Improve Your Home and Garden
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I love a beautiful lawn…on a golf course. At my house, the less lawn, the better. My dog and I disagree on just how to have less lawn, but we’re working on coming to a consensus. To me, less lawn means more space for flowers and other plants that feed the earth. And less lawn [...]
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I don’t know if a tree that falls in the woods makes a sound if I’m not there, but I do know that when a tree falls, it sparks a marvelous chain of events that support the forest ecosystem. That event is decomposition. Mother Nature, in all her wisdom, created enterprising microbes to begin the [...]
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If you think the top indicator of a clean house is it must smell like a pine tree–or worse–Greg Nicklas of Maid Brigade of Portland would like to clean yours. Maid Brigade, a national cleaning franchise that’s been in the Portland, OR, area for over 16 years, decided to “go green” in April 2007. “It [...]
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If your idea of a log home is “Little House on the Prairie,” allow me to bring you up to speed on 21st Century log homes. It’s still true that log homes have a “rustic” appearance – there’s really no way around that. (And the “lodge look” is sort of the whole point.) But innovations [...]
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Outdoor lighting can provide your home with a pleasing nighttime look, while also increasing the safety of your family. Lighting your home, however, is a bit more complex than simply throwing a few floodlights around the perimeter. Outdoor lighting done right highlights the beauty of your house, and creates an atmosphere that’s conducive to keeping [...]
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For artists, inspiration can come from unusual places. Terry Gibson and his wife, Nancy, both with Terry Gibson ~ Landscape Architect, are known for their intimate design style, specializing in meditation rooms and sacred spaces. As I talked with Terry about his design philosophy, I was surprised to learn that his inspiration comes from all [...]
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Geothermal energy represents the leading edge of heating and cooling technology. It’s safe, reliable and the most energy efficient system available, since it moves heat energy to and from the earth to heat and cool your indoor environment. Compared to ordinary systems (oil, gas, propane, electric), geothermal technology can save you 30 to 60 percent [...]
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Next time weather turns cold (assuming you live where it does, in fact, turn cold), try this. Go outside in a warm coat, fluff up your hair and crouch down. Now stay like that … for hours. How long do you think it would take before your feet got cold? Or your knees started to [...]
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I love to garden, although I don’t seem to have as much time these days for my summer pastime. But I do have a longstanding frustration for which I’ve not found an acceptable solution, until now. I’m talking about garden edging. I think I’ve tried everything: stones, bricks, pavers, cutting a “V” and filling it [...]
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Sunset Custom Homes, Inc., St. Louis, MO, wants to help you build a better house (or addition) … for less. They’ve created a unique Owner-Builder program that puts you in charge of your home building project as the general contractor. Not only do you eliminate the high general contractor fees, which frees up money you [...]
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If life had gone the way Michael O’Loughlin, co-founder of Blue Ocean Events and the Energy Trust Better Living Show, had planned in high school, today he’d be knee deep in genetics. Life, however, rarely goes the way we plan, and Michael was called to join the family business of event planning instead. [...]
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Did you ever notice how there’s a business for everything you never want to do yourself? We’re busy. We work, we carpool, we take our kids to extracurricular activities. Some of us take care of older parents, and others volunteer. In short, we have little time to spare in our action-packed lives. (Then there’s the [...]
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It used to be that a “home security system” was simply monitoring equipment that, when triggered by an intruder made a lot of noise and called the police. Today, “home security systems” are a lot more complicated. Americans lead busy lifestyles and their homes have become the hub where they work, learn and entertain. We [...]
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You might have the neatest, cleanest garage in the neighborhood. But if you have a sub-par garage door, it won’t matter how tidy the inside is. Think about it. On many homes, the garage door is the largest feature on the front of the house. If it’s unattractive, doesn’t fit the style of the home [...]
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Unless you love the idea of a basement swimming pool, having a leaky basement isn’t fun or healthy. There are, of course, the obvious things; the dampness and musty smell. But did you know wet basements or crawlspaces harbor more insidious things such as mold, mildew, foundation deterioration and varmint infestation? Do I have your [...]
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