Which Fireplace Is Right For You?

Fireplaces are something that seems to have a timeless appeal about them. Even though they aren’t used to heat a home anymore, and are mainly just decorative, they still make a room seem warm and cozy. People love starting a fire in the fireplace, stoking the flames, and adding wood as they sit nearby. Fireplaces are attractive, practical, and can add value to your home if you have or decide to install one. 

However, it can be a challenge to find the right fireplace for you and your home. What sort of fireplace you have can depend on the style of the room, how much you’re willing to spend to install it, and what sort of fuel you want to burn. Some fireplaces are higher maintenance than others, which could be a major deciding factor for you. However, the amount of maintenance needed might end up being worth it if you’re able to achieve the look and warmth your fireplace can provide.

Wood Fireplace

A wood fireplace is about as traditional as fireplaces can get for a home. It is a genuine hearth that acts as a practical and attractive centerpiece for the room it’s installed in.

One advantage of a wood fireplace is that no other type of fireplace can compete with its classic atmospherics and ambiance. There is something about the smell, the crackle, and the snap of firewood in a wood-burning fireplace that cannot be emulated in any other way. Some major perks to wood fireplaces are that wood fireplaces don’t require electricity, meaning you have both a light and heating source during power outages, and you can even cut down on utility bills during the winter by lighting up the fireplace instead of cranking up the heater. Wood fireplaces are also a much cheaper option when compared to gas or electric fireplaces, as you’re not relying on utilities to help you start the fire. Just wood you could purchase at any home goods store or chop down yourself.

On the downside, masonry wood fireplaces aren’t that great at heating an entire home. The sparks emanating from a fireplace could also pose a fire hazard if you don’t take the proper precautions, such as a screen to put in front of the open flames. A wood fireplace can also be messy as it generates soot and ash you need to clean out once you’re done using it. If you don’t clean your chimney regularly, you could also end up dealing with a severe fire hazard.

Gas Fireplace

Gas fireplaces are cleaner than their wood counterparts and are a more efficient option for central heating. They generate a smokeless flame as they burn propane or natural gas. Gas fireplaces are versatile and can be vented or ventless.

Your gas fireplace can be made to emulate a traditional fireplace with ceramic firewood placed inside an existing fireplace. This is a good option if you are looking for a low-maintenance, flickering fireplace that looks nice but is not needed for heat. The main advantage of a gas fireplace is that it does not need a pipe or flute. You can connect it to a wall thermostat to control room temperature, which is something you can’t do with a wood fireplace.

The main disadvantage of a gas fireplace is that they don’t produce authentic-looking flames. You do not get the sound or aroma of burning wood. Also, you must be sure to keep the fireplace properly maintained and investing in a carbon monoxide detector. Failing to do so could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or even death.

Electric Fireplace

Electric fireplaces can be considered the safest option for someone wanting a fireplace. They don’t emit fumes, smoke, or any byproducts. Most electric fireplaces are just for decoration and don't have any sort of heating element.

The advantage of an electric fireplace is that you can spruce up an existing masonry fireplace without needing to start an actual fire. This can be great for homes, or apartments, that don’t allow you to use the fireplace. This way, you can still achieve the look of having a fireplace without having to actually use one.

The downside to an electric fireplace is that you lose the ambiance and romance of a traditional fireplace. The fireplace is good for looks only, you can’t get the smell, sound, or heat that a gas or wood fireplace is able to provide. Additionally, if there is a power outage, your fireplace is rendered useless.

Fireplaces have been and will continue to be an attractive addition to any person’s home. The heat, aesthetics, and value to your home they provide are all great reasons to think about installing one if you don’t have one already. The biggest decision you’ll have to start with is simply which type you’d prefer. You will have to judge for yourself if an electric, gas, or wood fireplace is suitable for you and your home.

Tips on Designing a Beautiful and Effective Home Gym

Do you want to work on your pre-pandemic weight? Or do you want to become a stronger individual that can handle all her jars on her own? Or do you just want to improve your cardiovascular and mental health with some exercise? Having a home gym at your disposal is a great benefit. However, how do you create a workout space that’s both practical and beautiful? Here are a few tips for designing a perfect home gym:

Designate a space

Before you start your first yoga session or drop down and give us 20, you need to find a proper spot for your home gym. You probably don’t have too much space at your disposal, but at the very least, you should free up enough room for a yoga mat and separate it with a room divider. If you have some more space and need a variety of exercises to reach your goals, open up some more space for HIIT workouts. If you’re planning to introduce some heavy lifting to your regimen, you will most likely need to designate a whole room to your home gym or at least join your home office and your gym.

