Kitchens are not only the place where we cook our meals, but also store the very items needed to prepare the smallest snacks to the largest holiday dinners. The kitchen, often times, also becomes the meeting place of the family as they gather to discuss the day’s events. So how do you plan a remodel of a kitchen to incorporate storage, cooking, and socializing? You need to get organized!
First consider the size of the space you have to work with. You will need accurate measurements and
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Building a House Extension on a Budget
Remodeling your home with an extension is an excellent way to add value or create the space you need when you can't afford to move house. You may find that the investment more than pays for itself over time, but that doesn't mean that these sort of changes are cheap. By planning the project properly and trying to stick to a budget you will find that things go a lot more smoothly.
The first thing you will need to do is determine how much money you are willing to spend. Once you have
The first thing you will need to do is determine how much money you are willing to spend. Once you have
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Adding Antique Lighting to Your Home
The look and feel of your home can be significantly enhanced by adding antique lighting. This look, though, isn't for everyone, and you need to make sure it fits the existing décor in your home.
Installing effective lighting needs careful planning. In order for your new lighting to fit in perfectly and look elegant, try to choose a certain time-period design or style for each of the rooms you wish to redesign. You should consider using a consultant when buying your lights, especially if
Installing effective lighting needs careful planning. In order for your new lighting to fit in perfectly and look elegant, try to choose a certain time-period design or style for each of the rooms you wish to redesign. You should consider using a consultant when buying your lights, especially if
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Get “The Look” with Hardwood Floors
<img class="alignright" alt="Hardwood Flooring" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Tigerwood-hardwood-flooring.jpg" width="162" height="216" />When people redo their floors many choose to do so with hardwood. Churches do it for the acoustics, gyms do it for the shock absorption, realtors do it for the increase in home value, the environmentally-conscious do it for the planet and allergy-sufferers do it for increased
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Don't Paint your Front Door Black
<img class="alignright wp-image-247" style="margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" alt="black front door" src="http://www.thenovakgroupnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/black-front-door.jpg" width="175" height="233" />This is a simple tip that can make a big difference to your home remodeling efforts. You may have just spent a lot of time, and also a lot of money getting the front of your home looking just right. Whether this was
Friday, March 15, 2013
How to Get Caulking Jobs Right Every Time
The first time that you do a caulking job on your home you will probably struggle if you don't know the basics. It can be a complete disaster if you let the silicone skin over before you have it set where you want it. You only have about a minute to work with silicone caulk before it skins over. Once it sets it is more or less impossible to smooth over without tearing it up.
Here is a neat way to ensure you work quickly enough to get professional looking results:
Clean the tub and the
Here is a neat way to ensure you work quickly enough to get professional looking results:
Clean the tub and the
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Prioritize Your Remodeling to Meet Your Goals
<img class="alignright wp-image-183" style="margin-left: 4px; border: 1px solid black;" alt="bathroom remodel - The Novak Group Charlotte" src="http://www.thenovakgroupnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/bathroom-remodel.jpg" width="181" height="136" />Depending on the end reason you want to start remodeling your home you will want to get certain jobs done first. Follow this advice to see what you should prioritize for each
Friday, March 1, 2013
Can Social Media Be Used For Serving Subpoenas?
Here is one for the books that may leave you thinking DUH! Texas lawmakers are proposing the use of social media as a means of serving subpoenas. This is a new one on the use of technologies to assist law enforcement on getting the job done. It may seem to some that this is a good way to reduce the work load but there are some undeniable problems with using this method.
First and foremost, not everyone has an account on Facebook or other such networking sites that they get on daily and
First and foremost, not everyone has an account on Facebook or other such networking sites that they get on daily and
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
YouTube Awakening
Confessions of a YouTube Noob
Did YouTube find its way into your life last week either with news of a meteorite crashing into Earth or by demonstrating the latest video dance craze? Once you saw the first YouTube video of these topics did you then go directly to YouTube and search for more? Most likely, the answer in both cases is, “Yes!” We can’t help ourselves! Either we need confirmation of the news which is provided quickly by discovering the same news from multiple
Did YouTube find its way into your life last week either with news of a meteorite crashing into Earth or by demonstrating the latest video dance craze? Once you saw the first YouTube video of these topics did you then go directly to YouTube and search for more? Most likely, the answer in both cases is, “Yes!” We can’t help ourselves! Either we need confirmation of the news which is provided quickly by discovering the same news from multiple
Negative Feedback affects your EdgeRank on Facebook!
