Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life

Author: admin

  • Tips for renovating a nursery

    Whether you’re expecting your first child or renovating a nursery in a new home for your growing family, selecting a nursery design that works for you and your baby should be a joyous project. To make the process a little smoother, here are a few tips for renovating a nursery you can begin to think about as soon as you know you’re about to welcome a child into the world.

    Start with the Crib

    Incredibly, newborns spend 16 to 17 hours a day sleeping—in snatches of as short as half an hour to as long as four hours. While some babies start sleeping through the night by about three months, “night” can be as little as six hours. And other babies may not sleep through the night until they’re a year old.

    One way or another, you will be sleep deprived and your baby will be spending a lot of time in their crib. While it might seem like a good idea environmentally to buy a used crib or go with a hand-me-down from a family member, you also might want to consider investing in a good quality crib that meets today’s safety standards and can be used for other newborns or converted into a small bed as your baby grows into a toddler. A convertible crib can be used until a child is three or so. And of course, if you’re planning a larger family, your next baby can use the crib as well.

    Choose cribs made from natural wood and try to avoid laminates and plastics, all of which contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and will off-gas for at least a year after purchase.

    Invest in as much natural fiber crib bedding as you can, and go organic if you prefer. Cotton that’s been washed and dried over and over again can feel almost as soft as silk against tender skin. Buy extra crib bedding: the last thing you need while trying to juggle night feedings and diaper changes is discovering you need to do laundry. And the amount of laundry you’ll be doing will already have increased exponentially.

    Changing Tables or Pads

    If you have room for a changing table and want to invest in one, many modern versions come with built-in storage for many of the supplies you’ll need while changing baby. Changing tables are hard to repurpose as other furniture though, so if you’re planning to keep your family small, you might want to invest in a changing top instead of a table and use it on top of a small dresser.

    Dresser storage can be easily compartmentalized with drawer dividers and you can keep all the things you’ll need to make your child comfortable in the top drawer while using the others for baby clothes and bedding.

    Don’t Forget Comfort

    Invest in a chair for your nursery and an ottoman so you can put your feet up if your room’s too small to accommodate a loveseat or a couch. You’re going to want to spend time in the nursery with your baby, and a comfortable place to sit is the perfect place to bond while feeding, snuggling, reading, or singing lullabies.

    There will also be those other days and nights when your child is running a fever or has the sniffles and you want to monitor them more closely than via the baby monitor. Give yourself a break and pick comfortable seating that might even let you catch a 20-minute nap when you need it most. Who knows, if you fall asleep, your baby might settle too.

    Soothe and Stimulate

    Much of your baby’s first year of life is going to be spent in the nursery. When thinking about how to decorate the room, take both of your needs into account.

    Pay particular attention to the lighting in the room. You’re going to want to be able to darken the room for daytime naps but you’re also going to want as much natural light as possible. Consider blackout curtains or blinds for the window coverings, and invest in not only a night light but a table lamp and an overhead light fixture that has some visual interest. Make sure you install a dimmer switch.

    When choosing rugs, curtains, cushions, and nursery room colors, start with the textiles first. It will be much easier to match the textiles with paint color than the opposite.

    Build in a ceiling decor concept when renovating a nursery. Decorate the ceiling with wallpaper, bold or neutral stripes, or easily removed, glow-in-the-dark decals. The ceiling will be the baby’s focal point on first awakening, and while mobiles are great, there’s a lot more to a nursery than just the area above the crib.

    Consider painting a mural on the wall across from the crib, especially a mural that lends itself to storytelling. And think about going green when gathering tips for renovating a nursery. If you’re repainting, look for low-VOC or VOC-free paint and rugs made of wool, cotton, sisal or jute. Low-VOC flooring includes wood, bamboo, cork, and linoleum rather than laminate.

  • Best flooring choices for your kitchen

    Whether you’re planning a full or partial kitchen renovation, the good news is that there are myriad options when choosing the best flooring for your kitchen, and those choices are available at a variety of price points. We’re no longer restricted to tile, linoleum or wood flooring.

    Here’s a rundown of some of today’s best kitchen flooring options and some of the pros and cons of each.

    Best environmentally friendly kitchen flooring options

    If you’re concerned about off-gassing or passionate about leaving the smallest environmental footprint as possible, you may want to stick with options that don’t include vinyl or heavily manufactured floorings.

