Make use of that awkward space

We all crave the large, airy, light-filled rooms featured in interior magazines that promise relaxation and sophistication without the real life tangles of TV wires and cluttered surfaces, and unsuitable furniture.

In reality, most houses and flats include at least one awkward space, maybe a narrow hallway, or a tiny study struggling to double as a spare bedroom, or an oddly-shaped lounge.

Surprisingly, these can prove to be assets. Problem rooms can be transformed into charming and original spaces with just a bit of knowledge, confidence and the ability to highlight the positive points and minimise the negative. We all have a room that we wish we could fix. Either it's too small, too dark, too narrow, has a low ceiling, or other undesirable features. Here are some tips:

Go smaller 

Is your room too big? Divide it into more intimate areas. Grouping a couple of chairs with a love-seat  two chairs and a small table, a sofa and chair, or other similar arrangements will make the room seem cosy. Warm colours advance visually, so painting the room a warm colour will make the room seem more intimate.

Small spaces 

Internal windows are a clever way of increasing light, and giving small rooms a welcome outlook into adjoining areas.

Narrow spaces 

Distract attention from a room's narrowness by adding a dramatic colour or painting to one of the shorter walls. Place a sofa covered in a horizontal stripe fabric on a short wall, which tricks the eye into seeing the wall as wider.

Awkward shaped rooms 

Be bold when decorating an oddly-shaped room a half-hearted attempt makes the whole thing look like a mistake. Choose a soft colour or subtle print -anything too dark will make the walls close in. Soften angles and strong lines by painting walls and ceiling white or a pale receding colour. Create symmetrical displays on shelves and tables to offset angles.

Go taller 

Is your ceiling too low? Add height to your room with tall, vertical elements, such as bookcases. Long curtains which drape on the floor can also add visual height, as will tall lamps or torches. Painting the ceiling a light, cool colour (which appears to recede) will make the room seem brighter and more open. Stretch a room's height by using full-length curtains on windows regardless of their size. Use up-lighters to direct soft light towards the ceiling making it appear further away. Accentuate the vertical with floor-to-ceiling stripes on walls.

Go shorter 

Is your room too tall? Lower the ceiling by incorporating more horizontal lines in the room. Shelves, art and crown moldings are just a few of the elements that can lower the height of the room. Another way to lower the room is to install molding or chair rails one half to three quarters of the way up the walls. This trick visually shortens the room. Painting the ceiling a dark, warm colour will also shorten the visual space.

Go brighter 

Uncover windows by opting for shutters instead of curtains, or sweep drapes clear of the frame back onto walls. Paint garden fences and walls white or a pale colour to bounce light into the interior. Lay pale-coloured paving stones below doors and windows for a lightening effect. Use sparkly, shiny surfaces to bounce light around a room — mirrors, kitchen units in stainless steel, or mirrored splash backs.

Makeover Magic for Small Spaces

We have a lot of questions about how to decorate small rooms and spaces. Homes of all sizes and shapes often have small rooms that can pose decorating questions like these...

How can I make this space the most functional? Or how can I make this small space stylish and inviting?

And, the most frequent question of all... Is there any way to make this room look bigger?

Here are some design tips:

1. Limit the furniture in the room. Keep the furniture pieces small in scale...in other words, use a love seat instead of a sofa, and consider a slipper chair instead of an over sized easy chair. Large, bulky furniture pieces will only make the room look smaller.
2. Make sure that the major furniture pieces are upholstered in either a solid colour, or a very subtle pattern. If your sofa has a bold pattern, consider slip covering it in a solid colour, if you don't want to pay for reupholstering.
3. Use patterns sparingly, and in small areas. Good choices for pattern usage are throw pillows, floor rugs and throws/blankets. As a general rule, any patterns in the room - upholstery, window treatments, rugs, wallpaper - should be small in scale. That is to say, think of a small, delicate floral print rather than a pattern with large, dramatic flowers.
4. Hang mirrors of any size on the walls. Mirrors are probably the easiest way to instantly expand a space.
5. Paint walls in a solid colour, or use a very subtle faux finish with two very similar colours combined. If you opt for wallpaper, go with either a solid colour or an extremely subtle pattern.
6. Use cool colours (blues, violets, greens) on the walls to give the impression of expansion. But if you like warm colours don't worry - you can paint the walls in a neutral colour with a slight cool overcast. For example, you can use a white with a slight tint of blue (rather than a slight tint of red), or a cream with a slight tint of green (rather than a slight tint of orange).
7. If there are few or no windows in the room, hang paintings in attractive frames to create the feeling of a window-clad room.
8. Be sure to keep clutter to a minimum. To make this very easy, ensure that the room has adequate hidden storage spaces. Take advantage of tables or armoires with drawers, window seats with storage space underneath, and coffee tables that open up for storage.
9. Think vertical! Use tall furniture pieces (bookshelves, armoires) to extend the perceived height of the ceiling. Place decorative accents at the top of tall furniture pieces, such as real or artificial greenery, to draw the eye upward. Hang long drapes from the ceiling that reach to the floor. Line the top of the wall, where it meets the ceiling, with shelving or a wallpaper border. 

