Staging Versus Decorating

February 29, 2020

Most of us have taken great care and thought into making our homes an environment that reflects our unique personality and lifestyle. This is decorating. But when it comes to selling your home decorating does not work. Decorating allows people to see the "you" in your home. When preparing a home for sale it is important that the potential buyers can easily see "themselves" in the home.

Start by removing those personal touches like family photos, collections, mementos, sports trophies, souvenirs, awards, degrees and other private items.

Distinct paint colors can also detract. Make sure your back drop is fresh, neutral and has a broad appeal.

Religious, political and seasonal decor may be offensive to some as can artwork with nudity. Take care that none of your possessions has the potential to create a negative reaction in a buyer.

Remember the things that make a house a home may actually hinder its ability to sell. With potential buyers spending very little time making a decision, it is important that we create an environment that is easy for them to imagine themselves enjoying the space.

Any type of purchase is an emotional one, so be sure that potential buyers can make an emotional connection with the home. Staging will arrange items to see the homes potential pluses like architectural features, so buyers do not get talked up in how you decorated your space and not be able to see themselves and their things.

Make sure you are staging your home for potential buyers for a quick and profitable sale and not decorating your home for you to live there. …

Putting an Extra Effort on Railings

February 28, 2020

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| house, interior

The railing design in your house says a lot about your home. A simple design or stylish design whatever your choice is portraits the lifestyle of the owner.

Many people do not think the design of the indoor railing to be important. But indoor railing is the main element of the living room and the entrance. It creates the delusion of the movement. You will naturally look up the railing and to the top of the stairs. Therefore it is necessary to add a bit more appeal and charm to the interior railing.

The main element of the design of the railings is the material with which the railing is made. Many railroads are made from wood. If you would like to make your railing of wood then you again have many different options. Woods such as maple, pine, oak and cherry are the ones most commonly used. The patterns of wood determine the style of wood that you would like it to be. If you pay more attention, then you can have a beautiful staircase. Other forms of interior railings include iron and steel, if you do not prefer wooden ones. Some people like to add new touch to the wood by adding extra feet to it which are made up of marble or stone. There are many ways that you can add a new feel to the boring, standard wooden railing.

To add class to the wooden railing you can also add some decorative elements to it. These can be as complicated as you want them to be or even a simple if that is your preferred choice. You need to check the different options that are available to you. These decorations can be placed at different locations on the wood railing to suit your taste. You can also purchase a new wood railing with complicated details and detailed carvings, which beautify the entire look of the house.

The entire shape of the railing is also very essential. A straight or a curved railing is the best option. A railing that is straight would keep the eye straight which will create a hallucination of height. A staircase, which is round, will keep the eyes to focus on the entire details.

Features, which are added to the railing, are also important. From holding a decorative item to the simple adding of steel or ironwork will make the post a luxurious entrance. Designing of the railings will be based on the feature that fits your style. The current trend is the round shaped staircase and that is why most people are opting for it. A more luxurious look to the staircase will bring more praises for you and your home. …

The History of the Ficus Tree

February 28, 2020

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| garden

The genus of the Ficus contains 800 species and 2000 varieties of trees, shrubs and vines. These plants are grown in many different climates including the tropical forest, the Middle East, Africa and the United States. With the wide array of ficus trees available, you can actually find them almost any place in the world.

The Common Fig tree is a ficus variety and can be traced back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, mentioned in Genesis. There are fig trees found and excavated outside of Jericho that are 11,400 years old! This find is the oldest cultivated crop of fig trees found to date. The ficus genus has existed for 60-80 million years! The Banyan species of ficus seems to replant itself as it grows, dips itself down into the earth, and shoots off new growth.

The fig and ficus trees have been produced for food, religious and practical uses. The fig fruit was part of the food found in the Promised Land – it was referred to as “honey”. Butterflies feed on figs, as do several other species. The soft wood of the ficus was used in Ancient Egypt to produce the caskets that mummies were later found in. Uganda used the bark of the ficus to make paper similar to the Egyptian papyrus. The fig/ficus is held sacred by Buddha; and in Islam and East Asia. The World Tree in the Hindu religion is of the Ashvastha species. As you can see – the ficus is quite common throughout history and this is just the top of the iceberg! Is it any wonder that the ficus, therefore, is considered a keystone species; meaning that many of the living rely on it for their existence?

