Interior Design : Latest trends!

What are the up-and-coming trends in the world of interior design?

Interior design is alive. It constantly evolves over time, reflecting living standards, affluence levels and lifestyles. If you are looking to give your home a fresh new look, do read on for five of the hottest interior design trends shaping the way we currently live. 

Trend #1: Stepping off the beaten track Less conventional Chennai homes play with colour and reflect the personalities of the occupants. People are consciously moving away from more conventional designs. A more adventurous consumer is emerging—someone not afraid of introducing new ideas into their homes. In Asia, this means using new colours and materials in homes, instead of sticking to safe and common colours like neutrals, whites and dark browns. Leaving personal marks around the house is a quick way to make it look less like a showflat and more like a home.

Trend #2: Going green

Besides cost and aesthetics, another factor you might like to consider is environmental impact. An increasing number of consumers, well aware that their interior design decisions could affect the environment for better or worse, are showing a growing preference for sustainable options when choosing materials and finishes. These clients seek out better suppliers and contractors who can provide them with excellent sustainable alternatives. If you are renovating your floors, avoid natural stone tiles such as Carrera marble or silver travertine. Instead, opt for manufactured tiles with similar attributes.

Trend #3: Sourcing for storage solutions

With the world population on the incline, shrinking living spaces and congested homes have become a common sight. Living in small homes means a need to carve out personal living spaces from the clutter; this can be done through the use of better storage solutions in the home. For those with a few extra amount to spare, companies can provide you with interesting, well-designed storage solutions. Another tip is to look out for multipurpose furniture and installations, such as coffee tables that can store newspapers and magazines, or bed frames with pull-out drawers.

Trend #4: Living under one roof

The ever-rising cost of home ownership has spurred an emerging trend of multi-generational living. With larger households, the different lifestyles of the young, the old, and everyone else in between are now housed within the same residence. Interior designers have to take into account these multiple—sometimes clashing—lifestyles when coming up with designs. Multi-functional space planning is also growing in importance.

Trend #5: Integrating technology into design

Living in the 21st century, it is not surprising to see more homes introducing sophisticated designer technology, especially in the areas of audio-visual entertainment and security enhancement. Both you and your designer should keep abreast of such emerging household technologies when deciding to incorporate them into your renovation plans. This ensures an enhanced total living experience.

These top five design trends will certainly enhance the overall sensory experience in your home. Do take them into consideration the next time you decide to renovate.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/blogs/property-blog/top-5-interior-design-trends-035631380.html

Malles to launch soon in Perumbakkam!

Malles Constructions, with a heritage of 32 years is all set to launch 478 splendid homes in Perumbakkam. The location is just 700 meters from the Medavakkam - OMR link road.

Medavakkam, which was once a remote suburb, is now the center of bustling real estate activity, chiefly exploiting its proximity to OMR – it is about 5 km from Sholinganallur.

The area features as one of the top 13 investment destinations for residential real estate in India and is expected to see a 103 per cent increase in price in the next five years. It is connected to the city through arterial roads, has ample sweet water, access to educational institutions and IT companies, and is connected to Sholinganallur and the Rajiv Gandhi IT expressway. This makes it an ideal location for the large number of IT professionals who want to buy an affordable home close to work on the IT corridor.

With a market value of about Rs. 1 crore for a 2,400 sq. ft area, Medavakkam is fast becoming a preferred destination for the middle-class, whether belonging to the salaried class or running small businesses. The area has witnessed massive changes in the last few years, says a resident who has now lived there for five years.

Not surprisingly, IT employees form the majority of residents in this booming locality, especially in areas like Jayachandran Nagar, BHEL Nagar and Perumbakkam. “Due to its easy access to IT firms, employees find it easier to live here,” says Harish of Malles Constructions. With so much happening around it, Medavakkam is slowly developing the infrastructure to provide suitable living conditions for a family, with improved access to good schools, hospitals, supermarkets and commercial establishments. A number of restaurants and shopping complexes are also springing up on the main roads. With an advantageous location that connects the south-east and south-west locations, the area is witnessing growth similar to what Velachery experienced a few years ago.

