Funky Contemporary Orange Shag Rugs

Posted on March 22, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Orange shag rugs have never been funkier than the ones that come in both vibrant or subtle tangerine and Indian or Asian tones. For super funky orange shag rugs that are bright and wild try the LR Resources nylon filament shag that´s really soft and durable and is cheap, starting at just $160, when bought through Rug Studio.

For a gorgeous retro piece that’s bold and right with several tones on an orange base, there’s the Couristan Visionnarie Vibrancy area rug that’s also sold through the Rug Studio and is priced at about $69 for the smallest sizes.

For a subtle orange that’s between spicy peach and terracotta, 100% cotton softness and made by famous Chandra Rugs, there’s the Orange Fiora that’s all handmade and is sold through NilimaRugs. It’s a little more expensive because it’s all natural and handmade, but still affordable at under $280.

If you want round shag rugs in orange then try the fabulous hand woven Greek style Flokati shag rugs in rich orange that are really cheap and sold through Target. Have a look at all the shapes and sizes because there are lots. In fact aside from the round ones there are also rectangular ones that are huge and cost about $200. The round ones are also about the same price.

If you would like orange shag rugs that are super soft and cozy and come in soft coral orange tones then you will love the one that’s available through Rug Market. It is synthetic but is hand-woven and comes in lots of sizes that start at about $166. Check out special discounts for this Coral Rug from a shop called AlbeeBaby.

Another place to get some fabulous round shag rugs and lots of really modern colors like the orange shag rugs that are really in style, try Decor Rugs who have something called the orange grassy shag. The other great place to find good deals and lots of selection is at Rugs USA. Naturally, I’ve already mentioned Rug Studio, but they need a second mention since they have so much to offer if you want funky modern shag rugs. They carry a selection of styles and makes from all the main area rug manufacturers. The companies I recommend offer free shipping, so the price you are quoted is actually the price you ay.

Just one last recommendation for round shag rugs and super cool and funky orange shag rugs. Check out the Joyous Berry Orange Shag from Home Decorators. The large sizes are expensive, but totally luxurious and super soft to touch.

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Home Improvement Through Concrete Curbing

Posted on March 21, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

If you are in the market to sell your home, then you want the maximum possible property value. Of all of the things that you can do, developing the area surrounding your home will have one of the biggest impacts. In fact, a beautiful landscape, both at the front and rear of your house can make or break a sale. Psychological studies have shown interested parties may spend up to twenty minutes more looking at houses that are attractive and beautiful outside.  A simple, but effective way to add this beauty to the outside of your home is with the selective use of landscape design improvements.  This includes a little known upgrade called concrete curbing improvement.

The term curbing can be applied to the arrangement of flowers, shrubs, trees and the like in an attractive manner anywhere that your yard has the space. Concrete curbing is different-this is a concrete structure used to surround and contain the lawn, drive, flowerbeds, and even sidewalks in your yard. It takes a special machine to put it in place and there are a variety of styles available to accent your yard.

Concrete curbs can be used to shape and direct footpaths wherever you want them to go-be it curves or angles through your yard, and can be used as a protection for your lawn too. If people have a habit of parking on your lawn, a curb that causes a rise of several inches from road to lawn can stop this. Curbing’s popularity has grown over the years, in part because it helps maintain a lawn edge, and reduce weed growth. You may even choose to highlight your curbs with easy to maintain solar lights, flood lights, or other types of landscape lighting-all of which serve to beautify your home’s appearance.

The more unusual shapes of flowerbeds or arrangements can be difficult to maintain, with lawn edges collapsing and grass spreading into the area. Curbing makes maintenance easier, being able to be fitted to the most troublesome shapes, including circles and ovals-its use is not merely decorative. Landscaping has hidden appeal, and can increase property value, with people falling in love with its results even if they don’t know why they like it.

Concrete curbing can be fitted in any location on your property, and does not need to be expensive. A person with a little prior experience at working with concrete can try and do it themselves, and if you are adventurous enough you could try even if you don’t have experience. There are many online resources available to help you educate yourself, not only in how to do it but also the tools that you will need to work with.

