Trish — Page 17 — Home and Garden Diva

5 Overused Decorating Trends You Should Avoid

What’s old is sometimes new and what’s new can sometimes get old. While a design trend may be hot, there comes a time when you should move on. Whether it’s a room completely covered in chalkboard paint or a room filled with reclaimed “treasures”, some trends have been done to death. The following are just five overused decorating trends you should avoid.

Stereotypical Design

Stereotypical design has been a problem since the first homeowner added a tiki bar to their basement. People think that they can just throw a symbol of a culture in the room and create the style, but it isn’t so. Instead of trying to recreate Mexican flare with a sombrero, study the colors and design of Mexican culture and create a room doesn’t look like a Mexican restaurant.

Chalkboard Paint

There’s no denying the fact that chalkboard paint is a cool addition to almost any room. Unfortunately, people have taken this trend to the extreme. Instead of painting your entire child’s room in chalkboard paint, boarder off an area to make it look like an actual chalkboard. This would be a great place for him to keep notes about upcoming sports practice or tests.

Above the Fireplace TV Mounting

Let’s get one thing straight. A fireplace should be the focal point of a room and it should never have to compete with a TV. Not to mention that the heat of a fireplace can shorten the lifespan of your precious TV. You can opt to focus your seating arrangement on the fireplace, but still have comfortable access to the TV or you can create separate seating areas.

Disconnected Design

Stop trying to make your bedroom look like a posh hotel room. A room should be designed with your interests in mind. The room should scream your name, rather than looking like a room that can be seen in hotels across the country. Choose design elements that relate to you. You might start out with a bold paint color or even base your design off a beautiful duvet.

Reclaim Overload

There’s nothing wrong with salvaging that piece of furniture from the flea market and making it new again. A reclaimed piece can add character to an updated room. When the room is nothing but reclaimed pieces, it starts to look more like a thrift store than a chic living room. Be careful not to fall prey to reclaim overload.

There are so many wonderful design trends to choose from. Instead of choosing one that you’ve seen on TV numerous times, why not choose something new or even create your own design?

About the Author: Armand Heitland and his wife spent a lot of time planning their home decor. They recently found contemporary sectional sofas from gowfb.com and have had a few classical murals painted directly onto some of their entryway walls.

Zip it Up–Top Tips to Protect Your Plants from Winter’s Cold

by Trish

With winter at its peak, you’ve probably never thought of tending to your garden. However, keep in mind that the cold temperatures this season brings can be difficult on your plants. So to make sure that they’ll make it through the winter, it’s never to late to zip them up so that they can brave the cold. You can also do other gardening chores this season that will ensure you’ll have a healthy garden as spring approaches. Here are some of the best tips to accomplish such things.

Around the garden

If there are remaining potted plants outside, wheel them in a sun room, shed, greenhouse or garage. Although they may not be at their best indoors since they won’t be receiving sufficient sunlight, the shade will ensure that they’ll make it long enough to survive through the winter.

Don’t forget to rake around your garden for fallen leaves because if you leave them be, they can cause heavy damage and may even serve as a breeding ground for diseases come spring time. Likewise, it might be the worse chore for winter, but you still need to do some weeding since weeds don’t take vacations. Most weeds are undergoing their flowering and seeding stages during winter, so before they spread their seeds, uproot them to save yourself from future weeding.

Trees and Shrubs

For your trees and shrubs, it’s all about covering them up against the cold and pruning. If snow has built up on the branches of the trees, make sure it doesn’t turn into ice by knocking it off from the branches using an upward motion to prevent the limbs from breaking. After you’ve done this, you can prune most of the shrubs and deciduous shade trees around your garden, but avoid pruning flowering trees.

Check around if there are newly planted trees, especially those with thin barks, and shrubs that you forgot to wrap. If there are, cover their trunks from the base up to keep moisture at bay. Then, build wind breaks around trees and shrubs that are not protected. Position poles on the ground, making two sides of a triangle. The triangle’s tip should be positioned on the spot that receives the most wind. Then attach a burlap or cloth around the posts, but make sure that it doesn’t touch the leafy parts. This will protect the trees and shrubs from freezing.

Indoor plants

Although your houseplants may not be totally exposed to the perils of winter, they still require special attention so that they will not succumb to the cold. Hence, check all of your plants for pests or diseases. If some of them are affected, treat them with organic products to prevent the pests or diseases from spreading.

When watering the houseplants, do it minimally. The water should just be enough to saturate the soil and drain through the container holes. Make sure not to over water the plants, or else they’ll end up soaking in standing water that can damage their roots. Also, take the time to turn plants every other week so that all the foliage will receive sufficient sunlight. And during extremely cold nights, draw down the curtains or blinds to protect the plants on your windowsills against the cold.

