Measuring Space - How Much Room Do You Really Need?
March 31, 2008
When planning your home décor, it is vitally important to understand your space needs. Do you have enough room to open any doors? Can you walk from one side of the room to the other without climbing over the furniture? Here are some rules to keep in mind when you plan your room update:
1. Living Room ? Keep in mind that for good conversational and traffic flow, keep at least 4-10 feet between sofa and chairs. Place your coffee table between 14-18 inches from the sofa (although I would only use 18 inches if you have lonnnnng arms!).
2. Family Room ? To the above rules about sofa and chair placement, add the viewing area needed for a television. To view a 30 inch TV screen, the sofa or chair should be at least 90 inches away (but not so far that you have to change your glasses prescription to view!). To create an easy flow in any room, there should be traffic lanes which are at least three feet wide.
Home Fire Prevention Effectiveness 1
March 30, 2008
Are you aware that you can lose all your personal belongings in a single fire?
It’s very sad when fire strikes your home. You lose everything. You do not have a chance to save many belongings. You will be considered lucky if you escape with your life.
A person’s home is a very private piece of his or her existence. People have been known to struggle for their entire life just to accumulate sufficient material riches and built comfortable shelters for themselves. We can experience a tremendous sense of loss if our homes have been razed to the ground by a fire.
Fires know no bounds. We hear so much of this happening in the news. Small children and aged persons getting trapped inside while a house is on fire. We see live footage on television showing people jumping out from 3-storey buildings and getting injured. We see the terror in their eyes as they make a desperate effort to avoid being burnt alive.
We come across stories of people being suffocated by the thick smoke from a fire.
Death, injury and material loss is the result of fires in homes. It is a matter for everyone to take seriously.
Refrigerators Electric Consumption - Lower It In 15 Minutes
March 30, 2008
I recently had a customer ask for my advise about cleaning her refrigerator.
I started to describe the pros and cons of different cleaners that can be used to clean the interior when she stopped me abruptly. "I know all about that stuff ", she informed me, "I mean the black coil thing on the back".
So, in response to this common question I offer the following step-by-step directions.
Firstly, the ‘black coil thing’ at the rear of the refrigerator is called a condenser. Without too much technical jargon, its job is to dissipate heat into the kitchen. It does this by the condensation of the refrigerant gas. Hence, its name. The condenser tubing is usually seen on the rear of a refrigerator. It is produced in a serpentine form with additional fins running across it for added heat dissipation.
"Heat, I thought we were talking about refrigerators, not stoves".
You will have to believe me when I say: ‘a refrigerator does not produce cold air’. Rather, its job is to transfer heat from inside the refrigerator cabinet to the outside. While doing this it removes heat from your food and that results in your food becoming cold.
How To Clean Your Air Conditioner Like A Pro
March 29, 2008
Jack Frost is nipping at our nose and Santa Clause has just left. The eastern seaboard has just received their third blizzard for a total of over 125 cm (56 inches) of snow in one week. So, who in their right mind would be thinking about window air conditioners at this time of year?
Call me crazy, but I am.
It is a good time of year to start this project. Firstly, it keeps ones mind sharp for the coming spring. Plus, it allows you to try out those new tools you got for Christmas. Mainly though, it is a good winter project because by the time spring arrives you will be too busy to think about this job.
Very little is required to clean a window air conditioner, except lots of patience. If patience is something you lack then it is a job you should turn over to the local appliance serviceman.
Tools ˇ Tin can or container (old muffin tin works well also)
ˇ Vacuum cleaner
ˇ Long handled brush (an old toilet brush works well)
ˇ Oil can
ˇ Rags
ˇ De-greaser or spray detergent
Decorating Kids Bedrooms - Get Them involved!
March 28, 2008
I believe kids are born creative. Unfortunately living life usually squelches most of that creativity unless it is carefully nurtured. You can help your children maintain their creative nature by allowing them to express it. That’s where interior decorating for kids comes in.
Kids start having color preferences at an early age. Test this out yourself by giving them choices. Rather than purchasing a cute outfit for your child because it’s fashionable or because you like it, pick out two or three and give your child the choice. If you do this often enough with various items and choices, you’ll start to see a pattern emerge. Go with it.
Who spends the most time in the kids’ bedrooms? The kids do of course! So why not make it a room they want to be in? Let your kids have a say in how it’s decorated. Give them choices, and guide them along the way.
One way to start this process, is to determine what your kids’ favorite toy, blanket or TV program is and use it as a basis for your decorating. If it is a theme based item, such as Blues Clues? or Barbie?, your job will be much easier!
Would You Steel Your Household Appliances
March 27, 2008
Would you steel your appliances? That is a question many consumers are now asking themselves.
