Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

You can visit Britain's Highclere Castle, the stand-in for the popular Downton Abbey of PBS fame, of course, but soon you will be able to stay on the grounds in newly restored buildings called London Lodge.

Restoration included repairing a roof that had given way some decades ago, requiring a thorough drying of interiors, according to the Countess of Carnarvon.

The castle and grounds have been in the family of her husband, the Eighth Earl of Carnarvon, for centuries.

A gateway, north of the estate, was built in 1793 by the First Earl to celebrate of his entry into the peerage. Around 1840, two buildings, connected by a short footpath, were added, and these are what have been transformed into London Lodge.

They were constructed quickly and, as a result, They werent awfully well built, the countess said. Coupled with water damage and overgrowth courtesy of Mother Nature, the redo took about 2 years to complete.

Like any remodeling project, this one took longer than expected because the extent of the damage was unclear at the start. The countess didn't say how much was spent to get the lodges into shape, but, she said, If I had a budget Ive exceeded it tenfold. This was surprisingly dangerous to our pockets.

Its fascinating when you do restore. You have to go back to understand how someone else built it, how they did it and what its purpose was and what you want its new life and new purpose to be.

Its new purpose is as a cozy respite on the grounds of what is one of the most recognizable places in the world, thanks to the popularity of the series, which follows the lives of the fictional Earl and Countess of Grantham and their family members and those who serve them. The fifth season, already broadcast in Britain, starts Jan. 4 in the U.S.

The living area, done in sea-foam greens, roses and warm neutrals, has a sofa that invites you to sink into it as you sit in front of a fire (Chesney's wood burner) and have some tea.

Rather charming prints of owls and birds and whats in nature -- the countess' description -- adorn the walls, which is fitting given its country setting outside of Newbury, about 60 miles west of London. Youll find a TV and Wi-Fi here too.

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Highclere, a.k.a. Downton Abbey, to offer accommodations on grounds

RICHARD SIMPSON

Honesty in form: Furniture designers Nigel Groom and Emma Fox Derwin. "Everything the designer does must be conscious and considered in a plethora of contexts," Derwin says.

Design for life: Well-Groomed-Fox's Apt shelving, 2014. Lacquered American ash timber, powder-coated steel.

Table talk: Designtree's Chamfer coffee table, 2014. Made from American Ash timber, matt white high-pressure laminate, formica.

Clean lines: Treology's Haast Credenza, 2014. Matai, aged copper and natural oil.

Emma Fox Derwin and Nigel Groom call their Paekakariki business Well-Groomed-Fox and have shown their furniture in design fairs in Cologne, Germany and Milan, London and Belgium.

Now, along with 14 other designers, they are exhibiting in Modern Revivals: Contemporary New Zealand Furniture, at Lower Hutt's The Dowse.

The exhibits all have elements of that fashionable contemporary interior decorator darling, modernist 20th-century design.

"The thing with mid-century modern design is that people love it," Fox Derwin says. "Iconic designs from the era are still being produced and sold. But more than that, designers love mid-century design."

Fox Derwin lectures in industrial design at Massey University's School of Design as well as being responsible, with Groom, an architectural associate, for pieces such as the Cloak Cabinet, with textile rather than wooden walls, and flexible Apt shelving, both on display at the Dowse.

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Well-made things on show

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Speaking at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia on Sunday, Angelica Peralta Ramos, La Nacion Data project leader, told delegates of the organisation's "initiative to develop data journalism and contribute to opening data".

There is no shortage of stories in a country ranked 106 out of 177 on the global Corruption Perceptions Index, she said, but with no freedom of information laws accessing the data can be difficult.

However, "data is the new raw material for journalism", she said, and "if we use data as journalists then more information will be demanded" of governments or organisations that are less open.

The first step is in overcoming assumptions, or "excuses", about the difficulties of producing data journalism stories when the political environment is less than accommodating.

A list of "excuses" that can sometimes hold journalists back from getting started in data journalism, according to Angelica Peralta Ramos

Too often news organisations can assume there is no credible data available, that an absence of transparency laws make the process impossible, or that a lack of developers or necessary skills in the newsroom mean the project is a non-starter, Peralta said.

Having faced similar situations at La Nacion in the past, she shared her advice on how to overcome such obstacles.

1. Never stop learning

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have opened up much of the information needed to get started in data journalism for anyone with an internet connection, she said, while a quick search should turn up a range of webinars, blogs and books to aid in the process.

