5 Good Reasons For Renovating and Remodelling Your Home

5 Good Reasons for Renovating and Remodelling Your Home

Home renovations can be pretty difficult and challenging, especially if you feel like all the other kitchens and bathrooms you see are perfect, whereas yours are outdated. Sometimes, people remodel their homes because they need to update something, but there are also cases when they only want their homes to be modern and in pristine condition. If you’re not sure whether you should renovate and remodel your home, we give you a list of 5 reasons why you should do so:

It will increase your home’s value

In case you decide one day to sell your home, potential buyers will appreciate the effort you’ve put into remodelling as well as the upgrades you've made. Work well-done means you took care of your home, and kitchens and bathrooms with modern appliances and fixtures will make people understand that you’ve invested plenty of time and money to get the desired results.

Keeping up with trends

You might have been admiring photos of beautiful homes for a long time, but who is to say that you can’t make your home look that way? You can easily add not only a scullery, but standout alfresco areas too, and have your home resemble a miniature palace or a minimalist Japanese home. If you follow trends, it’s easy to find inspiration there and invest your time and money into making your dream home reality.

Your energy bills will be lower

If you live in an old home, chances are that it is not very energy-efficient, which means that you’re probably spending more money on bills than you expect. By renovating and upgrading your home, you can make it more energy efficient, thus saving money in the long run. Great roof restoration services will save you the trouble of having to do minor repairs every few weeks; LED lights will save electricity, and water saving faucets and shower heads will significantly lower your water consumption. Upgraded kitchen appliances will also help you save money on electricity and reduce your carbon footprint.

Restoring a character home

A number of old and neglected homes are actually hidden gems whose glow you can restore with a little bit of careful planning and a few well-timed projects. Renovating such homes is a real challenge but it definitely brings a reward because you will end up with a character home that looks like it travelled back in time. Of course, it’s necessary to do your research first, so that you can focus on features that are specific to a particular historic style. Uneven floors, old plumbing, and poor structural support are common problems that contractors have to face when restoring such homes. For this reason,  you should leave a bit more room in your budget than you first thought.

You won’t have to wait long

Just a few years ago, if you had had the need to call a contractor, you would have waited months at a time before they came over. This was because good contractors used to be very scarce and they were very busy, but today you can easily find available contractors. This means that your projects won’t have to wait long and you can rest assured that it will only take a few days after you’ve signed a contract for people to show up at your doorstep with tools.

If you love your home, you will also embrace every opportunity to improve and upgrade it. You can think about redecorating, upgrading, renovating, remodelling, and even extending your home so that the result is precisely what you hoped it would be. Your lifestyle will be improved, you will be content, and in case you want to sell your home some day, you will be able to get a better price.

Check out A+ Construction & Remodeling for more details on remodeling.

Guest Contributor, Diana Smith

How Your Garage Became So Cluttered

How Your Garage Became So Cluttered

To understand how the garage came to play such a significant role in the average American acquisition, it’s easier if you have a bit of background on how architecture and the building industry affected the placement and use of the garage.

Housing developments

The first carriage houses and later, garages, were built behind the home. When housing developments became popular in the seventies and eighties, the architecture of homes changed to streamline traffic. The family garage was relocated to the front of the home and attached to the house. The average family now uses the automatic garage door as a primary means of entering their home rather than the front or back door.

Ebb and flow

Today, the garage door is also often the most significant architectural element in the front of many homes. For this reason, a new garage door can transform the look of a home. At the same time, the ease with which we enter and depart from our homes via the garage has given us the opportunity to use the garage as a holding area of sorts. Most of our purchases enter through the garage via the family car.

Much of our garbage exits through the garage door when we take out the trash cans. If items are too good to throw away but not good enough to keep in the home, they often become stuck in a holding pattern. After all, a garage isn’t a room in the house where cleanliness and comfort are required. As a result, we often allow the space to become so cluttered it becomes a safety hazard. We’ve all managed to trip over a bicycle or carelessly placed box at some point. Also, the automatic garage door can break, or its function is threatened if overstacked boxes or other items fall on the mechanisms.

