Category Archives: Home IMprovement

6 Ways to Prepare Your Home For The Cold Weather

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6 Ways to Prepare Your Home For The Cold Weather – We just experienced our round of snow for the year and many homeowners are preparing for the cold weather. Preparing your home for the change in season can be very helpful to you in the long run, and even keep your home looking and feeling like new. Here are six ways to prepare your home for the cold weather this year.

Use Plastic on Your Windows

Covering your windows with plastic might sound crazy to some, but it will help to cut down on your energy bill this season. Some homes are draftier than others, but keeping the warm air in and the cold air out will always be helpful.

Clean The Gutters

Whether you’re home is near trees or not, be sure to clean out your gutters before the weather becomes too cold to do so. Natural things accumulate in your gutters throughout the year, so cleaning them before snow starts falling can help to prevent ice dams and other potential damage.

Boost Lighting

Winter tends to be a dark and dreary time, so boost the lighting in your home for days like that. It will keep you more energized and ready for each day.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fan

Reversing your ceiling fan will help it do the opposite of what it does in the summer times, it will help to keep the warm air circulating throughout the room. This works particularly well in rooms with very high ceilings, but has the same effect all over.

Inventory Your Supplies

Nothing is worse than not having a snow shovel or a brush for your car when you’re trying to get out of the driveway. Make sure you have the things you need before the weather becomes bad and it’s too late.

Prepare For A Storm

The weather is a unpredictable thing, so make sure you are prepared for any scenario. If there is a winter storm and the power goes out, how will you keep warm or prepare food? Being prepared for a situation like that will keep you more calm in the long run.

To learn more about how to prepare your home for the cold weather, visit here.

Holiday Decorating Trends 2014

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Holiday Decorating Trends 2014 – Holiday décor trends change from year to year. Each year your holiday decorations can provide an exciting change to your home décor. Thanksgiving and Christmas can be the most exciting holidays to decorate for! Decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas can bring an element of serenity and tranquility that only come during this time of year.

Below we have provided you with some exciting holiday decorating ideas…

Textures: Holiday trends for 2014 involve lots of different textures. Through DIY projects and premade decorates, textures create a visual interest in the room. For holidays this year, you can apply texture by using things like faux fur, burlap and wood for your homemade decorations.

Vintage: Vintage decorates are the new hit look this year! Vintage has repeated itself in 2014. Take your old decorates and re-purpose them into contemporary decorations for the holidays. You can take your old and make them new for decorating themes for 2014.

Tranquil: Any pastel colors, light green, pale blue or soft red are a trendy and modern way to add tranquility to your home during the holidays. Less is the best way to make your home have a serene and tranquil feel.

Shimmer and Shine: Two of the most common holiday trends you see in homes are shining and shimmery decorations. This is including, lots of gold and silver in your décor. It’s okay to keep the traditional gold and silver decorations. Just think BIG this year, buy oversized gold bows, ribbons and ornaments for the tree.

What is your favorite holiday decorates? Let me us know!

4 Ways to Hide Speakers Throughout Your Home

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4 Ways to Hide Speakers Throughout Your Home

4 Ways to Hide Speakers Throughout Your Home

 

Instead of using one large speaker, you can use small ones throughout your house to achieve the same experience! Walking into a room and not even knowing where the noise is coming from might even increase that experience for the better. It might seem tricky if the space is small, however, there are a few fast and easy ways to hide these smaller speakers. If you do not have the money to buy new speakers, you can always use the things around your house or even transform them into something that could work better!

