Say Goodbye to Mis-Match Colours

Have you ever stumbled across the perfect colour for your new walls? Only to find that a photo on your smart phone and a quick PMS comparison bear no resemblance to the colour you once saw?

Have you ever had to match the colour of a wall that had been scratched? Accidentally ditched the paint can ages ago and forgotten the swatch name?

Well believe it or not, there is an app to solve this colour-matching dilemma.

A new smartphone application enables you to capture any colour you see and store the information in your phone in as much detail as the human eye. The creators describe the SwatchMate as a "real-life eyedropper tool".

SwatchMate, from the bright minds of by Paul Peng, Rocky Liang and Djordje Dikic, is a small cube device that accurately identifies and captures colours on real-world surfaces. It uses Bluetooth to send the colour data to a smartphone or into Photoshop.

This application is revolutionary for designers, home renovators, and other creative minds to ‘measure’ colour values. Awarded the 2013 Sydney and Melbourne Design Award, Swatchmate allows users to instantly scan any surface and digitally match its colour to paint libraries. The idea is to make the colour world more interactive so that colours can be properly documented.

If the project reaches its funding goal, the SwatchMade will be manufactured in Victoria by June 2014.  

Lighting Solutions

Lighting is a crucial element for any home. It can alter the mood as well as the appearance of your walls and furnishings in a particular space.

Different lighting for different spaces

Bedroom: Think about mood lighting, dimmer switches, wardrobe lighting, dressing table and bedside table lamps.

Lounge room: Accent lighting works well in a lounge room. It is recommended that you use up-lighting (floor lamp or wall lights) which offers a purer quality of light through refracting off the ceiling.

Kitchen: Your kitchen cabinets can showcase your treasures and collectibles with feature lighting. Recessed downlights and task lighting are also great in kitchens.

Get the right light bulbs
There are numerous light bulbs on the market: energy efficient, halogen, LED, fluorescent, incandescent – the list goes on. 

Light bulbs come in a variety of shades – from warm to cool light tones, or bright white, to blueish, to yellowish. This is the ‘colour temperature’ of light measured in degrees Kelvin. 

The lower the Kelvin the more yellow the light and the higher the Kelvin the bluer the light. A warmer globe is generally preferable in a home setting but a cooler globe may be more suitable for applications such as strip lighting in bulkheads.

Sticky Doors

Sticky doors are a common problem that arise in Australian homes, but they are relatively easy to repair. Sticky doors are generally caused by loose hinges and unsealed top and bottom of the door which causing swelling of the timber. Sometimes a sticky door can also be an indication of more serious foundation issues, such as subsidence.

If you do not address a sticky door in a timely manner, the door will gradually become harder to open, which causes severe damage to the hinges and handles. 

By following a few simple steps, you can easily repair the problem of a sticky door:

1.       Plane the door down to its correct height. Plane it from one side to centre. Then again from other side to centre so you get an even surface. The ideal gap between the door and the door jam is 2mm to 3mm.

2.      Sandpaper the perimeter of door giving it a smooth round edge.

3.       Seal it up with some paint, to stop moisture getting inside the door so that it will remain stable.

4.       If re-hanging the door by yourself, put your hammer down on the floor parallel to the door. At a 90 degree angle, place your chisel over the top of the hammer and under the door. You will have created a foot-operated lever which will make it a lot easier to lift the door up and down by yourself.