Nobody likes receiving negative feedback and this also applies to your brand. We all try to avoid any negative comments, but from now on we need to be even more careful. As it seems, our EdgeRank on Facebook is affected by negative feedback, which ultimately affects our visibility on the newsfeed.
First of all, the EdgeRank can be defined as an algorithm that determines the appearance of the posts on the newsfeed. Thus, we need to make sure that we keep our EdgeRank at a high level, in order
First of all, the EdgeRank can be defined as an algorithm that determines the appearance of the posts on the newsfeed. Thus, we need to make sure that we keep our EdgeRank at a high level, in order
What Colors Should I Use When Remodeling?
Have you asked yourself what colors you should use when remodeling? There are so many choices that it can seem like an overwhelming decision at times. There are several factors that you may want to consider before making the choice for color schemes. You don’t have to let all those color schemes at the paint store overwhelm you when you take some initial steps prior to visiting the store. You do want to take your time when choosing the colors as this contributes largely to setting the stage
Friday, February 22, 2013
Are we safe with the recent social media attacks?
February has been the month of the social media attacks on several social networks, leaving us a with a feeling of insecurity. At first, there was Twitter announcing that 250.000 users might have been affected from a security hole. Then, there was Facebook, announcing that there has been a "sophisticated" hack attack, although there was no evidence of data being compromised.
LinkedIn has been hacked some months ago and the same thing happened with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
LinkedIn has been hacked some months ago and the same thing happened with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
Zendesk Hacked: Twitter, Tumblr & Pinterest Emails At Risk
For those who haven't heard - Customer Support service Zendesk was hacked this week with the hackers specifically scraping the email addresses of users of three major services - Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest.
How will YOU react to this data breach? Is it time to start using dummy emails to sign up for
How will YOU react to this data breach? Is it time to start using dummy emails to sign up for
Monday, February 18, 2013
Adding Storage Space in Your Kitchen
Nobody knows how it happens but as time goes on it feels like we never have enough storage space in your kitchen. Remodeling to increase storage space can be rewarding and makes life so much easier. When you first purchased your home it was more than likely while your family was smaller. More space is always needed as the family grows. Your remodeling contractor can work with you on finding the best use for those little extra storage spaces that may be created.
Think about all those special
Think about all those special
Friday, February 15, 2013
Like, Follow and ❤ it the Right Way
It is easy to confuse words that are similar in sound, spelling, or meaning. It only gets worse with social media slang, but with a bit of review it is also easy to clear up this confusion. Let’s check them out together right now.
Like
Totally Facebook, right? Not really. Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram, LinkedIn use ‘like’ as well. When you ‘heart’ a pin on Pinterest, photo on Instagram or check-in on Foursquare - you ‘like’ it (or love it – up to you).
Where used:
Like
Totally Facebook, right? Not really. Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram, LinkedIn use ‘like’ as well. When you ‘heart’ a pin on Pinterest, photo on Instagram or check-in on Foursquare - you ‘like’ it (or love it – up to you).
Where used:
How often should I post on Facebook?
When a business sets a Facebook page, the first question that is asked of the social media consultant is typically about the frequency of the posts. How often should a business post on its Facebook page in order to achieve the best engagement?
