Posts tagged decorating

Green Painting

May27
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

Experts say that one of the easiest ways to spruce up a room is to repaint it. Even if you choose neutral colors, the fresh coat will brighten the walls and hide any signs of wear and tear. As long as you’re making a change, why not make it as green or eco-friendly as possible? Because so many types of paint are available, we’re here to assist you in choosing the safest and greenest type for your house!

Tips to follow when choosing paint:

  • Always choose paint with low volatile organic compound levels, or VOC levels. These levels can pollute your air with dangerous chemicals when used in high dosages. Look for paint with less than 150 grams per liter of paint, or for paint labeled low-VOC or no-VOC.
  • Natural paints are a smart option for houses located in dry conditions. These paints are naturally made from plant ingredients, do not contain preservatives and are not synthetic.
  • If you need a synthetic paint, choose water-based latex paints instead of oil-based alkyd paints. The water-based paints have less chemicals and lower VOC levels.
  • Milk paints contain no preservatives or solvents, but they do contain some synthetic ingredients. This natural, odorless paint is made with milk protein and comes in powder form. Once mixed with water, it needs to be used quickly.
  • Recycled paint is available for rooms where consistent color is not required. This paint is literally made from recycled and consolidated old paint, so numerous colors may be mixed together to create a unique hue.
  • If you’re painting your walls white, opt to use whitewashes, which are paints naturally made from lime paste. These paints are affordable and great for stucco exteriors, basement walls, garages and more.

Deciding which type of paint to use will depend on what room you are painting and what purpose you have in painting it. Once you decide on a type, make sure to keep the room ventilated while you apply it, no matter how eco-friendly the paint is. Afterward, donate or recycle your leftover paint and enjoy your freshly painted room with low levels of toxins!

Posted in Green Living, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Wall Decorating Advice

Apr23
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

When it comes to home decorating, second to furniture, we mostly discuss what we will hang on our walls. Considering that the average height of a wall is eight feet, that’s 32 feet of empty space in one four-walled room that needs to be filled! With higher ceilings and open floor plans, feeling the need to fill wall space only increases. However, it’s very easy to fill your walls up so fast and with so much, they end up looking like a cluttered and chaotic disaster.

How do you keep your walls decorated? If you are trying to sell your house, or you just moved into a new house, begin with empty walls and follow these general rules:

  1. Start with the main wall of the first room that your guests view when they walk in your front door. Therefore, if your living room opens to the side, begin with the opposite wall or the wall opposite the front window. If your kitchen resides straight ahead, work with the wall straight ahead.
  2. Consider hanging one item on that first main wall. This way, all attention will be focused on this cherished item, and the wall will not look cluttered. You can even add a lighting fixture to center extra attention on the piece of art.
  3. Create a triangle of space on the wall that you will allow yourself to fill. Try to center it and keep it no larger than the top half of the wall. Fill this triangle of space with a collage of items, and do not extend the décor outside of the triangle.
  4. Continue following these rules as you continue to decorate past the main room of the house. Keep a routine going by hanging one centerpiece in each room, or mix it up, with some rooms showing off collages or multiple pieces, and other room displaying one focal piece.

When choosing what to hang on the wall, take these questions into consideration:

  • Who will use the room the most?
  • What type of ambiance do you want the room to have?
  • What color patterns do your paint palettes and furniture provide?
  • How much space do you have to work with?
  • What other wall items are you working with, such as windows and fireplaces?
  • What is your decorating budget?

What you hang on your wall is entirely up to you. The possibilities are overabundant, with almost nothing considered taboo. You could hang a family portrait or a collage of photographic memories. You could hang a piece of renowned artwork as a main focal point, or you could hang multiple pieces of art that complement each other. You could skip the usual paintings, sketches and photographs, and opt for a collage of wallpaper patterns, a framed puzzle, a creative piece of wood, a sculpture, an intricate clock or any other type of object that you find inspiring and visually appealing.

Once you find a decorative piece that you want to show off, strive to keep the focus on that piece and to keep your walls as uncluttered and calm as possible. Your guests will appreciate your smart sense of style!

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

Add Dollars by Decorating

Apr02
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

Call it decorating, call it staging, the fact remains: the way you furnish and accessorize your home can dramatically affect its value in the minds of buyers.

