Archive for January, 2010

If you would like a nice garden, you’ll need a bucket of water and some garbage. That simple recipe is all you need to grow healthy, beautiful plants all summer long. But before you start floating a tin can in a some water, you need to know that there is a catch. The trick to this recipe is that you have to compost your garbage first. Compost and water are the only ingredients you need to create a powerful plant supplement known as compost tea.

Compost in the garden will improve your soil which in turn will reward you with strong plants that are better able to fend off droughts and diseases. Compost improves soil structure and drainage. It can also be used as a fertilizer or a mulch and it enhances the soil’s ability to absorb water.

Compost tea provides the same benefits to a plant as compost but it doesn’t stop there. Not only can compost tea can applied to the soil around plants like regular compost, but it can also be sprayed on the leaves. When sprayed directly on the leaves, it increases the amount of nutrients available to the plant and helps fight foliar diseases. It will even increase the nutritional value and improve the taste of vegetables.

There are many different ways to make compost tea but most recipes can be summarized by saying, if you steep compost in water you get compost tea.
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There are many ways that you can decorate your windows. You have the choice of horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, shutters, or even roller shades, and that is just to name a few. Before you head down the road of confusion you should begin by asking yourself a few questions.

What kind of space are you working with?

Do not only focus on the window space but take a look at the whole room. It doesn’t matter if you are doing one room or a whole house. Look at the room by itself. Consider the location of the room. North facing windows bring in consistent light but could subject your house to the coldest exposure. For this you would want to consider energy-saving window treatments. They will also help with the heating and cooling bills since 40% of heat escapes through windows. That is something to consider in each room of your house.

East-facing windows offer bright light early in the morning. That means that the room will heat up quickly. There are options that will help capture the heat so it diffuses it before it comes in, such as cellular or pleated shades. Also, the traditional drapery would work well, although, it is not appropriate for every room.

West-facing windows are the worst for letting in the most light that is harmful. Rooms with these windows should be ones that block out the UV rays. You would want to consider energy-saving window treatments.

South-facing windows are the best for consistent, natural light. You want to have window treatments that let in light but also have the option for protection against the light.
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BATHROOM FURNITURE:

There are three main types of bathroom furniture. Stand alone, modular and fitted. Stand alone furniture as the name suggests is designed to stand on its own and is not normally attached to the piece next to it. In fact most free standing furniture does not have a clean edge so it is normally impossible to attach another piece to the side without leaving a small gap between the two pieces. The most common type of freestanding furniture is the vanity unit. This allows for storage under the basin but takes up the minimum amount of space. This is ideal for storage in small bathrooms.

Modular furniture is similar to stand alone furniture but have flat sides so that pieces can be added together to make a line (or run) of furniture. This allows for a lot more units to be fitted within the bathroom. Normally this type of furniture incorporates a back to wall toilet and cistern housing. These types of units are best fitted with a gap at either end, as they do not come with filler panels or extra worktop to fill in odd spaces.

Fitted furniture is similar to modular but has a range of units and additional items to ensure that it can be fitted wall to wall without any gaps. This type of furniture also has the largest number of unit sizes and styles available. Fitted furniture in small bathrooms can have the effect of making the room appear smaller.
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Companion plantings of some kind have been practiced throughout agricultural history. Some of the earliest written documents on gardening discuss these relationships. Early settlers discovered American First Nations people were using an interplanting scheme of corn-bean-squash that balanced the requirements of each crop for light, water, and nutrients. In the 1800’s, hemp (cannabis) was often planted around a cabbage field to keep away the white cabbage butterflies in Holland. In many parts of the world today, subsistence farmers and organic gardeners grow two or more crops simultaneously in a given area to achieve a certain benefit.

Companion planting is the practice of locating particular plants near one another because they enhance plant growth, discourage pests and diseases, or have some other beneficial effect. When selecting your companion plants consider more than which pests are deterred. Think about what each plant adds or takes away from the soil and what effect the proximity of strong herbs may have on the flavour of your vegetables. Avoid placing two heavy feeders or two shallow rooted plant types near each other.
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A pillar candle holder can be metal, wood, or glass. The choices of candle holders are
almost as endless as the different types of pillar candles. A frosted glass pillar candle holder is the perfect one to choose for your aromatherapy candle. The frosted glass accentuates the color of the candle and protects the wood of your table at the same time. If you relay like to match the wood of the furniture with the candleholder, then you can choose a wooden pillar candle holder. Metal holders for pillar candles are also very elegant and have intricate carvings.

