Home and Garden Articles
posted on 10 May 2012
I love my home. Everything about this home that I have changed has made it more and more perfect - from the lights in the living room, to the new chrome door knocker for the front door. However, there is always room for change. I have painted the rooms in the most soothing colors for me and my family and I feel reflects a lot of warmth. But the house is getting up there in years. Where it was made pretty solid, the builders did some of the finish work a little on the cheap side, which was okay we had a young son and all of his friends grow up in this house and I wasn't worried about any expensive counters or cabinets but I would love to have new kitchen cabinets and nice tile or granite counters. My home has a lot of western exposure and I would love to put in a sun room on the bottom floor deck where we have a spa right now and if it were enclosed I could make the spa more private. Our home is on a hillside and my husband put in a beautiful terraced rock garden coming down the hill and I would love to have more landscaping done. I have always thought about putting in solar panels on the western exposure roof and would love to be able to power our spa and see if we could channel the power to warm our home in the winter. Oh! If I only had the funds to do so. |
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posted on 5 May 2012
The thing that I absolutely love about my house is the tin roof. I have lived in this house for twenty years, and the sound of rain on the roof never gets old. Growing up, the sound of the rain on the roof is what helped me get to sleep at night.
I could never sleep in a house that is very quiet, and with our tin roof, there was never a quiet night. Being in my house instantly soothes me. From the outside, my house looks like a barn, but on the inside, it is full of antiques. It has a lovely decor including a wonderful spiral staircase. When things breakdown, we have enough DIY "nouse" to do most of the work ourselves - for example, I can buy in plumbing supplies and do most of the simpler plumbing work myself.
My family traveled all over the country to buy the materials for my house. The beams that span across the ceiling were driven to South Carolina from Upstate, New York, where the rest of our family lives. The antiques that stretch across the beams are from all over the world: China, Germany, Canada, and various states. |
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posted on 2 February 2012
Having just bought a Tortilla dining table for a dining table, we've completed all the little jobs around the home - apart from one. The main thing I would like to change about my house is the bathroom. At the moment, the bathroom is pretty old fashioned as the house itself was built in the 1950s and has not had much work done on it. There is no walk in shower, only a bath with an electrical shower and the handbasin is pretty grimy, it does not look fresh at all. First of all, I would strip out the current bath, rip up the linoleum which is down at the moment and take out a cupboard which is used for storing towels and bed linen. With such a clean slate I would then have a walk in shower installed, with a sliding door and frosted glass windows and modern, stainless steel faucets. Ideally, on the floor I would like to have some kind of natural slate or wooden surface and the bath would be deep and white. I would probably have to change where the bath and shower go from their current placement in order to make more room. Finally, I would install a new hand basin, probably one of those made out of a black marble material, something which looked like natural stone anyway, and have faucets where the water comes out looking like a small waterfall. The idea would be to have a light, natural feel to the whole room, yet one which would be welcoming and warm as the bathroom is really an essential room for the house and the whole family. I might also knock out a wall between the bathroom and one of the bedrooms to make more space, and open up the current window on the side wall so that the room was more airy and light. |
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posted on 29 December 2011
Everyone wants to live a luxury life. Some inherit it while others try their best to achieve it. Well, a part of it is changing or upgrading your house for better. Some people even go for a self build, but if you can't afford that, you can improve the home you have. There are many things in my house that I want to change but the thing that I want most is to have a lawn in front of my house. Right now there is some space in front of my house which is not being used for anything. If I change it to a lawn, it would change the look of my house as well as help me keep myself healthy. I will plant different kinds of plants there. I really like to walk or do some work out early in the morning, not to mention the joy of having a cup of coffee in my lawn with my wife. Such change I think is compulsory for my house. I would make me and my wife happy. |
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posted on 27 December 2011