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5 tips on data journalism from La Nacion

DAD-OF-TWO Peter Downes is expecting hundreds of people round to his house in the run up to Christmas.

The 46-year-old has lit up his home in All Alone Road, Idle, for the ninth year running in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Over the years a number of celebrities including soap and sporting stars have been invited to do the honours and flick the switch but this year Mr Downes decided to do it himself.

People going along to be dazzled by the light show are invited to pop their donations through the letter box - the grand total so far since he started the idea has reached around the 12,000 mark.

Christmas comes early in the Downes' house because of preparations for the festive extravaganza light, displays have to be checked and bulbs tested.

More than 50,000 bulbs are lighting up the night sky this year and there are some new additions including a carousel and some extra Santas.

His seasonal collection has grown since he started it off with flashing icicles - now the roof, house walls, garage and garden are covered with twinkling snowmen, moving reindeer, parachuting Santas, steam trains and penguins, some of the decorations even play carols.

The lights have become an established tradition, attracting visitors not just from the district but from different parts of the country.

The display are up in memory of Mr Downes's dad Timmy who died of lung cancer in 2006 and was helped by Marie Curie Cancer Care.

"We've always had celebrities in the past to come and switch the lights on for us but this year we decided to try it without and see what we could do ourselves," he said.

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Christmas spectacle raises charity cash

DAD-OF-TWO Peter Downes is expecting hundreds of people round to his house in the run up to Christmas.

The 46-year-old has lit up his home in All Alone Road, Idle, for the ninth year running in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Over the years a number of celebrities including soap and sporting stars have been invited to do the honours and flick the switch but this year Mr Downes decided to do it himself.

People going along to be dazzled by the light show are invited to pop their donations through the letter box - the grand total so far since he started the idea has reached around the 12,000 mark.

Christmas comes early in the Downes' house because of preparations for the festive extravaganza light, displays have to be checked and bulbs tested.

More than 50,000 bulbs are lighting up the night sky this year and there are some new additions including a carousel and some extra Santas.

His seasonal collection has grown since he started it off with flashing icicles - now the roof, house walls, garage and garden are covered with twinkling snowmen, moving reindeer, parachuting Santas, steam trains and penguins, some of the decorations even play carols.

The lights have become an established tradition, attracting visitors not just from the district but from different parts of the country.

The display are up in memory of Mr Downes's dad Timmy who died of lung cancer in 2006 and was helped by Marie Curie Cancer Care.

"We've always had celebrities in the past to come and switch the lights on for us but this year we decided to try it without and see what we could do ourselves," he said.

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VIDEO: Dad's Christmas lights spectacle set to raise charity cash

With the excitement surrounding the teams third straight bowl appearance in three seasons under the direction of head coach Hugh Freeze, today is a milestone day in the Forward Together campaign, as Ole Miss moves one step closer to making the master plan for Vaught-Hemingway Stadium a reality.

Launched in the fall of 2011, the Forward Together Campaign has now reached $125 million in total cash and pledges, and between the ongoing construction of The Pavilion at Ole Miss and the parking garage, the front door for Ole Miss is beginning to take shape.

When the Forward Together Campaign was launched in the fall of 2011, the goals for Vaught-Hemingway Stadium were to expand the overall stadium capacity and fan experience amenities, upgrade exterior elements around the stadium that provide more consistency with university architecture, and to expand premium seating offerings in order to provide necessary funding, Director of Athletics Ross Bjork said. We are confident and believe this master plan accomplishes those objectives while adding in new elements along the way.

As part of this front door, scheduled for completion by the start of the 2016 football season, there will be construction of two new entry points. One will be a new plaza between The Pavilion and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and the other will be a new green space that extends the Walk of Champions through a new north stadium plaza and bell tower. The plans also include the construction of an M-Club letterwinners wall honoring every letterwinner from every sport at Ole Miss.

The campus of Ole Miss is incredibly unique, Bjork said. Everything from the architecture, to the campus layout, to immaculate landscaping, to green spaces like the Grove and the Circle, they are all key factors for why we are voted the most beautiful campus year in and year out.

The location of the front door of athletics not only connects us to the heart of campus, but builds upon that beauty, while also serving as a functional and effective way to continue to provide Rebel fans with an unmatched gameday experience.

The master plan also includes two phases of renovation and expansion that will have Vaught-Hemingway Stadium completed by the start of the 2016 football season, bringing the seating capacity to 64,038.

