Category — Renovate

How can brown, yellow, white, or blue be green? That sounds like a silly kid’s riddle, but the answer relates to vinyl siding colors. The virtues of vinyl siding are extolled far and wide–inexpensive to purchase, homeowners can install it themselves, great warranties, and choices of vinyl siding styles from lapboard to board-and-batten to shingles, shakes and logs. This siding is also unfriendly to woodpeckers, termites, dry rot and other woodavores.

Well, if you’re one of the tens of millions who can hardly wait for another five years to roll by so you can get out the ladders, drop cloths, wire brushes, caulking, sandpaper, gloves, and your rattiest old clothes to repaint your house, you’re going to hate vinyl siding. Not breaking your neck to clean and paint the soffits will lose you lots of sympathy and down time. Yes, it’s sadly true that vinyl siding colors are part and parcel of the siding material itself. It simply doesn’t need painting. In fact, it often voids the warranty to paint it. And today’s advanced vinyl siding keeps the colors fresh and beautiful. Horrors!

There are consolations. Part of the “greenness” of vinyl siding starts with the cost and carbon footprint of transporting the siding to your home, as it is lighter than any other home siding except a family-sized dome tent. Ditto for heavy paint cans every five years for fifty or sixty years per home. That can add up to sixty gallons of paint over a lifetime for a one-story house with 1800 square feet of surface. The paints themselves, even those with minimum volatile organic compounds are, after all, pretty chemical soups. Cleanup, runoff, and disposal of drop cloths, brushes, caulking tubes, and other memorabilia from repainting wood siding fouls your lungs, yard, wastewater, landfills and fingernails.

If you’ve looked forward to vacations so you can spend your free time painting, you’ll have to find something else to do. How about using the savings for family Red Sox tickets? Yes, the permanence of vinyl siding colors makes it green monetarily, too. Consolation prize: Getting out a ladder and hose once or twice a year to hose down your vinyl siding can serve a dual purpose as a family emergency evacuation drill. What’s not to love?

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About the Author:

In today’s body-conscious world, using the term, “short and wide” to describe ANYTHING may seem off-limits, but that’s not true when it comes to windows. In fact, I’m a big fan of short and wide window types, mostly because they make my wallet a little wider too–stuffed with all the money I can save by using them. Yep, you guessed it: short and wide windows are supremely energy-efficient.

So, why should my windows be short and wide, you ask? The answer’s simple. Well, sort of. Let’s start by talking about why your windows should be “short.”

• Shorter windows are easier to shade. Say you build overhangs over south-facing windows to block out the morning and afternoon sun. If you have a shorter window, the overhang will likely shade the entire window rather than just a portion of it. Result: a cooler home in the summer.

But, you can’t just have short windows and call it a day. To really increase your home’s energy-efficiency, you need those short windows to be wide, too. Here’s why:

• Wider windows let in more heat and light. Say it’s winter and things are getting chilly. Your first instinct may be to turn up the thermostat, but, wait! Your home seems comfortable, perhaps even toasty. How could that be? Maybe you installed wide windows when you built the home. Or, maybe you chose wider windows during your window replacement project. You’re so smart! Wide windows let in more light and heat, increasing your home’s energy efficiency in the winter.

I’m the sort who can tolerate windows without any window treatments, but, if the thought gives you an anxiety attack, you have lots of options when it comes to dressing your short and wide windows. Using double curtain rods with sheers in the back and full curtains in the front can disguise a short, wide window.

If you have very wide windows, you may want to avoid using blinds because they can become unmanageable. If your wide window is broken-up by panes, however, you could use two or three sets of blinds on your wide window.

Bottom line: learn to love “short and wide,” at least, when it comes to windows.

Photo courtesy of DoorandWindow.com

There are many benefits to having a kitchen island installed, particularly if you are a cook who owns a range of different appliances. Storage is often a problem in the contemporary kitchen and an island will enable you to take advantage of unused space.

Of course, a good kitchen design should best utilise the space available, meaning there should be little surplus anyway. However, houses are rarely constructed perfectly and many kitchens have annoying little enclaves which often can be better used. This is where a kitchen island can come in. Furthermore, kitchen islands are now often integral aspects of kitchen design, particularly when the user wants to create a barrier between the cooking space and the eating space.

There are two kinds of kitchen islands – permanent and temporary. The former typically form part of the kitchen design itself whereas the latter are often convenient additions to a kitchen which is lacking appropriate storage space. Another advantage of adding an island to a kitchen is the increase in counter work area that is created. An island also generates a focal point around which friends and family can congregate to either eat or talk to the cook. Get hold of an online kitchen planner if you’re having trouble visualising how the kitchen island might fit into your room.

Mobile kitchen islands have numerous advantages. Their ability to move means you can alter the design of your kitchen on a regular basis, creating a sleek new look with very little effort. Furthermore, you can move your storage space to an area which is more convenient depending on what you are doing. After all, the cooking requirements at Christmas or during a dinner party often differ compared to the average Monday evening after work. You can therefore use an island to redesign your kitchen to make it work for you, moving it closer to the stove or oven or taking it out of the room altogether so you can install a dining table.

