Sometimes I think I was born a few decades too late. I am probably someone you could call old-fashion, but I do love some of the modern things and couldn’t live without them. I have always been a fan of those late 1970’s to early 1980’s homes. You still get to see them in the movies and the ones that have the “sunken” living rooms, with carpet on the walls, and a big fish aquarium I really like. Most of the modern homes really don’t go in that direction anymore, but you can still decorate inside with some of the more traditional home furnishings. Murray Feiss has a long list of ceiling fixtures, bathroom lighting, and chandeliers that are traditional items for inside the home, but do work great with some of the modern designs. Unless you plan to build a custom-made house from a traditional period, more than likely you’re living in a modern home now. Home owners can make a lot of changes inside the home to give it a more traditional look. You may like most of the modern designs your home has now. Perhaps just adding a Feiss family designed chandelier in the living or dining room is as far as you want to go. I think most will agree, the traditional fixtures and lighting home improvements; work well with the newer built homes. Your local hardware and home improvement stores may offer very few selections in the traditional items. Your best bet is to look online for the retailers that do carry a lot of the older or traditional items.

Adding a few window boxes around the home can be a nice touch. These stylish boxes can really make a home look nice and especially when there is flowers blooming from them. Do you currently have a window box under one of your windows? Adding one of these window boxes really isn’t that costly or hard to do either. Many homeowners would be surprise to see how easy it is to install one of these beautiful boxes under one of their windows. These boxes will work with any home and you can determine what flowers or plants to put in them later. A lot of that will depend on the amount of sunlight your window gets each day.

Some green thumbs out there may want to grow vegetables in their window plant boxes. Placing these boxes in a good spot around your home and keeping them watered regularly can provide some good homegrown vegetables for you and your family. A lot of people will turn these window boxes into garden window boxes. Some may even have more luck growing food from these plant containers; than they would if they used a piece of ground at in the yard.

For those that already own window boxes, do you prefer to grow plants, flowers, or vegetables? If you prefer to not grow anything in your new window boxes, you could always use artificial plants and flowers to decorate them. I’m sure there is a lot of homeowners that do that already with their window boxes planters. I personally think adding flowers is the best way to go. You can select one kind or one color of flowers or you can get creative and use a variety of different colored flowers in your window flower boxes.  Either way these boxes will be an upgrade for your windows and the overall looks of your house. Now is a good time to start thinking about adding one or a few of these to your home. If you start now, you will have plenty of time to get them up and installed, before the flowers start blooming this spring.

Is the man of your house planning to do some touch-ups on and around the home this year? These home repairs are a bit more easier when he has help. It’s great to see families working together and the man of the house doesn’t always need someone with muscles or another man to help him. The wife or daughter could roll up their sleeves this year and give the hubby or dad an extra pair of hands to work with. For households that are larger than just 2 or 3 family members; these home improvement jobs can be a snap if everyone participates. After all, each family member has all the benefits living in a good home, so everyone living under the same roof should get out and help with these home repairs.

A communication system can be handy with the outdoor chores that need to get done this year. Using your cell phones is one way to keep everyone in contact, so the outdoor jobs can get done faster. If everyone doesn’t have cell phones; perhaps these bright yellow 2 way radios could work just as good. If dad is up on the roof and needs something handed to him or thrown up to him on the roof, he could make a simple call to a cell phone or a walkie talkie to a member that is down on the ground. If you ever did any work on the roof before, you know how aggravating it can be to forget something or have to keep climbing up and down the ladder to retrieve tools, material, or other items that are needed on top of the house. A cell phone or a pair of two way radios would save a lot of steps in situations like these.

Obviously if you’re dong these fix-up jobs, you do want to put most of your money in the home improvement tasks. Spending money for the neighbor, an extended relative, or someone else outside the household, to help dad, isn’t the smartest way to go. If others in the home will help, that will leave more money for getting these touch-ups done cheaper. Purchasing the walkie talkies isn’t that big of a deal and I found these at Buy.com for under $20. They usually have a sale on various items a family could use to fix up the home. Any homeowner that has a tight budget on the home improvements, will do the most good by getting others in the home to help with the labor and seeking out some of these cheap tools that are available online.

I wish all the husbands and dads good luck this year on finding that help. The rest of you can roll up your sleeves and make this year’s home repairs a family project. Have fun everyone and don’t forget to communicate a little in between the hammering and sawing that will take place at your house this year. The family that works together is the family that stays together!