Storage

As the middle class expanded, advertising told people to buy more stuff.  Even if you already had a coat, for example, advertising reminded us that the styles had changed and for a relatively reasonable price, you could own a brand-new stylish one. Since the old coat wasn’t worn out, you kept that one, too. Soon, we all had a mountain of old outerwear, dishes, knick-knacks, and kitchen appliances. It seemed reasonable to store the old stuff in the garage until the next garage sale, drop-off at the thrift store, until someone needed it, or until some mishap befell the new one.

Municipalities and HOA’s have added to the temptation to store items in the garage because many of these governing entities stopped issuing permits for sheds and other structures, or banned them altogether.

Hobbies and sports

Since the middle class is no longer required to work long hours to keep families from starving, there are new opportunities for leisure activities such as hobbies and sports activities. The tools and equipment from these activities are often stored in the garage as a matter of convenience.

Looking forward

In light of our new understanding of how the garage came to be a kind of private loading dock, we no longer have to be victims of an architectural decision from years ago. By rethinking the garage as a living space specifically for the car will help us become more respectful of the area.

Just as warehouses use floor tape to designate areas which are to remain clear at all times, a family can create a mental ‘safe zone’ in their garage, one in which walkways are clear, and boxes or other items aren’t abandoned: they ’re either appropriately stored or hauled away. If the project is overwhelming, asking for help is reasonable. Garage storage units can also be helpful.

Guest Contributor, Danny Cappello

About the author: Danny Cappello is a co-founder of Quick Response Garage Doors and Quick Response Garage Cabinets. When not busy with work Danny enjoys playing tennis, and spending time with his family.

Seven Home Improvements That Do Not Increase Your Home Value

Seven home improvements that do not increase your home value.

A survey by the Homeowner Protection found that fifty-eight percent of homeowners in the U.S intend to carry out some kind of home remodeling in the next twelve months.

Most of the proprietors surveyed said that they wanted to renovate their homes so as to increase the value of the house when they do eventually sell it.

Not all home enhancements add value to your house. Some home renovations do not add value worst still various improvements can detract from the value of your house.

Here are eight home renovations that can lower the value of your house:

1.   Bright and Bold Paint Colors.

Trendy homeowners might feel the need to invest in painting the exterior of the home in bright colors. However, bright paint colors may not add to the value of your house especially if the house is ultimately sold to someone who does not like bright colors.

Instead, homeowners should paint both the interior and exterior of their house neutral colors before placing the house on the market.

Neutral colors can help the new homeowner to easily envision themselves in your home.

2.   Extreme High-end Kitchen renovations.

The kitchen is one of the rooms that most homeowners invest huge sums of money. However, homeowners do not recoup the full amount spent in the kitchen remodel as kitchen’s resale values are below the actual remodeling costs.

To avoid making this mistake, buy middle range kitchen appliances in place of high-end kitchen appliances.

3.     Luxury Bathroom.

Luxury bathrooms increase the value to your home, but over personalized finishes and over-the-top whirlpool tubs may not be too attractive to would-be buyers with a different bathroom preference.

To ensure that your house is desirable to many people install a walk-in shower and avoid extremely luxurious bathroom finishes.

4.   Combining two bedrooms to create a bigger room.

Knocking down walls to create one big bedroom might seem like a good idea to a young couple or to a retired couple whose children have moved away from the house. But this is a bad idea for homeowners who want to sell their home in the future.

Young families with children, want their children to have separate bedrooms, and they, do not mind if the rooms are small.

Each separate bedroom adds about fifteen percent value to the home, so try and implement simple décor tricks in the small bedrooms to make them seem bigger instead of taking down the wall.

5.   A swimming pool.

Families with kids and people who live in places with high temperatures at least six months in a year, may opt to buy a house with a swimming pool.

However, if the home is located in a place that is quite cold throughout the year a swimming pool will not add any value to your house.

6.   A hot tub.

For families with young children, a hot tub is a safety hazard in the home. Hence such families might offer to buy the home a certain price, less the cost of uninstalling the hot tub from the house.

If you have to install a hot tub to your home, consider installing a moveable hot tub that you can carry with you once you sell the house.

7.   Costly landscaping.

Lavish landscaping decorations may increase the curb appeal of your home, but they will not raise the value of your home.

Prospective buyers will only see the high maintenance costs required for the decorations and this may make them fearful of buying the home.

Homeowners should install simple easy to maintain garden décor which can be removed easily should the need arise.

8.   Creative interior décor.

Unusual wall colors, too much wallpaper, and quirky wall-to-wall carpets are some of the creative décor installations that detract from your home.

