Here is a list of some of the top favorites:

Buka – Nigerian food, with its mashes, soups, peanut-dusted brochettes, and bean porridges, in an upscale setting at Buka, located on the border between Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy. Watch the chalkboard outside for specials.

La Galette – While most Senegalese restaurants are devoutly Muslim and offer no alcohol, the obscurely located La Galette serves wine, with a menu that elevates national standards and offers a West African take on French food, too, the way it’s made in the streets of Dakar. This is a great place to eat nems, the North Vietnamese spring rolls that caused a sensation when they were introduced to the Senegalese capital 60 years ago.

Accra – The city’s most ambitious Ghanaian restaurant (named after the capital) offers over 100 delicious dishes, which you can admire on the mile-long steam table. This arrangement also allows you to pick and choose those you like best. Go conservative with a roast fish or chicken and polished rice with relish, or go wild with slimy leaf-based sauces, okra- and black-eyed-pea-based dishes, or boiled eggs and greens flavored with dried stockfish.

Fatima – Don’t be deterred by the very modest nature of this Crown Heights establishment, which slings the very best Guinean food in town. A steam table has been installed, which allows you to dash in, select what you want, have it weighed, and enjoy. They have cassava-leaf or potato-leaf sauces, richly dotted with lamb or beef, and request the fiery scotch-bonnet sauce called Pima.

Maima’s – This cheerful spot a few blocks south of downtown Jamaica — featured in this year’s Choice Eats — is the city’s only Liberian restaurant, run by immigrants from a country founded by slaves freed after the American Civil War. Specialties you should try include “dry rice” (not dry in the least, cooked with okra and bitter ball — a type of eggplant), pepper shrimp (made incendiary with the spice called grains of paradise), plantain fufu and mixed-meat soup.

© EthLeen

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What do I do with my landscape?

When making changes to your front yard or backyard, be sure to consider what makes sense for your home and the weather. For those in dry desert climates, avoid water-thirsty grass and opt for succulents, which require very little water yet still add beauty to your yard. On top of thinking about climate, consider maintenance as well. If you have the time and energy to work outdoors every weekend, a flower or vegetable garden would be a worthy investment. If all that effort isn’t in your future, consider a nice rock or stone water feature instead. Finally, think about what works for your family. Some plants and flowers are poisonous for pets, and kids should have plenty of grass to run around and play with friends. Your yard should act as another outdoor room, so plan it that way.

What do I do with my patio or porch?

During the summer, your outdoor space is key for entertaining; after all, when the weather is nice, most people don’t want to be stuck indoors. With a few key components, your patio or porch can easily be turned into an entertainment haven. Of course, your space wouldn’t be complete without a grill. You can upgrade your current one by installing a built-in grill, complete with prep station, countertop and mini fridge. To become the neighborhood party house, you should also invest in a fire pit and hot tub, which are both great for those cooler nights. If expensive renovations are out of your reach, add new furniture and accessories for a cheaper yet effective end result. A traditional concrete patio can get a major makeover with new patio furniture and lighting, and your front porch can get an boost with adirondack chairs or classic rocking chairs.

Should I invest in a pool?

Once again, weather is key. If you live in a state that is warm only four months out of the year, an outdoor pool might not be worth the splurge (though an indoor one might be). Consider how often you and your family go to the neighborhood pool — your current frequency of use is a good way to determine how often you would use your own. Also think about what you treasure most: yard space or swim space. A pool takes up a lot of your backyard, so you should carefully consider your needs before taking the plunge. Finally, keep maintenance in mind. Having your own swimming spot means a lot of cleaning, chemical maintenance and draining as the seasons come and go, so be sure you are prepared and willing to commit.

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How do I decorate a playroom?

A playroom should be very lively and inspirational, so get creative with your color and furnishings. A wall mural or wall decal is a great way to incorporate playful design, while a chalkboard wall lets kids produce their own masterpiece. Try using fun furnishings, like beanbag chairs or floor cushions, and if you want to splurge, add in unique elements like a climbing wall, slide or swing. Because it is a multifunctional room, use space smartly. Install built-in cabinets and shelves for much-needed toy storage, and include a desk or work table for homework and coloring. A craft station is a great way to get those creative juices flowing, or consider a small snack area with microwave and mini fridge. Divide the space into zones so that quieter kids can draw or read while louder, more active kids can watch tv or play a musical instrument.

How do I decorate a kids bedroom?

