Month: March 2012 - page 2

Window Treatments For Each Room In Your Home

Posted on by Creative Programs and Systems

What happens when you have windows that are less than desirable to look at?  It is time to play interior designer adding window treatments to them.  Window coverings are known as the finishing touch to interior decorators.  Many compare curtain, blinds and shades to a home to the accessories women use to spiff up a plain black dress. The final touch to turn a room into the place you desire.  There are certain things to think about in dressing your windows to make them stand out in a desirable way.

The very first thing that needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing window treatments for any room of your home is the function or purpose they will need to serve.  They must fit your need or else you will be wasting money on something that looks pretty but offers nothing to your family in regards to value.  Look at the options available when considering what the room needs. Things to consider when looking at function are: light control, privacy, insulation and whether or not you still want to maintain a view to the outside.

Personal style is another quality you will want to pay attention to.  If your style needs are not met than you will not enjoy being in the space. This takes into account color as well.  You can enhance a room’s characteristic with the window treatments.  If you are a formal person creating formal spaces than the last thing you would want to do is create a modern space using color and style.

Another thing to look at is the existing structure and textures within the rooms existing space.  It is possible to find window treatments with accents that compliment the room.  For instance, if you are using drapes often times grommets can be used to enhance areas of architecture in the room.  As an example dark brushed grommets compliment red or dark woods.

Other areas to consider when looking for window treatments that compliment the room and enhance features with in it are the height of the windows verse the drapes.  If the room is large and grand in style the last thing you want are itty bitty blinds.  This will not enhance in any form.  Grand rooms need window treatments that will stand out as little room need windows that don’t call attention upon them.  Think cozy when considering window treatments within smaller spaces that are meant to feel cozy, relaxed and simple.  Larger scale rooms should include coverings that are a floor to ceiling style.  This creates drama and draws attention.  It is important to remember the rules related to scale and proportion when looking at options for your windows.  Balance is important.  Don’t go overboard but then again don’t skimp.

Examples:

  • Woven Wood Blinds: For homes that are natural or lean toward rustic this option enhances the cozy warm feeling of a home looking for that same feel in window coverings.
  • Cellular Shades:  This option is popular in homes where light control and view are important.  This option allows the shade to be directed in either direction covering as little or as much of the window as desired.
  • Roller Shades:  This is a new, modern option in window treatments.  Think about large windows such as door walls and picture windows.  This option lends towards a modern feel and looks like art within the room.

Comfort Blinds

Hire A Professional To Execute Water Removal

Posted on by Creative Programs and Systems

Why do people call in water damage specialists? Isn’t it simple enough to clean up water damage on your own?  These were my misconceptions before a flood damaged our home.  If there is water that has made its way into your home via flood waters, broken pipes or an over full tub or toilet call in the professionals.  Many issues arise when improper clean up has happened after a flood.  The list of issues is a long one.  This is designed to help save you time and money related to not only the existing flood but damage that can occur for months after a flood has occurred.

Mold Trouble: Mold can cause trouble no matter what size the initial spores may be.  Mold issues large and small can cause health issues and structural damage to a home.  Mold should never be left untreated.  Mold by nature will continue to grow and spread.  Mold damage is something that should be cleaned up using professional restoration services.  This will prevent further spreading and bigger resulting issues.

Finding Mold:  A water damage specialist can detect mold or potential mold areas in a home if the owner is unsure if they have a mold issue or not.  This situation can occur after rainy season or a season of high snow fall.  A water damage specialist will come in and check for leaks throughout the structure of the home, want existing water damage and suspicious areas for potential mold growth.

Water Removal/Remediation: If you home has suffered a large leak or flood a restoration professional should be called in immediately.  They have high powered water extraction equipment that will quickly re mediate the situation.  A professional service will also be able to look at the structural supports of the home and see if any damage has occurred that will need immediate attention.

Drying:  When a home has had any amount of water damage drying is always a concern.  If the area is not thoroughly dry mold and mildew damage can make a bad situation even worse.  It is important that high powered equipment be used to dry out affected areas to prevent further damage.  If you are looking at damage in the summer it is just as important to remove the humidity out of the air in order to have proper drying occur in your home.

