During the holiday season, it is so easy to get stressed. Be sure to take a few moments each day to do something nice for yourself. Below are some ideas of what you can do.
* Manicure / pedicure
* Read a book
* Have a quite time
* Rearrange your bedroom
* Paint something
* Take a nice warm bath
* Go for a walk
* Listen to some music (Be sure to stay away from Christmas music if you find that it’s having the opposite effect on you.)
First impressions count — not just for your friends, relatives, and the UPS guy, but for yourself. Whether it’s on an urban stoop or a Victorian front porch, your front door and the area leading up to it should extend a warm welcome to all comers — and needn’t cost a bundle.
Here’s what you can do to make welcoming happen on the cheap.
1. Clear the way for curb appeal. The path to your front door should be at least 3 feet wide so people can walk shoulder-to-shoulder, with an unobstructed view and no stumbling hazards. So get out those loppers and cut back any overhanging branches or encroaching shrubs.
2. Light the route. Landscape lighting makes it easy to get around at night. Solar-powered LED lights you can just stick in the ground, requiring no wiring, are suprisingly inexpensive. $45 for a pack of 8, lowes.com.
3. Go glossy. Borrow inspiration from London’s lovely row houses, whose owners assert their individuality by painting their doors in high-gloss colors. The reflective sheen of a royal blue, deep green, crimson, or whatever color you like will ensure your house stands out from the pack. Consult Bonnie Rosser Krims’ book, The Perfectly Painted House, for ideas.
And find out what your front entryway says about you.
4. Pretty up the view. A door with lots of glass is a plus for letting light into the front hall — but if you also want privacy and a bit of decor, check out decorative window film. It’s removable and re-positionable, and comes in innumerable styles and motifs. About $5.25 per running foot, decorativefilm.com.
An less expensive way to get the look of stained glass without doing custom work or buying a whole new door: Mount a decorative panel on the inside of the door behind an existing glass insert, $92 for an Arts and Crafts-style panel 20” high by 11” wide.
5. Replace door hardware. While you’re at it, polish up the handle on the big front door, or better yet, replace it with a shiny new brass lockset with a secure deadbolt, $57.
6. Please knock. Doorbells may be the norm, but a hefty knocker is a classic that will never run out of battery life, and another opportunity to express yourself (whatever your favorite animal or insect is, there’s a door-knocker in its image). $39, potterybarn.com.
7. Ever-greenery. Boxwoods are always tidy-looking, the definition of easy upkeep. A pair on either side of the door is traditional, but a singleton is good, too. About $25 at garden centers. In cold climates, make sure pots are frost-proof (polyethylene urns and boxes mimic terracotta and wood to perfection). $80, frontera.com.
8. Numbers game. Is your house number clearly visible? That’s of prime importance if you want your guests to arrive and your pizza to be hot. Stick-on vinyl numbers in a variety of fonts make it easy, starting at about $4 per digit.
9. Foot traffic. A hardworking mat for wiping muddy feet is a must. A thick coir mat can be had at the hardware store for less than $20, or spring for something fancier, like this decorative half-round that promises weather and mildew resistance, $45, frontgate.com.
10. Go for the glow. Fumbling for keys in the dark isn’t fun. Consider doubling up on porch lights with a pair of lanterns, one on each side of the door, for symmetry and twice the illumination. $69 each, shadesoflight.com.
11. Snail mail. Mailboxes run the gamut from kitschy roadside novelties masquerading as dogs, fish, or what-have-you to sober black lockboxes mounted alongside the front door. Whichever way you go, make sure yours is standing or hanging straight, with a secure closure, and no dings or dents. The mail carrier will thank you.
Your Christmas tree can look grand if you follow these six tips for holiday lights from Mary Beth Gotti, director of the GE Lighting & Electrical Institute:
Source: GE Lighting & Electrical Institute
Yesterday, we posted an article about designing an amazing Christmas light display. But how old is too old for Christmas lights? Many of us still use traditional incandescent Christmas lights. Christmas lights that are typically more than 5 years old run a higher fire hazard risk as well as take more energy to run. Consider switching to a more energy-efficient, cooler-burning alternative, like LED. LED lights cost a little more up front over traditional incandescent, but you will save money on the electricity it takes to run them and you will have peace of mind that your tree will not catch fire. Some of the big box hardware stores offered a buy back program at the beginning of the Christmas season. If you brought in your old incandescent Christmas lights, they would give you a credit towards the purchase of new LED lights. Check with your local stores to see if you may be able to benefit from such a buy back program.
All photos in this blog post by Chris Thompson, photographer.
If you’ve got deep pockets and time on your hands, you can turn your ho-hum Christmas lights display into a dazzler with only 400,000 bulbs, 70 extra circuits, and hundreds of hours of planning and hanging.
