Dressing Your Windows For The Holiday Season
Daylight savings has come and gone, which means the hours we have of daylight on a daily basis are precious! It’s simple to dress your home’s exterior and interior furnishings in seasonal décor, but that’s not always the case when it comes to window treatments. Lighting plays a key role in creating an atmosphere in your home and the right shades, drapes, or blinds can make or break that vibe. To evoke the right atmosphere this holiday season, consider these tips and tricks for choosing the right window treatments.
- Use heavy fabric. Materials like velvet and wool can instantly bring warmth into any room in your home. These textures provide visual warmth and physical insulation, helping to keep the heat you’re pumping into your home from seeping through any cracks in your window caulking. In addition, heavy fabrics like these offer total privacy when closed.
- Consider room darkening options. If you’re a shift worker of any kind, room darkening curtains can be a lifesaver no matter what time of year it is. You need your room to be dark so that you can rest at any given time of the day. Room darkening curtains give you that option. In addition to eliminating natural light completely, room darkening curtains can help prevent cool drafts from coming in as well.
- Let the sun in with sheers. For those of you looking to let as much sunlight in as possible, sheer curtains are your best bet. This lightweight fabric was designed to let as much daylight through as possible, making it perfect for the short autumn days. Cheryl Smith, a Chatham, NJ interior decorator, recommends using sheer curtains in common rooms like your kitchen, living, and dining spaces. These rooms demand natural light and typically don’t require that much privacy.
- Accentuate with window treatments. If you’re looking for a simple way to incorporate color, pattern, or texture into a room, updating your window treatments is a quick, effective solution. The expert Jacksonville, FL painters suggest choosing curtains or drapes that feature a bold, autumnal color scheme, like burnt sienna or oxblood. These colors will translate seamlessly into the holiday season as well. This quick update will make a statement and help to usher the holiday season in.
- Choose the right style and length. The length of the window treatments you choose depends on what you’re trying to achieve in a room. For example, if you’re looking to make the windows in your family room appear larger than they are, you’ll want to find curtains that are 60-80” long. Hang them far enough above the window so that they just graze the floor. Conversely, in a kitchen, for instance, you’ll want simpler window treatments, like wooden slat shutters or a valance for that window over the sink.
Before you upgrade your window treatments, it’s important to consider the space, it’s current design, and the goal you’re looking to achieve. With so many options available, finding the window treatments that are right for you and your home can seem challenging. For the best assistance in home design, contact Decorating Den Interiors today.
Wise Home Improvements For Fall
When you think of fall, your mind probably goes to decorating with pumpkins, sipping apple cider, and enjoying time with the family. Many homeowners don’t consider fall as a time to make home improvements – that’s for the springtime, right? Contrary to popular belief, there are several home improvements you can take advantage of this autumn. Discover the best projects to tackle once the weather starts to break.
Insulate your pipes. Frozen pipes can happen at any point when the temperatures drop. To prevent your pipes from freezing, wrap them in electric heat tape, fiberglass insulation, or pipe jackets. This will help keep the pipe’s temperature regulated and ensure water can flow through them continuously.
Reseal doors and windows. Improperly sealed windows and doors can cause valuable heat to seep out of your home on cold days, increasing your home heating costs drastically. Prevent this problem by having your windows and doors re-sealed this fall. Examine the weather stripping for cracks or missing portions of sealant. If you notice major damage, remove the old stripping and apply a new layer for an instant fix in energy efficiency.
Enhance your yard. If you’re not sure what your yard needs, connect with local landscapers. They’ll be able to provide you with a layout that compliments the look and feel of your home’s exterior, boosting your property value. Plus, they’ll know what kind of care your existing plants and shrubs will need to withstand the winter temperature drop.
Pressure wash the exterior. Over time, your home’s siding will collect a layer of dirt, dust, and debris. Remove this layer with a pressure washing machine. You can simply use water or mix a solution designed to clean your siding. Once the siding is clear, use the pressure washer to remove dirt and stains present on your concrete surfaces.
