The Coolest room

Ever hear of color-blocking? It's a technique that uses squares of color to pack some punch. It can be a cheap and easy way to give your room a whole lotta WOW!

The Wall

Head on out to the home improvement store because you're on the prowl for paint. But no need to mull over a million mind-boggling tiny color swatches. Most paint departments, like at The Home Depot, have "Oops" racks stocked with cans of already-mixed paint that picky people rejected. And they're practically giving them away: $5 per gallon, $1 per liter. The colors can be funky, but that's what you're going for here. Pick out half a dozen or so contrasting colors--just go for the luck of the draw. As long as it's an interior flat latex, you're good to go. Our color combo? We went for a pumpkin orange, sage green, lovely lavender, pretty pink and periwinkle blue. Five colors, five liters ... five dollars. That's a five-spot to paint the whole room!

Next up? Mark off the areas you're going to paint. Grab a pencil and a yardstick, and draw away. Rather than going for uniformity, make blocks of varying sizes--squares, rectangles and L shapes. Figure out which colors you want where, put on your coveralls, and break out the rollers. Dropcloth, please!

The Door

We confess--we're not perfect-circle creators. That's where Wall Candy comes in. The company makes easy-to-apply decorative adhesives (eyespyteen.com), and the beauty is that if you don't like where you've stuck 'em, they peel right off. Yep, peel and stick! And while we love the Dotti-Licious line, we won't be held responsible for flashbacks to your Colorforms days!

The blue-floral squares to the right of the door? More Wall Candy. The shiny pink-meal squares to the left of the door? Vinyl placemats! We hit the discount store, picked up a couple two-packs at $2.50 a pop and stuck them to the wall with double-backed adhesive squares.

The Decor

After you're done devouring your box of vitamin-fortified whole grain, save the box. You're turning it into a super-inexpensive wall-hanging! We filled eight empty cereal boxes with styrofoam peanuts for sturdiness, then covered the boxes in colorful fabrics (from a clearance rack at only $1 per yard). To make your own, just lay the box on a piece of fabric large enough to cover the box, then wrap it up like a birthday present. Carefully secure the edges with a hot-glue gun (don't bother with Scotch tape--it won't hold!). Stick your creations to the wall with more squares of double-backed adhesive (one to each corner and one centered), and walls are a bore no more.

We also needed to hide some unsightly shelving. So we simply stitched a hunch of bandannas together, folded them over in pleats and tacked them to the wall above the shelf. Fast, colorful and easy!

The Floor

Keeping in line with the color-blocking theme, we went with colorful carpet tiles. It's called Toy Poodle, and you can get it at interfaceflor.com. What we love about it? It's peel-and-stick, and might as well be called floor candy. It's not cheap ($14 per square), but it's a total do-it-yourself project. If you don't have the cash to do a whole floor, just order a few tiles for an area-rug effect.

And More

Going for the splurge? We love, love, love Pottery Barn Teen's locker-look pieces (pbteen.com) for back-to-school cool. That's where we got our bedding, too, and the everyone-loves-it lime phone. We filled the rest of the room with accessories from Wal-Mart. For around $50, we scored lamps, a clock, a bouncy ball and a bright-red mascot. He's pretty happy in his new home....

Reused it

Aflatbed truck pulling out of Hayward lumberyard in Salinas, California, carries familiar-looking building materials--siding, insulation, studs, and beams--destined for a home construction site. But something is different. The siding is wood-textured fiber cement, the insulation is made of salvaged cotton blue jeans, and the studs are certified to be from a sustainably harvested forest. Resource- and environmentally friendly building--also known as green building--is gaining popularity in the West. Now even the commonest materials such as carpet and paint have green options and are being competitively priced.


Green building is about reducing environmental impact, whether in remodeling a home or planning a community. It's everything from energy-efficient and health-conscious design to using salvaged materials. There's no "green" architectural style, either, so you can still follow your personal taste when it comes to creating your home's look. Here's our guide to using earth-friendly materials.

Respectful remodel

Resourceful

The story of Kristin and Kenan Block's renovation of a 1904 Seattle home is one of research, road trips, and recycling. Their goal was to add a master bedroom on a new third floor and to extend and remodel the kitchen on the first. They wanted to keep all of the new features in character with the age of the house and specified that the remodel be as green as possible.

