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10 Rules For Furniture Buying For Home Staging As Insurance For Your Investment

By: Paula Stone

We always approach home ownership from a business perspective. You know the old “buy low, sell high”.

Of course it’s not just a piece of real estate, it’s also our home.

We want to be comfortable and happy. So we have to have the security and insurance that we can sell a home for more than we have in it.

While our business is our primary investment, just like many self-employed people, we want our home to be a decent if not spectacular investment.

One of the real issues homeowners have when trying to resell their homes is what kind of furniture they have and how much of it.

With this in mind, it’s wise to purchase furniture with the possibility of resale in mind. If you have to move it will make staging your house for resale much easier.

Here are 10 rules for buying furniture that will save you money and make home staging easier.

1. Buy smaller. A sofa or loveseat is much easier to stage in a conversational group with 2 chairs than a big sectional. Conversational groups should fit completely in a 12 foot square or less (so you don’t need Mr. Microphone to talk).

2. Buy solid colors. Any solid color upholstery is easier to stage than any print, especially flowers. If you want flowers put them on throw pillows.

3. Avoid sets of furniture. Odd collections of furniture can create a more sophisticated, collected looking style called “eclectic”. This kind of collected furniture allows you to mix the old and interesting with the new and interesting. It’s more fun. One of my favorite style mixes is primitive antiques and mid century modern furniture. The esthetics work.

4. Always guard traffic patterns through rooms. People who are looking at houses need room to walk through the place.

5. Make sure you can stage a comfortable and attractive dining area. If your dining area is small you should not take up the room with a china cabinet. I staged many houses with a black lacquer buffet. It looked very elegant and sophisticated topped with 2 lamps and some fresh flowers. My dining table is a traditional cherry drop leaf table that seats as few as 4 or as many as 12. My black lacquer chairs have been reupholstered many times.

6. Avoid country furnishings. A country piece here and there is OK, but don’t fill your house with this or any other style that might get too cute.

7. In bedrooms highlight the bed and make it beautiful and attractive. It’s the star. If a bed is very large use a light colored bedspread. Other furniture may overcrowd the room. I normally stage even the master bedroom with the bed, 2 side tables and 2 lamps. If the room is large enough I make a sitting area for 2 people. Clothing belongs in closets. Dressers only work in very large bedrooms.

8. Skip the doodads and clutter. Less is more in this context. If you are a collector pack the stuff away before you start showing the house, especially if it is valuable. Did you hear about the woman who lost her engagement ring from her bedside table during an open house? Don’t let something like this happen to you.

9. Don’t line every wall and space with furniture. Furniture is for comfort and conviviality not filling every space. Overcrowding your house will make it seem smaller. Most buyers want all the room they can get. Let them see the square feet you have.

10. Remember to furnish your yard. If you have outside room make it work for you.

The best thing about furniture is that you can take it with you each time you move. I have enjoyed moving from place to place. In each home we got to take a fresh look at the things we had and make it new again. It’s a lot of fun.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4089.shtml

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Natural Remedies For Pet Urine Stains

By: Lee Harris

If you are a pet owner, chances are that your cat or dog has had at least one accident. Urine, feces and vomit stains are par for the course if you are the owner of an untrained puppy or kitten. There are many ways to prevent pet stains and odor and the wise pet owner will search out information on good house-breaking and litter-training techniques. The diet and health of your cat or dog are also a strong part of the equation. Responsible pet owners are those who are willing to visit and consult with a veterinarian on a regular basis to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to maintain the health of their pets.

When accidents happen, it is important to remove as much of the solid matter as possible. A large metal spatula without holes set aside for only this purpose is an invaluable and inexpensive removal tool. Make sure to label the spatula for pet use only so that it doesn’t find itself in the general population of your kitchen utensils! For vomit and feces, the spatula is effective in scraping the solid matter off in an efficient way. Make sure to have a plastic garbage bag handy to dump the mess into. This method works well even for watery messes and can prevent a lot of matter from soaking into carpeting or rugs.

The next step in pet stain removal is to try to absorb or suction up the liquid matter left over from messier feces or vomit and from urination accidents. To effectively absorb liquid from carpeting or rugs, the best method is to use an old towel or several thicknesses of paper toweling or toilet paper. Layering a plastic bag over the towels or toilet paper protects your hand or foot from becoming soiled when pressing the area to wick up the liquid. It is recommended that fresh towels or toilet paper be applied again and pressed into the spot until the majority of the liquid has been absorbed. The other method of liquid removal is to literally suck it up with a wet-dry vacuum cleaner or a carpet extractor/carpet cleaner.