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Getting a Garden Gazebo Canopy

Posted on March 18, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Getting a garden gazebo canopy can be a great way to make your garden more attractive but at the same time, add more functionality as well. As you may already know, when the summer time is here, people love to enjoy spending their time outdoors. This doesn’t mean you have to travel anywhere far. A couple of steps and you can be out in your garden taking in the cool breeze of the summer day. The only problem is that you will need some shading in order to prevent getting a sun burn. For this reason, getting one of these gazebo canopies can be important in terms of giving you more shading as well as making your time outdoors more enjoyable.

Since there are many types of canopies that you can get, there are a couple of things that you will want to consider when buying. The first is the size. They come in various sizes but the most common are the 8×8, 10×10, and the 12×12. What you get will depend on what you plan on doing with the canopy. Some people will simply set one of these things up to provide some shading while they sit back on a chair and read a book. Other people will turn their garden gazebo canopy into an extension of their home. They will do things such as install an outside fan, run electricity into the canopy to have light, and even set up a couch, a table, and some chairs as well. If you’re going to do something like this, you will definitely want to get something that has enough room for you to fit everything in.

Another thing that you will want to consider is the color as well as the quality. The color, at least for most people, doesn’t really matter that much especially if you’re going to just use it for the summer time but if you are planning to use it longer, then you will want to get something that will go well with the overall look of your garden and home. In terms of quality, what you want to look for is a canopy top that is made of material that will last a long time. Since you will be using these canopies outside, because of the weather, you will eventually have to replace the tops. When the time comes, you can simply find the right replacement and change it out. Gazebo canopies are definitely a good investment.

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Should I Get A Chandelier Or A Sconce?

Posted on March 18, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

If you are considering installing new lighting fixtures in your home but do not know what kind to choose then you are in right place, because today we are going to be talking about two different types of light fixtures that you will be seeing when you are looking for fixtures. The light fixtures that we are going to be discussing today are the chandelier and the sconce.

The first type of light fixture that we are going to discuss is the chandelier. First let us look at the pros to installing one of these beautiful additions to your house. One of the biggest pros to owning a chandelier is that automatically when someone enters the room the chandelier makes a huge great first impression that says that you care about and spend time on your home. Also a chandelier lights a room in a fuller way than ordinary lighting such as track lighting can do. On the other hand some of the cons of putting a chandelier in a room are as follows. Putting a chandelier in a low ceiling room can make the room look even small than it already is, also it will amplify the fact that the ceiling is low. Another con to owning a chandelier is the extra work involved in order to install some of the heavier versions that have to have special brackets to be supported.

On the other end of the lighting spectrum we have the sconce. These types of fixtures are found on wall and instead of having cords they have wiring that is integrated into the wall itself. For this reason these types of light fixtures are great for entry ways next to doors, in gardens, and along hallways. If you are installing a wall sconce near a door way make sure to install it on the side of the door that has the door knob so that it is easier to find the door lock at night. Some of the cons of having sconces is that often you will have to have more than one installed to have enough lighting to complete the required lighting needed. Also the fact that the wires are concealed in the walls may be a costly investment if you are on a remodeling budget.

For information about both outdoor sconce lighting and mini chandeliers come check out our website.

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Travertine Tile, Natural Beauty For Your Floor

Posted on March 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Travertine tile is a natural stone used for floors or walls for your home or business. It has warmth, character, and a natural variation that makes your home stand out and be recognized. There are also different applications such as, patios, pool decks, porches, and any other floor or wall application that porcelain tile can be used.

The standard way to install your new floor is with zero grout line and with a mud set installation. A mud set installation is accomplished when a bed of cement is placed on the sub floor and then the travertine tile is placed on top. This provides a perfectly level surface for the tile to sit on, therefore a zero grout line can be used. If the sub floor is not level then a grout joint must be used. The only obstacle is that it raises the level of the floor about 1 to 1 1/2 inches, this can be an issue with some doors and cabinets. If it is a new construction make sure that it is built with those height requirements in mind and things will go smooth.