The first phase will be a renovation and expansion of the south end zone, scheduled to start on January 7, 2015 and be finished for the first game of the 2015 season. As part of this phase, 30 luxury suites and 770 club level seats will be added. All 30 luxury suites have already been sold, and 60 percent of the club level seats have been sold.

We chose the south end zone for the expansion of premium seating because it allows for us to capitalize on the efficiencies of using the same infrastructure already in place, such as a kitchen, elevators, concourse and access to parking, Bjork said. In addition to the premium seating, the south end zones main concourse will be expanded by 2,500 square feet to accommodate more walking space, as well as the addition of 43 new toilets and 32 concession points of sale.

The second phase will be a renovation and expansion of the north end zone that will include the completion of the stadium seating bowl with a new brick and stone exterior that matches campus architecture.

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Ole Miss Unveils Stadium Expansion Plans

Affordable Carpet Installation St. George UT
435-467-9747 - Mr. Karpet - http://www.mrkarpet.com I began my carpet career as a carpet pander for Dave Taylor and Associates in Salt Lake City in the summer of 19...

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Affordable Carpet Installation St. George UT - Video

As the Culpeper County Library renovation and expansion nears completion, the local institution will close for painting, carpet installation and in observance of the holidays over the next few weeks.

"A little harried," said Culpeper County Librarian Susan Keller, asked how she was feeling about the almost finished renovation and expansion. "Actually, I'm feeling a little displaced they're in my office painting," she said Tuesday.

The library will close for interior painting of the main section Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, though Santa Storytime will still happen on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. with the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals helping out as elves.

The library will close for the holidays Dec. 24, reopening Dec. 27.

Then on Dec. 29, it will close again for installation of new carpet and the New Year holiday before reopening on Jan. 5. Keller said to call ahead because the library might reopen that Saturday, Jan. 3 if the carpet installation is completed.

Culpeper-based Crenshaw Construction, contractor on the library job, will use hydraulic lifts to lift the book shelves to install the new carpet, replacing old flooring that's nearly 18 years old. All of the library furniture, much of it torn, also had to be recovered, Keller said.

No library materials will be due back during the times of closure. The library is also asking that patrons not return materials during the carpet installation.

The estimated $315,000 library project began in April and is slated for completion upon its reopening in early January. Community donations are completely funding the construction, including money left to the library in people's wills.

"That is what we saved it for this kind of capital project," said Keller of a fund maintained by the county. "We are all looking forward to it being completed."

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Culpeper Library renovation nears completion

Project Management Software for Architects
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To build better and healthier spaces, architects are heeding evidence-based lessons

The Bullitt Center in Seattle has an "irresistable staircase." Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Americans, on average,spend around 90 percent of their time indoors, and now the nations leading group of architects has found inspiration in this somewhat glum fact. The professionals who design our working and living quarters are starting to see all these confined hours as a major opportunity for them to make a meaningful impact on public health. Today, the American Institute of Architects (AIA)announcedits latest effort along these linesa three-year partnership among 11 architectural schools whose research programs will further explore the notion that building design, city planning and health should go hand in hand. Participating institutions will examine topics ranging from the microbiome of buildings to "tele-health" for rural communities to reducing stress via design.We are all familiar with the adage- Healthy mind, healthy body, says Sulan Kolatan, professor of architecture at Pratt Institute in New York City, but we need to add a phrase that goes, Healthy city, healthy mind and healthy body, because we're understanding that those things are integrally connected. Designing for health soon will be as fundamental a responsibility in the minds of architecture students as designing for energy, says Daniel Friedman, chair of AIA's Design and Health Leadership Group. Leading thinkers in architecture as far back as the Roman architect Vitruviusduring the first century B.C. have considered how ones surroundings might influence health and wellbeing.The concepts most recent revival came in September 2003 when the American Journal of Public Health published an issue dedicated to public health and the built environment. The topic snowballed from there, Friedman says. Latelysensors and software have advanced such efforts by allowing architects to better track and measure the physiological, social and psychological effects of building use on occupants. Its not just walk more, weigh less, Friedman says. This is about the health impacts of design and construction at the scale of room to region with much greater attention to evidence, health data and criteria for well-being. The AIA initiative includes Columbia, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Drexel Universities, as well as the universities of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Kansas, Florida, Oregon, Miami, and Arizona, along wih the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego. Today, professionals across various fields consider buildings to be a critical tool for combating social isolation, epidemic obesity and depression. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has published recommendations for creating elementary schools that inspire kids to eat healthier and cities including New York are adopting Active Design guidelines meant to encourage building practices that boost physical activity. Robert Ivy, CEO of the AIA, recently penned a column highlighting a few examples of research in this vein and the organization published an infographic on six facets of architecture that have been found to intersect with public healthsafety, social connectedness, environmental quality, sensory environments, physical activity and access to natural systems. Here are a few examples of the highlighted research and initiatives: 1. Design staircases that people want to use

