If you are ready for change, ready to update or upgrade your home with a remodel, come to the Corpus Christi Fall Home & Garden Show, Sept. 13-15 and find everything you need!
Check out Structure Builders to get quality work for up to $750 off! They have been providing quality home improvements while creating everlasting memories for their home owners and team members since 1994. They are geared to delivering homeowners with an unbeatable service, product, and warranty for all their home improvements and have specialists in each of the following services: siding, windows, bathroom, kitchen, room additions and patio covers to ensure you get the best outcome. Their estimates are always FREE and under no circumstances is there any pressure to sign. All of their proposals are guaranteed for 30 days from the day you receive it in your email; this allows you to think about your investment before making such an important decision.
Tag: Home Show
Not Just A Pretty Space!
When most of us think of Interior Design, we think of new decor, maybe an accent wall, minimalizing or organizing a space, possibly recovering or replacing some furniture. Well it is all of those things, but when you do your research and use resources like your local Home & Garden Show, you can hire a comprehensive firm like our Central Kentucky exhibitor Decorating Den Interiors, and get all that & more!
Visit the Home & Garden Show for a team with:
• Award winning designers
• Kitchen, bathroom and fireplace remodeling
• Custom window treatments
• Furniture, rugs, lighting and accessories for every style and budget
• Custom, Amish-made and top quality cabinetry
The 44th Annual Central Kentucky Home & Garden Show will be at the Lexington Center April 5-7, 2019 and you can find Decorating Den Interiors in booth #1709 along with hundreds of other products and services to help you get your PROJECTS SOLVED! Plus, there is fun for the whole family, with kids activities, birds of prey shows, pet adoptions, a Kentucky Proud section and the BBB Auction!
Design For Your Lifestyle is Medicine
Have you ever thought about your home, office, or even garden as being a place that can bring you health and well-being- by simply its design?
The design of things around us- impacts us daily. From a frustrating interaction with the coffee pot – to an overstuffed armchair- how things are designed and function from day to day impact how our hopes, dreams, attitudes and bodies respond. A new look at design is suggesting we create “intentional settings” and “productive environments” allowing for growth.
A question to ask – Is your home or office set up to encourage growth physically, mentally, and socially? Or, does it promote a sit on the sofa kinda evening? A change in space plan and furnishing arrangement can give you a place to roll out a yoga mat. A change in space plan and arrangement can also promote- starting that book, painting, sewing project, dream vacation board, class you’ve wanted to take…. It is suggested, all of these life projects need a place to breathe with us during the day and night.
Design has traditionally been a sofa, 2 chairs, a coffee table…….etc, etc, etc. It does not have to be “that” anymore says Bean at Lifestyles by Bean. Your home can inspire your life and positively impact your journey. From losing weight to finding a new path, she has firsthand experience about the importance of design that is tailored to your personal needs and aspirations. Interior design should be more than “pretty”. Most people don’t realize interior design affects muscles and emotions. So, what do we need to aesthetically change to be more productive, creative, and out of a routine?
Thirty percent of people are physically affected by how their interiors are designed. Lighting, inspiration, ease of flow, scaled furnishings, task and wellbeing areas, and a place to stretch your back are things we often dismiss because we continue to live with a preconceived notion of what “good” design is. It wasn’t until the 1960 when scientists started to question the link between human behavior and our natural and built environments.
Are you raising children? Trying to lose weight? Looking for your passion? Wanting to reach that next level in your career? Bean suggests we look at how our interiors are set to start us on our personal journeys. Consider having a fresh fruit and vegetable station in the kitchen to change eating habits. Or, lose that back ache by losing your coffee table.
Bean will be at the Orlando Home Show addressing this topic. Are the interiors you’re creating today facilitating the life you want to live 10 years from now? Design has a lasting impact on its audience. The design decisions being made today will impact you in the pursuit of individual well-being and within a larger society- tomorrow.
Visit Lifestyles by Bean and SODO Home for a talk about the future of Design on the Celebrity Stage at 2pm Saturday the 12th at the 11TH ANNUAL ORLANDO HOME & GARDEN SHOW.
Bean will also be available for 15 minute design consultations at the show. Stop by the SODO Home Design Center to sign up for the limited availability. January 11th, 12th, and 13th at The Orlando Convention Center.
Photo Credits – Matuzak Photography
Gnome How To Make Your Neighbors Laugh?