When as much solid and liquid matter as possible has been removed, the process of cleaning and deodorizing the pet stain can begin. There are many home remedies touted by people and some work better than others. Baking soda is useful to some extent, but is easily overpowered by most pet stains and odors. The white residue left behind can be permanent and harder itself to remove, especially on colored carpeting and rugs. Vinegar is a known deodorizer as well, but the acidic nature of it can intensify when it mixes with urine stains, making the original smell even worse. Other home concoctions can include things like hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and bleach which wreak havoc on carpeting and can leave many surfaces discolored and faded. Some of these combination’s are also toxic and can be dangerous to both people and pets if used indiscriminately.

The best natural remedy for pet stains and spots are enzymes that are applied to the stain and allowed to digest the organic material that is the result of cat or dog accidents. These can take up to 24 hours to work and may need to be reapplied, but the results are worth it. The enzyme based products work by actually removing the root of the problem rather than just masking over it. Enzyme products are also very safe for humans and pets and are recommended in homes with children. The scent of enzyme products are also more desirable than other natural remedies and don’t have the chemical smell that commercial solutions posses.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4112.shtml

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Protecting Your Investment with a Custom RV Garage

By: Rochelle Steelsen

An RV typically constitutes a major financial investment – why not protect that investment with an RV garage? People who own recreational vehicles are keenly aware that its size precludes parking inside a home’s standard garage.

A home does not come standard with a RV garage. However, there is an easy solution to this common RV parking problem. Prefabricated garages can be assembled by you, or you can have a custom garage for your RV built by a professional.

You can find prefabricated garages made of cedar or other types of wood siding in addition to those constructed of vinyl siding or steel. There are light weight aluminum RV garages available as well; they are, however, less likely to hold up under extreme weather conditions like the more durable materials will.

When you buy a custom designed RV garage, it can be built exactly to your specifications as well as to match the design of your home. A custom RV garage can be built as one large room or it can have sections for additional vehicles, large boats, or even excess equipment. You can also use these side rooms as guest rooms, workshops, or office space. A second option is to obtain a set of RV garage plans so a contractor can build it for you. Garages that are custom built out of materials that are durable and of high quality will last for quite a few years.

Carport-like prefabricated RV canopies keep snow, rain, and harsh sunlight off the RV’s roof. While custom garages are typically complete, many prefabricated garages lack wall structures, and so provide only partial protection from the elements. An RV garage that has walls protects your RV from theft and vandalism as well. Burglar alarms mounted in the RV garage can provide further protection from vandals and thieves.

Whichever type of RV garage you purchase, make sure to first measure your RV to ensure proper fit in its new garage. Your garage needs to have doors that are at least 12 feet tall. Recreational vehicles with devices on the roof such as air conditioners, luggage racks, or satellite dishes may require 14 foot garage doors. When measuring the depth of your vehicle, make sure you also figure in the space required to walk around the front and back of the vehicle while it is parked inside the garage.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4055.shtml

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How to Get Wax Out of the Carpet

By: Tara Aronson

Few things are as relaxing as dining by candlelight. 


And few things are as aptly called a rude awakening as finding the drippings on your carpet the next morning. But don’t stress on this one. You can fix this annoying problem easily enough.

You’ll need ice cubes, a plastic bag, a spatula or spoon, an iron, a few plain brown paper bags, dry cleaning fluid and a squirt of hand dishwashing liquid.

Put the ice cubes in the plastic bag and cover the spot until it hardens to the touch. Then gently scrape away the excess with your spatula or spoon. Repeat on each waxy spot on your carpet.

Now set your iron on low heat. Over the residue, place a brown paper bag without any writing or designs. (Any ink may transfer to the carpet, which would be even worse than dealing with leftovers and curdled reminders of lingering dinners past.)

Press the iron on the bag for no longer than a couple of seconds. Be sure to keep the iron heat on low so carpet fibers don’t get scorched. 
 Or the bag.

Is it working? You’ll know it is if you look under the bag and find a candle-colored smear of success. 

Keep repeating and replacing the bags as necessary until there’s no more transfer to your bag when heated. You’re almost there.

