YOUR home is in fact your private palace, so make sure it is as comfortable as possible to live in. A large room may not always be comfortable, and likewise, a small room may not always be tight in space. A spacious room, therefore, does not guarantee a comfortable home, so even in the case of a small house if everything is set out correctly it will result in a spacious home.
Ideally, before living in your home, the house should go through several design processes considering both internal and external factors. Both have an influence on our approach to the design and building. Our approach can be interpreted into the design orientation, both for the material selected, the building as well as our related daily activities.
Today, especially in major cities, generally speaking one seldom finds large houses. So, the solution is to arrange the available space in the house, with the help of a designer or do this by yourself.
One of the ways to ‘cheat’ a small room and make it appear larger is by using light or bright colors. Furniture also has an impact on small rooms, so avoid large pieces of furniture in this case. Nowadays rooms in small homes look more like studio apartments where partitions are not clearly defined and where furniture defines the function of each room.
If you feel that your living room is too large or too spacious then you can divide it into several zones for different activities, such as for reading, listening to music or just for chatting. On the other hand if your living room is small you can rearrange it and turn it into a multifunctional space for a number of activities.
There are several ways to make your room feel spacious without reducing its beauty, such as the appropriate choice of furniture and accessories, correct arrangement of furniture, partitions, creation of a focal point on one of the walls, carpeting, color choice for walls and furniture as well as lighting effects.
Regarding the color for the walls white and cream are the most neutral especially for your living room as such colors can respond to the colors of furniture and accessories. These colors are especially suitable for old houses. For contemporary style houses secondary and tertiary colors will make them look more attractive.
Lighting is also quite important to make the room comfortable. Spot-lighting can be used to focus on certain accessories in the room. Lighting can also give a different meaning or interpretation to certain parts of the room.
Apart from the exterior and interior factors there are other important requirements in the house including air conditioners washing machine, refrigerator, water heater and so forth.
There are many kinds of water heaters available on the market, so do not go and just buy any brand or model, but make sure it is suited to your requirements.
Based on the energy source there are three types of water heaters: electric, gas and solar panels. The electric and gas heaters are relatively less costly in comparison to the solar panels. However, once installed, the solar heaters require no energy source.
The water heater should also match the location of the house, because for tropical countries the solar panel heater is more suitable while the gas one is more appropriate for cold or subtropical regions.
To choose the right capacity of water heater you must have a good estimate of your daily requirements for hot water. While a large capacity water heater gives more hot water it also needs more electricity. So you must consider the power available in your home. If your power is limited it is advisable to buy a water heater with low wattage. (Burhan Abe)
The Jakarta Post, June 17, 2011