These are absolutely hilarious! Our exhibitor Studio Oz, LLC carries these hilarious, unique yard gnomes!
Don’t take yourself or your yard too seriously, everyone can always use a good laugh!
Especially great for The Walking Dead fans or those with darker senses of humor!
Who knew there were garden gnomes who are NSFW!
Ha, come see them at the Orlando Home & Garden Show to see those I was not allowed to post!
A personal favorite is ‘Flippy’ 😉
Think an Interior Design Consultation is out of your budget?! Nope!
Orlando’s best Home & Garden Show is back at the Orange County Convention Center and offering FREE Interior Design Consultations, by The Design Diva, Natalie Kight! It is easy to feel intimidated by your interiors or know where to begin, prepare to take advantage of this amazing opportunity in the following ways:
- Bring photos, drawings and/or measurements of your space.
The more you have for us, the more we will be able to give you. It’s hard to imagine a space without some sort of visual, even for a designer. Bring in what you have. Any existing pieces or floor plans you want to work with. It’s hard sometimes – but any samples of existing colors within your space that will not be removed during the updating process are extremely helpful with selecting new colors for a space.
2. Have a budget in mind.
This is a big one. Although budget plays an extremely important role in decision making, clients rarely figure that part out first – but they should! Having a budget in mind not only gives your designer a ‘stopping point,’ but ALSO helps their creativity flow. Anyone can create a gorgeous space with $2M dollars in their pocket, but if you give your designer a realistic budget you can actually work with, you’re more likely to get a design you can achieve.
3. Take the advice given.
We get it – We haven’t seen your space and don’t quite know your colors. But you came to us for help – so take it! The most important part about receiving a free design consultation is actually taking the advice that is given. Too often, clients will resist the change they were looking for in the first place. Not every decision is going to be comfortable, some will take some getting used to. Design affects the way we live our everyday lives. Change your home’s design, and change yours.
Come on down to the show you know, The 9th Annual Orlando Fall Home & Garden Show, August 10-12 at the Orange County Convention Center to be inspired by amazing interiors and landscape seminars, plus tour over ten tiny homes and learn how to pare down and live a more simple, ‘tiny’ life! And this show is for the whole family, there are kids activities going on all weekend from cooking classes and character meet & greets to art workshops and author readings of great kid’s books; and more! You don’t want to miss this!
Do Tiny Houses Intrigue You?
Have you seen the shows on TV or run across them on social media and thought, wow, I like the idea… but how can someone live in that… permanently? We get it! We had the same thoughts, so we asked home remodeler, tiny home builder and tiny home dweller, Matthew Collins for some insight! Collins owns and operates Tiny3GB, a division of Third Generation Builders, LLC.
Matthew’s family of six underwent a drastic downsize from a three story, 3400 sq. ft., home in a Charleston suburb HOA neighborhood, to arrive on one fenced acre and a home of less than 900 sq. ft. in the small town of Ravenel, minutes south of Charleston towards Edisto Beach. During their renovation they lived in a two bed one bath single wide without a washer, dryer or dishwasher.
They learned that there were a lot of “things” they could live without and continue to purge their lives of things they no longer need. The Collins family made three moves before they finally arrived in their finished home. Each move made them question: do I need this thing enough to haul it from here to there once more and store it for weeks or months? Many things did not pass this test, leaving their load much lighter today.
When we asked Matthew how he managed to get his four children on board with giving up their “things” and moving to a tiny house, he shared the following ideas:
- Get the kids invested and involved; we had four yard sales, as I recall, and the kids were allowed to keep the proceeds of any items they contributed to the sale.
- Give yourself time to see what you miss; we put everything but the bare necessities for about 6 months as we renovated. That put “things” into perspective and we truly enjoyed each other’s company and enabled us to see what we really missed and what we didn’t.
- Turn purging into sharing; we were able to give quite a few items away on free cycle and Craigslist that we no longer needed finding it really is more blessed to give than to receive. The children went with my wife as she gave a lady our second set of Christmas decorations (we had 2 different color themes and rotated every year—crazy—why did we do that??). The lady was hosting Christmas for her daughter and family for the first time and it was indeed a joyous occasion. Also, we were able to gift our piano to a small country church and that too was such a joy when the two members came to pick it up.