    Those can include cork, bamboo, new or reclaimed wood, and stone.

    Wooden kitchen floors are a huge trend these days and one that’s likely to continue for the next decade or so. If your kitchen cabinets are painted, glass-fronted or melamine, wood can provide some much needed visual warmth as well as design continuity between your kitchen and the rooms adjacent to it. Both hardwood and softwood floors are expensive. If you can find a source of reclaimed wood or salvage flooring from your own renovations, reclaimed wood might be your best option, especially for smaller kitchens.

    Bamboo, while gorgeous, is not a great idea for kitchen flooring. While it’s an amazingly renewable resource and very durable, it’s also highly reactive to temperature and humidity.

    Cork flooring is a great choice for kitchens and is both environmentally friendly and durable. It does, however, need to be resealed every few years. Check out the cork flooring options available and you’ll discover you’re not confined to natural cork-colored flooring. Dyed cork is available in a whole range of color options, from mint green through dark red to bright purple. And it’s available in tile, sheet, and plank formats. Cork is also both warm and comfortable underfoot. If you spend a lot of time (or long stretches at a time) cooking, it’s a lot easier on your legs than almost any other kind of kitchen flooring. Cork can be dented over time, so choosing a near-industrial grade of cork flooring is important for a high traffic area. Bright sunlight can also cause cork to fade, and light is important in a kitchen. If your kitchen has a southern exposure, this may not be the best flooring choice for you.

    Stone floors are beautiful, luxurious, environmentally friendly and extremely durable. You will be limited in your color choices if you choose stone kitchen flooring, and you’ll also pay a premium for them. Artificial stone floors are available in a wider color range. But the beauty of slate or stone floors is the natural color variations and textures. The other unexpected premium you may pay for stone floors is replacing dishes. If you drop it, you break it. There is also the beyond slippery-when-wet factor. You need to wipe spills up immediately, not to protect your floors but to make sure you get from the fridge to stove without a mishap.

    Last but not least is linoleum. Made primarily from linseed oil derived from flax seeds, it can also include jute, cork powders, wood flours and tree resins. Linoleum could work very well if your kitchen has a retro theme, and is available in many color options. Installing linoleum is a renovation that won’t add anything to your home’s value, however.

    Best comfort options for kitchen flooring

    Cork, softwood, and vinyl flooring are your best kitchen flooring choices if you spend a lot of time in your kitchen cooking and baking.

    Vinyl flooring is cheap, durable, and highly water-resistant. Think of it as linoleum’s “synthetic cousin.” It also comes in almost-infinite options: sheets, planks, and tiles and in almost as many designs as you can imagine. There is some very good vinyl “wood” flooring on the market these days. It’s also warmer and softer than either wood or ceramic tile floors, and a padded underlayer can sometimes be added for even more cushioning. It is, however, one of the least environmentally friendly flooring options.

    Best design options for kitchen flooring

    Wood is “in” for kitchen flooring, whether it’s real or engineered hardwood or vinyl planking, and the first two options can add significant value to your home. Wood flooring can provide nice design integration in a more open-plan home, but be careful not to create wood overload if your kitchen cabinets are wood as well.

    Stone floors are a time-honored, casually elegant option.

    Porcelain and ceramic tiles are extremely durable. The color and design combinations are endless, from mosaics to marble. Porcelain tiles are harder and less porous than ceramic tiles. If your kitchen isn’t absolutely level or your house is settling, these tiles can crack easily and repeatedly in problem areas. They’re not indestructible either: a hammer falling off a counter can crack or chip one of these tiles. There’s no one best flooring choice for all kitchens. Try to eliminate some options based on price, availability, and difficulty of maintenance and installation.

  • Best ways to cozy up your family room or den

    One of the best ways to ensure your family life doesn’t turn into a “ships passing in the night scenario” is to create a space in your home for the entire family to congregate spontaneously. Choosing the right family room decor is the best way to cozy up your family room or den. As the days get shorter and less time is spent outdoors, it’s important to create a family room to retreat to.

    Comfortable Seating is Key

    Comfortable seating for the entire family and then some is key to a successful family room setup. Whether you place the couch against a wall or float it in a larger, open-plan house, think not about enough seating for the family and a few guests, but about enough lounging area for everyone. Even if you don’t own a pair of sweatpants, the family room is a place to sprawl, not the place to worry about your posture.