Our future lies in how creative we as human beings can be in finding new ways to meet our energy needs.As a native of a Caribbean island, I can not understand why our governments have not invested in sun and wind renewable energy systems. We receive ample north-westerly winds and have sunlight for at least eight hours a day. Why not make an investment into renewable energy system using our own natural resources? Why should we continue to live as sheep and feed into the "black gold" craze? Clean energy directly challenges the thought that energy costs have to be high. In truth, they do not. Our computers, our air conditioning, ad even our water heater can be fueled by energy that is harvested from the sun - via the solar panel - and wind. Such a move can help to drastically decrease energy bills and also help to preserve our natural resources- fossil fuels can run out, but sun and wind are constant throughout time. |
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posted on 16 December 2011
Our New York City apartment was suddenly over-run by mice. Now, I consider myself something of an expert on pest control...I've tackled flies with fly killer very well in the past. So instead of calling in an expert, I checked all over the house for the mouse-hole, eventually found it behind the stove, and stuffed it tightly with steel wool. Mice, you see, cannot chew through steel wool. But they came back. I found one in the cereal box one morning. My wife saw one perched on the kitchen faucet. Our poor geriatric cat– I thought the smell of cats kept mice away? Perhaps they smelled his extreme old age. The mice got in his cat food. Mr. Fluff seemed visibly depressed. We bought glue traps, but everyone in the family was traumatized by the first victim’s shrieking. I had to cover the mouse with a paper towel and drop the Oxford English Dictionary on top. Wham, he went quiet. My son cried. We ended up getting “humane” mousetraps and released 6 mice into the “wild,” i.e. Central Park. |
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posted on 22 November 2011
One of the most modern furniture commonly seen in kitchens today is the island. These are countertops placed in the middle of the kitchen where you can work, prepare meals, chop vegetables etc. Aside from this, it can also be a place where people stand around, place their drinks on the table while talking and conversing with one another. Lastly, a good kitchen island furniture will also add to the appeal of the entire kitchen as these are designed to attract attention as they are the center of the kitchen. So if you plan on having a kitchen with a more modern feel, why don’t you try getting one of these o your kitchen? Aside from having lots of many uses, it will also help save space as you are also utilizing the extra floor space in the middle of your kitchen as opposed to older kitchens that have an empty space in the middle or contain less attractive tables and chairs. |
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posted on 18 November 2011
They say one can never do enough research when buying a new home, well, I should have listened. The very night that I moved in, I was greeted my the melodious (read absolutely irritating) buzz of mosquitoes! I was used to dealing with the humble house fly in my last house, and they were easily defeated by fly screens for doors. Mozzies? A different kind of enemy. I was in shock, after a hard day of unpacking and trying to familiarize myself with the new surrounding when I was about to lie down, a swarm of mosquitoes decided to poach one me. I tried the sheets, but it didn't do much, and more sheets would just make me uncomfortable warm. Then, I remembered that I might have a can of bug spray in one of the boxes, I dove out from under the sheet and sprinted for the box, after shuffling around items, I can across it. I may have overdone the spraying though, which cost me an half hour before the air in the bedroom was breathable again, but I did get deep restorative sleep that night. So, the truth is, it may not have exactly saved my life, but sure helped me to enjoy that night, and every night since then! |
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posted on 24 October 2011
It is always very difficult to make changes and it becomes even more difficult to make changes in a small house - even things like adding porch canopies can be problematic. I want to make my home more spacious, but it is built on a small piece of land measuring 30X 30 feet. What I want to change ? I want to make/ reconstruct my house on the modern style of construction which will allow me to find some more space for common room, more ventilation and comfort ness in extreme weathers. By doing so I will be able to reduce the cost of maintenance and utility services. The remodeling or reconstructing of my home will give my children the opportunity to live in their separate rooms and liberty to live a life of their own choice. Currently my children are sharing room. In modified structure I would like to leave a small patch of open land for plants and flowers. These changes will be helpful in making my family healthy and stress free |
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posted on 21 October 2011