The cost of a permanent kitchen island may put people off unless it’s part of an overall kitchen refurbishment. A mobile kitchen island is a fraction of the cost whilst it can also be transported easily should you decide to move home. Typically, they take less than an hour to assemble whilst they also make fine pieces of furniture in their own right. These can be used in other rooms too.

A kitchen island is not only the perfect solution to storage issues in the home but it can also add a new feel to a worn out space. Furthermore, it can introduce a new focal point to a room whilst enhancing the feel of your interior design projects due to its versatility.

There are many advantages to using natural granite for your kitchen worktops. Not only does the stone add a unique style to your kitchen, it is also incredibly durable, with its strength being an important property. Furthermore, despite being a more expensive choice, it is more affordable than it has ever been, meaning you can get a stylish look without stretching your budget.

Granite’s major advantage is its strength and durability. It is highly resistant to impact and can also hold significant load, which is perfect for the homeowner who uses their kitchen on a daily basis. If you need to clamber on to the surface to clean your windows or reach high cupboards then granite is guaranteed to withstand your weight.

If you regularly hold dinner parties and need a low-maintenance surface, then granite again ticks all the right boxes. It is easy to wipe down whilst also being heat resistant, meaning it is the perfect material to withstand the melee of contemporary cooking. Meanwhile, it can easily cope with the wear and tear of food preparation as it doesn’t scratch or burn.

Practicality is not the only benefit you get with granite. The stone has a unique lustre which gives a classy feel to any kitchen. The surface polishes to a gleaming sparkle whilst the range of colours available will guarantee your kitchen will have the X Factor. Granite also lasts a lifetime, provided you remember to coat it with sealant on a yearly basis. This blocks the natural pores in the material, preventing foodstuffs from percolating into the stone.

Granite never loses its colour, whilst every slab is unique, meaning you will have a personalised contemporary kitchen which will last years. Even though it is more expensive than other surfaces, this longevity means that in the long-run, granite provides the best value for money out of all other options.

Does your veggie peeler have a taste for blood? Do you have sixteen partial sets of wine glasses? Do your most ambitious meals involve a trip to urgent care? If you’re a kitchen klutz, you might want to include a cork floor in your green kitchen remodeling.

Kitchen Renovation for Klutzes: Include Cork Flooring

The cellular composition of cork floor is made of millions of air sacs–you are literally walking on air! This cellular structure also makes cork flooring a natural insulator. Cork floors are sustainably harvested, good for the earth. Unlike other natural wood flooring products, cork is obtained from the bark of oak trees and can be harvested every nine years without causing any damage to the trees or the environment.

Cork flooring looks nice and feels warm and soft under your bare feet when you mosey into the kitchen for your morning java. For the kitchen klutz, however, cork provides cushioning, which minimizes breakage. Due to the resilient nature of cork, if, oops, when you drop an object onto it, the floor will absorb the fall and then return to its original state.

Put a Cork in It!

Cork floors come in rolls or in one-by-three-foot tongue-and-groove tiles. Cork flooring costs $3 to $10 per square foot, comparable to ceramic or wood flooring. Installing cork in the kitchen does not require a subfloor. It can be rolled right over your existing flooring. Cork tiles and planks are available in many colors and patterns. Cork flooring can be stained or painted or left warm and natural. Almost any color can be found to suit your needs.

Cork is extremely versatile for those who want to get creative and sexy with their floor. Choose several colors and personally design your own pattern for your kitchen. Cork flooring installation is best left for professional kitchen contractors because potential contact with moisture makes it challenging for DIYers.

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Photo courtesy of ReliableRemodeler.com

There are a lot of factors in going green. Some can be quite expensive. New exterior doors are affordable, but if not installed correctly, could actually cause you to lose energy. You wouldn’t want to diminish the effects of your efforts to aid the environment and save on energy costs just because of a less than professional installation. While installing your new doors, make sure to pay attention to these details:

• Flashing. Flashing is your door’s best friend. When installed correctly, it will channel moisture away from your home and make it weather-tight. Watershed is essential to energy efficiency. If water is leaking in, over time it will cause a great deal of damage. It will also be a sure indication that cold or hot air that belongs outside is flowing in, too.
• Think foam. A product such as Dow® GREAT STUFF® can maximize the efforts of your installation. After the new door is installed, the space between the door and the interior wall should be filled with a low-expansion foam. This can further prevent the penetration of water. It will also keep your conditioned air in your home where it belongs. You paid for it; don’t let it slip away into the great outdoors.
• Follow the manufacturing instructions. Who knows about new door installation better than the company that manufactured the product? Let the manufacturer tell you the exact details of proper installation that are necessary to achieve energy efficiency numbers they’ve promised you. Some door manufacturers, such as Pella, include easy to follow, illustrated instructions that just about anyone can follow.

With proper new door installation, you are likely to reap the benefits of “greening up” your home.

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Photo courtesy of www.doorandwindow.com

Renee has been a loan officer for over  eighteen years. She is also a freelance writer and guest expert for radio and TV.