From the front, the new third floor is simply a gabled extension of the dormer. Serendipity and a collector's eye were key elements in outfitting the interior. The Blocks found the long kitchen sink at a salvage shop during a vacation in Vermont, and they lugged back the folding train-compartment sink--the highlight of the guest bathroom--from a Portland store called Rejuvenation, which specializes in salvage, house parts, and reproduction lighting.

Most of the interior and exterior materials are recycled or salvaged, including the beams, fir flooring (which was remilled), siding, cabinets, sinks, bathtubs, decorative sash windows, antique leaded glass, and interior doors.

Kristin sums up: "I think we saved money buying recycled products, but we sometimes spent more trying to get them installed."

DESIGN: J.A.S. Design-Build, Seattle (www.jasdesignbuild.com or 206/547-6242)

Building a new home

9. Hydronic radiant floor heater

Energy-wise

When visitors walk down the driveway to the front door of Marilee Rasmussen's two-story 1,500-square-foot house in Palo Alto, California, they also stride over the home's heat source. Beneath the payers is a geothermal heating system: its four 200-foot-deep wells contain a loop of pipes to circulate water heated by the low-grade warmth of the earth. The water, which is warmed to about 550, returns to a series of heat pumps that extract and boost heat and distribute it to a hydronic radiant floor-heating system, a water heater, and the heater for a narrow lap pool.

After losing its heat, the water recirculates within the in-ground pipes to be warmed by the mass of the earth. Going geothermal required a significant investment, but a local government incentive on heat pumps, along with the system's ability to serve both house and pool, made the installation worthwhile.

With the exception of a small guest bathroom, the main floor is one open living and cooking space that pivots around a central stairway. The radiant-heated floor works especially well in tall spaces like this because it heats objects and does not rely on forced air. Two bedrooms are upstairs.

DESIGN: Cartmell/Tam Architects, Los Altos Hills, GA (650/948-6930)

Anatomy of green

Earth-friendly home

This idealized house doesn't trumpet its greenness to the neighborhood. Regardless of architectural style or size, it's the shell of a house--the foundation, walls, windows, and roof--that provides the greatest energy and resource savings. The surprise is that in terms of energy efficiency, there's nothing wrong with wood-framed houses. They just have to be built correctly.

Alternative building systems such as straw bales, rammed earth, and structural insulated panels (SIPs) offer resource and energy efficiency. However, they are slightly more expensive than conventional wood-framed systems and are less utilized by mainstream builders.

Natural materials are often better for the environment, but not always: for example, fiber-cement siding uses minimal wood fiber, is more durable, and offers lower maintenance costs than real wood siding.

Intensifying House Security

For many reasons, people constantly seek for security. These days when violence takes it leap over the innocent people, security is no longer to be considered a luxury but a need. In other peoples cases, a must have.

Histories have it. There are plenty of crimes that happen inside our very own homes. It can be either planned or spontaneous. In the U.S., thousands of cases are being investigated and filed in courts every year pertaining to major crimes that are happening inside the home of the complainants. Though most of the time, those cases are not merely related to murder, damage to property due to burglary and other forms can be equated part of destructive crimes that kills the security of the people.

It does not mean that only those diplomats, politicians, celebrities, and other prominent personalities that greatly need security. Even lay people must also ask and demand for security.

As a father, it is his major role to protect his family from any danger brought about by any security problems. In the same way, it is his major duty to find ways on how to protect and secure his family from any danger. Summing it up, both parents are actually agents that must work together to protect the family from any destructive occurrences around the home.

These days, home security is no longer that hard to acquire. Aside from there are plenty of technologies, for instance alarm systems and locking systems, that are available in the market, they are not that expensive. Because of that, home security can now be acquired by even those with a tight budget.

Technology comes rushing forth with good news with them. There are already electronically manipulated home security systems that can be purchased in your favorite security system stores. These systems are also called as digital security systems. There are plenty of people that are now using the said technology. Although the conventional security systems are still on the market, the latest innovation is far more convenient than the former.

Alarm and locking security systems are made in a very complicated way. They are mounted in a way where information is represented by bits with values to make it more digital or electronic. These systems use sensors to detect heat, movements and discontinuity. When detection occurs, information is being sent to the central processing unit that will later on pass the processed information to the other system. After which, the door where the locking system is mounted, will automatically lock. For the case that the system is mounted to the alarm system, the alarm devices will automatically ring or alarm.