This guest post was penned by Ericka for http://www.steelbuildingsdesign.co.uk/. Ericka is passionate about learning and sharing information about gardening. She is also fond of writing articles about home improvement.

Why Aphids And Ants Are Common Garden Pest Problems

by Trish

A common garden problem that many homeowners have is the infestation of ants and aphids. When these two pests are present in a garden, you can expect the damages to be serious especially when they are not treated immediately. While aphids have a preference to stay in a certain location to drink the sap of plants and excrete honeydew, ants on the other hand are always on the move, constantly feeding and they are also known to be very aggressive towards other insects and even humans when disturbed. It may seem incredible that aphids and ants can live together in one location, but as each benefit from the other, their relationship only makes sense. As such, eradicating them from your garden is important if you intend to have a healthy and presentable garden.

The Incredible Relationship

Aphids feed on plant sap and they then eliminate amounts of sugar in the form of honeydew, in order to obtain the amino acid content in the sap to enable them to build proteins. The honeydew being eliminated by the aphids is a moderately concentrated solution which is irresistible to ants and other pests. As such, ants feed on the honeydew without attacking the aphids, but they have been known to attack those that may feed on aphids, in order to protect the aphid colony. Ants are aware that they can feed abundantly when aphids exist. Aphids in turn, are able to thrive and feed in peace knowing that the ants will protect them from predators as long as honeydew is always available.

How Aphids And Ants Feed

Aphids feed by lining up along the stem of plants and on the plant buds, then pumping sap into their guts from the plant’s cells. The sap not being rich in amino acids, but being rich in sugar is expelled by the aphids by passing it unabsorbed through the digestive tract. This expelled sugar is known as the honeydew.

Ants on the other hand feed on a broad diet, expect plant stems and leaves. They can feed on fruits, seeds, insects and different organic matter. Once with amino acids and when they find an abundant supply of sugar, ants will collect and store the sugar as their food supply during the winter.

In order to receive the supply of honeydew, ants and aphids have a unique way of communicating. Aphids have a section on their abdomen called cornicles that look like the rounded heads of ants having two antennae and pointed chins. When ants stroke the abdomen of the aphids, they do it in a similar way of how they stroke the head and antennae of their fellow ants. After stroking, aphids release drops of honeydew, which the ant swallows and carries off to the nest after feeding on a few.

Ants are very useful to aphids and when the number of aphids is great in a garden, you can expect the number of ants to be great as well. Ants do not cause any direct damages to a garden, but they allow aphids to exist when they prevent predators from feeding on aphids, just so they can feed and store honeydew. In order to get rid of aphids in a garden, it is essential that ant control is applied first before dealing with the aphid infestation.

Citations:

Photographed by Mrooczek262.

Attached Images:

License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://mrg.bz/NYb1m4

Valerie Williams is a freelance writer specializing in natural forms of pest control as well as the effects different pests have in gardens. She regularly contributes articles to websites where reliable Preventive Pest Control professionals can be consulted.

How to Create a Warm, Inviting Home

by Trish

Home may be where the heart is, but is your home a place those outside your family love to be? This is a question many forget to ask themselves regularly. Maybe you enjoy how your home is set up but is your current setup something that makes people want to stick around? Are your guests comfortable when they walk through the door? Are things organized? Do they have a place for their shoes and coats? Are there things to look at and keep them entertained during their visit? Today we are going to help you think of some of the things that are easy to drop the ball on when you see the same area day after day and are immune to your way of doing things.

Start Outside and Work Your Way in

If you’ve ever heard the term ‘curb appeal’ and know a little about it, then you probably understand just how important it is to make your home look nice not only on the inside but on the outside as well. Even if you aren’t selling your home, this is something you should keep in mind. What people see first when they walk up to your house matters. Do you want them to notice the fact that your yard hasn’t been mowed in months or do you want them to get lost in your beautiful marble entryway? Would you prefer them to notice the paint chipping on the side of your house or the beautifully painted mailbox you worked so hard to decorate?

Even if we don’t mean to, as humans, it’s only natural to make assumptions and expect that what we see on the outside is going to be similar to what we see on the outside. Wouldn’t you be shocked to see a run-down looking home and yard with torn apart cars that have been used for scrap metal outside, only to find a fascinating home that is organized to perfection on the inside, with expensive pieces of unique art all over the walls and a spiral staircase drawing you towards the upper level? You see, setting the tone from the get-go really makes a difference.

