Grabell Phase 1 – In this phase of the project, we transformed the entire first floor by gutting it down to studs and subfloor. We replaced rotted exterior walls, completely removed all exterior siding and installed vinyl simulated cedar shingle siding. We removed the chimney and installed central AC and gas heat and on demand hot water. We then installed white oak floors, recessed lights, and converted front porch into a mudroom with a coat closet and custom bench. We created a completely redesigned kitchen, living room, bathroom and two bedrooms to complete the first floor.

A family living in Guildford were in touch recently about restoring the appearance of their Ceramic tiled shower and bathroom. They were about to put the property up for sale and were concerned the grubby grout might put off potential buyers. First impressions do count so renovating a bathroom or kitchen before selling is a really good idea and will help you achieve a better price. In this case the Ceramic tiles were dirty and black with mould in places which looked unhygienic and uninviting. Additionally, the mastic sealant between the tile and bath was tired and worn to the extent that water could end up leaking behind the seal. After visiting the property, they were pleased to hear I could help and happily accepted our quote which was based around a days work and some materials. Firstly, I cleaned the grout using a Tile Doctor product called Duo Clean which is designed to tackle dirty grout and mould. I sprayed the product along all the grout lines and left it to soak in for about fifteen minutes. Once ready I brushed them with a firm wire brush then rinsed off with water. Next, I cleaned the tiles using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was decanted into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the wall tiles. After ten minutes I then used a handheld buffing machine fitted with a small white buffing pad to shift the dirt and buff up the white tiles. After rinsing the slurry off with water you could see a marked improvement. I hand dried the tile and grout with a cloth and then set about stripping out the old white mastic sealer with a sharp knife. This took some time, as you have to be careful not to scratch the bath or the tile. By this time the grout had dried off fully and I was able to see if more work was required. To achieve a uniform colour throughout. Mould and some cleaning products can discolour grout permanently and, in this case, there was some grout staining I was unable to remove. We had discussed this possibility earlier and how it would be best resolved using a white grout colourant. So, I carefully applied Tile Doctor Grout Colour which is painted on with a small brush with any excess wiped off the tile before it can set. This resulted in a uniform white grout throughout and really gave the whole bathroom a lift. With the cleaning process completed I applied a new white mastic between the bath and tile and along the verticals. This is done with the bath filled with water and then left for 24 hours to allow the silicone to fully cure. After the grout colour had dried, I applied an aerosol Tile and Grout sealer over the whole surface and then lightly polished off any excess with a clean cloth. This does two things; one it adds a further layer of protection to the new grout colour and to the surface of the tiles. Secondly Ceramic tiles are non-porous, but bacterial dirt can still get a grip on the surface, with the sealer in place you will find water quickly runs off without getting a chance to get a hold. Sealers do wear off, so I recommended re-applying it every year. I had plenty left over and gave it to the customer when I finished using it. For regular cleaning of tiled shower areas, I recommend they use Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro this will neutralise any acid build-up caused by acidic shampoos etc. West Surrey Tile Doctor Rupert Mcleod

close up of pebble tile design around soaking tub.
Inspiration for a large asian master white tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile home design remodel in Seattle with a vessel sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, quartz countertops, a two-piece toilet and beige walls

Minimalist bedroom photo in Miami

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary porcelain tile and multicolored floor hallway remodel in Vancouver with beige walls

