Home and Garden Articles
posted on 30 December 2011
I have lived in the same house for twenty years. It's a self build timber frame and I'm very proud of it. It has significantly appreciated in price and have built up a significant amount of equity however I would prefer not to borrow on my house to do renovations. I need to win the lottery. If I ever come into money I would love to build a second story. Currently my two daughter's complain that they have to share a bedroom so ideally I would like to have a third bedroom. I would like to have a balcony which allow us to have meals and entertain outside. If we added a second story we would have magnificent views of the city to admire. The other renovation I would like to undertake is a basement car park. My husband is a car enthusiast and has way too many cars. At times I am tired of looking at them in the backyard. If we had a basement car park he could spend all day down there which would suit me fine. I hope one day my numbers will come up. |
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posted on 28 December 2011
I often mind that the media does not fully understand the concept of clean energy e.g - the solar panel or the wind turbine - and rather focuses on the negatives or why it will be impossible to replace the big three fossil fuels - oil, gas, and coal. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of one particular non-fossile fuel power source: nuclear power. On the positive side it is a green energy as it does not provide any greenhouse gases, but it does create one big issue – nuclear waste that the industry has not the best job at storing. The second negative is the perceived danger of the nuclear generation plants, I say perceived because on many of the newer generation of plants they have 3 or 4 levels of redundancy on their safety systems, however, the older plants were not built to the same specifications as we have seen at Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island. In the end even environmentalists have come to conclusion that nuclear is the best option as other clean sources do not have the ability to provide the base load capacity to keep our societies running. France is an excellent example of responsibility nuclear energy under the stewardship of Areva who have built upward of 70 plants without incident in that country. |
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posted on 17 December 2011
A few years ago I went on a family holiday to the south of France. We drove down the coast, spent a few days by the sea and then moved inland to a villa we had rented. It soon became clear to us that we were not the only "family" intent on spending the summer in that house, as when my mother went to cook for us that evening, a steadily increasing stream of surprisingly large ants made it clear that they were here to stay.
I'm normally used the common house fly, and I always get rid of them easily with electric fly killers.
However with these ants, after a quick trip to the local supermarket, a few euros worth of ant powder were working a charm, but somehow there were no way near as effective as my 3 year old brother who was running around and jumping on them. The following morning, the Frenchman who owned the building was less than happy to hear about the ant problem, which he said happened every few years or so. The next day we were moved to another building and the original one was treated professionally. Problem solved. |
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posted on 4 December 2011
Even though I don't have my own house yet, I spend a lot of time thinking about and researching ways of customizing and renovating the house I will have some day - even choosing the softwoods, the paints, the wallpapers in my head! One of my favourite remodels to daydream about is my plans for the kitchen. I love old-fashioned kitchens: galley, farmhouse, cottage kitchens, country kitchens. I would love equally a bright, sunny kitchen with folding shutters on the window above the sink, or a narrow, dark kitchen reminiscent of a very old rural home. I envision a brick oven built into the wall, shelving instead of overhead cabinetry, and a farmhouse sink with tile counters. In a larger, sunnier kitchen, I would love cork flooring and recycled glass countertops, built-in double ovens and white lower cabinets. If I have an old-fashioned, narrow kitchen, I see distressed hardwood floors and a large Viking range/oven combo set into a recessed brick wall with an archway over the stove. Whichever sort of kitchen I end up with, it wouldn't be my dream kitchen without a large walk-in pantry. I spend hours every week watching DIY shows on TV and browsing design websites looking for ideas and comparison shopping, and I truly hope that some day I will have a beautiful home with a kitchen that is everything I've ever dreamed of. |
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posted on 19 November 2011
My brother got a trach when he was 6 weeks old. As he got older, we found that we were unable to have the inside of our house taken care of by the pest control people. They could spray the outside of the house without any consequences, but if they sprayed inside he would have a bad reaction. We'd use our own methods such as flyscreen mesh to keep pests out. This was difficult and rather time-consumingand cost extra money, toobut it made us more considerate of his needs and more aware of other methods of pest control. It wasn't only him that we had to worry about. When it came to mice in our house (which we had plenty of, as we lived in the country), we had to stop using poison. Our dog once got into them and we were barely able to save her. We were worried that she might have been permanently damaged. These two things are what makes me worry about pest control. But I now have some experience as far as what I can and cannot use with certain people or animals around. |
