The holidays are on the way whether you like it or not. You may have made your annual appointment for the holiday themed family photo and you may have started thinking about what you want to write about in your holiday letter.  Below are a few tips if you want your letter to be entertaining for all of your friends and family instead of just a list of everything you did in 2013.

Be real: Write about what really happened in the past year without sugar coating every event.  It’s much more relatable and interesting for everyone reading it.

Be conversational and funny: Write in first person. Family and friends who receive your holiday letter want to hear from the real you. Forget the big, fancy words; write as you speak.  Remember, this isn’t a formal essay that’s going to be harshly critiqued for a grade. This will bring a breath of fresh air to your readers. Telling a funny story about your youngest is better than bragging about their excellent grades and extracurricular activities.

Know your audience: Know who you are sending your letter to and if it’s personal then send it to your close friends, family, distant relatives, etc.  Your work colleagues may not be the best, especially if they already know about your daily life.  Remember, the whole purpose of writing a holiday letter is to update your readers on what has happened the past year.  Business associates won’t be interested in a chatty, family newsletter, and vice versa, distant cousins won’t care too much about the ins and outs of your workplace politics.

Keep it short and sweet: Hit the highlights of your year and save the ins and outs of summer vacation for personal phone calls or lunches with relatives.

Don’t “photo-bomb”: Sure you want to share your many photos that were taken throughout the year, that’s what Facebook is for, right? Send one or two shots instead of a page filled with tile size pictures.

Personalize: Take a few minutes to personally sign and write a short note at the bottom of your letter.

Overall, have fun with your letter!  If you didn’t want to tackle the entire letter and you have family members, then have each of them write a small paragraph in their own words about their year.  Happy writing!

If you have kids, you know that they can be tough on your house, especially floors.  For a kid’s playroom or bedroom, there are plenty of flooring options that will please your style and stand up to the daily rigors of life with kids.  If your kids don’t have a designated playroom, having the right flooring in your living room and family room is even more key.  Once the toys and games are put away, you’ll want to feel like you are sitting in your room and not a play zone.

If you are putting in new flooring, talk with us about the best options for kids.  You can also take our “How I Live Quiz” to learn more about the best flooring options suitable for your lifestyle and home. There are many stain resistant and stain repellent carpets on the market. This means you can put carpet in a kids’ area and not fear every time something spills it will stain forever. Another option for carpeted rooms is to put a large area rug over the carpet to protect it.  Feel free to browse our area rug catalog to learn more.  As the kids get older, you can remove the area rug or swap it out for a new pattern or color. With this same idea in mind, carpet squares can be used and replaced if they get stained.

Hard surfaces like tile and stone are durable but might be too tough on little knees and elbows. Hardwood is good as is cork, which has a soft feeling under foot. Again, area rugs are your friends when it comes to protecting floors.

Kids and pets are probably the hardest on your floors.  Work with your flooring person to choose the best option that will be durable and stylish for years to come.

Did you host a Labor Day party or barbeque?  Were you prepared for stains, spills, or any other mishaps that came from having a few dozen people walking through your home with food and drinks?  We’ve got a few great tips for your next hosting experience!

Today we will focus on how to get BBQ sauce out of carpet because that is a likely accident waiting to happen.

First, use a butter knife to scrape as much of the sauce off the carpet as you can. The sooner you catch the stain the better.

Dab some lukewarm water on the stain if it has already dried. Hopefully if someone spills they will tell you right away, but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

Add ¼ teaspoon mild detergent or carpet shampoo to 1 liter of cold water. Stir the solution in a bowl to mix thoroughly.

Before you apply any cleaner to your carpet, test the cleaner in a small patch where no one will see it. Wait a few minutes. If the cleaner discolors or otherwise adversely affects the carpet, remove it immediately with cold water and a sponge. If it ends up causing permanent damage, at least it won’t be right in the middle of the room.

If the cleaner does not affect the carpet, moisten a clean cloth liberally with the cleaning solution, and simply lay the cloth over the stain.

Use the bottom of a spoon to gently press down on the cloth. Gradually work your way all over the cloth, starting on the outside and working your way toward the center in a spiral to prevent spreading the stain. This process works the solution into the carpet without rubbing the stain in or damaging the carpet fibers.

