Choose your curtains wisely

Curtains!!!!

Posted By: Designer Mjanja Blog on 5th of December 2012

Never underestimate the power of a new pair of curtains. Not only will they give your home a fresh new look, they’ll also keep it lovely and toasty. But good curtains don’t come cheap so it’s worth doing a bit of research before you hit the shops. Which fabric to choose? Look for good quality, heavyweight fabrics like linen blends or cottons. Over time, cheap material may go shiny. If custom making curtains always be generous with the fabric, nothing looks worse than skimpy curtains. Linings are almost as important as the curtain fabric. A quality lining will give budget materials a longer lease of life. Choose thermal lining to keep out the chill in a draughty room, or interlining which provides an extra layer of padding to make curtains super-thick and cozy. For kids’ bedrooms, blackout lining should hopefully ensure a good night’s sleep for them - and you! Latest looks Current trends are veering away from fussy swags and flounces towards a more tailored approach. Curtains Hung from a pole, eyelet styles produce a sleeker look than traditional pencil pleat curtains and there are no fiddly hooks or clips to worry about. Pelmets are also back in fashion. A flat pelmet covered in silk looks surprisingly contemporary, just the thing for a formal dining room. Long or short? Whether you choose sill length or floor length curtains is really a matter of personal taste, although floor length styles do have a more luxurious feel. Sill-length drapes cost less, and are popular in bathrooms and kitchens. They also make a practical choice above radiators to allow heat to circulate. Plain or patterned? Take a good look at your scheme before deciding on a pattern. Too many different designs can create a busy, distracting effect. For a relaxed ambiance  opt for either patterned curtains with plain walls, or vice-versa. You can always dress up plain curtains with beautiful beaded tie backs or colored glass poles. Other Tips.. When buying a curtain pole, allow for it to extend beyond the window at either side by 10-20cm so that curtains can be drawn right back. Grubby net curtains are never a good look. Update your windows with panels of delicately patterned white voile (sheer). Vertical striped curtains trick the eye into making a ceiling appear taller - perfect for a small room. For more information and insight on interior decor, construction and handymen contacts, please visit our full site at www.fundimjanja.com