Standard travertine is honed and filled, this means that if there are any gaps in the stone, they are filled with a cement like material and then the tile is buffed to a smooth finish. These tiles come in a variety of sizes and colors. Sizes range from 4 inch tiles to 24 inch tiles. Colors range from light to noce. Light and dark travertine have the least amount of variation of all the tiles. Medium travertine has the greatest amount of variation from tile to tile, ranging in color from light to dark. There are other colors and variations of stone besides beige and brown, such as silver, gold, and walnut.

Travertine tile is the most versatile of all the stones and will provide you with years of durability and natural beauty.

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Blue Toasters

Posted on March 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

A kitchen without a blue toaster is not a complete kitchen at all. This appliance was originally meant to toast bread, but eventually people began using it to heat other small food items. Later on, it upgraded end transformed into toasters of many kinds. From being able to toast just two slices of bread, there came variants that could hold and toast up to 8 slices in just 3 minutes, and there were even those that could toast up to several hundred slices in an hour!

The most prominent types of toasters throughout history are the popup, conveyor and oven toasters. The popup blue toaster is one of the most popular classic toasters that have ever existed. It usually came in the shape of a rectangular prism with two horizontal cavities on top where two slices of bread can be inserted. Pressing the lever on the right side of the blue toaster will turn the toaster on and pull the slices of bread inside. Equipped with some timing or sensing mechanism of sorts, the lever reverts to its original position and the slices of bread pop back out when the toasting cycle is done. Apparently, this is also how the popup toaster got its name.

The second type of toaster, the conveyor toaster, is used primarily for commercial toasting. As the name implies, it has a moving belt that transports objects—in this case, slices of bread—into the main toasting mechanism and toasts a few hundred slices of bread in a short span of time. This kind of blue toaster is especially useful when you have a business that has fast turnover of bread.

The oven toaster is a hybrid of an electric oven and a regular blue toaster. Design-wise, it looks like a minimized electric oven. It is trapezoidal or rectangular in shape, it has a pull-it-to-open door, a tray inside, and a switch or a set of buttons for setting the toasting time. However, if you put food inside, it functions very much like a blue toaster, except that it can toast other things such as pizza, hotdog, fish and other small food items other than bread.

Definitely, without this kind of appliance in the kitchen, a home will never be complete.

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How to Avoid a Plumbing Emergency

Posted on March 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

As many of you know, getting emergency plumbing work done can be extremely expensive. What’s worse is that Murphy’s Law dictates that the emergencies always pop up at the most inopportune times. Pipes love to spring a leak at 2:00am while you and your family are asleep, or when you are all away on vacation. Luckily, with proper preparation, you can avoid those types of situations, most of the time.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you can avoid any possibility of experiencing an unforeseen plumbing problem, but there are steps you can take to minimize the likelihood of a disaster. The key is to discover and solve potential future problems before they become emergencies. The easiest way to do that is to find a skilled plumber that you know you can trust, and have him do a full home plumbing inspection.

First, look around your home for a simple issue that you can call a plumber out to address. A slow drain or dripping faucet is perfect. Once the plumber completes that first task, request that he does a full home inspection. Most plumbing companies will perform these inspections free of charge, if you have already paid for a repair.

Once the plumber has completed the inspection, he will likely come to you with a list of repairs that he feels should be made. The key here is to get an idea as to the severity and urgency of the repairs. A plumber that you can trust is vital here, because unscrupulous contractors will try to make the problems seem worse than they are. Either way, you will have the information that you need to get your pluming issues fixed before they become emergencies. Often, a plumber will offer you a discount to take care of multiple problems in one visit. If you don’t feel good about taking care of these issues right away, you at least know about them, and you can shop around for estimates.

Always keep in mind that the goal is to get all of the information that you need to make the necessary repairs that will keep your minor plumbing problems from turning into a catastrophe

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Using Corner Bathtubs as Part of a Modern Bathroom Design

Posted on March 17, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Decorating a bathroom isn’t always an easy task. There are a number of different things to think about such as your budget, the style and the layout. This article will talk specifically about how to create a modern design in your bathroom by using a corner bathtub.

Corner bathtubs have only relatively recently become popular but are now commonly seen in nearly all bathroom stores. In the past, corner tubs were mainly used if the owner wanted to have a Jacuzzi or spa in their home. Today, you can buy corner tubs that are both regular baths and spas. You need to make sure you buy the right size tub though so that your bathroom doesn’t appear cramped. For example, small bathtubs should be used in small or medium sized bathrooms.