The fig varieties come in two forms: the edible and inedible. The Common Fig is inedible, as the fruit is of the male and female variety. Only the female fruit is edible. The fig is formed as compressed, minute male and female flowers grown inside the “pod” and is considered an inside-out flower. Only one species of wasp per species of ficus can pollinate. For that reason, some ficus varieties never bloom because the tree outnumbers the wasp.

The ficus can be a bit hard to grow. The genus requires temperatures of 60-72º; only moist, not wet soil, and bright or filtered light. They can be an insidious plant, with high leaf-litter in season. With these varieties being this picky and hard to upkeep, they are still a good indoor plant.

The ficus works well indoors potted and with southern exposure. If you use a live one, leaves will still fall. Lifelike artificial Banyan, Rubber and Fig trees are available for purchase.

The artificial ficus varietals can be produced with natural wood trunks and polyester or silk leaves. The foliage can seem real enough that you may find someone watering your (fake) office plant! There is a wide range of sizes available for your artificial ficus. These will live forever …

Choosing the RTA Kitchen Cabinets and Saving Money

February 26, 2020

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| home improvement, house, kitchen

A kitchen in the house is a place which needs to be clean and hygienic for cooking purposes. A good kitchen requires full cleanliness as a proper cooking environment and placing for utensils is required. Many say that kitchen cabinets are the items that bring life to a kitchen. A kitchen surely needs to be impressive to work in with complete delight. The kitchen cabinets are an essential part of the kitchen where you keep stuff and they need to be clean and tidy as they are the part that shows off mostly in the kitchen.

If your kitchen cabinets look a little rusty from the outside but you are satisfied with their quality then all you need to do is to change things up a bit. There is no need to get new cabinets. A little cleaning and remodeling will do the work. You can do it all by yourself. This can be the perfect job when it comes to renovate the old cabinets with little budget.

When it comes to renovating the kitchen cabinets, the first thing to do is to figure out what type of design you require for your cabinets as per the kitchen environment. When you will come to know about the type of designs you want for your kitchen cabinet then you will be able to decide what things you might need to perform the required task.

The kitchens that require more storage area need the remedy of assembling all the kitchen cabinets so that less space could be occupied by maintaining the aesthetics of the kitchen. You can always choose the ready to assemble kitchen cabinets as a part of your remodeling plan. Several home improvement stores have got these cabinets. You can easily utilize the idea into something useful. The cabinets that you already have can be blended with these cabinets and it wouldn’t have any bad effect on the kitchen or the storage.

Purchasing the ready to assemble kitchen cabinets will always be a good option. These cabinets are very easy to fix as they do not require much time like any other cabinets which require days to fix. For the installation purpose of these cabinets, one can either do it himself or one can also take the help or hire some professional to do the job in the right way such as a carpenter or handyman to get the installation done. These cabinets will definitely benefit any person who chooses them as they are easy to fix and are far better than the customized cabinets.

When you will visit the market place for finding the assemble cabinets you will find many offers by the sellers of discounts. Getting the discount kitchen cabinets will be a nice idea of saving money. But the very first thing to come into your mind should not be money but the quality of the cabinets as they are to be fixed in your kitchen for high efficiency work. If you will go for the cheaper …

Air Quality Tech’s Air Duct Cleaning Process in Katy, Texas

February 26, 2020

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| home improvement

Air quality is a human right. Everyone deserves to breathe fresh air. Not just at home, but also outside on the streets. Most cities have strict regulations about factories and cars polluting, but putting this problem under control is not easy.

If you can’t control it outside, you can certainly do something about it inside. The ducts inside can often become clogged by dust. Instead of cleaning the rooms, they’ll just produce more problems inside. For this not to happen, you need to maintain the system regularly.

Doing this must be done by experts. The procedure is not easy to do. In this article, we’re going to explain how it’s done. Read on and find out more about it!