Add to all this calm, green patches and the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest, which is home to birds such as Indian Eagle Owl, Grey Partridge and Pied Kingfisher, and Medavakkam seems to offer quite a few benefits to residents. 

 

 

A home with a view!

How important is a home with an open space? 

In the current scenario where migrations of suburbs to urban spaces happens rapidly, cities like Chennai is on demand for more open spaces. The reason cited for this includes availability of fresh air, free flowing sunlight and staying close to nature. But for homes in metros like Chennai, the style of windows can make a huge difference.
Nowadays the builders in Chennai give ample preference to open spaces. For example, Urban Tree has created a 42% open area in their new homes in Porur, named 'Infinity'. These Chennai homes are blessed with 3-sided ventilation which provides ample availability of air. 

 You will be pleased to know that there are various types of windows, which can make the significant difference to the look of your house and how you feel about your house. Let us see the different types of home windows.

Jalousie windows – Also called louvers, jalousie windows were extremely popular in the mid century. These windows are basically types of glass shutter. They are made out of glass slats, which are set with the help of metal clips and can be opened or closed in unison. These windows are extremely affordable and thus, an ideal solution for closed rooms such as lounge, bedrooms and sun room.

Double hung windows – These are classic windows known to offer excellent ventilation. They are made out of outside upper sash, which slides down and inside lower sash, which slides up. The best feature of this window is that the top can be opened while the bottom remains closed. You can practically install them anywhere in the house.

Bay windows – Bay windows impart a peaceful three-dimensional feel to a house has they feature more than three sections of windows, which are joined in a curve form. The large middle section of the window is usually fixed, whereas the side windows open up in the casement style.

Awning windows – Awning windows are great solutions for bedrooms and other areas where privacy is desired. These windows comprise of a glass sheet which is hinged at the top and swings outside. The most significant feature of these windows is that they can be opened slightly as required for ventilation. As a result, they are usually installed in the form of a column above the large patio doors for airy interiors.

Picture windows – Picture windows are large fixed windows offering unobstructed and amazing view of the outside and a sense of richness and luxury to the house. These are usually ideal for locations where ventilation isn’t a major concern. Installing them high on walls of hallways and dark rooms shall bring the perfect required lighting in the room.

Source: http://www.homedit.com/different-types-of-home-windows/

Real Estate Chennai Likely To See Good Times In 2013

In distinction to what has been witnessed in several of the additional volatile cities over the previous years, Real Estate Chennai residential property market saw steady growth in terms of supply, costing and demand. Chennai's residential property market is preponderantly user driven, and this truth did plenty to sustain consistent absorption throughout 2012.

The absence of clear speculation has conjointly ensured that developer has move costing of homes in a stable and gradual manner. Unnatural spiking has thus been with success unbroken trapped. The expect interest rates to decrease over the course of 2013, and this may end in larger demand for residential property in Chennai in 2013.

Increased job security in Chennai has undoubtedly helped the market to keep up buoyancy and a positive outlook. Over the last twelve months, it became more and more evident that Real Estate Chennai market is considerably addicted to the ITES /IT sector. With working stability in this sector looking a lot higher currently than it did in 2010, demand for property in Chennai has currently reached a cushy and dependable growth direction from that developers are taking their market cues.

CONFIGURATIONS IN DEMAND

The preferred size for 3 BHK flats in Chennai has exaggerated from 1200-1300 sq. ft throughout the recession to 1400-1500 sq. ft in the revival section. The preference for 2BHK sizes has conjointly exaggerated from 850-950 sq. ft to regarding 1100-1200 sq. ft. Again, the most reason for this upgrade in preferences is raised budgets created attainable by improvement in the performance of the IT / ITES sector.

This is a welcome trend that is enabling architects, planners and developers to return up with higher quality housing units. Reasonable housing units still rule the roost in area where social infrastructure lags and capital values are thus lower.

As they expect overall demand for Residential Property in Chennai to extend once the interest rates stabilises from their current peak. There's a really healthy demand in both the first and secondary real estate Chennai markets, since offer is scarce in both owing to the severe lack of land in the city. The cost of the land has, in fact, surpassed the purchasing capability of developers and this has place pressure on their ability to return up with viable residential merchandise. Lack of supply and excessive rating are inflicting both the end users and capitalist segments to require a more in-depth check out suburbs with good infrastructure.

