Now this is what I call eco-living ! Original news item at: www.katu.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

It's time for your sims to move out of the big city to the suburbs. This house is great for a growing family. ***PLEASE REMEMBER THAT CURTIS ONLY ACCEPTS HOUSE SUGGESTS VIA THE MODERATOR THAT CAN BE FOUND ON THE MAIN CHANNEL PAGE, OR ON THE CURTIS PARADIS SHOW WEBSITE.*** - Suggest a House: web.mac.com You can download this house from the Sims 3 Exchange for free right now, and you can view all the pictures of the house on The Curtis Paradis Show Website. - Download: www.thesims3.com - Exclusive Pictures: web.mac.com Don't forget to check out The Curtis Paradis Show Website for all the information you could want pertaining to the Show. See the newest videos, suggest houses, and watch Curtis Live during selected time on The Curtis Paradis Show LIVE. web.mac.com Watch more of Curtis' videos like his Sims 3 House videos, or Stay up to date with the Sims 3 via the Sims 3 Update. If you are a big Apple fan you can check out the iBlog where it's all Apple all the time. Don't forget if you have a question you want to ask Curtis why as a Q&A Day question. - Sims 3 Houses www.youtube.com - The Sims 3 Update www.youtube.com - iBlog www.youtube.com - Q&A Day www.youtube.com You can connect with Curtis via Facebook, Twitter, and Dailybooth. - Facebook Page www.facebook.com - Twitter www.twitter.com - Dailybooth dailybooth.com Remember to Subscribe, Thumb Up, and post a comment.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Bakari Kafele invited us into his tiny home: a 150-square-foot RV where in a month, he uses about 500 gallons of water and 40kwh of electricity. Original content here: faircompanies.com For more details on Bakari's RV home see his blog post: faircompanies.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

My Plans for the future and where I will be living

Here's a brief look at the seasonal aspects of life at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Daily routines are largely influenced by the current season - winter is a time for relaxing, socializing, indoor projects, spring planning, and most importantly, staying warm. And by the end of winter, members are gearing up and itching for spring with new or continuing building projects and gardening plans. In this video, Alyson describes wintertime maple sap collection, Liat shares her plans to transform a school bus into a house (complete with greenhouse), and Dan talks about seed saving and starting seedlings.

Video Rating: 4 / 5

There are a number of ways to design small house plans to maximize the amount of space available. These approaches are particularly important in urban areas where space is very limited.

Most architects who design small house plans know the tricks of the trade needed to make the rooms and space look larger. However, a homeowner should also be educated on the different approaches and techniques for the interior design to make the best use of their small house plans.

A common characteristic of small house plans is an attempt to make the room seem like it is bigger than the actual footage of the room. One of the ways architects compensate for the square footage in small house plans is to build high ceilings, thereby making the space feel larger regardless of the actual square footage.

There a number of design tools a homeowner can apply to accent this feature. The owner can create a horizontal border across the room and paint the lower half a slightly darker color and top half a lighter color.

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This creates a visual illusion of more height. Homeowners can also compliment their small house plans by buying small paintings that are similar in size and hang them in a vertical line in a prominent area on the wall. This also creates an illusion and draws the focus to the vertical height rather than the length or width.

Another facet homeowners must consider when deciding how to use their small house plans is the placement of furniture. A common mistake made by interior designers for small house plans is using large furniture that does not fit the space.

A huge, overstuffed couch may be a beautiful piece, however in a small space it becomes overbearing. It is important to understand about small house plans that every inch is important. Homeowners must avoid over decorating the rooms to compensate for the size, as the over decorating can emphasize the smallness of the area.

The best approach to design for small house plans is to keep the furniture and decorations minimal. The furniture should also range in height. A large lamppost next to the couch will make the couch look less cumbersome.

Instead of a heavy bookcase that takes up space, homeowners should use shelves for their books that vary in height, thus saving space and creating a visual illusion.