There are a lot of football teams in the NFL playing outdoors in the playoffs this year. You know these guys must really be cold; since most places are experiencing unusual cold temperatures right now. I think the weather is suppose to warm back up soon and who knows what the weather will be like on Super Bowl Sunday.

I think it would be fun to plan a outdoor Super Bowl party and get everyone to dress warm for the big game. You could roll out the television to your deck or back porch and let your friends watch the Super Bowl outside. Or some home owners may have a large window and could keep the TV inside the house and just face it toward the window. Keeping the television inside would need to be an option, in case it rains in your area for Super Bowl Sunday. However, the rain would not stop you or your friends from watching the big game and all those Super Bowl commercials outside. Make it a mission to watch the game outside this year and see how many can brave the weather to watch football outdoors.

I think it would be fun gathering a few tables together and using your lawn chairs or you could use the kitchen chairs and just put down some patio cushions to make them comfy for everyone. You could have one of those outdoor umbrellas handy in case it is raining, snowing, or use it for protection against the sun and wind. The guys in the NFL are playing outdoors right now, so they can play in the Super Bowl this year. I think we should support these players and brave the outdoor elements and watch the Super Bowl outside this year. Chances are that most of our teams will get beat before the Super Bowl, so we would be watching two teams that we normally wouldn’t be rooting for. How do you think a outdoor Super Bowl party suggestion would go over with your friends? Please let me know where you live and if you plan to try an outdoor Super Bowl party this year.

How nice it would it be to have your own pond? It really isn’t that expensive to create your own pond in your front yard. It’s a great way to give your home a little spunk and it’s a worthy home improvement touch-up that any home owner could do. None of the pond materials or supplies are that expensive. That goes for the pond pumps too. It’s just a matter of finding a good place in the front or back yard to have your very own pond. The kids will love it and you will too. Once you get your pond set up with the pumps, lining, and clean water in place; it will be time to go fish shopping then. I think this would be the best part and choosing which fish to put in your own personal pond. The fish aquariums inside the home are not that big and you can’t really buy the larger fish for them. That’s the beauty of these outdoor ponds, you can select the bigger fish, that you normally couldn’t do with the typical fish aquariums. I’m surprised more people don’t have ponds and most people probably think they’re hard to maintain. Once you get them set up properly, they pretty much take care of their self with very little maintenance needed. The water recycles through the pumps, so you’re not spending a fortune on the water bill each month. We don’t have a pond at my house yet, but I think it’s something we will consider doing this spring.

What home improvement ideas have you and your family planned for this December? We don’t often think of home improvements during the holiday season and most families do this in the spring and summer months. Perhaps your family will move the furniture around, so a extra table can get put in for the Christmas dinner or extra guests will be sleeping on the floor as they visit for the holidays. This is about the extent of home touch-ups for the days around Christmas time. My idea of a good home improvement job is to move the current TV out of the living room or den and replacing it with a larger television. I know some of you lucky folks will be getting a wide screen television or an HDTV from Santa Clause this year and I am jealous. I do wish it was me getting the wide screen HD television.

The big new TV set is only as good as your cable or satellite provider and the amount of programming you’re signed up for. If you plan to give out a big TV this year to someone, then make sure you get a TV deal that comes with the works. I know Direct TV is a trusted satellite company and they offer a huge selection of HD (high definition) channels to their customers. If your new wide screen television has high definition capabilities; then you want to make sure you’re taking advantage of the clear and crisp picture that comes with HD programming. You can sign up for Directv and get about 200 HD channels; plus a ton of other regular channels on your TV guide.

A brand new television that is 40 inches or larger cries for the best sports and movies you can find on the tube. If you keep your current cable plan; then you’re probably missing out on some quality TV programs. You will get all the movies and sports you could imagine if you select DirectTV to carry your television programming for your new TV. A new television isn’t going to be anything that great, no matter how large it is, if you don’t have a ton of channels to choose from. It’s the TV provider that can make the biggest splash on Christmas morning and choosing Direct TV would be a smart choice for that splash this year!

A nice lawn decoration that all home owners can choose to add in their yards right now is one of these stone benches that is a nice centerpiece in the front yard. One of these nice looking benches is perfect for those that have big yard to work with. Some people will use one of these garden benches to sit by their backyard gardens, so they can have a place to sit and watch the gardens grow in the evening time. These benches offer a great place for you or company to sit on; while you’re doing activities out in the yard.

