5 Easy Ways to Make Your Bathroom Look Lavish With Towels

It’s the little things that can make all the difference when decorating your bathroom. Keep reading to learn how to display your towels.
via Marianne Simon Design
Are you looking to make your bathrooms classier, but don’t want to do a whole remodels? Why not stick with the basics, and mix up your towel displays! Let’s go through five ways you can organize your towels to class up your bathroom. 1. Roll ‘Em, Hang ‘Em, Display ‘Em The first and easiest thing you can do to change up your bathroom towel decoration is to change how they’re displayed. You can roll up your towels and put them in a decorative basket, or hang them on a nice rack. There are a ton of options you can try out! And there are options that range from expensive to customizable to do it yourself for cheap. No matter your budget, you’ll find a way to get your towel display looking super nice and modern.
via Marianne Simon Design
2. Change Up Your Towels  An easy way to refresh your bathroom decorations is to change what type of towels you have in your bathroom. Try out some Turkish cotton towels for true luxury in your bathroom. You can experiment with different colors, patterns, and fabrics — there are no limits to what types of towels you may want to try! You can also contrast your different types of towels. For example, pick different and contrasting colors for your hand towels, bath towels, fingertip towels, and hair towels. Or, pick different fabrics, with contrasting fibers and designs. You can go with something funkier, like turquoise zigzags, or classic shades of white and grey. It all depends on what your interests and preferences are! 3. Tie Up Your Towels To keep your towels looking classy, you can tie them out of the way — which also helps keep them clean! You can tie them with a ribbon and a bow, or use a pre-made decorated pull to keep your towels out of the way and classically decorated. Go with what looks like it fits the decor of the rest of your house, so that you won’t have to totally redo your entire house.
via Marianne Simon Design
4. Fold Your Towels Fancy If you’re looking for something super simple, try out one of the many decorative towel folding methods you can find online! It’s easy, simple, and you can change it in a second if you don’t like it. You can do something simple, like a fan, or many different and elaborate types of animals. Here are a few different types of towel folding methods you may want to try:
  • Towel Fans
  • A Swan Towel
  • Towel pockets
  • Towel elephants
  • Towel cats
  • Towel bunnies
  • Towel cake
  • Towel bat
  • Towel shirts
These are just a few of the different examples of designs you can fold your towels into! There are tons of other ways to fold towels out there that you can try. Changing Up Your Bathroom Towels Can Change Up Your Whole Design Redecorating your bathroom is pretty simple. There are tons of different options to try out, and they can all be done easily and without any overcomplicated hardware or other instructions. You’ll really have a great time with your newly-redecorated bathroom! Are you looking for more home decorating or design tips, or information on other, similar topics? Start reading some of our other posts!

Home Design Ideas to Help You Sell Faster

Ever heard the concept, “decorate to sell?” It’s the idea that your home must look fabulous in order to garner the best sales price.

There is no one way to go about it. The way you style your home depends greatly on the current trends, the area you live in, as well as the stylings of other houses in your area.

If you have a property in San Diego, you may style it differently from one in Texas, but the underlying idea is to make your home as presentable to potential buyers as humanly possible.

Here are some quick tips to follow when making your home design decisions.

via Marianne Simon Design

Consult a Professional Stager

It’s always a good idea to hire a professional, at least for an initial consultation. Pro designers will give you a great starting point to utilize and help you see a coherent vision of how your home design process should go.

How do you go about finding one? Like any profession, you should ask around and seek some referrals.

Look at the stager’s portfolio to see whether their vision aligns with yours. Also, see if they have positive reviews from past clients.

Determine What Items Should Remain in Your Room

Perhaps the hardest part about designing your home to sell is figuring out what items should stay and which items should be discarded.

Many of us have stuffed closets (guilty!) so it’s important to go through them and get rid of items we simply don’t need. In most cases, there will be A LOT that can be donated or given away to others.

via Marianne Simon Design

Discard Personal Items

You don’t want to display too many personal items or mementos if you plan on having prospective buyers come look at your home.

It should remain as neutral as possible.

Personal photos, awards, and other things that aren’t inherent to your home can be removed from view.

Hide Valuables

Be smart about your more valuable items. If you are going to have prospective buyers tour your home while you are away, it’s especially important to remove valuables from view. Place them in a safe or other protective area so they are not easily accessible.

The bottom line is you don’t know who will be in your home, so be proactive about protecting your things.