If the prospective buyer dislikes the décor installations in your home, they will most likely be calculating how much it will cost them to remove such items. Accordingly, they will offer to buy your house for a low price taking into consideration that they will incur additional uninstalling costs in the home.

When decorating your home avoid over personalizing your home as most probable buyers may not share similar décor preferences with you.

Avoid all the mistakes discussed above, for you to get the best possible price for your house when you do decide to sell it.

 Guest Contributor, Danny “Wheels“  Margagliano

Tips To Pull Off A Gorgeous Eclectic Design

Tips to Pull Off a Gorgeous Eclectic Design

Eclectic design is super attractive. It’s full of freedom, mismatched items and fun colors. However, because it’s so hard to define, creating a beautiful eclectic space is not an easy task, especially if you don’t want to end up with an overly kitsch home. Luckily, here are a few tips that will help you create a successful eclectic design that matches your lifestyle and feels just right!

Start from scratch

This is a trick that many interior designers swear by: every time you’re designing a new look, start with a blank canvas. Since the eclectic look is definitely in-your-face and very eye-catching, starting with a neutral background is a great idea to avoid creating an overwhelming space. While neutral colors like white, gray and beige instantly come to mind, you can also opt for various natural materials like wood and stone. They are eco-friendly and look neutral, but are also warm and inviting.

Coordinate your colors

Many people think that nothing is supposed to match in eclectic design. However, that’s not true! The key is in coordinating your colors that will allow you to create a successful design and a coherent space. For instance, choose a color that can be introduced in multiple areas in your home and use it on everything from textiles to art and paint. Opt for a variety of different prints and patterns in your chosen color to stay true to your eclectic design yet subtly pull the room together.

Add statement pieces

Every space needs a statement piece that will be the star of the show. No matter if you opt for an art piece or a furniture item, this is the element that will make your eclectic design come to life. So, don’t hesitate to make it bold and make it big. In this case, forget everything about coordination, because you want your statement piece to pop. Even your quirky collection of items can serve as a focal point. For instance, if you’re an avid comic book fan or someone obsessed with music, there are super cute bobbleheads in all styles and themes that can be grouped together. These figurines will look amazing when displayed on your shelf and will definitely start a few conversations. All in all, find something you like, make it stand out and you have your statement piece!

Find balance

The goal of every interior is to have balance in symmetry and scale. Even if you have furniture in different styles, textures or from different periods, you can still use similar lines and sizes to create a sense of harmony. Your space is meant to be lived in, so don’t sacrifice good layout and organization for forced diversity.

Mix textures

In order to add more interest to your eclectic home, try to invest in different textures. When you combine rough and smooth textures, you can opt for a simpler color palette and still have a fun and quirky space. For instance, think fluffy pillows, shaggy rugs, rough wooden furniture and smooth, polished finishes. Combine them and your home will be full of surprises.

Think outside the box

The eclectic look has no clearly defined rules, so take advantage of that and let your mind play with different ideas and solutions. Grab an item and find a new and unusual use for it or instead of throwing something away, repurpose it and give it new life. This process is super fun and will give your space character and interest—that’s what eclecticism is all about!

Creating a successful eclectic look is all about achieving balance. Don’t give yourself too many limits, but also don’t go crazy. Eclectic design can easily get out of hand if you’re not paying attention! So, keep these tips in mind, be moderate but let your imagination fly high.

 Guest Contributor, Diana Smith

Easy Ways to Cozy Up Your Home

Easy Ways to Cozy Up Your Home

What is it that you love about your home? Some will talk about location, some about the size, and others about functionality. But what all of us have in common is that we love that feeling of joy and relief as we step into our homes after a long journey or a tough day at work. That doesn’t come from the location or the amount of money you’ve invested in sprucing the place up. It comes from all the little personal touches that you and the ones you love have put into every corner of your home. And if you seem to lack that heart-warming feeling, here are some ways for you to make your home cozier and more welcoming for you, your family and anybody else who decides to visit.

Add some warmth to your sofa

The living-room sofa is usually the place where most families gather to watch films, play board games together or share a pot of hot tea while talking about how everybody’s day went. That’s why you should start there. Add a throw blanket to your sofa and your armchair, and don’t be shy with cushions either. Make sure you choose soft, warm and fluffy fabric in various colors and patterns. As long as you’re making the place more comfortable, why not add some style to it as well?