Set up the floors

Before you start taking in the gear, it’s important to protect your floors and provide yourself with a comfortable and safe surface for working out. The best thing you can do is get a few gym-flooring square coverings that provide you with a little bit of cushioning while doing cardio. These are also slip-resistant, even when covered in sweat drips, and protect your floor from dropped weights and shoe marks. And don’t worry, you don’t have to splurge on gym flooring—these floor coverings can be found in places like Home Depot for less than $20, and you can install them yourself since they interlock like puzzle pieces.

Introduce equipment

As stated above, if you’re an avid yoga practitioner or love those body-weight HIIT workouts, you won’t need much gear. In those cases, a yoga mat and some elbow space are all you need. But if you love to lift or want to work on your cardio more seriously, you will have to look into gym and fitness equipment such as weights, benches, racks, treadmills, stationary bikes and similar—depending on what kind of workout you’re planning to do the most. It’s best to invest in commercial-grade equipment because such pieces are durable, ergonomic and don’t lose value that easy (in case you need to dismantle and sell your gym).

Add storage

Storage is a lifesaver in gyms. Firstly, you don’t want to look at ugly clutter all the time. Secondly, you don’t want to waste time searching for your jump rope or resistance bands. And thirdly, you don’t want to trip over dumbbells and end up in a cast. If your workout routines are minimalistic, all you need is a container that can hold all your equipment from a yoga mat to bands, sliders and tiny weights. But if you love to have all the gadgets at hand at all times, convert an empty wall into a storage station with shelves, hooks and hanging organizers—these will hold workout necessities and a few decorations like candles, potted plants and inspirational photos.

Don’t forget a mirror

Every workouts space needs a mirror for following form, focusing on certain muscles and taking cute selfies. But that’s not all—mirrors open up a space, making your tiny home gym look like a nice workout studio. And when you combine it with proper lighting, you will look and feel so good about your body.

As you can see, home gyms can be both small and big, depending on your needs and availability. But what they can’t be is ugly, depressing and cluttered. With quality equipment, good storage, a few accessories and a good mirror, the results will come on their own!

How to Update an Old House Exterior

If you’ve been thinking about giving your house a makeover but you’re not exactly sure where to start or what to do, these amazing tips and ideas will help you upgrade your house exterior. 

Use a Fresh Coat of Paint

You can’t even imagine what kind of a transformation a fresh coat of paint can make to the exterior of your house. After a while, the old coat of paint starts to peel and it makes the whole house look old and rusty. With the new paint, you can bring the exterior walls of your house to life.

You can repaint with the same color as you want, or you can choose a completely new color to give your house a true makeover. To get the best results, you may want to look for colors that nicely complement the architectural style of your house as well as the overall exterior design. For instance, if your house has a typical Victorian-era style, then opt for darker shades. 

Use a Pop of Trim Color

One of the newest trends in home exteriors is the use of bold colored accents. You can place these accents wherever you want on the exterior of your home – the front door, decorative woodwork, trim, or even shutters. Try to find a color that will nicely complement the design of your home while still catching your attention. You can go for bold red, royal blue, or even turquoise if you want. Just try not to overdo it. Use these colors in moderation just to accentuate certain features of your house. 

Add a Porch

Adding a front porch is not only great aesthetic addition to your house, but it can also raise the value of your home too. A porch can be a nice welcoming space into the home and it provides more outdoor living space. You can opt for a smaller or larger porch depending on what you will be using it for. If you plan on spending some of your free time there, then make sure the porch is large enough so that you can add a seating area and other useful furniture. 

Update Your Roof

The roof of your house is a very important part of your home’s exterior. Not only does it play a big role in the way your house looks but also in the functions of your house. In order to keep your roof steady, you need to maintain it properly and get it professionally checked frequently enough. That being said, if you feel like your house needs a bigger change, you can always update your roof and completely change it. This kind of project requires professional help though. There are tons of amazing heritage roofing services you can get to transform and update your roof to best fit your house’s exterior design. 