Prepare for the Home Inspector

Passing a home inspection is a necessary step towards selling your home. This will involve a check of the systems of your house, ensuring that repairs are made based on report citings.

You may not be able to anticipate every item in the report, so if you allow enough time and have the inspection take place long before escrow closes, you will be able to fix any issues without them affecting your home’s final sale.

Fresh Plants

Everyone loves fresh plants. Their vibrance is certainly enticing for buyers when looking to purchase a home, and it puts everyone in a good mood right away.

Decorate your home’s exterior with topiaries, sunflowers, roses, and anything else that looks and smells nice.

via Marianne Simon Design

Let There Be Light!

Finally, make sure your home is well-lit anytime a buyer comes through or photos are taken. This isn’t so much a decor tip, but it’s a good rule of thumb to follow regardless.

Did These Tips Help?

Hopefully these tips help you when getting your property ready for sale. When in doubt, always hire a professional stager who can give you the feedback and tools necessary to get your home sold. Thanks to Trusted House Buyers for collaborating.

How to Remodel Your Home on A Budget

If staying indoors at your home or condo during the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to highlight some of the areas of your house that you wish were improved, now could be the time to act! With so much extra time indoors, you’re sure to be able to make the time and space necessary to do a great job and get your home in tip-top shape.

With the economic future of many uncertain, it’s important that you finance your remodeling work responsibly. Here are a few tips to keep costs low even as you’re transforming your house into the space of your dreams.

Be smart about your loan.

Getting a loan to finance part of your home remodeling job can be a great way to stay financially stable while you’re focusing on improving your home. This is because while it may be foolhardy to spend $20,000 of your savings right now, repaying a $20,000 loan at only $500 a month is much less likely to cause problems in your monthly budget.

That said, you don’t want to be paying off your renovations ten years from now, especially if interest rates mean that you’re going to pay more for the remodel than it will add in value to your home. Use a loan repayment calculator in order to better understand how much a loan will truly cost you when all is said and down.

via Sandra Fox Interiors

Focus on function first.

While it may be tempting to get flashy with your remodel in an attempt to get your house looking like it belongs in an edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, the most useful renovations are the ones that increase and improve the functionality of your home. Prioritizing these sorts of jobs, especially during a period when you’re spending so much time indoors, is going to do wonders for your peace of mind and enjoyment.

Even if you love the idea of upgrading everything in your kitchen, if your appliances still work properly, maybe adding that second bathroom your family so desperately needs is something you should place higher on your renovation list. This ultimately comes down to personal preference, but focusing on function allows you to view things through a lens that has more to do with usefulness than style and looks.

Don’t replace what can be repaired.

Sometimes, you may be tempted to just replace an appliance or feature of your home completely when really all it needs is a simple fix. While this may be the less satisfying way of doing things, it’s the ideal way to save money on a remodel. After all, it’s silly to spend extra money replacing something when it can be fixed for a fraction of the price.

Just as a plumber can determine what’s wrong with your sink or shower, garage door repair companies are able to ensure that your garage door is functioning smoothly. The right company can save you money and help you build a stronger, more reliable garage door so that you don’t have to worry about a broken garage door spring or faulty garage door opener ever again.

DIY your style.

While things like roofing and garage door repair are best suited to professionals, there are plenty of interior design and decorating projects that you can do yourself. Painting rooms is something that can easily be done for the cost of two buckets of paint and some brushes and rollers, saving you hundreds, if not thousands, on a fresh paint job.

Self-adhesive wallpaper is another easy and elegant way to add design to a room without breaking the bank. Keep these sorts of techniques in mind as you calculate how much you need to take out for your renovation loan so that you save as much as possible in the process. Thanks to RW Garage Doors for consulting

5 Transformative Colours for Small Living Spaces

When it comes to interior design, colour trends come and go. In 2020, a few shades stand out as being particularly on-trend. Generally speaking, there’s a trend toward more muted pastel shades, with perhaps a single bold colour being present in a ‘feature’ wall, to provide a little bit of dynamism – though in smaller living spaces this is often overkill.

There are numerous ways to apply paint to walls, from rollers to brushes. To get a really even coat, it’s difficult to look past an air compressor. These devices turn your emulsion into a giant aerosol can, ensuring even coverage. For more information on this practice, check out this guide from SGS engineering.

But before you can start applying your colour, you need to choose it. So what are those five transformation colours?