Check out if it’s time to clean

The first thing before hiring the pros to clean the whole thing up or before you decide to do it yourself, you need to inspect the ducts. To be sure that it’s time for cleaning you need to take a closer look inside the hole.

Of course, if dust is visible with the naked eye without touching anything, it means you’re long due to cleaning the system. Do it immediately or call the pros at once. If you want to know how it’s done, read on and learn more about it!

Open the case

Be careful when you do this. You don’t want to create a mess that can’t be cleaned. If there’s too much dirt and there was no cleaning of it for a long time, when you open it there will be dust and dirt falling all around the place. Open the case carefully and make sure you do it slowly.

Take the vacuum cleaner

The best way to clean it up is to vacuum everything. This is the moment when you realize you can’t do it by yourself. Most people own vacs that are not powerful, long, and big enough to do the job. The professionals own big powerful machines. Learn more about this technology and see if you own the proper machines here.

What they do is first create negative pressure by operating the whole HVAC system. When they do this, they start vacuuming all the dust inside creating a safe place. The same must be done for every pipe inside the house. If you let just one of them be forgotten, you’ll let just the polluted air circle again and it will turn out that you didn’t do anything even though you spent so much time working.

Don’t forget the disinfectant

Once you do a thorough job cleaning, it’s time to put on some disinfectant. There are special bottles of liquid being sold in every market and they are over the counter chemicals. They are being used to completely destroy any bacteria left inside.

All professional companies use this. A problem appears if the pipes are not properly cleaned. When the disinfectant is added, it creates a mix of the chemical and dust particles flowing all around the …

How to Keep Bathroom Tiles Clean?

February 25, 2020

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| bathroom

It's one of those jobs that we all know needs to be done but we put it off, sometimes giving it a half hearted attempt. Bathroom tiles get used in one way or another every day, whether it be steam gathering on them from a shave or from water splashing on them in the bath or shower so they need regular cleaning.

The build up of dirt, lime scale and mildew can really ruin the look of your bathroom which you have taken time and expense to design a certain way. Giving the bathroom tiles a good clean could rejuvenate the whole bathroom making look feel and smell clean and gleam like when it was first installed!

We have prepared some tips on how to clean your bathroom tiles:

Use What You Have In The Cupboard.

Bathroom tiles can be cleaned using a variety of tried and tested methods. Some using ordinary household products that are both inexpensive and often stored at home.

Using vinegar, baking soda, salt and lemon juice are one of the least expensive and most effective methods to clean.

Mix 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar into a paste and the apply them to the tiles surface with a cloth.

We think using an old toothbrush helps to get in all those nooks and crannies to make sure the solution is even applied. Then leave it for the solution to do its magic!

Next, wipe the surfaces down with the lemon juice as the acetic acid helps break down the limbscale and the lemon will also leave a lovely citrus smell. It will also help break down soap scum.

Pour some of the solution in the seals and runners to make sure the whole job is done.

How To Deal With Mold And Mildew

It is likely that most bathrooms have suffered with mold and mildew at some time. It can look horrible when on tiles and grout and can spread if left un owned.

White vinegar helps to prevent the build up of mold and mildew and can be applied regularly. Another way to remove some mold and mildew is with bleach. It can eliminate the mold and mildew instantly. Be careful though as with all products not to get it in your eyes or on your skin. Read the warnings and instructions on the bottle you have but make sure you use protective gloves and glasses and thoroughly wash with cold water if it gets on your skin.

To prevent mold and mildew build up you should make sure the room is ventilated well, possibly even leaving a window open to allow steam to escape. Fans are also good for this and some can be connected to the lights.

Do not leave towels or bathroom rugs to dry out as the evaporating water can end up settling on the tiles and in any corners of the room.

The best way though as to make sure the …

Juicing Craze in the Kitchen

February 24, 2020

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| general

One of the latest health "crazes" that has cycled around again (because, let's face it, this is nothing new) is juicing. The extent of my juicing was a little hand juicer to juice citrus fruits. Itave me a sore wrist.

My husband and I first got interested in "real" juicing last month while visiting with friends. They had been juicing for a few months. Not only did they see a difference on the scale, but a huge difference in how they felt in general.

