George Salaka

How to Make a Mobile Home Look Like a Real House Using Design Principles That Trick the Eye

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

How to Give Your Mobile Home the Look of a Real House with Design Principles Lots of people think making a mobile home look like a real house is just about adding some cute decorations. You know, like putting up flower boxes, some fake shutters, or giving it a new coat of paint. Bless their […]

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The Secret to Expensive-Looking Deck Skirting on a Budget?

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

Budget-Friendly Deck Skirting Ideas That Look Expensive You can lay out a whole lot of money on high-falutin’ deck skirting, and it’ll be as dull as un-buttered toast if it doesn’t play visually. We’ve watched some genius master craftsmen take old reclaimed lumber and pieces of lattice and, through some kind of magic, it appears

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Small Barn House, Big Impact: Exterior Design Principles Behind Barndominium Aesthetics

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

Small Barn House Inspiration: Exterior Ideas That Create Big Impact When those tiny barn houses get it right, they don’t merely “borrow” from barndominium chic; they really capture its awesomeness and discard all the stuffy stuff. That teeny footprint means every single design choice has to truly count, unlike those McMansions where they just fling

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Architect’s Notes: Why These Outdoor Kitchen Layouts Just Work

Kitchen Ideas

These Outdoor Kitchen Layout Ideas Work Flawlessly—An Architect Explains You see, that outdoor kitchen is simply, “Yeah, I’m pretty good,” but not, you know, so much so that you can quite put into words. You don’t even need to step inside the room to feel a sense of zen-like equilibrium. The room is simply waving

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How to Choose the Right Deck Stain Color for Every Wood Type (No More Mismatched Tones!)

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

A Guide to Matching Deck Stain Colors with Different Woods The Color-Stain Mistake Almost Everyone Makes We’ve lost track of how often we’ve watched owners strain their backs constructing a deck—selecting the appearance, the ideal wood, even the hallowed railing finials—only to cap it off with a stain color that in essence shouts slogans on

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How Smart Placement and Layout Make a Home Greenhouse Feel Like Home

Garden & Outdoor Lifestyle Design

How Smart Design and Positioning Give a Greenhouse a Homey Atmosphere Are you tired of greenhouses that look like soulless glass boxes? Do you feel like they belong more in a science lab than in your backyard? We get it. We’ve been there, staring at our plants through what feels like a sterile, uninviting structure.

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Cedar, Redwood, Pine, or Ipe? How Wood Choice Shapes the Look, Feel, and Lifespan of Your Fence

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

Choosing Cedar, Redwood, Pine, or Ipe: How Wood Impacts Your Fence Design We’ve come across more fence lines than we care to count (it’s an occupational idiosyncrasy, I guess), and here’s the thing: the truly great fences aren’t merely constructed to endure; they’re actually born to. And that slight injection of magic begins long, long

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How to Choose the Right Exterior Color Scheme for a Red Brick House

Functional Outdoor Structures & Home Exteriors

A Guide to Selecting the Right Exterior Colors for Red Brick Houses Oh, the old problem: your trusty old red brick home, looking back at you, almost begging to be touched up with something, anything, that won’t result in it appearing like a used Christmas decoration or a regretful party face paint. We’ve all been

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The Golden Ratio and Front Yard Design: A Foolproof Layout Trick That Works Every Time

Garden & Outdoor Lifestyle Design

Unlocking Front Yard Beauty with the Golden Ratio: A Trick That Works (Almost) Every Time Ever strolled past someone’s front yard and thought, wow, that just feels right—even if you couldn’t explain why? Chances are, it wasn’t luck. It was design, and the quiet secret behind it all is proportion. Not just any proportion, but

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