This Limestone tiled floor installed in a kitchen and family room at a property in Wellingborough is a great example of how this material can lose its appearance without a regular maintenance plan in place. The customer called me as not only was she concerned that the floor had lost its lustre the grey grout had become very stained and almost black in heavy traffic areas, in fact my customer had originally asked about re-grouting but I was confident it could be cleaned. I provided a quote which they were happy to accept. The area was a nice wide 6 metre by 5 metre space and except for a few items of furniture that would need moving around there were relatively few obstacles. I reasoned the most efficient way to restore the polished appearance of the Limestone would be to use a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads. These are fitted to a rotary machine and applied to the stone in sequence from coarse to smooth. It’s an effective process that cuts back the layer of dirt on the floor and then we build back up the polish. We started burnishing the Limestone with a coarse 400-grit pad fitted to a rotary machine and applied with a little water for lubrication. The coarse pad is very good at removing dirt and old sealers from stone and once completed the resultant surface water and loose dirt is removed using a wet vacuum. At this point I turned my attention to the badly stained grout lines, and applied a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was scrubbed in along the grout lines using a stiff grout brush, this is necessary as the recessed nature of the grout makes it difficult for the rotary pads to reach it. I then repeated the burnishing process with the medium 800-grit pad and fine 1500-grit pad, the 800-grit pad removes any small surface scratches and the 1500-grit further refines the look of the Limestone slowly restoring its polished appearance. After the whole floor had been burnished in this way it was given a further rinse with water and the soil extracted as before. I then inspected the floor to see if more work would be needed. I was not fully happy with how some of the grout lines had responded, some were still slightly stained, and some marks were visible in the high traffic areas. I had already discussed on my initial visit with the client that this might be the case and it was agreed between us that should this be the case I would apply a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant in Light Grey to recolour all the grout lines and achieve a uniform finish. The stone and grout was still damp from cleaning and polishing, so I decided to leave the grout colouring until the following day. On day two I started by grout recolouring all the grout lines, it’s a straight forward process but can be a little tedious where there is a lot of grout to cover. Once complete I allowed the grout colour to dry for a couple of hours before moving onto the next step. The last pad to be applied in the stone burnishing process is the very fine 3000-grit polishing pad which is applied dry to the tiles using a small amount of water sprayed onto the floor and leaves the stone dry and with a polished silk finish. The floor was then sealed using two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal Sealant allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. It’s also a natural look sealer that doesn’t affect the appearance of the stone. My customer was very happy with the transformation of her floor and provided the feedback copies below. In-fact she was so impressed with the results that she also used our services to restore the grout and silicon in one of her bathrooms. “Phil was on time & easy to deal with and did an amazing job on my kitchen and bathroom floors and the carpets & sofa. No fuss, just a great job. Liz O.” Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor

New Installation of Red Oak Wood, 3 1/4 in width. White-washed Bona Stain was used, Bona Finish, as well as Bona Traffic HD. **This photo is of the Red Oak Wood (3 1/4 inch) prior to the application of the white-washed Bona Stain.

At Atlanta Porch & Patio we are dedicated to building beautiful custom porches, decks, and outdoor living spaces throughout the metro Atlanta area. Our mission is to turn our clients’ ideas, dreams, and visions into personalized, tangible outcomes. Clients of Atlanta Porch & Patio rest easy knowing each step of their project is performed to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and dependability. Our team of builders and craftsmen are licensed, insured, and always up to date on trends, products, designs, and building codes. We are constantly educating ourselves in order to provide our clients the best services at the best prices. We deliver the ultimate professional experience with every step of our projects. After setting up a consultation through our website or by calling the office, we will meet with you in your home to discuss all of your ideas and concerns. After our initial meeting and site consultation, we will compile a detailed design plan and quote complete with renderings and a full listing of the materials to be used. Upon your approval, we will then draw up the necessary paperwork and decide on a project start date. From demo to cleanup, we strive to deliver your ultimate relaxation destination on time and on budget.

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional wooden straight wood railing staircase remodel with painted risers

Blue and white ocean inspired bath with New Ravenna blue glass tile and glass mosaic shower pan. White all drawer vanity with Drawer Doc electrical outlets maximize storage and functionality.

Photo by Roehner + Ryan
Southwestern exterior home idea in Phoenix

Tiny Heirloom Inc.
Trendy home office photo in Portland

My number one favorite room in the whole world (just because this little girl is the best!). And it only cost the parents 60$! This room was made for a very special 9yr old. She has never had her own room. And as girls we know we NEED our own space! What the room doesn't tell you is that the family has been through a struggle. With no income being a singe mother life can really be a let down. When they got their first house they had no furniture, none, not even a mattress for her children to sleep on.