Alternative Technologies part 2

Posted By: Fundi Mfalme on 26th of November 2012

Stabilized Soil Blocks Interlocking Stabilized soil blocks are walling blocks made from compressed soil. They are just as hard and as water-proof as stone. Stone is made when soil is compressed by forces of nature while the Interlocking Stabilized Soil blocks are made when the soil is artificially compressed. Interlocking Stabilized soil blocks are artificially compressed using either a manual or diesel-operated pressing machine to a pressure of between 20 to 40 Kg/cm2. While making compressed soil blocks is labor intensive, they can significantly reduce the costs involved in building a house, outbuildings, fences, garden walls, etc. If soil consisting of clay, caliche & silt is available at the building site, admixtures can be omitted, thus the only cost involved in producing compressed soil blocks is the block press and the time invested by the builder. This might be a disadvantage to most builders interested in say one house as the cost of procuring the machine is high. It therefore comes as an option to hire the machine for production of enough blocks for your project, invest in the machine and hire it out to other builders or buy readymade blocks. Stabilized Soil Block Press Technical Data Typical Compression force 80-100 kN Weight 130 Kg Typical daily production with 4 workers 400-500 blocks Technical Specifications of Stabilized Soil Blocks Weight 5kg Size 290mm x 140mm x 115mm Number of Blocks per bag of cement 100-150 blocks Recommended wet curing period 7 days Minimum dry compressive strength 2.5 N/mm² Maximum wet compressive strength 1.5 N/mm² Maximum water absorption (after 28 days) 15% Blocks are ready for use after 14 days Cement to Soil ratio will vary according to soil type and should be determined by testing the soil for shrinkage. This can be done quickly & easily using a special shrinkage box supplied with the Block Press. Please note that heavily clay soils, where shrinkage exceeds 40mm, the soil may require further stabilization with sand. Shrinkage Less than 12mm 12 – 23mm 24 – 39mm Cement to Soil Ratio 1:18 1:16 1:14 Approximate no of blocks 150 120 100 COST BREAKDOWN. Assuming an average price of KES 750 for a 50kg bag of cement, and KES 350 to 400 for unskilled labour per day, the cost of producing 1 meter squared is as below: CEMENT-KES 7 per brick LABOUR to manufacture brick-KES 4 per brick LABOUR to make wall-assuming 1 fundi and 1 assistant at a total of KES 1,100 per day with a minimum of 500 bricks per day.-KES 0.4 per brick. TOTAL=KES 11.4 per brick. 1 M2 of walling will have an average of 33 bricks. Four workers using a heavy duty manual press can produce 500 rock hard building blocks a day, compacting a soil/cement mixture under high mechanical pressure. The press is adjustable for use with almost any soil type and just 1 bag of cement makes over 100 bricks. Blocks can be sold profitably to build walls at half the cost of the concrete block or stone walls. The blocks will not need mortar during construction as they are inter-locked one to the other in subsequent succession. This will not only guarantee straight and true walls but increase in the speed of construction as well. The downside is that their structural strength will depend hugely on the persons who made them. This therefore does require expert attention during production to guarantee consistency in strength and quality of the blocks. In Nairobi and its environs, since there are large construction projects requiring deep foundation excavations, soil can be delivered to the site for free since the large building owners are required to dump the soil in far away located approved council dumping sites hence more convenient for them to deliver to a nearby site. Stabilized soil blocks eliminate the need for joining cement mortar in between the blocks. It also eliminates the need for plaster. It’s however recommended to paint it externally using water-proof varnish to make it more water –resistant. Specific sections can be painted using contrasting colors to create creative interior wall patterns. The walls though can still be plastered and painted. Advantages of Stabilized Soil Blocks • Soil is available in large quantities in most regions. • Cheap and affordable - in most parts of the world soil is easily accessible to low-income groups. In some locations it is the only material available. • Ease of use - usually no specialized equipment is required. • Suitable as a construction material for most parts of the building. • Fire resistant - non-combustible with excellent fire resistance properties. • Beneficial climatic performance in most regions due to its high thermal capacity, low thermal conductivity and porosity, thus it can moderate extreme outdoor temperatures and maintain a satisfactory internal temperature balance. • Low energy input in processing and handling soil - only about 1% of the energy required to manufacture and process the same volume of cement concrete. This aspect was investigated by the Desert Architecture Unit which has discovered that the energy needed to manufacture and process one cubic metre of soil is about 36 MJ (10 kwh), while that required for the manufacture of the same volume of concrete is about 3000 MJ (833 kwh). Similar findings were also reported by Habitat (UNCHS), Technical Note No. 12 comparing adobe with fired clay bricks. • Environmental appropriateness - the use of this almost unlimited resource in its natural state involves no pollution and negligible energy consumption thus further benefiting the environment by saving biomass fuel. Disadvantages of Stabilized Soil Blocks • Reduced durability - if not regularly maintained and properly protected, particularly in areas affected by medium to high rainfall. • Low tensile strength - poor resistance to bending moments, to be used only in compression e.g. bearing walls, domes and vaults. • Low resistance to abrasion and impact - if not sufficiently reinforced or protected. • Low acceptability amongst most social groups - considered by many to be a second class and generally inferior building material. Source Compressed Stabilized Soil Blocks Source Makiga Engineering Source a4architect For more information on the construction industry, handyman contacts and other insights, please visit our full site at www.fundimjanja.com

