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Giveaway: Inmod – Design Your Own Pillow Contest

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:41:27 +0000

Freshome readers, we remember how much you enjoyed our last giveaway from Inmod featuring the modern chairs. This time, Inmod is giving 3 lucky winners the chance to win “custom” pillows that you create the design yourself! Why settle for pillows off the shelf when you can design one of your own through Inmod’s Design Your Own Pillow Studio? The possibilities are literally endless due to an array of themed patterns – such as pop culture, retro and organic – that can be completely customized according to size, fabric, fabric color and embroidery color. All of the pillow designing is done through Inmod’s fun and easy-to-use online studio. With the capability to Design Your Own Pillow, Inmod presents the 21 st century with a modern era of choices and customizable options. Inmod is a leading online retailer of modern furniture, lighting and décor, Inmod does more than furnish spaces. Through an enormous selection of the most favored brands and designers, Inmod shapes a new way of thinking, shopping and living by evoking modern sensibility and sustainability. Inmod continues to push the limits with an award-winning collection of eco-friendly furniture, a large selection of furnishings made in the USA, customizable personal pod chairs, and decor based on consumer-creativity. Some of the choices to choose from for your unique pillow. The ideas are limitless: What you will win: 3 Winners will receive a 18″ x 18″ – ‘Design Your Own Pillow’ How to Enter: Visit the Inmod Design Studio and choose which pillow design best represents your personality! (Choose a pattern theme from the drop down window) and tell us why you chose your pattern, and be creative. Leave your response in the comment section below of the Freshome website. Also make sure you like this post on Facebook or ReTweet it for a 2nd chance. Winners will be chosen based on creativity and originality. Official Guidelines: Contest will run from Monday, May 2nd – Sunday, May 8th. 3 Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 10th. Each winner will have 24 hours to contact Freshome at: Admin @ Freshome . com to claim your prize information. Good Luck! Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Inmod 4 Right On Chairs Giveaway – Winner Announced Giveaway : Win 4 Right On Plywood Chairs Offered by Inmod The Winner of the SlouchBack Giveaway Delicious Pizza Pillow Salmon Shaped Pillow Pillow In The Shape Of A Log Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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Giveaway: Inmod – Design Your Own Pillow Contest

3-D Artwork in 1,2,3

admin — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:38:34 +0000

Filed under: art , Crafts , Crafts & Celebrations If regular wall art falls flat, consider this simple 3D canvas project. The materials are around your house! Wayne Nathan Studio. Photo: Courtesy of Nikki Pepper Looks like an expensive piece, doesn’t it? Well, it is. This is just one bright design from Wayne Nathan Studio’s room at the Kips Bay Show House . But with your DIY skills, you can make this 3-D canvas right in your home. Our take on the 3-D canvas involves common materials and a 1-2-3 project mentality. The size depends on where you plan on displaying your artwork, so plan accordingly. What you’ll need: -A large white canvas -Shoe boxes of various shapes and sizes -Painter’s tape -Masking tape -Multiple paint colors — think bright and contrasting! -Paint brushes How to do it: 1. Start by cutting the boxes at different angles and placing the pieces on the canvas to create interesting shapes. Once you’re satisfied with the layout, use the masking tape to adhere the boxes to the canvas. Tape on the interior for a low profile appearance. 2. Now that your surface is ready, place painter’s tape on the canvas, going right over the boxes. Create stripes of different widths and don’t be afraid to get creative with designs like arrows or zigzags. 3. Time to paint! Let each section dry before removing the painter’s tape. Don’t want smears! Once dry, move on to your next color. Repeat until your 3-D canvas is brightly striped. Voila: Homemade artwork ready for the spotlight. Speaking of spotlight…how about installing recessed lighting above your newly created 3-D canvas? Don’t be shy; show off your talent. Looking for more ways to DIY decorate? Save the money, spend your creativity with these projects: Hardware Store Decor Decorate with Wall Tape All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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3-D Artwork in 1,2,3

Do You Dance While You Iron? (VIDEOS)

