Home Interior Decorating for the Four Seasons: Winter

Interior design schools teach students how to use small accents to make a huge difference, and winter is the perfect time to make a few small touches go a long way. While many think about home interior decorating for the holidays, remember that there are usually two months of winter after the holidays are over.

Keys to Winter Home Interior Decorating

Winter interior design is all about creating an environment that reflects the beauty and intensity of the winter season, while leaving the cold outside. Good winter home interior decorating should create a warm, comforting, attractive environment, and the best ways to do this are through warm colors, rich textures, and winter-themed accessories.

Deep Interior Design Colors

Deeper, darker colors make a room feel warmer. Replace summer's light lampshades with ones that are mulberry- or copper-colored, and replace sheer or bright curtains with deeper, richer versions of the same colors. If you must have a touch of "snow", consider adding white flowers as mantel decorations or a table centerpiece.

Rich Textures

Carpet can bring warmth and color to a room. If your carpet is not the right color, bring out rugs in deep winter colors, such as pine-green. Regardless of their size, these can add a sense of warmth to a room with light-colored carpet, bare wood, or cold tile.

The Right Accessories

Candles are some of the best home accessories for winter interior decorating. Their intense glow not only looks warm, but adds heat to any room where they're shining. Group them in collections of various heights and thicknesses.

http://www.interiordesignschoolreview.com/news/2006/11/home_interior_decorating_for_the_four_seasons_winter.html

Fall Accents for the Home

As the hot, humid summer fades into the cooler more pleasant days of fall you may be wondering how you can add some fall accents to your home. Fortunately, there are all kinds of ways you can bring a warm, fall feeling into your home and they don't require a lot of money or work. Here's some ideas on how you can add easily add some fall accents to your home.

It starts with the colors

■Fall is full of bright colors like reds, golds, yellows, Burgundys and oranges so you the simplest way to add a fall feel by introducing fall colors.
■Consider some of the small ways you can add fall colors without making major changes. For example, you could simply change your throw pillows for pillows in a bright fall color, add colorful, decorative candles, books or picture frames to add little touches of fall to your home.
■Painting a room in a bright fall color will enhance the room, but you don't need to do an entire room, you could simply do an accent wall in a yellow, gold or orange color.
■If painting is more work than you want to take on, consider changing your window treatments. Get rid of your light airy summer curtains and replace them with heavier fabrics in a fall color. Not only will you give your home a more 'fall like' appearance, you'll enjoy the practical benefit of saving on your fall (and winter) heating costs.

Fall is harvest time

■You can easily add visual appeal simply using a center piece of fall flowers to bring in some natural beauty while adding a pleasant aroma of the season.
■Or, consider showcasing the beauty of the fall harvest with a center piece of colorful gourds and Indian corn and fruits like apples and grapes. Enhance the appearance by including colorful non traditional fruits such as mangos pomegranate or even tomatoes. The only limitation is your imagination.
■Nothing says fall more than pumpkins and colorful leaves. At this time of year pumpkins are inexpensive and available at grocery stores, farmers markets and often at road side stands. Take a walk on a sunny fall day, enjoy the weather and gather some fallen leaves to spread around the base of a bright orange pumpkin.

Fall has it's scents as well

■Consider adding some candles with the scents of fall such as the cinnamon scent of a fresh baked apple pie or some sweet vanilla.

It's easy to add fall accents to your home and it can be a source of fun for the whole family. Use your imagination and you'll figure out lots of things that will give you a chance to enjoy fall even inside your home.


By Murray Anderson
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/fall-accents-for-the-home

Fall Decorating Ideas

Most of us don't want to admit that summer is over...pushing the thought to the back of our minds as we enjoy what nice weather we have left. But autumn brings its own excitement...for one, decorating! Here are a few seasonal decorating tips I thought were interesting.

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As the sunny summer fades out and we enter autumn, it's time to give your home a look that captures the spirit of the season, adding spice and warmth to your home in a simple, natural way. Whether you're spreading pumpkins and gourds around your kitchen or porch, or adorning your sofa with soft, warm blankets, you'll find that it's small touches that go a long way when decorating for the fall.