The Kenyan construction paradox

Posted By: Fundi Mjanja on 23rd of November 2012

Njenga is a distinguished accountant, competent in his work, liked by his colleagues and cares for his family. He works in an auditing firm in the city and is a stickler to time and professionalism. He highly esteems professional advice and he will be found consulting with his children’s teachers on a regular basis so as to ensure that the next generation of the Njenga dynasty can have a solid footing on life. Njenga also belongs to several investment clubs where through meticulous planning and consultations with financial experts, he and his buddies have accumulated sizeable tracts of land in upcoming satellite towns of the ever expanding Nairobi metropolis. Why, pray tell, do we find Njenga shouting his lungs hoarse in an unfinished building on one of his plots in the outskirts of the city on this bright sunny Saturday morning? To answer this question perhaps you should allow me to take you back to the genesis of Njenga the building contractor. Njenga always harboured the dream of becoming a real estate magnate in the city and during his early years as an accounts student, when money was less and he was struggling in college, he worked as a casual labourer in a construction site in downtown Nairobi. Within a few weeks, his enthusiasm for work and his book keeping skills earned him the position of the store keeper at the site. With the position he could afford the opportunity to walk around the site with the site foreman and see the different trade’s workmen at work in diverse trades like plumbing, masonry, electrical installation etc. He kept his store keeper position until the project was completed and by then he had managed to secure a position as an intern in a firm, a position that catapulted him to becoming a much sought after accountant. During his training and work at the site, he was neither an apprentice in any of the diverse building trades like carpentry, painting, masonry nor did he ever have any formal training in the more professional aspects of construction like architecture, draughtsmanship, estimation & costing, surveying or project management. The closest he got to construction know how was the few months he spent as a casual labourer and book keeper at the construction site. Within a few years of working as an accountant, Njenga managed to save enough money through a Sacco and qualified for a loan that enabled him acquire his first piece of land. He got further funding from the banks when both he and his wife applied for loans that allowed them to put up a block of flats. Armed with the exposure he got from the construction site, the funds and zeal to get rich, Njenga was now his own building contractor. Actually, not only was he the client but he was also the chief designer of the building having copied the designs from a brochure of a leading real estate company in the city. He only edited the designs to suit his needs. This was fairly easy for him; after all what one needs is a computer and creativity to design a house, or so he thought. This was after he failed to see eye to eye with a young architect he had hired. He felt that professionals in the industry were over paid and too theoretical in their approach to construction. After all everyone knows that actual construction happens in dusty and noisy sites and not in posh upmarket offices where the architects work, right? Njenga being a practical guy, who knows that if you want a job done well, you need to do it yourself, chose to double up as the procurement manager and paid for all the materials used at the site. This ensured that he could control costs at the site as well as ensure that pilferage was minimal. He therefore did the project on his own terms. He got one of his relatives from the village to be his foreman and point man at the site. He refused to engage a building contractor ignoring the advice of the architect. Njenga felt that this was an unnecessary cost that he could avoid. His building plans were not done by an architect and therefore not approved by the local council; he could easily get away with this, after all only large companies with money to splash engage architects and have approved drawings. The local council was after all understaffed and they did not have enough building inspectors to inspect all the construction projects in the area. If the worst came to the worst and being the practical street smart guy that he was, he could pay a small bribe to the building inspectors to look the other way. Njenga figured that the savings from not engaging professionals in his project would herald his entry into the world of real estate. The flip side of all this is that Njenga would dutifully follow the advice of other professionals. If by chance any member of his family fell sick and after consultation with the doctor, the specialist scribbled a few illegible words as prescription, like all good doctors do, he would rush to the nearest chemist and purchase the drugs. He would trust the pharmacist to dispense the right drugs, as well as the instructions concerning the times for taking the drugs. He would neither haggle about the price of the drugs nor would he consult a friend of who had suffered a similar ailment and copy his prescription. He would also not Google the illness and download a prescription from the search results. He would also expect his clients to unquestioningly follow the advice that he would regularly dispense to them as part of his duties as an accountant. He would also expect his children to devotedly complete the assignments given to them by their teachers who are professionals in preparation for exams. The fact is; advice from construction professionals in Kenya is the most disregarded counsel available. Heck, advice from self styled television soccer analysts who show up on the T.V. screen during half time to tell us the obvious and sorcerers treating all manner of maladies; from cancer to winning elections are sadly, taken more seriously. Most collapsed buildings in Kenya have one thing in common. The client is usually the contractor. The typical Kenyan would rather cut corners when constructing his house so as to save some money at the expense of safety of the occupants, durability of the structure and cost of later repairs. And this is the reason as to why we find Njenga the accountant barking orders to his workers at the construction site on this bright and sunny Saturday morning. Any person with inadequate construction training who contracts himself to build his house so as save on cost, has a fool for a client. Till next time, keep well and keep safe. Fundi Mjanja.

Evolution of built environment- who is who.