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:38:32 +0000

Filed under: Storage & Organization , Know-How Everybody, at some point, has busted a move while cleaning. These people were kind enough to share their methods on YouTube. Next time your family catches you shimmying around the house, singing into an air microphone while dusting shelves, consider yourself lucky: At least the whole internet isn’t watching you and cracking up. (But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t watch and crack up at these). This fearless dancer also has videos of him ironing-while-dancing to the Jonas Brothers and Debbie Gibson . No, we’re not sure why, either. This video is actually called ” How Gangsters Iron .” Well, now we know. This woman gets a free pass for looking silly — can you believe that monster load of ironing she’s got ahead of her? What about you — do you dance while you iron? What about you? And check out these stories about making cleaning a little more interesting: How to Organize a Closet: The Fun Way After a Breakup, Cleaning Can Heal Organize Your Shoes: 5 Fun Storage Solutions All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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Do You Dance While You Iron? (VIDEOS)

How to Coordinate Colors for your Outdoor Home

Sun, 01 May 2011 14:04:28 +0000

If you are challenged in choosing exterior colors for your home, join everyone else who thinks the same as you do! Unlike your interiors that depend on your mood, furnishings, and adjacent finishes, your outdoor home has many factors to consider as well. Factors like adjacent neighboring homes, natural habitat and surroundings, can be a challenge when trying to coordinate colors and choosing trim, accent and main colors for your home. While paint manufacturer’s and home improvement web sites may be helpful, don’t overlook observing the existing environment for helping you coordinate exterior home colors. Draw inspiration from nature: Walk around your home and see what colors occur naturally around your home. A house located in the mountains with evergreen trees in the vicinity will be a different inspiration from a home that’s situated on the beach with sand and water as the backdrop. Coordinate colors of your home to mimic nature, or to compliment it. Homes in the mountains do well with rustic tones of browns, deep burgundy, and greens. While homes near water do well with inspiring blues, sandy beiges and soft yellows. Get inspired by nature, it will never lead you astray when choosing coordinating colors. Get help from professionals: Depending on where you live, local paint manufacturer’s and exterior home designers can help you choose the perfect mix of colors for your exterior home. Most manufacturers websites will feature paint combination’s for your main home, accent colors for shutters, and trim, and even suggestions for color families that will coordinate well with the colors that you may or may not like. Decide if you want your exterior home to match in the same color families as your neighbors, or if you want to be a rebel and go totally opposite! Visit other neighborhoods: While you can get inspiration from your own backyard you can also get inspiration from visiting different neighborhoods, vacationing and searching the internet for inspiring exterior color combination’s. If you see a home you like, and you can talk to the owner, ask them what coordinating color combination’s they used. Many homeowners use resources from architects and designers that are pre-selected and are featured in designer lines and features. While some people come up with coordinating colors from their ‘eye’ of good home inspiration. Color your home with what YOU love: Whether you like the color of the setting sun or you enjoy the blue of a perfect cloudless day, color your home with inspiration from your life. Many of us get caught up in the latest trends from designers or what your neighbors are doing, instead, be original and love your home. Exterior colors should reflect your own personal style, and make you feel good every time you pull into your driveway. When coordinating your exterior colors, also consider coordinating them with your life! Whether you are building a home, or have decided to change the exterior colors on your 100 year-old home, coordinating exterior colors should be enjoyable and purposeful. Ask your family members and friends for help if you are having troubles deciding. Visit your local home improvement store and ask for trial size paint quantities in the shades you are considering. Go home, and paint a small area on your exterior home, and let dry, and observe the different shades. This will help you decide before you make a commitment. Go ahead, be bold and feel confident now in picking out your coordinating colors for your exterior home. Freshome readers do you find it a challenge to choose exterior colors? Do you have any suggestions for those that do? Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! How to Choose Welcoming Walkway Elements for your Exterior Home Bayside Outdoor Modular Sofa Set How to Design your Room Decor around your Bold Area Rug How to Choose Modern Garden Furniture for your Patio How to Maximize your Interior Views with Outdoor Landscaping B&B Italia’s Crinoline Collection: Outdoor ecstasy Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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How to Coordinate Colors for your Outdoor Home

Replace a Hose Bib with a Frost Proof Hose Bib Part 2

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:03 +0000

In the first part of this guide to replacing a hose bib, you learned how to remove the old pipe, and take away any connections which might not be needed by the new frost proof pipe. Home Improvement, THE source for home improvement information.