This year look to the outdoor autumn world for inspiration when you decorate. Why go out and buy plastic decorations when you can find almost everything you need right in nature? Let's face it, some Halloween decorations can be downright gaudy. Not only will do-it-yourself decorating save you money, but the look you achieve will be more natural, refined, and last in your home long after Halloween has passed. Plus, you can tap into your creativity with hands-on decorating, a fun way to get you into the fall spirit. Get outside and take this opportunity to enjoy the outdoors before the cold of winter moves in.

It's no mystery where the classic earthy colors of the season come from; just look out the window at the natural world around you. Leaves are changing color to intense reds and pinks, vivid oranges and yellows, and more subdued browns and coppers as they fall. The produce of the season crops up in all kinds of rich tones; the deep orange of the pumpkin, lively apple reds and greens, gourds and squash in all sorts of shades and patterns of deep greens and buttery neutrals. At any farmer's market you'll find decorative Indian corn with its pale yellow and dark red, brown, and black kernels, as well as rows of mums with their petals in rainbows of bright earth tones. Simply adding a variety of these items to the interior or exterior of your home will immediately give it a splash of fall colors. From here it's up to you to decide how to arrange displays and create your own crafts with these colorful gifts of nature. Read on for ideas to get you started.

There is perhaps no other fruit as emblematic of the fall season as the pumpkin. With its striking orange color, it will brighten up any space it is placed in. You'll find pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns outside just about any house you pass in October. Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween. If left intact, you can get plenty of use out of them decoratively for most of the fall season, and then use them for some wonderful fall recipes, including that Thanksgiving staple, pumpkin pie.

If you're planning on cooking with fresh pumpkin, keep in mind that you'll need to select the right kind. The pulp of the larger jack-o-lantern pumpkins we commonly think of is too stringy and watery to cook with; however, the seeds inside can be saved and baked for a delicious crunchy treat. For cooking more complex recipes you'll need the sugar pumpkin, a smaller, sweeter variety. Go to farm stands and markets and make sure you purchase pumpkins of both varieties. Pumpkins can be used in all kinds of unique recipes, from soups and breads to treats like pancakes and cookies.

If you buy a large quantity of pumpkins and gourds, you can get creative in your placement of them. You can make original arrangements to put on display in or outside your home. If you buy a bunch of small to medium-sized pumpkins, you can place them in all kinds of places and arrangements, making a bolder statement. Look around you to find unusual spots for your pumpkins to stand out. Cascade them in a line down your front stairs, or place them in a row atop fenceposts to really spread out the color. You can place a pumpkin or gourd or two over your front door, or line them up on each side of the walkway to your house.

For the indoors, mini pumpkins lined up on the mantle of your fireplace is a nice seasonal touch, especially when you place some leaves in between each one. When walking outside, collect some colorful leaves, pinecones and acorns, then gather together a bunch of small pumpkins, gourds, apples and Indian corn. Add a basket, a glass vase or bowl, and you have the ingredients for a fall display you can use as a dining room table centerpiece, or place on a kitchen island or any free surface. Experiment with plenty of variations. You can place all gourds, pumpkins, or apples in separate containers, sprinkling the leaves and acorns about as desired, or you may prefer to mix them all together. An autumn-toned piece of cloth will look nice under a basket, as well as allow you to spread whatever extras you may want around the base of the basket or bowl. Furthermore, it keeps the surface clean from residue. Place candles around the sides or in the center of your display. No matter what your setup looks like, it is certainly rearrangeable.

Get imaginative and make candle holders out of small gourds and mini pumpkins yourself; cut off the top of the gourd and scoop out the desired amount of its insides to make room for a small candle or tea light. You can raise these one-of-a-kind holders further to attention by elevating them on stands. Note that once you have cut into the gourds they will only last for few days before they must be replaced. It's not a long-lasting decoration, but a clever idea for adding some ambience to your home if you're having company for dinner. You can also use a similar trick, hollowing out the inside of a larger gourd or small squash, to make a "bowl" in which you can serve soup to your guests. In each of these cases, make sure to use a uniformly-shaped gourd or squash with a flat bottom.

Make ornamental lanyards by stringing together dried leaves and pinecones which you can hang almost anywhere in your house: from the windows, over the mantle of your fireplace, or up the handle of your staircase. You can turn a pumpkin into an innovative flower vase if you cut out the core. The possibilities are endless, and you can keep looking around you for inspiration for adding to your do-it-yourself decorations as the season goes by. As it cools down outdoors, you can make your home warmer inside, keeping in the spirit of the season. You can create visual warmth as well as bring scents of the season to you home with autumn-scented candles. Opt for scents like pumpkin spice, cranberry, pine, and vanilla. You can also purchase or dry out your own potpourri to place around your home. But nothing will fill your home with the rich, warm aroma of autumn like home-cooking some seasonal recipes.