- Get excited about the ‘pros’ of the change; our family was very excited to be moving from a small yard in a big neighborhood to a big yard in a sparse residential area. Plus, they loved the idea of a “small chicken farm” which has evolved into raising Kinder Goats as well. And now, in our final phase of transformation we are staying on the farm building tiny houses and not fighting Charleston traffic across town to renovate and repair homes.
- Our downsizing experience really helped us to focus on prioritizing our relationships with those we love over any worldly possessions. It has been a sweet time in the life of our family and we are grateful for the journey. We have seen God work in our lives and our circumstances.
If you’d like to explore the idea, and some tiny houses for that matter, we’ve got just the thing! The 9th Annual Orlando Fall Home & Garden Show has a Tiny House Village in which you can tour about a dozen Tiny Houses! Homes will be coming from as far away as Texas. There will be homes of all shapes and designs; and all less than 400 square feet. The Tiny House Village will also have fun family activities, including a Farmer’s Market! AND!! These builders do not want to drag these houses back home, so bring your best offer and buy a home on the spot.
NOAH (National Organization of Alternative Housing), the sponsor of this feature, is the premier third-party inspection and certification company for tiny houses on wheels. Addressing the challenges of life, fire safety, structural efficiency and energy efficiency in the construction of the homes, Noah is like the building department for Tiny Houses on Wheels. NOAH will have representatives at the Village to answer your questions regarding national codes and construction of your tiny house on wheels. Also, some challenges faced with Tiny Houses are placement, insurance, and funding, so NOAH will have representatives on site with solutions to all of these!
10 Things You May Not Know About Solar Power
1. Solar power is the most abundant energy source on Earth.
Every hour, more solar energy hits the earth than all of humanity needs for an entire year. Solar panels harness this clean energy source by using photovoltaic cells.
2. You can use solar power to run your entire home.
It’s a cheaper, safer, and green solution to running air conditioners, hot water heaters, appliances, etc.
3. Solar power has a long history
The potential to harness solar power was first discovered in 1839 (a year after the first coal fired power plant was built) by Alexandre Edmond Becquererl. He found how to create an electrical current in a conductor that was hit by the sun rays, in other words, the photovoltaic effect. The creation of modern silicon photovoltaic cells was completed in 1954 at Bell Labs. Since then, the efficiency has increased more than four times, while the price has decreased significantly!
4. Solar is the world’s most popular form of new electricity generation
Due to decreased cost and increased efficiency, solar has quickly become the preferred new electricity generator. More than 73 gigawatts of new solar power was installed in 2016!
5. Solar power produces no pollution
Apart from the pollution given off during manufacturing, solar power is one of the cleanest, most sustainable, and most renewable resources in the world. However, not all panels are created equal. SunPower panels are the only solar panels to have achieved a Cradle to Cradle certification, meaning the panels are manufactured in the most sustainable, ethical way possible.
6. Solar power improves world health
The burning of fossil fuels creates toxic pollution, which has an impact on global health. Pollution affects as many people as HIV or malaria, and has serious consequences on children, older adults, and all living plants and animals. Solar power reduces the amount of fossil fuels used, meaning less pollution is going into the air, and into our lungs.
7. Solar panels can increase your home value
Initial studies have shown solar panels can increase your home value an average of $20,000, a higher payback percentage than a kitchen remodel.
8. Solar can help lower electric bills
Depending on where you live in Texas, you may be able to take advantage of net metering (your system is hooked up to the electric grid and you sell back excess energy you produce). If you decide to finance, there is a possibility your monthly loan payment will be less than your average electric bill. Solar can help you save money from day one!
9. Solar systems come with a warranty
Most solar systems come with a warranty. The warranty we offer at SunPower by Freedom Solar is a 25 year warranty on product (guarantees the quality of the system), 25 year warranty on service (repair or replace defective panels) and 25 year warranty on power (guarantees highest power production).
10. You don’t have to buy solar panels outright
There are multiple ways to afford solar, you don’t have to pay cash to reap the benefits. Low interest loans are available to solar system owners, as well as other financing options.
By: Freedom Solar
Contact them for the latest info!
An Inspiring Letter From Celebrity Kim Lewis
Hey Everyone!
What is ‘ethical design’ really?
Well, I say it is an art form of design that goes far deeper than the surface. As a designer, I remember that moment in my career when I questioned whether or not my work really mattered. How does it leave a positive impact on the world? How can I use my work to help people? How do I “create with purpose?”.
