Archive for July, 2009

Whether you have lots of money to spend on your design project or very little, there are always things you can do to update your home.  Sometimes money isn’t the problem, having the time to tackle a big project isn’t always feasible.

Rearranging furniture is the fastest, cheapest way to change the look of a room.

• Move the sofa from one side of the room to the other to create a new conversational grouping

• Put the sofa in the middle of the room.  Place a unique sofa table behind it for a new focal point
  

• Forget the TV and orient your furniture to the view outdoors.

• Arrange furniture on an angle instead of everything straight with the walls.

• Be sure to angle the area rug too or roll them up for the summer season
  

Before you move furniture, make sure it fits the space!

Move furniture from one room to another for a totally different look.

• Mixing up styles adds some excitement to the space.

• Try the bedroom chair in the family room.

• Or move the upholstered arm chair to the bedroom for a cozy reading nook.

• The trunk or bench at the end of your bed might make a perfect coffee table.

• Swap some of your casual tables in the family room for the more formal tables in the living room.

This orginal painted table by artist Debra Ellinger would look great as a coffee table, sofa table or at the end of your bed.

Change room entirely:

• Make the dining room a library or den or office or craft room
  

• Never use the formal living room?  Turn it into a reading room or move your computer in and create a home office.

The point is,  you don’t need to spend much time or money to get a fresh look to your home.  A little ingenuity and muscle power and you have a new space!

Planning a party is a lot like writing a news story.  You need to think about the 5 W’s and a How.  Take a few minutes to answer the following questions and half the battle is done.

• WHO

• WHAT

• WHEN

• WHERE

• WHY

• HOW

I’m a list maker and love little journals and notebooks.  I even keep a party journal.  Every time I entertain, I write down all the details including who I invited and what I served.  If it is a big party, I write down how much food and drink I had on hand and what was left over.  It takes a lot of the guess work out of our next event.  Why reinvent the proverbial party wheel?

I started my first party journal for my son's 5th birthday party. My third journal is almost full!

WHY have a party?

• Celebrating a holiday or event

• Just for the fun of it

• Before or after an outing

WHERE?

• At your home

• Living room or family room

• Sit around the kitchen table

• Rec room

• The whole house

• Indoors or outside

• Hall, restaurant, park, barn, pontoon boat

WHEN?

• Choose the day of the week and time

• Open house (guests are free to arrive between certain hours)

• Meal served at a set time

WHAT?

• Sit down dinner

• Picnic

• Cocktail party with appetizers

• Buffet

• Dessert and coffee

• Meeting with food and drink

• Brunch

• Luncheon

• Afternoon tea

• Watch the game on TV

WHO you are inviting?

• Friends

• Family

• Business colleagues or associates

• Neighbors

• Club or organization members

• Teenagers or children

It doesn’t matter if it’s your child’s first birthday party or a 25th anniversary celebration or a back yard picnic, careful planning will help ensure success!

Next time:  HOW are you going to pull it off?

“Oh the tangled webs we weave…”

If your office is anything like mine, you have a messy maze of cords hiding behind your desk.  My philosophy is out of sight, out of mind.  I totally ignore the lot until I add a new item and then I’m faced with massive dust bunnies along with a twisted and tangled mass of wires.

Now we’re faced with a new mess of cords for our hand-held gadgets.  There is a cord for each cell phone in my house, plus my palm, my camera, portable gaming devices, i-pods and mp3 players, various cables for a variety of laptop computers along with the miscellaneous unidentifiable cords I’m afraid to throw away in case the missing item turns up!

Cords out of control!

These are easier to control than the behind-the-desk-mess.  I gathered up some office supplies including tags and stickers.  Each tag identifies the item, “Merri’s phone”, “Pat’s i-pod”, etc.

Why shouldn't organization be fun?

Maintaining order is as simple as twist ties you get with your trash bags or bread.

You can even recycle twist ties.

Rubber bands (I get plenty with my mail).

Rubber bands will do the trick

Or giant paper clip!

These clips come in all sizes. They are easy to hang on a peg.

It only took a few minutes to organize (not counting the time it took to figure out which cord went with which thing!).  The best part is I don’t have to unravel the cords to plug myself in!

Minwax(R) Teams with This Old House Magazine for Furniture Makeover Contest: ‘From Attic to Awesome’

Have Furniture in Need of Revival?  Enter Now for a Chance to Win a Professional Furniture Makeover and a Backstage Visit to the Set of the This Old House(R) Television Show

Minwax, the leading manufacturer of wood finishing and wood care products, has teamed with the popular This Old House magazine to announce the “From Attic to Awesome” Makeover Contest. To enter, contestants need only to submit a photo and a bit of background information on a furniture piece in need of a transformation – perhaps a well-worn dining table, handed down from one generation to another, or a sturdy old chest that has been collecting dust in the attic? Maybe a new “find” from a yard sale or flea market, or even a “craigslist” treasure that needs some updating but would look terrific in the house? One Grand Prize winner will win a professional furniture makeover plus a trip for two to a behind-the-scenes day with the cast and crew of the “This Old House(R)” TV show. Two 1st Prize Winners will each win a professional makeover for their furniture piece, and twenty-five 2nd Prize Winners will each win a $100 gift card. The contest runs from July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with the creative folks at This Old House on this contest,” said Jacquelyn Ferrara, director of marketing, Minwax(R). “Over the years, we’ve transformed countless pieces of forgotten furniture into stunning showcases using our full line of wood finishing products; now that we’re teaming with the professionals at This Old House, we can’t wait to see the results.”

To enter online, visit minwax.com/makeovercontest. To enter by mail, send a picture of your furniture item, plus a brief written history of the piece, to: From Attic to Awesome Makeover Contest, c/o Brushfire, 2 Wing Drive, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927. All entries must be received by 9/30/09.

Abbreviated Rules: No purchase necessary to enter or win in the From Attic to Awesome Makeover Contest. Starts 12:00:01 am ET on 7/1/09, ends 11:59:59 pm ET on 9/30/09 (”Promotion Period”). Open to legal residents of 50 U.S. and District of Columbia 18+ years as of entry date. Void where prohibited. Subject to the Official Rules, available by visiting minwax.com during the Promotion Period or by sending a SASE for receipt by 9/30/09 to: From Attic to Awesome Makeover Contest RULES, c/o Brushfire, 2 Wing Drive, Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927. Sponsor: The Sherwin-Williams Company.

For more product information, wood finishing tips and project ideas, visit the Minwax(R) website at minwax.com.

The Minwax(R) Company is the leading manufacturer of wood finishing and wood care products. Headquartered in Upper Saddle River, NJ, with a manufacturing facility in Flora, IL, Minwax(R) is part of Sherwin-Williams Wood Care Products.

About This Old House

This Old House Ventures is America’s premier home enthusiast brand, netting 50 million multi-media impressions each month through its award-winning television, print, and web properties. The leading consumer publication for home how-to and inspiration, the award-winning This Old House magazine currently has a circulation of 950,000 and reaches an audience of almost six million.

Since its debut, the Emmy Award-winning program This Old House has been the highest-rated home improvement series in TV history, providing audiences with expert advice on design, remodeling and restoration. In 2001 This Old House spawned a second show, Ask This Old House. The ultimate website for home design and remodeling information, thisoldhouse.com has inspirational photo galleries, step-by-step DIY projects, and instructional videos available to homeowners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SOURCE The Minwax Company