Purple

via Massucco Warner

Loud and brash colours can provide the impact that a living space needs when you first walk into it. With that said, it can be overwhelming, so opt for a chalky pastel shade of it. You can create highlights in a purple room with the help of a few orange or yellow items of furniture, which will contrast very nicely. Purple is one of those colours that matches certain kinds of personality – so you might already know that you want it in your living room!

Beige

via Massucco Warner

While many of us might claim to hate beige, there’s not really a great deal to complain about. It’s a fantastic ‘blank canvas’ colour that’ll let the dimensions of the room itself, and the items you fill it with, do the talking. What’s more, it’ll never go out of style, so it’s perfect for those who’re looking to put the paint away for the long-term afterwards.

Teal

via Massucco Warner

Darker shades will, contrary to popular opinion, help to disguise the fact that a room is small, rather than drawing attention to it – but only if you’ve got the lighting right. A deep shade of blue-green will lend that touch of vibrancy and class to your space, which you can offset with a few choice timber items and pieces of brightly-coloured furniture.

Green

via Massucco Warner

A fuller shade of green is something that humans are biologically predisposed towards. Our eyes have adapted to find trees and vegetation pleasant to be around, and thus you can create a pleasant cosy atmosphere with the help of the right shades of green and brown. Go for something muted and soft, and contrast it with yellows, purples and browns. If you’ve got a hardwood floor, then green makes a naturally suitable complement.

Grey

Grey can be a bit sterile and dull if you’re not careful. But what it will do is provide contrast for those interesting pieces of furniture in your living space. Bring quality timber in, and you’ll find the eye naturally drawn to the grain, which is brilliant if it’s been treated appropriately. Go monochromatic and you won’t have to resort to especially garish, bright colours in order to draw the eye – which is fantastic if you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your compact living space. Thanks to SGS Engineering for collaborating!

The Types of Toilets You Could Choose for Your Bathroom Redesign

Finally getting around to the bathroom redesign you’ve been dying to do? These are the types of toilets you could choose to install.

Did you know that the average person spends about 525,000 minutes sitting on the toilet throughout the course of their life? That’s the equivalent of about one full year!

With this in mind, you should put some real thought into which toilet you’re going to install in your home during a bathroom remodeling project. There are all different types of toilets to choose from when you’re on the hunt for one.

Many people make the mistake of simply choosing the first toilet they can find when they’re in the market for one for a bathroom remodel. Instead of taking this approach, why not evaluate the various toilet types so that you’re able to find the right one for your bathroom?

Learn about the different styles of toilets below. It’ll help you figure out which toilet will suit your bathroom best.

Photo by 99.films on Unsplash

One-Piece Toilet

Would you like to get your hands on a toilet that’s very easy to install for your new bathroom space? Then you’re going to love what a one-piece toilet has to offer.

One-piece toilets are, as their name would suggest, all one piece from top to bottom. You won’t have to worry about assembling them in your new bathroom space when you bring them into the room.

These types of toilets are ideal for smaller bathrooms since they usually don’t take up a whole lot of room. There are also lots of other advantages that come along with using them. Some of the top benefits of a one-piece toilet are:

  • They look sleek and modern
  • They’re simple to clean and don’t require much maintenance
  • They’re designed to flush the same amount of water every single time
  • They’re durable and should last you for a long time once you put them into place

It’s worth noting that a one-piece toilet is a little bit more expensive than the two-piece toilet that we’re going to touch on in a second. But you’ll find that the added expense is well worth it once you see how easy toilet installation is when you buy one.

Photo by Shawn Ang on Unsplash

Two-Piece Toilet

Although one-piece toilets come with a long list of benefits, two-piece toilets are widely regarded as the most popular types of toilets in the country right now. When you walk into a new bathroom, there’s a good chance that you’re going to see a two-piece toilet in it.

Unlike one-piece toilets, two-piece toilets have two different pieces that need to be assembled when hooking a new toilet up. They have a tank as well as a bowl that are put together to create a two-piece toilet during installation.

This makes the installation process associated with a two-piece toilet a little more complicated than the one you’ll use for a one-piece toilet. But because of the extra installation steps, two-piece toilets are often more cost-effective than one-piece toilets.

Additionally, two-piece toilets provide people with a bunch of other benefits as well. Some of these benefits include:

  • They’re usually taller than one-piece toilets, which makes them more comfortable for adults
  • They’re easier to repair than one-piece toilets in most cases
  • They’re fairly easy to clean and maintain despite the two pieces

It’s not hard to see why so many people have gone with two-piece toilets when installing new toilets in remodeled bathrooms.