    Sectionals are great for letting family members do just that. They also have the advantage of separating off a portion of a room. The DIY alternative to this is built-ins along the walls with corner seating. Add some oversized, comfy lounge chairs and several ottomans and you’ll have flexible seating for you, your children, and their friends.

    Invest in furniture that comes with washable slipcovers or that’s made from easy-to-clean surfaces like leather or vinyl. If you must use white or off-white in your family room, washable, stain guarded slipcovers for upholstered surfaces are a must.

    Rugs up the Cozy Factor

    The other big family room investment you should make is in a rug that’s both easy to clean and plush. When the playoffs are on and it’s game night, you may have more guests than you can seat and the overflow will have to make do with throw cushions and the floor.

    Go overboard on the cushion and throw front. We tend to use our family rooms at the end of the day and at the end of the week when we’re already tired and want to relax without exerting a lot of energy. Stretching out with a comfy pillow at your back and a cozy throw to keep you warm (even if the movie turns out to be a two-and-a-half-hour marathon) might just be the best leisure activity you participate in all week.

    Traffic Flow Matters

    Pay particular attention to traffic flow and conversational (or viewing) seating areas when planning your family room decor. Floating a couch several feet from the wall that contains the room’s entryway means people can enter and exit the room from other areas without having to pause the movie to let newcomers squeeze by.

    Basement Family Rooms

    If your family room is in the basement, you may have to work a little harder to get a cozy vibe. Invest in some really comfy seating and try to keep things low (including any wall art). In a room with low ceilings, hanging pictures at seated eye level is crucial.

    Alternatively, perhaps instead of artwork or photos, create a curated wall that has texture: old skis and snowshoes painted white and mounted on the wall above the couch; a collection of straw hats or baskets; or a net full of shells you’ve collected on your beach vacations.

    If you have exposed pipes or beams, don’t feel obliged to close in the ceiling. You can go one of two ways with a basement den ceiling: paint it the same color as the room, or use a contrasting shade that accentuates the obvious.

    Family Room Storage is Essential

    Make sure you build in storage space for toys, games, devices, and books. You’re probably going to want a TV and a surround sound system. Now is the time to think about how various family members are going to want to use the space.

    If you don’t mind your kids listening to music while they do their homework, you might want to consider creating not only a family game area but also a study area. Your young scholars may feel less like they’re being punished when doing their homework if they’re also hanging out with the rest of the family. Even if you don’t want to create a study area in the den, you’ll need a table of some sort for cards and board games.

    Don’t forget there will be snacks, whether they’re s’mores or popcorn. While you won’t necessarily want to create a formal dining area in your family room, a dedicated table or buffet where you can put out all the snacks and guests can help themselves is a good idea, while a small bar fridge can save you trips back and forth to the kitchen with chip dip and drinks. Other ideas: a play area for younger kids and a billiards, pool, or ping pong table or dartboard for the adults. If you invest the time in planning the best ways to cozy up your family room or den, it will become not your home’s centerpiece, but rather its heart.

  • How to Place Mismatched Furniture to Feng Shui your Home

    Thousands of years ago, Taoism developed a set of spiritualistic practices around the belief that two fluid energies—wind and water (feng and shui)—flowed through homes, buildings, or exterior spaces, contributing to the users’ harmony and success. If you’re wondering how to feng shui your own home, start by designing free flowing energy paths through the careful  arrangement of your buildings, interiors, furnishings, and possessions.

    Combat Clutter

    Clutter is feng shui’s mortal enemy because it means the natural flow paths of chi energy are blocked by tchotchkes and other obstructions. Therefore, decluttering is the first  step in creating feng shui.

    Many things contribute to clutter, but not keeping up with maintenance is the most common cause: for example, simple unattended things like burned-out lightbulbs, malfunctioning appliances, or leaky faucets are all part of household clutter, since they pull your attention away from harmonious thoughts and pursuits.

    Simplify your home’s spaces before delving into cabinets, drawers, and closets and reorganizing them to free them from obstructions. This is a really useful exercise to do first. As you do it, you can physically feel a burden of care lifting as clutter disappears.

    You can also accomplish a spiritual cleansing of inappropriately obstructed chi energy by opening your windows and blowing out your living space for nine minutes (nine) is an auspicious number in feng shui.