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posted on 17 November 2011
There is total truth in what many people say that electronic services have now been corrupted and with a lot of accidents that once any careless use of any of the appliances is encountered, an immediate accident is expected. The electricians themselves have now become so many that you do not know who to trust in spending your cash because many are not trained and only learn the services form friends to claim that there are experienced in handling any duty that you offer to them. But you can always find the kind of qualified electricians you have been looking for in fleet because here, all electricians are only employed after a total approval that they are true to their services and that they indeed went for training as electricians to attain the certificates that they have. Thus, with electrician fleet services, you can rest assured that any service that you would like to be done to you will be offered either in your house or within the work place depending on how you want the services to reach you. Theirs is to provide the customer with a genuine service that they need. |
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posted on 30 October 2011
When my father bought the house in which my family and I are living now, it was all rusty and everyone pretty much thought that it’s a hopeless thing to repair it. From the balcony railings to the front porch, a lot of work was required. Back then, we changed the house a lot and made it a wonderful place for living. In these 10 years in it, I have done a great amount of changes, especially in my room, but I constantly have some new ideas how to make my house look better. Like first, I would throw away almost everything from the kitchen, the furniture, the TV and the old oven. Then I would put some new ones in it, like flat screen TV and furniture with a lighter color to give the kitchen more warmness. Also, I would like to buy a new carpet and curtains for my room because these ones are getting old and I am bored of them. I would make my yard look different too by planting some more expensive and exotic flowers, but for doing all this I will need the support of my family and I hope that these ideas one day will come true. |
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posted on 28 October 2011
It was in a hotel in Malaysia when I first saw a real living cockroach. It was big! Really big! I'd dealth with much smaller bugs like bed bugs back home with some bed bug sprays, but nothing like this. After the first shock I asked at the reception to help me out. To my surprise they gave me a anti-cockroach spray to do it myself (it was not the best hotel). When I first used the spray it was like firing a gun. However, the problem was that the cockroach was not instantly affected by the poison. The insect suffered quite a while and I tried to shorten its suffering by using even more spray. During this process I had to think about the holocaust. This image stayed in my mind for some time. I also could not denial that the pesticide worked very good and solved my problem. Since I have not encountered so many different insects at home I never really had the experience of using poison against other biological livings.? |
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posted on 9 October 2011
Whenever people are talking about the electricity and the process of making certain that wherever electrical appliances are involved safety is the number one priority. The safety is normally geared to those who live in a home, or those who work at a certain place. Half of the time people do not think that the electricians also need to be safe when it comes to handling the electricity. During electrical testing, the safety of the electricians is also mandated. Electrical testing is done so that any electrical wires that could be exposed should be insulated again. The wires can harm habitats of that home or even the work force in a certain company. The people who are doing the electrical testing are required to guarantee not only the safety of the other people but themselves too because they are not invisible when it comes to electricity. This can be established only when they use the right gear during the testing and also be skilled enough to do it because if they are not then that is going to be a problem. |
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posted on 7 October 2011
If you are talking of quality, then this is it! This is exactly what you will be getting from LKT electrical services. There are so many electricians in oxfordshire, but they deliver different services compared to the tools they have in their companies and how they have been directed into responding to a customers needs. If you take a closer look at electricians oxfordshire, you will realize that Bicester Oxford shire and Buckingham shire electricians meet all of your electrical needs because of how they are qualified for the job and the idea of keeping customers specifications in mind while working on the connections. There are a number of services that they offer and each service comes with its own unique price tag. This means that you as the customer will have different choices to select from, you have a variety of services and you can settle for that which is pocket friendly. Their services cover domestic, industrial and commercial contractors where they domestic wiring and replacements for products such as fuse boards and many others of your choice. |