The process happens in nanoseconds. With that fast process, detection is highly accurate and crimes will be prevented from happening far ahead of time. There are times that these security systems are remotely connected to any crime-fighting agency like the police, fire department, etc. When the system detects unnecessary and unusual movements in the vicinity, it will send info to the central processor and at the same time to the said authorities.

There are states that push the use of home security systems in order to anticipate crime and thus will help authorities in capturing criminals. There are even state governments that suggest companies and other security system device manufacturers to the people in order to prevent crime.

Security is really now an important thing to think about. In these times were poverty and lawlessness is rampant, using the latest home security system is not something to take for granted.

Undermount Sinks

Modern day kitchens are very innovative in nature. They are always a mix of comfort and style. Thus kitchen sink being an essential part of the kitchen is also well worked upon by the experts to give it a chic look. The modern day kitchen sinks are as such they offer utmost comfort to the person working in the kitchen and their state of the art designs impart a classy look to the kitchen.

New edition in the kitchen sinks are the undermount kitchen sinks. They are innovative in style and gaining huge amount of popularity among the kitchen workers. They have been instrumental in ensuring a kitchen with modern day amenities and as beautiful as part of the household.

Undermount sinks

Undermount sinks are generally like the regular sinks in terms of their structure but what makes them distinguishable are their positioning in the kitchen platform. They are generally embedded in the kitchen platforms. For this purpose an empty space has been created in the kitchen platform and then the sink is fitted inside the cavity. It makes the whole thing very intact. These types of undermount kitchen sinks are also being referred by the expert plumbers.

Types of undermount kitchen sinks available

The undermount kitchen sinks available these days are generally made of two types of materials these are stainless steel and granite. The stainless steel gives a very chic look to the kitchen sinks and is very durable in nature. The stainless steels have inherent shining quality which makes them very attractive. The granite is the other material highly preferred for the manufacturing of the kitchen sinks.

The very color of the granite imparts a sense of class to the whole kitchen. The material has its own sets of advantages it is heat and scratch resistant in nature, they are even resistant to any stain. They are very durable and all these qualities amount to make it a life time asset.

Advantages of the undermount sink

The undermount kitchen sinks are designed as such that they are bigger and roomier. It ensures them with greater space. Thus bigger utensils can easily fit into this and can be comfortably washed. These kitchen sinks are given an undercoating which immensely reduces the sound and provide a barrier to condensation and thus improves the heat retention capabilities of the material.

The drains in this kitchen system are in the rear position which helps to ensure that there is more space to the kitchen counter.

These undermount kitchen sinks are very innovative in style. The finishing given to their designs are also very elegant. It is thus a perfect amalgamation of comfort and beauty in the kitchen.

A Rope Means

A rope is defined as a length of fibers all twisted and braided around each other to create a thicker strand which is capable of pulling, tying and connecting. Rope is used for hunting, pulling, fastening, attaching, carrying, lifting and climbing. The use of rope for these purposes has been dated back to prehistoric times, and has always been essential to mans progression. The first ropes were probably long pieces of vine all twisted and braided together. There is evidence showing that the first ropes date all the way back to 17,000BC. The ancient Egyptians were probably the first civilization to develop tools for constructing ropes in 4000BC. They made ropes out of water reeds, grass, leather and animal hair. The Egyptians used these ropes to construct their colossal pyramids that still stand today. In 2800BC, the Chinese made ropes used from hemp fibers. After this, rope making spread throughout all of Asia, India and Europe.

During the Middle Ages (13th to 18th century), Europeans constructed their ropes in very long buildings called rope walks. The rope strands were laid out from one end of the building to the next and twisted until rope was formed. This allowed for strands of rope to be as long as 300yards. Ropes this long were needed because of the large ships that were used virtually everyday. Trying to use a short rope on a huge boat would be useless and pointless.

Remarkable feats were completed with the use of rope before humans had advanced technology. Domenico Fontana created the 327 ton obelisk on Rome's Saint Peters Square using 900 men, 75 horses, and endless lengths of rope. Leonardo da Vinci drew sketches of a rope building machine, but like most of his inventions, it never got built. However, by the late 1700's, several machines for making rope had been constructed for use.

