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How To Update Your Kitchen Without Spending A Fortune?

by The Diva



For many people, the kitchen is the heart and soul of the home. It tends to be the most used room in the house as it is the place where breakfasts, lunches and dinners are prepared, meaning it is at risk of becoming the most worn-looking room of the house also.


 

Modern Kitchen
Modern Kitchen

The kitchen should be a place where your family can come together after a long day at work – but if your kitchen is looking tired and outdated, it is going to be the last place you will want to spend your free time.

If you want to add a new lease of life to your kitchen but only have a small budget to do so, follow these tips:

Deep Clean

Dirt and grease can build up in your kitchen easily and quickly. Whilst you may take the time to give your kitchen a quick clean over each day, it is likely you are going to be missing vital parts in your kitchen, allowing grease and dirt to build up – giving the impression that your kitchen is more worn-looking than it actually is.

Take the time to give the kitchen a deep clean, tackle walls, skirting boards, and electrical appliances.

Giving the kitchen a good clean is a great way to give the entire room a new lease of life without spending any money!

Leave windows and doors open whilst completing the deep clean, it will allow the room to dry out quicker whilst allowing fresh air in, totally refreshing the room.

Improve Appliances

It can get expensive when looking at upgrading and improving appliances in the kitchen, to avoid splashing out on brand new equipment, why not just improve on the things you already have?

If your cooker is looking old, tired and grubby but still in great working condition, spend time giving it a good scrub to bring out the original shine and glimmer. To give the impression that the cooker is brand new, why not replace some of the current features? It is possible to upgrade the oven door, hob control knobs and many other things on the standard cooker!

To ensure that all kitchen appliances stay in good working order in the future, it is worth getting them serviced and updating the main parts when needed. It is important that fridge filters are regularly replaced or you may end up with unwanted faults.

Regularly servicing kitchen appliances can save you a lot of money in the long run.

New Accessories

If you still feel that your kitchen has not yet got that brand new look – buy some new accessories to give the impression that you have just had a new kitchen fitted.

Buying new affordable accessories can save you a fortune whilst completely changing the atmosphere created in the room. Update tea towels, pots & pans, and maybe some new storage jars!

Don’t forget to add some personal touches to the room, maybe some photos of your loved ones on the wall and some flowers on the window sill – the little things you add to the kitchen will make a huge difference!

Kerry wanted to update her kitchen appliances, she used Cool Products to source spare parts to update all appliances. By visiting www.coolproducts.org.uk she was able to renovate her kitchen whilst on a budget.

photo by:

Filed Under: Featured, Home Improvement Tagged With: accessories, Appliances, clean, home, home improvements, home tips, Kitchen, kitchen design

Bring The Beach Inside With A Beach-Themed Bedroom

by Trish

You love everything about the beach from the crashing waves to the feel of sand underneath your bare feet. While you wish you could live on the beach, you will eventually have to go back home to your own boring bedroom for the night.

You don’t have to be separated from the beach you love. Bring it inside your own home by creating a beach-themed bedroom. Beach themes can be placed in all types of bedrooms whether they are big or small or have hardwood flooring. With just a bit of imagination, you can go to sleep and wake up on the beach every day.

Paint Scheme

Tackle those boring walls by incorporating the colors of the beach. Different shades of tans and blues work great.

You can either paint the entire wall a solid color, divide the wall by painting the top half blue to represent the ocean and the bottom half tan to represent sand, paint the walls tan and the ceiling blue, or color wash the walls in different shades of blues as it can look like waves. You can stencil in white seashells for more of a beach feel.

Furniture And Flooring

The furniture can be a difficult to place into a beach-theme if you aren’t looking to spend a lot of money replacing your old furniture. You can go with white furniture in the way of beach chairs and tables. If you aren’t keen to having that much white in your room, go with light wood color tones.

As for the floor, hardwood flooring with an area rug of rattan material or bamboo can give the perfect beach appearance to your room. It will also work fine if you have regular carpeting.

Beach Accessories

Beach accessories can come in all shapes and sizes for decorations in your room. Hang paintings of the ocean or other beach themes on the walls. Scatter seashells on dressers, tables and shelves. Purchase beach-themed lamps, bedding and knickknacks to complete the overall beach look.

