Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Dear New Frugal You,

I always do my best to keep the electric bill down in our home. I'm constantly turning off lights and appliances and reminding my family to do the same, yet our electric bill never seems to decrease. Am I missing something? Where does electricity waste happen normally in homes? Is there something more I can be doing? I've noticed a lot of cable companies are now providing services to manage energy usage in homes. Is this something worth looking into?

- Jaxon

Dear Jaxon,

Good question. For most of us the electric bill is one of the larger bills that we pay each month. So it's only natural that we'd want to reduce it if possible.

So let's look at your question three ways. First, how does your bill compare to the average. Second, what makes the average electric bill so high. And, finally, what can you do to reduce your bill.

We'll begin by learning a little about the typical electric bill. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) the average New Mexico home uses 656 kWh per month and spends $74.62. That's lower than the U.S. average energy consumption of 903 kWh and $107.28.

You don't say how high your bill is, but if it's concerning you, I'd have to assume it's above average. Of course, the difference could also be explained by an above average sized home.

FYI, the EIA published a short-term energy forecast that electric will increase modestly to about 12.3 cents per Kwh in 2014. So expect that your bill will increase a little in coming months.

Next, let's take a look at what devices consume the electricity we pay for. The EIA released a paper in 2013 that answers that question.

Excerpt from:
This is Why Your Electric Bill is So High

Slab Fabricators - Granite Countertops in Dallas Fort Worth, TX
Provider of Granite Countertops in Dallas Fort Worth, TX for designers, builders, and homeowners. Our fabrication facility is equipped with the latest techno...

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Find Interior Decorator Stone Oak | 210-305-7114
Find Interior Decorator Stone Oak | 210-305-7114 Call For Your FREE Consultation 210-305-7114 http://interiordesignersanantoniotx.com "We #39;re not here to make...

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Before ... and after

'The idea is to hang your window treatments up as high as possible so they are closer to the ceiling than to the window frame, ' interior decorator Susan Keefe says. 'That makes the windows look bigger, it draws the eye up and it lets in as much light as possible.'

Keefe reworked this Oakland living room, strategically placing accent lights and using window treatments to take advantage of the natural light.

You've got an overhead light fixture. You add a few table lamps. Maybe a floor lamp. Flick on the switches and you're done, right?

Wrong. Bad lighting decisions and poor lighting layout can ruin a room, lighting designers and interior decorators say, making dining rooms gloomy, kitchens hard to work in, and living rooms hard to live with. But there are simple solutions that require a little time, planning, effort and money.

One of the most common lighting mistakes is to rely only on already-installed recessed downward-facing lights in the ceiling, said Darryl Tucker, a lighting designer and owner of Fort Lee-based Helicon Hall Design Associates. Installing dimmers on those types of lights is one way to fix the problem.

"You want to arrange the lighting in the room so you have light and dark areas," Tucker said. "The light should not be all the same, or else it has that cafeterial look."

If you can't install hanging ceiling lights to give a room lighting depth, another solution is to use sconces on the walls, Tucker said. Several years ago, Tucker worked with Tenafly homeowner Myra Genn on her living room.

"I don't want to say that it was gloomy, but ... it was gloomy," Genn said. "We had table lamps scattered around, but no overhead lights, and the lamp light was just not doing the trick to illuminate the entire area."

The solution was to add a series of nine spotlights in different sizes in the ceiling. One points toward a cherished piece of art above the fireplace. Another lights a favorite reading spot. All are on individual dimmers.

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Seeing the light a must for decorators

A new breed of buyer has taken over the auction world. John Albrecht, managing director of Leonard Joel in Melbourne, has defined this part-investor, ''part-interior decorator'' species as ''the collectorator''.

This is, as he outlines in Leonard magazine, ''the new dominant buyer in the marketplace once dominated by the traditional collector - the collectorator is the new buyer that combines sophisticated aesthetics with an eye for all periods and designs.

