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A great project for this summer would be to redecorate your kids’ rooms. Children’s rooms should be changed frequently. After all, your children are growing and changing quickly. Their rooms should reflect that!

Follow these tips for redecorating a child’s room:

• Use paint. You can easily change the entire room by painting the walls a new color. Let your child pick the color. Don’t worry if you hate it. You can change the room again soon.
• Hang up favorite clothing that’s been outgrown. Kids go through clothes quickly. If they have some items that they love but they don’t fit anymore, frame them in a shadowbox and hang them on the wall. I did this for a friend with her daughter’s much loved 3 Pommes dress and they kept it up in the house for years!
• Be cheap with temporary infatuations. It’s fine that your child loves the latest Disney movie. It’s fine to get a poster or other cheap item related to that movie to hang on the wall. However, you shouldn’t invest in new sheets and curtains since this passion is probably going to quickly give way to another love.

Have fun redecorating your kids’ rooms. It’s a great place for letting your imagination run wild!

Technorati Tags: 3 pommes

Tags: 3 pommes

There were so many intriguing things about the house I grew up in that I wanted to take a moment to share some of them with you. Why now, you may ask? Well, since my father passed some years ago, much of the maintenance and general upkeep of the home has fallen to me, the eldest son. Recently, my Mother asked if I would look into replacement windows for her.

She wanted to know more about the process, and whether or not she might be able to afford the various aspects involved with the window installation.

Having no experience in this area, I thought I’d better do some research and started at a number of DIY type websites online.

Not only did I learn that the process of getting new patio doors and specific applications like bay windows was very easy, but they were fast, and relatively inexpensive compared to the years of energy costs associated with not getting the latest in window technology.

With the Stimulus monies now flowing into the economy, there are also incentives for the home owner to receive rebates if they do opt to have new windows and slider doors installed. Those rebate monies greatly reduce the overall cost of making the conversions. And that’s like money in the bank. Literally!

Technorati Tags: bay windows, replacement windows, window installation

Tags: bay windows, replacement windows, window installation

Many times, homeowners look at home improvement as a way to increase the value of their home.  Regardless of whether the homeowner is making the improvements in order to sell the home, this is the prevailing notion of why home improvement is necessary.  However, home improvement can also save you money by increasing efficiency or decreasing future expenses.

Here are a few home improvement projects that can help you save money:

1. Insulation.  Poor insulation probably causes one of the biggest ongoing expenses for homeowners.  In summer, poor insulation lets the heat in, making your air conditioner work harder to keep the house cool; and in winter, poor insulation lets heat out, again making your furnace work harder to maintain the interior temperature.  In both cases, insulating your home properly this means less energy spent to heat and cool your home — and therefore, smaller utility bills.
2. Window replacement.  Older or lesser quality windows may also be causing heat loss to hike up your utility bills.  By replacing your windows, you can reduce heat loss, keep your furnace and/or air condition unit from working as hard, and therefore reduce your heating and cooling expenses.  Sliding glass doors can also cause a huge amount of heat loss, so don’t overlook those patio doors!  You’ll find that energy-efficient window installation can rapidly earn back their cost in utility bill savings.
3. Energy-efficient appliances.  You have to replace your appliances at some point, so when you do make sure to choose energy-efficient appliances such as Energy Star.  Particularly with appliances that run frequently, such as the refrigerator, the dishwasher, and the washer and dryer, having appliances that use less power can save you a lot of money on your electric bills.

Home improvements don’t have to be done just before you sell the house, so that someone else can enjoy them.  With the savings these home improvement projects offer, you can easily justify doing them now, so that you can enjoy them!

Technorati Tags: Energy Star, Home Improvement, patio doors, save money, window installation, window replacement

Tags: Energy Star, Home Improvement, patio doors, save money, window installation, window replacement