Cork Furniture and Cork Flooring, a New Trend in Green Design

Healthy and beautiful, cork is not confined to the wine industry anymore. In the last decade, this green material has been increasingly utilized by interior designers, to the point that cork flooring and cork furniture are becoming trendy today. Its raw appearance immediately reminds us nature, and its granular texture is decorative in itself. Cork…

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Laminate Flooring Pros and Cons

Laminate flooring has been growing in popularity both in Europe and the US in the last several years. To have a quick idea of the success of this relatively new technology, consider that the global market for laminate flooring is expected to reach over 1.9 billion square yards by 2020 (source: Global Industry Analysis, http://www.strategyr.com/pressMCP-1166.asp).…

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Make Your Home Renovation Green

Thinking to renovate your home? Please do consider going green. Not only do you help to protect the planet through the utilization of eco-friendly green materials, but you will also save a lot of money in the long run. Although the upfront costs of a green home renovation can be a bit higher, owners are…

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Flooring: Ceramic Tiles or Luxury Vinyl Tiles?

You are so ready for home renovation, now you have been asked to choose between ceramic and vinyl tiles for your flooring by the vendor/contractor. So, what to answer? Appearance may not be the deciding factor, as luxury vinyl tiles perfectly match the calming look of hardwood or luxurious look of ceramic tiles today. Actually,…

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What makes a Building Historic in Virginia?

We often read that Virginia is one of the richest states in historic buildings of the US. But what exactly is an historic building? Intuitively, we think of something very old. However, age is not sufficient, as there are some few other requirements to fulfill. Luckily, Virginia Law helps owners to give an answer to…

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What Are Historic Districts?

Norfolk has twelve historic districts (5 of them are designated locally) and Chesapeake has ten nationally registered historic districts, which makes them two of the richest American towns in historic buildings. But what are historic districts? And what does it imply to be the owner of a building or home inside these special zones? A…

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Ten Best Practices to Hire a Competent and Reliable Contractor

Ten Best Practices to Hire a Competent and Reliable Contractor If you own a home, sooner or later you will need to hire a contractor to fix something broken in your house, an urgent repair, updating, or for those general home upkeep jobs that you are not able to find the time for.  However, hiring…

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Tenant Rights and Responsibilities in Virginia

What does it mean to sign a lease for a home or apartment in Virginia? The relationship between tenants and landlords is regulated by the “Virginia Residential Landlord and tenant Act” of 1974 (http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodepopularnames/virginia-residential-landlord-and-tenant-act/), in some federal laws, and in many local statutes and regulations. On signing a lease, you must be aware that you…

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