Step on clouds

When the temperatures outside drop, there’s nothing worse than stepping on cold floor with your bare feet. So, if you don’t have wall-to-wall carpets, you can always get some area rugs. Opt for natural materials, like cotton, wool or jute, and don’t hesitate to layer them for extra coziness. Furthermore, if you have a pair of nice, comfy slippers next to your front door, you can put them on as soon as you enter your home and have them thaw your feet from the freezing cold outside.

Create a perfect reading spot

There’s nothing more inviting than a nice reading nook, some hot tea and the characters from your favorite book just waiting for you to join them in their next adventure. First, find a place near a big window, so that you get plenty of natural light. Second, invest in a lovely egg chair and perhaps even an ottoman for your feet, both in premium fabrics and a color of your preference. Finally, put a small table next to your chair, so that you have a place to put down your book and your tea cup or a coffee mug. What more could a person want?

Dress your windows up

Bare windows or short, light-colored and translucent curtains are modern and cute, but if you want to add warmth to your living space, you should consider some other options. For example, thick and heavy pattern drapes that fall down to the floor will definitely do the trick. Not only will they visually make the room more pleasant, but they’ll also help insulate your home by preventing cold from leaking through your windows.

Let your home show what you love

Displaying things like your family photos, your kids’ drawings or holiday cards from your closest friends and family will add some personal charm to any space. You can also print and frame some inspirational quotes and messages to reflect your beliefs and temperament. And why stop with the visual? If there’s anything that turns a house into a home it’s the smell of freshly-baked cookies. So, either bake your favorite cookies, or at least get a few scented candles for each of your rooms.

Don’t forget the bathroom

First thing’s first. Get a reliable plumber to check all your pipes for leaks. Once you know you’re on the safe side, you can relax and start adding some bath mats, shower and window curtains, as well as some plush towels. If the size of your bathroom allows it, consider replacing your shower with a beautiful bathtub, where you can take long, hot bubble baths whenever you feel like it. Throw in some string lights for ambient lighting and a house plant or two in the name of eco-friendliness and your bathroom will become as warm and as welcoming as the rest of your home.

These tips are just a small part of what you can do to add some allure to your home. And while there are many more wonderful ideas out there, these are a great starting point for turning your home into an oasis of comfort and warmth.

Guest Contributor, Cooper Klein

How To Effectively Prepare Your Business For A Natural Disaster

How to effectively prepare your business for a natural disaster

The key to succeeding in the world of business is leaving no blind spots. And one of the main blind spots would be forgetting that the world of business coexists with our own world – a world fragile and susceptible to various misfortunes. According to a survey published by CNBC, as much as 40% of small businesses never reopen after a natural disaster. These numbers need to be taken very seriously.

So, let’s take a quick look at the things you can do to prepare your enterprise for the times of crises.

Assess the risk

Some areas are more prone to natural disasters than others. Likewise, some industries run a higher risk of losing their assets as a consequence of these calamities. That’s why, if you ever want to develop a comprehensive response and prevention plan, you need to do a thorough risk assessment. Essentially, a regular risk assessment consists of these three parts:

●        Identification of potential hazards

●        Identification of the assets that could be at risk

●        Impact analysis

Try to determine the cost of interruptions

Once you know the dangers your business can face and the assets that can most likely be affected, it’s time to see how much money you may lose due to damage and downtime caused by the disaster. While doing this, don’t be afraid to go with less optimistic projections – underestimating the real costs of the disaster can only stall your business even longer. Here's the short list of the topics your projections should cover:

●        Lost income

●        Payroll during down times

●        The cost of temporary office space

●        The cost of relocation

●        Rebuilding

●        Liability

Review the insurance coverage

Investing in property insurance is one of the best ways to make sure your business will be able to rebound after the damage has been done. However, you have to make sure that the premiums you are paying are able to cover the costs of property replacement in the case your premises suffer a total loss. Fortunately, you can always resort to professional building insurance valuation to make sure your assessments are accurate enough. For example, if your valuation is off by just a wrong construction material, your insurance won’t be able to cover the loss and your business may need more time to recover.