Lift the cloth off the stain and gently spray with warm water.

Blot the stain with a clean cloth.

If the stain is gone, use a hair dryer on a low setting to dry the carpet.

If the stain is not gone, keep the carpet damp and call a professional dry cleaner as soon as possible.

At the end of the day a stain on your carpet is not the end of the world, however, they can be fixed if you follow the steps above. No need to let a little accident ruin your fun of hosting another party.

Finding extra storage in our homes is something we all struggle with.  We do like our stuff, so much so that there are television shows about storage locker auctions and hoarding. De-cluttering is something we could all probably do. The beginning of summer is a great time to go through our homes and try to organize and de-clutter our spaces. Taking it room by room, closet by closet and shelf by shelf can make the task seem less daunting.  Even our kitchen cabinets need to be sorted through and de-cluttered at least once a year.

Once you’ve cleaned out your space, finding storage for what you have left can still be a challenge.  Cabinets and bookshelves are the go to places to store the objects of our lives.  Baskets and bins on the floor are other popular options.  Built-in cabinets and shelves are a more permanent option for additional storage in living and bedrooms. All of these storage options can provide you with standard storage in most rooms of your home.

Creating additional storage spaces can be created if you think outside the box, or shelf as it were.  Think about wall mounted inset medicine cabinets that keep products off the counter and floor. These cabinets use the gaps between the wall studs as additional storage space in the bathroom. This idea can work in other areas of the home too.  Nooks and crannies can be created out of the space under the stairs or in walls in a family or playroom.

Think creatively and you just might find a bit more extra storage in your home.

Winter weather can be tough all around both outside our homes and inside.  Beyond protecting ourselves from the inclement weather through insulation and weatherproofing, now is the time to think about protecting our floors from wet and soggy weather we bring into the house with us.

Rain, snow, ice and sleet can all be tough on our floors.  Along with the dirt we normally track in on the family’s shoes, these wintery precipitations can also carry chemicals such as salts and de-icers that can be terrible for our floors (and family pets).

Easiest thing to do to prevent winter weather and chemicals from being tracked through the home is to take your shoes off in the entry or mudroom.  Have a boot tray for wet shoes and boots to prevent puddles.  Keep cozy slippers nearby to slip into when you get home.  Have guest also remove their shoes when they stop by to visit.  Wipe your pets paws after walking outside with a wet wipe to remove  moisture, dirt and chemicals.

If removing your shoes is not your thing, provide a thick natural doormat like a choir or jute rug just outside the door to wipe shoes and boots.  Inside the door place a water wicking rug to further prevent messy floors. If you or your guests do track in winter weather and salt, wipe up the moisture as soon as possible. Dab carpets to remove dirt and water.

Taking precautions like these means less cleaning later and a longer life for your floors.

Removing your shoes when you enter the house is a good way to cut down on dirt and allergens that are tracked into the house.  Having a pile of shoes by the door is not the best way to greet guests or family into your home. Corralling clutter in an entry, foyer or mudroom will make the small space feel bigger and create a warm, inviting entry into your home.

Getting shoes and bags off the mudroom or entry floor is a good idea both for traffic and the shoes and bags.  A shoe cabinet or well organized coat closet can clear off the floor.  A built-in bench or coat rack will add storage that keeps the floor clutter free. Even a simple row of pegs can be hung up to manage coats and bags. Being able to see the floor means you can put down a pretty runner or small area rug to give the space a polished look.

Other storage options include a cabinet converted to shoe storage that can also be a place to organize keys and mail.  A console with storage underneath and a place for a small lamp will give the space a well designed look.  You could hang a mirror above the cabinet or bench. The mirror will expand the feeling of the space, and give you a place to touch up your hair and lipstick.

Corralling clutter is a good idea in every room of the home. It is especially important in small rooms and rooms that get a lot of traffic.

Instead of going out to the drinking establishments in your neighborhood, why not enjoy your beautiful patio with some artisanal cocktails at home?

Start by investing in basic equipment and stock up on essential liquors.

You will need a cocktail shaker, a strainer, a muddler, a jigger, a bar spoon and a good supply of ice. To up your game you can even hand-carve ice cubes or get fun ice cube trays. Circles and squares are really popular right now.