Keeping Things ‘Old School’

By ‘old school’, we do not in any way, shape or form, mean ‘outdated’. Sometimes, it’s nice to get in touch with our roots and add something fresh and new that isn’t as commonly found in others’ homes. Many people these days are so focused on technology and having the ‘best of the best’ that they forget the ‘best’ isn’t necessarily what’s popular now. Fewer people have bookshelves nowadays, for example. If you love reading or know of people who do, this may be a great addition to your home; adding sophistication to your style.

Offering Comfort for You and Your Guests

Staying comfortable is important and as we touched on a bit above, it is an important part of setting up your home. Lighting is one of those things many people simply forget about; this and the color you choose for each space truly do set the tone. Colors that help to relax and calm include: green, blue and purple. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to paint your entire wall one of these colors but finding ways to add accents of any of them here and there is always nice.

Another very important aspect of comfort is entertainment. Not many of us like to sit around without anything to do. Make sure you have things for your guests to take part in when they are staying over. A few ideas to get you started would be a gaming system in your spare bedroom, or board games that the whole family can enjoy.

Everything Should Have a Place to Call ‘Home’

Clutter can be overwhelming for guests. It gives the eyes too many things to want to focus on. To create an inviting atmosphere, it’s important that you limit how much you display. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to put everything away but choose wisely and don’t be afraid to alternate your favorite pieces from time to time. These ‘pieces’ can be simple objects such as lamps, flowers, family photos or awards. They don’t necessarily have to be paintings or anything fancy.

Attached Images:

License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source

Deborah Walker is a home improvement expert and has done interior designing for a lot of homes. She says that Marble Tiling & Flooring gives your house a very classy and elegant look.

Garden Shrubs: Uses and Maintenance

by Trish

So, you don’t have a fence. It’s alright because you can just grow a shrub that you can form into some sort of boundary marker. This is one of the most common uses of shrubs; and many times, homeowners just let their plants grow without thinking about how to properly maintain them. Shrubs definitely have so much more to offer, aside from being great as hedges. These come in all shapes, colors and sizes, and with proper maintenance, you won’t only have a beautiful natural barrier, but you’ll also have healthy plants that are a joy to see.

Uses of Shrubs

1. Forms a Boundary and Offers Protection

As mentioned earlier, most people plant shrubs in order to define their property line. There are all sorts of shrubs that can be used here, such as the King’s Mantle (Thumbergia erecta), which has vivid green and lush foliage and intense purple flowers. Many kinds of viburnums (Newport and Allegheny), evergreens (holly, spruce, pine), and other low-growing perennials can be used as shrubs. For those who want to amp up the security of their perimeters, they can also use thorny shrubs to help discourage prowlers. Examples are rose, barberry and quince.

2. Provides Privacy and Acts As Shield from the Elements

If you have a shrub that you have formed into a tall hedge, it will provide you some privacy. Naturally, you wouldn’t want your nosy next door neighbor to know what you’re doing in the yard or inside your house. (Remember Samantha’s snooping neighbor on Bewitched? How annoying, right?) So, even though you might like to share a few things with your friends and neighbors, you wouldn’t want to share every little detail of your life. Having a hedge will give you a bit of privacy. Plus, the shrub will also help in protecting you or your home from the brunt of the sun and wind.

3. Gives You Pleasure

Of course, if you’re growing healthy flowering plants or lush, vibrant shrubs, you’ll surely enjoy staying outdoors and just enjoying the visual pleasure of having beautiful flora all around you. Gorgeous ornamental plants provide dramatic foliage which are also a joy to care for or prune. Flowering shrubs can also be trained to grow on your trellis, which will really add beauty to your home.

Maintenance: About Pruning Shrubs

It is a must to keep your garden or landscape well-maintained. If you allow your plants to grow without proper care, these will soon form dense vegetation where thieves or prowlers can easily hide. So, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Home security experts suggest that you grow your hedges to just below 5 feet. More than that and you endanger yourself and your family by having areas where burglars can easily hide. Shorter hedges will delineate your property line while also helping to deter people from peeking into windows on the first floor.

Plants are also best pruned during specific times. This will depend on the type of shrubbery that you have. So, ask an experienced gardener about when is the best time to prune your shrubs to reduce damage to the vegetation. Don’t feel too bad about pruning because this actually encourages plants to develop flowers or fruits when done correctly.

Attached Images:

License: Creative Commons image source

Claire Davidson is a freelance writer who also happens to love plants of all kinds. She writes about flowers, orchids, grasses, as well as landscaping in Idaho Falls and other gardening or planting-related issues.

5 Overused Decorating Trends You Should Avoid

Zip it Up–Top Tips to Protect Your Plants from Winter’s Cold