The holiday season has passed, and most people are in recovery mode.  The last thing they’re thinking about is taking things apart, after they just finished putting them back together!  But, if the home improvement bug is biting you, it’s a great time to get going.  Many contractor’s businesses are a bit slow this time of year, so you can get moving on your projects right away.

If you’re thinking of making changes in your home but don’t know where to start, I can help you with everything from a single consultation to give you ideas and resources, to executing your projects from start to finish.  Just fill out the contact form below, or give me a call, and let me know how I can help you have a fun, not stressful, design experience!

~ Kathy

Note: Due to difficulties with spam filters, I’ve occasionally been unable to respond to corporate email addresses (they bounce back as undeliverable).  Personal email addresses are preferred, or include a contact phone number ~ Thank you!

Did you know the front of your home can speak volumes about you? We’ve all heard how first impressions can have a lasting impact, and the overall appearance when people arrive at your home can have exactly that. The term “curb appeal” implies the overall appeal of your home when people first approach it, and here are some simple ideas to maximize that appeal.

• Landscaping ~ Are the lawn and plants trimmed and tidy? Are the planting beds free of weeds and debris? Are the sidewalks, driveway and curb areas swept clean? None of these improvements cost anything to do!

• Exterior Paint ~ Is the paint faded, peeling or chipping? If you can’t afford to repaint the whole house, then touch up the areas that are looking tired, especially around the front porch.

• Clutter ~ We all have it to one degree or another, so don’t try to rid yourself completely of items you may have stored around the exterior of your home. That said, keep them in the garage or behind the gates, and away from the view of the street. This also goes for unattractive autos that may be inoperative, and by all means, nothing with a tarp on it!  :-]

• Front Porch ~ Have you considered that this will be the place your visitors will linger? While they’re waiting for you to answer the door, they’re passing the time by looking around. Are there cobwebs in the corners? Are there tears in the screen door? Is the paint and hardware on your door dirty? Are there flower pots with dead plants, or the dried up dirt from last year’s plant? A few flower pots or decorative accessories are very attractive and welcoming, but keep the clutter to a minimum on the front porch, especially if you don’t have much room to begin with.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful, and I’d love to hear how you’ve maximized the curb appeal of your home!

~ Kathy

We all know a disaster can strike at any time, and let’s face it ~ the only ones we might be able to count on is ourselves.  Who knows how bad it will be, or if our emergency services will be able to help us?  It may be days, weeks, or even longer, that we’ll be without the comforts we now enjoy;  mainly power and running water in our homes.

I’ve blogged before with a few ideas of ways we can prepare, and there are many more blogs to come.  But, today I’m going to talk about storing water in your home (and large amounts of it), in the event that you’re going to need to rely on your own resources.  We all know that we can go for several weeks without food and still survive, but our bodies need water, and without it, our days are drastically reduced.

In an ideal environment, our bodies need to drink a minimum of 2 quarts of water per day.  Clearly, a disastrous situation won’t be an ideal environment, and we need to account for other factors, such as our level of activity, the weather, and digesting the food we eat.  One gallon per person, per day, is what we’ve planned for at our house, and here’s what my husband has done to keep us prepared.

“Back in 2008, I found a vendor on Craig’s List who sold food grade 55 gallon plastic barrels.  For $17 each, I bought two.  There is no need to spend a lot for brand new and costly water bottles, to have your own family water supply.  Recently, I did a quick search and found that food grade barrels are still available for a similar price.

• To prep the barrels for long term water storage, I rinsed them out (a LOT) with a power washer, although a regular hose should be fine.

• To sterilize the barrels, I poured two cups of chlorine bleach into each, then a few gallons of water, capped them, and rolled them around for a while to fully coat the inside with the bleach solution.  After 30 minutes of intermittent sloshing, I drained, then rinsed, drained and rinsed again.

• Next, I positioned the barrels on the shady side of the house where they would sit long term (no moving them when full – they weigh almost 400 pounds).

• I added three tablespoons of chlorine bleach to each barrel, then filled to the top with water from the hose.