At the Bullitt Center in Seattle, occupants choose to take its irresistible staircase for 75 percent of trips on entering the building rather than opting for the elevator, as compared with the 17 to 23 percent of trips made via stairs in a typical office building, according to results published this year by the Center and lauded by Friedman. While climbing the Bullitt staircase users enjoy panoramic views of Puget Sound and downtown Seattle whereas the elevator is tucked into a back corner of the building and requires a key card to access. Any engineer can design a staircase to meet code but architects have the design and training to design a stair that beckons use, Friedman says. But what about in places with legacy staircases? New York City has posted 30,000 neon green signs with a plea for people to take the stairs in public buildings and facilities. Other examples of built projects that encourage physical activity were highlighted in a 2013 exhibit called FitNation, curated by the AIA. 2. Time lighting to circadian rhythms A 40 percent rise is expected by 2025 in the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimers disease, a form of dementia. To help, Kyle Konis, professor of architecture at the University of Southern California, proposes a way to assuage symptoms such as sleep disturbances with improvements to indoor lighting. Eyes are sensitive to the brightness and color temperature of light (a property that describes its hue ranging from blue to red ends of the spectrum), and these factors influence our circadian rhythms and the wakesleep cycle. In a report for a design and health summit organized by AIA Konis cited a finding that exposing Alzheimers patients to an hour of bright light (typically using a light box) in the morning can help those with the most severe symptoms to sleep better. Most senior facilities, though, rely on dim fluorescent lighting. Also, caretakers struggle to convince residents and patients to sit in front of a lightbox for an hour every day. Konis will conduct a three-month pilot study across four treatment facilities for seniors with dementia near Los Angeles to see if moving a group of patients to a sun-soaked room for two hours daily will reduce symptoms and improve cognitive function as compared with a control group that spends the same amount of time under fluorescent lights. 3. Create opportunities for social interaction

The architects at SGPA Architecture and Planning in San Francisco in charge of designing Lincoln Glen Manor assisted-living community in San Jose, Calif., decided to heed previous research showing that a well-designed facility could boost the frequency of visits by family members and, in turn, the residents' well-being. To make the facility feel more welcoming and foster social interaction, the architects shuffled around the chapel and dining area of the central building to create a more open layout. This change allowed residents to better see one another and encouraged bystanders to join in activities. In what the architects are considering an early measure of success, 90 residents attended this years Thanksgiving dinner as compared with 25 in the year prior, according to a report prepared by the firm. 4. Think of buildings as an educational toolnot just a backdrop A new rural school for K5 students opened with the start of the school year in 2012 in Buckingham County, Va. The school was designed by VMDO Architects, a firm specializing in schools, with the help of academic partners to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. The firm installed water fountains in classrooms, age-appropriate nutritional signage, large staircases and a food lab where students can learn to prepare food. The lead architects presented preliminary results of a study of the 970 students who attend the new school at AIAs spring summit. Their results, which are forthcoming in a peer-reviewed journal, hints that the schools features have helped kids to engage in and enjoy more physical activity while also creating opportunities for staff to organize programs around healthy eating and lifestyles. 5. Continue to design walkable neighborhoods

Most Americans (52 percent) do not get the recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity per day combined with muscle-strengthening exercises. Researchers from the Texas A&M Center for Health Systems and Design tracked 229 residents who moved to a walkable community called Mueller in Austin, Texas. Walkable communities put emphasis on pedestrian rather than vehicular traffic as the primary form of day-to-day transportation by clustering apartments, grocery stores, dining and retail. The teams analysis revealed that after moving to Mueller the percentage of residents who were achieving that recommendation increased from 34 to 49 percent. The time those residents spent walking and bicycling shot up by 40 minutes and 13 minutes per week, respectively.

In a separate study published this year of residents physical activity in three low-income neighborhoods in Detroit over six years, researchers found a positive correlation between exercise and the overall connectedness of neighborhoods, as measured by the ease of movement and efficiency of the street layout.

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Architects Aim to Make Us Healthier with "Irresistible Staircases" and Open Layouts