One of the memorial benches you can purchase online or at a nearby store are perfect for placing next to grave sites of the family and friends we have lost in life. I have a good friend that past away about 10 years ago and his family decided to get one of these nice memorial benches to place by his grave site. You do need to check with the people running the cemetery first, to see if a memorial bench is acceptable under their terms and conditions. Most cemeteries will allow family members to place one of these benches in the general area of where their loved ones are laid to rest. You can even get something inscribed on one of these memorial benches, so others can see who the bench is being dedicated to.

The stone garden benches or a bench you can get placed next to a loved one at a graveyard is a nice touch. These benches are great just from a “looks” standpoint, but they also offer the benefit of giving people a chance to sit down and relax. I wouldn’t mind having one of these nice stone benches in my front yard and I think I would like to plant a few flowers and plants around my bench at home.

It’s true, you can buy furniture online and it’s not as hard as you think it might be. Online furniture companies are ready to ship their furniture to your door in a quick and safe way, so no damage gets done in the shipping process. Even after you calculate the extra costs for shipping; you may still be able to find furniture online cheaper than going to a furniture store in your local area. Don’t over look the places online when you get ready to buy some new furniture for your home.

My Love for the “L” Sofas

I have always had a love for a “L” couch or more commonly known as the corner sofa. I’m from the South, so I say “couch” over “sofa” and use the letter “L” over “corner” in my descriptions, but you get my drift, right? Well I don’t think there is anything in the world that looks more comfy than a L couch or corner sofa. I love the way they take up a living room and the number of people that can sit on a corner sofa. My family has never owned one, but I would like to buy this piece of furniture one day. It doesn’t have to be in Italian Leather like the one in the picture; a cloth corner sofa would be fine with me. I have always been jealous of those that had one of these couches in their home. It must be nice to lay down and take a nap on one of these awesome sofas. You have enough room to sleep on it; while 1 or 2 other people could be sitting on it and watching TV or something. You really don’t have that luxury with a standard sofa or straight couch. One day I will have the room and the money to get one of these corner sofas and I will check online before I run out and buy one.

We are lucky that buying and selling things online is legal. Shopping from your computer or just browsing at items you would like to buy is really convenient. People that are picky with their taste, can shop online and look at as many things as they want to; until they find the right item they want to buy. Furniture is a perfect example of this. How much driving and walking would you have to do, if you were in the market for a new living room suit or bedroom suit for your home? Browsing through the 1000’s of items online for your home furnishings; insures you will find the exact piece of furniture you want and at the best price possible. There is no doubt I will be getting me an “L” couch or corner sofa one day and I will find the exact one I want online before I buy it.

An indoor planter or outoor planter is a nice touch for a home owner and plants are a good way to decorate a house. Everyone will have to do touch-ups around the home at one point in their lives. These can range from very simple things to fix and replace or other things that can be very costly and time consuming. For the ones that are just looking to make the home look better for neighbors and guests should consider some of these High End Planters you can buy in stores or online.

The Window Box Planters(like in the picture) do add that extra special touch. I love the way these box planters set off a window or home. They give the appearance of someone that has did some serious home improvements around the house; when in fact they are relatively cheap and easy to install. If you and your family are thinking about some home modeling improvements; then don’t forget these nice looking Planters you can add to your checklist of items.

You don’t have to be in the process of home improvements to buy one of these Decorative Planters. There are lots of other good reasons to add a couple of these around your home. Usually there is someone in the household that has that green thumb. Perhaps you’re the person that likes to grow plants and vegetables around your home. I love growing tomatoes and green beans at my house. These are two items that you just can’t buy in the store that have that good, home grown taste. We have a big yard, so it’s easy for me to find ground space for my garden. Those that live in tight spaces with little yard room or if you live in an apartment, you may have to grow some of your veggies in pots. I know people that grow real nice tomatoes in garden pots or Garden Planters and it works out well for them. Especially for people that just want a tomato for a sandwich or a couple of green tomatoes to make fried green tomatoes. If you haven’t ever tried to eat fried green tomatoes before; then you’re missing out. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but once you get hooked on them, you will crave them every winter. You don’t find green tomatoes for sale much at the market or at a produce stand, so growing them yourself is the only way to obtain them sometimes. I must go now, I suddenly have a craving for some fried green tomatoes and need to see if there is any around.