• I marked the top with a Sharpie:  ”POTABLE WATER”, the date filled, and “THREE TABLESPOONS OF BLEACH ADDED”.

• Finally, I covered the barrels completely with a heavy tarp, to block all sunlight, and tied them tightly together with rope.

So how does the water keep after sitting for a long time?  The last time I drained and filled them was January, 2010.  When I drained them yesterday, the 14 month old water was clear and clean smelling!  I would drink it without further purifying, if needed.”

We bought this inexpensivesiphon from Amazon.com to retrieve water from the barrels, but there are many other kits and pumps available on line, or at your local home improvement store.  In fact, if you know how to manually siphon, a garden hose is all you need!

We have three people in our home, so with 110 gallons of water stored, that’s enough to sustain us for over 30 days!  We also have additional water stored in 5-gallon bottles that are easy to handle, as well as a couple of cases of bottled water.  Depending on how long we expect to sustain ourselves, some of the stored water could be used for flushing toilets, though my husband says I need to forget about such luxuries. : )

We hope you find this information helpful, but especially hope that you put in place the necessary items to keep your family safe and sustained during a disaster.  Watch for future blogs with more helpful ideas, and a special thanks to my husband, Kurt, for contributing to this post!

To your safety,

Kathy

Don’t you just love the smell of a fresh Christmas tree in the house?  It’s one of my favorite things about the season, but there’s also no avoiding the fact that it’s going to start drying out, and pretty quickly!  We all know that it’s important to keep the tree supplied with plenty of fresh water, but there are a few more tricks that will keep it looking (and smelling) fresh, just a bit longer.

• Open the Pores ~ The best way for your tree to absorb water is with a fresh cut off the bottom of the trunk.  Most tree lots will do this for you, and it’s important to put the base in water immediately, even if you don’t set it up in your home right away.  Mine sat on my back patio for several days this year, and my husband put another fresh cut on it before bringing it in the house.  Even if you cut your tree from a tree farm, one more fresh cut before you put it in the stand is a good idea.  You will maximize the absorption of water with the freshest cut possible.

• Keep it Cool ~ Don’t put your tree near heat sources such as a fireplace, wood stove or heater register.  The poor little guy has already been cut from its roots, and propping it up near the heat is only going to suck more life out of it!

• Feed It ~ Having been cut from its root system, your tree has lost its food source, and it’s hungry!  Sounds so sad, doesn’t it?  Like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, all frail and limp.  BUT, you can still feed and nourish your tree.  I have this ornament book from Christopher Radko, and it contains this great formula to add to your water.  I’ve been using it for years, and it really does help!  I’ve shared it with all my friends and family, and find that I get emails every year … “What was that concoction for my tree water again???”.

1 quart HOT tap water (hot water aids in circulation)

1 tablespoon liquid iron* (keeps the tree green)

2 tablespoons light corn syrup (feeds the tree)

1 tablespoon laundry bleach (fights bacteria and fungi)

*Liquid iron can be found in the garden section of stores

Check the water level daily, especially the first week!

I hope you found this blog helpful!  I always love to get comments and feedback from my readers, so let me know if you have any great holiday tips or tricks, for the Christmas tree, or whatever!

Happy Holidays!

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

The peak entertaining months are upon us! If you want to have parties without stress, it’s all about one word … planning. I’ve thrown countless parties over the years; everything from dinner for four to theme parties for 50, and thorough planning is the only thing that kept me from being a complete wreck one hour before my guests arrived. Here are some guidelines to keep you on track, so you too can actually enjoy your guests too!