When designing a child’s room, think about color, color and more color. Incorporate a favorite hue on the walls or bring in bright accents, but stick with neutral furniture that doesn’t need to be swapped out as interests change. While the furniture should be appropriate for your child’s age, it also should be something that can grow with him or her. Get full-sized dressers and cabinets that can last through the school years, and consider a bunk bed, which is great to share with siblings. As they get older and no longer want to share a room, you can add a desk underneath the top bunk. With so many toys and clothes, storage is key. Add built-ins if you can, but cubbies and shelves are also great for those on a budget.

How do I decorate a nursery?

In the younger years, safety is crucial. Review the literature on all surfaces and products, and get up to date on product recalls before you make major purchases. Once you’ve done your homework, it’s time to start buying. Of course, a crib and changing table are key purchases, while a rocking chair, baby swing and extra dresser are helpful additions. Be careful with adding too much furniture though; you want to be sure to leave some floor space for your young one to learn to crawl and walk. When it comes to color, don’t feel the need to go with just standard pink and blue. Yellow, brown and green are all great gender neutral palette choices and will make your nursery stand out from others.

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Your kitchen is where you nurture your loved ones’ souls as well as their bodies. So you want it to be as efficient, comfortable, and just plain beautiful as possible! But where do you start? The ideas and suggestions in this article will help you make that perfect new kitchen happen.

Assessing Your Kitchen Needs

Before any kitchen project can begin, you have to access what you want, what you can actually have, and what would work best for you. On this page, we will help you determine exactly what kind of kitchen can fit inside your home and how feasible some of your wildest dreams might be. We will also tell you the “triangle” theory of kitchens and show you how to stay true to your initial vision for your dream kitchen.

New Versus Remodeled Kitchen

Maybe your old kitchen is falling apart and is not inspiring you any longer. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to tear the whole room apart and start from scratch. On this page, we will show you the pros and cons of remodeling your kitchen as opposed to completely building a new one. You might be surprised how a few decorative changes can go a long way to revitalizing your kitchen.

Designing a Kitchen on a Budget

It’s easy for home projects to spiral out of control. Whenever you are rebuilding or renovating a room there are always hundreds of small expenses you never considered when your were in the planning stage. While these costs are unavoidable, there are ways to keep the price down. In this section, we will show how to design your kitchen on a strict budget. There’s no reason why the price of your dream kitchen has to be a nightmare.

Hiring a Professional to Design a Kitchen

While designing your kitchen will save you money the headache it cause might not be worth the extra dollars. A professional who designs kitchens for a living can really simplify the process. In this section, we will show you when it is time to admit defeat and bring in a pro. We will also show you how to maintain control of your kitchen once a designer is brought in and how to check your designer’s credentials.

Basic Tips for Kitchen Remodeling

Once you have assessed your kitchen needs and decided how you want to go about executing them, it’s time to put pen to paper and start designing your new kitchen. On this page, we will give you some general concerns you should keep in mind when you are planning your new kitchen. For instance, you don’t want to end up with a kitchen that has the sink positioned too far away from the fridge.

Kitchen Size Considerations

Despite the picture of the dream kitchen you have in your head, the actual space you have in your house might not be compatible with your ideal. As with any home project, you have to balance practicality with your grandest wishes. In this section, we will show you how to plan around the size of your kitchen space and use every inch to its maximum potential.

Kitchen Shape Considerations

Next to size, the shape of your kitchen space can your biggest design headache. In this section, we will show you how to plan around an oddly shaped kitchen. There are three main types of kitchen shapes the U shape, the L shape, and the G shape. We will also show you how to manage a small, or galley, kitchen.

Eat-In Kitchens

Many people prefer the informal, casual style of an eat-in kitchen. There are three styles of kitchen dinning. First there is counter dining, which would naturally require a counter top. Next there is a breakfast nook, which requires a small space or alcove. Finally, there is the traditional eat-in kitchen. On this page, we will show you which option is right for you and your home.

Kitchen Islands

A kitchen island can be a cheap and attractive way to expand your counter space. An island can also help you add a second sink, dishwasher, or oven to your kitchen. On this page, we will show you all the benefits of a kitchen island and whether or not it would be right for you. We will also discuss the growing trend of having a desk in your kitchen.

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Whether your home office is designated space for running a business, the occasional telecommute, or simply a nook for paying bills and organizing your schedule, you deserve more than a metal desk and extra chair stuffed into a spare corner. Why? An office that reflects the design and comfort of the rest of your home is a place you’ll want to burn the midnight oil. Here are 10 tips for creating a charming, practical work space.