A few short months after leaving ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition“, I found myself in a van on a red dirt road in Ghana, West Africa. Pencil in hand, volunteering with my team; in a 3 day journey to Kumasi, we drew an art therapy center for children who had been rescued from trafficking. We saw firsthand how creativity can empower lives and awaken souls.
The art center was such a success another non-profit asked us to design one for girls who had been rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia. A year later, I found myself in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Renovating a tiny boat outside of Battambang, the art center offers just enough space to transform bruised souls, inspiring confidence and worthiness through a crayon.
Ethical design is a choice, and one we all have the power to make. Whether you travel overseas to create, or you’re right here spreading your gift in the industry, you have the power to change lives through design!
After being the Production Designer for several television shows, I found myself on FYI’s “Tiny House Nation”. Cramming a dining table, stairwell and pantry into 90 SF on paper, I was intrigued, challenged, and for the first time, drawing a house I could see myself living in.
Two years later, and I just moved into my own tiny home, with my new husband and an 80 lb lab puppy. It’s a lifestyle you may or may not choose for yourself, but I’m excited to share honestly how it’s been. “The good, the bad, and the ugly,” as ‘they’ say…
With our local “Community First! Village” and tiny home initiatives around the country spreading like wildflowers, I’m excited to make you a believer. My hope is to challenge you to see this tiny home ‘trend’ as another way to foster ethical design choices for our community and nation.
If you’re a skeptic of tiny homes, come sit on the front row of my seminars at the Austin Home & Garden Show, Jan 13 & 14 at the Palmer Events Center. Click here for appearance schedule!
Can’t wait to see y’all there!
Be inspired,
Kim Lewis
That Surface Can Be Slip-Resistant!
Imagine a slip-resistant surface that not only enhances the look of your playground, splash pad, pool deck, patio, entrance or walkway but also provides comfort, resilience and style!
Rubaroc® combines proprietary high tech polymer resins with high quality colorfast rubber granules. It is poured-in-place then hand troweled to create a beautiful, resilient, non-skid surface that is virtually indestructible.
Originally innovated as poured-in-place Rubber Safety Surfacing for swimming pool decks, Rubaroc® quickly grew its applications and today you will find Rubaroc® Rubber Safety Surfaces being used in a wide variety of applications from water parks, playgrounds, schools, childcare facilities, golf clubs and hotels, private and public housing associations and so much more.
Rubaroc is skid-resistant when wet, much like your bath mat, which makes rubber surfacing perfect for wet deck applications. The surface is comfortable to walk on in bare feet, even on the hottest summer day.
Rubaroc is professionally installed by Rubaroc Professionals over your new or existing surface. When finished, it expands and contracts to accommodate temperature changes and ground movement. Rubaroc bonds directly to any solid substrate material including concrete, asphalt, epoxy stone, brick, wood, steel, tarmac, chipboard, and aluminum.
Find solutions to your home projects like this one and many more at the Show Technology Home & Garden Shows across the nation! Click Here For Show Schedule
Surfin' for Turf?
What are factors that I should consider in choosing an artificial grass for my garden?
With many environmental and economic concerns in mind, artificial grass is becoming an increasingly popular solution for both commercial and residential properties alike. However, it is important to consider several factors when choosing the right artificial grass to create the garden of your dreams. Here are some important factors you should consider:
1. Your budget – If you are going to make an investment into artificial turf for your garden you want to make sure you are staying within your own spending comfort level. Make sure and create a reasonable range of prices to help stick to your budget.
2. Durability and the warranty provided – Always ask about the durability of the grass you are researching and how long the warranty is to make sure you get the most bang for your grass buck.
3. How you use your garden – Are you going to play a game of soccer on your grass or have a relaxing summer picnic? How your garden is going to be used is crucial to what type of grass you choose.
4. Who uses your garden – Do you have young children or pets? If so, you should take that into consideration when choosing your grass.
5. How you want it to look – You should love the way your new grass looks and it should add to the overall aesthetics of your residence. Choosing samples of grass can help you decide what you want before buying.
To learn more about this and get all your Home & Garden #projectssolved, come to the San Antonio Fall Home & Garden Show Sept. 29-Oct. 1st at the Alamodome. This article was provided by Hill Horticulture who will be there to consult on turfgrass and many other landscaping options!