Putting slipcovers on the couches and chairs around your house is an easy way to dramatically change the look and tone of a room for the season, as well as bring warmth to it with heavier fabrics. Consider earth tones of all kinds, and different kinds of fabrics like cotton flannel, faux leather, warm chenille, and luxurious velvet. For even more warmth you might want to place around a few objects with a furry texture or trim, such as pillows and blankets. Go for plain solids or patterns that fit with fall themes, like floral or leaf patterns. Just changing the covers on your furniture can make a drastic difference to a living room, and you can follow in this vein throughout the house; change your curtains, bed linens, and towels to heavier materials that are similarly autumn-toned. Bring out fall-colored or patterned table cloths and small rugs. You can rearrange your furniture so that you move it away from drafty areas and closer to the fireplace. Changing the fabrics and covers in your home is one of the most simple and affordable ways to give it a fresh look, and one that is easily changed season to season.

Don't just think about staying indoors for the fall. Sure it's getting colder out there, but fall weather is some of the most pleasant of the year, with low humidity and gentle cool breezes that should last for at least a couple months. Autumn is the last time of the year to truly enjoy your porch. You can warm up your porch similarly to how you might warm up the inside of your house; bring out a few warm throw blankets you can bundle up with as you sit outside and have a cup of hot apple cider, and place durable fall-patterned table cloths on any small tables. Of course you can place pumpkins and gourds around too. Line up pumpkins in a row on the ledge of your porch and bring cheer to both you and the neighborhood. With such a fall-spirited porch you'll want to bring out some candles and enjoy an autumn dinner in the setting sun.

To give your home a fall makeover, you don't need to look much further than the natural autumn world around you, the linens and blankets stored away in your closet or attic, and your own creative license. Simple, natural touches can create a look that fits your own home, instantly giving the interior and exterior a look that will last you all season.

Simple Guidelines for Choosing Kitchen Colours

How do you choose what colors will work for your kitchen design?

It’s easier than you think. Once you eliminate what won’t work, you are left with a simple palette to choose from. So here are a few ways to filter out colors from your kitchen.

Color for Small Spaced Kitchens

Don’t use dark timbers and colors that will make the space appear smaller. So avoid dark reds, purples, dark blues and greens.

Look for clear crisp colors or whites with a tint of blue, green or yellow for a subtle background of color. Keep cabinetry simple and unadorned and avoid clutter as it will create chaos in a small kitchen.

Color for Large Open Plan Spaced Kitchens

Don’t make a huge contrast in color to the remainder of the décor in your home unless you want your kitchen to visually dominate the living space. Choose a color that flows with the single open plan space. Generally open plan living uses one color for the walls and has small pockets of color to define specific areas within this.

Open plan spaces predominately use white as a wall color and then add color and texture to that. So colors that would work in a large open plan spaced kitchen are mottled, textured neutrals, whites, grays, black and silver metallics, materials like Corian, granite, laminates, stainless steel and tiles.

Then use color in accessories, flowers, jars, vases, pendant light shades, bar stools, pictures etc to provide focal points and pockets of color.

These kitchens are small functional and compact. They generally aren’t a feature of the home simply a necessity and often use colors and textures to blend into the space and encroach as little as possible.

Most apartments are strapped for space and don’t have an abundance of natural light so bright light and clear colors tend to work best. Once again neutrals, whites and grays with accents of clear crisp colors, teal, apple green, hot pink, citrus yellow in small forms. Therefore the timeless all white kitchen works well with white appliances or for a modern look, soft metallic gray with stainless steel appliances is sleek and functional.

Colors for Standard Typical Spaced Kitchen

Yippee!! Anything goes…. Obviously as long as it suits the style of your home and kitchen you can use any colors you like. The only thing to be weary of is lighting.

If you have a lot of natural light and well planned task and feature lighting then the colors you use can be strong and bold and you will still be able to see and the kitchen will be highlighted but if you have little natural light and poor lighting then either upgrade it or choose lighter more light reflecting colors.