1. Location, location, location. You’ll likely spend many hours in your home office, so don’t stiff yourself on space (e.g. squishing a tiny desk into a windowless closet to preserve the rarely-used guest room). Also consider traffic flow and your ability to withstand distractions. Do you work best in the thick of activity, or should your office be tucked away in a quiet space? If clients will be stopping by, a private space with ample seating is a must.

2. Don’t sacrifice form for function. Your desk, shelves, and storage should serve you, not the other way around. Consider your workflow and what items you need at your fingertips before investing in furniture, and then look for pieces that are both beautiful and functional. Home office furniture should complement other rooms in your house instead of screaming “soulless cubicle.” If your home has traditional décor, warm wood and soft, comfy chairs or a loveseat are ideal if you have the space. A contemporary home office can feature artistic pieces or modern metal furniture.

3. Invest in a great chair. You spend hours parked in your office chair; a beautiful, ergonomically-correct, comfortable seat is worth every dime.

4. Paint the walls a color you love. Forget “office beige”: you need a color that gets your work motor humming. For some people, that’s a bright, cheery color like orange or lime green. Others need a calming shade like botanical green or sea foam blue to perform. Find out more about how certain colors can affect your mood.

5. Give yourself a view. Position the desk where you can stare at something more interesting than a blank wall (even if you do love the color) when you glance up from the computer. A window’s natural light is ideal, but if you’re in a windowless space, hang a pretty picture above the desk, or position your chair to face the door.

6. Choose homey accessories. Unless you’re going for a contemporary look, choose extras that enhance the comfy feeling of your home office, like a pretty mug for a pencil holder, trendy notepads and sticky notes, and a decorative waste basket. Wrap your bulletin board in a gorgeous fabric, and hide utilitarian bookshelves behind curtains made from the same material. Hang inspirational prints on the walls, whether that’s simply your kids’ framed artwork or a classic painting.

7. Organize vertically and horizontally. Many home offices aren’t swimming in square footage, so using space efficiently is imperative. Hang floating shelves on the walls to get papers and office equipment off the desk, and use vertical file folders on the desk to keep important papers within arm’s reach. Are you a stacker or a filer? If you tend to make piles, get a nice basket to tame your mail, notes, and papers. If you prefer a clean desktop, designate one drawer for your “to-do” papers. Wooden or metal cube storage is a fun alternative to bookshelves, since each space can be used for books, knickknacks, or baskets of odds and ends.

8. Master your technology. There’s not much you can do to beautify the computer, printer, and phone, but you can hide unsightly cords. Start by making sure your equipment is close to outlets and easy to access if you need to unplug. Encase cords on the desk in a pretty fabric cord cover like this one from Taylor Gifts, and feed the cords into a desk grommet, a plastic or metal cap that helps guide cords through a hole in the desk and hides them underneath. Tame the cord jungle on the floor with cord winders, tubing, or a wire organizer that’s attached to the desk and lifts the cords off the floor.

9. Let there be light. Here’s a bright idea: make sure your office has plenty of light to cut down on eye strain and headaches. Position the computer monitor so there’s no glare from a window or overhead light, and put a small lamp on the desk for task lighting.

10. Inspire yourself. Set up a mini-shrine — a few cherished knickknacks, a piece of framed art, a special photo on your desk — that motivates you to create and/or get the work done so you can get out of there. A print of Paris can channel your inner muse, or a photo of your children might remind you that you’re doing it all for them.

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Drawing room is a place for relaxation where you either recreate with family & friends or entertain guests and you surely want this room to decorate it uniquely from other room of house to enhance its look. Generally drawing room has most unique decorating items to add apprehension and beautification. It is not essential to design this important place with all expensive things that we see in the market but what is important is how to design this place with less expensive things in extraordinary manner.

Every fraction of item that we decorate is important in drawing room have significance in reflecting your personality. Everything that is inculcated into this room exudes personality of the person in terms of uniqueness, mood, inspiration and influence. It is also important to keep this room upgraded with essential ventilation and secure lighting to keep up the charm.