The Colour Needs of Your Home

Always wondered whether the sofa complements your wall colour? Or the curtains go with the cushion?

Here are a few home styling ideas from our very own styling expert @home that will answer all the queries you always had when styling your home.

• Placing a rug in your living room can give a different emphasis of colour to your room.
• By changing the rug you can change the whole character of the room.
• Keep your sofa a few inches away from the wall. This will make your room look more spacious.
• Wall shelves are a great way to display decorative items.
• It is easy to install and adds a great decorative element to any room.
• Smaller pieces of furniture like nest of tables and cabinets which also complement your main piece of furniture can make all the difference.
• Now that you are all equipped with new home styling ideas, take time out from your maddening schedule and go ahead, style your world.

Tips to Renovate Your Home

Renovating your home has never been an easy task. Here gives some tips that you should keep in mind while renovating your home.

It always starts with a small change in the house and then it's just a cascading effect. While getting your kitchen painted, it might just strike you that why not renovate the whole house? But it's easier said than done. It might take good three to four months for your whole house to be re-done. Here are some important points you should take care of.

Do your homework

As rightly said, grass is always greener on the other side. You may want the same wall colour as what you saw in one of those magazines, but do you actually think you can stay with it for a considerable amount of time? Mark the key zones in the house you want to work on. If its the door and cabinet knobs you want to change, choose one from a store or order them before you start off with renovating.

Hire professionals or 'Self-help' yourself?

It is always advisable that you decide whether you want professionals helping you or are you competent enough to handle the whole change on your own. You can always combine the two as well.

Where's the moolah?

Renovating your den is not a joke. If you've decided to go ahead with your plans, then why not put in some decent amount of money and get the desired results, rather than being unhappy about the outcome for years to come. And for this you need to check your liquid cash. Moreover, do have a rough calculation for the amount you want to spend. This regardless of the fact that you will overspend from what you have decided.

One of the most important thing to keep in mind while renovating is the electrical wiring and the switch boards. Preferably you should have them behind furniture or cabinets so that it does not look bad. Do not forget to ask the workers to leave behind a can or two of the same paint just in case you have to do some touch ups.

Comfort zone with the workers

With so many people coming in and out of your place, you might just lose your cool for some reason. Try not to. They are there to work for what you have wanted, so be patient.

Stop Running Toilets from Wasting Your Water

Running toilets are not only noisy and annoying, they are wasteful, too. Fixing a running toilet is usually a simple, inexpensive fix any homeowner can do.

A running toilet is usually the result of one of two things: a poorly functioning ball-cock valve or flush-valve assembly. To find the source of your running toilet problem, take a look inside. Remove the top cover from the toilet, then flush and see what happens.

If the water runs but does not fill up the tank, the flush-valve (stopper ball) at the bottom of the tank is the problem. 

1. To replace the stopper ball, turn off the water to the toilet tank. The shut-off is usually located behind and below the toilet tank. Flush the toilet.
2. Unhook the guide wires or chains that attach the stopper ball to the handle assembly. Remove the old, faulty stopper ball.
3. Set the new stopper into place on the valve seat. Slide the collar back down the overflow tube and center over the ball. Secure the collar to the ball.
4. Attach the ball chain to the handle arm, leaving half an inch of slack on the chain. Test the assembly and replace the toilet cover.

A running toilet can also be the result of a toilet tank that is overfilling, pouring water down the overflow tube. In a properly functioning toilet, the tank will stop filling about three-quarters of an inch below the top of the overflow tube. When you watch the internal mechanism of your toilet work, if water fills to the top and over the over-flow tube, the ball-cock assembly (float and arm) are the likely culprit. To test this, lift up on the float arm. If the overflow stops, the float assembly needs to be adjusted or replaced.

A float may malfunction if it is cracked and filling with water. The heavy ball does not rise high enough to lift the lever and stop the filling action. To fix a cracked ball-float, simply unscrew the ball (counterclockwise) from the end of the float arm and screw on a new float.

If the ball-float is intact, bend the float arm slightly and flush the toilet. If the tank fills properly, the problem is solved. If the tank continues to overfill after these measures, the washers on the ball-cock assembly are probably worn and need to be replaced. Turn off the water to the tank. Disassemble the ball-cock from the lever. Remove and replace the washers. Put the assembly back together and flush.