Wall-Mounted Toilet

If you have a bathroom that’s on the smaller side and you’re trying to save space, a one-piece toilet might do the trick. But it won’t save you as much space as a wall-mounted toilet will.

Wall-mounted toilets are the best types of toilets for those who are short on space during a bathroom remodel. They’re attached right to the wall in a bathroom with their tanks hidden out of sight behind it.

And wall-mounted toilets will do more than just save you space. They’ll also give your new bathroom a more modern look and provide you with some much-needed flexibility when you’re trying to decide where to install one.

There are a few downsides that you’ll have to endure when you go with a wall-mounted toilet. They’re often more expensive than one-piece and two-piece toilets. They can also be more costly to repair.

But for those with smaller bathrooms, wall-mounted toilets will prove to be a great choice. They’ve started to become more and more popular thanks to all of their benefits.

Photo by Cameron Smith on Unsplash

Smart Toilet

Just about everything on the inside of homes has started to become smarter in recent years. From TVs and refrigerators to thermostats and ovens, smart homes are all the rage.

And guess what? Even toilets have started to get in on the fun.

If you don’t mind shelling out a little extra money for a smart toilet, you can find one that’ll set you up with all kinds of incredible features. Today’s smart toilets can:

  • Provide you with a nice heated seat
  • Automatically flush when you’re finished
  • Clean and deodorize themselves

Some smart toilets can even monitor you for diseases and let you know if your health might be in jeopardy.

It’s pretty crazy to see what many of the smart toilets that are on the market today can do. You’ll be blown away by how much one changes the look and feel of a remodeled bathroom from the second it’s put into place.

Which of These Types of Toilets Would Work Best in Your New Bathroom Space?

When you’re in the process of designing a new bathroom for your home, you’ll spend a ton of time looking at things like shower enclosures, countertops, cabinets, flooring, and more. The toilet might be an afterthought for you.

But you shouldn’t overlook the importance of installing a high-quality toilet in your new bathroom. You should look around at all the different types of toilets and find the one that is going to work best in your new bathroom space.

You are, after all, going to be spending plenty of time sitting on your toilet in the years to come. So why not make it something that you love every bit as much as everything else in your new bathroom?

Read our blog for more great bathroom remodeling tips. Thanks to FHFurr for consulting!

8 Ways to Keep Your Home Feeling Fresh

Home is where the heart is, or it should be at least. So what happens when your home starts to feel small and stuffy? Well, it’s time to freshen things up so that you can enjoy your home no matter what season it is.

A fresh home means never feeling cooped up in your own home. So how do you keep it fresh and feeling good, particularly when you have to spend a lot of time at home?

We have a few ideas!

1. Keep It Tidy

A messy house not only seems smaller, but it could also make you feel claustrophobic.

This doesn’t mean you can’t make a mess in your own home. You absolutely should, and have fun with it! Cook, play, make a pillow fort, do art, spread all the mess you want. But, when the fun is over, you can keep your home fresh by tidying up.

Remember the old phrase, a place for everything and everything in its place. If you have too much clutter in your home for it to seem tidy, consider doing a little spring-cleaning and decluttering.

via Alice Lane Interior Design

2. Make it Smell Good

A fresh scent can be just the thing your home needs to feel cozy and inviting throughout the day. There are many things that cause odors in our homes, including pets, garbage, cooking, unclean air filters and ventilation, and even ourselves when we’ve spent too much time in a space.

We can’t always control the sources of odors in our homes, but we can take precautions to help our homes smell fresh. Try using an odor eliminator, keep it clean, use an air purifier, and ensure good ventilation throughout the house. Also, when possible, try opening the windows to let in some fresh air.

3. Let the Sunshine In

Natural lighting in your home casts your decor in an attractive light. It can also help to brighten your mood throughout the day. Natural light will help the space appear larger.

If your home doesn’t have a lot of windows or natural light exposure, you can simulate the effect by installing light bulbs that use the natural light spectrum. If the lighting around your home is feeling a little dreary or stale, check the warmth of your lightbulbs and opt for a happy medium between warm and cool lighting.

via Alice Lane Interior Design

4. Introduce Houseplants

Houseplants help to purify the air in your home while also dressing up the space with green. Green is the most restful color to the human eye, and house plants have been studied for their ability to lighten moods.

House plants offer beautiful color and texture to your home decor, they pump oxygen in your air, and they could give you something to nurture. Not to mention, when your home starts to feel too small, plants bring a little of the outdoors inside.

