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Did you know that there are simple tricks to give your space a new perspective every season without spending a small fortune?
- Fresh flowers and flowering plants change rooms instantly with the burst of natural colour and textures.
- Changing the art hung on walls can make a space completely seasonal. Various scenes and seasonal art create the atmosphere for that season. Please try and select similar sized art- as sun damage will occur behind the painting/art...possibly leaving a shadow.
- Area rugs are a blessing! They can be placed on the top of wood, laminates,vinyl and broadloom flooring to contrast the texture, colours and to combat the accoustical elements within a space. The denser the carpet- the softer the noise level will remain.
- Accent throws and pillows = " less is more". Change the covers, the throws and presto...one refreshed space!
- The success of the space considers the pieces within. If the pieces are the correct scale, they can be manipulated endlessly- ask my friends- with a sofa and two chairs, a few tables and some creativity- a space can totally change in one vaccuuming session!
- Door mats! Door knockers! Door Florals! NEVER understimate: A) Your front door and B) the door mat. It is the first reflection of your character.The door colour should NEVER match the garage and the window frames! The door is it's own entity. It is the welcome in! The come and visit! Think seasonal, think special occasion,think holidays, think just because I feel like decorating the front door.
Make people smile and stay awhile in your newly redecorated, rejuvenated space...
Please do not forget your workplace too!
Flip flop storage season is just about here!
A painted antique bucket is a great individual shoe caddy...
One or two colourful pairs per bucket is a fun and functional display!
Pass the Crocs and the Flops!
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Consumer Reports State the Following:
"Some technologies are finicky...
Refrigerators with icemakers are twice as likely to break down as those
without. "They’re the bane of any refrigerator’s existence," says Chris
Hall, president of RepairClinic.com, which dispenses repair advice and
sells appliance parts to consumers. The device’s complicated design and
the extreme environment it must operate in explain the high failure
rate. Kenmore has switched to a simpler type of icemaker that’s
basically a mechanical version of a manual twist-style ice tray. "Fewer
moving parts means less to go wrong," says Doug Constantine, product
manager for Kenmore refrigeration. Even with this innovation,
Constantine recommends emptying your icemaker and turning it off if it
won’t be in use for an extended period. And if your home has hard or
sediment-filled water, adding a whole-house water filter or a water
softener should help the icemaker and your dishwasher because the water
inlet valve on both appliances is susceptible to scaling and clogging.
Among
laundry appliances, front-loading washers are more repair-prone than
top-loaders. The large rubber gasket that forms a watertight seal around
the door is a common culprit. Carefully loading and unloading clothes
will minimize wear and tear to the gasket. Mold is another issue.
Manufacturers recommend that you periodically clean the gasket with a
bleach solution and keep the door ajar after each use to allow
ventilation. We’d like to see more mold-eliminating innovations. LG, for
example, has developed a special magnet that props the washer door
slightly open. LG washers had been more vulnerable to mold in the past,
but they now have the lowest repair rate among models of front-loaders.
Extended warranties don’t deliver
Based on our survey, appliances usually don’t break during the
extended-warranty period, normally after the standard warranty has
expired but within two to three years of purchase. Even when breakdowns
do occur in that time, the median cost of repair, $150, isn’t much more
than the median price of a warranty, $142. And if the product doesn’t
break, you haven’t wasted your money on needless protection.
A
computer might be an exception, especially if you travel a lot or it’s
for your busy teenager. Make sure the warranty covers accidental damage
and extended tech support. Some credit-card companies extend the
manufacturer’s warranty free. American Express, for example, adds a year
of protection for computers.
Buyback programs
are another "peace of mind" come-on that probably don’t pay. For one
thing, they don’t cover broken products. And what it costs to join is
often more than the credit you might get on working items. Some
retailers, including Amazon and Costco, have trade-in programs, which don’t cost anything up front. But broken items aren’t covered, and the retailer can reject even those that work.
Brand reliability varies by product
Manufacturers often have strengths and weaknesses in different product
categories. GE, for example, has made very reliable cooking appliances,
but its refrigerators with icemakers have been repair-prone. John
Deere’s lawn tractors have been very reliable, but its self-propelled
lawn mowers have been significantly more repair-prone than other brands.
And LG has made reliable plasma TVs and clothes dryers but not reliable
side-by-side refrigerators.
The 50-percent rule still stands
We recommend that you replace a broken item if the repair will cost more than half the price of a new product.
Replacing
electronic gear might be less costly than you think because prices are
steadily dropping in some categories. For example, you’ll probably pay
at least $1,500 less for a new 50-inch flat-panel TV than you did in
2005.
Major appliances, on the other hand, are getting more
expensive and they usually have long service lives, which is why we
generally recommend holding onto them longer than electronics.
Some products are harder to repair
Celia Chapman of North Hills, Calif., discovered this firsthand when her
KitchenAid double wall oven gave out over a Thanksgiving weekend. After
a visit by an authorized repairman and repeated phone calls, she
finally contacted the manufacturer, who told her that the needed part
was on back order indefinitely. Chapman tried to find the part online
but gave up after six weeks of looking and instead opted to replace the
oven. KitchenAid refunded the cost of the new oven, but Chapman says she
ended up losing about $700 on service calls and installation.
Our
survey indicates that repairs of gas cooktops, built-in refrigerators,
digital camcorders, and home-theater systems can also be frustrating
because they take an inordinately long time or cost a lot, or because
the item requires further service calls. Dryers, electric cooktops, and
digital cameras have the highest success and satisfaction rates".
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on Yahoo!
Copyright © 2007-2011 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction in whole or in part without written permission.
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| [houzz=http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/5249706/list/Hitting-the-Bars-to-Explain-the-Design-Process w=300] This is a great chart that details the interior design process.
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