Have A Deck Or Patio You Can Be Proud Of

"Summer Time and the livin is easy". At least that's what
the song said but you must have a place to relax, unwind
and chill out. Sure you have that concrete slab or wood
deck attached to your house but when the temperature is
over 90 degrees outside that's not the place to be.

Unless you do something about that ugly concrete slab you
are going to be confined to the inside again this summer.
You can always adjust your schedule to the sun. That's ok
if you like to relax on schedule and not have any control
over your time. Kind of sounds like work to me! You know,
"so many minutes for lunch and don't be late".

There is a better alternative and that's to put a
retractable awning over your porch or deck. That way you
can do what you want, when you want and don't have to worry
about the time. Now that sounds like "easy livin" to me.

Your adding another room to your house.

Now you don't need to keep the drapes closed to hide that
deck or patio you couldn't use. You have created another
room to your house that you can proudly show off to family
and friends when they come visiting. Not only show off but
invite them out to relax and enjoy themselves. Just offer
them a cold one to get the party going.

Outdoor Air Conditioning.

Do you know that with the right kind of retractable awning
it can be as much as 20 degrees cooler under your awning?
That's not a misprint, 20 Degrees cooler! It's like having
outdoor Air Conditioning. And the Air conditioning is free!

There is something special about being outdoors and being
comfortable. Makes the cares of the work week go away and
they are long forgotten under that retractable awning.

Easy maintenance

What could be simpler than to sit in your chair, hit the
remote button and watch that big beautiful retractable
awning go back to the closed position. Now that's
definitely the American way.

You can get the awning without the remote for those who
don't mind a minutes worth of cranking by hand.

Increase the value of your home.

Ever wonder why the homes on the front cover of those real
estate magazines almost always show houses with awnings?
It's simple. They sell quicker and faster because they look
so awesome. I don't think that there is any one thing you
could do to increase the resale value of your home better
than to add a retractable awning.

Don't make this another summer of discontent. Make this the
summer you liberate yourself and your family from the
confines of inside your home.


----------------------------------------------------
Terry Schierer decorates homes for easy carefree living.
Find out more free information about making your deck or
patio truly a "chilling Zone" by clicking here =>
http://windowblinds-guide.com/awning.html

Ideas for a Hot Tub in Spain

There is a very considerable choice when it comes to
choosing a Hot Tub Jacuzzi Spa as sizes vary considerably
as regards how many people they can accommodate.

For example there are some that are just small enough for
two to three people. Then there are some that will seat
eight and others that can seat four to five people and
those that can seat five to six. These can be big enough
for ones family and friends or indeed suitable for just a
couple.

A typical two seater would be say 81" long and 55" wide
with a depth of 30" or in metric terms 2.06M x 1.4M with a
depth of 0.75M. This Hot Tub would hold some 190 gallons of
Water (US) or say 720 Litres. This type of Hot tub would
probably have something in the range of 12 to 18 Jets with
a two speed 2HP motor with a 2HP air blower.

Moving up to say an Octagonal Shape a typical size would be
80" by 80" with a depth of 34". This would have the same
pump configuration as the two seater referred to above but
would accommodate 6 people and have a larger water capacity
of some 400 US Gallons or 1,500 Litres.

One of the most popular types is a five seater with one
lounger usually say a size of 82" by 80" with a depth of
32" and some times you can get a deeper version with a
depth of 40" or again in Metric it would be some 2.08M x
2.01M with a depth of 0.79M and for the deeper version the
depth would be just over one Metre. The standard size would
hold some 400 Gallons US (1,500 Litres) and the Deeper Tub
Some 425 Gallons US (1,600 Litres).

You can also get a designer shaped spa with a stretch
lounger that will take five people and with a size of 79"
by 73" it's slightly smaller than the one immediately above
and you can see that in the water capacity is smaller at
300 US gallons or some 1,135 Litres.

Also as one moves up the scale in the terms of cost you get
more and more extras like a waterfall and neck / collar
jets. This kind of size of Tub would have a 2 speed 5 HP
motor and a 2 HP air blower.

In a brief article I can only highlight a few ideas or
choices so I have restricted this to just a few hot Tubs
obviously the choice is pretty wide. In another article I
will expand on some of the more exotic Hot Tubs with 98 and
a 130 Jets and an underwater perimeter lighting system
coupled with a 200 watt sound system that injects the Sound
into the water coupled with additional speakers for the
patio / terrace.

Now one of the key questions has to be how one chooses the
right Hot Tub. Well the answer in simple terms is to go out
and try one.  As I have explained above the choice is very
wide Some Hot Tubs offer multi-level seating for people of
different body types. Some feature comfortable built-in
loungers. It's important to choose the Hot Tub that matches
what suits your own idea of perfect relaxation.