There are many types of juicers on the market right now. Think of these questions when investing in a juicer: How committed will I be to juicing? How often will I be juicing? What fruits and veggies to I want to juice?

Upon researching juicers, I found just over 4,000 juicers listed. Some features that you need to think about include centrifugal force (is the juice spun outward to extract?), Mastication (how is the juice crushed and, well, juiced?), Gears (how many times do you want?), And manual (do you want to do the work yourself?).

Another factor to consider is cost. How much do you want to spend on a juicer? Is this a lifestyle you will be committing to? Is this juicer just needed for a few cups of OJ on the weekends? I found a Black and Decker 30 Watt juicer on Amazon for under $ 15.00. Not bad! I also found some commercial-grade juicers for over over $ 400. It just depends on your needs and how committed you are.

There are some important factors you need to keep in mind when looking for a reliable juicer. What are the materials it is made from? If it's mostly plastic, chances are it might stain or crack over time. If it's stainless steel, that's much easier to clean, though you need to look at the seams as those can harbor unwanted bacteria. Being dishwasher safe (even on the top rack) is a great feature to have. How are the "leftovers" of the produce collected? Is it a messy clean-up? By the way, those leftovers are great for compost piles if you're a gardener!

I will share with you our favorite juice blend as of yet. Keep in mind we're new to juicing and have not tried too many things! But we have our own version of the Green Machine Juice that we have at lunch time. I will juice for both of us in the morning so that our "lunch" is ready when we are! (Word to the wise: shake well! All the good stuff floats to the top in some weird foamy concoction!)
Gadget Gal's Green Machine (makes 25-30 ounces)

5 leaves of kale
1 orange
2 green apples
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 generous slice of fresh ginger
C cucumber
hand of spinach

Juice it, baby! And feel clean and refreshed! …

Types Of Kitchen Cabinets Explained

February 23, 2020

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| kitchen

The kitchen cabinet which was basically designed to store kitchen appliances has evolved tremendously during the last few decades. Today’s kitchen cabinets are worlds apart from the cabinets 20-30 years ago. In this article we are going to talk about different types of kitchen cabinets which are currently available in the market.

A kitchen cabinet falls into three different groups which are based on their shape and specifications.

Base cabinets:

These are perhaps the most common type of cabinets available in the market. The base cabinet rests on the floor and usually have a counter top. These are the most preferred piece of furniture for flats and apartments which usually have very moderate kitchen space.

The height of this cabinet is around 34 inches to 36 inches. The depth can vary anywhere from 24 inches to 30 inches. It usually has a single door and some newer models can have a double door and the inside of the cabinet can either have shelves or multiple stacked drawers. This is the most preferred kitchen cabinet mainly because of its simpler design.

Many altered versions of base cabinets are also available in the market. The most popular ones are the sink base and the corner base. The sink bases are probably the most commonly purchased kitchen cabinets in the world. It usually has a false drawer and an open area where the plumbing work is hidden. A corner base on the other hand is just like any other shelf which is mainly used to store some day-to-day stuff which are commonly used around the kitchen.

Wall cabinets:

These cabinets are designed in such a way that it can either be integrated in the wall or simply hung on the wall. They are essentially shaped like a base cabinet, the only difference is that these are mainly used like an overhead cabinet for storing things in the kitchen. These cabinets are unique and are commonly used in apartments or individual houses. The most common thing that one needs to consider when they are buying this type of cabinet is the height of the kitchen ceiling and the person’s height. You do not want to end up buying a tall cabinet and not being able to reach the top shelf. So make sure you buy a cabinet so that you can use all the shelves and drawers of the cabinet with ease.

The factory standard height of this furniture ranges from 12 inches to 42 inches. The depth of these cabinets is somewhere around 12 inches to 18 inches.

Tall cabinets:

These are thin and long cabinets. These are essentially like a closet. They are very ideal for narrow spaces. This tall cabinet offers enough places to store many things. The industrial dimensions for this cabinet are 84 inches to 94 inches in length and 12 inches to 18 inches in-depth.…

Indoor Plant Care Tips to Help Your Plants Grow

February 23, 2020

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| house

House plants brighten up your apartment, home, or office. It’s important that you care for them throughout the year. Indoor plant care is especially important during winter months when a minimal amount (if any) of sunlight comes through the window. Some outdoor gardeners choose to bring their plants indoors during winter months since they know lighting fixtures can be used to sustain the growth.

