blinds — Home and Garden Diva

Areas Of A Home Most People Overlook When Decorating

If you’ve been a homeowner for quite some time, then you can probably relate to just how much a room can change with the help of a few minor tweaks. Those new blinds and freshly painted walls can take a room from feeling outdated, to exciting and new. However, there are some areas of your home that you may be neglecting without even realizing it. While you may feel you’ve thought of everything possible to make your home look exactly the way you’d like it, at least one of the items we mention today has probably slipped your mind.

Putting Focus on the Not-So-Minor Details

While most home-improvement gurus are going to tell you about the importance of color, wall and yard decor, what many of them fail to mention are the upgrades that make a home look more aesthetically appealing. Sure, that perfectly themed bedroom may be stunning on the eyes, but can you imagine how much nicer the room would be if the doorknob matched as well? What about those towel holders in your bathroom? They’ve been there for quite some time and stick out like a sore thumb. These days, there is what seems like an endless number of possibilities because not only is shopping around easier than ever but so is having items custom-made.

Simplifying the Day

The smallest changes can make the world of a difference. Not only that but they can make your life easier. Not have a place to hang your jackets near the front door? Why not install a barely-noticeable rack on the wall? You can choose to have it match the picture frames located on the same wall so even when they aren’t in use, they still blend nicely with the scenery. What about those books that always seem to fall over underneath your coffee table? A few matching bookends can not only give your guests another object to enjoy, but you won’t have to worry about falling books day in and day out.

Safety and Beauty Can Go Hand in Hand

When many adults think about safety, the last thing on their minds is design. A safe home means less time worrying about the children, the pets or any guests you may have staying the night. While you’re making upgrades to improve the security of your residence, why not do a bit of research and figure out if you can’t locate options that are not just going to offer the functionality you’re looking for but also the visual appeal that you’ve worked so hard to create throughout your home?

You Don’t Have to Go with the Majority

A perfect example of this would be household locks. It can be so easy to grab the first solution you come across, install it and go about your day – as most homeowners do. However, there are a wide range of good-looking solutions. Instead of sticking with the medal door handles you currently have and the mismatched deadbolt, why not spend a few extra bucks and get a completely new set? A lever may be more up your alley than a standard knob. While silver and gold are two of the most common colors, don’t be afraid to experiment a little. Choose a style that will compliment the rest of your home. The same goes for your deadbolt. Have you considered one that allows you to peak outside before completely unlocking your door? These are great when trying to keep little ones inside, while still being able to speak with the mail man or see if company has arrived.

Let Your Imagination Run Wild

Once you begin noticing the items you typically didn’t offer a second glance, ideas are going to begin forming. Even something as simple as adding new hinges on your doors can mean a much better overall design. Walk through your home and take note of what objects you use but maybe haven’t truly ‘looked’ at in a while. Install a new towel holder or change the style of your blinds so they better match the rest of the home. Try not to reach for popular brands or companies because these are often going to offer the most expensive prices. Locate discount shops and ask local home improvement stores if they know where you can find different solutions. Much of the time, they are more than happy to work with you and potentially even offer you discounts in order to have your purchase with them, instead of the competition. Ask them if they would be willing to sit down with you and draw out room plans while you’re at it.

Attached Images:

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

Ron Gatting is a Interior dseigner by profession and also the author of today’s guest post. A fun loving guy, he likes to reinvent himself through his work by trying out new design ideas. He believes in compactness and effciency and trusts none other than adh.com.au for providing building materials. He has written several articles upto now on various topics and this is his latest one on home decor.

6 Great Deterrents That Will Make Would-Be Thieves Turn Around And Walk Away

by Trish

You must have worked really hard to save up for your home and it will probably be filled with nice things. The last thing you need is someone coming along and thinking they can waltz right in and steal from you. One of the easiest ways to stop this from happening is to deter the would-be thieves in the first place. We’re going to take a look at some ways you can accomplish that.

Don’t show off

Even if you’re not struggling for money you must see how hard it can be for some people to have a comfortable life. That doesn’t make stealing right and thieves’ nice people, but it helps to understand when trying to deter someone from breaking into your home. If they walk past and see expensive things lying around it might start putting ideas in their head. Sometimes it’s as simple as not showboating because the majority of people won’t think your home is worth breaking into.

Tricking people

How many people do you know that would attempt to break into a home when there were people sitting inside watching TV? It might occur a tiny percentage of the time, but this is usually because they think everyone is out and they get the shock of their life when they discover it’s not the case. These are usually the times when someone can get hurt, so by closing your blinds and leaving your lights on you will leave no doubt in a thief’s mind that someone is home.

