3 Hot Trends for Kitchen Remodeling in 2012 - Selling Beach Property

Feb 3, 2012 | No Responses

Article From HouseLogic.com

By: Jamie Goldberg
Published: January 10, 2012

Mulling a kitchen remodel but want to keep costs low? You?re au courant with today?s trends that emphasize options and high-tech wizardry at affordable prices.

Trend #1: Remodeling scales back

A new focus on moderation and value has entered the remodeling mind-set. Trends that are likely to show up in your kitchen next year include:

You?ll repair your existing appliances (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/appliances/when-to-repair-or-replace-large-appliances/) instead of replacing them, extending their life with good maintenance (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/appliances/refrigerator-maintenance/) and care. If you?re replacing cabinets, you?re likely to build around your current appliances rather than choosing new models.

You?re scaling back your cabinetry purchases, with an increased emphasis on kitchen storage and functionality over elaborate decoration. For example, rather than stacked crown moldings throughout the kitchen, you?ll put your money into practical roll-out trays and drawer organizers.

Small-scale kitchen (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-improvement/small-kitchen-space-savers/) projects are big news. Changing out cabinet hardware, replacing a faucet, and refacing your cabinets (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/kitchens/refacing-kitchen-cabinets/) upgrades your kitchen without major expense.

Trend #2: Simpler, warmer styles dominate

Fussiness and excess have faded away in favor of pared-back looks that present a more timeless, value-conscious style.

Cabinet decoration continues to streamline. For example, massive corbels, once fashionable as undercounter supports, will give way to sleeker countertop supports and cantelivered countertop edges. Stacked moldings will pare back or disappear entirely. Elaborately glazed finishes will yield to simpler paints and stains.

?Kitchen finishes will continue to get warmer and darker, and feature natural and stained woods. Walnut especially is growing in popularity.

Laminate countertops (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/kitchens/laminate-kitchen-countertops-perfect-fakes-low-cost/) will continue to surge in popularity, especially in contemporary design. The latest European-inspired laminates offer more textured and naturalistic finishes than ever before. While exotic wood kitchen cabinets are out of reach for most home owners, glossy, look-alike laminate versions can be had for about one-third the price.

Trend #3: Technology expands its kitchen presence

Many of the techno products and trends that relate to your smartphones and tablets have just started making their way into your local showrooms and home centers.

Appliances will be equipped with USB ports and digital screens so you can display your family photographs and kids? artwork.

Smart, induction built-in cooktops ($500-$3,000) remember your temperature settings as you move your pans across their entire surface.

One light finger touch is all it takes to open the electronically controlled sliding doors of your kitchen cabinets ? a boon to people with limited mobilities. You?ll pay 40% to 70% more for cabinets with electronically controlled doors (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-improvement/motion-kitchen-cabinets/) than standard models.

You?ll be able to use your smart phones and tablets to control lights and appliance settings from anywhere you have a wi-fi connection, as well as to shop for appliances from major manufacturers.

You?ll be opting for LEDs for your recessed lights, under-cabinet task lighting (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/lighting/under-cabinet-lighting-your-kitchen-task-masters/) and color-changing accent lighting. You?ll see more LED-powered pendants and chandeliers from major manufacturers as inefficient incandescent bulbs (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/lighting/end-incandescence/) continue their march toward extinction.

A wide selection of affordable microwave ovens with convection and even steam features gives owners of smaller kitchen spaces more high-end cooking power.

What improvements ? big or small ? are you planning for your kitchen this year?