5. Start Organizing and Storing

Smart storage will be your best friend when it comes to keeping your home tidy and clutter-free for that constantly fresh home. When your surfaces are clear of clutter, you’re free to do whatever you want without too much setup, which can greatly boost your at-home productivity.

The best storage does two jobs. It should be attractive and decorative, while also concealing your stored items. Consider drawers and boxes to create concealed storage on more open shelving. This will allow you to keep all the odds and ends without making your space appear overly cluttered.

6. Make Sure It’s Comfortable

A beautiful home is certainly something to aspire to. However, your home will always feel stuffy and unwelcoming if it feels uncomfortable to you. It’s your home and you have to live in it, which means you have to be comfortable in your space while enjoying the decor and the furniture.

Move things around, resituate your furniture. Get new things (or older antiques if that’s more your style), and do what you can to make your home your own. This isn’t just about personal expression, though that’s a big part of it. Comfortable also means creating the kind of spaces that you would want to spend time in.

Tiger Oak | Alice Lane Interior Design | Photo by Nicole Gerulat
via Alice Lane Interior Design

7. Freshen up Carpets and Rugs

We track all sorts of dirt, messes, and odors into our carpets, and they are often there to stay until we physically remove the dirt that’s causing the stains and odors. One simple way to freshen up your carpets is to sprinkle baking soda into the carpet and allow it to sit for about ten minutes before vacuuming thoroughly. This will help you remove both the dirt and the odors.

Additionally, if your carpets or rugs have suffered liquid messes and more difficult odors, you might consider steam-cleaning the carpet every other month to keep things fresh. As a preventative measure, consider removing shoes before stepping on carpets and rugs.

8. Make it Cozy and Decorate

Bring cozy elements into your home, including throws, blankets, and pillows. Consider cushions for chairs that you spend a lot of time sitting in to make them comfortable. Lay rugs down over hardwood or tile flooring.

Then decorate by adding smaller comforts, such as candles and string lights. Decorate to your style with photos of those you care about and art that you personally enjoy. Thanks to Groom and Style for contributing

Practical Ways to Refresh Your Home

If you think that your home needs a bit of change, it does! Our homes are where we spent the majority of our lives, and if space makes us feel bored or unmotivated, yes, it needs a bit of makeover.

via Pinterest

Just like our outfits, our house decoration speaks a lot about our personality. So make it unique, bright, and stunning. 

 If you are on a budget, it can be tough to create your dream house, but we are not searching for perfection, because it does not exist. We are looking to create a comfortable home that makes us happy, brings the family together, and that inspire our projects. Here are some ways to create that kind of house. 

Decoration

With our one-color walls and furniture, no wonder the house feels empty. That is where decoration comes in. The decoration is what brings life into a living space, so add your personal touch with it. 

via Skull Bliss

Decoration can be the hardest part of making the house our home, but putting a lot of energy into it is more than worth it. 

But how to choose the items to add to your home with so many to choose from. It is normal to feel overwhelmed by so many choices. We all have been there. But do not worry, there are solutions to this problem. 

One of the solutions is to establish your aesthetic. What is it that you like? Do you like the minimalist style or a rustic one or both maybe? If you are not sure, look at other people’s interior design online. What is it that appeals to you? Once you find your own style, you are welcome even to copy other people’s ideas and spark a bit of creativity in them by adding something unique. Many interesting objects can make your house more lively, and you probably do not even know about a lot of them. Take animal sculls, for example. Did you know how beautiful sculls can be, especially those from https://skullbliss.com/? That is something you will want in your home. 

Add light to your house

If your living space looks dull, the chances are that it is only dark. Let the light in, either the natural light or buy lamps to make the rooms feel well lit. Waking up to the living room filled with sunshine is probably one of the best feelings in the entire world. But if you want to add a touch of elegance to your windows, do not forget curtains! 

via Skull Bliss

Even at night, if you decide to do something that requires good lighting, like reading or writing, the dim lights are probably not helping your mood or eyes. Good lighting is perhaps one of the most important things in your house, but the cute lamps can be a great décor, too. 

Move the furniture around, or replace it

Sometimes we feel a bit bored in our houses, but that feeling can come from being very used to it. For some, change can be daunting, but for some, it can come as a fresh breeze. Maybe it is not your walls, your furniture, or the décor that you do not like. Perhaps it is the layout of your room. Just moving things around can make you feel as if you are standing in a completely different place. Try many options before you opt for the one that you like the most. 

via Pinterest

But sometimes it is the furniture we hate. Investing in a new sofa or a table can make a massive hole in your pocket, but it does not need to. Searching for second-hand furniture in perfect condition is a great way to give your living space a makeover without spending all of your savings on it. Even DIY projects can be a great idea to spark a bit of life into the walls. 