''The collectorator treats his or her entire living environment as an opportunity to showcase visually fascinating and stimulating items with utility and space in mind.''

Albrecht says this new demographic - younger and very savvy about what they do and don't want - has emerged during the past two years.

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Females of the collectorator species are now more likely to be bidding on the floor, with great confidence, and are obviously after a signature piece for a room.

''They are after a look as well as a history,'' says Albrecht. This explains the increasing popularity of modernist furniture and post-1950s design objects.

Leonard Joel has embraced this scene during the past decade while, in Sydney, Shapiro Auctioneers specialises in it.

In December, Shapiro sold a 1953 Grant Featherston Z300 chaise longue for $8800 IBP, and a Piero Fornasetti ''Zebra'' cabinet for $19,200 IBP.

In the same issue of Leonard is Albrecht's list of ''twelve interesting things we sold in 2013''. These range from a Matchbox model of a 1967 Mercury Cougar (sold for $5612 IBP) to a pair of Joe Colombo 1963 Elda black leather chairs (sold for $9760 IBP).

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The rise of the collectorator

BEIJING (TheStreet) -- Shares in Chinese luxury-goods suppliers fell Tuesday as the Communist Party's campaign against lavish government spending turned against a businessman who made a fortune selling marble and chandeliers for public buildings.

Zhu Xingliang's arrest on bribery charges was announced by his company, Golden Mantis Building Decoration, which for years has been riding a wave of costly building construction projects financed by government agencies eager to flaunt their wealth. It was unclear whether Zhu would continue serving as the company's president.

Leaders in Beijing have been telling the nation's bureaucrats to curb frivolous spending or incur the party's wrath since President Xi Jinping took office in late 2012.

On the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Golden Mantis shares fell 3.3% Tuesday to close at 19.13 yuan, a competing supplier Guanfu Modern Household Wares lost 1% to end the day at 4.74 yuan and platinum jewelry maker Ming Jewelry declined 3% to close at 23.66 yuan. On the Shanghai exchange, shares in bone china and jade porcelain maker Glarun Technology declined 4.4% to end at 41.53 yuan a share.

Excerpt from:
Party's Over for Luxury Decorator in China

Igor Tabakov / MT

Marat Guelmans gallery has never stopped organizing exhibits but will now return to the commercial art trade.

Thelandscape ofMoscow galleries seems tocyclically shift andthen ossify every couple ofyears dominant galleries drop off andnew spaces open, resulting ina small circle ofregular venues that hold themajority ofthe big art shows. This week has brought news ofsome notable shifts inthe Moscow art world, with theGarage Center forContemporary Culture revealing significant additions totheir exhibition space, while gallerist Marat Guelman announced his return tothe art trade.

TheGarage Center forContemporary Culture was founded in2008 byDasha Zhukova, aformer model andcurrent romantic partner oftycoon Roman Abramovich who has recently been pilloried fora photo showing her seated ona chair resembling anaked black woman. Despite thelimited credentials ofits founder, Garage's significant financial resources have quickly made it animportant venue forarts inMoscow, with exhibits fromprominent international artists attended bycelebrities andbusiness leaders.

Garage has already shifted locations, leaving its first home atthe former Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage fora temporary pavilion inGorky Park, yet it has been announced that it will move toits permanent home inthe Gorky Park pavilion formerly occupied bythe Seasons restaurant inabout 14 months. Garage also announced theopening ofProject Space, anew experimental exhibit space aimed forpresenting work byyoung andless well-established artists than themain Garage exhibit platforms.

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Garage Center forContemporary Culture

Three homes ofGarage (top down), frombus park totheir future building.

Garage has already called forexhibit proposals fromcurators forthe new space, which will open inFebruary. Aseries offive exhibits has already been announced forFebruary, beginning with curator Snezhana Kristevaya's project "There, Where We Are Not," which will include works bya number ofyoung Russian artists.