Deodorizing:  If improper care is taken with the removal of water damage can occur in the form of a strange smell.  This will need to be handled by a professional.  Deodorizing is not something to be taken lightly as that smell often means there is another issue brewing.  Don’t plug in some air fresheners and believe the issue will cure itself.  This is not the case after a home has had any type of water damage done to it.

It is pretty clear that when water damage occurs within your home it is important to call in an expert to really evaluate the situation at hand.  Little water problems can turn into major mold issues quickly given the right environment.  It will save time and money in the long run to have a professional restoration company look at the situation, clean it up, analyze trouble spots and move on with life.

 

Zion Restoration

Regaining Your Financial Future Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Posted on by Creative Programs and Systems

Life changes all the time.  One minute you are high on life, planning a wedding, buying a new home, furnishing it and racking up credit debt like no tomorrow.  You are on top of the world.  You are working in a position that gives you freedom and an unlimited expense account with an impressive salary.  Your beautiful wife has put her career on hold as she is expecting baby number two.  This is it you are living the ultimate dream in life.  What happens next is unforeseeable and devastating.

The big boss is in from out of state.  He is very sorry but the company is looking to merge and with the merge many positions are going to be eliminated, yours being one of them.  You have three week severance coming and a small amount of money in savings.  It is possible you might be okay if you are able to find another position paying around the same amount.

Three weeks later you are still scouring leads to find a position.  You know it will be impossible to live off of less than you were previously making, several places have offered however you know that with your current debt that is not a feasible option at the moment.

After months of looking for a new position, getting further and further behind in on you payments you are left with few options.  You decide to take a position making less money and are incredibly nervous about making your mortgage, paying school loans, making minimum payments on your credit cards let alone having any money left over for groceries or necessities for your family.  This is when you realize that meeting with a bankruptcy attorney might be the best option for you and your family in the current circumstance that you are in.

Life changes it happens so fast that often there is little to know time to prepare. We are not taught to live with these thoughts in our heads.  Few people do.  Chapter 7 bankruptcies are a legitimate way to regain balance in your financial life and to move forward. Primarily chapter 7 bankruptcies are seen as a straight forward, simple and inexpensive way to clear unwanted debt and get a fresh start.

If you find yourself in a situation that is close to what I described above it is wise to seek out bankruptcy information.  You might find that it is exactly the help you need to get through this patch of time in your life that is overwhelming.  Individuals, after going through the chapter 7 bankruptcy process share stories of a weight being lifted off their shoulders as the trustees dismiss the financial burden of credit card debt, over extended mortgages and home loans.  Bankruptcy attorneys do not judge.  They work for you to come up with a feasible solution regarding the overwhelming debt you have accumulated.  The best option in a time of uncertainty is to gather information and resources to help alleviate your worry and improve your family’s situation.

Michigan Bankruptcy Law Centers

Landscape Design Combining Elements

Posted on by Creative Programs and Systems

Landscaping the yard is one of the things my husband has expressed very little interest in.  He just does not understand why we dump money into making the yard something other than what it already is.  With a river behind our home he feels it is our duty to let nature take over and protect itself.  Let the land lie as it will is his yard maintenance motto.

I however, do not feel the same way.  As he tackled the inside of our home when we moved in I went to work on the outside.  The first thing I did was remove the ant infested railroad tie border that was a make shift flower bed and pull everything that was planted out.  The people before us had tiny “gardens” all over the yard.  It was easy for me to remove them.  I knew it needed an updated badly and I was the girl for the job.

The river bank was full of overgrown seedling trees and nastiness. In cleaning the area up by the river bank my main goal was to utilize what existed as much as we could.  I wanted to keep the larger scale trees and new tree growth in place.  A natural environment is one that will protect the bank area from eroding better than any man made wall plus it look one hundred percent better.  In managing the erosion that will naturally take place we began taking boulders that were about the yard and placing them on the edge of the river.  In doing this they are molding the ground around them and holding it in place.

