Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness
An efficient hospital layout should:

Promote staff efficiency by minimizing distance of necessary travel between frequently used spaces
Allow easy visual supervision of patients by limited staff
Include all needed spaces, but no redundant ones. This requires careful pre-design programming.
Provide an efficient logistics system, which might include elevators, pneumatic tubes, box conveyors, manual or automated carts, and gravity or pneumatic chutes, for the efficient handling of food and clean supplies and the removal of waste, recyclables, and soiled material
Make efficient use of space by locating support spaces so that they may be shared by adjacent functional areas, and by making prudent use of multi-purpose spaces
Consolidate outpatient functions for more efficient operation—on first floor, if possible—for direct access by outpatients
Group or combine functional areas with similar system requirements
Provide optimal functional adjacencies, such as locating the surgical intensive care unit adjacent to the operating suite. These adjacencies should be based on a detailed functional program which describes the hospital’s intended operations from the standpoint of patients, staff, and supplies.
Flexibility and Expandability
Since medical needs and modes of treatment will continue to change, hospitals should:

Follow modular concepts of space planning and layout
Use generic room sizes and plans as much as possible, rather than highly specific ones
Be served by modular, easily accessed, and easily modified mechanical and electrical systems
Be open-ended, with well planned directions for future expansion; for instance positioning “soft spaces” such as administrative departments, adjacent to “hard spaces” such as clinical laboratories.

Cleanliness and Sanitation
Hospitals must be easy to clean and maintain. This is facilitated by:

Appropriate, durable finishes for each functional space
Careful detailing of such features as doorframes, casework, and finish transitions to avoid dirt-catching and hard-to-clean crevices and joints
Adequate and appropriately located housekeeping spaces
Special materials, finishes, and details for spaces which are to be kept sterile, such as integral cove base. The new antimicrobial surfaces might be considered for appropriate locations
Controlled Circulation
A hospital is a complex system of interrelated functions requiring constant movement of people and goods. Much of this circulation should be controlled.

Outpatients visiting diagnostic and treatment areas should not travel through inpatient functional areas nor encounter severely ill inpatients
Typical outpatient routes should be simple and clearly defined
Visitors should have a simple and direct route to each patient nursing unit without penetrating other functional areas
Separate patients and visitors from industrial/logistical areas or floors
Outflow of trash, recyclables, and soiled materials should be separated from movement of food and clean supplies, and both should be separated from routes of patients and visitors
Transfer of cadavers to and from the morgue should be out of the sight of patients and visitors
Dedicated service elevators for deliveries, food and building maintenance services
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is closely related to creating a therapeutic environment (homelike, attractive.) It is important in enhancing the hospital’s public image and is thus an important marketing tool. A better environment also contributes to better staff morale and patient care. Aesthetic considerations include:

Increased use of natural light, natural materials, and textures
Use of artwork
Attention to proportions, color, scale, and detail
Bright, open, generously-scaled public spaces
Homelike and intimate scale in patient rooms, day rooms, consultation rooms, and offices
Compatibility of exterior design with its physical surroundings
Security and Safety
In addition to the general safety concerns of all buildings, hospitals have several particular security concerns:

www.designaddict.us

Mental wellbeing: Scientists have studied the effect of colours on mental well being for many years. Some colours stimulates while some have tranquilizing result. Different wall colours would have different effect on your well being. Red colour stimulates and excites your thoughts. Selective use of red will give you the energy and stimulation. Blues gives a restful, relaxing environment .Children with tantrums and aggressive behaviour could benefit from blue colour. Interior water fountain in a favourable place in your home will provoke positive thinking. Light, music, house plants, water, air, plants, mirrors, coil bells, flowers will bring joy and happiness.

Weight: Dining tables decor with Green themes could inhibit over eating while orange stimulates the appetite and would be good for choosy eaters.

Breathing: Carpets give us comfort and warmth feeling. But dust mites like to live in your carpet and the proteins from their faecal droppings may disturb your skin and lungs. If you suffer from asthma or eczema it is better to use hard flooring. Similarly while purchasing your sofas or chairs selects a fabric (like leather) in which dust mites cannot colonise. Regular de cluttering and vacuuming the house will prevent many breathing problems. Closed book selves and cabinets will inhibit dust collection. Cigarette smoking inside the house could predispose asthma and bronchiolitis in children.

Heart and circulation: Red could worsen your blood pressure, heart rate poor coordination. Pink has calming effect and relax your muscles and lower the pulse rate. Blue would lower the blood pressure heart rate and breathing rate. Heart is a symbol love and relationship. Decors like pairs of candles, pink quartz crystals, and stuff made of materials such as porcelain ware, porcelain, china clay, stone or terra-cotta are assumed to be useful for the heart and increase the feeling of love and togetherness.

Eyes: Eyes are regularly considered as a part of brain and something that disturbs the eyes would have instant effect on your mentality. Adequate lighting is important to prevent strain for your eyes. Too much bright illumination raises your stress cause headache and irritability. At the same time low illumination will cause chronic headache and problems like short sightedness.

Musculo- skeletal: Accidents at home rank leading cause of injury and death in the United States. Most of them are easily stoppable .Avoid slippery grounds. Eliminate small throw rugs or use dual-sided string to keep the rugs from slipping. Use a rubber mat along the full length in your tub, and a non-slip bath mat beside the tub. As you get elder, you need brighter light to see well. A night light in the bath can also make night trips to the bath safer. Avoid excess stress on your joints. Assistive devices can make tasks at home and work easier. Use a long-handled grasper to reach stuffs that are on high shelves or on the ground. Make sure hinges, doorknobs and cabinet doors are functioning well and repaired.