Sleep In Paradise in Your Beach-Themed Bedroom

Devote time and creativity into your beach design to have a warm and comforting feeling in your bedroom. You’ll never be too far from the beach even in the winter time when you decorate your room with these beach ideas. It doesn’t have to take a lot of money or time to have the perfect bedroom of your dreams.

Amy Nelson is a mother, avid home decorator and author. Mrs. Nelson has written several informative publications on family life, interior decorating, and simple home improvement tips.

Filed Under: Home Decor, Home Improvement, Interior Design Tagged With: accessories, beach, beach theme, bedroom, carpeting, colors, flooring, Furniture, hardwood flooring, home, imagination, paint scheme, sand, waves

Easy Tips for Eco-Friendly Interior Design

by Trish

Over the past years, interior design has become an important aspect of putting together the entire appeal of the house. Additionally, it has become an important method of self-expression. The design of the home as well as the furniture and accessories chosen by the homeowner can tell other people a lot about his/her personality and style. Naturally, homeowners want to ensure that their homes reflect their own taste as well as their values.

Interior designing is not merely about improving the aesthetic appeal of a room but it also includes proper usage and selection of furniture, accessories, and materials used to ensure that they are healthy for the residents. For this reason, a lot of homeowners are now aiming for an eco-friendly interior design. If you are thinking of going green, you will be able to achieve a stylish atmosphere in your home, and you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get the design you want.

Eco-Friendly Interior Design Ideas

Today, more and more people are turning towards sustainable and environmentally friendly products and design. For this reason, the interior design field is supporting wonderful measures to achieve eco-friendly design in homes using sustainable resources. Here are some easy tips to help you obtain a green, healthy, and safe living space.

Re-Use And Recycle

If you want to achieve an eco-friendly interior design, you have to be creative and think outside the box. You have to think about recycling, reducing, and re-using the things you already have. Whether you want to slightly redecorate a room, or remodel the entire house, you must first think about the items that you can put back into the space. Are there any items which you can re-use?

For instance, if you have an armoire that still looks good and can still serve its purpose, there is no need to rip it apart. You can consider refurnishing them by coating it with new paint that will compliment your new interior design theme. Reusing items mean that you have to be creative because you usually need to re-purpose the items for other uses.

Use Natural Light If Possible

Another tip to achieve an environmentally friendly design is to let as much sunlight in as possible, and to maximize daylight. To do so, you can consider using skylights or open shades. You can also design your house so that the windows are facing south as this will allow enough sunlight to get inside your house. In doing so, you will not only save on electrical bills, but you are also preventing pollutants from being emitted inside your house. Additionally, you can also change the light bulbs used in your house, and use compact florescent lights (CFLs) or LED lights instead, since this alternative lighting can help you save on energy costs in the long run. When you look for proper lighting, you have to consider the label and choose those with energy efficient rating.

Non-Toxic Paints

There are some paints that have harmful chemicals known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). These compounds release toxic chemicals into the air in your home which will negatively affect your air quality. Additionally, these compounds are harmful for your health and for all the people living in your home. For this reason, you have to choose paint with low-VOC or no-VOC, especially when you are painting a child’s room. You must also avoid using wallpaper since the adhesive used to attach them can contain VOCs as well.

Eco-Friendly Flooring

Natural, sustainable, and eco-friendly flooring can make a huge difference in a green home. Most standard flooring options are far from eco-friendly and sustainable, and they also contain harmful chemicals. If you want to have stylish but safe flooring, you can consider using bamboo flooring as a long-lasting option. Bamboo contains a higher fiber rating than most tropical hardwoods, and they feel great under one’s foot. Additionally, it can be recycled once it has reached the end of its life. You can also use eco floor tiles for your kitchen and bathroom. Not only are these tiles sustainable, but they have the additional advantage of providing thermal insulation.