Using corner bathtubs will go a long way to creating a modern and contemporary feel in a bathroom but only if the right style is used for the rest of the bathroom. For example, modern bathrooms tend to use chrome and metallic styles for the furniture and walls. Curves are also often utilized along with well defined edges. If you want to create the perfect modern bathroom then you need to consider all the different features and how they complement each other.

Lighting is a very important but often overlooked part of creating a modern bathroom. You need to make sure that the lighting is practical but also accentuates the focal points of the bathroom. If you have a corner bathtub then this will often be an important focal point and one that should be lit using its own lighting.

You should start by looking in design magazines and websites to try and get a sense of the different styles that are popular at the moment. Modern design styles are regularly changing so you need to make sure you decorate your bathroom in a way that is fashionable but will also stand the test of time. After all, bathroom design is not something you want to do regularly!

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Soy Votive Candles

Posted on March 16, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

Votive candles come in a variety of colors and scents and even different waxes. Most of them are still made from paraffin wax , which is a petroleum product. Recently soy wax has become a favorite of candle makers and is growing in popularity. Soy wax votives appeal to many people because of the non-petroleum base to their make-up. Typically soy wax votive candles produces significantly less soot and smoke than the other wax does.

Soy votive candles are made from soy wax which was developed in 1992 by a man looking to a cheaper alternative to beeswax. Soy wax is hydrogenated soybean oil and is a natural product. Soy wax candles are cheap to produce and a great natural alternative to beeswax and paraffin based candles. Not only that soy wax is a renewable natural source and good for the environment.

Being all-natural soy wax appeals to environmentally interested people because it reduces the amount of petroleum used in the manufacture of products. Soy candles also don’t add CO2 into the atmosphere when they burn. They can burn up to 50% longer than the same size paraffin candle.

Since they are not petroleum-based a soy wax votive candle burns cleaner and produces much less soot than a paraffin candle. Not only will soot coat walls and ceilings with smudgy marks it is also unhealthy breathe and can be an irritant to many people.

Another nice quality of soy wax is that it is much easier to clean up if it gets spilled on furniture or clothes. It can usually be cleaned up with hot soapy water and doesn’t require scraping with a knife to get it to come loose. While care needs to be taken with a burning candles accidents do occur and eventually wax will get spilled on something and need to be cleaned up.

Soy candles burn cooler than the same candle of paraffin or gel. The wax is softer and burns with a nice steady flame. The soybean oil lowers the melting point of the wax and is a natural way to get a superior product. Votive candles made from soy wax offer some advantages over paraffin based candles, it’s up to you to choose what works best for you.

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Determining Which Desk is Right For You

Posted on March 16, 2010 by The Home and Garden Guru

There are dozens of styles of writing desks, ranging from antique to modern, and there are several types of desks, reflecting all the existing conditions for writing. It is good to know that most desks can be categorized in one of three styles: stationary, movable, and portable. Determining which desk is right for you depend on your needs as you write. You may need to take into consideration what you use to write with, what conditions you work under, who else will see your desk, and the amount of space you have remaining.

A managing director with a corner office will evidently want a very different desk than the small business owner furnishing a home office. Depending on your needs, you may even want more than one desk for writing. When making your purchases, consider buying stationary writing desks for larger office spaces, movable desks that can be moved from one office space to another if you work in a small office, find a portable writing desk for work at home and travel.

A secretary desk provides ample organizing space in a diversity of formats, so the user can store books, flat files, miscellaneous documents and small, weirdly shaped items. The folding nature implies that it can’t be used to spread out long-term projects, but does make it easy to secure information by locking the drawers, folding desk area and or hutch. In a modern office, a secretary desk is not that practical, but when one considers the initial role of a secretary, it starts to make sense.

Traditionally, secretaries handled correspondence and confidential documents; a secretary desk is ideally suited for filing and organizing correspondence, as well as securing works in progress. The folding desk area readily fits writing utensils & letter paper, which can be tidied away when the work is finished.

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