All aspects must be considered while interior designing drawing room and compliment each & everything with room’s interior. There are few things that need to be considered while interior designing drawing room, explore here to know:

• Drawing room flooring should be designed in such way that it serves multi-purpose apart from good looks. As this room is most functional, several types of flooring can be used here including marble, hardwood, tile or concrete etc. Good flooring is essential to create functionality and enhance the overall décor. Wood flooring gives warm feeling and is easy to maintain while for elegant décor marble or tile flooring is ideal.
• Colour scheme in this room should be blend of serene & bright colours to influence guests and people coming over here. As we know colour affect our mood & mind which makes it important to incorporate a good colour palette so that it is effective for bringing brightness. Light and subtle tones of brown, blue, white, green, yellow and cream are ideal for drawing room.
• Furnishing must be selected according to the design and colour scheme of room. Common material for curtains is silk, satin, cotton, tissue and synthetic fibre while these curtains fabrics can chosen in varied colours and quality as per the choice. Windows can be better decorated with designer blinds or mats to showcase the beauty and making it a focus point.
• Accessories inculcated in drawing room must be attractive and eye catching and must beauty the room. avoid bulky decorative items while you can go for light weight objects and wall hangings to keep up the appearance and charm of room.
• Lighting is the most essential part of every room and drawing room is important room for which installing aesthetic lighting is important. Decorating lights can be placed all over the room while task light in the false ceiling looks wonderful. Lamps and decorative candles also increase the charm of interior décor of drawing room.

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Earlier living rooms were just to spend time with guest coming at your place. However with the changing time this room has become leisure place for multifunctional activities to sit, relax, gossip and so many things. It is a room where we spend most of our time now doing number escapades. Hence this room should be set with an exotic mood so as to lure whosoever comes to the place. The design and interior of living room represents the part of a person we are.

Here are the ways which can help you to create a budgeted living room with little expense or effort.

Style for your room

You can choose various styles for your living such as contemporary, modern, casual, rustic and eclectic. It is up to you whatever you choose, but be careful for consistency to be maintained. If you are going for casual style in one room and eclectic in other, it won’t be harmonious. The style of your rooms must be same.

Dig out colour from your imagination

Colour your living room with soft and natural shades. You can go for neo-classical style which tends to be more earthy beige and brown earthy tones. Contemporary styles are more prone to the primary red, blue, green, yellow colours mixed in with black and white. If you want this room to be high in energy and active you may go for bright colours such as red or orange or yellow. If you wish to make a relaxing and quiet room, then go with soft colours like blue or green, purple etc.

Accessories for style

Living rooms can be decorated with lots of accessories which would make your room look more brisk and charming. This room can accommodate a piano, designer table to place junk stuff; you can also place some plants with etched pots. Living room may use number of furnishings and accessories and coordinate with rugs, wall art, murals, moldings, lightings and window treatments. Try out aesthetic wall clocks to give a royal look. You can also put wall mirrors, stylish lamp shades, candles and candle stand in your living room to make more delightful.

Surface flooring

Flooring your living room with old designs is outdated, now day’s people are opting for wooden flooring, vinyl and tile flooring to give an ascetic look. Laminated flooring can be laid relatively easy and gives a whole fresh look which can be topped off.

Furniture for living room

Furniture for living rooms depends upon the choice of style you want to inculcate. You can choose from contemporary to rustic, antique to modern, traditional to Victorian. But be careful while purchasing furniture, it must be comfortable and durable to fit your room. Furniture is the most important aspect of any living room and so as the interiors of a living room can’t be complete without furniture.

Wood is the most common commodity used in making furniture. The relevance of wood furniture combines the classic style and craftsmanship with modern furniture. Today furniture is setting a trend which appears in various forms and designs. The furniture styles which are getting more popular in home living rooms are as follows:

• Wooden living room furniture is as graceful and with no comparison. Whether you choose modern style to contemporary, simple to traditional the beautiful collection of wooden furniture adds to the beauty of your living room décor.
• Aluminum living room furniture exudes a charming and alluring effect to your living room décor. Aluminum furniture is a perfect example of craftsmanship. It is getting very popular due to its durability, light weight and resistance to corrosion.
• Brass living room furniture is unique in style which is tarnished and lacquered to give its golden colour. Brass furniture looks amazing and become a striking feature of your living room. It grants your room a sophisticated and aesthetic look.
• Leather living room furniture is another common style which most Indian homes prefer. It is available in different styles, designs, colours and patterns. It boasts unmatched degree of high durability and comfort.
• Wrought iron living room furniture is graceful and widely used by Indian homes. From sofas to table, dressing table to lamp shades wrought iron furniture provides your living room a charm and appeal.

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