Prepare Task Lists ~ Depending on the complexity of your event, you will plan as little as one day ahead, or as far as a year ahead. Regardless of the length of time, task lists are a must to keep you on schedule right up to the time your first guest arrives. Determine what things need to be done, and at what intervals, including everything from shopping for decorations to garnishing your platters. Here’s an example of a list I would have written for one week prior to a cocktail party on a Saturday evening, preparing 10-12 dishes:

• Saturday/Sunday: Make menu selections and plan decorations and serving set-up, prepare lists for food prep throughout the week
• Monday/Tuesday: Shop and/or gather items for decorations and serving set-up
• Wednesday: Grocery shop and begin food prep on dishes that can be refrigerated or frozen ahead of time
• Thursday: Continue food prep, clean house (or splurge on a housekeeper!)
• Friday: Continue food prep, set tables
• Saturday: Final food prep (in your favorite holiday apron!), house touch-up

This is a very generalized list, and my actual lists would have specific food prep for each day, based on the menu items (for example: prepare sauces for crab cakes). If you have several dishes to prepare, look for choices that can be prepared (or partially prepared) ahead of time. This will keep your party day less hectic and assembly to a minimum. Also, have a variety of hot and cold items, and have your cold platters completely prepared and waiting in the fridge. Prepare your uncooked hot items ahead of time (if the recipe allows), and have them waiting in the fridge, right on the baking sheets, and ready to pop in the oven. Of course, this doesn’t work for all dishes, but the more you can have ready and waiting, the smoother your event will go. I even have a little cheat sheet with the temperatures and baking times for my hot items ~ no cookbooks on the counter! With this thorough planning, you too will be able to greet your guests as an organized and relaxed host!

If you have other tips for successful entertaining, please share them, because we can use all the help we can get this time of year!  Here’s a great article from Williams-Sonoma with tips for decorating your buffet table in style, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box.  Anything goes! : )

Happy Holidays!

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

If you’ve ever been faced with the decision of replacing flooring in your home, it can be a bit overwhelming.  Hardwood, carpet, tile, stone, laminate, and I could go on!  What type of flooring should you buy?  What’s going to look best in your house?  Should you use a variety of materials, or just one?  I recently had a reader ask me about replacing her living room carpet, and she and her husband had different opinions about what they should do (Really?  I’ve never heard that!). : )  She asked if there are any design rules about flooring, and the answer is, absolutely!  Here are some guidelines to think about, before making your decision:

• Consider Form AND Function ~ When selecting anything for your home, from flooring to furniture, consider how you need that product to function for you.  It’s important to get the look you want, but even more important that it function the way you need it to.  You may love the look of plush white carpeting, but it definitely won’t function in your family room with sippy cups and puppy paws!

• Maximum of Three ~ When considering how many different flooring materials to have in your home, this is a rule-of-thumb to remember:  While standing in any one place in your home, it’s best to not see more than three different flooring materials within your view.  More than three, and it’s too busy.  That said, I believe less-is-more, and less than three is even better!  Whether it be hardwood, tile, or carpet, try and keep your flooring materials cohesive.  That leads us to …

• Go For the Flow ~ Think of your floors as the “backdrop” of your home.  Ideally, it’s good to have a seamless flow from room-to-room, and having the same flooring throughout the common areas of your home provides that flow.  Common areas would be your main living areas, such as the living room, family room, dining room and hallway.  And, if you can include the kitchen, that much better!  This is the photo that my reader sent of her home, and her question was whether to replace the carpet with the exact same laminate as the adjoining areas, or a different style and color of laminate to separate the spaces.  I think you know what I recommended!  I also gave her the idea of using large area rugs in the living and dining areas, which would give them the definition ofspaces that one of them felt they needed.  One last idea isto do an inset of carpet within the laminate flooring, as shown below.  If it works well with the shape of the room, it’s a nice way to break-up the expanses of hard flooring and provides the same effect as an area rug.  I’ve used this design idea before, and with great results!

• How to Break it Up ~ If you do want to change flooring from room-to-room, the bedrooms and bathrooms are the best choices for mixing things up.  If you like the feel of soft carpeting underfoot when you step out of bed in the morning, then, by all means, put wall-to-wall carpeting in your bedroom!  Tile in the bathrooms?  Or course!  This makes perfect sense, and these are natural areas to break the flow from the common areas.  That said, many people like to have tile or stone flooring in their kitchen, and that’s fine too, IF there are doorways or other areas that create a natural break in the spaces.