Posted By: Nyumba Imara on 16th of November 2012

The history of development of housing facilities reveals that man has been moulding his environment throughout the ages for more comfortable living. It all started in caves in pre- historic times and later developed to traditional dwellings such as huts and villages. A lot of evolution has happened since the first simple structures were erected by gradually adopting industrial methods and techniques. Modern dwelling has thus been established. I am going to go deeper and highlight the team that takes part to put up a modern dwelling. This is the building team. Client- He/she is the building owner, the employer and the project financier. He can be an individual, private company, local authority or government. Architect- He/ she is engaged by client and translates the needs into drawings and plans, gives advice and ensures that project is kept within cost and complexity of design, approves workmanship and quality of material used by contractor. Being the leader of design team, he may therefore consult other professionals -Structural/ Electrical/Mechanical engineer, Quantity surveyor depending on nature of project. Quantity surveyor- Engaged in preparing bill of quantities (BQ), checking tenders and preparing interim valuations. He gives preliminary advice, approximate estimate and advises client on expected total expenditure. Structural engineer- Employed by client as a consultant under recommendation of architect... Offers advice to architect to enable selection of most efficient, economic and stable structure to be used in a particular situation. He is responsible for structural stability of the building. Clerk of works- Normally employed on large contract as architect’s representative on site. He checks drawings, BQ and other contract document. He inspects workmanship but has no authority to instruct. Site agent – Employed in large projects and represents engineer on site. Contractor- Responsible with construction work and is engaged by client on advice of architect. He employs supervisor/ foreman, masons, stone dressers, carpenters, steel fixers, plumbers and laborers to do actual construction work. He owns machinery to carry out work efficiently. Sub- contractor- These are suppliers of materials and services or any contractor who is given mandate to do specific work eg. electrical work, under recommendation of client. With changing technology, each member of building team need ) to adapt with time and embrace new techniques which are efficient, effective and economical. Evolution of built environment goes on.

For more insights into the construction industry please visit our full site at www.fundimjanja.com

Alternative Technologies in construction

Alternative Technologies part 1

Posted By: Fundi Mfalme on 16th of November 2012

This week let’s start with conveying our deepest heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the slain police officers in Samburu. It makes us a laughing stalk as a country to send our defense forces to Somalia and send our police to their untimely deaths. That the government is silent on the issue and the police would not accept responsibility for the mistake is wanting. How can you send 20yr olds into an operation straight from training with absolutely no real life experience? And that each had only 20 bullets in a forest? With no tactical information, no aerial support? If you looking for more than 100 cattle why can’t you deploy a helicopter to spot the rascals and launch an attack? Why would it take 3 days to get the bodies of the police? In as much as we hate the police at times...we need to stand by them at this moment and say someone needs to take responsibility. We cannot cast blame on Politics here. This was a security situation that went horribly wrong because too many assumptions were made. Last week we penned off considering options to cut down the cost of construction. That brought us to the topic of alternative construction technologies. By alternative, it does not mean a replacement of the existing options but having other options that compliments or improves on the short comings of the previous. Africa at large has seen a great adoption of alternative construction technologies over time which has been meant to improve on what we had. From traditional Makuti houses, we went to mud walled houses with thatched roofs. This in essence is very similar structurally to certain technologies we will see. From mud walled houses, we developed to brick walled houses we developing to applying cement/sand plaster to resist the elements. This was then followed with brick walled houses with the joining compound being either cement/sand mortar or clay. Here cost played a crucial determinant role as people then and now still are skeptical spending too much on construction costs. The brick walled houses have been the longest in terms of a single technology with bricks being replaced with concrete blocks, stones depending on the construction costs and size of the project. All this still seem not fail providing certain issues to a construction project. Do not get me wrong, they are great technologies and I will not purport to offer a perfect solution, but people keep on coming up with technologies that meet the shortcomings of the previous ones, though said technologies too will have their own slight shortcomings. First we will start with Light Gauge Steel Construction, a technology for which am well versed and would gladly recommend. This is also one of the latest entrants into the Kenyan markets with only one company offering complete construction. Few other companies will offer trusses or just the structural element of a building. Light gauge steel construction is a technology widely used in the United States, Russia, United Arab Emirates, England, New Zealand, Canada among other places. It realistically adopts from our traditional mud houses with sticks. The company will take your architectural drawings and make a structural design out of. The design shall incorporate every element of construction including loads i.e. seismic loads, live loads, snow loads, wind loads etc depending on the location for the proposed construction. The structural design will also be done according to the region’s design code. From the design part, the file is sent to a machine that will from C sections out or steel coils of thickness between 0.75-1.15mm depending on the design. The machine will make braces, studs plates labeling each piece, punching screw holes as required, service holes etc. The sections are then assembled to together with ease and precision using power driven impact drivers with screws having special heads hence erasing the possibility of someone unscrewing. The individual sections are assembled to panels and the panels make the walls. The walls will then be clad using Magnesium Oxide Boards and the client has the option of either sound and/or thermal insulation added within the walls depending on the budget. The electrical and plumbing conduits pass within the walls giving great finishes and simplicity in working. Since the whole construction is done with steel, the finished construction will have very straight and true walls and amazing finishes with clients being spoilt for choice in terms of what finishes they want. The same process applies to the trusses. The roof covering can still have any material from normal mabati to clay tiles. With the whole process automated, the main advantages of the technology are speed, accuracy, and cost. Its automation process eliminates errors considerably with the accuracy of the final project to the architectural drawings being 99%. The construction time is reduced to less than half with a 40sqm house being done in record 45days. The structure has a basic shell life of 75+ years a cost that is comparable to conventional. The advantages of the technology are; Speed: Up to 50% FASTER than conventional construction Affordable: Competitive with conventional construction rates and with lower costs of labor, less waste superior completion times, generates a rapid return on capital invested www.fundimjanja.com Safe: Precision software accounts for natural elements like wind speed, seismic category, floor load, roof load, soil bearing pressure to provide you with a safe, code compliant structure that gives you peace of mind Eco-friendly: Less than 1% waste, no chemical treatments, protecting our forests Non-combustible: LGS does not burn or contribute to spread of fires Consistent: Accurate to +/- 0.5mm on frame production African Experienced: Ability to leverage best practices from sister countries Quality: And affordable raw materials The choice of finishes and colors is the clients, the foundation is same as always. This is an option to replace the traditional walling system and the heavy reliance on timber for trusses. It is also a system that takes care of our problems with steel recycling and offering a solution that is wholly recyclable but better than current. With a home with better fire resistance properties, better sound insulation, better thermal insulation, being done in half the term but still better structural design, it is an amazing option for the Kenyan construction industry. Source TechnoConstruct Africa Source suishousing.com For further insights in construction please visit our full site at www.fundimjanja.com