Clear the gutter. Throughout the fall, leaves flutter down into your yard and can cause major issues with your gutter. Make a habit out of clearing your gutters this fall to remove built-up leaves. This will prevent larger, more expensive home improvements in the future. While you’re clearing them out, make sure the gutters are draining properly and there aren’t any cracks present.
Make a list of everything you didn’t get done last spring and put off to relax this summer to tackle this fall. This post brought to you by Triumph Building Group, custom home builders in Montgomery County.
Keeping Your Home Warm This Fall
As the fall season draws closer, you and your family will experience your fair share of visits from friends, family, and loved ones. You’ll want your home to be warm and inviting for your guests, but you also want to avoid climbing energy costs. Keep your home cozy and more energy efficient this fall with these tips and tricks!
- Keep your door shut tight. Ensure that your front door is doing its job. An entry door that isn’t properly sealing shut is allowing energy to escape. During the cooler fall and winter months, families pay a lot of money to pump warm air into their homes to stay comfortable. If your entryway door is not sealed properly on all sides, it is allowing warm air to escape, which means you are throwing money and energy right out your front door! To eliminate this problem, ensure that your doors are equipped with the proper weather stripping on all sides.
- Let the sunlight in! We all know the hours of natural light start to dwindle when fall arrives, so leave your blinds open during the day to soak up as much sun as possible. Doing so can help eliminate the need for use of electricity to see during the day and can even boost the temperature of your home slightly so you can lower the temperature of your thermostat. Having a sunroom installed as an addition to your home will allow even more sunlight in. This space can be enjoyed year-round, regardless of the weather, and help you soak up every ounce of natural sunlight during the shortened fall days.
- Be mindful of your fireplace use. Fireplaces create a warming, festive environment throughout the fall, but they can be detrimental to your home’s heating system. Cold air can easily enter through your chimney flue, so make sure it is closed when your fireplace is not in use. To make the most of the heat your fireplace generates, utilize glass panels or doors to keep the cold from coming in through your fireplace. Heat rises, and a fire can take the warm air you are pumping into your home through your thermostat system if you aren’t careful!
- Utilize your ceiling fans. Take a look at the fans in your home – many are equipped to run clockwise and counter-clockwise. By flipping the switch and running your fan counter-clockwise, you’re able to push heat back down into your home that would otherwise remain trapped near your ceiling.
- Keep interior doors shut. If you only occupy certain rooms in your home, keep the doors to the less frequented spaces shut. This will keep the main rooms in your home warmer and use less energy to do so. When you’re going to utilize a shut-off room, simply open the door and let the warm air in!
- Get cooking! Using kitchen appliances such as your oven can exponentially warm your home. The fall and winter months are packed with events that require delicious meals and scrumptious treats, so don’t be afraid to pop a roast in the oven for a few hours or bake up large batches of chocolate chip cookies. You’ll be doing your family and your home a favor!
- Incorporate throw rugs into your décor. Hardwood flooring can be a factor contributing to the cold temperatures throughout your home in the winter. Find a way to use area rugs or runners on your hardwood floors to help trap in some heat.
It comes down to keeping you and your family comfortable this fall season.
Owning a home is no simple feat. Each season comes with its own to-do list of upkeep, but with the right tools and an action plan in mind, maintaining your home can be simple! This summer, keep your home in tip-top shape by checking things off of this list:
- Check your smoke detectors. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors can help prevent tragedy from striking, so make sure the ones in your home are in working order. Hold the test button down monthly and wait for the beep to confirm that they’re working. Replace the batteries if necessary and make sure a detector is present on every floor of your home.
- Polish your porch. During the summer, most people like to enjoy the great outdoors. If your home features a porch, patio, or deck, you’ll want it looking its best during the time you spend on it. Newer patios will only require a simple sweep, but if you’ve had your patio for some time, have it restained by a painting professional. They’ll ensure the surface is properly sanded and evenly stained, leaving your porch looking refreshed!