Replace Your Shutters

Speaking of your roof, another aspect you can change about your home’s exterior is changing your shutters. Whether your shutters are old and not functional anymore, or you just feel like upgrading from the boring and unattractive shutters, replacing your shutters can make a huge difference for the appearance of your house. This change can make your home appear a lot more put together.

Enlarge Your Windows

Windows are like the eyes of the home. If your house has very small windows, especially in the front, your interior will not be receiving enough light and the small windows will also detract from the exterior design. So, to upgrade your design you can enlarge your windows or even change their shape in order to create a fresh new look to the exterior design. 

Adjust Your Landscaping

The landscaping in front of the house does a lot for your house’s appearance. If you keep your lawn well-put together and nicely trimmed that’s already half of your job done. A nice addition would be to plant some flowers too just to add a little bit of vibrant colors to your front yard. 

Update Your Driveway

Another important asset of your home exterior is the driveway. You should never overlook it. You can update your driveway by adding stability to it with permeable driveway pavers or you can add more decorative pavers or bricks. 

Add Exterior Lighting

Lastly, nicely placed lighting in front of your home is not only there for the purpose of lighting your way to your front door. The lighting you place in front of your house can create a nice decorating piece and set the warm and welcoming atmosphere in front of your home. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many renovating and updating projects you can do to make your house exterior seem brand new and more put together. These are just some of the ideas you may find useful. 

Healthy Family: How to Maintain Healthy Habits at Home

Sometimes it can be overwhelming and almost impossible to maintain healthy habits past the first few weeks. We all start with good intentions but in the time it takes to actually build a habit a lot of us will have stopped for one reason or another. This just makes it even more important for us to learn how to maintain these healthy habits, so below are some healthy habits and suggestions of how to keep them going.

Taking Vitamins

So we’ve all said at some point that we want to eat healthier. It could have been for any number of reasons; health, feeling better about your appearance, or simply wanting a change, but whatever the reason, it is one of the most popular healthy habits people want to maintain. Yet something always gets in the way. As an addition to your healthy diet (and to make you feel better if you do fall off the bandwagon occasionally), you can also try taking vitamins. These glucose gummies help to keep you healthy and have a lot of nutritional benefits. So if you are struggling with maintaining a healthy diet, you could always try adding these in.

Regular Exercise

Another very common goal that we set ourselves when trying to create healthy habits is to do more exercise. It is very easy after a hard day or week of work to want to do nothing, but it is important to remember that for a healthy lifestyle you need to be active. There are so many things that you can do to encourage your family to be active instead of sitting around in front of a screen. You could all go out on a walk or a bike ride if you are wanting something simple, but if you are wanting to do something slightly different you could look into what activities they have available in your area. Also, you can turn that bike ride into something even more interesting by switching from a traditional bike to a motorized bike so you can see biking as a different and a better experience.

Set a Sleep Schedule

One healthy habit that you can create and maintain at home is to go to bed and wake up at the same time. Getting the right amount of sleep is so important for both your mental and physical health. If you don’t get enough you will become irritable, suffer lower moods and it will begin to affect you physically as well if it continues. The best way to do this is to set up a sleep schedule so that your body knows that that is when you should be sleeping, as well as having a suitable area set up with little outside light and noise.

Remain Positive

Positivity is a large part of keeping us motivated, especially when we are looking to improve ourselves or create new habits. There will be days when it can seem hopeless and like we are fighting a losing battle, but that isn’t the case. Keeping a positive mentality and telling yourself that it is possible to do what you are trying to achieve, it will be easier to keep pushing, while thinking about failure is likely to make it become a possibility. Have you ever heard the phrase “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” - Henry Ford. This is usually easier if you are setting up a healthy habit with someone else, because when you are feeling low they will be able to lift you up and encourage you.

Set Up a Reward System

One of the best ways to motivate yourself is to reward yourself when you do the right thing. Most people use sweet treats as a reward, but there are different options that you could use. Maybe save up a little bit and reward yourself and your family with a special day out or holiday somewhere that you have been wanting to go to for a long time. Other rewards could be smaller like giving yourself an extra bit of free time where you can choose what you do instead of ticking another thing off your to-do list.

Final Words

It can be difficult to maintain healthy habits at home particularly when we lead such busy lives, but there are always ways that you can make this slightly easier, for example, the use of vitamins to help with a healthy diet or setting up a reward system to keep you motivated.