Prepare the emergency plan

Your employees need to have a written procedure of how they are going to behave in case of a disaster and they are forced to leave their workplaces. Of course, writing the emergency plan is only a half solution. The emergency procedures should be prominently displayed throughout your premises and your workers should practice evacuation at least once a month. Also, it is a good idea to include your digital assets into the emergency plan as well. A thorough backup strategy should prevent loss of valuable data which can be equally as crippling as the loss of physical assets.

Establish clear communication rules

Once the disaster strikes, the survival of the business and the safety of the employees depend on the speed and the communication method. How are you going to contact the employees? What happens if the premises are closed during a disaster? What’s the fastest way to distribute relevant updates? In the time of crisis, these questions can cause a lot of confusion. That is why you need to write a communication plan that will address these problems through clear rules and procedures.

Create a crisis response network

Of course, your business is not an isolated entity and the eventual losses you may have to endure in the case of calamity may be caused by external factors. For instance, what if your suppliers are cut off or having the same problems as your enterprise? Because of that, it would be a good idea to have a meeting with all the parties involved in your business's operations where you will present your emergency plans and try to coordinate your actions. This emergency response network can have its own budget and executives and eventually expand to other local establishments.

These six steps should help you to prepare your business for any kind of danger that might be lurking down the road. We don’t really get to choose when some kind of misfortune may befall our companies and try to ruin the years of hard work we put into them. But, we can choose how we are going to deal with these problems.

About the author: Mike Johnston is a home improvement blogger and DIY enthusiast from Sydney. He is a regular writer at Smooth Decorator and contributor to numerous home, lifestyle, real estate and eco-friendly blogs. Mike’s goal is to create and share meaningful content that helps and inspires people.

Warming Places in Cook County

We’re lucky to have heat in our homes, unfortunately there’s families without heating or proper housing. It’s more sad to think that there’s homeless people dealing with this weather. It’s -50, please help the people that you could and if you can’t, call one of the numbers below they should be able to advise you.

Here’s a list of all the Warming Places in Cook County.

Berwyn (Library)

2701 S. Harlem Ave.
Berwyn, IL

9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. M-THU
9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. F-SAT
1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. SUN
Transport: No

Berwyn (Freedom Park)

3701 S. Scoville Ave.
Berwyn, IL

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. M-THU
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. F
Transport: No

Berwyn (Recreational Dept.)

6501 W. 31st St.
Berwyn, IL

7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., M-F
Transport: No

Bloom

425 S. Halsted St.
Chicago Heights, IL

8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. M/W
8:00 a.m. – 4:40 p.m. T/THU/F
Transport: No

Bremen

16361 S. Kedzie Parkway
Markham, IL

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., M-F
Transport: No

Calumet

12633 Ashland Ave.
Calumet Park, IL

8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: Yes, please call 708.388.6606.

Cicero (Village Building)

4949 W. Cermak Rd.
Cicero, IL

8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Cicero (Library)

5444 W. 34th St.
Cicero, IL

8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m., M-F
Transport: No

Cicero (Community Center)

2250 S. 49th Ave.
Cicero, IL

8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m., M-F
Transport: No

Elk Grove

2400 S. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL

9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Hanover (Senior Center)

240 S. IL Route 59
Bartlett, IL

8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M/W/F
8:30 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. T and THURS
8:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. SAT
Transport: Yes

Lemont (Township Offices)

1115 Warner Ave.
Lemont, IL

9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: Yes, please call 630.257.2522

Lemont (Community Center)

16300 Alba St.
Lemont, IL

9:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: Yes, please call 630.257.2522

Leyden

2620 N. Mannheim Rd.
Franklin Park, IL

6:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. M-F
6:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. SAT
6:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. SUN
Transport: No

Maine

1700 Ballard Rd.
Park Ridge, IL

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Niles

5255 Lincoln Ave.
Skokie, IL

9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Norwood Park

7833 W. Lawrence Ave.
Norridge, IL

9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. M – THUR
9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. F
Transport: No

Oak Park

130 S. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL

8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Orland Park

14807 Ravinia Ave.
Orland Park, IL

8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M/W/THUR/F
8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. T
Transport: Yes, for seniors 55 and older. Please call 708.403.4222.

Palatine

721 S. Quentin Road
Palatine, IL

8:30 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. M
8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. T- F
8:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. SAT
Transport: No

Palos

10802 S. Roberts Road
Palos Hills, IL

8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Proviso

4565 W. Harrison St.
Hillside, IL

8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M-F
Transport: Yes, for seniors 60 and older. Please call 708.449.4300.