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Replace a Hose Bib with a Frost Proof Hose Bib Part 2

Fireplace Ideas For Spring and Summer

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:21:59 +0000

Filed under: Living Rooms , Living Spaces Just because it’s warming up doesn’t mean your fireplace should be concealed. Here’s how to showcase it in the off season. Every day that the weather gets warmer we’re lightening things up in every way we can. So we don’t blame you if just looking at your fireplace makes you sweat. But don’t fear — the stunning rooms at the 2011 Kips Bay Showhouse showed off some pretty perfect-looking fireplaces that added a tremendous amount of glitz to each room without ever lighting up. So look to them for inspiration and take advantage of the architectural element — even during its off season. Left: Amanda Nisbet Design, Inc. Right: Kemble Interiors . Kips Bay Showhouse. Photo: Courtesy of Nikki Pepper Fireplace Idea #1: Paint We’re not just talking a solid coat or two. Have fun. Take that brush and go wild. (As long as the mantle is properly covered, that is.) Take a tip from this oh-so-pink fireplace by Amanda Nisbet Design and get creative with haphazard brush strokes. It creates a lively patterned effect that really wakes up this paneled backdrop. Fireplace Idea #2: Mirror the Mantle Adding small, square mirrors to the face of the fireplace surround easily brightens and livens up the space. Just look at the effect of Kemble Interiors ‘ fireplace. And it’s so easy to do! Pick up some mirrors at a craft store and get to work. Robert Stilin at Kips Bay Showroom. Photo: Courtesy of Nikki Pepper Fireplace Idea #3: Build Out A thin mantle — or maybe just an ugly, outdated fireplace — cramping your room’s style? Take on the project and make it worthy of display. Use MDF to copy this look for a fireplace surround makeover . The Robert Stilin photo above has a sleek, modern look that can easily transform an old, neglected design. Left: Jeff Lincoln Interiors. Right: Matthew Patrick Smyth, Inc. Kips Bay Showroom. Photo: Courtesy of Nikki Pepper Fireplace Idea #4: Decorate Above If you truly don’t want to highlight your fireplace, follow the lead of Jeff Lincoln Interiors and Matthew Patrick Smyth and go above and beyond while decorating around the hearth. Decorating the mantle takes the focus off of the fireplace. A promising piece: A super decorative mirror. It will draw the eye up and across. Finish off the look by pulling out your best decorative items and displaying them on the mantle. Looking for more ways to get your home ready for spring? Check out… Celebrate Spring at Home like Eva Mendes Spring Trend: We’re Seeing Stripes Spring Gardening: Get Ready All DIY Info | All DIY Info | Linking Blogs | All DIY Info

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Fireplace Ideas For Spring and Summer