Rope was still made from natural fibers until the 1950's when synthetic materials started being used. Although thousands of years has passed since rope making was first created, how we make and use ropes today stays virtually unchanged except for the materials and technology we use. Today commonly used fibers for making rope include, manila, hemp, linen, cotton, coir, jute, nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene, Kevlar and polyester. Some ropes are a mixture of these fabrics, while others are constructed out of metal. Metal ropes are used for jobs that require more strength and less give.

Garage Equipment

For the do-it-yourselfer, garage equipment may be a necessity for doing many jobs around the house on your own. Whether you work on your own car, or do periodic checkups, there are some items you will want to own.

A rolling jack is a must-have piece of garage equipment for jacking up your car without digging it out of the trunk or other storage spot. They are easy and quick to use and can be useful for a variety of tasks like rotating tires, changing oil or getting under it for general maintenance. When using any type of jack, before sliding under it, make sure the vehicle if held up by jack stands to prevent it from falling down on you.

An air compressor may be another piece of garage equipment you will want to have on hand, whether just for inflating your tires, of to use with air tools, a quality air compressor with the correct attachments can aid in a variety of household chores. A power washer is another almost essential piece of garage equipment to have around. It can help clean your vehicle, your sidewalks and the garage floor after you have worked on your car. They also work well in cleaning gutters.

Think Of Equipment Needed For Car Care

When you think about what garage equipment you want to stock, remember how much you care for your vehicles. Washing can be done with the help of the pressure washer but waxing can be tiring on your arms and hands. One piece of garage equipment that can help is a power buffer. Normally a small one can be picked up for under $30 and can make buffing the newly applied wax a lot faster and easier.

A paint sprayer, either a separate unit or one that attaches to your air compressor can be another useful piece of garage equipment to have around, especially if you plan to paint your car or outside furniture. They can also be used to apply protective coatings to your wood deck and in painting just about anything.

For those who do heavy work on vehicles, a parts washer is another piece of garage equipment you can't do without. It holds even the smallest parts for cleaning and allows for proper drainage of the cleaning chemicals to avoid spills on your garage floor and to meet strict disposal standards set by the Environment Protection Agency.

Build a Pool House

With hundreds of thousands of pools resting in America's backyards, an equal number of pool accessories exist. But while many will consider pool toys or pool hardware, the biggest accessory is also the best: the pool house. Pool dreamers and owners alike must ask themselves one question when considering their pool: do I need a pool house?

Many will automatically answer no, without even considering the uses of a pool house. These individuals consider an additional building a frivolous expense that just soaks up more money in its construction and maintenance. But in reality, those who reject the idea without considering it might be the ones who in fact need the pool house the most. Before making a hasty decision on building this important accessory, pool owners should consider the benefits of such a house from all angles.

Most individuals simply do not know that pool houses come in a variety of shapes, sizes, designs and styles. They don't have to have mahogany floors and glass ceilings or cost more than the house that sits in front of it. Unfortunately, the simple label of "house" often leads to the mistaken assumption that pool houses take up vast amounts of space and cost thousands of dollars. The variety of shapes and sizes also come with a variety of prices. Thus a pool owner can purchase a pool house as large or small as he would like.

Another misassumption involves pool house construction. Contractors do not necessarily have to tear through a homeowner's lawn to construct the building on the property. Many think that a pool house goes up just like a regular house, and thus will cost as much as a regular home. Certainly a contractor can build a custom made pool house, but other options abound. A large number of retailers, on and offline, specialize in pre made pool houses. These pre made houses offer a variety of options with different models available along with the option of delivery right to the owner's backyard. Many times these houses come in one or two pieces.

Pool owners should consider the full uses of a pool house as well. A wide variety exists, from simply housing guests to helping owners host a party in a clean environment. The pool house will provide a place for wet and dripping guests to change instead of traipsing through a previously clean house and soiling carpets and furniture.

Some owners even use the houses to store swim accessories like pool cleaning supplies, toys, lifesaving devices, and furniture. The house will provide storage and thus a cleaner backyard. Both the pool and backyard will look more inviting.

Thanks to creative manufacturers, not all pool houses are built the same, and thus all pool owners should consider what a pool house could do for them.