Although there is no secret formula about the frequency of the posts for a Facebook page, there are some general tips that might be useful when customized at each page:
A professional Facebook page is nowadays part of your online reputation. You
Although there is no secret formula about the frequency of the posts for a Facebook page, there are some general tips that might be useful when customized at each page:
A professional Facebook page is nowadays part of your online reputation. You
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Say Goodbye to Your Little Friend – Facebook Strikes Back
So you made a page for your baby or your puppy dog, little booboo snookums? Well, now Mark Zuckerberg and co. are cracking down. Now that Facebook is public and having to wear its proverbial big boy shorts the gloves are coming off. The result? More than 83 million Facebook accounts are slated to be closed! That’s right… If you hold a spam account, are a fraud, fake, or just plain bogus account holder, or even if you have an account just for your favorite pets or kids, then get ready to
Monday, February 11, 2013
Remodeling Your Bath and Home
When prepping for a remodel the first thing step should be to remove all old wall coverings including borders and wall paper. This is most easily achieved through the use of a heat/steam gun. This will warm the glue on the paper allowing it to be easily removed. When we prep the wall for painting we will first make sure it is smooth by looking for any pits or marred areas. These will be filled with spackle in order to bring them up level with the rest of the wall.
When you are considering a
When you are considering a
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Do I Need a Social Media Marketing Plan?
A social media marketing plan is a must for any business large or small that plans on utilizing social networks to bring in new business. Not only do businesses want new customers but they need to keep their current clients well informed in order to keep them coming back. Your marketing plan should be a part of your business plan and as such should help keep you on track.
A marketing plan is not just a stagnant piece of paperwork nor is it just something used to help get funding. Even if you
A marketing plan is not just a stagnant piece of paperwork nor is it just something used to help get funding. Even if you
Do I Need a Social Media Marketing Plan?
A social media marketing plan is a must for any business large or small that plans on utilizing social networks to bring in new business. Not only do businesses want new customers but they need to keep their current clients well informed in order to keep them coming back. Your marketing plan should be a part of your business plan and as such should help keep you on track.
A marketing plan is not just a stagnant piece of paperwork nor is it just something used to help get funding. Even if you
A marketing plan is not just a stagnant piece of paperwork nor is it just something used to help get funding. Even if you
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Instagram Feed Arrives on Web. What's next?
Instagram has announced the expansion of its web version, with the addition of the feed that can finally be accessed through your desktop.
Instagram might have become popular as a mobile-only application, but since its acquisition from Facebook, they seem to be experimenting on different paths. After the launch of the online profiles and the "war of the images" with Twitter, they feel confident enough to make another step towards the Web. They decided to allow us to access our Instagram feed
Instagram might have become popular as a mobile-only application, but since its acquisition from Facebook, they seem to be experimenting on different paths. After the launch of the online profiles and the "war of the images" with Twitter, they feel confident enough to make another step towards the Web. They decided to allow us to access our Instagram feed
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Here Comes the Wall – When Writer’s Block Strikes
Unless you have a team of content ninjas constantly backing you and providing you with some killer content then you have likely had this happen: you sit down to whip out some killer content for your website, fire up your post, and then sit there and blink at the cursor as you realize that writer’s block has you firmly in its grip. Come on, you have written about everything you can think of related to your business or interest. Why should it be this hard to find new and interesting things to
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Don’t Look Now – Facebook’s At It Again With Another New Feature
We all know by now that Facebook has gotten great at trying out new features whether we have asked for them or not. That being said, it should not come as a great shock that another somewhat in your face feature has sprung up.
Head over to a local page, go ahead – anyone of the local businesses around your area will do. Click on Like and watch what pops up… There it is. Do you see the box running the width of the page under the thumbnail? Now Facebook is recommending what it perceives as
Head over to a local page, go ahead – anyone of the local businesses around your area will do. Click on Like and watch what pops up… There it is. Do you see the box running the width of the page under the thumbnail? Now Facebook is recommending what it perceives as
Facebook Focuses on Mobile Users
Facebook has announced its Q4 stats for 2012 and they seem quite interesting to analyze. It has been a year full of announcements for Facebook and having a look at their impact might be the answer to the prediction of its future.
According to these stats:
- The monthly active users have reached 1.056 billion, while in Q3 of 2012 they were 1.007 billion.
- The daily active users have reached 618 million, while they were 483 million just a year ago.
- The mobile monthly active users
According to these stats:
- The monthly active users have reached 1.056 billion, while in Q3 of 2012 they were 1.007 billion.
- The daily active users have reached 618 million, while they were 483 million just a year ago.