Keeping Our Homes Green – Roofing Options

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:04:53 +0000

By Herbert Norton Looking for a way to reduce your energy costs? If you consult your local energy company, you will likely receive a brochure explaining how to wrap your pipes, put a blanket around your hot water heater, plugging cracks and holes through which drafts can flow, and adding reflective coatings to your windows. No harm in any of that, and it’s a good start. But for homeowners, there is a better place to start – start at the top, with your roof. Why start with the roof? For the same reason that your mother tells you to wear a hat outside in snowy weather – just as most of your body heat is lost through your head, most of your home’s heat is lost through the roof. Heat rises. Likewise, your roof is the part of your home that is most exposed to the sun, so the question of whether your home will absorb the sun’s heat or reflect it back into the atmosphere is decided right there – on the roof. Homeowners don’t like to mess with their roofs, and for good reason – roof work can be expensive. But there are a range of options, and if you are considering an ecofriendly option such as installing solar panels, you may qualify for state or federal tax subsidies that will help to defray the cost. (To find out what subsidies exist in your area, check the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, DSIRE , or try this calculator ). If you are considering making your roof a part of your home’s energy efficiency plan, you will need to begin by answering the following questions: What material do you want to use for your roof? What color should your roof be? Do you want to add solar panels or solar shingles to your roof in order to capture solar energy for electricity or to provide heat for water? Materials These days, homeowners have many roofing materials to choose from. Most Americans (about 75 percent) go for cheap asphalt shingles – but cheap is the best that can be said of asphalt as a roofing material. It doesn’t insulate well, it is generally not recyclable at the end of its life, and its life is not long. On the other end of the economic spectrum, affluent homeowners will often choose wood shingles, such as cedar shakes, or slate. These options are all natural, insulate well, and are expensive. But cedar often comes from old-growth forests and slate is a non-renewable resource. Moreover, wood shingles will swell and shrink over time, producing cracks and resulting in moisture damage. Clay tiles are more durable and are made from a renewable, sustainable material, but they are so expensive that most homeowners can only manage to use them as accent materials along the edges of roofs. Somewhere in the middle, you have metal roofs. Metal roofs insulate well, they have high solar reflectance (meaning they stay cooler in the summer), they last a long time, and they are frequently made from recycled metals (and can be recycled themselves at the end of their lives). But they can be somewhat expensive. Nowadays, there is another option: recycled roofing materials. Believe it or not, you can now make your roof from recycled plastic, carpet, or tires. You can also opt for reclaimed or sustainably grown wood. Make Your Electric Meter Spin Backward If you want to generate electric power on your roof, or at least collect enough heat to warm up water, you may want to start with a basic metal roof. A standing-seam metal roof can work well as a base for thin-film photovoltaic panels. You’ll be following in reputable footsteps – President Barack Obama is adding solar panels to the White House roof this year, as is Texas Governor Rick Perry. Solar panels can be expensive – most solar panel systems cost at least $2,000 to $3,000 to install, and many cost more, depending on the system and the particular circumstances at your home. Solar panel systems pay for themselves within a few years, but that doesn’t help when you are trying to scrape together the money for the installation. There is also another solar roofing option – solar shingles. Solar shingles may be an ideal solution if by chance you have a roof that is already shingled, but is losing shingles in (preferably) a south-facing location where you can free up 300 to 400 feet of roof space. If you need to replace shingles anyway, you may as well replace the old shingles with matching solar shingles (they are designed to blend in with the asphalt shingles that most American homes use). Like solar panels, solar shingles can be connected to your local energy grid, so that if you produce excess electricity, it can go back into the system and your electric company can reimburse you for it. By absorbing heat from the sun, solar shingles can also reduce the amount of heat that your home absorbs, so you may find that you do not need to run an air conditioner as much in the summer. Don’t expect to go entirely off-grid with solar shingles – shingles do not store solar energy (unless you have also added batteries to hold stored energy, but adding batteries can add as much as $10,000 to your shingle installation costs), so you will need your regular electric grid at night. Homeowners who choose this option find that the solar shingles pay for themselves in about 8 to 10 years, while they last for 20-40 years (depending on climate and maintenance). Solar panels and shingles not only pay for themselves over time by allowing you to sell power back to your electric company, but they add to the value of your home. According to a recent study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 72,000 California homeowners who added solar panels to their roofs saw their home values rise by an average of $17,000 when they put their homes on the market. Consequently, you may be able to roll the cost of installation over into your mortgage. Caution Unless you are a roofing contractor yourself or have equivalent experience, don’t try to install your own roof. Find a contractor who is experienced in the kind of roof that you plan to put in place. If you are adding solar panels or solar shingles, you will also need an electrician. Be aware, as well, that if you are replacing a roof that was originally installed between 1940 and 1975, you may need to hire someone to do asbestos remediation. Finally, don’t forget to check your local building codes (or better yet, work with a contractor who is intimately familiar with them). Be sure, as well, to check with your homeowner’s insurance company to find out if the change in roofing materials will affect your insurance premiums. Do your homework and use common sense. If you can find a contractor and a roofing system that you are happy with, chances are that you will be very pleased with the results. About the Author Herbert Norton is a roofing contractor that started a website on roofing in the winter months to help educate his clients. Roofery.com has extensive information on many different types of roofing shingles, such as slate, tile, solar and metal shingles , to help consumers make an educated decision. Recently Herbert has been researching the “greening” of asphalt shingles , which are not normally eco-friendly.

