Archive for November, 2009

Affordable Home Remodeling Gets Easier with ‘The Bathroom Remodeling Workbook’ from ABCD Publishing

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

New remodeling workbook series from trusted expert offers homeowners complete guides to help make remodeling a success!

Homeowners are again planning home remodeling projects to take advantage of low prices and “government stimulus home-remodeling incentives,” ABCD Publishing announces the release of the first book in their Remodeling Workbooks Series. This first book in the series addresses the most popular room of the house to remodel – “The Bathroom Remodeling Workbook.”

This new series from trusted remodeling expert Dan Fritschen guides homeowners through the essential steps and decisions of successful home remodeling. This collection of step-by-step guides, combined with the online remodeling cost calculators at www.remodelormove.com, will take a homeowner from “I don’t like my bathroom” to having a solid plan and a realistic budget so they can kick off their remodeling project with confidence.

Each book in the series is available from local and online bookstores or directly from the publisher at www.abcdpublishing.com.

The first book in the series is the “Bathroom Remodeling Workbook: A Complete Guide to Help Make Your Remodel a Success” (ISBN 1-933007-36-2, $11.95).

The bathroom is one of the most popular rooms of the house for a remodeling project. Even in a recession, bathroom remodeling remains popular because some projects simply cannot be put off until better economic times. Additionally, some homeowners are remodeling so they will be ready when the housing market turns around, since they are aware that a bathroom design can make or break a home sale in the current market. People are looking for large, well-lit bathrooms that offer both luxury and environmentally-friendly features.

Bathroom remodeling is always popular because, in almost all real estate markets, it makes a home both more comfortable and more valuable. Moreover, this workbook is the perfect introduction to the series because it incorporates all of the most often-requested features:

* Guidance in dealing with unique challenges.

* Identification of bathroom features that will be costly to change.

* Advice on how to save money on a remodel.

* Detailed guidance on how to find and choose the right contractor for the job.

* Everything a homeowner needs to know to make the entire remodeling process a breeze.

Source: www.send2press.com

www.HowardsFurnitureAndDecoratingCenter.com

3D Visualization Technology Helps Diverse Range of Businesses Innovate

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

New subsidiary of Artist Rendering, Inc. puts 3D technology to pioneering use for broad spectrum of industries, not just for engineers and architects anymore

Since 2002, Artist Rendering, Inc. has worked with real-estate developers and architects in visualizing their future projects through high-impact 3D renderings and animations. In the course of his work there, founder and President Alex Tiller discovered that there was a need for his company’s services across a broader spectrum. “Professionals from all sorts of industries kept coming to us and saying, ‘We like what you’re doing; can you apply it to our industry?’,” says Tiller.

Tiller rose to the challenge by creating IDEAVIZ as a subsidiary of Artist Rendering, Inc-expanding the market for his company’s technologies. A remarkable variety of local and national companies have taken advantage of the firm’s creative services-including furniture manufactures, pet-product designers, and event producers. The common thread across all these industries is their need to quickly and inexpensively explore and test new concepts, innovations and business solutions. IDEAVIZ uses virtual reality to do just that.

Using 3D visualization technology, says Tiller, “is powerful because we’re not limited by the bounds of physics. By building an object in virtual space, we can see how it will work inside and out before it’s produced in the real world.” This allows IDEAVIZ to “experiment with any idea without the expense and time required by actually building it.” This experimentation gives businesses the flexibility to make changes and explore multiple possibilities for any product concept or business process prior to implementation.

IDEAVIZ uses 3D technology to help companies look at their businesses in a new way. When creating a new product or concept, businesses face the challenge of getting their idea across to clients quickly and clearly. “It’s hard to tell what something’s really going to look like and how it will work just by looking at technical drawings,” says Tiller. “We can create a photo-real 3D visualization that lets people actually see their ideas brought to life before they even exist in the physical world.” This not only removes doubt for investors, but also allows companies to mitigate the risk of innovation by testing ideas in focus groups before investing.

IDEAVIZ plans to continue finding new applications for the powerful technology and stellar creative talent it houses. The way Tiller sees it, “the capabilities of our blend of creative, technological and managerial talent could assist in a huge array of markets. We want to keep finding new ways to help businesses innovate through visualization.”

Source: www.send2press.com

www.HowardsFurnitureAndDecoratingCenter.com

High Gas Prices Cause People to Opt for ‘Staycations’ and Invest in Home

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

What’s a “staycation” you ask? It’s a vacation spent at home, and more and more people are re-discovering the advantages to staying at home to renew and restore the senses while padding the pocketbook. And, Patio World Home & Hearth is working to ensure people maximize their “staycations.”

In lieu of high gas prices, the weakening dollar, financial uncertainty, and airport nightmares, stress levels are at an all-time high – just when people need a vacation the most.

And, when bodies are stressed, an array of health problems can arise. These may include: difficulty sleeping and concentrating, panic attacks, neck and back pain, ulcers, rise in blood pressure, digestion problems, depression, heart attacks, and a compromised immune system.

So, what’s a person to do? A staycation is a viable alternative. It also provides time to reconnect with family, neighbors and friends.

Business entertaining at home is also on the rise. Dining out, while still popular, is lately getting some serious competition from its counterpart – dining at home.

Perry Arons, CEO of one of the largest chain of patio stores on the east coast, Patio World Home & Hearth, says, “More and more people are recognizing that entertaining in a comfortable and elegant, open-air entertainment room not only helps to build a personal rapport, but also helps to weather economic uncertainty.”

Well-appointed outdoor entertaining areas can turn a home into a vacation or business destination. According to Consumer Reports, by creating inviting outdoor living space, people can also increase their home’s value.

And, in today’s depressed real estate market, the second most likely home-remodeling project is outdoor entertaining space. Many outdoor spaces are also designed to be the focal point of a home.

Arons sums up this new awareness. He explains that, “Our customers are asking us to design, implement and furnish outdoor areas that rival the best of any quaint Caribbean hotel or high-end resort.”

Patio World Home & Hearth does complete makeovers with marble-top tables for dining; fire pits and cafe sets for intimate or private talks; pergolas and gazebos to resemble a faraway oasis; large fountains to eliminate exterior noise; and elite, gourmet grills containing storage, sinks and refrigerators.

“Place some vibrant throws and pillows for accent color; add a few old-fashioned, but fashionable bronze standing fans and patio heaters to counter a hot or cool evening, and a getaway that is worlds away is simply a few feet away,” Arons says.

Patio World Home & Hearth offers a large selection of furniture and seating arrangements for immediate delivery, and free in-house designing and shipping to anywhere in the world.

“The best part of this ‘taking the inside out’ phenomenon,” Arons explains, “is that parents no longer have to answer to ‘are we there yet,’ and since men are notoriously the grillers, men can grill while women chill.”

Source: www.send2press.com

www.HowardsFurnitureAndDecoratingCenter.com