Home environment has a good influence on how you live your life. Intelligent use of interior decoration, you can exert subtle influence over your health and well being.

www.designaddict.us

Floors are usually the part of the house that initially attracts the guests’ attention. When the guest steps his foot on your floor, he will most probably notice and check what kind of flooring you have. It’s as important as your wallpaper, ceiling and home decorations. Choosing the right flooring for your home may seem like an overwhelming decision to make. It requires careful planning as you would like to show your personality and style with a touch of practicality.

With numbers of flooring available, it seems so hard to choose. You seem to like them all and all look perfect for your home. Now, the question of which to choose arises. The answer to this question depends on many things. You should consider the size of the family and the traffic the floor will receive. Will the floor be safe if you have any children? How much maintenance does the floor require and how long do you expect to have the same floor?

Nowadays, different designs and types of flooring have come out; as the need arise and with the desire to meet the standard of the owner. Home owners may think of using the same type of flooring in all areas of the house but some have their preferences for each room. Flooring comes in various types. It can be hard, wood, fiber or sheet. It is best to study these flooring types first before deciding on which to get.

Hard floors are durable and do not require much maintenance, elegant and are resistant to heat. Common types of hard floor are ceramic and natural stones.

Ceramic tiles were originally used only in kitchens and bathrooms. With the new designs of ceramic styles, it is now possible to use these even in your living room. Ceramic comes in three basic types: glazed, unglazed and porcelain. Glazed ceramic tiles are designed with glass coated with mineral stains. Glazed ceramic tiles come in semi-gloss or high-gloss finishing. Unglazed ceramic tiles have different texture and are very hard. Porcelain is the hardest as it has a higher breaking strength. Ceramic tiles are easy to maintain. They are durable and dents, dings and scratches are minimized. One thing you have to remember is never to use ceramic tiles over a floor with structural movements. Though ceramic tiles are durable, they are prone to cracking. It is also not good for homes with children as it can be slippery when it gets wet.

Natural stones such as granite, marble, limestone, travertine and others are commonly used as living room flooring. It has its natural beauty, elegance and durability. It adds motif and style to your living room. It can create a dramatic appearance to your flooring with its being natural. Because of these things, natural stones are not as affordable as other floorings. It also requires sub flooring which requires additional expenses.

Wood floors are long lasting. It requires easy cleaning as it doesn’t retain dust particles. It is commonly found in older houses. It works naturally well with many interior designs. However, it requires frequent vacuuming and sweeping. Although, it doesn’t retain dust particles, wood floors are prone to scratches and dents. Two common types of wood flooring are the natural and synthetic wood.

Natural woods come in different styles and patterns. Parquet square is the most common type. It comes in square boards that form its pattern. The big advantage of using parquet square is that it is replaceable. Another type of natural wood is the plank which gives a classic look to the flooring. Although planks do not require sub flooring, these are more expensive that other wood floors. Strip floor is another type of natural wood floor. These are long narrow boards that are prone to buckling. Thus, sub flooring is highly recommended.

Laminated floorings are the most common type of synthetic woods. This type of flooring works well in areas exposed to moisture. These are laminated so they do not require finishing. The good thing about laminated floorings is that it is fire resistant, do not fade nor stain.

Fiber floors provide more comfort than other types of flooring. It absorbs noise making it perfect to be installed on the second floor of the house. It is available in different colors making the house more stylish. It doesn’t scratch however it is not as durable as hard flooring. To extend its life span, carpet padding is necessary. It requires maintenance as it gathers dust particles and when wet with water or any liquid, a stain is formed. There are two types of fiber flooring: natural and synthetic.

The types of natural fiber flooring are coir, sea grass, sisal, and jute. These fiber materials give a comfortable feeling and are best for homes with children. However, durability is not guaranteed.

Sheet floors are considered to be the most affordable. The two most common types of sheet floors are the linoleum and vinyl. These floorings also come in various color and designs. Because these are the most affordable, these flooring are also the least durable. It requires constant care and constant maintenance as these flooring easily absorbs dirt and dust. These types of floorings aren’t hard to replace. With extra care and maintenance, these could last longer than usual.

www.designaddict.us

 
1. Throw pillows add warmth and comfort to the living room. These are important accents for living room decor. Throw pillows can add splashes of bold colors to an otherwise pale color scheme.

2. You can use area rugs to cover up unattractive areas of carpet and floors and define seating areas of the living room. For a large living room, rugs are a great asset for defining more than one seating areas of the room.

3. Painting your living room walls with a paste shades or neutral color as white or beige gives you more choices while buying furniture and furnishings for the room for creating the character of the room.

4. Layered lighting plan is best for living rooms. By this you can spotlight the reading area or the entertainment area. You can use uniform lighting for a casual family gathering and disco lights or accent lighting for party time.

5. Entertainment unit is fast gaining attention in the modern living room decor and design ideas.

6. Specialty areas can be created using painted decorative screens in a large living room.

7. Generally, it is better to have deeper shades for media spaces while multi-purpose and versatile areas are generally painted in pale and muted colors.

8. Modern living room decor also features such items as such as bookcases with wide shelves for DVDs and other collectibles.

9. Furnishings, curtains, blinds, cushions can add color, style and pattern to the decor of the living room.

www.designaddict.us

These televisions’ ability to hang from walls  have finally put an end to bulky entertainment centers and stands that take up floor space and overwhelm smaller spaces.

However, the ability to simply hang from the wall has put these televisions into a new category of interior design, and as such, all new rules apply.

Wall hangings such as pictures, shelves, and other accessories used to accent a living space are a precarious issue for many.

It is often difficult to find that right balance in order to create a space that is functional and tasteful.

Many find that televisions affixed to walls look out of place and clutter up walls making a room undesirable since the entire design scheme is thrown off balance.

www.designaddict.us