The house had a lot of areas of blandness.  The garage lacked any sort of bushes or shrubs to balance and hide the brick that formed the foundation.  In order to create spaces that are visually interesting and had balance I choose to plant alternating green and purple flowering bushes.  They really made the garage blend into the house and not look so separate.

Now that the garage and river banks were taken care of we had to think about the front and back yard landscaping.  I was sure I wanted items in the garden that were irregular and not formed in shape.  I like a bit of the fantasy, flowing look when it comes to plants and shrubs.  I immediately gravitated towards a border that incorporated multi-leveled logs standing vertically.  This really ties into the natural element of the river. I then choose some large landscape boulders and place them in various places within the bed to tie in with the river side of the house.  Shrubs were planted that were free forming and daisies were added for color and ground cover for filler and the garden was completed.

The back yard was simple.  I took the rock element and carried it into a fire pit arena.  It turned out beautifully and allowed us to do away with the three flower beds that basically eliminated any space for the kids to play within the boundaries of the yard.  I added several benches made from wood around by the river and fire pit as accents.  It is a very cozy landscaped space.

To add some fun and flair to the landscaping I place tiki torches around the deck area in the summer and solar ground lights in the path to the fire pit.  It adds a bit of metal into the landscape design breaking up the green around us.  It has grown on my husband as the summer’s progress and he has even taken to a bit of landscaping on his own with the installation of a boat ramp that blends naturally into the river.  That is truly is only contribution as I still find myself mowing and weeding the yard every weekend as he tends a fire and jumps in the boat for some river time.

Bladerunners Landscape

Solutions To Adapt Your Home For Changing Needs

Posted on by Creative Programs and Systems

Disabilities, age and certain illnesses leave us clinging for answers when it comes to modifying our living environment to make the conditions safe and user friendly. At any season of life we could be facing the challenges limited mobility, loss of stability and decreased use of motor skills brings.  When this is the case it is evident that changes within the home environment will need to be made to encourage continued independence.

When born with an illness or disability that lessens the skills individuals have changes are made right away to the home environment.  The learning curbs to adapt to the surroundings are simpler for those individuals who are raised adapting to the home space.  However, when the disability is sudden it is harder to change the behaviors that already exist.  Instead modifications need to be put into place to ease the existent behaviors.

This is especially true for individuals who suddenly find they are using a wheelchair as their main form of maneuvering.  The adjustment is huge.  Mobility is suddenly not an afterthought.  It takes careful planning and maneuvering to navigate a space that was not designed for use with a wheelchair.  This is why many individuals who find themselves in this exact situation turn to handicap construction experts.

Certain changes within the home environment make it more readily usable to wheelchairs.  One item that needs to be addressed is the entrance and exit of the home.  It is important that handicap wheelchair ramps be installed in more than one area of the home for increased safety.  Wheelchair ramps can consist of simple threshold ramps or elaborate porches that contain a ramp for wheelchair users and stairs for those with leg function.  Wheelchair ramps are also helpful for individuals with knee ailments.

Another area of the home that is especially difficult to maneuver for those with mobility and stability issues is the bathroom.  Bathroom safety solutions run the spectrum. The installation of bathroom safety aides is a fairly common job.  Bathroom safety bars can help with getting in and out of the tub, off and on to the toilet and for stability around the sink basin.  Other options include showers designed to for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility to be able to enter direct without any type of ledge to hinder the individual.  The bathroom area is the number one cause of injury.  It is of utmost importance to seek out handicap construction professional to help with the installation of safety aides.

Many times individuals do not consider future needs when purchasing a home.  This is true when purchasing a home with stairs.  It is not always feasible upon injury, illness or aging to up and move to a home without stairs.  Often the option includes adjusting the stairs to fir the new need.  This need can be met with a stair chair lift installation.  Whether needing to access the basement or top floor a stair chair lift can be installed to fit the individuals need.

As with any renovation it is wise to seek the advice and assistance of a professional in the industry. With an increased senior population in areas such as Florida and Michigan professionals in the handicap construction industry are abundant.  If you are unable to locate a private handicap construction professional in your area contact state officials or local social workers who can help facilitate meeting your needs.

Accessible Alterations