Category Archives: Home, Car, Yard, and Pets

6 Tips For Incorporating Pops Of Color Into Your Home

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Neutral and monochromatic color schemes are all the rage in interior design, but that doesn’t mean that bright colors are off the table. In fact, a few subtle pops of color can instantly transform a simple modern space into something bold and evocative.

If you want to make the biggest splash with your colorful accents, it’s best–albeit not a requirement–to start with a neutral color scheme. White and neutral-hued walls not only create the illusion of space, but they also provide a clean canvas that complements colorful accessories and flourishes. This simple but profound concept has been a staple of mid-century modern design for generations, and it still holds up today.

  1. Accessorize With Bright Colors

Pastel colors like bright greens, yellows, and pinks can make an instant and lasting impression. The trick is to use them sparingly so they don’t overwhelm your space. Consider household items like lamps, coffee tables, or furniture essentials. These accessories are simple to incorporate into your home, but they have the power to turn a dull space into something bright, modern, and sophisticated.

Brightly colored artwork also works well and can even add a sense of class to your home. In fact, artwork has the power to modernize even a classic or Victorian estate. Choose pieces with bright color palettes that complement the design theme of the home.

  1. Strive for Symmetry

While we’re on the topic of accessorizing, it’s worth emphasizing that your colors–though intended to make a strong impression–should be arranged with symmetry in mind. Though mid-century modern homes tend to mix and match bright colors to great effect, this type of arrangement can be risky without an expert touch.

If you just want your colors to pop, choose a basic color scheme like yellow furniture against a white wall or turquoise decorative pillows complemented by blue- and green-hued artwork. You can always get a second opinion if you’re not sure whether your color scheme is working.

  1. Take Your Lighting from Monochrome to Color

Don’t overlook your lighting when considering ways to add color to your home. A simple colored lampshade, base, or cord can add an instant pop of color to any space, and best of all, it can be turned on and off as needed. You have total control over the effect.

When choosing colors for your lighting, consider the environment. As noted by Psychology Today, warm colors like reds and oranges can make the space seem warmer than it actually is, while cool colors like greens and blues can create the illusion of cooler temperatures. The optimal colors will largely depend on your own climate.

  1. Get Creative with Paints

A new coat of paint may not seem like the optimal way to promote a pop of color, but the secret is to use your paints sparingly. For example, rather than painting your entire kitchen, you might just add a splash of blue to your cabinets. When you have brightly colored cabinets against a neutral wall, your kitchen stands out without sacrificing its modern charm. Look for places around your home where you can paint in sections without overwhelming the entire room.

  1. Let Your Tiles Do the Talking

While we’re talking about isolated patches of color, we should also take some time to mention your flooring and also opportunities for backsplash color. Floors and walls are most often simple and neutral, but they beg to be spruced up. One of the simplest ways to do this for your floors is with a brightly colored area rug. Rather than going for a traditional Persian rug with its dark shades and intricate patterns, look for pastel colors that can brighten up a room. Whereas, on your walls, you can always add artwork, but for kitchens, bathrooms and even fireplaces and pools, you might consider colorful tile accents as a wonderful way to incorporate new colors, patterns, and designs.

  1. Colorize Your Exterior Space

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the value of adding color to your outdoor patio or yard. The exterior space is often neglected when it comes to color arrangement, but it’s remarkably simple to brighten up your outdoor oasis and make it more modern and inviting. It may be as easy as replacing your patio seat colors with neon solid colors or even adding a new garden or potted plants to your space. As with the interior, it’s all about accessorizing with the right hues. Swap out those fading floral designs for something that instantly catches the eye.

Author Bio: Katie Tejada is a writer, editor, and former HR professional. She enjoys writing about events, travel, decorating trends, and innovations for the home, but also covers developments in HR, business communication, recruiting, real estate, and finance.

How to Transform Your Outdoor Space for Entertaining

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Image Source: Unsplash

Make the most of the great outdoors and turn your outdoor space into a retreat. Create the ultimate space for relaxing, entertaining and occupying the kids with these great ideas.