There are great reasons for putting in a rooftop garden–if your home is structurally sound. You may wonder if the roots of plants and vegetables will creep through your attic ceiling and ivy will form a trellis around your wide-screen television. Or, worse, your new roof will leak like a colander, sending tendrils of mud down your dining room wall just as the in-laws visit.

In truth, most any structurally sound roof–flat or pitched–can be greened. And the benefits are considerable:

• Increased home insulation
• Barriers to stormwater runoff
• Creation of urban green space and family food production
• Improvement of air quality

Greening Your Roof Replacement

American roofing contractors are partnering up with landscape architects as cities push for more green space in urban areas. In Switzerland, they’ve passed a law that buildings that take up green space must recover it by devoting 20 percent of their roofs to plant life–and that includes historical structures.

So, you’ve decided to try it but still worry that your roof may not support the green-up. Consider asking in a roofing contractor to evaluate whether:

• The roof membrane is protected against shovels, water, and soil with a protective drainage layer.
• The membrane is chemically compatible with compost, fertilizer, and plant debris.
• The roof can support installation of filter cloths or drainage mats to prevent leaking.
• And that your roof is currently structurally leak-free and up to par.

The load-bearing capacity of a new or replacement roof will also help determine the fitness for growing green. A roofing contractor can answer those questions. They’ll need to know code requirements, possible walls or enclosures planned for the garden space, and the number of people who will be up there viewing or working in the garden.

Woodrow Aames has written articles and profiles for Yahoo, Microsoft Network, Microsoft Encarta, and other websites and print magazines around the world. He holds an MFA degree and has taught English abroad.

If you have a small kitchen, it’s especially important to choose a good layout to make the kitchen more efficient. Small kitchens can be categorized by their overall shape, and the shape can help determine the most effective layout. Often the overall layout of the kitchen will be dictated by the size and shape of the kitchen, and in a small kitchen, there isn’t as much leeway to change the overall kitchen layout and pattern. Still, there is a lot you can do with a small kitchen, even when working within the constraints of the existing layout.

Galley Kitchens

A galley kitchen is often narrow, and has the countertop area, cabinets and appliances arranged on two opposing walls. Sometimes this style of kitchen has a door at both ends of the kitchen, which can create some challenging foot traffic issues. When planning a galley kitchen, make sure that the aisle between the countertop areas is at least four feet wide. Arranging appliances on both sides of the galley kitchen is usually the best approach, but care is needed to offset the appliances so that the doors don’t open into each other, creating a blockage in the center aisle.

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Creating a living room design that is stylish and functional takes planning and creativity.  Start by picking out the key colors of the room.  Those colors then need to be included in the pieces throughout the room.  Besides a common color theme, repeating a pattern to complete a living room design will help add visual interest and personality to a space.  Patterns are easy to incorporate into a room and allow the homeowner to showcase an interest or hobby.  The tips below provide suggestions on how to include the pattern in the various aspects of the living room without overpowering the space.

Furniture and Fabric
Most furniture in a functional and versatile living room will be a solid color.  This provides the perfect backdrop for repeating a pattern to complete a living room design.  If, for example, the pattern is that of a ship’s anchor, throw pillows in coordinating colors with either a large anchor design or an anchor printed fabric would be ideal. A throw blanket draped across the back of a chair in an anchor design would also help pull the pattern throughout the room.  Experiment with anchors in different fabrics.  Although the pattern should be the same, the texture of the fabric can be different.  For instance, a soft, breezy curtain embroidered with anchors works just as well as a chenille bolster with an anchor patch sewn onto it in creating consistency of pattern in the room.  Experiment with different fabrics and different size anchors to create a cohesive space.

Accessories
Accessories are a great and easy way to pull a pattern into a room.  In the case of anchors, a nautical style lamp or clock with an anchor somewhere on it would create a repeating pattern that draws the eye around the room.  A ceramic bowl with anchors painted on the sides and filled with seashells would make a beautiful focal point if placed on the living room coffee table.  Curtain hooks, a throw rug in front of the fire place and switch plates could all carry and repeat the anchor pattern.  Be careful, however, when accessorizing with a pattern.  Too much of a pattern can create a crowded and almost gaudy look, whereas too little does nothing to accentuate the room.  Finding the perfect balance between the two can be challenging.

Walls
Do not forget to use the walls to repeat a pattern in the living room.  Hand-painted picture frames with small anchors detailing their corners, a clock with an anchor on it or a real anchor hanging above the fireplace mantle, all work to repeat the pattern.  Wallpaper can also be used when decorating with a pattern, however it is a more permanent decorating solution.  Painted stencils used at the ceiling or chair rail height add visual interest to the room and help carry the pattern throughout the room.  Do not forget the walls, but also be careful not to overwhelm them with the pattern.

Repeating a pattern to complete a living room design is a fun way to accent the room with a central theme.  Shopping for just the right pieces is as much fun as seeing the finished room.  The hardest part of the project will be deciding which pattern should be repeated.

Artist, Jessica Ackerman, is a consultant with WallDecorandHomeAccents.com and describes how to decorate with large wall cross and metal fish wall hanging.