How many rooms in your home do you have a Ceiling Fan rotating around in? I hope your answer isn’t too high, because for each one of those fans you have hanging in your house, there is some cleaning work that has to be done on them. I’m not sure how it does it, but the top of those ceiling fan blades is a magnet for dirt and dust. Anyone that owns a ceiling fan knows exactly what I am talking about and it’s incredible to see the amount of dust that can collect on them. You would think that dust would just fly off when the fan was on or in action, but for some reason it just stays glued up there.

I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom. I am someone that has a hard time getting the temperature right in my room in summer or winter time. I think a ceiling fan makes it easier to control temperatures and I like a little breeze coming down on me too. I am also a smoker, so a ceiling fan helps to move the smoke around, so it doesn’t become a cloud inside my bedroom. I do love having my ceiling fan, but I can’t keep it clean for nothing. I have finally gave up on the cleaning part and now there is probably a half inch of dust and debris that has collected on top of those fan blades. It’s not a pretty picture, but I know I’m not alone when it comes to the battle with Ceiling Fans and keeping them clean.

I do like the stores that sell ceiling fans and when they have a nice selection they have took out of the box and hung up for customers to see in action. Normally you can walk down an aisle and be under several ceiling fans at one time. It just looks like a place you could lay down and take a nap; when you see these stores that display them like this. I’m sure there is an employee that has to climb up on a ladder and keep them looking so clean for the customers. As nice as they look in stores, you can find better selections and prices if you do your buying online or check out the ones Hansen Wholesale Ceiling Fans has to offer. Just remember the more fans you have and the more blades each one has; means that much more cleaning you will have to do. If you need to make a tough decision on two fans that you like and one has 5 blades and one has 4 blades; then by all means go with the 4 blade fan! I have seen some with 3 blades, so don’t over look them either.

Do you have any good tips on cleaning them? Is there a product we can spray or wipe on to prevent the collection of dirt and dust on the blades? I would certainly be interested in a product that helped my ceiling fan to stay clean. Maybe someone could just invent one that has special fan blades that would not collect dust as much. I think the dirt-free ceiling fan would be a good seller and I would take mine down and replace it; if there was such a thing. Please be sure to reply back with any helpful tips or advice on how to prevent or clean them dusty blades that are 8 feet from the floor.

The long hot days of summer are gone and the really cold weather hasn’t got here yet. Now is the perfect time to start chopping down trees and getting the firewood ready for the fireplace. It’s no fun chopping wood in the winter time or when the weather is nasty outside with a cold rain or snow falling. There are other things we can do now to get our electric fireplaces, wood burning fireplaces, or if you have an Amish fireplace or any other type of fireplace, ready for the winter. The cleaning part can be done now on your fireplaces. Taking a little soap and water and giving your fireplace a good wash down is something you can do during the fall time of the year. You might want to get a broom and dust pan out first and get rid of the big stuff and ashes from the fireplace. Doing a good job now cleaning up the fireplace can save you the hassle from doing it in the middle of winter.

This is why it’s wise to prepare more wood than you think you will use, in case things do get rough this year. Halloween is still 4 weeks away and most people should have at least a month, if they start now, on getting up a bunch of firewood. Remember that failing to prepare is preparing to fail and none of us will fail if we make the proper preparations now.

Another hurricane season is here and this means the states on the eastern seaboard need to keep up with the Weather Channel and the same goes for the gulf states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. Actually Florida residents probably have the most concerns during hurricane season. Their state can get hit on the eastern or western side of the peninsula. They are also the first state that usually has the first chance of making contact with a hurricane. Everyone remembers Hurricane Katrina and all the damage it caused in New Orleans and surrounding areas. Florida actually seen Katrina first and they were lucky that the hurricane was not as strong then.

Everyone living in hurricane states should have their homes up to building code standards. It isn’t often that we see a hurricane making landfall on the western side of Florida, but residents living in Tampa Bay or Fort Myers should be prepared as well as their neighbors living on the east coast of Florida. A home owner in Fort Myers, Florida will want beautiful Ft Myers custom doors and shutters being seen on the outside of their home. As long as these exterior items are hurricane proof (to some degree) then it’s ok to have a nice looking home. You just don’t want to compromise safety for looks, when it comes to one of these powerful Gulf of Mexico hurricanes.