Refreshing your house is all about having fun, so keep that in mind, because we know how stressful it can seem at times. And so not forget that the goal is not the perfect house, but one in which we finally feel at home. Thanks to Skull Bliss for contributing!

The Murphy Bed: Making the Most Out of Small Spaces

Though residential spaces are becoming more and more expensive these days, they’re also becoming smaller in size. This article aims talks about the wall bed and how it can be used to help one make the most out of small living spaces.

Murphy beds have been around since the 1900s and were borne out of the need to make the most out of a one-room apartment. The Murphy bed has proved to be useful to so many people then but has also made quite a comeback in the early 2010s because a weak economy saw children moving back in with their parents or moving to small but affordable shared spaces.

The average size of newly built condominium spaces and apartments in the United States is becoming smaller. While they aren’t exactly “dream home” material, they give more people the opportunity to become homeowners as they are more affordable than the average home – the smaller the living space, the cheaper they are. And with the still skyrocketing prices for real estate these days, it’s no wonder that a lot of people choose to dwell in small spaces. With Murphy beds, this is a more doable (and comfortable) feat.

What is a Murphy Bed?

Via Lori Wall Beds

Murphy beds are more commonly known as wall beds or pull down beds. These beds are hinged at an end to attach to a wall vertically or horizontally. Users can then convert their living spaces from home offices or entertainment rooms, to cozy bedrooms by simply pulling down their beds.

A Brief History

Why are these beds called Murphy beds? Well, they were invented by a man named William Lawrence Murphy in the 1990s. Murphy had allegedly created the wall bed because he was trying to court an opera singer. Him living in a one-room apartment in San Francisco posed as a huge hurdle to his romantic endeavors as, back then, it was taboo for a woman to enter a man’s bedroom.

Foldup beds weren’t exactly a new thing then but Murphy’s design was unique in that involved counterbalance or counterweights. Murphy applied for patents for his designs, one of which was the “Disappearing Bed” which he applied for in June 1912.

Types of Murphy Beds

Traditional Murphy beds do not have box springs. The mattress lies on either a wooden platform or a wire mesh instead. It’s also attached to the actual bed frame using elastic straps. These straps hold the mattress in position so it doesn’t sag when it is folded.

via Wesley Moon

Murphy beds have come a long, long way since its creation in the 1990s. Back then, they were as simple as simple could be. Now, they have evolved and adapted to today’s interior design trends. Some beds come with its own frame and some beds are able to disappear into the wall when folded.

Even with all the different styles and designs of these wall beds, the basic configurations remain the same: vertical and horizontal.

Vertical Wall Beds

Vertical wall beds are wall beds that are hinged vertically to the wall so that it can be pulled down from the bed’s bottom.

Horizontal Wall Beds

In the same way, horizontal wall beds are those that are hinged horizontally to the wall. They are pulled down from the bed’s left or right side.

Murphy Bed Upgrades

The wall beds of today are not only aesthetically better than their predecessors, they’re functionally better as well. This means that they’re not just beds, they serve other purposes as well, providing its users more value and bang for their buck.

The most common wall bed upgrades include:

  • Lighting Upgrades

Some wall beds come with built-in lighting systems. These beds are usually made for dorms or boarding houses where students can benefit from having lighting already built in the bed frame for studying or working at night.

Some downsides to this upgrade include the increased cost and weight. Installing a lighting system also isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. Even for experienced professionals, this would still add extra steps in the installation process.

  • Storage Upgrades

Storage upgrades in wall beds are pretty handy for homeowners with very little space to work with. These storage upgrades can come in the form of extra shelves or drawers and allow homeowners to save on storage furniture and maximize the space they have.

  • Sound System Upgrades

This is a more modern upgrade that is more of a luxury than a necessity. Having a built-in sound system in one’s wall bed removes the need to have bulky speakers around the room. That makes this upgrade perfect for entertainment rooms!

  • Seating Conversions

To save even more space, some Murphy beds convert from couches to beds. This wall bed is great for living rooms and one-room apartments, getting rid of the need for separate seating furniture. This shouldn’t be mistaken for a sofa bed, though. Unlike sofa beds, these beds are still attached to the wall.