Author: Gary Senser

Agent at Shorewood Realtors, founded in 1969, a full service real estate company with 7 South Bay offices and approximately 350 highly trained agents. Shorewood is not only the area's leader in real estate sales volume and number of transactions, but is the #1 independent brokerage in Los Angeles County. Gary?s expertise in marketing and technology provides home buyers and sellers with a competitive edge in today?s market. Gary has helped some of the world?s leading companies and brands market their products and services both online and off-line. He?s known for the development and implementation of data driven marketing programs with clear objectives and a performance based results orientation. Gary?s career has taken him from the boardrooms of Madison Avenue to the hospitality capitals of Europe and back home to California. Knowing how to reach the right customer with the right message that will motivate a sale, Gary helps his clients achieve results. By embracing technology and the Internet, Gary built a consulting company with strong practices in online advertising, search engine marketing, web development and social media/reputation management. According to the National Association of Realtors, 85% of buyers start their search for a home online. Gary uses his online marketing and technology expertise to help insure that his clients are able to sell their home for the best price, in the shortest amount of time. With a mission of excellence, customer satisfaction and strong communication capabilities, Gary has been rewarded with numerous client referrals and recommendations throughout his career. Success starts with listening and understanding the special needs and requirements that will ensure client satisfaction. Gary prides himself in helping his clients achieve their goals and dreams. His commitment to his client?s success is unwavering.

Source: http://sellingbeachproperty.com/2012/02/3-hot-trends-for-kitchen-remodeling-in-2012-2/

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What Benefits Will You Get From Debt Management Program?

There is a large number of people all over the world who are heavily in debt. Managing your debt is not an easy thing to do. Those who do not care much about their finances may get lots of debts. Once you get into deep debt, you will not be able to come out of it too early. You will find a lot of things that you can do to manage your debts. You can enroll in Debt Management Program. The Debt Management Program will assist you in more than one way. Read this article if you would like to know everything about Debt Management Program.

You will get to know many people who are members of Debt Management Program. You will find that the Debt Management Program has helped many people. After you join the Debt Management Program, you will get freedom from the debts. You will never regret your decision of joining the Debt Management Program. Your mind will no longer have financial problems. You will never face financial troubles.

Debt Management Program is simply the process of consolidating your debts. There will be only one creditor to whom you have to pay after you join the Debt Management Program. You will not face any kind of problems after you consolidate your debts. There will never be a day of missed payments. There are many advantages if you join the Debt Management Program. You will get a number of benefits.

There are many things that you need to take into consideration when you buy the Debt Management Program. You have look for the one that has low rate of interest. You also need to be certain that you buy the Debt Management Program from a good source. Debt Management Program are of various types and kinds. Always go for the best.

There are many sources from where you can get the Debt Management Program. You will also find many websites that offers Debt Management Program to different customers. You have to search for a trustworthy site from where you will get the Debt Management Program. After buying the Debt Management Program, you can relax.

Want to find out more about Debt Management Program, then visit Craig Sullivan?s site on how to choose the best Debt Management Programs for your needs.

Did you find this information helpful? If you did, please buy me a coffee.

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1. Debt Management Program
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5. Why Credit score Card Debt Consolidation Would be the Right Way

Tagged as: Debt Management Program, Finance

Source: http://www.healthyfifty.com/business-investment/finance/what-benefits-will-you-get-from-debt-management-program/

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Raise Your Standard Of Living With Home Improvement | Lygaria.com

The place that you live has an effect on your everyday cheerfulness. You spend a good portion of your day in your home, especially if you work out of a home office. You may not realize it, but the comfort and serenity of your home has a huge impact on your life. Make it someplace that you always want to be, and the other things in your life will be easier. Here are some smart tips for making your house feel like home.

You need to feel comfortable in your home. Of course, getting your home to this point will take work, but by fixing issues within your home that are keeping it from being comfortable, you can experience an improved quality of life. Comfort is important, no matter what you think. It should be attended rather than dismissed. If you really hate some aspects of your home such as furniture, take steps to change it. If you have to struggle to put things on a top shelf, lower it ? or at least get a step stool! Likewise, if there is a table or counter corner that you constantly clip, move that table or replace that counter with a rounded edge. Little things like this can make you feel happier in your home.

Enlarge your living area. You should expand if you feel that you do not have adequate space. If you can add even a couple of inches of space in a frequently used area, you will have extra room to breathe, and you can more easily reduce clutter and feel less stressed as a result.