    Rearrange Living Spaces

    After cleansing and decluttering, you should begin to rearrange your living space according to the five Taoist elements that underlie the philosophy. For Taoists, the world is divided into five materials which possess definitive qualities of color and shape: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. The easiest way to introduce good feng shui to your home is by including something to represent each of the five elements in your space.

    Earth, for example is brown, orange, and yellow and comes in flat or square shapes. A dark rug in the middle of the room should provide sufficient earth element for your space. Metal is represented by white, gray, or metallic colors with spherical, round shapes, like a large circular porcelain bowl. Water, interestingly, is represented as black, or very dark blues, with curvy, wavy shapes like furled or blowing dark blue curtains in front of a patio door. Fire, of course, is represented by red colors, in triangular shapes like stems of red Japanese maple leaves on the mantel or in a vase.

    Since your home is a shared space, you need to take careful consideration with the placement of your furniture. A large living room encourages chi energy to pass freely in and around the room. The room should be large enough to accommodate the entire family and guests comfortably. There must be a comfortable seat for each member of the household, and for this reason the furniture arranged in a space with good feng shui is often mismatched. Each person in the home should feel welcome and accommodated, and his or her tastes should be reflected in the piece of furniture best suited for them.

    Furniture Placement is Essential

    Where you place furniture impacts the way the chi energy enters and moves around the room. Never place furniture in natural pathways through the room. This type of placement will block chi energy, cause it to become stagnant, and create negative energy.  The furniture should be arranged to invite conversation and interaction with your chairs and couches facing each other and no one sitting with their back to the door.

    The most significant piece of furniture in any living room is the couch. It should rest against a solid wall. Nonetheless, a popular western furniture arrangement is to place a sectional couch in the middle of the room without wall support. This floating should be avoided since it permits and encourages instability in your family’s life, work, wealth, health, and relationships. You can easily test the intuitive truth of this design principle by sitting on a couch against the wall before sitting on one set in the middle of the room. With each arrangement come different feelings. Chances are you feel safe and secure when sitting on the couch against the wall, while the one set in the middle of the room leaves you feeling vulnerable and uneasy, as though you need (constantly) to look behind you. Geomancy or feng shui is an ancient design system that produces unified pleasing interiors with reduced clutter and obstructions. Use these design ideas to provide unity and integrity to your living space. Creating good feng shui might not connect you to universal chi, but it leads to health and happiness. It’s only a short stretch from there to good fortune.

  • How to Decorate a Master Bedroom – Creating a Peaceful Oasis

    It’s possible one of the reasons you’re not sleeping as much as you should is that you haven’t invested enough time or thought in how to furnish or style your bedroom. Here are some tips on how to decorate a master bedroom to create a peaceful oasis you can retreat to at the end of the day.

    Paint the master bedroom a color you find soothing

    When choosing a color, remember that it’s not going to be seen in natural light very often. That may mean going a shade or two lighter if you’ve picked a darker color. Think about your bed linens and the color range they’re in. While black and white high-contrast subway tiles work well in bathrooms and kitchens, try to choose a color palette for the master bedroom that incorporates different shades of the same color and save the accents and “pops” of color for throw pillows, decorative objects, artwork, and plants.

    Digitally declutter

    While we all unwind in different ways, there seems to be consensus that digital devices hinder the process. Consider performing a digital declutter of your bedroom, removing everything from televisions to digital clock radios. You may still need to set an alarm to wake up, but if you use your cell phone’s alarm with the ringer turned off, you won’t really need another alarm clock. Try to ban computers from the master bedroom entirely. If you really want to watch TV in bed, invest in an armoire with doors that close so you don’t have to look at it when it’s not in use.

    Consider investing in a four-poster bed or an upholstered headboard

    Regardless of your decorating style, there are four-poster beds that can work in both modern and traditional bedrooms. Whether you choose to add curtains or not, a four-poster gives you a visual sense of isolation that makes the bed seem like a sanctuary.

    If you read in bed, an upholstered headboard can make a world of difference to your comfort, too.

    Follow the rule of threes

    Keep decorative items to a minimum in your master bedroom and follow the rule of threes. Dresser and nightstand tops can easily become very cluttered. If you love pottery or glassware, collect three different pieces and arrange them on a dresser. Bonus points if the decorative items are also functional—small jars in which you can stash earrings, tie pins, or loose change, seagrass baskets that can hold scarves, or boxes of different materials and materials.