As we promised in yesterday’s post about the cost of holiday lights we’ve got an inside peek into what it takes to create those dazzling light shows from the Smith family of North Wilmington, Del., to mount its annual Christmas lights show, which has delighted neighbors near and far for more than 25 years.
Brothers Tom and Jim Smith are the money behind the extravaganza, which runs through Dec. 23 on 1900 Prior Road in Wilmington. But brother-in-law Ralph Thompson, 54, is the brains and muscle that plans and puts up the display, working weekends and evenings from Labor Day until Thanksgiving.
Thompson recently told HouseLogic the secrets to mounting a holiday display that makes the news, and neighbors will remember all year long.
Click the photo above for a larger view of the 2012 Smith Christmas display.
Houselogic: With so many lights and blowups and figures, how do you know where to put what?
Ralph Thompson: You learn from experience. I like to mix bulbs together — the old with the new; the LEDs with the incandescent light bulbs. The house is trimmed in big bulbs, and I use the small bulbs as icicles. My top tip for novices is: If you need 150 feet of lights, buy 200. It’s always good to have spares, because sometimes you can’t find a match later.
HL: How do you power up a display with 400,000 lights?
RT: We have two separate meters just to run the Christmas display. All together we have 70 circuits. We check the circuits with an amp meter to make sure we’re not overloading them.
HL: How many extension cords do you use?
RT: About 300 short ones, because we’ve buried most of our circuits underground. We use green and brown cords so you can’t really see them.
HL: Is more always better when it comes to Christmas light displays?
RT: People don’t realize that with a large display, you’ve got to add circuits, which means calling an electrician, and that gets expensive. A home owner can have a beautiful yard with just a half-dozen figures.
HL: Hanging lights can be dangerous. Have you ever gotten hurt?
RT: I’ve cut my fingers on broken lights, but I haven’t fallen off a ladder. If there’s ice or snow on the roof, we don’t go up.
HL: What’s the best way to attach lights to your house?
RT: Mostly I use plastic shingle and gutter clips. I’ve got some permanently mounted clips on eaves, but every few years I replace them because the sun eats the plastic.
HL: What’s your least favorite part of mounting the display?
RT: Going through every string of lights to replace every bulb that doesn’t work — that’s the most tedious. You spend hours of maintenance on a large display. The average person would be overwhelmed; I’m overwhelmed at times.
HL: Is there a friendly competition between your display and the Fauchers’ light show, also in Delaware?
RT: He claims he has more lights, but I don’t feel we’re in competition. More power to him. I know what it takes to do what I do.
HL: Why do you spend so much time and effort on this display?
RT: Years ago I had a personal thing happen in my life — a perforated ulcer. When I recovered, I was looking for a purpose. This is my purpose, to make people happy. I love to see the joy and smiles on faces of the young, and the young at heart.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog/lighting/how-to-christmas-lights-display/#ixzz2DSa9d1ot
Door color: In feng shui, a red door says “welcome” and invites good energy. In early America, red doors signified a friendly household where a weary traveller might stop for the night.
Entry style: Surrounded by a simple colonial black-and-white scheme, this entryway gets a lot of bang for its color buck.
You are: Energetic, full of life, and hospitable. But you don’t take chances — you doubled down on positive energy by painting both your storm door and exterior entry door red.
Door color: According to Dionysian theory, a multi-colored door indicates that a person of “creative happiness” lives inside.
Entry style: Featuring framed slides of translucent Pantone colors, this doorway recalls the luminous, ordered style of the Arts & Crafts period.
You are: Eclectic, joyful, meticulous. You didn’t score well on your math SATs, but you were the art teacher’s pet.
Door color: Dark-stained wood doors are essentially neutral and go with any exterior paint color combination.
Entry style: The simple sophistication of this late-19th-century entry almost hides the fact that the door has been designed to let four-legged friends check out who’s on the front porch.
You are: Generous and kind, almost to a fault. You shop for doggie raincoats and booties on QVC. Don’t let scam artists take advantage of your sweet disposition!
Door color: White is the color of purity and neutrality, according to color expert Kate Smith, although those salmon-colored accents hint at passion.
Entry style: Sort of a multiple-personality, neoclassical urban puzzler, we think. These many expressive colors are typically Scandinavian.
You are: Probably from Norway. You’re complex and a deep thinker who takes an inordinately long time to answer Trivial Pursuit questions.
Door color: Amazing technicolor dream-door.
Entry style: Your traditional riad features a style that goes back millennia, with vibrant colors and a minutely detailed paint job — hallmarks of classic Moroccan residential architecture.
You are: Orderly, sweet, endearing and a sucker for mint-flavored green tea.
Door color: Clear glass means there’s nothing to hide.
Entry style: Simple lines, generous glass surround, and an absence of detailing mark the modernist movement of the 20th century.