Make the most of color, use it, don’t get obsessed with it – step back and visualize your kitchen and how it will look, use brush outs (large cards of paint colors) to hold up in the space to see how the color works at different times of the day with different light. Start gradually and build up color.

If you are in doubt, stick to neutrals and layer gradually. Add color until you get the look you want. After all haven’t we been told for generations from the real estate agents that white is best in the kitchen as it is the color of purity and cleanliness and the most versatile and the best kitchen color for resale!

http://kitchens.interiordezine.com/kitchen_styles/choosing_colors_for_kitchens.html

Keep That Window Working!

I just thought this was an interesting article...short, but useful. I've run into the sticky window issue a few times!

Windows are an everyday part of our life. We need to maintain our windows because of the moving parts. It does not really matter what type of window you have, from timber to aluminum they all use moving part to open and close. If you let paint or grime build up it will affect the performance of the window and may lead to the point where you can’t lock or close it.
•Aluminum windows need to be clean, and with the use of spray silicone you add a film of lubricant to the tracks and wheels or runners.
•Use the spray silicone inside the tracking system to improve performance.
•For those timber windows use the spray silicone on the hinges and stays, and by working the hinge and spraying at the same time, keep the window moving till you regain total movement.
•You must be careful not to get any silicone on paintwork or where you intend to paint. Most spray cans will come with a hollow piece of plastic so that you can direct your spray easily.
•The best way to secure aluminum windows is to install a key lock system where the pin passes through the sliding and fixed tracks locking the window into position. When you remove the key the window cannot be moved. There is also a similar locking system for timber windows

http://www.renovatehomes.com.au/?Page=Newsitem&NewsId=46

Spring Lawn Preparation

Now that the wintry weather is gone and the colorful blooms are back, it’s time to think about spring cleaning. But while you’re washing windows, scrubbing walls and dusting corners inside the house, don’t forget about rolling up those sleeves and giving the outside a once-over, too.

Spending some time in the backyard as soon as spring rolls around can really pay off. “Winter can leave a lawn in pretty tough shape,” says backyard expert Michael Miller, president of backyard tool manufacturer Hound Dog Products. “But there are lots of little things you can do to help spruce up your backyard when the weather starts to turn warmer. By digging in to cleanup in early spring, you’ll be ahead of the game, and your neighbors will be playing catch-up all year long.”

Miller offers seven tips that the professionals use to ensure a successful backyard spring cleanup effort -- and to help your home’s outside sparkle and shine as vibrantly as the inside.

• Rake. As soon as the lawn begins to wake up for the season, give it a light once-over with a rake, taking care not to disturb any new grass plants by raking too hard. In addition to clearing leaves, twigs and other debris left over from last fall, the first raking of the year also allows you to assess the extent of any winter damage to your lawn. Look for early signs of pests or disease, and nip them in the bud before they cause big problems.

• Aerate. Heavy use throughout the year can cause soil to become compacted. Removing plugs of sod in the spring -- aerating -- loosens the soil and lets water, air and fertilizer get down to the grass plant’s root structure. For smaller yards, or for concentrated trouble spots in any size yard, consider using a manual aerating tool that removes plugs from the turf. If you have a large yard, consider renting a power aerator.

• Top dress. After you aerate, spend a few minutes doing what the experts call “top dressing,” spreading a thin layer of peat moss over the lawn with a rake. The top dressing helps to gradually condition the lawn throughout the year, strengthening the grass so it can resist disease, weeds and thatch, and reducing the amount of water and fertilizer it needs.

• Weed. Go after weeds early in the season before they have a chance to go to seed. Cultivating a healthy lawn is one of the simplest ways to crowd out weeds. Or, remove dandelions and other broadleaf weeds with an easy-to-use weeder. Ergonomic tools like the Weed Hound have helped make long afternoons spent weeding nothing more than a backbreaking memory. All you do is place the tool over the weed, step lightly on the footrest, and pull the weed up, root and all.

• Fix bare spots. Whether it’s due to disease or dog urine, bare patches can make a yard look shabby. A quick and easy way of improving the look of your yard is to repair the discolored patches, especially in early spring, when the cooler temperatures help the grass grow. Just clear away the dead-looking patches, sprinkle grass seed on the newly exposed soil, add fertilizer, and keep the area moist until it sprouts.