    Green it up

    Plants (and water) are what makes a room an oasis. While you’re not likely to be able to keep a date palm alive in a master bedroom, adding a big plant gives you not only visual interest and a huge shot of green, but the oxygen plants produce at night can help you sleep better. Since you’re probably going to have the curtains or blinds closed most of the time in your master bedroom, consider plants that thrive in low or diffused light, like peace lilies.

    Add a seating area

    Depending on how big your master bedroom is, you may be able to create a seating area with a couple of chairs and a small table, or build a window seat (with storage for extra blankets and pillows, out-of-season clothes, or board games) so you can watch the world go by on rainy days or read a book. If your room isn’t big enough, a blanket box or sturdy storage ottoman at the foot of the bed will work, as will an armless slipper chair in a corner.

    Invest in window coverings that work for you

    You may want to consider investing in both curtains and blinds or heavy lined drapes to keep light out. That goes for natural light and the sun’s tendency to poke through eastern exposures long before you actually want to wake up, as well as street lights whose glare might make getting to sleep harder.

    Splurge on your bed linens

    Good sheets may be the best investment you can make when decorating a master bedroom. Quality cotton sheets won’t pill and they start to feel like silk after multiple washings. Rather than choosing sheets with busy patterns, consider buying only plain colors, sheets with satin stripes, or very small patterns, and save the patterns and textures for your throw pillows, which are meant to be decorative.

    Ultimately, how you choose to decorate a master bedroom is up to you. Now that you’re an adult and “go to your room!” is no longer a punishment, your master bedroom décor should reflect that while ensuring you get the kind of rest you need.

  • Refreshing brick facades inside and outside

    There are lots of reasons to get excited about brick facades, whether they’re on the interior or exterior of your home. Weather resistant, fire retardant and durable, most insurance companies offer discounts to brick home owners.

    But your brick may need a little TLC for a variety of reasons: age, improper mortaring, or no longer in sync with your home’s design or decor if you have an addition or a new garage door. Here are a few suggestions that will help you decide how you can go about refreshing brick faces inside and outside.

    Painted brick house ideas – exterior

    Not all bricks and bricklayers are created equal. Depending on your home’s age, their natural color may not be particularly pleasing to you or even work well with the rest of your home’s exterior. If your house includes more than one building material (siding, stucco or wood for some areas, brick for others), there may be a lot going on in terms of both color and texture.

    Painting exterior brick poses some additional challenges besides the equipment needed to reach the roof. It’s probably best to outsource this work to an expert, who can make any necessary repairs to your bricks and mortar before you begin.

    While bricks can easily last 100 years or more, the mortar that holds them together rarely does. Loose or crumbling mortar can be fixed by repointing, digging out the mortar and replacing it with either more mortar or lime-based putty. It’s a time consuming, messy chore, but it’s essential to ensure water doesn’t get in or threaten the house’s structural integrity. If your brick home is historic, color matching the existing mortar may be an issue. Hiring a mason means you may also be able to find an exact match for crumbling or wind-damaged brick from salvage yards. Another good reason to hire an expert for this part of your exterior reno: mortar can only “set” when it’s between 40 and 90°F. Doing it yourself may cause more problems than it solves.

    If you’ve decided to paint your brick exterior, make sure you don’t live in a high moisture area. Bricks are naturally porous and absorb ground moisture that can’t escape when painted over. If that’s your situation, consider whitewashing the bricks instead. By diluting latex paint with 50 percent water you’ll avoid trapping moisture that can’t escape.

    There are also new brick staining products available that can deal with their unevenly porous nature. Silicate mineral stains bond with brick and penetrate their pores while still letting the brick breathe.

    Painting alternatives: Stucco and the German smear

    While it may be even more work than painting your home, if you really hate the bricks you’ve inherited, you can stucco over them. Before you consider this alternative, though, test the area to see how porous your bricks are. Spray the wall with water. If it’s quickly absorbed, the stucco should bond easily with the brick. If it doesn’t, or if your bricks have already been painted, wash the surface with soap and water and test again. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to apply a specially designed bonding agent to ensure the stucco will stick.

    In terms of both color and texture, stucco is available in a wide variety of colors that are mixed into the finish coat. You can also dramatically change the texture of a stucco exterior by choosing a finish coat that incorporates rocks, pebbles, or glass chips.