It’s true. Beyond cleaning, organizing and repairing your residence, the way you decorate has the potential to turn an average home into an impressive showcase. Rooms will look larger, features will stand out and, when done right, buyers will be pulling out their pocketbooks.

So what can you do to make your home look more expensive?

OPTION 1: Hire a Stager. Professional stagers make it their business to know what decorating options will change the look of your home and which will give you the most bang for your buck.

OPTION 2: Stage It Yourself: You might not be a professional stager, but you might be able to do a little personal research and come up with the basic strategies that one would use. To help you get started, here are a few ideas:

  • Scale: A very large room should have larger furniture, which fits with the size of the space. Have an enormous wall in your two-story entryway? Don’t use two or three small prints to add color—use large paintings or tapestries or artwork that helps fill the space!
  • Lighting: The day of a showing, pull back the curtains and turn on the lamps in your (freshly cleaned, ideally) rooms. This will make everything look brighter, more inviting and better to buyers.
  • Personality: When you’re living in your home, of course you can put out family portraits, albums and knick-knacks. When you’re selling, however, you are trying to help buyers see themselves in your home, not help them see YOU in your home. Do everything you can to depersonalize.
  • for Inspiration: One of the best things you can do in terms of decorating ideas is look through magazines and books for inspiration! Find ideas you like and then implement them in your home.
Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Brighten Up a Drab Day

Feb26
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

sunshinehouse

Unless you live in a state that shows off year-round sunshine, the month of February tends to be a little drab and dreary. The cold winter weather lingers while the spring rain tests its waters. It’d be easy to acquire a gloomy state of mind until the grass is green again. This year, fight the gloominess by incorporating color and brightness into your home! The perk of a personal living space is that it can be as bright and cheerful as you want it to be, without any regard to what the world looks like outside.

Aside from the fact that bright attributes in your home will brighten your mood, they will also grab the attention of those passing by or visiting and could create an interest in potential buyers, if you are or soon will be selling your home.

Here are some ideas on how to brighten up a drab day in your colorful confines:

• Visit a flea market or a local antique shop and purchase some affordable and unique table lamps, floor lamps or sconces to add literal brightness to any room.

• Trade in your thick window curtains with Roman shades or lacy curtains that allow light to seep through. Choose deep red tones or floral prints that will emphasize sunshine and sunsets.

• Purchase white or light wood furniture, and outline the drawers or legs in a bright color of paint. With stencils, paint a design all over the piece.

• Add colored panels to flank your outside windows. Opt for royal blue, maroon, deep red or off-white, depending on the tone of your exterior.

• Switch your front porch lights with colored bulbs. Opt for purple, pink, bright yellow or some other pastel that reminds you of the upcoming spring.

• Add some plants or flowers to your front porch or a visible garden. Research what types of plants will grow in your area in February, such as skunk cabbage, Russian sage, white fir or winter honeysuckle.

• Hang a wallpaper border in your kitchen or bathroom, displaying bright sunflowers or ruby red apples. It will brighten a room without changing the paint color. If you grow tired of it, you can remove it with minimal work.

• Cozy up by a fire or the television with a bright-colored blanket. When not in use, throw the blanket across the back of the couch. It can add a bright flare to any room.

If you have your own ideas on how to add color and cheerful brightness to a drab room, share your idea with other Buy Owner Blog readers. Warmer months are in our future!

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , ,

Holiday Decorating Safety Precautions

Dec18
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

candle

Most homeowners or renters look forward to showing off their holiday décor this winter, and we love to look at it as much as you love to show it off! However, did you know many house fires and electrical dilemmas occur around this time of year, along with physical injuries? To prevent these possible predicaments, here are some quick and easy safety precautions to follow when setting up your holiday décor.

To prevent physical injuries:

• Set your tree in a stand that is sized and weighed correctly for the trunk of your tree. In other words, if you chop a larger tree than usual this year, don’t expect your old stand to hold this tree up too. This will prevent falling trees.

• Try to hide your outdoor wires behind bushes, away from the walkway. Inside, have the wires line the outer walls. This will prevent tripping injuries.