Make a fire pit

What’s not to love about roasting marshmallows by the fire? Enjoy this ultimate family-bonding activity by spending nights by the fire. You’ll be able to enjoy the fire and keep warm – even during the wintertime.

Spruce up your space with a fire pit centrepiece. Buy one ready-made or make your own in a few hours with pavers and concrete. Build a bench around the fire pit piled with cushions for that campfire feel or surround the fire with outdoor deck chairs.

Create a play area

Keep the kids entertained for hours on end with a dedicated play area. A swing set, slide and trampoline are popular ideas to turn your garden into a kid’s paradise. On the creative side, you could set up an outdoor crafts area. Or bring the beach to you in Summer by creating a sandpit alongside a kids paddle pool. Continue the beach feel with a hammock strung between two palm trees.

Plant a vegetable garden

Growing your own edible garden is incredibly rewarding. It’s also a great hobby for the kids and a great way to teach them about sustainability.

Rhubarb, rosemary and tomatoes are amongst the easiest plants to grow. They are great options to start with if you’re not already a gardening guru.

Consider a net to keep the birds from eating your hard-earned produce.

Image Source: Unsplash

Install a pool or a spa pool

Take the plunge and add a swimming pool to your house. Not only will it add value to your home, but the number of summer memories will be priceless.

If space is a problem or you’d prefer a place to relax, consider a spa pool. This is a cheaper option compared to the pool, and you could use it year-round, even when it’s sub-zero outside.

Provide comfortable seating

Create a comfortable outdoor area you actually want to spend time in. There are endless options for comfortable seating, including sofas, loungers and dining sets.

If you love to entertain but are pushed for space, consider a colourful set of stacking chairs. This lets you add a pop of colour to your backyard but still have the freedom to store them away easily when needed.

Set up an outdoor kitchen

The outdoor kitchen is an up-and-coming trend perfect for entertainers and socialites.

Clear a patio area for a BBQ and ample bench space for preparation. Set up an outdoor fridge for a mini-bar and even consider a wood-fired pizza oven. Don’t miss out on enjoying the outdoors when you’re cooking. Instead, be in the centre of the action in your outdoor kitchen.

Image Source: Pxhere

 Fix large doors

Great indoor-outdoor flow is a must-have for many homeowners. Treat your garden area as an extension of your living area.

The easiest way to create this indoor-outdoor flow is through large doors. Choose from the many options including folding, bi-folding, French, retractable and sliding doors. To completely open up your home to the great outdoors, consider fitting sliding doors on two perpendicular walls.

Put up outdoor lighting

String lights will transform your outdoor space into an enchanted garden. Drive out the darkness with this elegant touch. Hang them near your outdoor dining area for late-night dinner parties or near your lounging area where you can curl up with a blanket and a good book.

Refreshing and updating your outdoor space can be tailored to suit all budgets. It can be as simple and effortless as adding string lights to the patio area or as extravagant as building a poolside slice of paradise. It’s up to you to choose what works best for your home.

Author bio:

Alex Cordier is a freelance writer from Auckland, New Zealand. When she’s not busy writing articles for various blogs, you can find her traveling or reading on the beach. To learn more about her, visit her personal blog.

Simple Ways To Fight The Summer Heat At Home

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The summer heat seems unbeatable. It’s like you’re always sweating, no matter what you do. Taking three showers a day doesn’t help, and neither does sleeping without covers at night. Not all of us are lucky enough to fight the summer heat from a tropical location, so we have to resort to at-home cooling methods. Spending the summer at home doesn’t have to melt you like a popsicle, though. With these simple methods, you’ll chill in your apartment in both senses of the word.

1. Switch the lights

Traditional light bulbs tend to warm up the place and increase your electric bill. By switching to LED or fluorescent lights, you’ll be saving energy as well as cooling the place down. LED lights don’t emit the warm yellow light that traditional lights do.

The price of a LED light bulb might be more expensive, but it lasts a lot longer and saves you money on the electric bill, so it’s definitely worth it.