Rich

22013 Governors Hwy
Richton Park, IL

9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

River Forest

8020 W. Madison St.
River Forest, IL

8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Riverside

27 Riverside Road
Riverside, IL

9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Schaumburg

1 Illinois Boulevard
Hoffman Estates, IL

8:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. M-THURS
8:30 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. F
Transport: No

Stickney

7745 S. Leamington Ave.
Burbank, IL

8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. F
Transport: No

Wheeling

1616 N. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL

8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

Worth

11601 S. Pulaski Rd.
Alsip, IL

8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. M-F
Transport: No

5 Sustainable Storage Solutions Ideas For Your Home

5 Sustainable Storage Solutions Ideas for Your Home

Making your home green and sustainable doesn’t sound like the easiest job in the world, but it’s still not as hard as it seems. This is particularly true when we’re talking about storage solutions that give everyone a headache no matter how much space they have. But, all you need are a couple of ideas that could boost your sustainability level and solve your storage issues, and you’ll realize how amazing this entire process is sooner than you’ve imagined. So, if you too are trying to find sustainable storage solutions for your home as well, here’s what you need to do. 

Declutter everything first

This is the first step toward more sustainable living and more effective storage solutions. We all own too many things we don’t even use, so getting rid of them is the way to go. Start decluttering your home room by room, especially the bathroom, and you’ll get a ton of new storage space you never knew existed, and organizing everything else should be much easier now that you have fewer possessions and more space.

Find sustainable materials

Sustainable storage should be based on having sustainable materials you can use when storing and organizing your stuff. That’s why plastic containers aren’t the best ideas in the world, although they can seem like the most practical and efficient solutions, especially for our food. Instead, use glass containers and mason jars that are just as useful, but much more sustainable.

Rely on big solutions

If your home is still full of stuff after a thorough decluttering process, and you want to keep all of these things around you at all times, think about bigger storage solutions that can solve all of your problems at once. Sustainable wall-to-wall shelving units and other reliable storage solutions that will protect all your possessions and keep them safe might be the things you were looking for, so explore these ideas and find a way to incorporate them into your home.

Explore hidden storage space

If your furniture is made from reclaimed and natural materials, you already know how amazing and comfortable it can be. But, if you find new furniture that’s just as natural, but has some hidden storage space as well, you could get the best of both worlds. Everything from sofas and sectionals to benches and coffee tables can be used as an additional storage solution, as long as it’s eco-friendly.

Get a rattan bar cart

This isn’t just about making your home more sustainable, but also adding a dose of elegance into your indoor and outdoor space as well. Rattan bar carts are amazing for serving your drinks, storing your newspapers and magazines, as well as presenting healthy fruits and tasty desserts to your guests. There are lots of models you can choose from, so pick whichever you like, but keep in mind that rattan is one of the most sustainable materials out there and you definitely won’t make a mistake by introducing it into your home.

From tiny glass jars to enormous shelves, sustainable storage ideas are everywhere around us, and it’s our job to define what we need and turn our dreams into reality. As long as we’re trying to introduce sustainability into every aspect of our life, including home design and storage ideas, we can be sure we’re doing something good for our planet and preserving it for future generations.

Guest Contributors, Amelia Atkins

Couple Finds Thousands While Renovating Their Home

If you ever needed an excuse to remodel your home, here’s one: couple found thousands of dollars in the floorboards while renovating a home. They have been remodeling houses for 13 years. Their company, Accessible Homes, remodels homes for people with disabilities. I couldn’t have happened to a better company.

“We looked through it,” Rasmussen said of finding the money while renovating an accessible home for a nonprofit Thursday. “It’s $20s and $50s, I’d say $30,000. Maybe more.”

“When we opened up the floor there’s a heat duct that was run under the floor,” Rasmussen said. “And so someone previously must have gone into the utility room and thrown the money up on top of that duct. Pretty crazy.”

“It’s hard to process that amount of cash just laying around, and no one knew existed,” he added. “Well, someone knew, but forgot about.”

The house is owned by Bethesda, a non for profit that provides housing and services for people developmental disabilities. The money is going to help their organization make a difference in people’s lives.

source: http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/couple-finds-thousands-in-cash-under-the-floorboards-during-home-renovation

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