• Remove thatch build-up. Thatch prevents sunlight, oxygen and moisture from getting to the nutrient-hungry soil below. But it’s easy to remove, especially if you do it regularly -- every year or two. Just go at the yard with a dethatching rake or power dethatcher to clean away the layer of tangled roots and stems. It takes some elbow grease, but it will help clear the way for new growth.

• Give your tools a spring tune-up. Spend a few minutes in the garage or storage shed making sure your tools are in good working condition -- before you need to use them for the first time. Consider taking your lawn mower in for an annual tune-up. The dealer can replace the oil and spark plugs, sharpen the blade, and get it ready for the season.A little effort in early spring can lay the groundwork for a thriving, healthy backyard -- and have your neighbors turning green with envy.

http://www.homeownernet.com/articles/springlawnprep.html

Spring Cleanup: Getting Your Garden Back Into Shape

It looks as though...dare I say it? Spring has almost sprung in Prince George! After a couple of MONTHS wondering if we were going to get spring at all...looked for awhile there like we would just go back into winter...it looks as though Jack Frost has given up. It is a bit dreary outside as I write this, but...I was fortunate enough to see both robins and tulips just the other day!
So anyway, thought I'd post another article on spring gardening...it has some interesting tips in it. Enjoy :)



Early Spring is a great time to emerge from hibernation. We all do it; humans, animals and even our gardens. If you take some time to give your garden an early boost, you will likely be rewarded with a spectacular growing season.Early SpringTiming is different in all parts of the country. But you may find that if you get outside and do a little work in your garden before the start of the growing season, your garden beds will look fantastic. You may even enjoy the cool weather and getting your body in shape for the gardening season to come.

Spring Clean Up

If you did a great job bedding down your plants for winter, you may not have too much work to do this Spring. However, you still should put in a little effort to make sure everything is in order.If you were a little too busy last fall to do much cleaning up, you will find that you have some work to do.

Clean Out Those Garden Beds

One of the first things you will want to do for a good Spring clean up is to clean out your garden beds. If you have any annuals left in your beds that are shriveled and dead, rake them up and dispose of them. Better yet, compost them to use in the future as mulch. If you have any perennials which you haven't cut back, be sure to do that now. You don't want to have this year's plants emerging amongst brown and shriveled stalks. Cut back these dead perennials all the way to the ground. However, make sure not to cut back plants which will grow from old wood, such as Hydrangeas.

Mulch

Mulching and its annual removal is a matter of personal preference. It is also a matter of cost. There are many gardeners who believe that winter mulch must be disposed of in the very early Spring, so as not to spread disease. If any of your plants had leaf spot, or any other garden pest or disease, this will surely be carried over in the mulch. In addition, if leaves from elsewhere have blown in and settled in your garden beds over the winter, you may have spores or cocoons hiding in your garden.

In theory, you should rake up the winter mulch and dispose of it or compost it (the high temperatures of composting will kill off any nasties). However, this can be back breaking, time consuming and expensive.

If, for example, you noticed that your roses performed very poorly last year and had funky looking leaves, you may want to do some extra Spring clean up in the rose beds. That is, if you are lucky enough to have rose beds! Other wise, try to get out all of the dead leaves, weed and plants and leave the mulch behind. You may even find that if you take up all the mulch too early, your plants get a little too chilly. Just make sure that you get rid of the dead and shriveled leaves and plants and you should be just fine.

Garden Bed Maintenance

Early Spring is a great time to look over your beds and perform any necessary maintenance. You will be able to walk freely around in the beds and get to any spigots or fencing that needs repairing before your beautiful plants are up and growing.

Early Spring is also a great time to inspect the foundation of your house if it is going to be shortly blocked by growing plants. Take a few minutes and examine the foundation of your house to make sure nothing looks like it is wet or in disrepair. You may not be able to do this if you have foundation beds and gardens which will soon be growing.

Clean Out Last Years Pots and Containers

Early Spring is also a great time to clean out any pots and containers that may still have last year's plants and soil in them. Mulch or dispose of any dead plants that are still in those containers and get rid of the soil. Chances are that last year's plants have leached all the nutrients out of it, so you can compost the soil as well.

Reap Your Rewards

If you put in a little bit of effort early this Spring, your planting and garden beds will be in great shape for the whole growing season. Your plants will be primed for success and their surroundings will be beautiful.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/139103/spring_clean_up_getting_your_garden_pg2.html?cat=32