• When hanging lights on the roof, have someone hold the ladder in place. Wear shoes that will grip the roof. Hang lights in the daylight. This will prevent falling injuries.

• When lighting candles, use a long lighter or match. Only allow adults to light candles, or children under strict supervision. This will prevent burns.

• Opt for tinsel, garland and other non-metal decorations that are not hazardous if consumed by a child or pet. This will prevent poisoning and choking.

• Wear gloves when dealing with lights, cords and plugs, and work only in conditions that are not overly dry or moist. This will prevent electrocutions.

• Hang heavy or breakable ornaments low on the tree. That way, if they fall from the tree, it will help prevent scattered glass. Also, keep all breakable decorations away from a child’s grasp.

• When picking up heavy boxes filled with holiday décor, bend your knees and use your whole-body strength to lift. This will help prevent back injuries.

To prevent electrical problems:

• Cover outdoor electrical outlets with duct tape. This will prevent rain and snow moisture to drip into the outlets. Also, make sure the extension cords and lights you use outside are made for outdoor use.

• Use an electrical strip to connect multiple plugs together. Do not attempt to connect one electrical strip with another strip, or to use more wires than there are plugs. This will prevent electrical fires.

• Turn all the lit decorations off at night. This will prevent possible fires. You might also want to consider unplugging decorations too, which will save energy.

• Replace damaged cords and lights. When replacing a burnt bulb, make sure to replace it with a bulb of the same wattage. This will prevent electrical problems.

• When purchasing an artificial tree, make sure the label reads “fire resistant.” With real trees, make sure it’s fresh rather than dry and brittle. This will prevent fires.

• Keep lit candles in clear view, burn out when leaving the house or going to sleep, and keep away from flammable objects, such as the tree. This will prevent fires.

• Do not throw wrapping paper into a fireplace. The paper burns fast and intensely, which could cause a sudden burst of flames. This will prevent fires and burns.

• Clean out your gutters before hanging lights on the roof, and opt for smaller bulbs instead of larger ones. These steps will prevent hot lights from burning dried leaves and starting fires.

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Time Period Decorating

Nov13
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

vintageroom

Need decorating ideas? Feeling uncreative? If you find yourself in a decorating funk, here’s an idea that’s always available: decorate for a certain time period. This type of decorating is popular because it brings history alive in our everyday lives, the choices are abundant, and the décor can’t ever go out of style.

To begin, choose a time period that interests you most. Do you like the dark, dramatic décor of the gothic period; the artistic flare of the Roman period; the fun of the 1950s or the bright and flashy colors found in the 1960s? The time period that you choose is completely up to you. Here are ideas for a select few eras:

• To decorate within the colonial period, which was roughly from the time of American settlement to the mid 1800s, specialize in a simple English décor. This style shows off crown molding, windows with small panes, hardwood flooring, elaborate fireplaces, exposed wooden beams on the ceilings, mahogany wood furniture and an overall country atmosphere.

• To decorate in a gothic style, use lots of accessories rather than wall colorings. The walls should just be painted gray or blue, or with a faux stone apperance. Use lots of dramatic fabrics, such as velvet, silk and suede in bold colors. Stained glass, gargoyles and wood or stone flooring are all good accents.

• You can also decorate within a certain American decade. The roaring 1920s brought numerous changes to the household décor, which included rich colors in flooring, doors and window frames, oriental-style carpets and lamps, old-fashioned stoves, china tea sets and lots of built-in furniture.

• Decorating a room in a 1960s appearance means using bright, gaudy objects! Bright colored walls, metal furniture, patterned area rugs and artworks, floor lamps and neon lights with words or images all make acceptable attributes to a 60s room. Don’t forget a peace sign!

Use these tips to decorate one of your rooms in this time period, or just use them to get the creative juices flowing!

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

Thanksgiving Decorating Tips

Nov06
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

pumpkinFALL

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and though we’ve previously discussed how home sellers should keep holiday decorations to a minimum, there is nothing wrong with adding fall flare to your home or with adding warmth and coziness to your layout.

Wow your dinner guests with homemade or purchased decorations that not only show off the vibrant colors of fall, but that also celebrate the coming together of friends and the beginning of our founded nation. In the hype of winter holidays to come, Thanksgiving décor is sometimes forgotten, but it just as lovely and important as any other holiday.

