5 Modern Decorating Tips to Design Your Home Office

You can work in style from your home office.

You deserve more than a desk and chair in a corner. Why? You'll love to work in an office that mirrors the style and comfort of your home.

Tips for designing an office at home

1. Designate a space

Your home office will be where you spend the majority of your time, so don’t limit yourself with space. To preserve your guest room, you can squeeze a small desk into a closet.

Consider traffic flow and how you can withstand distractions. Are you more productive in the midst of bustling activity or in a private space? A private area with plenty of seating is essential for clients who will be visiting your office.

2. Do not sacrifice form for function

Your desk, shelves, and storage should be functional. Before you buy furniture, think about your workflow and the items that you use most often. Then look for pieces that are beautiful and practical.

Your home office furniture should be a complement to other rooms in the house, not a "soulless cubicle". Warm wood, soft, comfortable chairs, or a loveseat, are great options for traditional home decor. Modern metal furniture or artistic pieces can be used in a contemporary home office.

3. Invest in a great chair

Your office chair is a place you spend hours in. A beautiful, ergonomically-correct, comfortable seat will make your workday more enjoyable.

4. Give yourself a view

When you look up from your computer, position the desk so that you can see something interesting other than a wall.

The natural light from a window is the best, but you can also hang a picture or place your chair so that it faces the door. To control the light entering your room, consider sheer and blackout curtains.

To reduce eye strain and headaches, ensure that your office is well lit. Place the computer monitor in a way that it doesn't glare from overhead lights or windows. A small lamp can be placed on the desk to provide task lighting.

5. Inspire Yourself

A mini-shrine is a collection of favorite knickknacks and framed art. It can be a photo of your children or a piece of art that inspires you to make things happen. You might find inspiration in a Paris print or a picture of your children to remind you that it's all about them.

These decorating tips can make your work-from-home experience more personalized and enjoyable. Spending time working at home does not have to be boring and bland. Level up your home office design so you can do your work with comfort and ease.

How did you decorate your home office? Let us know in the comments!

Guest Post - Easy Ways to Deal with Foul Plumbing Odors

You enter your kitchen or bathroom and smell something unpleasant. You empty the trash and clean the entire room, but the stink is still there. Then it hits you – it’s coming from the drain.

Luckily, there are methods of dealing with plumbing odors that are simple enough to do on your own. 

If you observe other issues aside from the smell (like leaking or water back-ups), though, it would be best to contact a reliable plumber in your area immediately for quality plumbing repair.

Common Causes Smelly Drains

Sinks and shower drains are notorious for developing foul odors that can make the entire house stink. There are plenty of things that can go wrong underneath, possibly caused by:

1. Trapped Food

One of the most common reasons why your kitchen sink stinks is trapped food. Scraps and other organic material can get flushed down your drain. When they get stuck, accumulate, and decompose inside the pipes, they can cause nasty odors.

2. Gunk and Bacteria

Aside from food, grease, hair, and other gunk are likely to get washed down and clog your drains. Over time, they will attract bacteria and may release foul odors.

3. Sewer Gases

Do you smell a sewage-like scent coming from your kitchen or bathroom drain? This may be due to an empty P-trap – the U-shaped pipe under your sinks. Empty or dry P-traps allow pungent sewer gases to rise.

This problem usually occurs in sinks that aren’t used very often.

4. Clogged Vents

Plumbing systems are equipped with vents, which serve as escapeways for trapped gases, so they don’t leave unpleasant odors in the room. When these vents get clogged, trapped gases have no way out and usually leak out through the drains.

5. Plumbing Issues

Issues in the plumbing system (such as leak, missing traps, and rotting tubes) can cause unpleasant odors to seep from the bathroom drain or kitchen sink and into your home.

How to Eliminate Foul Plumbing Odors

No matter how careful you are with what you flush into your drains; some food, grease, and other particles can still inevitably get washed down your pipes and cause unpleasant odors after some time.

What can you do if this happens?

Here are four simple but effective ways to eliminate the smell coming from your plumbing system:

1. Boiling Water

Sometimes, all that a smelly drain needs is a good hot flush.

All you have to do is pour boiling water down your drain and then follow up with cold water after five minutes to flush away any grease and gunk that might have been stuck in the pipes. Easy, right?

The heat from the boiled water can help melt hardened dirt and other particles that might be causing the smell coming out of your plumbing. Habitually pouring hot water on your drains will keep it from stinking and clogging.

2. Hot Vinegar

Do you know that vinegar can help you de-stink your drain?

Yes, white vinegar is a fantastic deodorizer and it has disinfecting properties as well. Pouring a cup or two or hot vinegar down your drain and then running cold water for 60 seconds afterwards to rinse can take care of that funky smell from your sink or shower.

For better results, repeat the process one more time or as necessary.

3. Baking Soda

Remember that volcano project you did in school using baking soda and vinegar? As it turns out, it works quite well for foul-smelling drains, too. In fact, it’s one of the most popular tricks for getting rid of kitchen and bathroom smells.

Here’s what you do:

Dump a cup of baking soda into the drain. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then pour two cups of boiling hot vinegar. Let it pop and fizz for another 15 minutes and then wash everything down with hot water.