This upgrade makes for a smooth room conversion, allowing homeowners to quickly switch from a living room where they can entertain guests, to a bedroom to retire for the night.

Using Murphy Beds in Small Living Spaces

People buy wall beds mainly for these two reasons: 1) they convert any space into a bedroom; 2) they’re incredibly space-saving. That said, the wall bed’s functionality makes it perfect for small spaces.

The key to making a murphy bed work for your space is to squeeze out as much function as you can out of its folded form. As a bed, its main function is to provide you with a cozy space to sleep in. But when its stored and folded up, it should serve a purpose as well. Otherwise, unless your wall bed totally disappears into the wall, it would just be a big, space-consuming block in your already short-of-space room.

The easiest way to add function to your wall bed is to add storage upgrades to it. When it’s not set up as a bed, it could act as a cabinet that can store your things. As a bonus, this saves you even more space! Thanks to Lori Wall Beds for contributing!

Going Green: 5 Ways You Can Make Your Home More Eco Friendly

It’s the year 2020 and being ecofriendly is cool. There’s no doubt about that. Everyone is looking for ways that they can live a greener life and, like most things, going green starts at home.

From installing velux skylights to creating your very own compost heap—there are a number of ways you can make your home more ecofriendly. Are you ready to hop aboard the green train? Then keep reading.

1.    Swap Out Your Old Bulbs with LEDs  

If you knew how much energy your light bulbs really use and how much of an impact they have on the environment, we guarantee you’d start living in the dark. LED bulbs use approximately 75% less energy than traditional halogen and incandescent bulbs.

In addition to this, LEDs last 5 to 10 times longer than these bulbs, meaning your lightbulb replacement chores won’t contribute to the landfill issues that the world is experiencing.

The budget-conscious will appreciate this next point. For every 10 halogen bulbs that are replaced with LEDs, the average Australian household can expect to save $650 on their electricity bill for as many years.      

Can you believe that an act as small as changing your lightbulbs can have such a huge impact on your environmental footprint?

via Alice Lane Interior Design

2.    Create Your Own Compost Heap

Did you know that food scraps and waste from gardens accounts for over 28% of refuse? So instead of chucking your scraps and leftovers into the bin, & contributing to a much larger problem, consider putting them to good use by creating your own compost heap.

Creating a compost heap is a quick and easy project that has far-reaching environmental benefits. Here’s a simple overview of creating your very own compost heap:

  • Grab a bin with a lid. Stainless steel and plastic bins are the best options as they tend to absorb smells better than bins made from other materials.
  • Place biodegradable bags inside the bin. Using plastic bags from your grocer may be tempting, but it hurts your overall ecofriendly endeavour.
  • Start composting! Be sure to add both brown and green materials to your bin to ensure your compost is as healthy as can be. Brown materials are dry materials such as twigs, branches, dead leaves and old newspapers. Green materials are moist materials such as vegetable waste, coffee grounds (and even filters!), fruit scraps and grass clippings.
  • Use your compost to enrich your garden! If you don’t have a garden, chat to your local municipality about drop-off sites or collection services.  

3.    Switch to Natural Cleaning Products

Unfortunately, common household cleaning products are typical full of chemicals that cause environment damage. As if what’s in them isn’t bad enough on its own, what they’re packaged in is equally harmful. The packaging of many household cleaning products is non-biodegradable and unrecyclable.

So why not skip using harmful chemicals to achieve a sparkling toilet and opt instead to use natural cleaning products?

You can buy organic cleaning products, but you can just as easily make your own natural cleaners using common household ingredients including the following:

  • Baking soda
  • Lemon juice
  • White vinegar
  • Borax
  • Salt   
via Alice Lane Interior Design

4.    Install Skylights

Many people choose to install velux skylights because of the aesthetic appeal and abundance of natural light that come hand in hand with them. And that’s all true.

But they are also phenomenal tools for increasing your home’s ecofriendly status.

Skylights are the energy-warrior’s trump card. They reduce the reliance on artificial lighting and act as a passive heating system, lowering your electricity & heating bills, while flooding your home with natural light. On top of all this, they act as a filtration system to protect you from the harmful effects of UV rays.

Who knew that an architecturally attractive home addition also has such impressive carbon footprint reduction properties?

5.    Go Solar 

When you’re ready to commit to making a long-term investment into the greenness of your home, solar panels are a must. We use the word investment because that’s exactly what a solar panel is.