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posted on 24 September 2011
Just the mention of them gives me shivers. I hate them. I lie awake at night thinking and dreading they'll return. I don't mind any other insects. I've even eschewed buying door fly screens as I can put up with the odd fly. But cockroaches? I grew up in New York city, where these pests were common. My mother would use Raid bug spray which was the main product of the time, ( I grew up in the 1980s by the way...). Raid never worked. The roaches would come back, my mother would do a thorough Sunday night cleaning, mainly in the kitchen, but those suckers were survivors. We couldn't afford an exterminator, so Raid bug spray was our only hope. Luckily, we moved to Michigan, and for many years, went without one site of them. I thought they were gone from my life forever. But then, a few years ago, when I first moved in with my now husband, the roaches returned. Like a long lost friend saying hello, I was mortified, shocked, sickened by the sight of those bugs, scurrying across my beautiful kitchen floor. I wasted no time, checked to see where the source was, relieved to find out our apartment was NOT the originator of these bugs. I bought Ortho professional spray, and did the exact same ritual my mother had performed decades ago. Once again, to no avail. This time, we CALLED an exterminator, had to vacate the building for a few hours, but the job got done, and I'm happy to say, I've been roach free since! |
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posted on 1 September 2011
As soon as Bea was able to book a flight back home, she called her fiance, Robin, right away. At that time, Robin was still busy doing some roof slating in some place so he was not able to answer her call. Bea tried calling again and again, but then Robin was still very busy at work. When Bea got tired, she stopped calling already. The next morning, she was surprised to see Robin in her kitchen. He was trying to prepare a decent breakfast for both of them. Robin knew that Bea was not in her best mood that day. She never really likes it when Robin fails to return her calls right away. Since Bea refused to talk to him, Robin did most of the talking. But because she was hungry, she decided to eat what was already set on the table. Robin smiled as she looked at her eating. Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to call you last night but I guess I was just too tired. I had a long day yesterday but you know that I love you. Please say you forgive me. That's all he needed to say to see Bea smile her sweetest smile once more. |
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posted on 29 August 2011
Every woman tries to figure out, what’s with men, beers, cars, sports and the common meeting place, A GARAGE. Now that the puzzle isn’t solved yet, it is more of a sanctum for the boys hence as women, we need to take good care of it as well. Garage remodeling ideas can come from various sources and today we would like to share some with you
1. Women, ask your men, boyfriends, hubbies, partners, and brothers, fathers to go to their friend's garage and gather ideas for garage remodeling. Maybe there would be something which catches their fancy, remember boys love to emulate to be ahead in the race.
2. Take the men out to hardware and garage sales, you could find a lot of space saving furniture and other accessories which could be used while garage remodeling is on.
3. Finally, don’t forget to have enough room for a television set, and a mini- refrigerator, while garage remodeling, or else where would the men keep their beverages!! |
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posted on 26 August 2011
This summer our apartment building had a breakout of pharaoh ants. These are a real pest - much more awkward and a pain than flies where simple window fly screens can deal with them.
Pharaoh ants are difficult to get rid of, as they will make a new queen and start a new nest at the sign of any danger to the colony. The building manager tried so many things to rid the units of these pests. She tried store bought ant traps. She asked tenants to pour bleach around infected areas. We all had to hide our food away and close all containers. But none of these ideas worked. And that's when she got the great idea of mixing borax (a type of poison) in a bowl with icing sugar (something that even ants can't refuse). In the end they would eat the sweet treat and then die of the poisoning before they could return to the nest and show any signs of danger. A stroke of brilliance on our landlords part, and our building has been ant free for months now! |
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posted on 16 July 2011
As interior design gains popularity one would want to know the job responsibilities of those associated with this hardworking yet noble profession. An interior designer’s job would not only be mix and match of ideas and concepts, but to think from the customer’s point of view.
Any interior design expert would have to update and upgrade themselves and their talents to suit the evolving changes around, yet keeping in touch with the designs from yesteryears as well. Most customers would prefer interior designs that match their personality, so understanding your customer is very important, if you want to keep them happy.