    The German smear is another alternative to painting exterior brick. By applying wet mortar unevenly to brickwork, you’ll instantly give your home a centuries-old (although faux) exterior. It mimics the look of stone and creates a rough, rustic texture. The best news about the German smear is that it’s inexpensive and doesn’t take a lot of skill. While traditional northern German cottages treated this way were red brick with white mortar, experiment with different mortar colors to find the one that will work best with your shade of brick.

    Interior brickwork

    You can use all the same techniques on interior brickwork with a lot fewer mortar and water absorption issues than exterior brick. While some homes have gorgeous exposed brick walls, for the most part, interior brickwork is confined to areas around the fireplace. Depending on whether your fireplace is functional or not, you may want to paint it white if you want it to pop and match your room’s trim. If you don’t want to feature a non-functional brick fireplace though, consider painting it the same color as your walls to make it recede. If your fireplace has already been painted and you want to show it off, think about touching it up with the same color but reframe it with a new mantel in a different color and a more modern design.

  • Laundry Room Renovation Tips

    The average lifespan of washers and dryers is less than 15 years these days, although your mileage may vary. While no one jumps for joy at the expense and inconvenience involved in replacing major appliances, replacing your washer and dryer is a great incentive to do a laundry room remodel.

    The good news is that by choosing the right new appliances and renovating your laundry room, you can create a space that maps to your workflow. Whether you do laundry on a daily basis or have family laundry marathons once a week, designing a layout that works for you and your family will make this chore less onerous. You’ll also be able to invest in energy-efficient appliances that will save you money over time and may also save you major wear and tear on your clothes.

    Here are some laundry room renovation tips to think about before starting your remodel.

    Upgrade your lighting

    No matter where your laundry room is located, good lighting is almost as important in this area of the home as it is in the kitchen. You can’t pretreat a stain you can’t actually see. This is especially important in basement laundry areas without a lot of natural light.

    With so many lighting options out there, get rid of any fluorescent tubes and harsh lighting that can create shadows and glare. Invest in some ceiling pot lights and make sure you’ve got good lighting over your laundry sink and washer area, since that’s where you really need to see stains that need to be treated before hot water and hot air cause them to set permanently.

    Get some storage systems

    Depending on how you organize family chores, doing laundry may be a centralized or a decentralized chore. Does each member of your family converge on the laundry room with their individual baskets of dirty clothes to do their own laundry? If so, you probably won’t need as much storage space as a family that’s delegated the task to a single person. If dirty clothes are stored in the laundry room before being washed, you’ll need more storage space and some pre-sorting bins to speed up the actual process. Pull-out bins in lower cabinets will help.

    If you have the space, a hanging rack for clothes that may not need much (or any) ironing will let you get on with the necessary folding without letting wrinkles set in freshly washed clothes, creating more work for yourself later on. A drying rack for clothes that can survive machine washing but will shrink in the dryer is a great idea too.

    And of course, an area set aside for ironing in the laundry room is a necessity unless you iron somewhere else. There are lots of space-efficient ironing board over-door systems available now with racks to hold both the board and the iron.

    If you don’t have any cabinets in your laundry room to hide bottles or boxes of laundry detergent, bleach, stain treatments, and dryer sheets and you’re replacing your appliances anyway, invest in under-appliance drawers to store these items. They need to be accessible, but they don’t need to be on display.

    Create the counter space you need

    Front-loading washers are game-changers in many ways. They use less energy and less water, and the fact that they spin rather than agitate means less wear and tear, and therefore longer life, for your clothes. But they are also amazing space savers. If you have enough space to install your washer and dryer side by side rather than stacking them, a two- or three-sided countertop that fits over your washer and dryer gives you a flat surface for folding.

    If space is at a premium and you have to stack your laundry appliances, you can install a folding table that doesn’t take up space or get in the way as you try to get to the washer and dryer.

    Make it pretty

    For those who consider laundry a thankless task, an undecorated, poorly designed space just makes it worse. And for those who actually like doing laundry, why spend time in an ugly room with no redeeming features? Invest in some bold paint or wallpaper or a piece of art that isn’t going to be adversely affected by heat and humidity and give it pride of place on the wall above your appliances or the one you’ll be facing while folding or ironing. Small quilts, handmade rugs and wall hangings that bring you joy are perfect.

    You don’t need to paint or wallpaper the whole room. Think of the area behind your appliances as a feature wall. It’s a small, low-traffic area that can be transformed with a pint of paint and no more than two rolls of wallpaper. And once you’ve finished your laundry room remodel, you may find you don’t hate doing laundry anymore.

