Blinds Or Curtains?

Blinds or Curtains is the age old question, when choosing window treatments. Yet, you don’t have to choose either for your whole home. You can have a mixture of both. Each window treatment has its pros and cons, and each has a room it is most suited for. I’d like to introduce you to some of these options. Curtains can create a soft and warm atmosphere, so they are great for your living room. You can get some dramatic styles and a fantastic array of colours, meaning there will be something available for everyone. Another pro for curtains is that in the winter, they provide good insulation. However, they take up a lot more space than blinds, and aren’t suitable for bathrooms or kitchens. Due to the moisture in these rooms, the risk of mould or staining is very high.

Blinds are a bit more complicated, as there is an endless source of styles and each has its own purpose. Wooden Venetian blinds are great for the kitchen. They possess an interesting combination of elegance and practicality. They look good, and can withstand the heat and action of a kitchen, and like other venetian blinds they give you the most control over how much or how little light you’d like to let in. Moving on to another room of the house, you often find roller blinds in children’s and teens’ bedrooms, as they are easier to use, reasonably tough and come in some bold and fun colours. Another important pro of roller blinds is that you can add blackout fabric to them, thereby ensuring that no external light from street lamps or passing cars can disturb your sleep.

In the dining room, roman blinds are very popular, as they are seen to be very luxurious and people like to show them off to their dinner guests. Similar to roller blinds, roman blinds are good at keeping light out and both styles of blinds take up the least amount of space. However, they are difficult to clean.

This guide is designed to show you that there’s a great amount of window treatment choice out there. You don’t have to commit to just curtains or just blinds. The choice is so vast that you may feel a little overwhelmed, so here you have at least a bit of a guideline.

If you have a blog post you would like to publish on here then send us an email to kirstiejones2011@gmail.com

Quick Class: Float Ball

A short post today, nothing fancy. We’ve been working on some videos over at Click and Improve and while writing a few of them, one thing that came up was common things that people see but don’t know the use for. One thing that came up, as I was talking to a NYC plumber at a recent meeting, was how the mechanisms in the back of the toilet tank work together and how a kink in their process is what tends to be the cause of a runny toilet. This led me to the floater ball, which I remember used to be completely alien to me; that black ball in the toiet tank that looks like an inflatable croquet ball. Not to get too gross, but the winter months can be some battle-test weeks for your toilet and this was something that seemed to be an easy DIY repair job to go through.

The float ball sits on the water and when the toilet flushes, it drops, causing the float arm to raise the valve plunger and bring fresh water into the tank until the floatball is floating again. The most common effect of a defective float ball is a running toilet, and there are a few things that can cause this. The float ball can be cut or leaky, which can cause it to not float properly. There’s also a possibility that the float ball is rubbing up against the side of the tank, which can cause a tear or make it so the lever doesn’t lift properly.

The most common solution is replacement, as float balls are relatively cheap. Regardless, you should replace it immediately, as it links directly with the mechanism that ensures that you can flush your toilet properly. To replace it, you’ll have to turn the water shutoff valve to the toilet and flush the toilet to empty the tank. Use a pair of pliers to take off the rod arm and float ball. Turn the rod arm counterclockwise to remove the defective float ball before threading the new float ball on the rod arm and tighten it. Turn the water back on to the toilet and reattach the rod arm, bending it to reach a desirable level to meet the water level.

Okay. So, admittedly, some of that stuff takes a bit more effort than I led on, but plumbing in general tends to be a craft that even the most experienced of practitioners are consistently refining and honing. But this is a good thing to have in your back pocket when the sound of swirling water is keeping you up to hours that would make Santa cock an eyebrow. 

Blogger Secret Santa: Who are you???!!

This year I'm in a Secret Santa exchange with some blogger friends -arranged by Stefanie of Brooklyn Limestone- and I have NO IDEA who my {AWESOME} Secret Santa is!!!

Here is the list of possible culprits:

My Santa seems to know me so well!!  (Or maybe I'm really obvious to figure out????  hahaha)  But, really, when my first package arrived I was thrilled.  She's the best.  It was an itunes gift card (yipeeeeeeee-  I love to dance in the kitchen - or anywhere- to new music) and the most adorable little box of GREEN notecards.:

They'll stay in my kitchen where I'm always scrounging around for a piece of paper for grocery lists or notes.   (It's so funny but I can't believe how having this little box of pretty note paper has made life easier for me...  I know it should be common sense to keep paper in the kitchen but I never wanted to because I never had any that was pretty enough to keep out.  All the rest always felt like clutter.  So no more running around through the house looking for scrap paper to make lists for me!!)

Anyway, I was all happy thinking that was it.  But THEN, another package arrived.  ( !!! ) I tore open the package like a six year-old....  (getting gifts in the mail is awesome.) It was a beautiful Stella & Dot box...

{I'm using stella & dot as a clue...  I know some of those Santa culprits above are stella & dot ladies so I'm narrowing down my guessing pool.}

And this is what was inside:

{Seriously Santa???  You are amazing!!!  I LOVE YOU!!}

How did she know??!!  It's perfect and with green being my favorite color, I am going to wear this baby all the time.  (It is more green in person than in the pic if that didn't make sense ;)  It's so beautiful and (maybe it's the pregnancy hormones) but it made me a teensy bit teary.  Santa, thank you for being so generous & thoughtful. 

So...  now that you have seen the list of Secret Santas,  any guesses as to who sent me my package?  Also, I sent a little Santa package myself over to one of those Santas...  You can click these posts below to see the other gifts & make guesses.  If you follow the link to Brooklyn Limestone, you can also enter a contest with your guesses.  Have fun & I would really love some help as to who you think sent me mine so be sure to enter a guess in the comments section!! :)

4 men 1 lady *** brooklyn limestone *** bryn alexandra *** emilyaclark  *** house of smiths ***

the inspired room *** isabella and max rooms *** la dolce vita  *** making it lovely *** you stir me *** thrifty decor chick ***  tenjune *** lovely little details ***  young house love

Thank you again to my Secret Santa.