When you are looking to increase the fun factor of your home, consider recreational home improvements like a swimming pool or a hot tub. Although these features are not for everyone, lots of potential home buyers like these things. You could also consider creating a fitness room or making a minor addition, such as a basketball hoop. It is possible that some of these improvements will even increase the value of your home!

If you constantly find yourself feeling down, take some time to assess the lighting in your home. It can give you a feeling of tiredness. Replacing lights are quick ways of improving your home, and it can help give you a better mood.

Make an organic garden. If you turn part of your yard into a garden, it can give you an incentive to stay at home. You can find a professional to reduce stress on yourself. A pleasant garden can make you feel better while giving you a healthier environment. If you have the right ingredients, you can grow amazing food.

The outside of your house is equally important when thinking about improvements. Replacing windows, painting the exterior and replacing the roof can make your house look great while also increasing its value. Your home will look better, creating a welcoming environment for guests and loved ones.

You must love where you live. This is the reason why home improvement promotes your contentment, while adding to the value of your home.

If you need more facts in regard to bosch cordless drill 24v, stop by Ivory Q Kicker?s website this minute.

Source: http://lygaria.com/2012/02/01/raise-your-standard-of-living-with-home-improvement/

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Afghan Taliban deny they're ready to talk peace

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, center left, talks with Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool during their meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday Feb. 1, 2012. Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, visited Kabul on Wednesday to mend relations and insisted her country has no hidden agenda in Afghanistan. Khar said Pakistan will back a peace process with the Taliban as long as it's driven by Afghans and not other figures on the international stage. (AP Photo/S.Sabawoon, Pool)

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, center left, talks with Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool during their meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday Feb. 1, 2012. Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, visited Kabul on Wednesday to mend relations and insisted her country has no hidden agenda in Afghanistan. Khar said Pakistan will back a peace process with the Taliban as long as it's driven by Afghans and not other figures on the international stage. (AP Photo/S.Sabawoon, Pool)

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar speaks during a joint press conference with her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool, unseen, at the foreign ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, left, speaks during a joint press conference with her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool at the foreign ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)

Afghan women walk during a rainy hour in Qalay-e-Naw, Badghis province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Hoshang Hashimi)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The Taliban denied Wednesday that the movement is planning direct talks with the Afghan government to end the 10-year-old war, while a leaked NATO report suggested the insurgents are confident they will regain power after international troops leave.

While both developments were setbacks to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's efforts to broker peace, his government got a boost from Pakistan's top diplomat who declared her nation's support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process.

"Our only prerequisite to be supportive of an initiative is that it should be Afghan-led. It should be Afghan-owned. It should be Afghan-driven and Afghan-backed," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said at the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

While she didn't mention the United States, Afghan officials have complained privately that the peace effort has so far been dominated by American efforts and talks with Taliban representatives. Washington insists it is only setting the stage, and any eventual talks must involve Karzai's government.

The Taliban were responding to widespread reports that Karzai's government was seeking direct talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia ? a move seen as an attempt by the Afghan leader to take charge of the peace effort.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid rejected those reports as "baseless," saying in a statement that exploratory talks between the insurgency and the U.S. and its allies have not yet reached the stage for negotiations.

"Before the negotiation phase, there should be trust-building between the sides, which has not started yet," Mujahid said.

The Taliban calls the Afghan government a puppet regime. The insurgency, however, has agreed to set up a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar and has acknowledged having preliminary discussions with the Americans.

U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged Tuesday that to build trust with the Taliban, the United States may release several Afghan Taliban prisoners from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper told Congress that no decision had been made whether to trade the five Taliban prisoners, now held at Guantanamo Bay, as part of the nascent peace talks with the Taliban. He and CIA Director David Petraeus did not dispute that the Obama administration was considering transferring the five to a third country.

Karzai was angry that Qatar had agreed to host a Taliban political office without consulting his government, according to a senior Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. Karzai prefers Saudi Arabia or Turkey where he believes he would have the upper hand in guiding the talks, the official said. The Afghan government fears that the U.S., anxious to wrap up a decade in Afghanistan, will try to impose a political settlement with the Taliban, the official said.