It's known as the PISA/TIMSS voyaging convoy. Every time worldwide tests results are discharged with association tables indicating champs and failures a gaggle of scientists, scholastics and grouped kindred explorers plummet on the most astounding performing nation or instruction framework to break down and write about "world's best practice". The objective continues evolving One issue with thusly of deduction is that nobody framework reliably beats the rest. In light of the 1995 and 1999 TIMSS (Trends in International Math and Science Study) results, Asian instruction frameworks in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan overwhelmed. Accordingly, the emphasis was immovably on recognizing the reasons the Asian tigers were performing so well. In the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) 2000 results, Finland positioned first in education, fourth in arithmetic and third in science. Finland became the overwhelming focus and specialists and scholastics ran to Helsinki to find the reasons Finnish understudies performed at or close to the highest point of the table. By 2012, at the end of the day, an alternate training framework turned into the focal point of consideration. Finland descended the PISA rankings as another champ, Shanghai, rose as first in arithmetic, science and perusing. Apples aren't being contrasted with apples A second issue when making correlations is that the spots we've recognized as examples of overcoming adversity are distinctive to Australia. City-states like Singapore and instruction frameworks in profoundly performing spots like Hong Kong and Shanghai have remarkable qualities that separate them from nations like Australia, England and the USA. Contrasts in topography, the quantities of understudies and schools, the understudy cosmetics (as far as dialect, society and financial profile) and how schools, including educational modules and appraisal, are organized and oversaw significantly affect results. Singapore, when contrasted with Australia, is little topographically, more homogenous as far as dialect and culture and utilizes instructive practices that have long been out of support in Australia. These incorporate gushing kids in view of their abilities, and high-chance, focused tests and examinations. As noted in a paper titled How not to prevail upon PISA information: an unexpected examination, there are additionally social components clarifying solid execution that are troublesome, if not unimaginable, to exchange starting with one instruction framework then onto the next. Evident cases incorporate the effect of Confucian qualities and morals that stretch appreciation for power (particularly instructors), the conviction that achievement is conceivable with inspiration, fixation and diligent work, and the thought that training is focal if one is to accomplish a superior life. Confounding circumstances and end results Befuddling what has driven these nations to achievement speaks to the third trouble in expecting that what seems to prompt accomplishment in one nation can without much of a stretch be exchanged to another. To expect that everything we need to do in Australia to enhance test outcomes is to lessen the impact of the Australian Education Union, while being appealing to some, is both undemocratic and blameworthy of accepting circumstances and end results. There are a few advantages of abroad correlations PISA and TIMSS tests have been held for a long time. Thus, there is a decent arrangement of examination recognizing the attributes of more grounded performing instruction frameworks from which states and domains can learn. The early ethnographic work recording Japanese and American classes nitty gritty in Harvard distribution The Teaching Gap uncovers how the lessons in Asian classrooms are more unequivocal, obviously organized and sound and there is a desire that all understudies, with the essential offer and applications, some assistance with canning succeed. A later distribution by the Grattan Institute, Catching up: gaining from the best educational systems in East Asia, likewise distinguishes imperative lessons from fruitful Asian instruction frameworks. Positive variables incorporate giving instructors more opportunity to work cooperatively and to tutor each other, guaranteeing that educator training, course readings and the educational modules are commonly steady and concentrate on enhancing classroom rehearse. It ought to additionally be noticed that while Australian understudies don't perform in the top level in PISA and TIMSS tests, there is some reason for festivity. Understudies in the Australian Capital Territory perform well over the Australian normal and frequently coordinate the execution of top-performing abroad instruction frameworks. As far as lifting the execution of understudies from distraught foundations it is additionally critical to take note of that Catholic schools, in light of an investigation of the 2009 PISA results completed by the Australian Council for Educational Research, accomplish a value rating surpassing that of Finland. About the Author: Amy Parker writes too many academic papers for people who have troubles with it. She always gives needed advices, shows the examples of the papers and helps with writing at http://papersnetwork.net