Although pillar candles are usually round, they can be any size that you want. If you make your own candles, this is the perfect opportunity to get creative and make different shapes of candles. Since most pillar candle holders have a wide base to hold candles that are about 3 inches in diameter, you can still use oddly shaped candles with these holders. A pillar candle holder can be only big enough for one candle or it can be a plate large enough to hold three or four candles of various sizes.

Whatever décor you have, you can have a pillar candle holder to match. For example, you can have carved candle holders or ones designed as beautiful candlestick holders. Pillar candles make great centrepieces and with the right candleholder you can create just the right ambiance for any room of your home. Pillar candle holders make great gifts for any occasion and since they are relatively inexpensive, you can pick up different kinds for different occasions.

A wrought iron pillar candle holder is a wonderful decorating idea for your home because the iron can be made into different shapes. Try a Celtic design for your pillar candles or have the iron shaped into flowers or even dolphins to hold scented pillar candles. Pewter and copper are also materials commonly used to make pillar candle holders. Pewter is a resilient material and matches any décor. Copper candle holders really accentuate an autumn theme and these come in all types of styles.
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If you have a question about how to make your home more comfortable, you may want to ask your thermostat. An innovative, programmable “talking” thermostat has been designed to make it easier for you to control your home comfort systems.

The EZ Talk feature of the “Talking Thermostat” from the Coleman® brand of York, a Johnson Controls Company, audibly guides homeowners through every step of programming a heating/cooling system thermostat. A Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning dealer can even customize the prerecorded messages in either a male or female voice.

If service is required, the thermostat can say the name and contact information of the dealer or contractor who installed the equipment. This provides homeowners with an easy, one-touch dealer locator that takes the guesswork out of who to call and saves time.

Separate weekday and weekend schedules allow you to set four different time/temperature settings each day, while a manual override feature makes it possible to change these settings. The thermostat is designed to protect your home comfort system with a number of alerts:

• A low-battery warning informs you when it is time to change the batteries, helping to maintain the efficiency of the system.
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Colour affects our emotions, moods, physical, and spiritual well-being. It has a significant effect on everything we eat, drink, and touch and influences our physical environment including our home, office, and garden. Colour reflects our personalities. The colours we prefer for home interiors carried out to the garden, provide continuity between our interior and exterior living spaces. Colours are a useful tool in creating different moods in the landscape. In order to effectively create with colour it is important to understand the meaning of the different colours.

Red creates vitality. It tends to command attention and will make areas seem smaller. It is a good colour for dining areas as it increases appetite. It creates a feeling of warmth, movement, and drama. For those who may find it too stimulating, use pink instead. Red plants to use in the shade include begonia, coleus, and impatiens. In sunny areas use salvia or verbenas. To augment your plantings use glazed pots, red sandstone gravel, red clay bricks or tiles will bring that vitality to your landscape.

Orange means optimism. It is primarily the colour of joy. It is warm, welcoming, just bursting with earthly energy. Orange flowers have been known since ancient times as a cure for depression. It is a good colour to use when you have experienced trauma or loss. Plants to try in the shade include begonia, coleus and impatiens. For sunny areas try honeysuckle and marigolds. Materials to augment plantings include terracotta pots, ornaments, rusting metal, golden gravel, and clay bricks.
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Bathroom fixtures perform the functions for which a bathroom is built. Updating your bathroom fittings can turn your plain, outdated bathroom into a room you can be proud of for less expense than replacing the fixtures.

Each fixture should be carefully selected to best meet the needs of the intended users. It should also be located in the bath or toilet room in a location that facilitates its use. Find advise on selecting fixtures, articles on quality and design, and information on companies that manufacture bath fixtures for use in your home.

Bathroom fixtures can underscore the style of your home or serve as a neutral backdrop that can be changed based on the accompanying accessories. Here are some tips.

Bathroom plans should provide bars or table space for towels that is convenient so seated bathers can dry their hands and face before getting out of the tub. Storage should be provided on shelves or other areas for soap, shampoo, and toiletries.

Choosing bathroom fixtures, especially for your home’s main bathroom, can prove to be a challenge, like other household furnishings, can be combined in order to create different styles.
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