Khar was the first high-level Pakistani official to visit Kabul since last fall when relations between the neighboring countries soured after the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president and former head of the government's peace council. He was killed in his Kabul home Sept. 20, 2011 by a suicide bomber posing as a peace emissary from the Taliban. Afghan officials blamed the killing on insurgents based in Pakistan.

Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul hailed Khar's visit as a breakthrough toward better relations and said the region will find no permanent peace until Pakistan offers serious and honest cooperation.

The ministry also announced that Karzai would travel to Islamabad Feb. 16 and 17. During the visit, he is expected to push Pakistan to follow through on concrete steps Afghanistan wants Pakistan to take to facilitate the peace process, according to an Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate negotiations.

Khar's visit to Kabul came on the same day that a classified NATO report was released, claiming that the Taliban believe they will return to power after the U.S.-led coalition ends its combat role in Afghanistan in 2014, NATO officials said. The captured Taliban fighters also believed they were receiving support from Pakistan and that they were doing well on the battlefield, the officials said.

Khar denounced the report, which was based on the interrogation of thousands of insurgent prisoners.

"This is old wine in an even older bottle. I don't think these claims are new," she said.

"So I think that I can just disregard this as potentially a strategic leak or otherwise."

NATO officials cautioned that the report was a summary of interrogations and was not based on an intelligence analysis.

"There is an expression in the report that they are basing themselves on the support from Pakistan," said Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan.

Jacobson said the report was a "compilation of investigations, or interrogations straight after detainment, so we can not really put that high a value on what they are saying. They are talking (about) their perception of the campaign, what they believe about how the campaign is going, and what they want us to believe about how their campaign is going."

He said most of the captured fighters think that "they are still having a successful role" on the ground but that perception was wrong.

"The insurgency is clearly on the back foot. We have been pressurizing them over the summer, we have taken vast amounts of land out of their hands and we have detained a high number" of militants, Jacobson said.

In Brussels, a senior NATO official also said the alliance has no doubt that insurgents are infiltrating the Afghan security forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of standing rules.

The assertion came after a string of killings of foreign forces by their Afghan counterparts.

U.S. defense officials told the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the number of insider attacks in Afghanistan has dramatically increased. Seventy-five percent of the more than 40 incidents since 2007 happened in the past two years. Most of the attackers acted out of personal motivation, and were not directed by insurgents.

The attacks have killed 70 coalition troops and wounded another 110.

In the latest such incident, an Afghan soldier shot and killed a NATO service member in southern Afghanistan late Tuesday, although the circumstances were unclear. The U.S.-led military coalition said it was an attack, while an Afghan commander called it an accident.

___

Associated Press writers Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-02-01-AS-Afghanistan/id-c592ba9808a4476eb21e107a534269c9

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DP World lifts 10 percent more cargo at its ports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? DP World, the Dubai government-backed port operator, said Tuesday that business at its docks jumped 10 percent last year, helped by growth in emerging markets.

The world's third-largest port operator reported lifting the equivalent of 54.7 million standard 20-foot shipping containers last year. That's up from 49.6 million handled in 2010.

DP World's business is heavily concentrated in faster-growing emerging markets. It is those regions ? Africa, Asia and Latin America ? that the company said enjoyed some of the strongest growth. Trade also increased in its core market in the United Arab Emirates, the Arab world's second biggest economy.

CEO Mohammed Sharaf cautioned that the outlook for the world economy remains uncertain, though he is optimistic about DP World's prospects.

"We continue to remain confident about the long-term outlook for our industry," he told reporters.

DP World's broad geographic footprint gives it a window on trade flows around the world. The company manages more than 60 sea cargo terminals on six continents, including the Middle East's busiest in Dubai.

Its volume growth was helped by the addition of new ports in Pakistan, India and Suriname in 2011.

Trade volumes in the UAE rose 12 percent to the equivalent of 13 million shipping containers. The company is in the middle of a big expansion of Dubai's sprawling Jebel Ali port designed to meet expected future demand that will allow it to handle up to 19 million containers by 2014.