2. Maintain your AC unit

Air conditioning might be a saviour in the summer, but it won’t be able to do its job properly if you don’t maintain it regularly. At the beginning of each season, you should call in a professional who will check the unit for you.

It might cost you some money, but it will be worth it. You’ll know your AC is running the way it’s supposed to and will be able to enjoy the summer in peace. It’s much cheaper than paying to fix or replace the whole unit, anyway.

3. Use ceiling fans

According to some experts, ceiling fans don’t really lower temperature that much. Still, the do kick start and maintain air circulation. This can make living at home in the summer a lot simpler. One of the biggest problems is that air seems to stay still most of the time. You can’t open the windows up to air the place out, because the air outside is just as stale. You’ll even end up introducing more heat into the room.

That’s why you should turn on your ceiling fans counterclockwise. Do this especially when there are more people in the room. When you leave the room, you can turn them off because they won’t have much effect. Still, when there are people actively living and breathing in a closed environment, ceiling fans make things much more comfortable.

4. Shade it up

The sun is the main culprit when it comes to heat in the apartment, obviously. Even though natural light is a plus in any home, it’s a huge minus in the hot summer days. The temperature inside is even higher when the rays of the sun are constantly hitting your home. The best way to solve this is to introduce some shade into the room. Without the sun basically paying half the rent, it’s going to be much cooler.

You should invest in a quality shade solution so that you’ll beat the heat for years to come, not just this year. As one of the nations who fight the worst summer heats, Australians would definitely back this claim up. Dealing with extreme heat levels all these years has made them experts in finding the right solution, too. It’s no wonder then, that local experts like Shade Solutions in QLD so popular and loved. By opting for a trusted company with a good reputation in your area, you’re ensuring that your shades do the job they were made for and significantly lower the temperatures in your home.

5. Limit appliance usage

No matter how much you love them, your appliances tend to warm up your home significantly during the summer. Because of the higher temperatures outside, they too tend to get hotter when they’re running all the time. You probably notice this by the heat of your phone when you use it for a prolonged period of time.

To lower the temperatures inside, you should limit your appliance usage. When you’re not using your laptop, if you know you’re not going to watch TV for a long time, and if you don’t need half the kitchen appliances you used in the morning- turn them off. This means completely off. When they’re not plugged in, they’ll cool off and unclog the hot atmosphere. A bonus is that you’ll be prolonging their lifespan and taking better care of them.

Conclusion

No longer will you have to be envious of those who are lucky enough to fight the heat of the summer in a remote location with the sea or ocean by their side. Staying at home won’t be unbearable and you’ll love spending your summers in the comfiest environment. These simple tips will come a long way in the increasing heat. They won’t let you down regardless of how high the temperature gets.

Liam Smith is a young and aspiring Australian blogger with a passion for everything related to home, design and lifestyle. He has a B.Sc. in Interior design and is an avid reader.

https://twitter.com/LiamSmith2034

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamsmith2034

 

Reinforcing Your Door For Safety

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Many people do not know that the plate that your door knob goes into is usually attached with a short screw like seen in the picture. This does not provide adequate protection if an intruder is trying to kick in your door. It is a simple fix and almost anyone can do it. You just need to unscrew the short screw and replace it with a four to five inch screw. This takes the screw all the way into the door jam. It will be harder for someone to kick through it with these in place. Now, that does not mean that they can’t it just means that it will be harder to do so. If you are inside and someone tries to kick the door in it may give you a chance to grab your phone and either run out back or to a secure place within your current location.

Child Safety – With Large Crowds – Getting Help

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I saw this and wanted to share it. What a quick and easy way to provide a way for your lost child to find his or her way back to you. Especially if they are young. Just write contact information for you and cover in a liquid bandage type product. It will stay good for the day and provide emergency personnel a way to get a hole for you if your child goes lost at amusement parks, fair or other crowed place.

I have also heard of another way to do this. For you to buy a per minute cell phone just for a child to have on them in case they are lost. Have your contact information listed on the phone. You can call them and they can tell emergency personnel that the contact information is in their phone. I would personally get a phone and case that could be attached to a lanyard or belt loop somehow so it can’t get lost.