----------------------------------------------------
The author supplies premium quality Hot Tubs on the Costa
Del Sol In Spain and his web site is at
http://www.spas4you.com

 

Six Tips For Decorating Your Living Room

A living room should encourage your guests and your family
to spend a little while dallying. This can be done by
arranging the furniture in ways that encourage conversation
or sitting by a fire. Lighting should be sufficient for
reading books or magazines or watching television. There
should be good conversation starters like a book or
interesting artwork or statues to help provide a cultural
backdrop. Adding live elements like plants or an aquarium
can raise the energy level of the room. Color within your
living room is better in warmer tones to evoke a comforting
response. If the room is small, the space arrangement is
even more important and one should strive for the illusion
of space through mirrors or by sizing the furniture in such
a way that it doesn't overpower the room.

Placement Of Furniture

Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not, the placement of
furniture to allow people to freely move around the room is
important. A living room should feel spacious even when it
is not. The placement of chairs should allow for some to be
next to the fireplace to make it more inviting. Furniture
should be spaced so that people can hear each other in
normal conversation without having to lean over or move the
furniture. The furniture should not block entryways but
give a clear view of different entrances.

Lighting

Natural lighting as well as artificial lighting is very
important. The living room should be lit with both, one for
during the day and the other at night. Lamps can become
design statements nowadays. Choose them to complement
whatever design theme you have going. Be sure to provide
sufficient light for nighttime reading.

Conversation Starters

Artwork, statues, books are all great conversation
starters. They help to provide color and a lively
environment. They also allow you to give the room a
personable feel. Adding books or magazine caddies can help
a person resolve to spend some time making them comfortable
in your living room.

Natural Or Live Elements

Natural plants not only provide fresh oxygen for the living
room and help to use up toxic degassing from carpets, but
they also make the room feel more natural too. Adding a few
plants help to bring the outdoors in and give the room a
healing aura. Pets do the same thing. Pets provide a loving
acceptance that radiates joy in living. Just make sure the
pets you get are house-trained and low maintenance. Pets
can form a sort of living statue that moves around the room
and capture's your guests' attention.

Color

You can design the room by using color in your drapes, your
furniture, and even your walls. If you are a bit
adventuresome, choose to paint one wall a different color
than the rest, particularly if it has a fireplace on it.
This will draw the eye to the best feature in the room.
Other ways of adding color are to wallpaper the room. Try
to go with warm or natural colors to help people feel more
settled when they are in the room.

Creating More Space

If your living room is small, you will need to give the
illusion of space to help the room feel inviting. You can
do this by adding a big mirror to a wall. There are even
mirrored panels that make a nice backsplash too. You can
pick furniture that is sized appropriately for the room,
even if your heart is on a larger set. In the end the
larger set may overwhelm the room making it feel cramped.
Keep the end tables and coffee table in glass or metal
formats with lots of visual space around them. This adds
the illusion of sparseness that you don't get with wood.


----------------------------------------------------
To keep your living room clutter-free, get some help from
Get Organized (home of the popular catalog) at
http://www.shopgetorganized.com

 

Do's and Don'ts to protect Your Home From Burglars:

DON'T: Install but not use an alarm system. Nearly every
pricey house that is robbed has some type of alarm that is
not utilized.

DO: Arm the alarm system even if you are only running out
for just a few minutes. Knowledgeable burglars snoop
neighborhoods and learn when residents go to work or run
errands and how long they are likely to be away. They're
ready to move the minute you are gone.

Get a zone alarm that has room to room control. You can
leave the bedroom alarm armed when you're in the living
room, for example.

The best alarm systems offer many layers of protection,
motion, heat light sensors, etc.

DON'T: Posting alarm signs that say what alarm company you
are using. Thieves can buy diagrams on how the systems are
wired and can easily bypass them..

DO: Buy plain signs that read, 'This home is protected by
an alarm system. As long as it doesn't give detailed
information, it can be an excellent deterrent.

DON'T: Keep lights on. A light that stays lit all day and
night is no more of a deterrent than a dark house. Use
timers that turn on an off lights in different parts of the
home at different intervals. Web retailers and home stores
sell motion detectors that turn on lamps or appliances if
somebody enters the home.

DON'T: Hide items in the bedroom. It's the first place
burglars look. Most robbers spend 15 minutes or or even
less in each house.More than half of the time is spent in
the bedroom, looking in the usual hiding places, an dresser
drawer under the mattress high closet shelves, etc. Don't
hide all of your valuables in one spot. A burglar is not
likely to get everything if you spread out things in
different locations.

DO: Keep valuables or jewelry you seldom wear in a
safe-deposit box. Hide other items in places where burglars
don't normally look, like the garage, or above dropped
ceilings. Or hide valuables in the deep freeze or in
diversion safes made for this purpose.

DON'T: Get a big dog. A doberman or German shepherd might
seem scary, but burglars don't care. Most big dogs, unless
they're real guard dogs, don't bark much. What you want is
a "yapper," a small pooch that makes a lot of noise when
disturbed.

DON'T: Hide windows with bushes. Tall shrubs give burglars
a safe, dark place to force open windows without being
seen. Keep bushes trimmed to below window level.


----------------------------------------------------
Diversion Safes Available at SecuritySafetySpy.com:
http://www.securitysafetyspy.com