10 Must Have’s for Dorm Room Decorating

Dorm rooms have numerous restrictions when it comes to decorating. They can usually be worked around by purchasing lots of bedding and accessories to brighten up the room, but this year budgets are squeezed making imagination a necessity. 1. 3m removable hooks for hanging frames photographs from home and to hang other lightweight miscellaneous items. 2. Blue tack for hanging inexpensive posters and photographs. 3. Bed risers or cinder blocks to lift the bed so you can create storage underneath. Loft beds may be too much of an expense, but lifting the bed just a food or two can make … Continue reading →

Add a Little Nature to Brighten Your Home and Your Mood

When your home is dark and gloomy then chances are that your mood is the same way. Our homes are reflections of ourselves, and then often can determine just how we feel. That is why it is so important to add things to our home that can brighten it up and add to a wonderful sense of comfort and joy. One of the things that can really brighten a home is a commitment to going back to nature. This can be done simply. Treat yourself to some beautiful brightly colored flowers. There has been some research showing that flowers can … Continue reading →

How to Get Your Home in the Movies 2

If you missed the first post in this series, click here: How to Get Your Home in the Movies. How much can I make? The typical fee for renting out your home can be anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000, depending on the style of the house, the size of the house and who is interested in using your house. The average reimbursement for using your home in a movie, television show or commercial is generally about $3,000 a day. What is involved? Casting scouts will look at several properties and then decide on the right one. A “casting is usually … Continue reading →

How to Get Your Home in the Movies

Do you want to get paid to have your home appear in a movie, television show or commercial? You could earn up to $5,000 a day and have the bragging rights that your home appeared in on the big or small screen. Here is what you need to know! Location, location, location First of all, it helps to have your home located in an area where a lot of filming is done. Southern California is a good one, and so is the greater New York City area (I can’t count the number of times our New York apartment building, neighborhood … Continue reading →

Home Bartering

If you have a home, then you have a valuable asset, even if it is worth less now than what you might have originally paid for it. Now is a great time to use that home of yours to barter for things that you may want or need. You can barter your home in exchange for home improvement services. If you have some extra space, you might be able to barter a room in exchange for professional improvements to your home. Craigslist is full of professional carpenters, electricians, landscapers and contractors who would be willing to offer their services in … Continue reading →

Prepared for Summer Adventures

It was a beautiful day yesterday, just right for some sort of outdoor adventure with the kids. We decided to head over to the park for a spontaneous playdate. But how many times do we just run out the door without something that we know we’ll need later, such as a change of clothes, or sunscreen or a snack? Kids come with requirements for stuff, no matter if you are taking a trip down the shore or just to the local park. Most of the time, we do realize that we need to take some supplies, but choose not to, … Continue reading →

More Summer Decorating the Easy Way

Summer decorating shouldn’t be a chore we dread doing. It should be light, and bright, and fun, like other summer activities. In fact, with a few easy ideas, you can add that light, bright, feel to any space and keep the summer fun coming. You will often hear that you should paint your furniture white or replace heavy or dark pieces with those that are lighter in color and/or scale during the summer. What if you don’t feel like painting or moving furniture? One good trick is to top dark pieces with bright table runners (placemats work too) or add … Continue reading →

Shutters Can Be More than Window Dressing 2

Did you know that today’s homeowners are going back to the basics of weather protection through the use of functional shutters? No longer just decorative, shutters can cut down on your heating costs, your cooling costs and even prevent your furniture from fading while letting in the light. This is part two of a two-part series. In the first part, I talked about different types of functional shutters that can be purchased for your home. The second way to take advantage of the benefits of functional shutters is to adapt standard decorative shutters into real working shutters. You can do … Continue reading →

Shutters Can Be More than Window Dressing

Back in the 19th century, shutters provided homeowners with a means of protection from the elements. From rain to wind and from sun to snow, shutters were a necessary part of a house. In the intervening time between then and now, shutters evolved into more of a decorative and visual role instead of a sturdy functional one. Shutters some in many different styles and designs and most of them are simply painted and then attached flat on either side of a window. Shutters can be more than window dressing. In fact, these days with everyone conscious of a growing problem … Continue reading →

Custom Closet Idea

Love the look and functionality of a custom closet? Here are some ideas that will help you crete your own custom closet from scratch without actually building one or buying one. Custom closet systems are great. My husband put one in our old master closet and we are hoping to put one in our new master closet as well. But there are so many other projects for the house right now that a custom closet may have to wait a bit. With that in mind, I decided to take matters in hand to see what I could do, just with … Continue reading →