Even small additions to your house can, at times, make a real difference to your lifestyle, and may be able to ease the finding of storage space inside the house.
A porch, for instance, serves more than one purpose, despite its comparatively small size. If it is well built and blends in with the décor of the rest of your home, it will add value to the property. Another benefit of a porch is that it will help to prevent cold air from getting into the house through the front door. This will also be a way of saving on your domestic fuel bills. The porch is also the perfect place to leave muddy shoes, wet raincoats and umbrellas, so the fixing up of storage racks to hold these items would be wise, as soon as its construction is finished.
If you need somewhere to store the kids’ bikes, for example, gardening tools and other implements, then building a garage is probably not the best idea. A garden shed would be a lot less expensive, and several sizes are available so that you can select one that will suit your purposes. Once the shed has been built, you will be able to use relatively cheap shelving, as long as it is still suitable for the job. Use one of the shed walls as a place to hang garden tools, and do not forget to keep them safe from rust by using grease and / or oil during the winter months.
If you have ever visited a library and browsed its shelf racks for a book to read, you may well have noticed a sticker on the spine of each book with a set of letters and numbers written on it. This alpha-numeric code is part of a cataloguing and referencing system, known as the Dewey Decimal Classification, and is sometimes referred to as the Dewey Decimal System.
The DDC method of classifying and keeping track of books in a library has been in use since the late 1800s. The method, however, has not remained static, but has evolved through the years as technology, and ways of classifying new genres of literature (such as Modernism and Post-Modernism) have come along. In the area of non-fiction books, computing sciences and other new developments have also made it necessary to revise this system.
As you can see, although it is believed by a good many people that the DDC system is only used for academic or non-fiction books, it is in fact used to help classify all books, and is an extremely useful method of ensuring that books are stored on shelves in such a way as to make them easy to locate, and to return to their correct position.
The reason it is known as a decimal system is that books are placed into ten classes to begin with. These classes are then divided down into ten subclasses. Since its advent in the 19th century, the Dewey Decimal Classification system has had 22 major restructurings.
Storage shelving in the British Library houses millions of books, maps, journals, newspapers. When you consider that every single book ever published in this country, as well as sound archives, patents, newspapers and so on are stored there, you begin to get an idea of how difficult it might be to actually locate manuscripts and books when requested.
There are also drawings by famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and some of the most famous books such as a Gutenburg Bible and ‘Canterbury Tales’ by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Since the British Library is what is known as a legal deposit library, it will receive a copy of every book published in Great Britain and Eire. If foreign books are sold in Britain, the British Library will receive copies of them as well. It will also buy a lot of items not published in the UK and Eire, but only published in other countries. On average, it will receive, or purchase, approximately three million books every year – which will take up many bookshelves.
As a research library, it is one of the biggest in the world, and contains over 150 million books, manuscripts, maps, patents etc. stored on its shelves. Anybody wanting to do any research should first obtain a Reader Pass. They must provide proof of identity, and evidence that they are a permanent resident in the UK. A passport or driving licence, and a utility bill or bank statement with their home address on it, should be sufficient. The library stores records of all its contents in a catalogue, which can be accessed online.
Retail shelving and displays come in various shapes and sizes, and there are usually some units to fit everyone’s requirements. Cheap shelving is often the practical way for a small shopkeeper to display his products and goods, without having to worry too much about the effect on his profit margins. At the same time, he or she must take into consideration whether the cut price shelving will still effectively sell his or her goods.
There are wire shelving systems available, which make good display systems. These can be used, for example, in exhibition centres where first impressions on a potential client or customer is all important. A display that looks cheap will give the customer the wrong idea, and can be very off-putting. The last thing a company needs at an exhibition of their goods or services, is to have a display which gives them a bad image. Therefore, the careful selection of display systems, to complement the kind of service being offered, is essential.
If you wish to give your shop a more natural feel, you should opt for shelving systems constructed out of wood. There are many different styles of wood shelving, and they will certainly appeal to customers, especially if you use them for window displays and encourage them to pop in and have a look around at the same time.
Shelving systems made from glass are an elegant way to display goods. Whether free standing or affixed to the wall, they will add a touch of style.
Before Caxton’s printing press was invented, books were written by hand. This meant that the production of books was kept to a minimum. The books that were produced were generally stored in boxes and chests. Their owners would carry these containers around with them. When the number of manuscripts grew, mostly in the homes of religious or wealthy people, they would be stored on shelves or in cupboards.
The cupboards later became bookcases when it was decided they should be built without doors. After Caxton’s printing press made the production of books a great deal cheaper, more people were able to afford to own books. The one book most people would buy would be a bible, of course. The bible, incidentally, is still one of the most widely read books, even in an increasingly secular population.
Oxford University’s Bodleian Library houses bookcases that date back to the late 16th century. These are the oldest to be found in this country. Bookcases were of a very severe appearance, and quite a few attempts were made to make them more attractive. 18th century cabinet makers, such as Chippendale and Sheraton, built many bookcases that were decorative as well as practical, and proved to be among the most successful manufacturers of solid – but graceful – bookcases.
In public libraries, such as the British Museum, the storage shelves are frequently made from iron, and have cowhide covers. The Fitzwilliam Library in Cambridge is rather unusual, in that its shelving systems are constructed from slate.
In a small kitchen, every inch of storage space needs to be taken advantage of. One way of ensuring you make best use of the available wall space, is to install suspension rails.