DP World is a division of Dubai's troubled Dubai World conglomerate, but was excluded from its parent's highly publicized debt restructuring. The port firm is seen as one of city-state's healthiest state-controlled companies.

It is in the process of building Britain's first deep-sea container port in more than a quarter century, which is scheduled to open outside London by the end of next year. The company last week sold its 34 percent stake in another southern British port for $75.5 million.

DP World posted a first-half profit of $740.9 million. It plans to report its full-year earnings in March.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-ML-Dubai-Ports/id-171d4034c3ff4d17a1375915ff53c2c1

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Jackie K. Cooper: 'Man on a Ledge' Is Pure Entertainment and Aren't We Ready For That

Man on a Ledge is a Die Hard-type of suspense film. The action is non-stop, the acting is good and there is no need to carp about the lack of absolute logic. In other words this is a movie to go to see to be entertained without stressing out over the little things. Sam Worthington leads a strong cast in a tale about a man wrongly convicted of a crime who fights to clear his name.

The film starts with Nick Cassidy (Worthington) going to a downtown hotel in New York and taking a room on the twenty-first floor. He orders a lobster dinner with champagne and then writes a suicide note. After cleaning his fingerprints from the room he climbs out on to the ledge and stands there. He is noticed almost immediately from the street and chaos ensues.

The police arrive in the person of Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns). He tries to talk Nick back into the room but Nick refuses and demands that Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) be brought in as the negotiator. If she is not put in charge he will jump. And it goes from there.

The pace of the movie never lessens. Nick is an escaped felon who claims he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. There are people who don't want to see him come in off the ledge. For them it would be best if he jumped, So there are a lot of conflicting forces in the film and you never know who the good guy is and who is the bad.

Worthington is solid as Nick while Banks steals the show as Mercer. Even amid the tension of the plot and the ensuing activities Worthington and Banks make a connection with their characters. Now that takes some good acting.

In supporting roles, Jamie Bell is believable as Nick's angry brother, Joey. Genesis Rodriguez provides some comic relief as Joey's girlfriend Angie. Titus Welliver is edgy as the tense Police Captain Dante, and Ed Harris is evil as a wealthy jeweler. Kyra Sedgwick makes a cameo appearance as a TV news reporter.

The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity & violence.

There are flaws in the script but they are not big ones. The main plot line plays out with logic. At the end of the movie I was tempted to sit through it again, and when was the last time you felt that way about a movie? It is just a movie to be savored with a bag of popcorn and a drink, and someone to enjoy the whole thing with you.

After the bombardment of "artistic" movies we have seen in the past month or so it is nice to have a movie that just simply entertains. That is exactly what Man on a Ledge does, and does it with success.

I scored Man on a Ledge a heightened 7 out of 10.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/man-on-a-ledge_b_1243016.html

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Siri Eating Up All of U.S. Bandwidth?

The iPhone 4S, with its much-hyped Siri feature, is awesome.

Siri will get you directions, let you make hands-free mobile calls, fetch answers to trivia questions, you name it. You can even goof on Siri for fun, asking if she'll marry you, pretending you're going to kill yourself, argue with your wife (below), etc.

And she plays along!

There is a downside to this genius innovation, however: Requiring far more data than other smartphones, Siri is bandwidth guzzler, the digital equivalent of a Hummer, and could prose problems for the entire U.S. cellular network.

Siri Argument

A study by Arieso, an Atlanta firm that specializes in mobile networks, said the iPhone 4S “appears to unleash data consumption behaviors that have no precedent.”

Under most circumstances, this would be someone else’s problem - contracts are “tiered” so that those who use a network more than others pay more for that.

Except with data, it’s not that simple.

Cell networks are like any common resource; they have limits. Once they hit their limit, there’s no more to go around, meaning Siri could be everyone's problem.

As networks become congested, service deteriorates across the board. Private desire becomes a public issue as more calls are dropped and Internet access lags.

In short, expect interrupted service and higher bills to be standard in the next few years, unless cellular providers can innovate even faster than Apple.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/siri-eating-up-all-of-us-bandwidth/

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