Eco-friendly, green homes help reduce energy usage. Ashwin Architects provide design and architectural services for residential and commercial constructions in Bangalore. The issue of sustainability & green designs gets relegated to the second spot because the first question about construction is the cost. Although most people are aware of environmental issues, still the percentage of people willing to try out new techniques are limited. Ashwin Architects use climatology & building orientation to a great extent to provide natural light & ventilation thus reducing dependency on mechanical means of controlling temperatures. Today, the need is to incorporate green concepts that would only increase the cost by a small percentage. Many who would like to remodel their homes may also want to consider incorporating green concepts like provisions for natural light & ventilation thus reducing dependency on mechanical means of controlling temperatures. Other techniques they can use are borewell recharging with roof water run-off, solar lights for the house, solar geysers, motion-detecting sensors for lights. Address of Ashwin Architects - No. 23, Ratnavilas Rd, Basavanagudi Bangalore - 560004 Website: http://www.ashwinarchitects.com

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

This space looks like a perfect spot for wallpaper or an accent color...wallpaper is making a big comeback and comes as simple as grass paper to more ornate or modern patterns...also a good option a subtle graphic paint treatment...the simple lines of the bannister invite a vertical stripe or pinstripe paint trtmt also

Susan, I find that people often make their coffee tables too low and too small. Measure the height of your sofa cushion and pick a coffee table that is a similar height. Also, in the layout you posted above the room would look better with a larger coffee table. Even as long as your sofa, or close to it. Let me know if you need one custom built, it easier to get the right thing for your room than you may think. Here is my etsy store if you end up needing one custom built. www.etsy.com/shop/MetalTreeFurniture