The cost to install solar panels can be pretty hefty, but the returns on solar panel investments are high:

  • Reduced carbon emissions
  • Increased insulation
  • Reduced water consumption
  • Increased house value
  • Reduced need for peak load stations
  • Increased energy security
  • Reduced line loss
  • Increased job creation

Final Thoughts

As you can see from the ideas we shared with you in today’s article, going green is not that difficult. In fact, it’s pretty darn easy for the most part. 

You can start small with green acts like creating your own compost heap and purchasing natural cleaning products & slowly work your way up to bigger changes such as installing velux skylights & solar panels.

It’s not about how big you start or how quickly you turn your home into an ecofriendly hub. It’s just about starting.     Thanks to Belle Skylights for consulting!

More Helpful Homeowner Tips: 5 Safety Risks Parents aren’t Aware of

Here’s a thought that’s in most Melbourne parents’ minds throughout the day: ‘how can I keep my kids safe in my hometown?’. Unfortunately, there are risks such as your child getting snatched or hurting themselves while at school. But you also need to turn your attention to your immediate surroundings.

Homes are havens, but they’re also filled with risks. Is it time to install safer garage doors Melbourne or other large cities’ experts can supply you with? Or perhaps you need to take a walk through your home, think like a curious child and identify risks you’re not aware of. Below we’ll shed some light on some of the most important areas in your home that may require you to change habits or take action.

Once you read this, you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner.

ANY Cord Can Pose a Risk

You’re simply installing new curtains or an innovative appliance. Nothing wrong with that, right? No, but consider the risk of any long piece of fabric, rope or electric cord you add to your home. For small children this unfortunately creates a possibility of injury:

  • Small kids or even older children running around can trip over cords lying on the floor. They can injure themselves if they fall against sharp or solid objects. Always make sure electric extension cords are safely tucked away behind a cupboard or stick them to the floor with strong tape.
  • If your child manages to reach it, he or she can get tangled in the rope connected to your window blinds. Find a way to secure them out of sight and out of reach.

Note that it doesn’t matter what type of rope it is, its length or what the diameter is; it’s a potential risk if your child has access to it.

via Christina Wikman Interiors

How do You Pack Your Dishwasher?

Here’s something that’s more common than you think: kids getting hurt at the dishwasher. You know your kids are curious so limit the number of places around the house they can hurt themselves while investigating their surrounds. Of course it’s best to keep it closed when you’re not using it, but also make sure all cutlery is placed with the sharp ends facing downwards. At least they won’t cut themselves while touching random objects they see in there.

Self-installed Appliances

These days it’s all about DIY but think twice before you simply attempt a new project such as installing a new light in the baby’s room. To prevent gas leaks, overloaded electric wiring or faulty plumbing, rather call in the pros when renovating.

This is also a tip that will help you in the long-term. When you want to sell the house one day you’ll have to get safety certificates and then you may have to pay a lot of money to get your house aligned with regulations.

Baby Bedding and Borrowed Equipment

Now, we have to mention kids’ bedrooms and personal items too.

Gorgeous bedding is a coveted item for many new parents but make sure it doesn’t prevent them from breathing properly. For example, the padding you add the to a crib’s sides prevents them from bumping their heads, but if a baby rolls over and pushes his or her face into it they can suffocate.

Also think twice about simply accepting secondhand items from friends. If one component is missing from a baby chair or a toy it means it’s not as safe as the brand originally made it to be. Rather buy new and give yourself peace of mind.

Consider Your Car

When it comes to cars, it’s not only an accident on the road you should be worried about. Especially when it comes to movable components, think twice before leaving your child unsupervised.

For example, a powered window is a handy accessory, but there’s a reason some cars have child locks on these items. A child can get a finger, arm or even his or her neck trapped between the window and the door before they realise they need to let go of the button. And don’t leave loose items in the car that toddlers can pick up and accidentally swallow.

Also walk through your garage and make sure you’re not creating unnecessary risks:

  • Are your power tools safely packed away? Even if you usually lock the door, a child may one day sneak inside when you’re not looking.
  • Check the safety of your entry points and book a new garage door installation if yours is old or faulty.
  • A garage can easily become a storage area, but don’t allow too much clutter where kids can trip and hurt themselves. Also ensure that hazardous chemicals are placed in a locked storage compartment.

In Conclusion

Don’t feel bad if you didn’t realise some of these dangers before. You’re doing your best. But be honest about your environment so you can have even more confidence about giving your child the best, safest possible start at life when living in Melbourne. Thanks to Dandenon Garage Doors for contributing.