To decorate for your Thanksgiving, try to incorporate some of these ideas:

• Show off some cornucopias! Place a few medium-sized examples around the home, or just display one large example as your table’s centerpiece. Fill this treasure with real or fake fall leaves, acorns, pine cones and twigs, or fill it with brightly colored flowers, fruits or vegetables! As a goody bag for your guests to take home, Disney’s FamilyFun.com suggests filling sugar cones with multi-colored hard candies and writing each person’s name on a cone with cake icing!

• Dedicate a table or a corner of the room for pumpkins and an array of uniquely shaped and colored squash and gourds! These can be found in your local grocery store, or you could make a day out of choosing some at a local pumpkin farm. You could even serve the squash as part of the meal! One popular fall recipe includes cutting an acorn squash in half, scooping out the seeds, placing some butter and brown sugar in the middle, and cooking the squash in the microwave for 10 minutes.

• To promote green living to your family and friends, host a green Thanksgiving, using only eco-friendly decorations! Our Green Thanksgiving blog provides you with an abundance of options, which include serving soup in hollowed-out baby pumpkins or adding an autumn scent with candles made out of recyclable goods! You can read all kinds of eco-friendly decorating ideas.

• Remember the pilgrims and Indians that made this day possible? Decorate with wheat stalks or cornstalks, to celebrate the harvest. Hang Thanksgiving stickies on your windows that display a pilgrim and Indian setting. Fill a vase with colorful feathers. Surprise your guests with homemade Indian and pilgrim hats! For instructions on how to make these hats, visit ziggityzoom.com. You could even tell everyone to dress up in costumes, or as the host, dress up alone!

• No matter what side dishes you decide to serve, every Thanksgiving meal has one thing in mind: turkey. Celebrate this common element by displaying stuffed animal turkeys, window stickies with turkeys, or just drawings of turkeys. One renowned way of creating an artistic, personal turkey is to trace your hand, draw the face in your thumb, and color your fingers different colors for the feathers.

Thanksgiving decorations should be quick to set up and quick to take down. After the last guest finishes his or her slice of pumpkin pie and heads out the door, you could quickly toss the hollow pumpkins and homemade turkey drawings, take down the window stickies, fold up the Indian costume and store away the cornucopia for next year. Keep things simple!

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

Small Bathroom Upgrade

Sep24
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

bath2

1. Fresh Paint: Adding a new splash of color to your walls can make a big difference! Try painting just a border or doing a faux finish if you’re looking for something more interesting, and choose soothing neutral colors that will increase your home’s value.

2. New Towels: Even just updating you displayed hand towels can give the bathroom a new look, and they are something visitors are sure to notice when they’re washing up!

3. New Shower Curtain: Because it takes up so much visual space in a bathroom, a shower curtain can greatly affect the area’s overall appeal. Try updating yours with one in a soothing palette that goes with your bathroom’s overall color scheme and style.

4. Decorative Touches: Smart, simple accessories tie a bathroom’s decor together. Consider adding candles, vase with fresh flowers, new soaps—little touches that affect the overall appearance.

5. Little Upgrades: Replacing the towel bar, the toilet paper holder and/or the trash can up the style in your bathroom, or you may consider adding an inexpensive towel warmer for a heightened sense of luxury.

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

Add a Fall Flare

Sep05
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

Fall-Colors

An easy, attractive and obvious way to spruce up your home’s décor is to incorporate the season of the year into your color schemes and accessories! Are you hosting a dinner party, a football party or an upcoming holiday? Are you hosting open houses while trying to sell your home? Are you just tired of the same décor day in and day out? We gave you tips on how to incorporate spring into your decor, and how to stage your home for summer. Now it’s time to add a fall flare by surrounding yourself with the vibrant colors of autumn!

Outside: Fill your home’s entryway with warm, inviting aspects of fall, for you and guests alike! Pumpkins are bright, simple and ideal for sprucing up an entry! Place a medium-sized pumpkin on each step that leads to a raised porch, or flank the doorway with two large pumpkins. Line a porch railing with a braid of twigs. Rake up your yard, and add some leaves to the braid. Don’t have a railing? Make a little pile of twigs and leaves, and plop a scarecrow on top! Hang a collage of dried corn on your door.