I hope you’ve found these flooring tips helpful!  I always enjoy hearing your comments, and questions are always welcome too!  If you have other topics you’d like me to blog about, just send them my way …

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

Oh, how I love the cooler weather!  I look forward to it every year, and can’t wait to nestle in on a rainy day with soups in the slow cooker and wine by the fireplace.  It’s seriously my idea of bliss. : )  But, with the cooler wet weather comes a whole new set of things to think about with regard to home maintenance.  So, jump in and get these chores out of the way now!  A little preparation ahead of time, and you’ll be sitting by the fire too, with peace of mind that your house is ready.

• Dump the Standing Water ~ The rainy season is on its way, so if you have open containers on your property such as flower pots or bird baths, they’re going to fill up.  Do you like slimy, green algae?  I’m thinking the answer is NO.  Keep it from forming by either storing them away, or just do what I do, and turn them upside down!

• Adjust the Sprinklers ~ Save water (and money!) by changing your sprinkler timers. Either reduce the number of days you’re watering, or the amount of time set for each station. By the time winter comes, you should be able to turn them off completely!  This is also a good time to check each sprinkler head and make adjustments on the spray patterns.  This guy’s watering the street as well as his lawn. : /

• Clear the Clutter ~ There’s nothing that annoys me more than pests and rodents around my house.  Rats lurking in the shrubs?  Eeekk!  Extra clutter around the perimeter of your home is the perfect hiding place to escape the colder weather, so get these areas tidied up now.  Trimming shrubs up away from the ground will strongly discourage rodents from camping out on your property.  Tip:  If you have ivy on your property, you might as well put out a welcome mat!  I know this from personal experience, and I was not a happy homeowner!

• Seal the Gaps ~ Bats in your belfry?  Well, maybe not, but you can sure have rats in your attic!  They LOVE to set up house in the insulation, and I’ve had my own personal war with these little vermin.  Trust me – if you get ONE, you’ll have a whole family before you know it.  When I Googled images of rats in the attic there was some pretty nasty stuff, but I opted for this pic, since it’s normally not a good idea to gross out your readers.  But, this guy’s looking at YOU, and letting you know he’s got your address! : )

Walk the perimeter of your home and look for openings that would allow them access, and get them sealed up. Even a quarter-sized opening is large enough for a rat to squeeze through!  Insulating spray foam sealant works great, and is available at any hardware or home improvement store, in a variety of brands.

• Furnace Filter Check ~ Though your filters should be checked more than once per year, it helps to use Fall as a reminder for this basic maintenance. Your furnace is the blower unit for both your heating AND air conditioning, so it’s been cranking away all summer long! Change the filter often for maximum performance and energy efficiency.

I hope you found these tips helpful, and I know there are many other ways to prepare for Fall.  If you want to think ahead to even colder weather, I’ve got some tips on this previous blog post too.  I’d love to hear your comments and ideas!

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

The kids are back to school!  Yay!  Mine are all grown up now, but I remember it well.  With back-to-school comes all sorts of new activities and responsibilities, but also an influx of PAPER into your house.  Forms to fill out, newsletters, home work, and the ever-abundant artwork.  That little budding Picasso put their heart and soul into that creation, and it should be displayed for all to see, right?  And, what about those math tests with an A+ scrawled across the top in red pen?  We want to see those too!

So, now comes the question of WHERE.  How do we display these important papers without wallpapering the refrigerator with them?  I think as long as that appliance has been around, that’s how long they’ve been hidden under a blanket of papers, and I don’t care how neatly you try to arrange the display, or what fun little magnets you have, it somehow always looks messy and cluttered.  It’s a place to store food, and wasn’t really designed to double as a bulletin board, so if your refrigerator is covered in papers, notes and pictures, it can actually become the focal point of your kitchen.

• Frame It! ~ One idea for displaying artwork is to buy inexpensive frames and create a wall grouping.  With frames like these shown above, you can easily swap them out in a matter of minutes!  I like that these frames are just clear class with no backing, so it really makes the art prominent.  One rule of thumb for doing any grouping is to have all the frames identical.  This way, you focus on the art, not the frames.

