Archive for January, 2010

Rugs and tapestries can be used to add ambience to a room, to warm up a stark-looking space, to make an uncomfortably large room appear smaller, or to add to the overall effect of the theme of a room. Choosing the perfect rug or tapestry will be dependent on the effect you want the piece to have on your room.

Rugs are a perfect multi use item of décor. They can be found on the floor or used as tapestries to hang over railings and on walls. They are very mobile and also very durable.

The choice of rug for the entryway might seem trivial, but it is very important. For a room that receives heavy traffic, you will not want a thick and expensive rug. The main purpose of a rug in such an area is to add some color to the floor, and perhaps as an added level of insulation. This type of rug should be dulled down in color, as it is also not meant to be an eye catcher. People are only passing through. Rugs in entryways can still add personality to the area, with a simple message or design that is appropriate (“Welcome” is, of course, the most widespread conveyance). In the entryway, remember that the rug is probably going to be the first item a guest will see that gives them a clue as to the type of home you keep, so you might want it to have some reflection of your personality and style.
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Ceramic tiles for kitchen countertops have become a must have in home buyers’ kitchens.

Whether you prefer glazed, porcelain, quarry or mosaic, these tiles are versatile and come in an array of designs, colors and shapes. A design savvy look, country flair, artistic interest or upscale appearance can enhance your kitchen countertops surface that’s low maintenance but high in style. Tile countertops are also a great idea for completing your kitchen renovation since tiles are not only durable but are heat resistance.

Be creative and always design your kitchen tile layout the way you like it. One interesting way to do it is to tile your backslpash. Be sure to put colorful, unique and single designs tiles in between plain fields tiles. You can do multiples of the same design tiles or each can have a different design or color. To make your kitchen come alive, use beautiful kitchen tile with attractive colors or designs. Your kitchen tile can standout or contrast, but you always want them to blend in with what you’ve got going on the cabinets and the floor. You do not want to get dizzy walking into your kitchen from all the “busyness.”

Murals also are a nice addition for your backsplash or you can add picture, marbles or things you collect for added interest. You do not want to get dizzy walking into your kitchen from all the “busyness.”
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There are few things more exciting for gardeners at this time of year than dreaming of new plants. I’ll focus on a few of the better plants in the next few weeks but let’s start with the best example of new breeding.

Our old North American native friend Echinacea or purple coneflower is really letting loose this coming spring. The work of several major plant-breeding houses is coming to the market and while the plants will be expensive, they are wonderful. The double flowering ‘Razzmatazz’ with its double pink flowers are quite hardy as well as gorgeous. It will be complemented by ‘Doppelganger’ a coneflower that puts one blossom right on top of the first, resembling an apartment of flowers rather than a single bloom. Note that this double-decker flower usually comes into its own in the second year. This one has caught the imagination of the nursery trade almost as much as ‘Sparkler’ a variegated leaf coneflower. The variegation in ‘Sparkler’ is flecked throughout the leaf while the variegation in the equally new ‘Prairie Frost’ is a broad band of cream around each leaf.
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The texture of fabrics varies but all of them add warmth and personality to a room. Many possibilities are available in decorating shops, making the work even easier by selling fabrics and papers in the same pattern. Traditionally it was used to cover walls but has since given way to wallpaper, which is more practical and easy to use while carrying out the same function.

Here are ten household helpful hints for choosing floor and wall covering fabrics to decorate your home:

1. Use fabrics to provide soundproofing in noisy rooms.

2. Curtains or blinds allow us to play with light.

3. Choose flooring like according to a room’s use.

4. Use tough floorings like marble, stone, or tiles where lots of people move about, especially if they have hard heels or dirty soles.

5. Use warm flooring like carpets or wood where you will walk barefoot.

6. Before choosing flooring, try and determine how it will look in the lighting of a room.
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In the event of severe weather, you can protect your home by considering the “science” behind home building. Building science-the study of the perfor-mance of buildings and building materials-has become increasingly important. Building materials are also more advanced, helping builders and homeowners construct more structurally sound homes.