Stock up on glassware. You will need six or eight of each type of glass – short, tall stemmed. If you will be enjoying drinks outside, you may want to use plastic glassware instead.

Head to the liquor store and get the following:

• Cognac – for sidecars and daisies
• White Rum – for mojitios
• Gin – for gin and tonic and martinis
• Bourbon – for mint juleps, Manhattans and old fashioneds
• Vodka – for martinis and screwdrivers
• Tequila – for margaritas and sunrises

You will also need mixers. Today mixologists are using seasonal fruit from the farmer’s market instead of mixers you may have traditionally purchased at the liquor store. Play around and see what creative and savory/sweet combinations you can create with fruits and vegetables from your garden. Additionally, you will also need bitters, white vermouth, red vermouth and cointreau.

For anyone who is abstaining from alcohol, use seltzer and fruit juice to create a delicious alternative.

Cheers!

With all the moisture that comes with a bathroom you might think that you can’t do wood in the bathroom. This isn’t necessarily the case.  Having a fan that vents outside can help control humidity in the bathroom. Plus there are woods that are engineered and treated to withstand a bit of moisture.

Wood and laminate floors can be used in the bathroom. To protect them from moisture you’ll want to use a bathmat and wipe up any spills and splashes.  Wood and laminate are not as water resistant as other materials commonly used for bathroom floors like tile or vinyl.  Knowing how to take care of wood floors in wet areas can prolong the look and life of your investment.

Some woods are more moisture resistant than others. Teak for example is a wood that is commonly used outdoors and on boats.  Using teak as a wood floor or counter top in a bathroom is a great way to add wood to the bathroom.  Some treated and engineered woods intended for outdoor use on decks, railings or docks can also be used in wet areas like showers and around the tub. Doing your research before you install can save you time and headaches if the material is not what you need.

Wood can also be used on the vanity. Using a stone or solid surface counter on top of a wood vanity gives you the look of wood with the strength of stone. A great look for the bathroom.

When writers get stuck it is called writer’s block. We’ve decided that there is also something called designer’s block. It is similar to writer’s block in that both are the feeling of being stuck and unable to move forward with a project or decision. Designer’s block can strike at the beginning, middle or end of a design project. It can stem from a problem floor plan or awkward room design; or be something like choosing which throw pillow is perfect for the sofa.

Designer’s block can be frustrating and infuriating. Choosing the right hardware for a cabinet or pillow for the sofa should be easier than it often is. We can get stuck in a cycle of thinking “what if this is a mistake” that can prevent us from moving forward with a decision.

Collecting samples of flooring or paint chips can be a great way to make a design decision but can also be overwhelming. The sheer number of choices available can leave our heads spinning at the paint or flooring store.

If you are stuck on a design decision and stuck with a case of designer’s block, start looking at design blogs and magazines for inspiration. Just as reading something else can help with writer’s block, looking at completed design projects can help us get over the block.  Walk away from the project for a few days to get a fresh perspective. Seeing the project or pillows with fresh eyes can make a once difficult decision perfectly simple.  Like writer’s block, designer’s block is often very temporary so don’t fret. This too shall pass.

Imagine a room in your new home. Some colors have already been chosen, but it’s up to you to finish the design with furniture and accessories. How do you choose?

This lovely still life provides some ideas about the process. The kitchen shown here has cabinets in country green paint along with some rustic distressed honey pine. What does the space need to finish it up effectively?

When you’re looking to add a color, almost anything in that color will help you determine if you’re on the right track. With this kitchen, it was time to head to the pantry for ideas. Red can work in a surprising number of rooms. It certainly works in this one. You don’t have to use a scale or cranberries to check out the color. Do you have a red scarf or sweater? That would work too.

Don’t head right for white when a space is too dark. The soft cream of the bowls and flour provide just the right lighter tone without pulling too bright a white that wouldn’t work in the room. One other thing: white diminishes the appeal of most woods. Try to stick with creams or colors to show any wood surface at its best.

The old-fashioned style of this still life may lean you toward a bronze or antique brass metal choice, but you can see that silver works well here. Don’t be too consistent or you can end up with a cliché rather than a good design.