If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Scam Outs

As the hours tick away towards the holiday weekend, I find myself taking a look more and more at reports of contracting scams, which is upsetting to say the least. There is, I suppose, a certain glee in knowing that I take pride in my work and customer service, as do a great deal of the NYC plumbers I work with, in contrast but that’s mostly pride and doesn’t really help the hundreds of reports from victims of contractor malfeasance that come in daily. During the holidays, when you’ve just spent a large portion of your paycheck on Batman: Arkham City and that Justin Bieber concert movie (on blu-ray, no less), it’s doubly disappointing.

An article published yesterday in the Washington Post spurred my interest in these matters. A technology officer out of Great Falls, along with some other swindlers, decided to bilk the Army Corps. of Engineers out of nearly $20 million while working for Nova Datacom. The scam involves kickbacks (never thought I’d get to use that word), conspiracy and a web of bribes reaching back to 2007. It’s a quagmire, to put it politely, but the truth is that I react far more strongly to local, smaller-scale scams, seeing as it tarnishes the name of all service providers, including and maybe especially NYC handymen.

One of the more perplexing reports I read was from a customer in Buffalo, complaining about a home improvement contractor who was working without permits and boasted a Better Business Bueau accreditation that they did not earn. A fake BBB accreditation shows a disturbing lack of confidence in how one works, since the accreditation itself doesn’t really guarantee that they have been evaluated or endorsed by the BBB. The lack of permits, however, is a charge that should garner genuine legal action and can be seen as real old-fashioned criminal behavior.

Lack of a proper permit may seem like a small thing but to be frank, its one of the most potentially expensive problems you can find yourself in. Not having the right permit can legally cause an inspector or neighbor to file a suit and cause you to pull down any work you’ve done and start again from scratch, causing thousands of dollars potentially. My own mother fell prey to this when she built her front porch. And, to be honest, getting an inspector to come by and tell you what you can do is not really what you would call a hassle. Most inspectors want to help customers understand their project better and far from the bureaucratic task masters that more seedy contractors make them out to be.

In a perfect world, every contractor would have this stuff down but as that customer in Buffalo would tell you, this is not the case. Ask your contractors and service providers about these things, make sure they have it covered before you start in on any project. Otherwise, you might find yourself in the middle of tearing down that new rec room the day after Christmas, as your kids enjoy their presents out of your sight. 

The Holiday Whirlwind

I guess it probably seems like this every year, but this year seems extremely whirlwindish in terms of the holidays coming up quickly. 
At work, our past month (or 2) has been jam-packed with client installations & presentations and it has floooown: 

{mid-installation day in a living room}

{a dining room}

{sneakity peek of the adjoining living room}

{a master bedrom}

{a sliver of a family room}

{the neighboring breafast room with kids' art gallery}

{an almost-finished master bedroom...  will be sure to post a new pic with artwork, styling & new bedding}

...And there are a few more that I just can't post quite yet... but it's been ca-razy.  (And thank God for my assistant, Meghan.)

At home though, we've tried to take it easy and we've been leaving our weekends fairly open so we have time with each other.  I've been coming out of the first-trimester pregnancy coma and am almost halfway there till baby arrives.  (NOT that I'm wishing this time away...  I know this is the probably the easiest my life is going to be for a loooooong time ;)  But we've been slowly adding Christmas around our house.  One of my favorite simple ways to make the house feel festive is to put hack cut white poinsettias & place them in containers around the house:

{I mentioned last year that I'd seen it in an old Better Homes & Gardens article & it really is sooo fast & pretty.  It's the perfect 1-minute centerpiece.}

We also strung up COLORED LIGHTS outside our house.  I know, I know.  But the kids love them...  And I sort of do too.  (shhhhhhhh ;)

I'm extremely behind on Christmas shopping, as always.

..And...  we celebrated Justin's 2nd birthday last night with my parents & grandparents.   

 I can't believe how big my baby got!! 

{This is a picture of him just after triumphantly annoucing to the table "I'm two!"}

Above, that's his Pop Pop/ my step dad Tom  is making sure he doesn't dive off :)

We celebrated with a caramel cake sent to us by our friends at John Rosselli in Georgetown.  My mom topped it with rice krispy treat snowmen- oh my:

{As you can see, it's tough to have to blow out two whole candles.}

My little sister, "Auntie Morgan," is on the left holding Christian.

 

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your own whirlwind.  I've realized that life never really does seem to slow down so you have to make your own moments to savor.  We've been trying ourselves & I hope you've gotten some in at your house too!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Twig Christmas Tree Art

I love rustic Christmas decorations and certainly loved the project that Kindra  At Home With K's blog did to make her twig Christmas tree. Here's my version of it. 

I started with this frame from Michael's.  I spray painted it white with Rustoleum 2x Flat White Paint.

 I was disappointed that there was only a piece of cardboard on the back of the frame.  This definitely made it harder to get a good stretching of the burlap.  I put a thin piece of batting under the burlap and hot glued the edges of the burlap to the back of the cardboard.

I used Tacky Glue to attach the twigs to the burlap.  I spread the glue on the twigs pretty heavily.

This is before the glue dried completely.

 I used a heavy pan to hold the twigs in place to dry.

 I added a starfish to the top and was done.  (You can still see a little of the tacky glue.  It was still wet here, but did dry clear)

Thanks for your visit!  And Happy Holidays!

Pam

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