WITH HOME AND GARDEN

Decorating Your Kids Rooms

Kids Rooms If you have children, then you undoubtedly understand the importance of triggering a child's imagination. A child, particularly the younger ones, intelligence growth is largely due to his or her surroundings. A child’s mind is spurred by their visual input. With this in mind, early on in life, you can develop your child's creativity, imagination, and intelligence by making certain that they have an ample supply of creative surroundings. Of course, a child spends the majority of his or her life in the bedroom. The clever parent can take advantage of this by decorating the children's bedrooms in a particular style so as to accelerate their thinking processes.

The first thing that you will want to consider is the walls. A great starting point is the wall at the foot of your child’s' bed. Most kids end up lying in bed for a little while before falling asleep. With this in mind, a big mural on the wall opposite the end of the bed is a great concept. Take a look at the child's interests. What is your child's favorite cartoon? Paint a giant mural of the characters on the wall, from floor to ceiling.

For twenty or thirty dollars you can create a picture that the child will spend endless hours gazing longingly into. On the other walls, you can put up pictures of those same characters, or even posters.

If you have a flat ceiling in the room, you can actually paint the mural on the ceiling. When approaching this, consider, if you will, the concept of an underwater ocean scene. Perhaps you could apply a blue background with different varieties of sea life swimming around, such as goldfish and starfish. Avoid any images that might frighten the child, such as sharks.

A child's mental development in the early years depends entirely upon what the parent allows as input, and most of it is from the visual aspect. For a small investment, you can change your child's future on such a positive note. After all, aren't they worth it?

Reasons for rugs

Did you know that you could change the whole look of a
room, just by adding a rug? In some cases, a rug may be exactly what the
décor is missing. There are many different types of rugs, which makes it
easy to find something for every room.

Blinds

Blinds, also known as Venetian Blinds, are an easy way to modernize your home looks, coordinate with interior design, and save energy costs. There are several types of blinds available from home decor stores and online websites that specialize in blinds. What they all have in common is the ability to provide shade or privacy where none exists.

Roller shades are very popular. They can be set to roll up or down as desired. You can mount them either inside or outside the window frame. You can mix horizontal blinds and vertical blinds throughout the home, using horizontals in smaller windows and verticals for tall or very wide windows. They have a roller mechanism that allows adjustments in level, up or down. They are pretty enough to stand alone as a window treatment, or combine with curtains, side and top valences to fit room decor. Roller shades are easily installed by one person.

Vertical shades are used in many homes and offices, and in apartment complexes. The give a modern or classic professional look that is easy to live with. Vertical shades pull to either side, or part in the center. The slats stack up at one side, so outside the frame mounting is recommended to retain full window views. Vertical shades are an especially good solution for very wide windows, and window walls.

Shutter shades are usually wooden slat shades that look like shutters. They provide all the benefits of other shades, but are smaller, and nice for tall rectangular window shapes. A variation of this are the wood blinds, which are very classy looking and durable. Wood shades are used in all size windows, and have the best insulation factor. Solar shades are screened material that cuts glare but allows visibility.

Shades help cut energy costs by controlling light and heat that comes into a room. By adjusting the angle of the slats, you can keep out direct sunlight and its heat, or allow it to come into the room. By adjusting the slat angles, you can benefit from bounce lighting off the ceiling which multiples available light.

Use dark colors or wood blinds for blackout or sleep shades. These make sleeping easier for those who need to sleep in daylight hours, or who have trouble sleeping. Lighter colors and translucent materials allow light into the room without the glare. Fabric covered blinds give you additional sound control, and insulation benefits. Matching valences cover improved action mechanisms or motorization parts, and add beauty to your rooms. Blinds are widely used by professional decorators and home owners.

Before You Hire A Cleaning Service.....

Working families with a scarcity of time often look to domestic cleaning services for assistance with their domestic cleaning needs. However, before you hire a cleaning service, there are several factors to consider.

Business References
A reputable cleaning service will have a license to operate their business. This is important for the sake of the security of your valuables and your home furnishings, should an accident occur. A license to operate insures that the business is firmly entrenched in the business community in which its services are offered and can be supported by their licensing agency in any legal matters, should that become necessary.

Cleaning Employee References
In addition to general business references, it may also be necessary to inquire into references for the individual who will perform the cleaning services for you. How long have they been employed? How much experience in domestic cleaning do they possess? Do you require bonding references? Some cleaning services insist their employees be bondable, that is, that a certifiable bond supports their reliability and experience. This is as much needed for the cleaning service's liability as it is their clients.

Liability Insurance
This is another very important area to be aware of before hiring a cleaning service. Ask who is responsible for liability insurance...you? The cleaning service? If you are required to cover any accidents that may occur, you will need to alert your homeowners' insurance agent in the event there may be a need for additional coverage. If the cleaning service is responsible for liability insurance, you should ask for a copy of the coverage.

Services Offered
It's important to detail, before hiring a cleaning service, what specific services you have in mind. Full-service cleaning companies often itemize the types of work you are paying for, in addition to the number of days you require their services. A live-in cleaning service arrangement is, of course, most costly. For those individuals who just require minimal help, one or two days of service may be sufficient. This should be planned well in advance and in consideration of other work and domestic schedules. Be prepared to submit a list of regular cleaning routine you expect to be completed in the allotment of time you are paying for.

Transportation Requirements
Some cleaning services have professional vans fully equipped that their employees use to travel to and from the residence or commercial building to be cleaned. Check transportation arrangements in the event that this is not included in their service contract. Some cleaning service employees do require their clients to provide transportation. This is should be determined in advance of signing the service contract.

Lighting in the Home

Lighting within a home is one of the most fundamental necessities humans have today. Without lighting, we are thrust back into the dark ages, and are unable to accomplish tasks we deem essential.

Lighting takes on many forms within the home, from the common lamp to everything else including walls and ceiling lights, spotlights, downlights, garden lights, chandeliers, solar lights, security lights, pendants, uplights, recessed lights and timed lighting. Depending on the mood of the room, one or more of these types of lights might come into play.

What lighting is best for a warm, comfortable living area? A combination of lights is best for a room where people spend a lot of time. This is because not only is this area meant for comfort, but may also have to provide room for many different tasks. A spotlight might be necessary in the corner of the room by a couch to provide the matriarch with the best lighting for needlework, uplights look charming and evoke warmth and comfort when placed behind plants and furniture. Lamps on each table provide essential lighting for everyday living as well as take on the task of translating the occupants personal style.

Bathroom areas are less complicated and may need only lighting above the sink and perhaps a nightlight or two to provide late night access.

On the outside of the home, solar lights and security lighting may be installed. Solar lights make use of the environment and help conserve energy while allowing a subtle, beautiful light for visitors to see by as they enter and exit the home. Security lighting is important two-fold, streaming on when visitors arrive, as well as alerting the household of possible intruders.

Shades and controls may be installed to allow for adjustments with lighting. Dining rooms, bedrooms, living rooms are all excellent places to install dimmer switches to be able to control the atmosphere of the room. Shades can be replaced from season to season to best represent the style of the homeowner.

Kitchen lighting may also require a combination of lighting tools such as pendants, simple chandeliers, as well as hidden lights – beneath the cupboards, as well as inside the cupboards. The use of glass with lights is particularly useful in the kitchen, colored and painted glass coupled with the right lighting creates a beautiful effect.

Designing the home with light and lighting fixtures has fast become one of the most popular areas of home design. Finding new ways to use light, whether it be subtle or overt, white or colorful, will only enhance the comfort level of a home.