To spruce up a door: Better Homes and Gardens suggests you take a standard wreath made of wheat, that you could easily find at a craft or hobby shop, and stick golden maple leaves throughout the wreath! This idea allows you to switch up the leaves with seasonal favorites year-round! For more ideas from Better Homes and Gardens, click here.

Fireplace mantel: create a basket of natural goods for the middle of the mantel, or spread the goods out for the entire length of the mantel. Create a mixture of pine cones, twigs, gourds, squash, apples, hay and colorful leaves. In the midst of this scenic haven, add some autumn colored and scented candles! Always keep a pile of firewood in the fire.

Living room: Cover your couches and loveseats in the natural tones of fall, such as dark brown suede, burnt orange leather, or gray thick cotton. Add throw pillows in bright orange, plum, yellow, maroon, rust, dark blue or emerald green.

Kitchen: Keep a bowl or basket in easy reach, filled with handpicked apples, apple cinnamon donuts, fresh fudge, whole squash, corn on the cob, tomatoes, zucchini, and any other foods that are fresh and abundant this time of year! For a delicious aroma, brew some cinnamon apple tea or a cup of hot cocoa.

For a table centerpiece: Stop by a craft or hobby shop to pick up an array of colorful leaves, hay or straw, fake fruit, and a cornucopia to stuff all the gems into! For a fresh, natural approach, fill a rust-colored bowl with mini gourds, squash and pumpkins!

Bedroom: for you or a special guest, add fall-colored candles with rich spice aromas to a nightstand or dresser. Martha Steward suggests wrapping candlesticks in flowery twigs, or wrapping the glass that surrounds a candle with decorative tissue, tied in place with a string. For more suggestions, click here.

Accessories: According to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, adding comfortable, cozy accessories to your home will create a fall feeling. Suggestions include quilts to hang on the walls, pottery, flour-sack pillow covers, duck wallpaper, updated floral prints, patriotic symbols and anything textured. For more suggestions, click here.

For a drastic change: fill your office or family room walls with dark wood paneling, replace your stair railings with dark oak or knotty pine, add wooden beams to your ceiling, paint your rooms in earthy fall colors, cover hardwood floors or light-colored carpeting with patterned rugs, or invest in planting some year-round evergreens in your yard.

Any or all of these changes will spruce up your home for the season. Soon enough, Halloween and Thanksgiving will be greeting us with their presence, and each offer their own array of extra decorating possibilities!

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , ,

Frugal Facelift for Your Kitchen

Aug17
2009 25 Comments Written by Shanna

ssfridge Sellers, are you wishing you could replace your appliances but can’t afford the cost? There’s another answer. With a few simple materials, a little time and a lot of elbow grease, you can turn your old appliances into like-new showpieces, designed to make your kitchen instantly more impressive to potential buyers. Want to know how?

Step One: Cleaning
This step may seem unnecessary, in which case you’ll be tempted to skip it—but don’t. Thoroughly scrubbing and sanitizing your appliances lays the groundwork for any improvement.

Step Two: Choose Replacement Materials
There are several options to choose from when it comes to updating your appliances. While these options may not last the next 20 years, they do extend the life of your outdated appliances temporarily, which is especially valuable when your home is for sale! Which solution you choose depends on your personal preference, so compare these choices:

  • Veneer Panels: Wood-looking panels can be attached to your existing appliances to give them a cutting-edge appearance.
  • Paint: Specially made appliance paint can give your older appliances a fresh start. Just be sure to use the paint specifically made for this purpose—use anything else, and you’re likely to ruin what you have.
  • Stainless Steel-Looking Contact Paper: You can purchase the contact paper at home stores or online, and then you just need to cut it yourself to the exact measurements of your appliances. Attach it to the front of your appliances for an instant makeover! Note that this option cannot be applied above the stove.

Research the cost and availability of materials at your local home improvement store, and decide which is best for you. Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure, this kitchen facelift is the kind that matters: it’s low in cost and big in impact!

Posted in Buying Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,
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