Suspension rails can be bought in various lengths, or cut to size. The rail offers a versatile range of uses as a means of storage, with its various accessories. It can simply be used as a towel and / or oven glove holder.
However, the purchase of metal ‘s’ hooks will enable you to hang cups, kitchen utensils such as spatulas, spoons, pots and pans and so on. There are also other storage items that are purpose-made to be hung from the ‘s’ hooks. A metal cutlery stand, for example, that can be hung on the wall or left on your work surface. A dish drainer, with a removable tray underneath to collect water and protect work surfaces, another type of drainer can be fitted to the rail, and it is possible to use it as a plate rack or a drainer. When not in use, the drainer can be folded flat against the wall.
Wire baskets that can be fitted to the suspension rail are another useful item to utilise. Available in a range of sizes, the larger baskets can be used to hold fruit and vegetables. By the way, it is best not to store bananas in direct contact with other produce, because the banana exudes a substance that will rot anything else touching it.
Sometimes, a bathroom is in need of a revamp. Here are a few simple ideas.
A really easy update is replacing the toilet seat. There are all kinds of different colours and designs available. Once you have removed the old seat, simply insert both bolts, slip on the washers and tighten the nuts.
Storage in the bathroom is a problem, and it can soon become cluttered. Putting up a couple of shelves is a good idea, but another less expensive option is also possible. If you have old plastic storage boxes around the kitchen, spray paint them and store your various odds and ends in it.
It is also possible to make a simple window blind which will not cost a fortune. Cut two pieces of fabric to the size of the window, plus two centimetres on all sides. Place the right sides together and stitch a one centimetre hem on both sides, and the bottom edge. Turn right side out and press. Before hemming the top, make four long strips as long as the drop, plus extra to tie up at the bottom. Once sewn, turn right sides out and press.
Turn the top edge under by one centimetre, press then insert the strips, two sets of two, equally spaced from the blind’s edges. Hang one down the front and one down the back, then stitch. Attach a strip of wood, and stick Velcro to the top of the blind, and another to your wooden batten.
It may be that you have a rather plain kitchen and have limited space to transform it into an area of which you can feel proud, and will also have an individual touch.
First and foremost, consider storage. Shelving units, from floor to ceiling, will be your best option here. One shelf should be erected separately on which to store all of your recipe books, preferably ones with bright cheerful covers. If you have some quite old books, it will, if anything give the room a touch of old world charm, as well as colour. With shelving systems being available in lots of different materials, you should have no problem in finding something for the look you have in mind.
Have a look around in the shed and garage for plant pots. Ceramic or stone, they can add flair to the kitchen when used to grow herbs, such as fennel, parsley or sage. Not only will they look attractive, they will also be close at hand to use in your cooking, as well as carrying an attractive aroma. On the wall behind them, try fitting some shelf racks to dry out your fresh herbs.
If the splash-back tiles are in perfectly good conditions, but are plain in colour, use transfers to make them more attractive. The plastic boxes that come with crackers or biscuits for cheese, can also be utilised, rather than thrown away, when empty. Try using them to store the coffee, tea, sauces and other condiments in one place.
Converting a barn into a home is not for the faint-hearted. However, if done properly, you can make it suit your needs to perfection.
A barn with its original oak beams left in place will enable you to colour co-ordinate the rest of the fittings around the beams. Oak flooring, for example, is ideal for throw rugs in neutral shades. If the building has no loft area which would normally be used for storage, one idea would be to construct fitted cupboards or storage racks in the upstairs rooms that will be placed neatly alongside the eaves bottoms to make use of the previously unusable space. To allow them to merge seamlessly into the walls, they should be painted a neutral colour.
Downstairs might benefit best from an open plan living area. The lounge space would flow through naturally to the dining area, then to the kitchen. Shelving units arranged along the walls in the diner will give more floor space in the lounge.
Barns sometimes have quite small windows, which can make the interior seem gloomy. This problem can be solved by using pale wooden window frames and white walls. If you are going to furnish your new home with white or tones of the same colour, remember to break it up by using different textures and subtle shades of colour that will act as a contrast. This will prevent the room from looking too flat.
Wooden venetian blinds make for a perfect finishing touch, as they will fit in with the rest of your home’s décor.
There is an old saying, used worldwide, about a place for everything, and everything in its place. This mantra does not have to be only used by people who are fanatical about tidiness. The tidying away of all your possessions can sometimes bring a feeling of almost clinical sterility. Storage does not necessarily have to mean hiding everything away.
Storage units can be used in a functional and decorative way at the same time. There are shelves that resemble picture frames, for example, to help make whatever you store on them into a work of art. Vintage shop fittings made from dark or light wood, add character to the kitchen / diner. Still in the kitchen, try running strips of wood from wall to wall, or between wall and cupboard side, to construct a framework upon which sauces, herbs, pulses and spices can be arranged.
Another unusual idea is to use backlighting behind shelving units, that otherwise seem rather utilitarian, with coloured Perspex sheets as backs. This will transform your collection of crockery and glass into a masterpiece.
If you decide to use cabinets or units fitted with glass doors, try to match their colour as closely as possible with the colour of the wall against which they are to stand. The blending of the framework into the wall will focus the attention on the contents of the cupboard.
Unusual storage ideas, such as these, will make your house feel like a home, and will also stamp your individual personality on it.