- Touch up your exterior paint. A quick fix that can work miracles, touching up areas of your home’s exterior that might be cracked, chipped, or worn from the elements is best done on cooler summer days. If you’re unsure of the color that was used to paint your home’s siding, contact the professionals that handled it. They’ll be able to give you the name and brand of the paint color or provide you with the closest match if the color is no longer sold.
- Wash your windows. Summer is the best time to wash your windows, but make sure to do it early in the morning or at sundown to avoid those pesky streaks! Use your favorite streak-free cleaner or a washcloth, warm water, and soap to remove the pollen and debris buildup from the spring. Don’t forget about your screens. They can collect just as much, if not more, dust and pollen, so give them a gentle scrub with a brush and soapy water.
- Pressure wash your driveway. Most homeowners don’t consider giving their driveway a good clean, but it’s an area of your landscape that receives a lot of foot (and car) traffic! Dirt, debris, and even oil and other liquids from your car can seep into a porous driveway. To give yours a good clean, start by removing any weeds that you might see in your driveway, inspecting for cracks or holes along the way. Repair or repave any damage, then use a pressure washer to remove set-in dirt, grease, and grime.
Looking for help with your home’s exterior maintenance? CertaPro Painters of Cape Ann can help! Contact their team of experts for exterior painting and pressure washing this summer.
How To Decorate Your Hallway
Hallways and staircases are one of the most utilized, and yet underappreciated, areas of a home. Too often, homeowners leave their halls and stairs barren of any interior design. Don’t be one of those homeowners! Learn to appreciate the space that is your hallways – discover ways to liven it up.
Color: A hallway or staircase is the pathway to several rooms in your home. For this reason, the professionals at CertaPro Painters of Lexington/Concord, MA recommend that you paint with a neutral color. Hallways also often lack a source of natural light, so utilizing neutral colored paints will help brighten the space.
Flooring: Hallways and staircases are high traffic areas, making hardwood flooring a viable option for homeowners. Hardwood floors can withstand much more wear and tear than traditional carpeting and are an easy clean. Spruce up the look of your hardwood flooring with a decorative area rug.
Interest: If you’re looking for a way to add some structure to your hallway without the bulk of a table or shelving, try wainscoting. Traditionally, wainscoting is comprised of pieces of interlocking wood that can be easily painted or stained any color. This covering is placed over the lower portion of a wall and creates an elegant look. To add interest to a staircase, try painting the banisters with a bright color. The subtle pop will give your staircase a sophisticated, modern look.
Personality: Use your hallways to showcase your personality. Hang family photos, wall decals, or even decorative mirrors on your hallway walls. Arrange them in a gallery style for an added sense of elegance. The same can be done along the walls of a staircase.
Functionality: Your home may have a hallway located right at the entrance of your home. If this is the case, you’ll need to include functional design elements that will make the space easier to utilize. Hang a coat rack for the family to place hats, jackets, purses, and bags on when they come home. Line rubber mats against the wall for muddy shoes to go. For added organization, line a shelf with bins for family members to store miscellaneous items in, including keys and mail. You can also utilize small bin storage on the lower steps of your staircase.
Lighting: Whether you opt for a modern style cage light or a simple vintage lamp, the lighting in your hallway should be decorative and functional. When the light is on, the entire length of the hallway should be visible. If you find that your hallway or staircase is extra long, install as much light as necessary.
Furniture: While the hallway is a method of travel in a home, that doesn’t mean that it cannot house furniture. Use a narrow table to house a decorative lamp, photos, or a landline telephone. If you have room, incorporate a bench with cushions into your hallway design for a contemporary chic look.
Don’t let your hallway fall to the wayside. After all, it’s one of the most utilized spaces in your home! Spruce up your hallways appearance with these interior design tips.