Learn to delegate your construction project

Posted By: Fundi Mjanja on 15th of November 2012

“So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.” King Solomon is often famed as the wisest man who ever walked on the earth. Apart from writing proverbs, maintaining more wives than King Mswati, and having wealth that could make the rich oil princes of the Middle East blush; the verse above has a couple of observations that can be applied to the building and construction industry in Kenya. Solomon chose to look for quality building materials before embarking on his project. Of course it can be argued that he was a rich spoilt king and therefore could afford to buy quality materials. If you are like me and consider yourself street smart like we all do; you might confuse “quality” with “expensive”. But allow me to school you. In the construction industry, cheap is actually expensive. You will require more of cheap paint per square meter than quality paint. Therefore, using quality paint will save you more in terms of labor and transport. Quality paint will also last longer before peeling off and that means fewer costs on later repairs and renovations. We now even have exterior paint that is guaranteed by the manufacturer to last up to 15 years. No wonder Solomon was wealthy; he understood that anything cheap; from education to building materials was expensive in the long run. King Solomon knew the importance of team work in a project. Construction projects are complex human activities and cooperation and camaraderie is of vital importance. He was smart enough to realize that he had to involve lowly fundi’s, casual workers and seemingly shifty material suppliers, in order to construct an opulent temple. The Kenyan construction client must have a paradigm shift from looking down upon blue collar workers who earn their wages from construction sites. They are a vital cogs in our economy and they are the unsung heroes of many a skyscraper. Amongst the lowly K.Y.M. colloquially referred to as “kanda ya moko” or “mtu wa mkono”, are some of the most good natured, honest and hardworking Kenyans alive. They are happy and grateful for every day that they are engaged on site because it means a meal for them and their dependents  The construction site is an environmental devoid of tribalism and political affiliation and the primary concern of the workers is the accomplishment of the day’s tasks and of course, earning the daily bread. The client must ensure that his workers and material suppliers are treated with respect. The client should also strive ensure that everyone who works on site is paid on time. The fact is, without the casual workers and fundis at the site your dream home will never be completed. Without material suppliers it will be impossible for the client to traverse Njiru and Kiserian for foundation stones, Juja for machine cut stones, Emali for sand, Athi River for ballast and Ruiru for steel and clay tiles whilst maintaining a white collar day job! Last and most importantly, Solomon knew the importance of delegating construction duties to someone else. It can be argued that Solomon had to delegate so as to make time for his large family of 700 wives, but in today’s world also, there is so much to do and so little time. From office work to evening classes, we are all in mad rush to complete the daily activities and still stay sane. Thus, delegating is just as important today as it was in the ancient days. For the carpentry work he used the Sidonians. I ‘am pretty sure that for masonry he used another skilled group, same for stone dressing, metal work, iron mongery and the like. He was wise enough to realize that it was fool hardy to attempt to do everything on his own. This is why he engaged a contractor whom he chooses to pay instead of dealing with the hundreds of workmen who would be involved at the site. This is a smart move and here is why. By having a contractor you will have less financial transactions as you will most likely pay lump sum amounts as per the contract. This means that instead of paying 500/= to 20 people for 5 working days each; 30,000/= to the sand supplier and 13,080 to the hardware for cement, nails etc; you pay one contractor an agreed amount at a specified time and for measured work. This saves you money by avoiding multiple financial transactions and of course time. It allowed Solomon to pursue his other talents like writing proverbs and also prepare the script for timeless soap known as “The Song of Songs”. Some constructions clients are so afraid of delegating projects to more competent persons in the mistaken belief that they is saving money by doing things on their own. They prefer to split payments into small bits and pieces doling out the cash agonizingly and at times only at the threat of personal harm. This is very sad indeed and needs to change. They also unwittingly put themselves in harm’s way because if say a client pays all his workers and suppliers on Saturday as is the norm in many sites, word will go round and the client may be way laid by robbers on his way to site. It is wiser to pay a contractor in one payment by cheque or bank transfer and thus minimize the risk of handling cash. A contractor will normally have ways of paying his suppliers and workers that will not be as obvious as the client, strolling to the bank on Saturday morning, withdrawing a large amount of money and bringing the cash to site on Saturday afternoon in the company of his kids. Solomon in his wisdom saw the need of using quality materials and delegating his building construction project to competent professionals and skilled artisans. Wouldn't it be wise for us borrow a leaf? For more information on construction, professionals and handymen, please visit our full sight at www.fundimjanja.com. Till next time, keep well and keep safe. Fundi Mjanja.