Featured images:
  •  License: Creative Commons – Jeremy Levine Design.”Living Room”. April 29, 2009. Online Image. Flickr. Dec 15, 2012 image source

Kris Lim is an environmentalist who wants to promote green living by encouraging people to use eco-friendly, sustainable, and safe materials. For this reason, she offers tips and advice on how to achieve an environmentally friendly interior design in your home. She also regularly contributes to interior design websites, such as susan-hopkins.com.

Filed Under: Home Decor, Home Improvement Tagged With: accessories, armoire, design, eco friendly, flooring, Furniture, interior design, Natural Light, Paints, Recycle

5 Amazing iPhone Accessories Everyone Should Have

by Trish

It doesn’t matter what version of the iPhone you have. We all know your phone is your pride and joy and you spent quite a deal of hard-earned money on it. That said, you should protect your investment and do all that you can to maximize the way you’re able to use it. The following accessories will both protect your iPhone and take your use to the next level.

Finishing Screens

If your screen becomes scratched or cracked, you’ll have a hard time using your phone. Generic has made an anti-glare, anti-scratch, anti-fingerprint matte finishing screen protector that is guaranteed to keep your investments safe. Priced around $.60 each, or under $1 for a package of three, there is no reason to go without ordering a whole bunch to keep your phone safe. Now you won’t have to worry about your keys, items in your pocket or purse, or the harsh ground damaging your phone.

Docking Cradles

Want to charge your phone and still use it to listen to music or play games at the same time? A Charging Dock Cradle will allow you to charge your phone will maintaining its audio output so that you can sync your phone to your PC, play games, and use whatever other functions you need while you’re sitting at your desk and getting things done.

Protective and Customized Cases

If you have an iPhone, you should have a case for it – no exceptions. There’s nothing quite like the horror of watching your cell phone slip from your hands and shatter into several pieces on the pavement. If you’re lucky, you can put them back together and have a working phone. If not, you’ll end up with a cracked screen or damaged parts that won’t go back together again. A protective case, especially the rubber ones, will prevent your phone from falling apart or getting seriously damaged when it hits the ground. You can spruce things up a bit by opting for customized iPhone cases in various colors or with your favorite designs.

USB Car Charger
Most of the iPhones are designed to plug into a USB port for charging. If you want to make sure your phone remains charged on the go, invest in something like the GTMax Mini USB Car Charger and plug the USB cord right into it. You’ll never run out of battery power again, no matter how long you’re on the road.

Windshield/Dashboard Mount

What good is the GPS function on any phone if you can’t actually see or hear the directions you’re being given? Items like the Arkon IPM515 Windshield/Dashboard Mount make it easy for you to mount your iPhone on the car’s dashboard on on the windshield. This is great not only for GPS functions, but for allowing you to use speakerphone in areas where hands-free cell phone use is a must.

While your iPhone was a pretty significant investment, most of the items above will only cost you a few dollars – well worth the expense to protect your most functional piece of technology.

About the Author: Ela Casamento loves her iPhone and has it with her at all times. She believes that if you’re willing to spend almost $400 on the latest release, you should be willing to spend a few dollars to protect it!

photo by: Yutaka Tsutano

Filed Under: Electronics Tagged With: accessories, case, dashboard mount, docking cradle, finishing screens, investment, iphone, protect, usb car charger

Organizing our Remotes and other gadgets

by The Diva

Last weekend my husband and were shopping in Walmart and I happened to be looking for some kind of basket or box to store all the wires, chargers and other accessories that come with our cellphones, iPods and other electronic gadgets in.

We ended up in the Craft area of Walmart and I founds some beautiful wicker baskets that ended up being just what I was looking for. I bought two of them actually … one to store all of our TV, Stereo, CD Player and Home Theater’s remotes in and the other to store all of the above mentioned wires and accessories in. We should be pretty organized now!

I noticed some beautiful fountains while we were in the craft area. The tabletop kind. My husband just loves those for some reason. Maybe as we get closer to his birthday I’ll get him one.

Speaking of remotes and wires and accessories for electronic gadgets .. how do you keep all of those things organized?

Filed Under: Crafts, Home and family, Home Decor, Items to Try Tagged With: accessories, camera, electronics, fountain, gadgets, husband, ipod, remotes, stereo, stuff, table top, tech, tv, walmart, wicker baskets

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