Ideas to Repurpose Old Lamps

Any thrift store or yard sale I've ever been to had at least a couple of lamps for sale. They're often overlooked, because you really only need so many in your home – but if you knew how to repurpose old lamps into something new, you might look at them in a different light. I've […]

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Wonderful Ways to Repurpose Old Chairs

Old chairs are a junk lovers' dream. Whether you find them on the side of the road, at a thrift store, or maybe in your own garage – a simple thing we use every single day can be transformed into so many other great things. So next time you have a broken chair, don't send […]

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Why I DIY + a Bosch giveaway!

  *this post is sponsored by Bosch Tools* Did you know I live in the house I grew up in? My family has lived here for over 35 years, so when my parents decided to move about 10 years ago, there was no way I could let anyone else live in “our house.” I grew […]

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Junk Style Tool Box

 this tool box tutorial guest post was written by Funky Junk Interiors Hello everyone! My name is Donna and I'm a junkaholic. My passion is creative decorating with unique elements, namely 'junk'. So if you like pallet board builds and rusty trinkets, you and I have lots in common. So… have you ever wished you could […]

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Remodeling the Bathroom? Consider Radiant Heating

If you're planning to remodel the master bathroom, your plans probably include new flooring. So if you're going to rip out the existing floor anyway, consider adding a radiant heating system that will keep your feet warm, even on the coldest of days.

How it works

Under-floor radiant heating systems may be operated in three ways - one of which the U.S. Department of Energy doesn't recommend. So the two that are most relevant and efficient are electric-powered systems and water-powered systems.

Water-powered systems are ideal for heating a whole home or large space. They feature a large boiler that pumps hot water through a system of tubes underlying floors, and some systems allow homeowners to control the individual temperature of every room in the house.

Electric-powered systems consume more energy than water-powered systems, so they're usually installed in bathrooms, or in detached outbuildings such as garden sheds. These systems have electric cables or coils that generate heat underneath flooring.

Most flooring types can be installed over radiant heating systems; however, the system will be inefficient if the flooring restricts heat flow. That's why ceramic tile is the most popular flooring in bathrooms with radiant heating.

Advantages over air heating

A gas or electric furnace heats air and blows it through ductwork to vents in the home, but much of that hot air goes toward the ceiling and leaves the lower half of a room less comfortable. Radiant heating systems more evenly heat a room - and they create a toasty-warm surface that takes the chill out of stepping into or out of the shower.

Costs and savings

Professional installation of an electric radiant heating system could cost an average of $10 per square foot, and it may cause an increase in the monthly electric bill. However, some of that cost  - or perhaps all of it - may be offset by the fact that ducts are no longer delivering heated air to the bathroom and thus diverting more air to the rest of the home.

If you decide to go all-out and get a water-powered system to heat your entire home, look into local and federal tax incentives or credits that could help you recover some of the installation cost.

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How to clean a washing machine

High-efficiency appliances have been all over the market in the last couple years. It's no surprise that the laundry room is one of the most marketed changes to HE. Everyone does laundry because everyone wants clean clothes. The great thing about these HE machines is that we save quite a bit of water and energy […]

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Simple Tips to Prevent Damage to Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are beautiful, durable and usually fairly easy to maintain. But they're not invincible. If you love your hardwood floors - and want to protect your investment, keep them looking their best by incorporating the following tips as part of your maintenance:

• Use furniture pads. Rubber discs under the legs of your sofa, loveseat and coffee table can prevent wear that occurs over time from repeated tiny movements - such as when the dog bumps into the coffee table, or when the kids plop down on the couch.

• Follow cleaning instructions. Some hardwood floors may be easily damaged by chemicals, vinegar - even water - so always follow manufacturer or installer instructions about how to clean the floor.

• Avoid using double-sided tape. Yes, you want area rugs to stay in place, but you don't want the sticky residue that gripper tape leaves behind – it can be so difficult to remove that you may end up damaging the floor in the process, or you may be unable to fully remove it. Rubber matting that can be cut to match the size of area rugs is a better choice. It's more expensive than sticky tape, but it's gentler on floors.

• Trim your dog's nails. If you have a dog - and especially if it's excitable and prone to galloping through the house - its nails can wreak havoc on your hardwood floors. Trim your dog's nails regularly and use a buffer or nail file to smooth any sharp edges.

• Don't drag furniture. Sometimes the urge to rearrange is powerful - so powerful, that you can't wait for someone to help you move that piece of furniture to the other side of the room. There's really no way to lightly drag furniture across a floor. Even if you can manage to get a piece of furniture on top of a soft moving pad, you still have to drag it slightly to make that happen. Wait for a helper instead.

• Make a shoe-changing area. Shoes track in mud, water, and in the winter, ice melt, which can stain or damage hardwood finishes. If you don't already have an area for changing out of dirty boots into clean slippers, make one – you'll save your wood floors from a lot of wear-and-tear.

Taking care of wood floors doesn't require much effort. As long as you know how to clean your floor and how to protect it from damage, it should retain its beauty for years to come.

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