Innehållsförteckning för Issue 2 från Houseplan

PRO: Is it essential to have a lawyer when considering buying a property? People are being sold ‘air’ – nonexistent residential stands. How does engaging a lawyer prevent such incidents? JJ: Thank you, Prosper, for the opportunity. Let me start by telling you one of the cases I had to deal with. There was this guy who was looking for a residential stand on social media. He found a particular guy who told him he was selling one place in Westgate and was in dire need of money to take care of his wife’s hospital bills – he just cooked up this story. The buyer and that guy then met and drove to the place. Sure, the site was there; it was nice, as he had explained earlier on the…

When designing your kitchen, you may have your cabinets, flooring, tile, appliances, and paint all selected. But what makes a kitchen livable has little to do with how it looks and everything to do with functionality. Before you make any big decisions or get carried away with the aesthetic, here are seven essential kitchen layout ideas you will want to incorporate to make your kitchen design a success: 1. Reduce traffic No matter what, the kitchen will likely be a high-traffic area of the house. But there are ways you can get around making the kitchen a catchall for mail and backpacks and coats. Create a space before you enter the kitchen, like a mudroom, to control the chaos that can sweep in every day. Once in the kitchen, make…

These clever design details will give you the most home for your budget. You may not notice them when first glancing at a house design. But designers often employ tricks of the trade to make their homes look larger, live better, and go together more economically. The touches could be as subtle as a raised vanity that allows you to run tile to the wall, in case you want to change it later, or as obvious as a big porch overhang that blocks the summer sun. Here are some less-than-obvious design techniques to look for as you browse house plans. 1. Rooms that borrow space from each other The classic example you often find when searching for house plans is a great room plan with a kitchen and family room…

Architectural lighting presupposes that there’s architecture. Architectural lighting works to serve and enhance the architecture, not merely as an accessory, to create a cohesive spatial experience. So, architectural lighting is the intersection of art (architecture) and technology (lighting). The architecture being illuminated or lighted may be commercial or residential. Other fields of endeavour, such as design, also come into play. Of course, so do physics, engineering and the psychological and physiological effects of light. Strictly speaking, architectural lighting is illumination for building design and function. The term encompasses three main factors The first is the building’s aesthetic, which is vital for residential and commercial applications. The second consideration is ergonomic or functional—any aspect which improves one’s ability to live, work, function, relax or play—to make the space easier to use.…

01 Retirement Home Design Architects and designers who work throughout Zimbabwe claim that open-plan home styles are growing in popularity. The trend coincides with the rise of websites that provide easy access to inspiring and diverse architectural photography. It may also have something to do with a desire for a modern look and feel, in contrast to most early home styles in Zimbabwe, which were imported from colonial countries. This plan is no exception when we talk of openplan designs. The layout’s spacious rooms open out to outdoor spaces, which are also immense. With large windows and enough glass, this layout is perfect for a retirement home in which one can experience that luxury, having a large family room and a private lounge. The design boasts four bedrooms, one being…

There was a day in history when front-end loaders descended on homes, reducing them to heaps of rubble and sand. Demolitions in Zimbabwe have been a nightmare for some time. Many realised they had just thrown their fortune into a black hole of indefinable loss. I remember there was a week you couldn’t get up in the morning without running across some new headline about the capital city’s land crisis, often involving the talk of demolition of illegal structures. The by-law alluded to an illegal structure as a resemblance of someone’s blood and sweat, savings of a lifetime and pain, transmuted into a housing structure whose demise would soon shore at the descent of a council bulldozer. What we have seen and heard so far are powerful lessons from the…

In the same way that the eyes illuminate a man’s face, the glass and metal finishes of a building illuminate its interior and exterior. Windows and glazing, therefore, become paramount pieces on the design chessboard, defining the beauty or ugliness of your property. Windows and glazing are the most critical elements that define any building structure’s overall look. Their primary function is to provide ventilation by allowing air to pass into and out of the house or building. Secondly, which might be less critical, they allow one to enjoy the surrounding scenery without going outdoors. Lastly, they allow steam to escape the room in the case of bathrooms. As you might imagine, the design and installation of such elements is not something you would want done by an amateur. You…

When choosing a building contractor, it is essential to consider your choice very carefully. This means you must be thorough in your search for the right building partner. We advise you to check them out and verify the projects they put their names to before signing a contract. In most cases, before employing a building contractor, you should get sound advice from the people who work day-in-day-out with contractors, which includes architects and project managers. If you hire a reliable building contractor with excellent workmanship and an affordable price, the potential for problems will be significantly reduced. Our architectural firm, Ideal Inc., has had the privilege to work with Kingdom 5 contractors on several projects, and we won’t hesitate to recommend their services. They have a reputation they want to…

Out of all the information that was shared in that post, the most salient point was that you, as the buyer, should never accept to be given a contact person or office holder by the seller or developer because those individuals might be corrupt and could have been paid to advise you to go ahead with a bad deal. So you should make your followups with the relevant authorities, for example, the council, Registrar of Deeds, Surveyor General or Urban State Land office. When visiting these offices, refuse to be given contact people. 1. Title Deed: this is private land ownership proof. Ask the seller for this document. 2. Valid offer letter or allocation letter: If the land is the government’s or council’s, ask for these papers, including the agreement…

In the heart of Harare, Zimbabwe, lies the Evolve Interior Designs studio and their Creative Director and Audrey Tofara Nyoni, one of the country’s leading interior designers. With a passion for creating beautiful and functional spaces, Audrey has transformed countless homes and businesses into works of art. Audrey’s work has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, and she has been awarded several prestigious awards for her interior design work. She is excited to be featured in this edition of the Houseplan magazine, her personal favourite. Her passion for interior design is evident in her work. Audrey’s journey into interior design began at a young age. As a child, she was fascinated by how different room elements could create a unique and inviting atmosphere. She often spent hours rearranging her…