Photo: Greenwood Heating
Dust bunnies are multiplying, dog hair is piling up, and bird feathers are flying—oh my, it must be the furnace filter!
To change a furnace filter is perhaps the quickest and easiest way to maximize the efficiency of your heating system—and to help purify your home’s air.
Photo: The Victoria Condo
Gleaming and shiny, stainless steel brings a bright and polished air to any kitchen. Keeping that brilliant sheen, however, takes a little bit of work… and some very specific cleaning products.
Photo: infoniagra.com
Average Americans are flushing money down the drain. Oh, maybe not literally money—but most US homes still have one or more older models that waste a phenomenal amount of water compared to today’s new low-flush toilets.
Toilets use more water than any other appliance or fixture in the home, with older toilets using between 3.5 and 7 gallons of water per flush, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program.
The EPA estimates that if all of the inefficient toilets in homes were converted to WaterSense high-efficiency models, Americans could save more than 640 billion gallons of water per year—the equivalent to 15 days of flow over Niagara Falls.
Photo: ideabox
A small space can house some very big design ideas—witness the new aktiv line of houses designed by ideabox, a six-year-old architecture and design firm based in Salem, OR, and filled with furniture, appliances, and accessories by global giant retailer IKEA.
The design collaboration came about through social media, when ideabox and IKEA Portland connected through Twitter, according to ideabox principal Jim Russell. “ideabox focuses on modern, energy- and resource-efficient prefab design solutions,” he comments. “With an emphasis on lifestyle and a goal of staying cost effective, we’re always looking for ways to offer our clients fun, personality-driven options.
Photo: DIYLife
There is a definite chill in the air, and the first snow flurries are flying… that means it’s time to get our snow blower prepared for the winter.
Basic snow blower maintenance is fairly simple and straightforward, involving steps similar to those you’d take for your car (changing oil, inspecting belts, and so on). The first step is to dig out the owner’s manual, so that you know exactly what replacement parts, oil, and lubricants are right for your specific model of snow blower. Following are some general guidelines that should have you up and running before the first heavy snow.
Photo: knowallabouthealth.com
Winter’s chill is in the air, and that means it may be time to shop for a snow blower.
There are a number of factors to consider. The first factor, obviously, is average snowfall. Light-duty electric snow blowers are perfectly suited to areas that get four to six inches of light snow during a typical snowstorm, but these models can start to bog down when snowfall is deeper and heavier.
Andersen Arts & Crafts Window Styles
Interpreting historically accurate home design can be confusing, but a new series of free pattern books should help homeowners comprehend the dynamic language of style.
Developed by Andersen Windows, this new series of Home Style Pattern Books is designed as a tool to help homeowners, architects, designers, builders, remodelers and contractors easily re-create historical home design elements.
Whether homeowners are building a new home or remodeling an existing house, the Home Style Pattern Books provide a common framework for communication between everyone involved in the architectural, design, and construction process.
Antique Mahogany Bed with Pineapple Carved Post. Photo: Maine Antique Furniture
It is fascinating to observe how something becomes a global icon. Consider how everyone in every country seems to know that a bright red circle-and-slash logo means “forbidden,” or that five interlocking rings symbolize the Olympic Games. In a similar vein, America has given the world community the international symbol of hospitality: the pineapple.
Food historians say that pineapples originally evolved and were cultivated in the tropical areas of Brazil and Paraguay, spreading through trade to the islands of the Caribbean, where the native Carib Indians called it “anana”, or “excellent fruit”. The intensely sweet treat was a staple of special feasts and religious events and was also used to produce wine.
Slideshow: Trending Now: Pineapple Design Motifs
Acanthus Leaf-patterned William Morris wallpaper, c.1875. Photot: Britannica.com
Leaves are very much on my mind these days, what with all of the raking, blowing, bagging and mulching that goes along with having a yard full of maple trees. However, a different type of leaf has remained in the forefront of architecture and design since ancient Greeks first used it to adorn the tops of columns: the acanthus leaf.
Photo: 50statesclassifieds.com
What a difference the right tool or appliance can make! For instance, we were late arrivals to the pressure washer party, but now that we have “bellied up to the bar”, we are having a blast… of water.
Last year’s purchase of a pressure washer has made our lives so much easier, in so many ways and so many places.
