Setting up a new house - Share your experiences and valueable ideas here

Congrats on u new house. I am not very frequent on this board, but topic interested me as I have recently brought a new house in Kondwa, NIBM which should be ready by June 2010.........so am looking forward to setting up the same...

Take care

 

Dear renvem,

We have recently bought a 3 bedroom-2 balcony-2 bath house. But my husband got transferred and we shifted to a new place. Our new home is now locked up but it is entirely furnished.

I will give you some ideas about setting up the kitchen.

1. Install a BIG black marble/granite sink . Do not install a steel sink. Granite and marble is easy to clean. Also black sinks look very clean even if they are slightly dirty. Marble/granite may be expensive than steel-but it is a good investment in the long run.

2. Kitchen flooring- should be of dark colored tiles/marble/granite. Go for -Black, gray, or dark brown color.

3. If you install a modular kitchen- select a pleasant color- Do not go for very bright colors for shelf-doors .

4. Electric chimney is better than exhaust fan. Nowadays, we get electric chimneys for as low as 5000 [five thousand rupees].

5. If painting kitchen walls, paint them in plastic/water proof paint.

6. Do not make too many kitchen shelves-it will be difficult for you to manage. There is no need to build shelves on the top part of the kitchen- it will not be very easy for you to reach there. You can make shelves in the bottom part of the kitchen-under the granite slab.

7. If you do not plan to install shelves- then get a ready made wardrobe or shelf [ made of plastic and not of wood]. It is better to hide things in the ward robe rather than displaying them in the kitchen openly.

8. Buy a plastic stand /.shelf that can be placed on the floor [to place the dishes after washing]. Put the shelf on the kitchen floor and do not mount it on the kitchen wall. Do not buy steel shelves for keeping dishes, utensils,etc. as it will attract oil and dust easily.

9. Place the fridge in the kitchen but away from the gas-stove.

10. Put a flower vase [with some artificial flowers in it ]. It will make the kitchen look beautiful.

I hope this helps.

If you have any other query regarding setting up your new home, you can ask me in this post.

Thanks,
HAPPY

 

Hi there,

You have to read my profile to understand why my i.d. is depressed. anyway, this is my reply to you:
My i.d. is "depressed" because As per the rules of IL, I cannot change the name of my original i.d. Also because I do not want to forget my painful past...it reminds me of the journey covered from those painful days to today...some things in life cannot be changed...
That is why, I am signing off as HAPPY and also My profile picture depicts the five letters -H.A.P.P.Y



I am a very sentimental kind of person. The i.d. "Depressed' reminds me of my past and about the circumstances/time/conditions that made me depressed. I DO NOT WANT TO FORGET MY PAST. The i.d. also reminds me of the fact that I was like that [depressed] before and now, I have changed. It makes me more aware of my present and forces me to 'value' my 'better' and 'happy' present more. The i.d. 'depressed' makes me really wonder "WHAT WAS I IN THE PAST....AND WHAT I AM NOW....THE LONG DISTANCE TRAVELED OR COVERED BY ME....FROM THEN AND NOW....AND HOW WAS THAT COVERED.."

Sometimes I talk like a philosophical type of person ,I become very thoughtful...and these are my thoughts about my i.d. "depressed'.

"depressed" is a negative word for all. But to me it means much more...it is a journey that I have covered-though I am no longer that depressed now.

Maybe...just maybe...I will register for a new i.d sometime...

And I think you can share /post your home photos here.

thanks,

NOW HAPPY

 

Hi...

Found this thread very interesting and helpful...

I got married recently and moved in with my hubby to US..now i am still setting up my house....

It would be great if few tips on setting up kitchen..... especially how to arrange utensils, Groceries etc in the kitchen are shared....

Thanks in advance......

 

Dear Saha,

The Interiors of Kitchens in USA and India might be different . But here are a few common tips to arrange utensils and groceries in the kitchen:

1. If you have many utensils, keep only a few of them in the kitchen. Keep the rest locked up in a storage box/ cup board in another room. This will enable you to re-use only a few utensils over and over again instead of using many utensils at the same time.

2. It is better to have a small shelf or a cup board [preferably a plastic one] in the kitchen. Put or hide your utensils in that shelf/cup board. Utensils should not be visible in the kitchen except when cooking/serving. It will make the kitchen look clean.

3. Put the fridge in the kitchen-away from the gas stove.

4. Do not put/keep containers in the counter top or near the gas stove-even if it is easy to fetch them. keep kitchen counter tops clean.

5. Buy identical/similar looking jars/containers- preferably plastic-but glass looks good too !]. Line them up in the kitchen shelf. Put your groceries-milk, sugar, tea, daal, pulses, nuts, spices in them. SO BUYING CONTAINERS WHICH LOOKS SIMILAR IS THE MAIN THING.


photo source:net

6. Buy two wide mouthed cans/ mugs/jars/ box- put all your spoons and knives in one. And put all your ladles in another. Keep these two cans [containing spoons,knives and ladles] near the gas stove or kitchen counter which will be is easy to reach/use. You can also decorate the cans with magazine cut outs.I am giving my own picture here:




[ The Above two images are Photographed by me-from my kitchen ]


7. Keep News papers handy . Do not sell them. Cut your vegetables on a chopping board which is placed on a newspaper. After chopping everything, collect the peels in the newspaper and throw it in the dustbin.

8 Always keep a dustbin in the kitchen . Inside it, keep a plastic bag. Throw all garbage in it.

9. Keep plate over plate, bowl over bowl, cookware over cook ware, cup over cup -as shown below. It will save space.

photo source:net

10. you can also buy a kitchen shelf : like this:

photo source:net

I hope this helps.

thanks,

NOW HAPPY

 

Dear renvem,

Your kitchen is very tidy and lovely. I do not want to add anything except a flower vase maybe. And a few framed pictures of flowers/veggies/plants etc . on the wall.
The tips I have given on arranging the kitchen is for small homes and meant particularly for those sisters who are clueless about kitchen organization.

Thanks,
HAPPY