Do you have sliding doors?

It’s pointless having a sturdy door with a huge steel deadbolt if someone can simply walk up to your home and lift your sliding door off the rails. This is usually only a problem for older ones, but you are best making sure because it’s better being safe than sorry. If you’re not in any position by buy a new door you might need to take a two-by-four and slide it into the grove at the back because it will stop someone from sliding it back.

Forget the spare key

Do you know anyone who keeps their spare key somewhere in the garden? If you do this yourself you are really playing with fire because thieves are not stupid and if they want to break into an empty home they will know to look around for a key. You might as well leave the front door lying wide open for them with a big sign pointing inside. If you must leave one lying around you should ask a neighbor if they can keep it for you. Try to choose an older neighbor that doesn’t go out much.

Lock everything

Nearly half of break-ins happen without any force being used which means a huge amount of thieves are just walking up to someone’s home and walking inside. This is a crazy way to lose all your possessions and the only way to stop it from happening is by making sure you leave everything locked whenever you are out or in bed. If this is something you think might easily slip your mind then write it down to remind yourself until it becomes a habit.

Go with technology

If you don’t already have an alarm system you might want to think about getting one installed. The ones you find nowadays are really sophisticated and work much better than a dog ever could. Unless you have some specially trained professional thieves wanting to break into your home there is no way an alarm won’t alert you to a robbery. It’s usually enough to scare away some drug addict looking to steal a TV to pay for his next fix.

Attached Images:

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

Ian Wilson is a home security expert with many years of experience in the industry. He works with Crown Integrated Systems, a company providing solutions for both commercial and residential clients.

Going Green: Renovations That Won’t Cost the Earth

by Trish

Must it always be a choice between what you want and what’s good for you? Being environmentally-conscious can be hard sometimes, but it doesn’t have to come down to living with a home that is aesthetically shocking. By using sustainable materials and smart energy-saving techniques, you can effectively spruce up your home and lessen the environmental impact it has on the earth.

Outside the Home

The key here is insulation. By properly insulating your house, you can greatly reduce your energy requirements, which helps to save you money as well as reducing your carbon footprint. Obviously the optimum solution is to hire an energy expert when you’re designing your home so you can install the correct level of building shell insulation, but if your property has already been built you can still talk to the experts to find out what can be applied.

There are multitudes of energy-saving options and many of them are also eco-friendly, involving long-wearing or natural materials being installed in your house. Cool roofs, double-glazed windows, and radiant barriers can all reduce solar heat transfer, while double-glazed windows, partitioned rooms and sealed doors will help to keep a house warm in colder climates.

Inside the Home

It’s natural to be a little apprehensive about applying sustainable principles to your home. After all, green is great, but not if the chair collapses underneath you! It might reassure you to know that sustainable materials can be some of the most durable and hard-wearing substances in the world. They’re also much more inclined to feel natural and lend elegance to the room.

One of the quickest ways to change the feel of a room is to change your window dressing. The correct form of blinds or curtains can assist with energy-saving measures, and there’s a large range of colours and materials available so you can brighten even the dullest of rooms.

Great materials to think about include natural wood, bamboo, marble and stone. Your floor and furniture should be the right mix of durable and recyclable and if possible, you should think about purchasing your pieces second-hand. There’s a great community of interior designers out there who love to adapt recycled materials like old tyres and whiskey barrels into quirky furnishings.

You might also consider purchasing modular furniture, that is, furniture which can be transformed by moving parts and used for more than one purpose. There are incredible designs that function as couches, beds, bookshelves, ottomans, tables and more – all with the one set. Purchasing this kind of furniture means you reduce the overall number of pieces you require. Combine this with buying modular furniture made of 100% recycled and recyclable material and you’re onto an eco-friendly winner!

Finally, when you’re thinking about interior accessories, you should consider the fact that these will be discarded more readily and more often than furniture. Invest in one or two pieces made from a strong material like marble or stone, and the rest can be comprised of materials like clay vases, wicker, river rocks and branches. Get creative and lend a touch of the wilderness to your living room!

Kate Lee is a freelance writer who specialises in environmentally-friendly solutions for the home. In her spare time, she writes for Susan-Hopkins.com as well as various renovation websites.

Areas Of A Home Most People Overlook When Decorating

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6 Great Deterrents That Will Make Would-Be Thieves Turn Around And Walk Away

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Going Green: Renovations That Won’t Cost the Earth

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