SUBURBAN DEMAND DRIVERS

1. Increased job security

2. Positive market sentiments

3. Attainable softening of interest rates

4. Unaffordable property rates in the central city Year 2011 saw residential property rating in Chennai moving up in a phased and rational manner, that helped in sustaining the momentum. As the costs rose by between 8 to 30% in numerous areas, however these rises happened in small compartments and in proportion to the particular sales specially locations and residential projects. The expect an identical trend to prevail in the year 2013.

Expected Cost Movement For 2013

1. City – 20%

2. NH – 5 to 8%

3. GST – 10 to 15%

4. OMR – 15 to 30 %

AREAS TO OBSERVE

1. Velachery

Velachery is seeing consistent growth, as a result of it's one amongst the few area that are seeing holistic and self-sufficient development. With malls and different social infrastructure rising, Velachery is unquestionably next in line for excellent appreciation in the real estate Chennai market. In fact, near-lying areas like Pallikarnai, Medavakkam, MMRD Road, Pallavaram-Thoriapakkam, the 200 FT. and Rajakilpakkam are already experiencing the positive fallout result of Velachery growth as a residential property destination. These areas are witnessing excellent absorption and capital appreciation. There's conjointly vital demand for residential property in Porur on the NH4 Corridor up to Urapakkam on the GST Road.

2. Madhya Kailas – Sholinagnallur

This stretch is witnessing a transparent supply-demand differ, With demand outstripping offer. With new employment being generated during this corridor and corresponding absorption of IT area, this space and its peripheries are witnessing extraordinarily healthy demand for real estate Chennai residential property. Its proximity to the city adds to the charm of this space, which can see excellent appreciation over the approaching years. Encouragingly (and in distinction to different parts of OMR) all completed projects here are absolutely occupied.

Source : http://blogs.siliconindia.com/vipinkumar/Business/Real-Estate-Chennai-likely-to-see-good-times-in-2012

Wake up and smell the coffee

That corner of your home which is blessed with abundant amount of fresh air and opens to the blessings of nature. Does that looks incomplete without a perfect coffee table? And when it comes to the shopping time, the range of coffee tables in most stores can seem as extensive and confusing as a Starbucks menu. Coffee and center tables come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, to fill a range of different needs. So how do you pick what’s best for you? A quick guide to help you fight the vagaries of choosing a coffee table!

 

Vikram Viswanath, helps with a quick guide to choosing the perfect center table for your home.  

Standard coffee table

The most common variety, your standard coffee table is usually about 24" wide and 36-42" long. The surface is usually 12-16" inches high, the perfect height to reach from a chair or sofa. The simple function allows for a great deal of variety on style and detailing, ranging from the simple and sleek to the intricately styled and detailed.

Low coffee tables

A slight variation on the standard variety, the low coffee table tends to be 8-10" high, and is particularly useful when using floor seating, or to give a more open look to the center of the room.

Compact coffee table

Sometimes, the space in a room doesn’t lend itself to a full size coffee table, and something more compact is appropriate. Compact coffee tables are most commonly 20-24" squares. If you’re really tight for space, you could even try using a stylish end table in the center of the room.

Large coffee tables

At the other end of the scale, you sometimes need your center table to really fill out the room. With lengths starting from 36" and going up to 40", most of these large coffee tables tend to be square (although you do find other shapes as well).

Outdoor tables

The best place to enjoy a relaxing cuppa can often be on the balcony or patio, or curled up on a comfortable cushion or beanbag. Remember to make sure that the tables are suitable for outdoor use (these could be teak wood, or metal with weather resistant coatings) or that they’re small and portable enough to carry around with you – these could be folding tables or simply very lightweight compact pieces.

Storage coffee tables

Many coffee tables include a little useful open storage. Most commonly, they have a low shelf beneath the main table surface, which is perfect for magazines and newspapers. Other tables include useful nooks and pockets right into the table surface, making them perfect to tuck away remote controls and other odds and ends.