Mark LaLiberte, a building science expert recognized internationally as a distinguished author and consultant, offers consumers these tips:

• Reduce wind impact. For example, 19/32″ thick plywood-one of the toughest, most reliable materials around-can minimize wood panel wind uplift and reduce the risk of damage from flying debris, if the nails are six inches apart and penetrate into the roof framing. Plytanium® Plywood from Georgia-Pacific offers greater impact resistance and holds nails securely. Approximately 80 percent of residential hurricane damage starts with wind entry through the garage doors. Reinforce garage doors with steel bracing and install impact-resistant windows, doors or coverings, such as plywood shutters.
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Having an ample supply of good rich compost is the gardeners dream.
It has many uses, and all of those uses will result in nicer plants. However, composting can be time consuming and hard work. I place a reasonable value on my time, so spending hours and hours turning compost piles doesn’t qualify as a worthwhile exercise, at least in my book. Nonetheless, I do compost, but I do so on my terms.

I built two composting bins. Each bin is five feet wide, five feet deep, and four feet high. I built the bins by sinking 4” by 4” posts in the ground for the corners, and then nailed 2 by 4’s and 1 by 4’s, alternating on the sides.

I left 2” gaps between the boards for air circulation. The 2 by 4’s are rigid enough to keep the sides from bowing out, and in between each 2 by 4 I used 1 by 4’s to save a little money. The bins are only 3 sided, I left the front of the bins open so they can be filled and emptied easily. Photos of my compost bins are on this page: http://www.freeplants.com\composting.htm

I started by filling just one of the bins. I put grass clippings, dried leaves, and shrub clippings in the bins. I try not to put more than 6” of each material on a layer. You don’t want 24” of grass clippings in the bin and you should alternate layers of green and brown material. If necessary, keep a few bags of dry leaves around so you can alternate layers of brown waste and green waste.

When we root cuttings we use coarse sand in the flats, so when it’s time to pull the rooted cuttings out of the flats, the old sand goes on the compost pile. In our little backyard nursery we also have some plants in containers that do not survive. Rather than pulling the dead plant and the weeds out of the container, and then dumping the potting soil back on the soil pile, we just dump the whole container in the compost bin. This adds more brown material to the mix, and is a lot easier than separating the soil and the weeds.
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If you have a hunting lodge, or just a country lodge or cabin retreat to get away from the daily stress of city life, then you have an opportunity to create an ambience totally different from your main city or town home. You can use a variety of appropriately designed and themed décor to create an atmosphere that is not only in keeping with your rustic home from home, but quite in contrast to that which you might normally have in your main residence.

If you go to the lodge to get away from “normal” life, then a contrast in decor will add to that escapism. It is said that a change is as good as a rest, and a change in internal, as well as external, surroundings can make a significant contribution to the relaxed feeling you like to enjoy when you go for your weekend break or regular vacation.

If the lodge is your own, then you will no doubt want to furnish and decorate it in a way that will give you that sense of escapism, yet at the same time make it feel like “home”. If yours is a modern city home, with a light and bright modern interior, then an excellent contrast for your lodge retreat is to seek out rustic décor that blends well.

One thing that makes choosing lodge décor easier, is the way that old vintage styles fit so well in the lodge environment. The liberal use of wood, especially dark wood, in furniture, wall hangings and ornaments, goes as well in a 16th century country cottage in the English countryside, as it does in a modern lodge in North America. This means that it is readily available, as the market is much wider than lodges or cabins, and really embraces all country homes and farmhouses.
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Pumps are amazing mechanical devices and an important invention. They are used to move gas or liquid from one pressure are to another pressure area. They are used in a variety of ways from providing water to providing heat to providing energy. Pumps have been around since the 3rd century and are still going strong today.

There are two main categories of pumps: positive displacement pumps and dynamic pumps. Positive displacement pumps have little leakage as they used sealed chambers to force the fluid or gas. Dynamic pumps use momentum to move the fluid or gas and the chambers are not sealed. In these two categories there are various types of pumps.

The following list explains the different types of pumps most commonly found in residential and industrial settings. These are a good representation of the many styles and models of pumps that are manufactured. Most pumps are made for a specific use and that is represented in this list as well.

- A centrifugal pump can handle a large load. They are used most often with oil or chemical processing. They have an impeller that forces the liquid or gas into a rotary motion. This rotary motion cause pressure to build.
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