You are: Open-minded, friendly, and gregarious. You often greet the Fed Ex delivery driver in your robe and scuffs.
Door color: Gray symbolizes knowledge and dignity. Because it’s a blend of black and white, gray is the color of compromise.
Entry style: Developed in 17th-century Netherlands, the Dutch door became a common feature of early American residences and is found throughout New England.
You are: A traditionalist and solid citizen. Politically, you’re a swing voter who weighs both sides of an issue, although sometimes — like a Dutch door — you can’t make up your mind.
Door color: Pink is the color of youthful fun and lighthearted exuberance, says color expert Kate Smith.
Entry style: Quietly traditional, this entryway does little to call attention to itself. Except for that hot pink door, that is.
You are: Hopelessly romantic, thoughtful, and cheery. You give flowers for any occasion and are secretly hurt if you get gift cards in return.
Door color: Black signifies strength and authority says Debbie Zimmer, color expert at the Paint Quality Institute, especially when framed by crisp white trim.
Entry style: With its ornate pediment and corbels, this entryway has the elements of neoclassical architecture popular in the late-18th and early-19th century.
You are: Strong-willed, sophisticated, authoritative, and tend to keep a tight rein on finances. You may undertip the pizza delivery guy, but the pink exterior paint color says there’s hope.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/photos/windows-doors/front-door-for-home-personality/#ixzz2C7jU2Z1k
Today is Election Day: when choices are made and votes are
cast for a better tomorrow. As voters go to the polls, some are considering how the choices of today will affect our children. Another question to ask ourselves as parents is, what are we teaching our children about the right to vote? Is this something that we place value on in our homes? How do we get the next generation involved now?
For more ideas on how to make better future citizens, visit sites like VolunteerMatch, Do Something and The Volunteer Family .
Even with just a few days till October 31, it’s not too late to decorate. Pumpkins from the grocery store, leaves from the backyard and a few things around the house can transform a table or mantel into Halloween central.
by Janet Paik
|
|
Family Portrait in Pumpkins Forget carving. Forget covering the whole pumpkin with paint. Just add a circle of leftover chalkboard paint to one side of each pumpkin and draw on some funny faces (anyone you know come to mind?). Do the family, a group of friends, your pets or even Mr. Jack-o’-Lantern himself.
|
by Janet Paik
|
|
Houzz content coordinator Johanna Cookson found that painting pumpkins all over made them spoil faster. So she came up with the idea of just painting a circle on the front with chalkboard paint and writing Halloween messages on it. Not only does this brilliant shortcut preserve most of the pumpkins’ happy orange color, but we also think it creates the perfect canvas for faces. To make your own pumpkin family portrait:1. Select pumpkins in a variety of shapes. Look for smooth sides without too many blemishes or deep ridges. Wash and dry your pumpkins thoroughly.2. Paint chalkboard circles with a paintbrush an inch or so wide. Apply at least three coats of paint, allowing the paint to dry completely between each coat.
|
by Janet Paik
|
|
3. Rough up the end of a piece of chalk before drawing on the pumpkin. The square edges of a fresh piece of chalk can scrape off the chalkboard paint. If this happens, just touch up the scuff with more paint.
|
by Janet Paik
|
|
4. Erase any goofs or smudges with a damp paper towel. You can also completely erase your faces and try different people, hairdos and expressions.5. Finish off your scene with grocery store mums and a vase of twigs and leaves, and candles if you like. (Don’t leave candles unattended, and be sure to keep wicks well away from leaves.)Next: 6 more quick Halloween arrangements for tables, shelves or mantels.