Remember, if you keep your customers happy with the best interior designs you display and one which makes sense with regard to functionality and practical needs, you would have more business coming to your kitty in future.
Be creative and let your imaginations explore the pallets out there when you become an expert with interior designs. |
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posted on 8 June 2011
Have you ever had a need to put an alarm system in your home? Then you had once called an electrician and ask for their help in setting this up. But this is not the only service that they can do. Other electrician servicesmostly include rewiring and maintenance of the electrical system. They can also help in finding electrical faults at your home. Another service that they can do is in installation of electrical units either indoors or outdoors like sockets and lighting points or replacing blown out fuses and circuit breakers. The alarm system in your home is not restricted to being a burglar alarm only but can also be either smoke and/or fire alarm. You can also ask them for low voltage lighting or emergency lighting. They can also help in your cable and satellite TV installations. These are just some examples of electrician services. If ever it is an electrical problem then there is a high probability that an electrician is what you might need. |
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posted on 9 May 2011
Kitchen is usually where the family gathers, it becomes the heart of every home. It is the place that exciting ventures are being performed. But what if the kitchen looks old already? It looks dirty and even how much you have tried cleaning it, the looks never changed. It is time for a kitchen remodeling. Give your kitchen a new look that highlights the original details, making it more welcoming and warm. Transform your kitchen into a room that possesses class and elegance that you have been dreaming of.
Budget plays an important role in any kind of remodeling endeavor. With a little budget on hand you may ask you remodeling company to design your kitchen in a way that is with in your budget. The remodeling company within your locality can do all the remodeling with special touches that is within your budget. They know exactly what to do in your kitchen. It is often advised to lay down your budget and your desired look for the kitchen. |
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posted on 3 May 2011
I bought several home improvement magazines trying to find several practical bathroom storage ideas because I could barely recognize our bathroom because of the number of stuff in there. My roommate is a slob, and although she is my friend and I love her dearly, I hate being the only one organizing and keeping the house in livable condition. We are complete opposites because I am leaning towards obsessive compulsive so I am usually very tired making sure that everything is in place at the end of the day. The only consolation I have is that we have different rooms, so that is one less thing to worry about, as long as she keeps the door closed and I don’t see her mess I am fine. The biggest problem in our set-up is the shared bathroom, every time I organize her bathroom essentials and other things, I couldn’t even keep it that way for a day. As soon as she used the bathroom you can not even tell that someone is keeping it clean at all. |
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posted on 3 May 2011
Dealing with closet clutter could be such a pain that sometimes we just think to ourselves “why bother?” Nevertheless, it is necessary to keep your closet clean! Though, it’s much easier said than done, especially when it comes to looking for the right closet organizers for your closet. With so many closet storage design available, how do you know which ones should go in your closet?
The right storages would be the ones that could organize your belongings without damaging them or taking up too much closet space. And to find the right one for your closet, you have to start by choosing one in the right size!
Before running to buy one, measure the dimensions of the inside of your closet. This may seem troublesome for you, but you really do have to. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting money on closet storage you can’t use!
Once you have the dimensions, you are free to choose any storage container you want. There are plenty of designs to choose from! You may even try to find one that matches the interior of your closet, but that isn’t necessary. What’s important is that you finally get your clutter-free closet. |
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posted on 1 May 2011
Antique French Beds are absolutely charming. These are often made of cast iron with brass trim and can look really lovely when dressed in fresh linen or a vintage floral quilt.
The French shabby chic styled bedroom is a very desirable look. An old French bedstead with crisp white sheets and lace trimmed pillows is a classic French style, and came from the old countryside interiors from the 'maisons des maitres' or maisons bourgoises' from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A more formal bedroom design can be achieved by using a French upholstered bed with Regency period styling. These benefit from richly coloured throws and a multitude of pillows.
Four poster beds are also very glamorous, and can be dressed up or down according to your taste. Heavily carved hardwood four poster beds are perfect for a 16th century bedroom.
French beds for children can also be very ornate, and include some beautiful child cots on rocking cradles with over hooks for hanging lace or muslin curtains. Very pretty! |
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