Archive for September, 2009

How To Work With Wallpaper

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Wallpaper has always been one of the best ways to bring a room to life. Wallpaper has been used for hundreds of years, and comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. However, wallpapers have been made from different materials and some of them were more toxic than decorative. Modern wallpapers are made can be applied with either paste, or with a self-adhesive backing.

Before choosing a wallpaper, you’ve got to decide on what you want the end result to look like. Are you looking for a warm color, a light color, or patterns? Take stock of the other items in the room and go from there. Remember, too much of a good thing can turn out bad. If you have a floral theme to the room, you may not want a heavy floral design to your wallpaper.

Once you’ve made a decision on style, you’ll need to decide on adhesive types. If you choose to use paste, you’ll need to know what type to use, and how to apply the paste. You’ll also need a brush to apply the paste, a plumb line to help keep your paper straight, scissors or a utility knife, and a tray to hold the paste. If you choose to go with a pre-pasted wallpaper, you’ll still need all of the above, but the tray and brush will be for the water needed to wet the back of your paper.

Before you apply your wallpaper, you’ll need to ensure that your walls are prepared for the paper. Remove all traces of older wallpaper and thoroughly clean your walls. Make sure to fill in any holes before beginning, and it’s a good idea to add a coat of primer to the walls. Go over the walls to make sure there are no lumps or blemishes that will tear the paper or cause problems with the process. Once you’ve done all this, you’ll be ready to apply your wallpaper.

When putting up your paper, always start from a corner in the room and hang from top to bottom. If your working with an abstract pattern, you may not have to worry about alignment. However, if you’re working with specific patterns, you’re going to want to try and match up pattern sides as best as possible. Use a rubber roller to help press out any air bubbles that may occur.

Once you’ve finished hanging your wallpaper, you might decide to add a border or other effects to the room. In the end, if you’ve done your research and followed directions, you should have a beautiful room that will last several years to come.

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Restoring Old Furniture

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

Home improvement aren’t just about upgrading your home.  It’s about adding beautiful furnishings along with the paint and fixtures.  However, once you’ve done all the interior work, there may not be a lot of money left for new furniture.  Rather than buying all new stuff, why not just restore some of your already existing furniture?

For some families, the kitchen table is the center of communication.  You can refurbish your kitchen table and chairs without much hassle.  If your table is full of nicks and scratches, all you need to do is buff these out with a power sander.  Once your table is smooth, its only a matter of adding the stain.

For the chairs, it depends on what type of chairs you’ve got.  If you have leather covered chairs, you’ll either need a leather repair kit or try and find a matching replacement.  However, if you have high-back regency chairs, you can upgrade both the seats and the wood.  First of all, remove the seat and set it off to the side.  Then, strip the wood, make any necessary repairs, and refinish.  With the seats, simply remove the cloth covering.  Either throw in the washer, or choose a new pattern to add to the seats.  Replace with the use of a staple gun and replace to chair.

If you have a sewing machine, you can do quite a few upgrades to your existing furniture.  Update your living room by making a new cover for your couch.  Rather than go out and buy a brand new one, you can choose a material that will match your decor.  Make several in different patterns and you can change your couch covers to match your mood.  This same technique applies to your living room chairs and even with your kitchen chairs.

If you do want newer furniture, check out yard sales or auctions.  You can pick up some really nice pieces for very little money.  These pieces can also be refurbished to suit your personal tastes.  It’s like getting brand new furniture at a fraction of the cost.  You can also find some beautiful lamps, end tables, or anything else that will add a touch of class to your home.

When you’re looking for ways to improve the look and feel of your home, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on brand new furnishing.  Restoring many of the pieces you already possess is an inexpensive and creative way to put your personal style into the home of your dreams.

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Home Improvement Discounts

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

Home improvements can become quite expensive.  So, in order to save some money, many homeowners look for various home improvement discounts.  These come in the form of coupons, in-store discounts, and special sales.  Most of the national home improvement chains offer great discounts on their products, but some of the smaller stores can carry better deals.

Though you can find coupons for your favorite home improvement centers in your local ads, some of the best can only be found in store.  These are usually found near the check out counters, and can save you a ton of money.  You can end up saving money on everything from nails and screws, to shingles and siding.

Another way to save on your home improvements is to buy out of season.  You can usually get better deals on certain items if you buy them in the off season.  External paints, lawn products, and window treatments can usually be picked up for less than normal during the winter months.  You can get the best deals on lawn products in the autumn months, as this is when most stores need to clean out their stock and prepare for next year.

There are several online stores that help you get discounts on items such as solar panels.  Though most of these are just as good as retail priced, you should beware.  The reason is that some places will sell solar panels at discounted prices because there are minor defects in the product.  If you don’t know what you’re looking for, don’t take a chance.  However, if it’s a company you trust and feel comfortable with, this could be a great way to save some money on your home improvements.

If you are planning to add energy efficient products to you home, you could end up getting money back from the government.  Adding energy efficient products to you home could qualify you to a tax credit up to 30%.  These items include insulated doors, windows, and even skylights.  Talk to your home improvement store representative for all the details.

Before starting any home improvement project, check into all the different home improvement discounts that are available to you.  You could end up saving a lot of money and still getting the same results.  You can have a beautiful home, without spending your entire budget.

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Energy Efficient Home Improvements

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Most homeowners want to find inexpensive ways to improve their homes, while working with more energy-efficient products.  In some areas of the United States, state building codes are making it a requirement to add energy efficient materials when doing an upgrade on your home.  So, just what exactly are some of the items you can add to your home to make it a little greener.

First of all, probably the most popular solar powered items would be solar panels on your home’s roof, or anywhere they can take in the most sunlight.  Most solar panels face the South where they can capture the greatest amount of sunlight throughout the day.  Solar panels can be purchased at any home improvement store

Solar powered water heaters are one of the most economic ways to save money on your home.  With one of these items, you could be saving 10 times the amount of money spent on your water heating bills, while giving your hot water heater as much as a double lifetime expectancy.  More than that, you might even qualify for a tax credit of up to 30%.

Another option you might want to look into is with wind energy.  There are a lot of people who imagine huge wind farms with this, but you can add wind turbines to your home.  With wind energy, you could save as much as 90% on your yearly electric bills.  It works in conjunction with your utility company, and it is estimated that a wind generator can offset more than 200 tons of greenhouse gases over its lifetime.

Also, look for any appliances and other home improvement materials, with the EnergyStar logo.  This says that the item in question has proven to help save energy, while still providing you with top quality service.  Most will think of washing machines and refrigerators, but you can also find this logo on windows, doors, and even skylights.  It’s a great way to ensure you’re doing your part for the environment.

Check into your local building codes, and see if you need to comply with state standards in energy efficiency.  Adding solar and wind powered energy to your home, you’ll find that a lot of the money you gave out each month, will spend more time in your pocket.  And that means, you’ll have more left over for bigger and better things.

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