Sep 17, 2008

The Importance Of Good Back Yard

In general, many people spend more time in their backyard than they do in their front yard. SO you have to have an equally well kept backyard where people can spend most of their time. You can begin with landscaping backyard where everyone would like to sit out and enjoy the fresh air. You can turn your backyard into an entertaining space for family and friends that is useful and decorative in appearance. Like you can use it to spend time with your family having family lunch or dinner get together, playing sports, entertaining and just enjoying each other’s company and having quality time or maybe having your morning and evening coffees.

You can begin with having a kitchen garden where you can grow your own delicious vegetables or have lovely flower garden. Flowers add color and beauty to your yard. No matter where you plant your flowers they are always noticed. Having huge trees in your back yard will surely provide you the needed privacy and of course shade in the sunny days. You can also plan out for fruit trees. In short a garden can add a decorative feature to your back yard.

You can place some lounge chairs or swings and gliders, or maybe few bright beach chairs and recliners, and some cushions with colorful fabric and have a good shaded seating area for family and friends to sit and enjoy the nature and outdoors. You can define your area of sitting by putting up a canopy with four posts or pillars, some rope and a large piece of canvas. Or plan out for some backyard patio furniture. Patios are great for your lawn furniture and a place to grill out and entertain guest. You can enhance the beauty of patio table by pairing a wicker basket or a large terra-cotta pot with a piece of glass.

You can decorate your backyard with various items you love like placing a collection of small glass bottles filled with daffodils or violets or hanging wind chimes from a few tree branches. You can also use outdoor accessories like pillows, a hammock, umbrella or some cute table settings by using colorful place mats or exotic bamboo place mats, glassware, dishes in pastel colors and lots of flowers.

For a centerpiece with the spirit of the outdoors, collect old or new bottles in different sizes, shapes and colors. Group them together and fill each one with a different flower or sprig of greenery from the garden. Having a fireplace in the backyard will surely add to its beauty and you can plan out some night campfires in your backyard itself. You can set the mood with outdoor lighting for nights by using easy-to-make lanterns to candle-adorned garden torches or having small lit up pavement areas. You can use fabric lanterns and hang them from tree branches or planter hooks. Or you can Christmas wrapped in small iridescent string of white bulbs around tree trunks and branches this will surely create a romantic, starry atmosphere to your backyard.

An outdoor entertaining area can give your home the feel of an extra room. It is a great way to entertain family and friends. The key to creating a good space whether it’s indoors or outdoors is making sure the environment allows for relaxation and enjoyment. On Houseplancentral.com you get to see lot of virtual tours of various plans where you can surely visualize lot of plans with front yard get an even better idea of what you want.

Sep 7, 2008

Tips to Keeping a Clean Home With Kids

When individuals have children, they know it can be difficult to keep their homes clean. Kids make messes. In addition, they generally know that mom and dad will take care of any problems that they have and clean up any messes that they might make. As they get older, they learn to take better care of their space and the rest of the house that they live in. Until they reach that point, however, it is generally the responsibility of the parents to find ways to keep a clean home with kids in it. There are some tips that can be used to help with a cleaner home.

One of the best ways to keep a home clean with kids is to impress upon them from the point that they are old enough to understand that they need to pick up after themselves. They should be taught to do this, and they should lose privileges if they do not do it. However, keep in mind that kids will be kids, and they will need to be reminded to pick up their toys, clothing, and other items. Eventually, it will become a habit, but it has to be repeated enough times to make it stick in the child’s mind in order to be effective. Parents can run out of patience with this tactic, but it is well worth doing. Cleaning up and picking up after oneself becomes a lifelong habit if it is taught early enough.

In addition, parents that have small children find that they often do not have enough time to keep things clean. Parents that have the funds available might want to consider hiring someone to come in and help clean once a week or more. However, a lot of individuals do not have the money for this, or they are not comfortable with a stranger in their home. For these parents, one of the best ways to keep a clean home is to pick up as one goes through the day. If a person is walking from one room to another and sees something that goes in that second room, he or she should take that item along. This keeps things from building up, and can help a home stay cleaner and more organized, even when parents are very busy with jobs and kids.



Sep 6, 2008

5 Easy Tips for Assembling Your Outdoor Furniture

So, you’ve bought a wonderful patio set and you can’t wait to get it together and start enjoying your new purchase. Great! Let’s get to it. But wait, you have what seems like millions of different pieces of wood, screws, and things you’ve never seen before. You don’t even know where to start. The good news is we are here to help. Just follow the five fantastic tips for an easy and painless way to have beautiful assembled outdoor furniture.

#1: First, make sure you have the right tools. Look at the directions and check to see what tools you are going to need to assemble the furniture. Now, check your tool box and make sure you have the tools you will need. Having the right tools on hand will make the assembly much easier.

#2: Next, we want to make sure that safety precautions are taken before you start on your outdoor furniture project. Have a pair of safety goggles, as well as work gloves to keep your hands and eyes safe. If you are using circular saws or any tools for cutting, make sure those tools are sharpened and ready to use. A dull tool is much more dangerous than a sharp one.

#3: Before you start putting the pieces together, make sure that you have all of the pieces that you need. Read through the directions and make sure that every piece is accounted for. If you are missing pieces, contact your retailer and they should send you the pieces that you are missing, or send a whole new product. You do not want to get halfway through your construction and realize that you are missing an important piece of your project. Next you can separate all of the pieces into different piles for easy access. Most of the time, the directions will label each piece of wood and different screws and nuts with letters or numbers. This will make assembly so much easier when everything is already separated and close at hand.

#4: The fourth tip is included for those of you that will need to be cutting wood pieces for your outdoor furniture. First of all make sure that you know how to make the cuts. It is always a good idea to practice the cuts on scrap pieces of wood before you make the final cuts for your project. It is also very important to measure your cuts to eliminate any wrong cuts that might ruin your beautiful new furniture. As my wise father once said, measure twice and cut once.

#5: The last tip is a fun one that will make your time assembly time much faster. It is a great idea to involve a friend or family member in your project. Your friend may have the tools that you don’t have, or more experience in putting together wood pieces. Even if your friend is a novice like you, it is still good to have an extra pair of hands to help out. Plus it is much more fun (and safe) working with a friend than working by yourself.

Now go get started on putting together your stunning outdoor pieces and enjoy your new space. Then, invite all of your friends and family over for a block party to show off your hard work. Who knows, you might even get a few friends that want your help on their next project.