Now blot the remaining blights (if you have any) with dry cleaning fluid. Sparingly, to prevent damage to carpet backing. 

Resist the urge to substitute gasoline, lighter fluid or carbon tetrachloride for dry-cleaning fluid. These fire and breathing hazards aren’t meant for indoor carpets.

Now blot with a solution of one-quarter teaspoon dishwashing liquid and one cup of warm water to remove all traces of cleaning fluids past. Rinse and blot dry. Now go enjoy a candlelight dinner! (But don’t forget the dripless candles.)


Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4077.shtml

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10 Rules For Furniture Buying For Home Staging As Insurance For Your Investment

By: Paula Stone

We always approach home ownership from a business perspective. You know the old “buy low, sell high”.

Of course it’s not just a piece of real estate, it’s also our home.

We want to be comfortable and happy. So we have to have the security and insurance that we can sell a home for more than we have in it.

While our business is our primary investment, just like many self-employed people, we want our home to be a decent if not spectacular investment.

One of the real issues homeowners have when trying to resell their homes is what kind of furniture they have and how much of it.

With this in mind, it’s wise to purchase furniture with the possibility of resale in mind. If you have to move it will make staging your house for resale much easier.

Here are 10 rules for buying furniture that will save you money and make home staging easier.

1. Buy smaller. A sofa or loveseat is much easier to stage in a conversational group with 2 chairs than a big sectional. Conversational groups should fit completely in a 12 foot square or less (so you don’t need Mr. Microphone to talk).

2. Buy solid colors. Any solid color upholstery is easier to stage than any print, especially flowers. If you want flowers put them on throw pillows.

3. Avoid sets of furniture. Odd collections of furniture can create a more sophisticated, collected looking style called “eclectic”. This kind of collected furniture allows you to mix the old and interesting with the new and interesting. It’s more fun. One of my favorite style mixes is primitive antiques and mid century modern furniture. The esthetics work.

4. Always guard traffic patterns through rooms. People who are looking at houses need room to walk through the place.

5. Make sure you can stage a comfortable and attractive dining area. If your dining area is small you should not take up the room with a china cabinet. I staged many houses with a black lacquer buffet. It looked very elegant and sophisticated topped with 2 lamps and some fresh flowers. My dining table is a traditional cherry drop leaf table that seats as few as 4 or as many as 12. My black lacquer chairs have been reupholstered many times.

6. Avoid country furnishings. A country piece here and there is OK, but don’t fill your house with this or any other style that might get too cute.

7. In bedrooms highlight the bed and make it beautiful and attractive. It’s the star. If a bed is very large use a light colored bedspread. Other furniture may overcrowd the room. I normally stage even the master bedroom with the bed, 2 side tables and 2 lamps. If the room is large enough I make a sitting area for 2 people. Clothing belongs in closets. Dressers only work in very large bedrooms.

8. Skip the doodads and clutter. Less is more in this context. If you are a collector pack the stuff away before you start showing the house, especially if it is valuable. Did you hear about the woman who lost her engagement ring from her bedside table during an open house? Don’t let something like this happen to you.

9. Don’t line every wall and space with furniture. Furniture is for comfort and conviviality not filling every space. Overcrowding your house will make it seem smaller. Most buyers want all the room they can get. Let them see the square feet you have.

10. Remember to furnish your yard. If you have outside room make it work for you.

The best thing about furniture is that you can take it with you each time you move. I have enjoyed moving from place to place. In each home we got to take a fresh look at the things we had and make it new again. It’s a lot of fun.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4089.shtml

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Scotchgard Can Provide Protection for Carpets and Furniture

By: Jim Thornton

Other than your home one of the largest investments you will make are on the carpets and furniture that you put in your home. There are so many choices with the different textures, colors and different styles but whatever your choices are you can rest assured the cost will run into the thousands. You choose these items because of their beauty and elegance and it is a terrible feeling to watch these items turned dull and drab, lose their appearance. Regular vacuuming and regular carpet cleaning will help to keep the appearance of your carpets and furniture but applying stain protection is another way to prolong the beauty of your furnishings.

Using scotch guard to protect your carpets and furniture is a great idea but most people don’t understand what stain protection products do. Some people feel that just because their carpets and furniture have Scotchgard protection that there is no need to do any maintenance or provide any care. What they don’t understand is that constant use of their carpets and furniture will show stains and wear and tear no matter how much protection they have. Any products that are designed to protect the fabric of your carpets and furniture will do a great job but they are not foolproof.