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Keeping Our Homes Green – Roofing Options

Simple Garden Signs to Make You Artsy-Fartsy – Especially if You Grow Beans

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:38:59 +0000

I live on less than 2/10th of an acre in a small town, however, my wife and I enjoy growing our some of our own fruits and veggies. We don’t feed the world out of our small raised beds but we can make a couple of salads, a few quarts of pasta sauce and some Related posts: Easy Garden Box Bring the Small Garden to You We’re on a roll talking about the neat little finds… How to Grow Your Own Sugarcane and Become a Sugar Baron! So, you want to grow your own sugarcane! Or you’re…

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Simple Garden Signs to Make You Artsy-Fartsy – Especially if You Grow Beans

How to Create a Functional Closet Home Office

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:01:40 +0000

If you are trying to determine how to bring a home office into your space, and there just isn’t enough free wall space to do it, converting a closet into one, may be your best solution. Many closets are not used nearly to their best potential, and by converting one into a home office could solve your space issue and help you stay organized and functional in your office. If you’re considering transforming that poorly used hall closet into a worthwhile office space, here are tips to help you. Determine what functions are necessities: When creating a home office in a closet, remember it will take a degree of pairing down from large amounts of storage, clutter and stuff! Since closet offices are generally small in nature, determine what elements of your home office are essential and which ones are for pure decoration and those that take up space. Stream line and organize files, and office equipment into storage containers, file cabinets and stylish desk and shelf organizers. Make your office inspiring: Just because you are converting an existing closet doesn’t mean it has to look like a closet. Before you build your work surface inside your closet, opt for painting the inside walls an inspiring color or plan to use colorful photos and personal touches to bring the walls alive. Many craft and office supply stores have coordinating desk accessories, bulletin and maker boards and wall organizers to bring a personal style to your closet home office. Consider using fabric or colorful window treatments as a way to close off your office closet, if you prefer instead of doors. Accentuate the positives: While it may seem you are compromising to have a closet office, think of all the positives you can accentuate in your office. A smaller space means less to organize, which in turn may help you keep your desk and work area cleaner. Easy accessibility to your closet home office may mean less time wasting time in a large unproductive room, and more time for you to get right into your tasks at hand. One of the biggest positives? You can still keep all of your other rooms in your house looking great, without having to takeover the kitchen table with all of your work related activities! Choose comfortable components: Since you are working in a smaller space, ensure that you are going to have a comfortable area to work in. Ensure desk height, chair, computer and electronic accessibility are comfortable and don’t require you to squeeze into a small space. Opt for adjustable seating, back pillows, and ergonomic office components to make your working environment pleasurable. Also put up inspiring pictures, and bring in plenty of natural and artificial lighting wherever possible. The more you are inspired to work, the more pleasurable your closet home office experience will be. While working in a closet may sound cramped, once you remove the unnecessary clutter, you will see what a prime real estate area it is for your home office. Especially if you live in an apartment, or smaller home, a closet office will help you work from home, and keep your sanity in other rooms of the house. Use these tips to bring inspiring decor and functional organizational ideas to your office space. You will love how your new space inspires you to do more! Freshome readers do you have a closet home office in your home? What are the pros and cons? We’d love to hear from you. Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Closet Organizers Inspiration Home Office Ideas for Those of you Who are Working from Home Seymour Home Office Armoire How to Develop a Home Office Secret’Air – A Small Office for You How to Maximize Every Inch of a Small Closet Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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How to Create a Functional Closet Home Office

Stacked Crown Moulding – Pretend You’re Rich Even if you Aren’t

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:51:02 +0000

A simple 2″ crown moulding finishes the look of any room. But, the moulding can be butted out and made to look much beefier, (even “schmancy” if you will), by building it out with furring strips (or some prefer other pieces of simple moulding). Start with a piece of 1×4 and rip it lengthwise to Related posts: Fastcap’s Crown Molding Clips, Install Solo Fastcap’s Crown Molding Clips make it possible to install pesky… Jedi Door Trim, How To Install Door Trim Much to the dismay of my lovely other half Carrie–I…

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Stacked Crown Moulding – Pretend You’re Rich Even if you Aren’t