How to use Orange to warm your Home

Posted By: Designer Mjanja Blog on 7th of November 2012

Your home can always use a shot of warmth, right? Consider using orange in your home. While it reminds us of pumpkins and falling leaves, it looks good in your home year around. Orange has become the “IT” color on fashion runways, automobile interiors, and now home decor  Muted tones of orange, rust, and tangerine are in every magazine that you can get your hands on. See how orange can warm your decor and your mood by using it all around your home. Bring nature into your home: Fruits and vegetables make beautiful centerpieces, using oranges, pumpkins, and gourds. Changing leaves in oranges, rust, reds and yellows can make a welcome basket at your front door in your foyer. Decorative wreaths and orange inspired fall garlands around your front door will bring warmth to the exterior of your home as the weather starts to grow cooler. Add spice to your kitchen: Orange is often thought of as the bright, in your face color that is overbearing and loud. Any color can have a loud side and a soft side… and anywhere in between can lay the color for your home. In kitchens, orange can spark imagination on the kitchen cabinets, or can be used in accents in the back-splash  If you like a more subdued kitchen, keep the colors neutral and add accents of orange with lighting and seating.  Orange can evoke creativity: Orange makes your eyes and brain become active and creative. Use it in areas that you want to feel creative and energized to work. Home offices, craft rooms, and children’s playrooms are perfect! Use a darker pumpkin orange for areas that are more sophisticated and use a brighter tone in youthful play areas. Pair orange with hot pink for a funky girl’s room. For a boy’s room orange and black, blue or purple are classic athletic team colors that boys love. Bring the tropics in: Orange is associated with warm weather, the tropics and relaxing. If your home is tired of the cold weather, bring in orange and feel the warmth instantly. Window treatments, paint color and mix and match tropical fabrics on throw pillows will make you want to run and get your bathing suit! Pair orange with yellows, and blues in varying hues to bring the tropical islands to your home without leaving the comfort of your home. Make a statement: If you prefer bold and stylish, orange is your color.  Find a bold piece of furniture in a striking orange and see how it lifts the spirit of the entire room. Orange can be a focal point of a room and make the chore of decorating an entire room that much simpler. Add decorative pillows and an orange area rug to an all white couch. Your room will transform from stark and formal, to fun and comfortable. Orange in varying shades can spark energy, and comfort all in one room. Since orange encompasses red and yellow it borrows cues from each in creating warmth with a bit of spark. Used in small or large quantities, see how orange will make your guests envious and your family members happy. Celebrate the color orange in your home decor and see how the mood will change in your home for the better. For more insight on interior decor, construction advice and fundi contacts, visit our full site at www.fundimjanja.com