One time when I lived in a very old house in California, I had to deal with a raccoon infestation. These are not like fleas where simple flea powders will eradicate them. We're talking big creatures here. The raccoons got into the walls of the house through the root cellar and made a terrible racket all day and night. They set up a nest under one of the bedroom closets upstairs. We could hear them fighting and hear their babies crying at all hours of the day and night. My husband and I asked the landlord to do something about it, and he hired a pest control service that specialized in non-lethal means. The pest control specialist set up bright lights and loud radios in the root cellar, the attic and at several other strategic places. After only a couple of days, the raccoons had moved, taking their babies with them. Then the pest control specialist sealed off all their entrances with heavy wire mesh to keep them from returning. |
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posted on 22 September 2011
While I use traditional methods of pest control, such as door fly screens, I'm always on the lookout for new products. The other day I saw a bug spray product that I thought was absolutely genius. It was a can of wasp killer that promised to shoot the stream of killing solution up to ten feet away! It makes perfect sense, though, doesn’t it? No one wants to get close to a hornet’s nest, so being able to mount your assault from far away behind a bush or door frame is the best possible scenario. But what I can’t understand is why don’t all bug sprays have this feature? I don’t want to get any closer to a roach or spider than I do to a wasp. And anytime I move even a millimeter to go and get said bug spray, the pest invariably moves or runs away so I never see it again until it torments me again in the most inconvenient possible place, i.e. in the shower first thing in the morning. So my recommendation is for all bug sprays to come with the option of long-distance spray capability. I can’t promise that my aim would always be accurate, but at least I would be really far away when I missed. |
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posted on 13 September 2011
Dear Amy, as you read this letter, I am already on my way to New Zealand. I am so sorry, sweetheart if I had to keep my plans a secret from you. I would have wanted to tell you but then I know that if I did, you would probably stop me and won't let me go. I need to do this, not only for me, but for us. I am already sure of myself, Amy. When I get back there and you're still waiting for me, I will marry you. I have so many dreams for both of us and for the family we will be having. But I feel that if I stick to steel sheeting, I won't be able to accomplish much. I don't want to fail you and my future children. As man of the house, I want to be able to give you everything you need and so much more. It pains me to leave like this. I wanted to say goodbye but I feared that if I see you cry, I would drop everything and stay right there beside you. I hope you can forgive me, Amy. I love you so much. |
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posted on 26 August 2011
One summer, my mom left my dad and me on our own for eight days while she helped out an injured relative. My dad and I got the brilliant idea of surprising her at her return by removing the carpet in the bathrooms and replacing it with linoleum. We used refloored downstairs with hardwoods, so were used to this kind of job.
We decided that solid sheets of linoleum were a lot less expensive and did not seem too much harder to install than the twelve-inch tile version, and we further justified it to ourselves by telling ourselves it would be more waterproof that way. We came home with enough linoleum for both bathrooms and a bucket of glue for the job. Rolling out and gluing sheet linoleum turned out to be far more messy and complex than either my dad or I had expected. We certainly surprised my mom when she came home, but more with the mess than with the fresh linoleum! |
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posted on 24 August 2011
Electrical services are popular because almost all the houses which have been built in the urban areas as well as those in the rural areas have been connected with the supply of electricity. Because of this fact, there are many different commercial electrician companies which have come up to cover for all the connections, rewiring and re-installation of electricity in different areas. This has created competition in the country and has resulted to low prices for such services, acting as a major plus for many consumers. There are now different services, either for connections or inspections which are being offered commercially, and this means it is now more possible to cater for all these services using a flexible amount of money that can be recovered within a short period of time. You may be shocked at how low the rates will drop if competition in the commercial market continues hitting great heights. Therefore start creating good contacts for that new house in your estate and you could be getting some kind of commission even if you are not employed. |
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posted on 26 July 2011
Would you like to have broken doors, or dirty slabs in the kitchen? Not a good impression? The same would be when visitors come over to have tea with you, choose the right kitchen remodel teams. There are a few tips on kitchen remodel we would like to share with you, so please read on.
kitchen remodel teams should be chosen with due diligence. The project they do for you should be what your mind wants. When visitors sit for a cup of team in your kitchen, they should be wowed with the experience, and ask you for tips and ideas in the bargain for kitchen remodel tips.