  • Creating reading nooks or libraries

    Curling up with a good book can be as relaxing as meditating. Creating reading nooks throughout your home or dedicating a room as a library is one way to ensure you design a few quiet moments for yourself every day. Getting lost in a book can happen within a single paragraph.

    Consider some of these ideas when designating reading areas and creating reading nooks for your family of readers.

    kid inside a reading tent

    Kids’ reading corners

    From teepees to tents, forts, and caves, kids love to explore secret, exotic spaces and they’re very partial to anything kid-accessible and kid-sized.

    For a two or three-year-old, you can make a nifty A-frame fort out of a cardboard box, re-engineered and trimmed with colorful masking tape. A thick blanket folded becomes the carpet, while washable throw pillows give it that cozy setting that can easily turn skimming a picture book into a little nap.

    You can even create a reading nook for a child in your home office. Mount two tension rods between two tall filing cabinets, curtain the space front and back, add a soft cotton rug, a body pillow, some cushions and a throw, and you have an instant, comfy cave where your child can read and you can tackle emails, Facebook and Instagram.

    If you’ve got the space, create pirate ship reading nooks for at least two children from a single old boat cut in half. Lined with blankets and cushions, it’s the perfect space for a small person to crawl into and set sail for lost planets and imaginary worlds.

    Teepees, pod chairs, even a series of milk crates in a corner with cushions on top (bonus: you can store books in the crates) set aside space for reading and quiet time in your children’s lives.

    Grown-up reading corner ideas

    If you’ve got a dormer or a bay window, you may be able to build in a classic window seat with shelving at the ends and drawers underneath, a bench cushion, some pillows and a throw. Natural light is always best for reading, and you often see window seats like this on stairwell landings in stately mansions with deep window wells.

    Don’t despair if you don’t have a suitable space for a window seat. Any low-traffic corner can become a reading, meditation, or contemplative nook in your home. Try setting aside a corner on the front porch and designating it a phone and sound-free zone. A Papasan or birdcage chair or even a hammock, a large potted plant for privacy and a very small table or shelf just large enough to hold a book are all you need.

    Designate a corner in your living room, furnish it with your most comfortable chair and an ottoman or pouf, add a screen that hides you and you’ve got an instant retreat in plain sight. Depending on how much and what kind of use your living room gets, you may want to put your headphones on and listen to music while you read.

    Or you might be able to open up the area under your stairs and create a nook very similar to a window seat in style and furnishings. You won’t have the advantage of natural light, but you can make the space both quieter and more private by hanging heavy velvet curtains and installing shelving.

    An attic reading nook is a wonderful retreat. If you’re planning some renovations anyway, invest in a large, unusually shaped window for the front or back of the attic to take advantage of as much natural light as possible. A large triangular window follows the shape of a peaked-roof wall and if you invest in triple glazing it won’t let too much heat in. A wicker emperor chair, a small Oriental rug, some oversized leafy tropical plants and a vintage-styled chaise longue could work here. Or you could go modern, with a contemporary leather chaise, color block rug and some angular snake plants or large cacti. One way or the other, you’ll have created a comfortable reading nook and gained a discreet bird’s eye view of the neighborhood. If the rest of the attic is used for storage and spoils the getaway mood, invest in a screen so you can you really get it out of sight and therefore mind. One final thought: silent book clubs are gaining in popularity these days. Instead of sitting with a group of friends in a cafe reading, why not create a DIY version of the silent book club by making reading space in your home. The entire family can spend half an hour once a week reading together quietly and companionably, sipping on hot chocolate and escaping into other worlds and lives.

  • Ask A Pro Q&A – How to Properly Mount a Deck

    Looking for the best way to mount your deck? Carson Arthur answers this question about the best way to tackle this DIY.

    Question: Can I bolt two sides of a deck to the house and have the other two sides just sitting on concrete blocks?

    In theory, yes you can. We often mount decks to the house using proper lag bolts and screws. As for the other corners in the yard, you will want to use something more solid than concrete blocks as the weight of the deck will cause them to sink into the soil over time causing your deck to start to lean. Take a look at some proper footings available at any box or construction stores. They work the same way as concrete blocks, but they disperse the weight better so you avoid that sinking feeling.

    -Carson Arthur.