|
by Janet Paik
|
|
Nevermore Repurpose one of your chalkboard pumpkins (or just use an unpainted one) for a Halloween display with a touch of glam. Wire a faux crow from the crafts store onto a vintage candlestick and set it on a bed of fall leaves and pumpkins. Add a Halloween card or a piece of clip art (in this case, Edgar Allan Poe) on an orange and black background. Light the candle, dim the lights and pull out your copy of “The Raven.”Design and styling by Sara Jamison
|
by Janet Paik
|
|
Halloween Banner Fill a pitcher with fall branches and arrange mini pumpkins on a bed of leaves at the base. String letters forming a Halloween message onto a paper banner and pin it above your arrangement.Design and styling by Sara Jamison; banner by Cheri Williams
|
as seen on Houzz.com by Cathy Lara
 by Mary Prince
|
|
A hardworking island in the
kitchen takes regular beatings. “If we have a free afternoon in the winter, you can bet we’re planning a dinner that takes three hours and three glasses of wine to finish cooking,” says Jenn.Exposed beams throughout the first level add warmth, and the kitchen floor lends the space a trodden, worn appeal. The Clapps love living with a material that can get scratched and chipped and looks better with age. |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
This view reveals where the
Clapps store their washing machine and dryer — in the kitchen. “It helps that they’re blue and match the base cabinets. I have to say that placing them in the kitchenis awesome. I will never have them in the basement again,” Jenn says.Dining table: custom, Staples Cabinetmakers; pendant: Nelson Saucer, Design Within Reach; dining chairs: Modernica; vintage bar stools: Brimfield Antique Show |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
When the Clapps first moved from a
small space to this house, Jenn felt free to “snap up things” on a whim, she says, knowing that she could find a shelf or tabletop for a certain collector’s piece. “I can’t tell you how happy I am making compositions. I’ve always been interested in juxtaposition; it’s fun to see a woodchuck skull sitting on top of my grandmother’s floral sewing tin,” she says.File cabinets: Craigslist; picture ledges: West Elm |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
The couple converted a small
addition in the back of the house into their living room, which freed up the home’s front area and created space for the home office. They covered the linoleum floors with Flor tiles, adding instant coziness and lending the space some acoustic help. |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
The designer splurged on a
midcentury credenza from a midcentury modern store in Boston called Machine Age. “I would much rather have one awesome piece with a lot of character than a room full of mediocre stuff,” she says. |
 by Mary Prince
|
 by Mary Prince
|
|
Jenn knocked down a wall between
two rooms and created a master suite, with room for a king-size bed. “I always thought king beds were ridiculous. Now I can’t go back to anything smaller,” she says.Moving forced her to make smarter spending decisions, but “there was no way I was giving up a midcentury credenza for a bed’s headboard,” she says. “So we threw up some chalkboard paint behind the bed, got a metal bed frame and bed skirt, and called it a day.”Sconces, bedside tables, dressers: Restoration Hardware; coverlet: Maharam; antique “C”: Brimfield Antiques Show; bedding: Unison |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
Raindrop decals add whimsy, color
and movement to the master bath. “The diagonal patterns help break up an otherwise sterile corner. Plus, they were 6 bucks on Etsy,” says Jenn. She admits that she’s not the biggest fan of her “YMCA bathroom,” as she calls it, but sometimes “it’s better to embrace the ugly than try to pretend it’s not there,” she says.Decals: Pauline, Etsy; octopus hand towel: Thomas Paul; antique medical illustrations: Suzanna Scott |
 by Mary Prince
|
|
The exterior of the home reflects
the neighborhood’s preference for Greek revivals and other Victorian styles, although Jenn remarks that Newburyport does surprise and is renewing itself.”As for the inside of our house looking like everyone else’s — I doubt it,” she says. “I don’t think Peggy next door has a skull collection.” |
|
1. Inspect the roof, gutters and drainpipes.
Depending on your climate, you may want to hold off until later in the fall (when most leaves have dropped) before cleaning the gutters, but doing a visual inspection now is a good idea. If any branches and leaves fell during summer storms, remove them so they don’t cause blockages during autumn rains. Inspecting your roof now will leave ample time to have repairs or a replacement made before winter. |
|
2. Edit your crafting stash.
If you knit, sew or practice any other craft that comes with lots of supplies, it’s time to begin sorting and purging that mountainous stash. Fall and winter will beckon with cold afternoons that are perfect for engaging in making something with your own two hands — be ready! |
|
3. Move firewood to a covered area.
Be sure to check for insects before bringing any wood indoors. Don’t store wood with bugs, especially termites, indoors (or against the outside of your house). |
|
6. Clear your desk. If you
do any work from home (or have a student in the house), now is the ideal time to tackle those piles of paper and start this busy season with a clean and clear workspace. Have drawers, cabinets or shelving within arm’s reach so you can easily put things away and not clutter up that desk again. |
 |
|
7. Sort the pantry. Set the
stage for healthy dinners by creating a neat and orderly pantry with healthful choices front and center. Toss expired foods and consolidate packages that have just a little left. If you like, pick up a flat of canning jars and a packet of labels to create your own organizing system for bulk-bin goods.Get It Done: How to Clean Out the Pantry |
|
9. Tidy the porch. After a
season’s worth of sandy feet tramping back and forth, your porch deserves a good cleaning. Sweep away sand, clean the front windows and door, check porch lights and add a few extras like hurricane lanterns or autumnal potted plants. |
|
11. Check lighting throughout your home.
As the autumn sun dips lower in the sky, you may find you crave a little extra light in your rooms. A few small table lamps or even a strand of twinkle lights can make all the difference in creating a cozy ambience. |
 by Emily McCall
|
|
13. Swap out bedding. Bring
cozy quilts and duvets out of storage so they will be within reach on that first chilly night. Check now if anything needs to be laundered and you’ll have time to wash it before you really need it. |
|
14. Savor your hard work!
Sit back and enjoy a well-deserved rest. Brew a pot of tea, pour yourself a glass of wine, crack open a new novel or do whatever puts the icing on your cake.Tell us: How are you welcoming the fall season? |