Hidden storage tables

Other tables make storage their entire raison d’etre, blending style with a huge dose of practicality. Some make their purpose quite clear with visible drawers or cabinets, while others are more stealthy, with hidden openings or sliding doors that offer a useful storage area that can sit unnoticed in the centre of your living room – always handy when you need to quickly clean up before that unexpected guest walks in.

Coffee tables with seats

Center tables don’t always live in houses with ample seating, which is why it’s sometimes convenient to pick a table that offers its own seats. Tables that include their own low comfy nesting stools are a great way to bring the vibrant, communal nature of the Turkish coffee house into your own home, whether you’re having a family game night, or relaxing with friends.

Smart Tips

For a house with kids and/or pets, make sure that the tables are appropriate –sharp edges can be dangerous, so try to stick to rounded or chambered edges.

Always use coasters when using solid wood tables, especially with beverages that are particularly hot or cold. You want to look after that wood!

If you like to frequently update your decor, it’s always better to pick as simple a table as possible and dress it up with a few accessories. It’s a lot easier to change accessories than a furniture piece (not to mention, a whole lot easier on the pocket!)

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/design/wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee/article4392954.ece

Policy Watch : EASEMENT RIGHTS

You like a certain property and want to purchase it. But the only access to it is via a driveway crossing the next property. Will a driveway have an impact on your potential purchase? A cable television company is seeking to install its lines along the existing electrical poles. Should the company negotiate with the Electricity Board or with each of the owners along whose property the lines run? 

Both these scenarios mentioned in the introduction of this article involve an Easement, a right that gives the property owner a 'non-possessory' interest in another person's property. An Easement has an impact on all types of real estate transactions, and is utilised for conservation and historic preservation purposes. Despite its prevalence, many people lack a clear understanding of this property interest, and numerous problems occur in the drafting, interpretation and implementation of an Easement.

Nature, Creation and Scope

An Easement is a right given to an owner of a property to use an adjacent property which he does not possess, but does not allow him to occupy it. For instance, if X owns a property and grants Y a right-of-way on the road across the property, Y has an Easement in X's property. Y may use the road, but cannot stop others from also using it. However, X could exclude everyone except Y from crossing his property.

Land burdened by an Easement is called a 'servient estate', and the land benefited by the Easement is called the 'dominant estate'. If an Easement benefits a particular piece of land, it is 'appurtenant' to the land. And, if an Easement benefits an individual not as an owner of a particular piece of land, then it is termed 'in gross'. Most Easements are affirmative, which means that they authorise use of another person's land. According to the Indian Easements Act, the inhabitants of a building enjoying the access and use of air and light continuously for over 20 years have a right to them without any condition or restriction. An Easement by virtue of custom is a legal right acquired by the power of law through continuous use of a land over a long period of time. Therefore, the right of way continues to exist by grant, prescription or by virtue of custom.

Easements are usually created by conveyance in a deed or other written documents such as a will or contract. The creation of an Easement requires the same formalities as the transfer or creation of other interests in land. The requirements are as follows: a written instrument, a signature and proper delivery of the document. In limited circumstances, the court will imply an Easement as a matter of law. Two common Easements created by an implication are an Easements of necessity and an Easement implied from a quasi-easement. An Easement of necessity is typically implied to provide access to a landlocked piece of property, whereas, an Easement implied from a quasi-easement is based on a landowner's prior utilisation of part of his property (quasi-servient estate) for the benefit of another portion of his land (quasi-dominant estate). This quasi-easement may become an implied one once either the quasi-servient land or the quasi-dominant land is transferred to a third party. Other methods of establishing Easements include prescriptive use (i.e. by the routine, adverse use of another person's land), estoppels (a legal doctrine involving reliance on the words or actions of another person), custom, public trust, and condemnation.

After an Easement is created, questions often arise concerning its location, dimensions and scope. These questions should be resolved on a case-by-case basis, and are impacted by the method of the Easement's creation. Questions involving matters covered by the written document, or the prior use, or the necessity that created the Easement can be resolved relatively easily. However, the written documents to create an Easement are often vague or incomplete, and inferences from prior use or necessity are not precise. In such a case, the applier's intent is uncertain, and must be construed by the court.

