Time to renovate your basement!: In days gone by, a suspended ceiling, a bit of paneling on the walls and a portable television on a TV stand could turn a basement into a "finished" recreation room. But these days, when it comes to creating a "finished" basement worth using regularly, most homeowners demand a higher-quality product. Start with planning. Your ideas shall always meet your budget. How many pieces in the bathroom? How many bedrooms? Recreation room wired for the modern audio and video systems? Maybe a Wet bar? There is no limit for your imagination but definitely some for your budget. The average prices for the project usually very from $10.000 to $60.0000. Here are some tips: Ceiling: Don't install a suspended ceiling -- ever. Consider tray ceilings as an alternative. Although they're more expensive, they're high-quality and better-looking. Stairwell: Open your stairwell, and install a banister. Basements typically feature enclosed stairwells, so one way to make your basement atypical is to alter that primary feature. It brings your upstairs downstairs, further disguising a basement's roots. Doorways: Widen doorways as much as possible, and utilize arches and columns to dress them up. French doors for offices or for any other room requiring complete privacy are a great idea. For partial separation, a door with decorative glass brings elegance to the room. Windows: It's hard to have too many exterior windows. If you have an opportunity to use a window, take it. Make them as large as you can to let in as much light as possible. Walls: Paneling may be simple, but the refined look of drywall makes it the material of choice for finished spaces. Paneling looks dated and doesn't last long, so it's cheaper in the long run to spend more up front on long-lasting drywall. Paint: Light-color paint on the walls can make a big difference in the room's ambience. Use colours that will match your upstairs. It's even better to go a couple of shades lighter because it opens and brightens what's naturally a darker area. Furnishings: Choose furniture that looks as if it belongs upstairs. Mom's old couch is fine if your basement is unfinished, but if you're turning it into a gathering area; you'll want comfortable, pleasant-looking accessories. If you would like a professional on the site to get a piece of advise, drop us a line or Go to the Ask Pro section of this site.

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Kitchens remains: Kitchens are no longer just places to prepare and cook meals. They have become the heart of the home. “Family life has become more focused around the kitchen, and the entertaining of friends has also become more focused on the kitchen,” according to kitchen designer, Riener Hoyer. “Cooks are no longer in the kitchen by themselves. They’re now part of the overall conversation when they have guests,” he added. This new trend over the past two to three years has resulted in a number of design changes to the kitchen. These changes are affecting the size of the kitchen, the choice of cabinetry and appliances, and the finishing touches on things such as counter tops and ceilings. “People are opening up their kitchens to the rest of the house and they’re choosing design features that blend in more with the rest of their living space,” says Hoyer. The most popular trend is to redesign the kitchen into a larger, more open-concept space which connects, and even becomes part of, the living room and dining room. About 80 per cent of all kitchen renovations now involve adding space by knocking out walls that separate the kitchen from the living and dining rooms. This is especially popular in smaller houses in which knocking out kitchen walls can create a feeling of space without having to add another room, or move.

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Redo your garden: If you’re If you’re planning to redo your garden this year, you may be interested to know that the trend in 2007 is color. There are all sorts of original ways to use color — in flowerbeds, hedges, shrubbery, ground covers... and even flowering trees. The “stars” in your garden - Colors can produce all sorts of different effects. It all depends on how you use them. If you limit annuals and perennials to one or two favorite shades and harmonize these with the greens of your shrubs and ground cover plants, so that your garden plants highlight one another, you can create a truly dazzling effect. Warm colors (yellow, orange, red) produce a joyful effect. Their stimulating appearance makes them a good choice for use near (among other places) your entrance, for an effect that says, “Welcome!” Cool colors (blue, mauve, pink) on the other hand are peaceful, reassuring, romantic and softly inviting. They fit perfectly into quiet corners, around the edges of pools and next to benches, where they deepen the overall effect. Colors and seasons…living together in harmony - You can also try playing with colors to match the seasons. If lilacs have a big place in your garden, with their lavender and mauve spring blooms, choose rose bushes in summer with their rich blooms that draw on pink and red, and open the fall with yellows and oranges of grasses. Plants with tricolor leaves…a garden kaleidoscope - The majority of plants have green leaves. A few species have yellowish or purple leaves. Others’ leaves are variegated in two-color patterns. There’s no doubt that the main trend in 2007 is to combine a great variety of shrubs, perennial plants and annuals with tricolor leaves into your garden plan. Move your home décor outdoors - A garden is like another room of your house, a special space that puts you back in touch with all those small things that make life really worth living. Don’t hesitate to use your ceramic flower pots, outdoor utility tables and earthworks to re-create an outdoor corner of your house of which you’re especially fond of. Living in your garden is the ideal way to enjoy summer to the fullest.

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