Scotch guard technology was designed to protect your furnishings from stains, dirt and grime. Whether you want to apply it yourself, buy it already built-in or have a carpet cleaning professional treat it, carpet and furniture products repel liquid spills, help eliminate stains and protect against resoiling. Scotchgard surrounds each fiber, providing an invisible shield against dirt and soil. As a result, dirt does not adhere as easily and vacuums up easier. Plus fiber wear from soil abrasion is reduced.

An example of how carpet or furniture protection products can help is when you have a spill. If you spill red wine and the carpet does not have scotch guard protection you watch the liquid absorb into the fibers of the carpet and in some cases leave a permanent stain. If you spill on the carpet that has been scotchgarded you watch the liquid bead on the surface and not absorb into the fabric. This gives you the necessary time to clean up the spill without leaving a permanent stain. A carpet and furniture protection product on your furnishings does not mean that you can ignore the spills until your next cleaning.

Frequently sitting in the same spot on your furniture or walking in the same pathways of your carpeting will form wear patterns. Another benefit that you gain from using scotch guard is that it provides an extra layer of protection and in many cases will prolong the forming of wear patterns. Even with Scotchgard it is still important to rearrange your furniture to prevent wear and to use throw rugs in high traffic areas of your carpet.

In homes that have pets you will find that scotch guard can be a great benefit in providing protection for your carpets and furniture. It protects furnishings from pet stains and repels liquids. It is quite common in a home with pets to have stains like urine, vomit or feces and scotchgard will provide added repellency to the fabrics. This type of strong protection will prevent permanent staining and in many cases the stains will release with a gentle washing or steam cleaning. The nice thing about this type of protection is that it won’t change the look, feel or breathability of your furnishings.

The intention of this article is to provide a little knowledge of fabric protection products and what you can expect from using scotch guard. In many cases the benefits of Scotchgard are exaggerated and people don’t provide the proper care and maintenance for their furnishings. By understanding that Scotchgard does have some limitations you have the knowledge to provide proper care and as a result will enjoy the benefits for many years.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4098.shtml

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How to Insulate a Garage Door in Cold Climates

By: Jeremy Harmon

A garage door is a great way to keep your car, your tools and your other garage items safe from intruders. They can keep your belongings safe at night but provide easy access during the day as most garage doors can be operated with remote control access. Furthermore, they can add value to your home. However, garage doors can also be quite expensive to buy and to install, not to mention the cost of maintaining them.

One of the main problems with garage doors is the lack of insulation. If you live in a cold climate, you want to ensure that your garage door can keep the heat in and that cold wintery air out. If not, then you are looking at higher energy bills and snow and rain in the winter and unwanted bugs and insects in the summer that you can most likely do without.

When it comes to insulating your garage door, you will more likely need an insulation kit. Insulation kits come with all the materials needed for DIY garage door insulation. You will also need weather strip, polyurethane foam, nails and a hammer to get the job done right.

So how do you successfully insulate your garage door just in time for the cold season? Read the following instructions to find out:

1.The first thing you need to do is measure your garage door panels to see how much polyurethane foam sheets you will need. Take a visit to the local hardware shop with the measurements.

2.Next, insert the foam along the garage panels with a putty knife. Cover them with aluminum foil tape or any other type of tape.

3.Take your weather strip to add additional insulation. Remove the backing material from the weather strip so that the adhesive side is facing downwards towards the garage door panel.

4.To ensure that the adhesive is sticking, use nails and a hammer to pin it in place.

5.Purchase a garage door insulation kit from your local hardware shop. Ask the sales staff to help you find a quality garage door kit that will provide years of wear and tear. Follow the instructions to complete the job and provide the maximum insulation to your garage door.

When it comes to preparing for the cold season, it is also a good idea to opt for a garage door made out of steel, wood or aluminum. Fiber glass, although pleasant to the eye, does not hold up in colder climates and can easily crack, break and allow for that cold climate to come drafting in.

Furthermore, tilt up garage doors also tend to let the cold air and poor weather in more than the sectional garage door counterpart. If you are shopping around for a garage door and insulation is a key factor, then perhaps it is a better idea to purchase a sectional garage door. Although they are more expensive than the tilt up, they also provide additional insulation now without all the DIY work later.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/home_improvement/article_4105.shtml

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