Tag Archives: home decor

Personalizing Your Outdoor Living Space

Do you have an outdoor porch or patio space that you love to enjoy in the spring, summer and fall? What does it look like? This outdoor space often functions as another room of your home, but is it rather plain and generic? Why not personalize it with your own sense of style and make it a welcoming and comfortable space? Here are some ideas. One of the great assets of our current home, is the large screened porch in the back. On that porch, we can enjoy fragrant spring breezes, cool off in the summer and enjoy fall’s bounty … Continue reading →

Shape up Your Guest Room in No Time

We’re running out of time before Thanksgiving. There may be no time left to paint or do other projects you had hoped to complete. That’s okay, because there are some quick, simple, affordable ways to get the guest room looking great and you can use these ideas at holidays or any time. First, check into a reversible comforter set, duvet cover, or one of those “bed in a bag” deals. By changing the bedding, thus treating what is generally the focal point in any bedroom, you’ll make an impact quickly. There are some terrific and affordable options, and if you … Continue reading →

Creating A Fabulous Photo Wall

How many of you watched Wednesday’s Oprah show? It featured Oprah’s favorite designer Nate Berkus helping homeowners break out of decorating time warps. It was a great episode and offered a ton of great tips; however, the part of the show that stuck with me came at the end when Nate showed off a mock living room that featured collage frames. You know, the ones found in just about every home in America. They are large wooden squares that feature a series of circles, ovals and other shapes that frame your prize-winning shots. Your pictures may be fabulous, but the … Continue reading →

Hold On To Those Shiny Holiday Balloons!

They are a popular decoration used to embellish homes to celebrate birthdays, graduations, Mother’s Day, anniversaries, actually… come to think of it there must be a Mylar balloon (those metal-foil helium balloons) designed to mark just about every special occasion known to man. My daughter loves the shiny balloons and we use them to decorate our home for a number of special events. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day (we already have a balloon bouquet floating around the living room courtesy of my parents) and Sunday is also the day many students that attend our local college will earn their diplomas. I … Continue reading →

Looking for Change in the Kitchen, Bedroom, Bath, or Hall? Go Vintage

Vintage decorating is a great idea for adding charm to your home. Vintage or vintage-look fabrics and other items can go a long way toward adding softness, a bit of nostalgia, and a sense of comfort to various spaces. Kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, are the most likely rooms to be decorated in a vintage fashion, but the style will work anywhere, and the hallway or entryway is a good example. Try Vintage Chairs Not only can you find unique designs in vintage chairs, but it’s also not usually too difficult to find a one of a kind piece at an antique … Continue reading →

Decorating Your Front Door

Spring has sprung in our neighborhood. I know this because Mrs. Malagday’s gigantic floral wreaths are hanging from her front doors. Mrs. Malagday is a lovely woman who lives in a huge home with a double door entrance a few streets down from us. My daughter and I pass her “mansion” on our way to the neighborhood park. Yesterday, we noticed that she had placed the massive wreaths up and also added a potted plant to her front stoop. It made me hang my head and wonder what people must think of our front door and porch area—-all I have … Continue reading →

Patio Party

What did we do to deserve this? For some unexplained reason we have experienced record-breaking warm temperatures (in the 80s, which is practically unheard for the state this early in the year) on two consecutive weekends. The beautiful weather has drawn people outdoors in droves. Take a walk around our neighborhood at dusk and you’d think there was a huge block party going on. The homeowners who aren’t busy tending to their gardens are grilling dinner on their decks and patios. Which leads me to the point of this blogs–patios. Most people think that an outdoor party is simply not … Continue reading →

More Reasons You Should Install A Ceiling Fan In Your Home

In a blog I posted on Earth Day I provided a list of ways you could make your home a bit “greener.” One of the suggestions was to add ceiling fans to rooms that heat up when the mercury rises (having them around may help you resist the urge to flip on the air conditioner). Ceiling fans help the environment and your pocketbook–if you buy a good one that is energy-efficient. Studies show an energy efficient ceiling fan can reduce your electricity bill up to 40% in the summer and 10% in the winter. What’s more, they are readily available … Continue reading →

High-Tech Bathrooms

We’ve all heard of high-tech kitchens, but not very many homeowners think of integrating advanced technology in the smallest room in the house-—the bathroom. I will be the first to admit that when I stroll through design showrooms I tend to gravitate towards new products for the kitchen and larger living areas. What’s more, when I travel to hotels and run across a product that makes washing up safer and more comfortable I rarely consider installing it in my own home (in most cases I figure it’s a luxury I can’t afford). The following are some of my favorite high-tech … Continue reading →

Building A “Green” Home

In honor of Sunday’s celebration of Earth Day I decided to write about “green” homes. In a previous blog I detailed my first tour of a “green” home. I found the house to be clean, comfortable, airy, and certainly energy-efficient. I could see myself living in a highly environmentally correct dwelling, though remodeling my current home to get it up to “green” standards may be a challenge. If I went “green” I would do so from scratch. During my tour I learned that constructing a “green” home is not as difficult as many believe. Like any construction project, it takes … Continue reading →