| Greetings! Welcome to the April 2007 editon of the HDE Connection. |
| 5 Ways to Brighten Your Home for Spring, by: Kathy Wilson |
Spring is a time of renewal, and what a better time to freshen up your home decorating! Here are seven of The Budget Decorator's best tips for brightening up your home for spring!
1. Color your world! Add color with paint and fabric to bring those fresh spring colors into every room. You don't have to repaint an entire room to get good results. Just paint one wall or one piece of furniture a fresh spring color, and see how the room glows!
2. Light up your life! Take up your area rugs, remove the heavy curtains, and let the sunshine light up your rooms. Make sure your windows and glass surfaces are clean. People underestimate the amount of light a dingy window blocks, and the shiny surfaces will reflect brightness through the home. It's a simple thing, but makes a world of difference.
3. Change out the old! Change out your winter accessories for something with a little less visual weight. Take down heavy paintings and replace with hangings of pretty floral plates from the dollar store. Put away your heavy candlesticks for awhile and set out small vases of fresh flowers.
4. Cover up! If you have dark furniture, throw pillows, or even dark comforters on the bed, its time to stitch up some pretty covers in light and bright fabric. Slipcovers can be purchased on Ebay outlet shops for less than $20. Check out my slipcover page at http://thebudgetdecorator.com/slipcovers.html. Covers for your throw pillows can easily be made with simple hem stitch or iron on hem tape, and a comforter cover can be made by stitching two flat sheets together on three sides, and using Velcro for the closure.
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| Turn Your Bedroom into a Peaceful Retreat |
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 Your bedroom should be a stylish and peaceful room to help you relax and recharge. It should be the ultimate escape to help you unwind from the stresses of the day.
The key to creating a great bedroom is to think about what items makes you the happiest and produces the greatest sense of tranquility and peace. Is it chenille fabrics, scented candles, fluffy pillows, or romantic window treatments? Whatever it is, your bedroom is your space and should be decorated accordingly.
The largest piece of furniture in your room should be a comfortable bed. Next, select nightstands that are proper height for reaching from the bed. For your TV, consider purchasing a beautiful piece of furniture like an armoire to house and perhaps hide the unit and related components. If your bedroom has adequate space for a seating area, select a comfy chair and ottoman or a chaise lounge that will entice you to curl up, relax, and read a good book.
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| How to Love Your Laundry Room |
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 Have your ever thought about how many hours you spend in your laundry room if you added them up at the end of each week? If you're like me there are very few days that go by without doing at least one load of laundry. This being the case, it makes perfect sense to decorate your laundry room in a style or theme that pleases you and helps the chore of doing laundry a little more enjoyable.
What makes you happy and pleases your eyes? Is it the beach, antiques, art work, the color red? Whatever it is, just remember that you don't have to decorate your laundry room in the same style or theme as the rest of your house. The first step to decorating your laundry room is to pick a theme. Whether it be a tropical them or a vintage them, carry it out through your entire laundry room.
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| Rediscovering the Outdoors with Your Kids |
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 (ARA) - With school almost out, summer is the perfect time to rediscover the outdoors. Experiencing nature's wonders firsthand -- admiring a garter snake slithering in the grass, planting flowers in the yard or devouring strawberries picked fresh from the garden -- can prove as captivating as anything on the TV or video-game screen. So begin today to get your kids to celebrate and capture summer outside with our living planet.
Parents searching for inspiration don't have to look far to identify great outdoor activities that are nearby, easy and fun. And the benefits are enormous, studies reveal. More-active kids do better academically. They score higher on tests of concentration and self-discipline. They show better coordination, balance and agility, and they're sick less often. They are less likely to bully, be violent and to vandalize. And they are more likely to develop their imagination and the sense of wonder.
"Unlike television, nature does not steal time; it amplifies it," contends award-winning journalist and child advocate Richard Louv, whose book Last Child in the Woods coined the term "nature-deficit disorder" and also triggered a nationwide "No Child Left Indoors" movement. "In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace."
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| The Garden Glove |
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"Do you have the same old lawn and garden as everyone else on the block? The Garden Glove is a new website being launched by Kathy Wilson, LifetimeTV.com's home decorating expert. The Garden Glove is just for do it yourselfers dedicated to creative, affordable gardening. Get great garden advice, ideas and inspiration! For beginning to advanced gardeners, learn about flower, herb and vegetable gardens, garden design, container gardening, rose gardens, wildlife gardening and gardening with kids! Get garden advice, creative DIY garden projects and garden craft instructions in our free newsletter. See gorgeous garden photography! Gardening touches our souls...there is a reason it is the #1 hobby in America! So young and old gardeners, if you've never dug in the dirt or been doin' it for 50 years; join us at our new site, sign up for our free newsletter and join our forum to ask questions and get answers. And this year, let your yard be the one on the block everyone admires! Visit today at http://www.TheGardenGlove.com" | |
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| Product Picks |
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We have selected our favorite home and garden products for April. Be sure to browse this page for great ideas!
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| Home Decor Exchange's Beauty & Fashion Corner |
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(ARA) - The end of winter seems like it should be a time to rejoice. Instead, many people experience a twinge of dread when they realize that the arrival of spring also means the advent of swimsuit season. But a few simple, wise food and exercise choices can help people embrace the sights and sounds of spring and a healthy lifestyle.
"Spring is the time when a lot of us remember our New Year's resolution to eat better and exercise more," says Karen Miller Kovach, M.S., R.D., chief scientific officer of Weight Watchers International, Inc.. "Some of us may feel we can just hang up our swimsuits until next year if we haven't been sticking to our resolutions. But it's never too late to start making better choices."
Here are a handful of smart choices that can help you prep for spring fashions and keep you on the path to your health goals year-round.
* Stick to snacks that include protein. Protein will be more satisfying and help you feel full longer. Snacks like chips or cookies alone, won't make you feel full for long and offer no significant nutritional value. Instead try a slice of low-fat cheese or peanut butter on top of your cracker.
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| A Little of This-N-That! |
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