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Shifts in the Moscow Gallery Landscape

(PRWEB) January 28, 2014

Garages present an excellent storage space, and can lower insurance premiums on automobiles. They are also an excellent way for property owners to add value to their homes. Modular garages offer the best possible value for money and return on investment as they have the ultimate solution to multi-car storage, though their size means they have to be excellently constructed. Waterloo Structures has been specializing in outdoor structures for the home for over 25 years, and have created customizable modular garages that offer customers the best quality structures tailored to their exact requirements.

The company manufactures the modular garages in PA but can deliver them anywhere in these states NJ-MD-NY-DE-VA. The company also offers installation services so that every step of the process is taken care of after the initial site prep. The company offers help with forms or direct phone numbers to set the parameters for the build, which includes setting the size, doors and windows and other options including wiring and flooring.

The prices are given as transparently as possible, and once individuals have determined the size they want, they can quickly compare the prices for the same sized garage made of the three available material types for the modular garages so they can decide what level of investment they wish to make.

A spokesperson for Waterloo Structures explained, Our modular garages are designed to be the most flexibly designed of any on the market, with a list of options for construction, colors and special features and additions, with the broadest available range of sizes. The modular garages come pre-constructed in two halves that are then bolted together on site. We also have a comprehensive price chart based on the size and primary building materials: wood Duratemp, vinyl and LP SmartSide. All modular garages come with reinforced floors, and have two garage doors and up to four windows.

About Waterloo Structures: Waterloo Structures have been in operation for over 25 years, manufacturing high quality sheds of all shapes and sizes and from a range of materials. Their vast range of different shed designs come in wood, vinyl or LP SmartSide and can be delivered as a prefabricated set or installed by a specialist technician. New products are regularly being added to their online catalogue. For more information, please visit: http://www.waterloostructures.net.

Excerpt from:
Waterloo Structures Offers Extended Range of Customizable Range of Modular Garages

Industrial Flooring Installation | Epoxy Flooring
http://www.highperformancesystems.com this industrial flooring project shows the toughness of our epoxy flooring. You can see how the concrete was prepped pr...

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Industrial Flooring Installation | Epoxy Flooring - Video

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 28, 2014

Since 1952, Florock Polymer Flooring has been pioneering concrete floor coating solutions for facilities all over the world. Its latest development, though, is a little closer to home. With the launch of its new website, Florock has reestablished itself as a definitive authority in its field.

As an innovative voice in the concrete floor coating industry, Florock has perfected the formulas for its variety of coating systems, including commercial floor epoxy, polyurethane coatings and more. The company's new website, which showcases full technical specifications as well as large, dynamic imagery of its products, is designed to give visitors the full Florock experience, online.

The site's structure demonstrates the wide breadth of the company's capabilitiesflooring solutions are organized not only by their type, but by their properties and the industries for which they are commonly used. Now, visitors can easily sort through Florock's varied inventory and find the solutions right for them.

"Visiting this new website is as close as you can get to our concrete floor coatings without actually walking on them," said David Schmetterer, President at Florock. "By giving our site's visitors both the technical information and the visuals they're looking for, we can demonstrate the quality that has put us at the forefront of the industry for more than 60 years."

In addition to visual and technical guides for Florock's polyurethane coatings, commercial floor epoxy and other flooring systems, the new Florock website offers a variety of new resources like training videos for installation, case studies, color charts and more.

"The lasting quality of our concrete floor coatings has helped define our business for decades," said Schmetterer. "Now, we can demonstrate that quality to people before they ever set foot on one of our floors."

About Florock Polymer Flooring Manufactured by Crawford Laboratories, Inc., Florock Polymer Flooring is a leader in commercial, institutional and industrial concrete floor coatings for facilities worldwide. With an expansive network of flooring professionals, regional representatives and approved installers, Florock is able to provide its custom flooring solutions for a wide variety of businesses and institutions. To learn more about Florock's products and services, visit http://www.florock.net.

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Crawford Laboratories, Chicago Concrete Floor Coating Pioneer, Launches New Website