  • Hang them on the wall to look like a light
    1. Triad Speakers:
      1. Look like wall sconces but are actually speakers
      2. Ear level and perfect for surround sound
  • Find more information here
  • Hide them in the ceiling fan
    1. Soundolier Speakers:
      1. Nobody will guess the sound is coming from the ceiling fan
      2. With the fan in the middle of the room everyone will hear it
  • Find more information here
  • Practically invisible speakers
    1. TruAdio’s Ghost Speaker:
      1. As small as 4.5 inches
      2. Hides the frame of the speaker and makes it look smooth
  • Find more information here
  • Use your own furniture
    1. Cabinets with transparent faces make great spaces for hiding speakers
    2. Use furniture to hide wires behind
    3. Blend speakers in with things like picture frames

 

Nobody has to know where the sound is coming from, as long as it is there! If you do not have the money to afford new hidden speakers, just use the furniture around your house to disguise your old ones.

 

 

5 Ways to Make a Small Living Room Look Bigger

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No one wants a cluttered home or to feel like they have a small living space, right? Especially if you are house hunting, you want more space for your money. If you have a small room in your home or want to make your rooms appear bigger than they are, here are 5 tips for you…

 

Floor To Ceiling Curtains

To make the ceilings appear to be taller, hang your curtains higher than the windows. By putting rod higher than the window itself, you give the illusion that the windows and ceiling are bigger and higher than they really are.

 

No Bulky Furniture

When furniture is too big for the space or there is too much furniture in the room, the room can appear smaller than it really is. Declutter and stick with appropriately sized furniture to keep the room spacious, light and bright.

 

Neutral and Light Colors

With a smaller room, it’s important to stick with light, neutral colors. If you put dark colors and accents in a small room it can close the space making it appear smaller that it really is. Let the light in and the space open up with the right color sceme.

 

Oversized Mirrors

A newer trend, this trick can make the room appear bigger than it really is by using the reflection of the light, neutral colors and the room itself. Strategically place the mirror on a wall that reflects the incoming light and also provides the proper illusion.

 

The Right Coffee Table

Whether it’s a coffee or end table, choose furniture that can also double as a storage space. Whether it has drawers or opens up to store extra pillows, blankets or even your TV accessories, choose your furniture wisely. In a small space this can dramatically declutter a room.

 

10 Tips To Save Money On Landscaping

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10 Tips To Save Money On Landscaping - Rita Boswell1

10 Tips To Save Money On Landscaping – The outside of your home is the first impression people see. Whether you’re trying to sell your home, or just update the look, landscaping is a great way to create more curb appeal for your home. Landscaping can be an expensive project, but with the right tools you can make it work right within your budget. Here are ten tips to save money on landscaping.

1. Make A List

Make a list or a picture board of inspirations and looks you want to create for your home. That way you will have a better idea of what you need to purchase.

2. Do Your Research

Conduct research to figure out where you can the things you need at the most inexpensive prices.

3. Avoid Impulse Buys

When you go to the store to purchase the materials you need, don’t get suckered into buying something you don’t need because you think it will look cool. Stick to your list – and your gut – to purchase only the things you’ve planned to buy.

4. Don’t Overplant

Make sure you don’t plant too many flowers or shrubs in your front lawn, it can look tacky and crowded. Stick to a minimal look and wait until it grows in. If you still want more after that, add it.

5. Talk To A Pro

You don’t necessarily have to hire someone to do the landscaping for your home; however, hiring a pro for a consultation will be well worth the money.

6. Cheaper Isn’t Always Better

Don’t assume that buying cheaper will help your budget. Cheaper isn’t always better and you might end up paying even more money to fix the mistake.

7. Shop End-Of-Season Sales

If you shop at the end of the season, you will have cheaper and more materials to use the following season.

8. Be Neighborly

There is a chance that you’re not the only one in the neighborhood working on your landscaping. If you’re renting equipment offer to split the cost and share it for a day.

9. Check Out Craigslist

Some people are willing to just give things away. Check out Craigslist before you buy anything, who knows, you may find it for free.

10. Make Your Own Compost

You can convert kitchen and garden refuse in a hommade compost to improve the soil’s tilth, aeration, and water-holding capacity.

To learn about more ways to save money on landscaping, visit here. Keep these money saving tips in mind when updating your landscape before fall! What do you think of these tips? How do you save money on landscaping? Comment to share with us!