Green Real Estate

Moving house can be a stressful ordeal, calling for a lot of work and great deal of patience. Thankfully, you can keep stress down to a minimum by following these simple steps:

Clear Out Your Possessions

Have an initial clear out of any unwanted possessions before you pack, separating items into piles: sale, charity and bin. If you find something you haven’t used in a while or indeed if you forgot you owned it, then dispose of it. Clothes you haven’t worn for six months? You can probably survive without them – try to avoid the sentimental lures and give them to someone who might wear them. By doing this you will have less to pack and less to organise once you’ve moved to your new home.

Use the Professionals

Hire professional movers wherever possible. It might be tempting to ask a friend with a large car/van, but professionals do this every day as part of their job. They can pack vans a lot quicker and with more finesse, meaning more organisation and less strain on yours and your mates’ bodies!

Packing

Begin to collect cardboard boxes from supermarkets and local shops. Keep newspapers and other bits of scrap paper, and buy bubble wrap for any valuable possessions you might own. Colour coding boxes can also be extremely useful when moving your possessions to your new property. Try picking one colour for each room and then mark the box with a coloured pen or crayon. When you move your belongings into your new abode you will be able to easily place them into their corresponding rooms, saving a lot of time when it comes to unpacking. Try and keep everyday items to one box, i.e. plates and cutlery in a ‘kitchen’ box, toiletries and toothbrushes in a ‘bathroom’ box etc. Make sure you label the boxes so you know what each one contains.

Unpacking

Many of us can get so overwhelmed by moving and the disarray caused by the vast amount of boxes that they want to get everything unpacked in a day. Rather than rushing into anything, which can be even more stressful, take a step back and unpack one room at a time. Unpack the kitchen or living room first, and give children the task of unpacking and arranging their rooms (if old enough). Getting your rooms unpacked and arranged will make your home feel less cluttered and provide you with a place to relax after all of your hard work.

Dane Cross writes on behalf of One UK, a UK based estate agents who specialise in flats and apartments in Leeds.

Shopping for furniture can be a bit confusing as there are different kinds of leather, different levels of quality and, of course, different price points. And buying the most expensive furniture doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get the best and longest lasting piece. By being a knowledgeable shopper you can get the best deal possible and find a quality piece of furniture that will always look good, feel comfortable and last forever.

Unfortunately many furniture stores hire people who don’t know that much about the furniture or they’re working on commission and will throw a lot of jargon your way to confuse you. The best way to combat this is by educating yourself and learning something about the terms used when referring to these types furniture.

Top Grain

Leather is not simply the hide of an animal, hides are actually split in two pieces with the outer layer, the part you’d consider the skin, is called top grain leather. Top grain is the best quality and most supple and durable. Look for top grain if it falls within your price range as it’s the better quality product.

Split

Split is the counterpart to top grain as it is the underside of the skin which is on the inside of the animal’s hide. Split is usually pieced together and less durable and more stiff than top grain leather. Split is also usually dyed more heavily which makes it stiffer but its generally the only choice you have if you want an unusual colored piece of furniture.

Aniline Finish

Is a one dye process and little or no buffing and work is done to repair imperfections. Analine finishes are applied to the best pieces of top grain leather as these pieces look the best naturally and in this case it’s the real natural beauty of the hide that you want to shine through.

Semi-Aniline Finish

A semi-aniline finish means the hide has gone through a series of dying and surface treatments. These processes come with benefits and pitfalls. The benefits with a semi-aniline finish are that you can get some great colors and there is more protection from staining and wear so its great if you have children or pets. But semi-aniline is stiffer, less comfortable and won’t develop the great patina that aniline finishes will over time.

Nubuck

Nubuck is a top grain leather that has had the outside surface sanded or buffed to create a nap and a velvet type feeling. Some may confuse nubuck with suede but suede comes from the inside of a leather hide, nubuck is the outside meaning its stronger and more durable. Nubuck is typically expensive but it is one of the most durable types of leather available.

Pull-Up

Pull-up is coated with a heavy wax or oil on the surface which gives the furniture piece a distressed look over time. These pieces are generally very attractive, especially over time but they do tend to have a slippery feel and are susceptible to scratches and faded butt marks.

Match

Be wary of salespeople who toss around the phrase match without fully explaining to you that it means there are actual pieces in the most notable places, but the other spots (backs and underside of cushions) are made of vinyl that is dyed to match. Match is good if you’re on a limited budget and not planning on keeping the piece forever. But if you want a quality piece of furniture that will last a lifetime and will fade and age evenly, match is not for you.

If you know these terms and understand what you’re looking for it will make the leather furniture shopping process much easier and you’re more likely to get the performance out of your leather furniture that you were hoping for. Don’t let the store you’re shopping at try to confuse you with terms, if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed or think something shady is going on, leave the store. You can either go home and research the jargon that you heard so you know what you’re getting or go to a different store where you feel more comfortable. Furniture is expensive and meant to be a long term purchase so don’t feel pressured and rushed and don’t let someone confuse you into purchasing an inferior product.

Mike Caldwell is the social media strategist for Bari Leather Furniture. If you enjoyed this article feel free to read other articles such as Furniture Style from Bari Furniture.

When designing a new home, or remodeling an older one, one of your biggest expenses and biggest decorating decisions will be your flooring. You will need to choose several different kinds of flooring for the various areas of your home, including bathrooms, kitchens, living areas, bedrooms, basement flooring, and also a garage floor covering. Within all of these areas, you have various options that will come in at various price points. To start with, make sure you have a thorough understanding of your budgets and flooring allowances. This will allow you to quickly rule out flooring choices that are out of reach and to zero in on the proper choice for your particular situation. You don’t want to spend days picking out an exotic hardwood flooring, only to find out that a laminate or prefinished hardwood flooring is better suited to your budget. To get a better feel for the pros and cons of each flooring material, do your research and find a good Flooring Review or two on the topic.

For example, you may be torn about choosing hardwood or carpet for your living spaces (meaning living rooms, dens, and great rooms). Find a Hardwood Flooring Review, and learn from some people who have hardwood flooring what the pros and cons are. For example, one of the big pros of hardwood flooring is its durability. It wears exceptionally well over time. One of the downfalls might be the added cost of hardwood, especially if you choose a hardwood that is not prefinished, since you’ll need to pay a professional to come in and finish it. For carpet, one of the downfalls is the durability, especially of lower grade carpets. These carpets are easy on the budget, but they are not always stain resistant, and may wear easily. Just a few months’ worth of traffic on a lower grade carpet will be enough to show wear. However, carpets are much more cost-effective, and obviously provide a much softer surface than a hardwood floor does (without the extra added decorating expense of buying area rugs).

A good way to get the look and feel (and durability) of wood, without the price of exotic hardwoods, is to look for a laminate wood floor. Again, a laminate Flooring Review will help you learn what to expect and what to watch out for when you buy a laminate floor system. Many laminates look so much like wood that it is hard to tell the difference without looking very closely. Laminates also come in a tongue-and-groove installation system, making the installation process very easy, with a very professional result.