Art Deco doorknobs, push plates and kitchen cabinet knobs are timeless and are a welcome addition to any home. This movement and style exemplify simplicity and beauty. Art Deco knobs and pulls are typically found in cast iron, bronze, antique brass and polished chrome with the most famous Art Deco structures found in Chrome with Brass Accents. While the geometric shapes are now found in many colors, the originals were simpler and always found in cast brass, bronze or chrome.

Art Deco designs are produced today – allowing you to incorporate their patterns in your doors, windows, kitchen cabinets and more. It is a simple way to incorporate a common theme throughout your house. These Art Deco Cabinet Hardware can transform a boring home into a showplace – but be sure to follow a few simple steps. First, use Art Deco style knobs on cabinets and furniture throughout your home. Second, replace old and worn doorknobs with traditional Art Deco styles. Note: The Art Deco theme will tie the look together for you. You can also find Art Deco style lighting that will help you achieve your goal of a common theme. You can also ask an interior designer or other design experts for assistance or look to decorating magazines for additional help. by using Art Deco styles, you can use different shapes thorough the house – you need not use the same shapes on Furniture, Doors or Cabinets.

Art Deco cabinet knobs are readily available online as well as in many home decorating catalogs. Search for solid brass or bronze construction and be sure to ask questions. When you work with the Art Deco movement, you can be sure that the different shapes and combinations will work to tie themselves together nicely. These Art Deco Cabinet Hardware can be found online through LookInTheAttic & Company and they also offer free design assistance and help.

Factors behind modern housing

There are several factors that have driven the change to a modern system of architecture. The first of course, is the impact of modernity as a cultural movement. This movement, which has its founts in rebellion against the traditional during the later half of the nineteenth century, affected everything from poetry and literature to architecture and building construction plans.

The shift to a modern system of architecture is best captured by Ayn Rand’s famous book The Fountainhead. The book lays down the salient features of modern architecture though its emphasis on underlying construction plans of the building rather than the superstructure. The impact of modernity in this sense is essentially the impact of and ideology; people’s perception of how modern house plans should be made, changed.

But at the same time, much of this change was made practically possible by technological innovations. Stronger materials made thinner walls possible. The use of steel beams made arches redundant as supporting structures. The development of glass that was tough and hard to break led to its widespread use in construction; and so on.

Modern house plans take advantage of this innovation to save space and create clean uncluttered spaces.

To these two, let me add a third factor that led to the adoption of modern techniques in house plans: the modern lifestyle.

Just as industrial revolution made black suits fashionable, similarly, fast paced, high stress, modern lifestyles have resulted in  minimal, no frills building construction plans, the use of soft and soothing colors in the interiors, and the use of simple geometric shapes in modern house plans.

The impact on design

If you look at some of the iconic modern structures, their common features would become clear.

(a) An emphasis on simple geometrical shapes in building construction plans.

(b) The materials used are all man made, they do not occur freely in nature. For example steel is an amalgam of iron, carbon, tin and some other materials.

Plastic, cement, and Glass, all processed also finds wide usage in modern house plans.

(c) Efficient space utilization is a key feature of modern architecture. Modern house plans leverage special materials to free more and more space which would have otherwise gone into creating supporting structures.

Modern architecture has for a long time been considered the art of building mere boxes. It is only now that building construction plans have evolved to give attention to the aesthetic aspects of building construction as well.

The terms Play-systems, Jungle Gyms, Forts and Swing Sets are pretty much interchangable. At many stores selling outdoor play equipment calling a swing set a “Play System” simply means they’ve added a few extra dollars in the cost of the product. And while the sticker shock of such systems will remind many of us of how much we paid for our first car… it simply doesn’t have to be this expensive.

With some very basic carpentry skill matched with time and a little effort, a Do-It-Yourself Swing Set or Fort is easily achievable. D.I.Y. swing set kits today are basic and easy to understand.

These kits come with fully illustrated step-by-step manual taking you through the entire process from lumber purchase, cutting, drilling, and assembling to adding the finishing touches.

You could even make it a Christmas gift… one that will undoubtedly seed great anticipation for spring, but that would allow for proper planning and budgeting of the system.

Play set

First a quick run-down of some typical questions asked when planning for a Do-It-Yourself swing set:

What’s my budget?

Some smaller D.I.Y. Play Sets run as little as 295$. ** BUDGET SAVER** Many play sets have to charge a hefty fee for shipping the slide. That is because this is the only item that has to be boxed and freight shipped. A good way to save money is to buy your slide locally. Check with your local big-box hardware store first.

Lumber, bought by you locally, for smaller jungle gym plans is approx. $175 = A total price for a nice play set would run $470. On average (including your lumber costs) a basic set can be built for under $600, medium sized under $900, largest models $1,200. (That is cost including the slide)

How much time do I have available to work on this project?

Most of medium sized D.I.Y. swing set, fort kit and jungle gym plans with swing beams can be completed in a weekend (12-16 hours).

Good swing set kit plans help by avoiding pre-drilling and angle cuts when possible. In addition, they keep the design of their frames and swing beams simple without comporomising strength.

Do I have the required tools?

All D.I.Y. jungle gym plans will include a ‘required tool list’. Believe it or not.. 90% of the plans available require 3 “power tools” a ‘circular saw’ and ‘electric or cordless drill’. Only commonly found tools and basic carpentry skills are required to assemble these kits. The swing set plans, swings, accessories, hardware, etc. is all included with the kit. Lumber is purchased by you locally and consists of 2×4’s, 2×6’s, 5/2×6’s and 4×4’s.

Here is a quick guide to an easy and budgeted play system.

1. Research! Start by determining the system you desire **Determine if a slide for your kit is available locally. This will save you close to 100$ on the cost of shipping a slide as freight from the manufacturer!** Kits (without the slide) typicaly includes: brackets / bolts / swing seats / chains / tarp roof (if included) and blue prints. Make note of what tools are required.

2. Purchase your swing kit. A standard kit for a 5’ x 5’ Fort and three swing beam system costs around $300 (Not including freight shipped slide)

3. Once you have your kit, determine and budget for the lumber purchase. A way to save a few extra dollars is to price the lumber by contacting local lumber stores. Don’t always assume that your local big-box hardware store has the cheapest wood available. Taking the time to price your lumber sheet can save you as much as 25% on the total cost of your system. The lumber cost for a system like the one mentioned about should run around $250

4. The final step before building is to determine if you want to prep the ground area. Will you want to use a tiller / dig the area out and add mulch or padding of any type? While this will add to the final cost of the project it may save you possible bumps and bruises in the future.