• Clip It! ~ If you want an even easier way to swap out the school papers, try clipping them to a decorative ribbon hanging on the wall.  I couldn’t find an image with kid’s school work, but this one with photos gives you the idea I’m thinking of.  Now that they make binder clips in cool colors, you could have a little fun with this!

I think this clothesline idea below is especially cool, and I found this wire curtain rod at IKEA that would work perfectly!  Add the clip rings too, and for $20 bucks, you’re all set!

I hope you liked these ideas for displaying your children’s art and school work.  I’d love to hear your comments, and your questions are always welcomed!

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

Do you love any one color so much that you want to completely surround yourself in it? Then do it! It’s important to surround ourselves in spaces that make us feel good, and color can be a big part of that.  I love this purple living room, and think it’s so elegant, dramatic, chic, glamorous ~ stop me from going on!  My husband would NEVER go for this look, but if I lived alone …

A monochromatic color scheme is one in which a palette is used in varying shades of the same color. When done well, these rooms can have a unique richness about them, even if the color is beige! The key is the balance of several elements, and this living room has all of them.

• Saturation of Color ~ If everything in this room were deep purple, it would be dark and overpowering. Use a blend of light-to-medium-to-deep shades to offset each other. The sofa, to the wallpaper, to the paint color shows this transition of color saturation.

Blend patterns for interest!

• Blend Patterns ~ There are several patterns in this room, but each are quite subtle. I think this room could even have MORE patterns, perhaps with a little pop from an elegant floral on the sofa pillows. But, the key to this  combination of patterns is that none of them are overwhelming, which adds to the richness of this room. Don’t be afraid to mix your patterns though, and stripes with florals is an especially great mix, as seen in this sofa.

• Add Textures ~ There’s a lot of texture going on in this room, even though much of it is very subtle. Even the shape of the floor lamp adds texture! From the smooth surface of the chrome accessories to the carved mirror frame, it all adds dimension to the room.

• Add BLING! ~ I think every room needs a little shine – something to catch the eye and give it a little pop, and this room has plenty of it! Could that silver side table be any more Hollywood Glam?  Imagine how this room would be bland without those little bits of shine here and there.

I hope you enjoyed reading about monochromatic design!  I love hearing your comments or questions, and if I can help with any of your design or decorating needs, just ask!

~ Kathy

Everyone deserves a home they love ~ Inside and Out!

Are you apprehensive about the thought of painting your walls with some COLOR?  You’re not alone!  I consult with lots of clients that love the interiors they see in magazines, but then are reeling with the hundreds of color choices when they hit the paint store.  Will it be too bold?  Not the right shade?  Will my attempt at taupe end up looking like Clearasil?  Yikes!

I love color on the walls, and in every room of the house.  Many people think that the best backdrop for displaying artwork is a white wall, but that couldn’t be further from the truth!  Color on the walls really richens whatever is against it, so if you want to make your interiors more elegant, rich or dramatic, then add some color!  Even the most subtle of colors can have a big impact.

Pretty bland with white walls!

I’ve lived in my house for 3 years, and was fortunate that the previous owners had put some nice, neutral colors throughout most of the home.  The kitchen, however, was DRAB.

I have a lovely kitchen, with maple cabinets and dark granite counter tops, and we added the oak flooring when we moved in.  But, it still lacked something to make it POP.  Well, sometimes you just gotta jump in and do it!  I decided that THIS was the weekend I was going to take my kitchen from drab to fab.  I only have three small wall areas, but it sure did make a big difference!  Because I have such limited wall space, I went with a strong color, and it didn’t overpower the room.  I’m in love with this color from Benjamin Moore, and it’s just what I’ve been envisioning for my kitchen.  Now I can’t wait to tackle more rooms in my house!

What a difference a little color makes!

I’d love to hear your feedback on this latest project, and please check out my other blog posts!  I get great satisfaction from helping other people with their design and decorating dilemmas, so feel free to throw your questions my way!

Until next time!

~ Kathy