wa design
Example of a trendy exterior home design in San Francisco

This is a quintessentially urban prewar-into-modern hybrid: a broad, laterally organized reception room whose principal architectural gesture is the corner glazing that dissolves two walls into a panoramic register of treetops and distant skyline. The plan reads as a series of soft, overlapping conversational precincts rather than a single axial arrangement — a pair of swivel-capable lounge chairs anchoring the window wall, a facing pair of high-backed tub chairs, and a deep tuxedo-profile sofa closing the composition toward the viewer — all orbiting an organically contoured cocktail table that performs as the room's centrifugal keystone. The ceiling is treated with a recessed reveal and shallow soffit that traces the perimeter, a device that both conceals drapery hardware and lifts the plane visually, granting the low-slung modern floor plate an unexpected sense of loft. A blade wall carrying a single framed canvas performs critical spatial work, terminating the living volume while permitting an enfilade sightline through to a secondary dining zone beyond, where a glazed wall of ivy-clad courtyard reads as a green tapestry. The geometry throughout is deliberately curvilinear — barrel-backed seating, amoeboid tabletops, splayed tapered legs — set against the orthogonal discipline of window mullions, drapery pleats, and rectilinear millwork, producing a productive tension between architectural rigor and furnishings that behave sculpturally. **II. Materiality, Color & Texture** The palette is a study in tonal restraint calibrated for maximum textural incident. Walls are finished in a matte, faintly striated plaster or grasscloth with a warm ecru undertone that absorbs rather than reflects light, establishing a neutral field against which every surface differential registers. Seating is upholstered in a lustrous chenille or crushed velvet of pale greige, whose short pile catches raking daylight and reads almost pearlescent, while the foreground sofa introduces a coarser boucle in an oatmeal register and the opposing sofa shifts decisively into a saturated tobacco-and-umber channel-tufted chenille, its French-polished rosewood or macassar ebony frame supplying the room's darkest, most reflective note. Stone is deployed with connoisseurial precision: the cocktail tables are honed alabaster or backlit-quality onyx, their translucent creamy strata and honey veining offering a warm mineral counterpoint to the cool, ink-washed abstraction of the hand-knotted area rug, which functions as a painterly ground — a gestural silver-and-charcoal wash pooling beneath the furniture. Bronze, patinated brass, and stainless accents appear in table bases, the vessel-form vase, and the sconce, providing metallic punctuation without gleam. Drapery in a heavy sand-toned linen, edged in a beaded or embroidered tape, softens the glazing perimeter and reinforces the room's tactile vocabulary of nap, weave, slub, and polish. **III. Lighting, Atmosphere & Style Profile** Natural light is the dominant luminous strategy: the corner glazing admits a soft, diffuse northern wash under overcast conditions, which the designer has intelligently accepted rather than resisted — the flat, shadowless quality flatters the velvet piles and plaster walls, and the drapery is stacked to admit maximum daylight while modulating glare at the jambs. Artificial sources are almost entirely concealed or decorative: a slim architectural sconce on the blade wall, a sculptural biomorphic table lamp in white lacquer or ceramic in the dining zone, and an extraordinary petal-form pendant in patinated metal that reads as an art object first and a fixture second. The resulting atmosphere is hushed, cerebral, and quietly patrician — a room of low chroma and high material intelligence, where drama is supplied by silhouette and surface rather than by color or ornament. Stylistically, the project synthesizes into what might best be termed **Modernist Salon** or **Warm Continental Minimalism**: the DNA of mid-century French decorative arts — Royère, Frank, Adnet — filtered through a contemporary sensibility of tonal layering and soft geometry, with an Art Deco undertow in the ebonized woods and channel tufting. It is a scheme of curatorial discipline: nothing is decorative for its own sake, the view is treated as the primary artwork, and every material is selected for how it behaves in light.

Detail of Iridescent Venetian plaster finish on all walls in Living Room by Christianson Lee Studios
Example of a transitional home design design in New York

Custom Surface Solutions (www.css-tile.com) - Owner Craig Thompson (512) 430-1215. This project shows the remodel of a small 1950's vintage home master bathroom. 8"" x 18" Calcutta gold marble tile was used on the shower walls and floor wall base and ceramic gray penny tile on the floor. Shower includes curbless pan / floor, dual shower boxes, frameless glass slider, trough duel fixture sink and chrome fixtures.

Location: New York, NY, United States This Loft was tastefully renovated back in the '90s, but was due for an update and an expansion of the kitchen and dining areas to accommodate the client's cooking skills and entertaining needs. EnlargIing the island and adding cabinetry to delineate the office, bar and dining areas was a priority. The bathroom was updated to feel like a tranquil spa with beautiful new tile, plumbing fixtures and cabinets. Our biggest challenge was coordinating the entire renovation while our client was out of town for the Summer! Photographed by: James Salomon