency Plumbing Service


  11. Login to your YouTube account, upload the video, and remove video format extensions from the title so that it looks like this:Plumber in Addison | (708) 123 4567 | Emergency Plumbing Service

  12. Make the description as long as possible, close to a full article, because YouTube and Google can read it best when it’s long. Use your main keywords and related words in that description so it looks natural, and follow the first words or first sentence with a full address of your website (including the http) so that it is clickable. Paste your video link at the very end of this description.

  13. Fill in tags, location (where your business is located), captions, and annotations. Make your website address inside the video clickable so that viewers don’t have to look for it in your description.

  14. The most important thing to optimize your clip is to make it viral. Put the video on your website, upload it to Facebook, G+, and other social profiles. Ask everyone you know to watch it, like it, comment, subscribe, and any other option to make it look popular to search engines. This will help your video show up on the first page of search results and make your work worthwhile.


While this is a rough outline of the process, many more details exist – especially in item number 14. Explore this whole process more, test it out, make videos, and repeat it all again.


Let me know if you need help!




Create and Promote your Own Videos Step by Step | Design and Promotion

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Benefits of Online Video Marketing - Infographic

Maybe you’ve been considering video marketing but are afraid of difficulties that might be associated with the entire process. Well, forget about it for a second (there’s really nothing difficult about it) and look at a few huge benefits of video marketing:


benefits of using online video marketing infographic


Courtesy of: BuboBox.com



The Benefits of Online Video Marketing - Infographic

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Sheet Metal Abstract Composition | Bird on Canvas

Bird on Canvas


The credit for designing and cutting sheet metal pieces in this composition goes to… to be honest with you, I don’t know who did that and I have no idea if this was a single piece or there were hundreds of them made.


It happened several years ago, a friend of mine found it in a pretty bad shape and gave it to me. There were pieces of corroding metal attached to an inch thick crumbling slab of concrete, I’m not even sure if what you see on the pictures below matches that original composition.


What I did is got rid of the concrete, cleaned up and spray-painted sheet metal pieces, arranged them the way you see it on framed canvas, and gave it a name. Well, I came up with “Bird on Canvas” name while writing this description but you are welcome to change it :-) .






 



Sheet Metal Abstract Composition | Bird on Canvas