Get more useful information about designing small house plans

Have you thought how easy it would be to provide some awesome chicken accommodation using chicken coop blueprints? There are some fantastic ideas available all easily accessed at the touch of a button and why waste precious time fumbling around blindly if you do not have to? I really think that if you take a good look at chicken coop blueprints you will see exactly what I mean.

It does not matter if you are an old hand or a total newbie to keeping chickens but, I have found some amazing hints and tips on the best ways to go about housing your hens and it seems to me that flexibility is pretty important. The more information and help you can get your hands on the better I think.

Being able to see everything you need to complete some pretty awesome hen housing all laid out in front of you is a real confidence booster. Especially if, like me your DIY skills are not up to master craftsman standards. Looking at the easy to understand terms and being guided through step by step so that you know exactly where you are all of the time is just brilliant.

Of course, half the battle is the fact that somebody else has done the thinking part for you and this really ease the pressure, at least you have no worries that you will miss out something important and being able to be so flexible means you really can add or extend at a later date very easily.

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All you have to do is pick up your tools and start to build, it is that simple. Ah, must not forget the all important materials, you can go to your local or favourite DIY store and buy everything you are likely to need all very economically, nothing specialised or fancy needed.

The other benefit in building the coop yourself is a hidden one, in as much as you can guarantee a quality and durability in your finished result as; you have been able to buy everything you need to suit absolutely perfectly. No bodge job, just good honest workmanship at a reasonable price. In fact, you can generally save yourself up to 50% on anything readymade.

So, if you are serious about keeping chickens in your backyard,  then take a look at some chicken coop blueprints, I think that you will amazed at what they have to offer. You know that the finished housing will be more than adequate for your poultrys needs and that they will be warm, dry and protected from the elements and unwanted predators. I am pretty sure that once you have seen a few chicken coop blueprints it will not be long before you are out in the backyard with your tools.

Now you know what is basically involved in building a chicken house – wouldn't you want to see some of the amazing designs that can be so easily created? Discover all the Secrets to Raising Chickens at home from one of the most comprehensive and informative chicken related websites online. Get the full story and start reaping the rewards of raising chickens by going to=> http://www.chickenhousekit.com

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The formal, term for garage living is "accessory dwelling unit", a description that works only in the most routine way to describe the great assortment of garages that offer everything from extra earnings to a quite mind.

I once believed of the accessory dwelling unit to be the mother-in-law apartment, but its practicality outspreads beyond that idea.  Garage living has been memorialized in some old time favorite TV classics such as My Favorite Martian (in which as ad man allows a stranded Martian to hide out in his garage) and Happy Days (in which The Fonz lived atop the Cunningham's garage).  Absolute Garage Builders in Chicago has a 2 car garage plan that will offer these garage accommodations, with isolated entrance, bath, and kitchen, that can offer the perfect protection against those friends or relatives who stay longer than a couple of days.

Of the garages built today, 20 percent or so contain garage livable space.  More times than not the garage is the garage apartment; built beforehand, these "starter garages" offer a place to hang your hat and a place to park your car.  The benefits of constructing the house before the garage would appear to be obvious: a place to cook as opposed to a place to park; a place to shower versus a place to put the car.  Consider the garage with live in possibilities, one that combines the efficiency of apartment living with its own parking spot; a garage on its way to become—once the house is built—a guest palace, a home office, or a way to make extra income by renting.

Folks in this day are building their 2 car garages prior to building their house.  Absolute Garage Builders offers these starter garages and they combine the benefits of apartment life with home ownership, and they come with a place to park the car.  Having an appreciation for a living space that is smaller makes you realize this kind of arrangement makes a lot of sense as you see its simplicity and efficiency.  The starter garages by Absolute Garage Builders range from a budget starter 1 car garage to a high-end attached garage.

Jay Shafer of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company gives us a tour of his 96-square-foot home on wheels parked in Sebastapol, California.
Video Rating: 4 / 5