This is why before calling the kitchen remodel contractors you should sit and decide what you want your kitchen to look like. Gather as many quotes from kitchen remodel teams as possible before you make a decision on which kitchen remodel team should work for you. |
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posted on 18 July 2011
The Plumbers costs from one plumbing company to another would vary. There are no set standard rules for Plumbers costs issues by the plumbing departments, hence each of them charge on an average or may be more.
Emergency plumbing services during odd hours, such as in the dead of the night would sky rocket the plumbing costs. If you call for plumbing services during regular business hours, the Plumbers costs would be much less.
Also take into account the distance the plumber has to travel, which could alter the Plumbers costs. Travel time should also be taken into consideration when Plumbers costs are thought off, since time is obviously money for them.
Plumbers costs can spiral if you don’t call reputed licensed plumbers and decide to use the DIY technique, since you wouldn’t know everything about the plumbing issue in hand and the job would need an expert to tend to it. |
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posted on 12 July 2011
Home security must be a priority to ensure safety of our families and the entire household. With a lot of crimes committed against properties, it is very important to provide security to your home. If you have ever thought of getting the services of a local locksmith, you should figure out when is the best time to find one. Keep in mind that there should be no rush. Otherwise, you will end up cramming. Locksmiths in NYC are all over the Big Apple but you need to be more vigilant in choosing the most legitimate ones.
You can spend a lot to avail of the services of a locksmith in NYC. You must make sure you are spending the right amount for the right items for home security. There are some locksmiths around the Big Apple which can take advantage over your rush to purchase home security gadgets, locks and other items you can think of.
Nothing is wrong when you invest on home security items. You just need to find the best locksmith in NYC who can do the job for you. |
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posted on 29 June 2011
We all look for ideas which are unique and adventurous, when we think of home improvements. Most remodeling company experts have solutions that are cost effective and promise to spruce up your homes like no one’s business.
Remodeling company experts have tips on how to manage interior decorations for low costs, so make sure you select a remodeling company who has their own interior decorators and workforce to do the job.
Another thing when choosing any remodeling company would be to check their experience and goodwill with customers in the market. Do that by going to BBB and knowing more about their legitimacy and the work feedback given by previous customers.
Always look at the kind of technology used by the remodeling company. This would be important if you are looking at work done fast and also quality work for the kind of money you would be spending. Remember, if they are charging you a bomb, they better have a valid reason for the same. |
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posted on 28 June 2011
So you finally got to have someone come over for the house remodeling plan, congratulations, but have you thought of house rewiring? Yes, it is as important as house remodeling and if you speak to your remodelers for the same they would agree.
Remember, wires have a lifetime as well, and they can turn faulty in no time. Hence it is always good to have an electrical inspection done prior to remodeling the house you live in. if there are faults, you would then be able to first get the house rewiring in place, and then carry on with the remodeling work.
Remember, house rewiring can take a week, but it is worth the wait. You sure don’t want your house to go in flames one fine morning because of a short circuit do you? If the answer is a NO, which is should be, then get the house rewiring done as soon as possible. |
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posted on 28 June 2011
Commercial movers help you with your move from one place to another and it doesn’t mater if you have a business establishment, large or small to take care of. These experts are experienced in all types of commercial moves and wouldn’t disappoint you at all.
With the help of commercial movers all your office supplies, and even fragile equipments would be packed well and with total safety, ensuring they reach the new premises in one piece. All your furniture and electronic items too would be packed with a lot of care with the help of commercial movers.
Most commercial movers come with trucks large and spacious to fit in all your belongings. They can go long or short distances, whatever you need, the commercial movers would do for you. You need to check the market for such experts and get free quotes from as many as possible, before you engage and narrow down your choices on hiring the best commercial movers in town. |
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