The "in" style ———————–
Stainless steel household appliances are the "in" style right now. People are being drawn to the clean look of stainless steel for their kitchens.
Stainless steel has become the fastest growing sector of household appliances. Not only for major appliances such as refrigerators and ranges, but even for small items like toasters, kettles, and bread makers. There seems to be no end to the demand for the steel look.
So if a kitchen-remodeling project is in you’re near future then steel may be something you are considering.
Pros and cons ———————
Steel can provide the consumer with a feeling of strength, simplicity, elegance, and durability, all at the same time.
Part of its appeal is the commercial or professional look it suggests to people. We are fascinated with, and drawn towards, all things shiny and metallic. To this generation steel suggests: expensive ? professional — status.
Consumers like the idea that stainless steel appliances always appear clean, when properly maintained. Also stainless steel is a very durable product. Hence, the reason it is the standard in the commercial area, including restaurants.
Get Your Home Ready To Sell
March 26, 2008
Have you been considering selling your home in the near future? If you have, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a good long look at your home, using an unbiased eye.
After all, a clean, appealing, well maintained home has much better odds of selling, selling for more, and selling faster.
When looking at your house, the thing you need to keep repeating to yourself is that "first impressions are lasting impressions." This couldn’t be truer when it comes to selling real estate.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should take on a major renovation project just so that you can sell your property. Remember, there are no guarantees that you would recover the costs of an enormous overhaul.
Instead, take a more conservative approach, and have a look at the different cosmetic improvements that can be made for an overall improvement. These can include things such as cleaning, painting, refinishing, and other such efforts. These are the projects that don’t require all that much capital, and yet they make an immeasurable improvement to the overall look of your home.
Bathroom Magic
March 25, 2008
Believe it or not, the bathroom is one of the most magickal rooms in your house; Your make up box and medicine chest can be treasure chest of tools , the bathtub and shower are wonderful place to conduct cleansing and attraction rituals, and the toilet can be a handy mechanism for flushing away negativity.
Here are some examples of positive magick that can be performed in your powder room. First of all, though make sure your bathroom is clean and also make sure that you donšt have a mirror facing or reflecting any drains or toilets. Feng Shui wisdom says that this doubles your chances of having your money go down the drain.
Would you like to attract a life long partner? Wiping down your mirror with a mixture of Rose Water and Orange Blossom water (found in most speciality cooking stores) is said to make you attractive to the opposite sex. If you donšt have that, using your favourite perfume might work just as well…
You can also practice a little feng shui around your bathtub to attract a partner, by placing two rubber duckies in the southwest corner of the tub. Ducks represent mates in Chinese lore. You can also buy little glasses and soapdishes that already have little ducks floating inside them if you want to be more subtle…
Home Furnishings and Shelving
March 25, 2008
Its spring time and that means we start working on our homes. Cleaning, organizing, purchasing new things to spruce the place up are just some of the home furnishings we do. Why do we go to all this effort? Well, that’s simple! We want our homes to be comfortable, clean, and beautiful so that we can enjoy it! One way to add extra storage or a great touch to a room is to add some shelving. Adding shelving to a room can do more then create a place to store books. It can be a great focal point as well. Imagine walking into a room and being drawn to a wall of shelving displaying your favorite treasures? Of course, shelving does have some great advantages. It allows for a place to display your items, store a multitude of things, or so many more functions. Home furnishings, like shelving are easy to find and install. It does not have to be something that causes panic. Many times we worry that the smallest project involving shelving will take us too much time or aggravation. In fact, shelving units have become much easier to install. They also come in all different types to allow you to find the best option for your area.
The Stress-Free Way to Add Color to Your Walls
March 24, 2008
Looking for the most impact from a small decorating budget? Or are you tired of the ‘builder’s white’ that is still on your walls since the house was built? Painting walls a color other than white can be both exciting and daunting, here’s how to do it and get the job done without having an anxiety attack!
Painting Walls with Color is Addictive!
It’s true. Just as many women find that cutting off their long hair releases some hidden desire to cut it shorter and shorter, painting with color can become addictive and you will crave color ? bolder and more distinctive.
You can take advantage of this common phenomenon by choosing a softer, more muted color for one room and building your confidence. Soon you will be making trips back to the paint store with more confidence and know-how.
The truth is, color does not have to be dark or jump out at you to have an effect. Selecting tinted whites (not necessarily pastel) can be a great start. For a bit more drama, choose a tinted beige or gray. These colors, while neutral (beige or tan for warm looks and gray for cool) have hundreds of slight variations in the undertones which can mean more yellow, red, blue or green depending on the light and surroundings.