I think most of us know that we are living in different times now and climate change is a real concern for our planet. We may have not seen the worse of the hurricanes yet and now is the time to start preparing for the future Katrina’s of the world. Hopefully these future hurricanes never form in our lifetimes, but let’s be prepared if they do. Do everything in your power to make sure your home is hurricane proof and please evacuate your home if local authorities make the suggestion.

The fall season is coming and this is a good time to do some things around the house. People that like to garden can begin getting their ground ready for spring, by removing weeds and adding in fertilizers. Starting a worm bed for richer soil can begin in the fall too. We set our clocks back 1 hour in the fall and this is a good time to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. Your fire and smoke alarms should have their batteries replaced every 6 months and doing this procedure during our “time changes” is what the safety experts suggest. If you have an air conditioner that sits in the window, you can use this time to replace or clean the filter in it. I haven’t cleaned my air conditioner filter one time this year and I know it needs it bad. The people that use indoor air cleaning systems will want to clean or replace them too. It’s not that hard to replace your humidifier filters, so no excuses here. I know you don’t want to freeze this winter, so now is a good time to start sealing up all the cracks around the windows or any spots your home may be losing heat from. Our heating bills seem to get higher every year and everyone can save their self some money by sealing up the home real tight.

Can you think of any other home maintenance jobs that can be performed during the fall? You can reply with your suggestions and tips and we can all get to work now; before Old Man Winter gets here. In case we have an early winter, just start with your outside jobs first and then take care of the chores you have to do indoors. I’m sure the folks that burn wood for heating or cooking purposes has been cutting wood all summer long. These people will really want to get busy, so they’re not chopping wood outside in freezing temperatures.

I have always wanted to have my own lake. A lake of my very own that I could stock with lots of bass and catfish and be able to go fishing anytime I wanted to. A lake that sits in the front or back yard of a home really looks good. I think the real estate agents think so too, because a home with a lake has more value than one that doesn’t. It is true that water can add a lot of value to your home. I’m not sure I will ever be able to afford my own lake or have the money to build one. Perhaps you’re in the same situation too and a lake is just too costly to build. There are more affordable solutions to this problem.

A pond isn’t quite as big as the fishing lake I would like to have in my yard, but they can be nice decoration for a home. I doubt my bass and catfish would survive in a small pond but people with ponds do usually stock Koi Fish in them. These are fish that originate in Japan and are available in many colors, sizes, and unique patterns. Most of us just think of Koi Fish as very large goldfish. These aren’t the types of fish you want to fish for with your fishing rods. They do add beauty to your pond and will be something guests will enjoy; while you’re showing your pond off to them. If you would like to get Koi Fish for your pond, you can check with your local store that sells pond supplies or find a pond supply store online. These stores will also offer all the pumps, filters, liners, and other accessories you will need when you start building and designing your very own pond. Don’t forget the fountain and windmill in your pond design!

I never saw a hanging wine glass rack before. It seems someone had their “thinking caps” on when they invented this handy little gadget. A hanging wine rack could work well in small kitchens cramped for space or is perfect to be over the bar in the den area.

I like how this one allows you to set a few wine bottles on top and then you have space underneath to hang the glasses from. This isn’t the only type of wine glass rack available and you can find different designs to meet your taste. After looking through a few of them, I thought this one (in the picture) was the one I liked best. It looks small and easy to hang the 4 chains down from the ceiling, so I know I could install this one. They are some other wine racks that look a little larger and might be more difficult for one person to install it alone.

You do see the hanging racks a lot in restaurants, but I haven’t ever seen one that was in a home before. I know most people use the standard glass racks that don’t hang from the ceiling. I’m not a big wine drinker, but I do find the wine racks in a den or living room does add a touch of class to the whole room. Even if alcohol is not allowed in your home, you can still fill it with the non-alcoholic wine bottles that most supermarkets have for sale. They look just like the real thing and this could be a form of wine decorating?

In any case, I do find these hanging wine racks a nice touch for your kitchen or den. Even the game room downstairs could use one of these wine racks that you attach to the ceiling. Hang one up before your next dinner party and see how many guests notice your new hanging wine rack. I bet it’s the conversational piece of the night and you even tell them, that you found it from my “home improvement” blog!