As a rule, an Easement holder has the right to do "whatever is reasonably convenient or necessary in order to enjoy fully the purpose for which the Easement is granted" as long as he does not unduly burden the servient land.

Conversely, the owner of the servient land may also make use of that land that does not unduly interfere with the Easement holder's right. What constitutes an undue burden depends upon each situation. For instance, an increase in traffic over an Easement giving access to a beach resort may not necessarily constitute an undue burden, but traffic resulting from changing a dominant estate from private use to a commercial business might constitute an additional burden on the servient estate.

The reasonable use of an Easement is not fixed and may include a consideration of changes in the surrounding area with technological developments. However, if the court determines that the servient estate is unduly burdened by the unreasonable use of an Easement, the servient estate holder has several remedies. These include injunctions to restrict the dominant owner to an appropriate enjoyment of the Easement, monetary damages when the Easement holder exceeds the scope of his rights injuring the servient estate, and in some instances, 'extinguishment' of the Easement. Likewise, there are remedies for interference by the servient owner. Interference with an Easement is a form of trespass, and the court frequently enjoins the obstruction of an Easement and may order the removal of encroaching structures at the servient owner's expense. If the interference with an Easement causes diminution in the value of the dominant estate, the court may also award compensatory damages to the Easement holder. 

Transferability and Termination of Easements

The transferability of an Easement must also be considered when undertaking a real estate transaction. An Easement's transferability depends upon its nature (i.e. whether it is appurtenant or in gross). In general, an Easement appurtenant is transferred with the dominant property even if this is not mentioned in the transferring document. But, the document transferring the dominant estate may express that the Easement shall not pass with the land. Because non-commercial Easements in gross are treated as a right of personal enjoyment for the original holder, they are generally not transferable.

An individual granting an Easement should avoid any legal problem by expressing that the easement is permanent and utilising appropriate words of inheritance. Although permanent Easements are the norm, they can be terminated in numerous ways. For instance, an Easement may be created for a limited or conditional duration. Easements of a limited duration are commonly used to provide temporary access to a dominant estate. An Easement may also be terminated when an individual owning the dominant estate purchases the servient estate, or when the holder of the Easement releases his right to the owner of the servient estate. This release must be given in writing. Abandonment of an Easement can also extinguish it, but as a general rule, the non-use of an Easement does not constitute its abandonment. The misuse or the sale of a servient estate can also terminate an Easement. 

Source : http://www.chennairealty.biz/legal_tax.php 

Property values rise in Perumbakkam, Chennai

With the IT sector growing across Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), real estate market of Perumbakkam, a suburb in south Chennai, is benefiting on account of its location. Being 2 km away from OMR, it is almost equidistant from all prime IT hubs such as Velacherry and Sholinganallur and the commercial Thoraipakkam. As per MagicBricks.com data, the locality has witnessed a whopping 21 per cent rise in property prices in the Oct-Dec, 2012 quarter.

Perumbakkam is well connected through OMR, Tamabaram-Velacharry Road and Medavakkam-Sholinganallur Road. Its strategic location has been a major reason for a steady demand and capital appreciation in this area. Perumbakkam enjoys good connectivity with important roads and is close to the upcoming ELCOT SEZs. Therefore, one can expect a good increase in values in five years. 

Apart from the location advantage, another factor adding to the price rise is the Government’s policy of premium FSI which came in 2010. The policy gave the builders a scope to make larger homes, due to which the prices have risen from Rs 2800 per sq ft in 2010 to Rs 5,000 per sq ft in 2012.

The locality is primarily driven by end-users accounting to almost 60 per cent of the total buyers. Thus, in accordance to the demand, majorly 2 and 3 BHKs of sizes ranging from 900-1,500 sq ft are offered in Perumbakkam. The average prices of these range from Rs 3,800-5,000 per sq ft.

Owing to this, the rental market too has witnessed an escalation of 8 per cent in the last 6 months. The rental values range between Rs 15-18 per sq ft. Thus, with its outstanding connectivity, proximity to commercial locations and social infrastructure, Perumbakkam seems to be good for all buyers. While there is comfort for end-users, investors can hope for large appreciations in the coming years.

Source : Shradha Goyal, MagicBricks.com Bureau