Easy Home Upgrades

6/7/2016

It’s essential to add style and function when completing any home improvement project. From adding light and ventilation to updating your home’s safety, closets, facade or backyard, you can take advantage of these ideas to enhance the aesthetics of your house and improve its livability and capabilities.

Easy Home Upgrades

Add style, function to interior, exterior spaces

(Family Features) Whether you recently purchased a new house and are looking for ways to add your own style and personal touches or are looking to upgrade your longstanding home, it’s essential to add style and function when completing any home improvement project. From adding light and ventilation to updating your home’s safety, closets, facade or backyard, you can take advantage of these ideas to enhance the aesthetics of your house and improve its livability and capabilities.

Atom Smoke and Fire Alarm

Combine Safety with Style
Home safety has never been so stylish, or convenient. First Alert’s easy-to-install Atom Smoke and Fire Alarm packs all the power of an advanced photoelectric smoke alarm into a miniature, non-intrusive design and features an advanced smoke entry system designed to reduce the chances of false alarms along with a loud, penetrating siren. The 10-year sealed-battery Atom provides added home protection and eliminates the need to replace the batteries for the life of the alarm. For more information, visit firstalert.com.

Velux Skylights

Upgrade Your Home with Natural Light
There’s no better way to breathe new life into interior spaces than decorating with light. Velux Energy Star-qualified, solar-powered fresh air skylights bring natural light and ventilation into the home and carry a 10-year, no-leak installation warranty. Along with available solar powered blinds, the skylights operate by remote control, closing automatically in case of rain. Costs will vary, but a new solar skylight installation typically ranges from $1,800 to $2,400 after a 30 percent federal tax credit. To find dealers and certified installers, visit whyskylights.com.

Cheeky Strut ClosetMaid

Enhance Your Storage Space
Whether it’s a lack of space, too many shirts or pairs of shoes, or simply not enough time to get organized, you can eliminate the mess and enhance your closet’s storage space in a weekend with ClosetMaid’s SuiteSymphony line. The DIY system, which is available in multiple finishes, adds stylish organization to both walk-in and traditional closets, and is customizable with accessories such as drawers, door fronts, shoe shelves and expandable hang rods. Find more organization solutions at ClosetMaid.com.

Feather River Door

Refresh Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Looking to upgrade and instantly enhance the look of your home? Install a new front door, such as one from the extensive line of fiberglass exterior doors from Feather River Doors. Hand-stained oak and mahogany doors are among the most popular, accentuating elegant wood grain details that instantly improve a home’s curb appeal. They’re energy efficient, low maintenance, secure and available in custom sizes and colors, exclusively at The Home Depot. Check out the options at featherriverdoor.com.

backyard pergola

Boost Your Backyard Appearance
Every backyard requires that special finishing touch. If your outdoor living quarters are missing that unique “something,” install and decorate a pergola to bring it all together. A pergola is the perfect spot for hanging plants, setting up a shaded canopy or creating an exquisite entrance to your personal garden. The options are nearly limitless, whether you’re building from scratch with raw materials or purchasing a ready-to-install version that can instantly improve the look of your lawn. Research the different types of pergolas available before deciding what’s best for you and customize it to fit your needs – it’s the ultimate creative space for the outdoor artist in you.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (house exterior and pergola photos)

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Family Features

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6 ways to give your home a breath of fresh air

4/17/2016

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(BPT) - Spring is in the air, and that means tackling home improvement projects you've been putting off all winter long. As you plan for these projects over the warmer months, include steps to improve your family's home environment, both inside and outside. Your house will be a better, more comfortable place to live.

Conserve water. Help preserve this precious resource by replacing any leaky indoor faucets in your kitchen, laundry and bathroom. Also, think about replacing your showerhead with a low-flow model. Outdoors, check the watering hose faucet for leaks and replace it if needed. And when mowing the lawn, epa.gov recommends setting the blades 2 to 3 inches high because the longer grass shades the soil, improving moisture retention and helping the grass survive drought and tolerate insect damage.

Reduce indoor pollutants. Improve your home's indoor air quality. EPA studies indicate indoor air may be 25 times, and occasionally more than 100 times, more polluted than outdoor air. A whole-house air cleaner, such as Trane CleanEffects, can remove up to 99.98 percent of airborne particles and allergens from the filtered air, such as dust, pollen, bacteria, pet dander, mold spores and smoke.

Seal air leaks. Keep cool air in and hot air out by sealing leaks and adding insulation. Areas to check for repairs include the attic, garage and unfinished basement. Throughout the house, ensure that all cooling and heating vents and registers meet the floors, walls and ceilings and are well sealed.

Keep cool more efficiently. Upgrading your cooling system to a more efficient one can save home energy consumption, helping to save you money. For example, a TruComfort Variable Speed Air Conditioner is one of the industry's most efficient systems, delivering precise cooling by running at the exact speed needed to keep a home constantly comfortable. This allows the compressor, outdoor fan and indoor fan to vary operating speed as the temperature outside changes, slowing down or speeding up in small increments rather than turning completely off and on.

Shield windows from the hot sun. Seasonal heat comes indoors from windows, too, so close draperies and shades, or install them in rooms that don't already have them. Outside, create some natural shade near the windows by planting a tree, tall bushes or adding awnings on the sunniest side of the house.

Control indoor temperatures. Ensure a more comfortable home environment by adding a programmable HVAC control. Trane's programmable smart controls are easy to use and, when paired with the Nexia smart home system, let you remotely monitor and control indoor temperatures, so you can adjust your system to be more efficient based on your family's schedule.

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