People choose to keep indoor plants for a variety of reasons. Some do to grow fruits and vegetables while others do so to add to the décor in homes and offices. Indeed, plants look great inside of homes, just as long as they match the surrounding décor and furniture.

The best way to keep them healthy is to provide them with the best type of lighting, soil, and temperature to match their natural environment(s). Humidity and temperatures can drastically affect indoor plants, so make sure you grow plants that will survive easily within your home or office.

Here are some indoor plant care tips you need to take into consideration:

Most tropical plants do best in warm temperatures with relative humidity of 55-75%. However, if the temperature inside your home rises above 67 degrees F in the spring or summer, the humidity drops a great deal. Thus, you may need to keep the temperature down a tad bit and sacrifice a bit of warmth if you want to grow tropical plants.
Don’t forget that plants need air, so you don’t want to smother them too much. Both fresh and moving air is essential for the growth of plants, especially during the hottest days of the year. So open a window or door every now and then and allow the fresh air to come in. A circulatory fan can also do wonders, so you might want to get one of those as well. Your indoor plants will even need fresh air during winter months.
Another important factor of indoor plant care is protecting them against bugs; thus you will want to spray them every now and then with an organic pesticide. Every part of the plant should be sprayed, including the underside of the leaves. Only use warm water when spraying as cold water can be somewhat harmful.
The plants should all be placed underneath the appropriate lighting, which is categorized as being high, medium, or low. Each plant needs to receive the appropriate amount of lighting in order to thrive. There are guides available online if you’re unsure about any of them.

Follow these indoor plant care tips and your plants will grow quickly and last for a very long time!…

Ottawa General Contractors Employee Reviews: Finding Home Contractor

February 22, 2020

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| home improvement

Living in a household comes with certain advantages and disadvantages that you should remember. Of course, home prices are getting higher and higher, while interest rates are rising, so people are neglecting the idea of home renovation.

Even though most people plan to renovate their homes, the budget is lower than it ever was, so you should know what to expect from this entire process.

Check out this site: https://www.thebalance.com/the-difference-between-renovation-and-remodel-4774221 to learn the difference between remodeling and renovation.

At the same time, the hardest part of every renovation project is not the work required, but finding a reliable and competent contractor whom you can give a job.

Knocking down walls, installing new kitchen cabinets, and placing new floors are not that complicated tasks when compared with the efforts you need to take to find a proper contractor to handle everything from scratch.

We all know stories about lousy contractors that were too expensive and still did not provide anything of worth. This is the nightmare scenario, primarily if you do not conduct research beforehand.

That is the main reason why you should understand the processes because home renovation can be expensive, stressful, and filled with surprises that you have to handle simultaneously.

We want to help you choose the best contractor for your particular needs.

How to Find a Home Contractor?

Learn About Estimates – The first thing that you should do is to plan everything that you wish to do. That way, you will be able to reach a few contractors and present your idea so that you can get the estimation based on your query. It is vital to be as specific as possible because that way, you will be able to accurately calculate the time and money you will need for the entire project. You need to be specific about things you need to be done as well as materials before you start doing anything,

Ask For References – If you have people in your family or someone you know from the neighborhood that handled similar projects, you should ask them for references and referrals. Of course, you should avoid choosing based on their experiences because everything depends on the severity of the project. However, it is a great place to start compiling a list of best contractors in your area from listings and websites such as Ottawa general contractor’s reviews and many others.

Conduct Interviews With At Least Five Contractors – During the interview, you have to ask as many questions as you can and get a thorough estimation from them. Keep in mind that while comparing bids, you will get, make sure that each one of them features the same tasks and materials. You should reach as many contractors as you can but interview with at least five of them so that you can achieve new levels of confidence and compare various options you get. That way, you will be able to make a proper decision about the project.

Be Realistic – Remember that during

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