A Quick Introduction to Apartment Gardening
Gardening in an apartment usually means growing houseplants and perhaps a pot of tomatoes or herbs on a balcony. Herbs have many uses, right from garnishing your recipes, to curing certain infections and illnesses to adding an aesthetic look to your garden. Many people want to have their own garden, but without a worthy piece of land to start a garden is almost impossible. The best part of herbs is that you do not need a garden to grow them. Your indoor apartment space can act as a perfect host for growing your favorite herb plants. Apartment gardening is the best option for those who want their own garden but lack of space. Instead of planting an herb garden outdoors consider planting one indoors instead. In indoor apartment garden you can easily monitor your plants. You will notice quickly if they need any maintenance. You do not have to deal with mosquitoes or other insects, while you are trying to garden. With minimal effort, it is easy to have all the benefits of indoor plants, which purify the air and generally lend to a sense of well-being, as well as having fresh herbs at hand for cooking or as medicinal herbs.
Home Tips: Windows that Don’t Feel Cold
Most windows that you buy today have a nailing flange that goes all the way around the window. This allows for easy installation with little to no need for extra caulking flashing or other such extra steps. In other words, installing windows properly is easy. However, you may notice that there is a great deal of trim on the inside of your windows and they always feel drafty and there always seems to be condensation in the winter time. Why is that?
Draft
The air movement you feel in front of your windows usually is not air moving through them if they are newer. That air movement is what is referred to as the “convective loop”. This loop is the product of the cold temperature outside convecting through the glass and meeting the warm air of the house. This is the same way wind is formed. Warm air from the ground rises up into the atmosphere meeting with the cooler air in the sky. Anytime you have the meeting two different temperatures, you will get air movement and the beginnings of condensation. The amount of wind and condensation depends on how drastically different the two temperatures are when they meet.
Condensation
This is a product of the glass convecting the cold temperature through it to meet the warm temperature inside. Condensation, if severe enough can be the cause of mold, wood rot and ruin your windows and cause serious health problems in a very short amount of time.
Solution?
There are very few manufacturers that make windows installable in the correct fashion, but actually Any window can be installed to minimize, if not eliminate, this issue.
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting For Mood Part III – Dimmable Designs
Understanding How Interior Design Companies Work: Lighting for Mood Part III – Dimmable Designs
Interior Design Companies understand the term “mood” to mean a barely-definable, abstract quality that makes us feel “in tune” with our surroundings. In London, lighting is often a critical part of an interior design company’s toolbox in creating the perfect mood. In this series which I call “Lighting for Mood,” I will draw on my experience working with some of London’s top interior design companies to describe current best practices in this exciting area of design.
The principle way in which interior design companies will control lighting is by dimming the various levels in relation to each other. General lighting, whether in the form of table lamps, up-lights or down-lights, should be controlled separately from feature lighting – especially in older London residences where there is a danger of overloading electrical circuits. By day, relative contrasts are less marked, especially given London’s rainy weather patterns. When general lighting is at its maximum strength, interior design companies try to make sure it achieves a fairly even light throughout a room. By night, interior design companies will try to create atmosphere and mood by including a feature to dim general lighting to a low level and raise feature lighting. For maximum effect, interior design companies will make sure the contrast between different light sources is high. Alternatively, some London clients request a soft, inviting light, similar to that produced by candlelight; under these circumstances, the interior design company must ensure that the contrast between feature and general lighting is less marked.