- The mobile monthly active users
Friday, January 25, 2013
What Do VOCs Mean when Going Green?
<img class="alignright wp-image-219" style="margin-left: 5px;margin-right: 5px;border: 1px solid black" alt="VOC The Novak Group" src="http://www.thenovakgroupnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/VOC-The-Novak-Group.jpg" width="203" height="159" />“Going green” means that you are thinking about the environment as well as the health of your family when it comes to using products with VOCs. Making your home
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Controversy Surrounding Social Media Networking Sites
Controversy with social media networking sites is not a new issue by any means. What seems to be on a lot of people’s minds is just how it is being used. There are always pros and cons with any source of media being used to get messages out to the whether it is marketing or sharing of information about what is happening around us. How do you feel about the use of social media networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to get news worthy information out to the public?
Remember Twitter
Remember Twitter
Friday, January 18, 2013
Remodeling in 2013 – Open Spaces
Trends for remodeling in 2013 are going toward wide open living spaces. This gives people the feeling of having more room and less clutter. Who wants to come home to closed in spaces that seem dark after having spent the day working with all sorts of messes? Rooms are brighter with more lighting and colors are taking on a softer tone this year. People are looking more toward their future as they age in their home. Making the home fit now as well as later in life is the sensible way to go for a
Thursday, January 17, 2013
5 Reasons You Cannot Ignore Google+
<img class="alignleft wp-image-4440" alt="4bbee_Google-Plus-Logo-with-Google-Logo" src="http://possesocialmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/4bbee_Google-Plus-Logo-with-Google-Logo-300x204.jpg" width="210" height="143" />Google+ is a really unique social network. It started as an overambitious network, it continued as an overrated one and it keeps going more determined than ever to succeed. According to Google, Google+ has 500 million
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Is the new Myspace worth our attention?
The new version of Myspace is finally available to the public and we wanted to give it try and see whether it has a place in the new social media landscape. We already knew that Justin Timberlake will attempt to increase the hype of the new Myspace and that its new version will focus more on music. As for these two, they were spot on. The new Myspace is all about music AND Justin Timberlake.
After trying it for a day, here are my first notes on Myspace:
It's like a combination of
After trying it for a day, here are my first notes on Myspace:
It's like a combination of
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Facebook’s Big Reveal – The New Facebook Product is… A Search Engine?!?!
For those who missed it Facebook and its fearless Leader CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a giant game changing announcement today during which they were set to reveal a game changing new product. Rumors flew left and right about what this new product could be with a rather large majority of folks feeling that it was going to be a Facebook phone which many have felt has been a long time coming. Leading up to the event however Zuckerberg made several comments in which he made it pretty clear that a
Friday, January 11, 2013
Remodeling a Basement to Increase Living Space
Remodeling a basement to increase living space makes perfect sense with the economical woes that a lot of families are experiencing. It is not just the thought of extended families but a fact that more and more have to make changes to survive today’s economy. A basement can add much needed space and be a benefit to any home when looking at increasing the home's value as well. Unsure of where to start when thinking about remodeling this space? Read on for some suggestions.
The size and
The size and
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Facebook Site Changes – For the Better or For the Birds
As Facebook continues to work on updating their platforms and supposedly making it more users friendly we will see more changes taking place this month. I know that it seems you just began to get use to changes the Facebook networking site. You would think it will stop for a while, but that isn't the way with any technology. What changes are you facing now?
Facebook has continued to change somewhat since timeline was put in place as can be seen in October and November. For example in
Facebook has continued to change somewhat since timeline was put in place as can be seen in October and November. For example in
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
2012: the year of Instagram and Pinterest
2012 has been a good year for social media, since they have managed to establish their presence and expand their influence. If we had to evaluate the annual winners among the social networks, we would choose Pinterest and Instagram. As we have discussed at a previous post, social media are becoming more visual than ever and this trend is attributed a lot to Pinterest and Instagram.
Pinterest became popular at the end of 2011, but during 2012 it managed to skyrocket its popularity, being the
Pinterest became popular at the end of 2011, but during 2012 it managed to skyrocket its popularity, being the
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