  • Clever Ways to Change Decor Seasonally

    The last postcards of summer landed in your mailbox a few weeks ago and the kids are scuffling through sidewalks full of leaves on their way to school. It’s time to change out the beach glass and shells in favor of autumnal decor. Here are a few unique decorating ideas that will help you apply a little seasonal love to your home.

    Borrow from Nature

    Oddly shaped colored squashes, clusters of changing leaves and bundles of dried wheat stalks will add a seasonal touch to your living space.

    You can simply add seasonally suggestive colors in overlooked but highly visible places in your home: a seasonal centerpiece instantly enhances the dining room. Plants on kitchen counters and cabinets refer you to the season in which they flourish. Windows cry out for a bit of the natural world they allow you to look out upon. You can capitalize on this by changing curtain colors and the cozies you put on your sills. 

    Elsewhere around the house, when the weather is crisp, a nubby white throw blanket adds a cup full of cozy to any living room. In spring, pussy willows, sky blues and fresh fruit like lemons or berries enliven a kitchen, just as clusters of fresh cut garden flowers enliven a screened in porch when the fireflies are lighting up summer evenings and there’s a paddle posed against the front door.

    Try putting some seasonal fruit in the kitchen. Indian corn left on a kitchen countertop brings the fall harvest inside with you. In addition, edible seasonal fruit makes an elegant decoration, especially if accompanied by branches, leaves, pinecones, and puffballs.

    Accessorize to Match the Season

    Seasonal pillows can give your furniture a sharp new look. Buy pillow covers in colors that suggest a season to you and change out the old for the new in five minutes’ time.

    Accessorizing is a great way to redecorate quickly and cheaply. You can add a seasonal wreath to your front door woven out of branches of turning leaves interspersed with dried mushrooms, corn husks, and strands of straw. Closer to Thanksgiving, you’ll want to trade this for an evergreen wreath or something holiday-inspired. Take mental notes on colors and plants as the seasons change. Be crafty, and trust your own instincts when it comes to what the season means to you.

    Seasonal Sleeping Quarters

    You can also switch out your linens to boost your desire to sleep each night by way of a seasonally inviting bedspread. In warmer months, airy sheets in cool bright hues like turquoise or butter lemon spice up the night, and when the weather starts to cool, exchange your bedding for a  weighty comforter in dark, warm shades. In colder climates, the switch from cotton to flannel sheets signals the start of both winter and the festive season.

    A new area rug can pull a room together. These floor coverings are so portable, inexpensive, and useful they can transform any space through any seasonal change.

    Use Distinct Seasonal Themes

    For fall, welcome the cool weather with bouquets of changing leaves. Then create a unique centerpiece for your table, and decorate above your kitchen cabinets with colored squashes and leaves of different sizes.

    In winter, keep up the cozy theme you started for fall. Use plaid patterns that bring to mind cabins and wool blankets. You can also rely on shades of brown, red, and green. When the snow flies, incorporate icy blues and moonlit silvers in your interior decor scheme.

    In spring, lavish flowers and fresh scents in every room always help create a clean, fresh, and airy feel. A large vase of flowers reminds everyone of the then very welcome seasonal change, as do items connoting warmer weather, like small decorative bicycles and red wagons on the porch or just inside the front door.

    In summer, seashells and driftwood make perfect decorating elements for your mantel or hearth. Sheer white curtains billow to announce the season in front of open windows that blow the freshness of summer warmth throughout your home.

    Seasonal Decor by Holiday

    Holidays are often decorated for, and so doing can summon the aura of entire seasons themselves. Here are some basics of the upcoming festivities.

    • Halloween: Use classic jack-o-lanterns on your porch and candy corn in decorative bowls to decorate for Halloween. Try some of the less-usual pumpkin shapes and colors to keep things classy and fresh.
    • Thanksgiving: Place a cornucopia centerpiece on the family table.
    • Christmas: Plenty of lights, of course, and holly berries or poinsettias bring a natural vibe to the most wonderful time of the year.
    • Valentine’s Day: Use hearts and doilies in colors of red, pink, and white throughout the home.
    • St. Patrick’s Day: Classic green shamrocks look splendid adorning your mantel or front door.
    • Easter: Pastel-colored eggs make the perfect accent in a clear vase, surrounded by fresh sprigs of lilac.
    • Fourth of July: Use red, white and blue accents where you can.

    Let your imagination be your guide as the seasons change, and you’ll find inspiration in nature for your unique decorating ideas.