A toilet that is still overflowing after these measures needs a new fill valve. Purchase one and install according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Most problems with running toilets are quickly fixed by troubleshooting and following these steps, or replacing inexpensive, internal mechanisms improperly functioning from wear after repeated use. Persistent problems that cannot be remedied may require consulting a licensed plumber.

How to Repair a Running Toilet

A running toilet can be a simple thing to fix, and the water savings add up quickly. Start with the simplest solutions first. If those don’t work, move on to the more serious repairs.

what you'll need

• Pliers
• Flapper
• Toilet float ball
• Tank to bowl bolts and gasket
• Flush valve

Step 1 – Fix the Rod or Chain

First, check the guide rod or chain on the tank flapper. If the rod is bent or the chain links are twisted, simply straighten them.

Step 2 – Adjust or Replace the Float

Next, check the float mechanism. If lifting the ball stops the water from running, try to bend the float arm down to get the right buoyancy. If the ball has water in it, it needs to be replaced. Replace it by unscrewing it from the arm and putting a new one in its place.

Step 3 – Clear, Clean or Replace the Flapper

If the toilet is still running, the valve seat and flapper may have corrosion or build-up, preventing the flapper from closing. Lift the flapper up and check for any objects in the way. Gently scour the seat and the rim. If there is a great deal of damage, replace the flapper.

Step 4 – Replace the Flush Valve

The flush valve assembly may have to be replaced if the toilet is still running. Take the old parts with you when purchasing the new inside gaskets and assembly to ensure a perfect match. If the shaft of the assembly is cracked, the whole shaft and assembly need to be replaced.

Replacing the flush valve involves removing the tank from the bowl. After removing the tank, turn it over and remove that large plastic nut in the middle of the tank. Remove the flush valve from the tank, take it to the hardware store and buy a new one. Install it and put the tank back on the bowl.

TIP: Get It Fixed’s plumbing consultant Kumar suggests, “You may want to get a new tank to bowl gasket and replace that, as well as new tank to bowl bolts. As long as you have the tank off, I recommend doing it all at once to avoid future problems. When installing the tank on the bowl, tighten the bolts one side at a time… slowly with the same tension on each side. If you tighten one side too tight, when you tighten the other side it may crack the tank.

Cleaning Burned Milk off a Cooktop

When boiling milk, it only takes a second for the milk to boiled over and burn fast to the cooktop. There are several cleaning tips, depending on the type of cooktop you have, that will remove the burned milk without damaging the surface.

Glass and Ceramic Cooktops

When milk boils over and burns fast, it's imperative to clean it as soon as possible because it can interfere with heating and can cause smoke.

Step 1 - Making the Paste

First, pour as much baking soda into a bowl as you like because the paste can be stored in an airtight container. Next, add small amounts of warm water to the baking soda and stir until you form a paste.

What you'll need

• Baking soda
• Warm water
• Razor scraper
• Lint free towel
• Paper towel
• White vinegar
• Mild dish detergent
• Scouring pad
• Dish detergent
• Paper towels

Step 2 - Cleaning the Cooktop

Mix a small amount of detergent with water until soapy, then clean the cooktop with a paper towel. Dry the cooktop off with a lint free towel and then rub the baking soda paste over the burned milk on the cooktop. Wait up to an hour, then use the razor scraper to remove the paste like you're shaving. Make sure the razor is as flat as you can get it. If the burned milk is still hanging around you can repeat this step.

Step 3 - Buffing and Finishing

Now that the burned milk is gone, you can make the cooktop good as new. Mix white vinegar to warm water at a 2:4 ratio. Dip the paper towel into the solution and scrub the cooktop down. This is a slow process but important if you want that shine back. Finally, dampen the lint free towel and wipe down the cooktop to remove the vinegar and any residue. Do not use the cooktop until it's completely dry.

Metal and Standard Cooktops

Milk and other things that are spilled and burned onto standard cooktops are much easier to clean, but there are more parts and areas to consider as well.

Step 1 - Burners

Fill your sink with warm water and add a cup of baking soda, stirring until the baking soda has dissolved. Place the metal risers into the water and allow them to soak. In about an hour remove them and set them on top of a towel and let them air dry. Rinse off with normal water then wipe down with paper towels.

Step 2 - Cooktop and Underneath

Mix water to dish detergent at a ratio of 2:1 and fill a spray bottle with it. Add a drop of vinegar for those tougher spills. Spray the solution onto the cooktop and let it sit for ten minutes. Use the scouring pad to scrub the sprayed area and remove the burned milk. Next, use a damp lint free towel to wipe off any residue. Lift the top of the oven up to reveal the burners and reservoir area, then repeat what you did on the cooktop. Lower it and replace the metal risers.