You can also substitute the vinegar with half a cup of lemon juice, but you’ll have to wait for an hour before rinsing it.

4. Drain Snake

Clogs are often the culprit behind plumbing odors. But some clogs are tougher to clear than others.

If you’re dealing with hardcore clogging, you may want to bring out (or purchase) a drain snake. It’s a plumbing tool that unblocks drains by breaking up and removing clogs.

To use a drain snake, remove the drain plug then slowly feed the snake in and crank the handle. Once you feel a resistance, turn the snake slowly to break up the clogging. When there’s no resistance anymore, pull the drain out and run water for a few minutes to flush everything.

Can’t Get Rid of the Stink?

Have you already tried the tips and hacks we’ve listed below, but still no luck? That could mean the problem is a lot more complicated than you think.

If your plumbing gives off a rotten egg/sewer-like smell or the odor is accompanied by water back-up, quit the DIY and call in a plumbing professional. Let the experts handle the problem for a better and more permanent fix!

Author:

Rachel Watson is the Senior Content Editor of Precision Air & Plumbing, a full-service HVAC, plumbing and home performance contractor operating in Chandler, Arizona. Rachel enjoys yoga and writing articles about how to make home living more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

How to Design a Home Theater That Can Help Increase Your House's Value

A well-designed home theater can significantly increase your home's value. Not only that, your family and friends will enjoy coming over for an authentic movie theater experience. If you've wanted to build a home theater, there is no reason not to. The following tips can help you to get started.

Location

The optimum sized room for a home theater is 13 feet by 20 feet. A basement or a garage could make the perfect home theater. But, whatever room you choose must be well insulated; this will help keep the noise down and avoid complaints from the neighbors. You'll need to add insulation to the inside of the walls, as well as place acoustic foam tiles on the ceiling and walls. Also, black or another dark color will work best for the acoustic tiles.

Work With a Reputable A/V Company

Not only can an A/V company help you to design your home theater, but they can also provide recommendations for the audio/visual equipment you’ll need. At a minimum, this includes a screen, home theater projector, a speaker system with subwoofers, a blu-ray player, and an AV receiver. Staying within your budget, while building your dream home theater is not an easy task. However, a reputable A/V dealer can help you stay within your budget while building the perfect home theater.

Wiring Your Home Theater

You'll need to wire not only the speakers and the projector, but also the room lighting. The theater lighting needs to be thoughtfully planned, for an authentic movie theater environment. Unless you're very familiar with home wiring, you will probably need to hire an electrician to do the lighting. The typical home theater includes seven to nine speakers, and these must be placed for optimum sound. Your A/V company can advise you on the proper placement of the speakers.

Furnishings and Carpeting

A plush, thick, well-padded carpet will improve the sound and provide additional insulation. For furnishings, you can go with a comfortable sofa or loveseats, as well as with real theater seating. Comfortable reclining chairs are another option. Carefully arrange the furnishings so that everyone will have a great view of the screen. You can also add a refrigerator for beverages and a popcorn machine as a finishing touch.

Once your home theater is complete, invite your friends over to enjoy the show. You can also rest assured that your home theater has increased the value of your home.

How a Successful Bathroom Renovation Can Enhance Your Home

When it's time to give your home a facelift with a few renovations, the bathrooms in your home are a great place to start. If you're looking to sell your home or are planning to sell within the next few years, updating your bathrooms will make selling your home easier.

Nothing stops potential buyers faster than an outdated bathroom. But whether you're selling or not, a bathroom renovation can do wonders for enhancing your home's look, feel, and appeal. Here are a few other ways a successful bathroom renovation can enhance your home.

Save Money

Older toilets, sinks, and fixtures not only look bad, but they're also not very efficient. To add a modern look and style to your bathroom, add a water-efficient toilet and a water-efficient showerhead to save money on utility bills. If you have a large bathroom, consider adding a separate tub and add modern fixtures to sinks.

It's also a good idea to upgrade your sinks and vanity. Dual sink vanities are trendy and make life easier for couples by adding more counter space, storage space, and an extra sink.

Add Value to Your Home

Few things add more value to a home than a freshly renovated bathroom. A minor bathroom renovation can give you an increased return at resale, and it should include a new tub and surrounding tile, new floor tiles, sinks, vanity, toilet, fixtures, and a fresh coat of paint.

Bathroom renovations don't have to cost a fortune to add value to your home. By doing the painting, decorating, and installing fixtures DIY, you can save money on your bathroom renovation. However, keep in mind that some work should be left up to professionals. Skilled labor, such as installing wall and floor tiles and complex plumbing installations should be done by a professional.

Create a More Functional Bathroom

A successful bathroom renovation should create a space that's both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Don't overcrowd the bathroom with too many shelves or other items that take up space, and sure storage is functional and attractive.

Renovating your bathroom is an excellent way to add value to your home while creating a functional and relaxing oasis for the entire family. Careful planning and budgeting are crucial for a successful bathroom renovation, so it's essential to know what you expect from your renovation and what you can afford.