Hello darlings!

Your kitchen is often where you and your loved ones gather after a busy day, so it needs to be cozy and stylish. But did you know it can also make you healthier? In a report by Houzz, an online home design site, one-third of people began a healthier lifestyle after a kitchen renovation. One of the most important kitchen elements that can benefit from a renovation is your countertop. Here are some of the best countertop materials to consider and why they're so great for your space.

Granite

Granite countertops are the most popular kitchen counter choice, with 64 American homes containing them! There many good reasons for this. Granite is practical because it's easy to clean - all you need is hot soapy water to keep it spick and span. It’s also stain-resistant, however, using a sealant on it is a must every two years to keep it in top condition and prevent stains from seeping into it over time. Granite is sleek but also durable. You can place hot pots of food on it or even cut fruit and veg directly on the surface without worrying about damage!

Stainless Steel

Countertops made of stainless steel looks classy and timeless, while working with a variety of different decor styles. Stainless steel is resistant to heat, water and stains, while being non-porous. This makes it great for storing your kitchen appliances such as a home coffee maker, without worrying about ruining its surface. Stainless steel is especially a good choice if you have kids who like to help you cook as it's a hygienic surface that you don't have to worry about ruining with sticky hands.

Marble

It might sound high-maintenance, but marble creates an elegant and striking touch to the kitchen, while also being very heat-resistant. Marble won't show cracks or break easily, but it is quite absorbent because liquids can sneak into the microscopic spaces between the marble's crystals, so you need to be careful with spills during nights of entertaining. Using a penetrative sealer as in the case of granite is a must to prevent soaking up spills. It’s really worth it because marble always looks beautiful and classy.

Quartz

According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, manufactured quartz is a leading countertop material. What makes it so great for the kitchen? It's resistant to scratches, stains and doesn't require any sealing treatments to keep it germ-resistant. Quartz has changed over the years, so that now its designs don't contain too many flecks and spots. Instead, it displays gentler designs that look like swirls of marble. This makes it versatile on the decor front, adapting to a variety of kitchen decor styles really easily.

Choosing the right kitchen countertop is one of the most important decor decisions you'll make. Ideally, your countertop should be hygienic, stylish and durable, so that it becomes an investment in your home value. Consider granite, steel, marble or quartz countertops, as these popular materials are heating up kitchens in a big way!

Hello darlings!

When you buy a home, you’re probably hoping that it will give you quite a lot of privacy. It’s one of the key benefits of living in a house rather than an apartment. But that’s not always the case. Your home could be overlooked by a next door neighbor, or it might be situated on a busy road. You might also find that people just aren’t respecting what is your private property. It would be great if you could get your privacy back. Well, there are a few ways to do this that might prove useful if you constantly feel as though you’re not getting privacy in your own home. Let’s look at a few of the possibilities.

source

Screener Trees

Exactly as they sound, screener trees are used to screen an area or environment such as the back yard. If your home is overlooked, you might want to make sure that people can’t peer over the fence when you’re sunbathing or see when you have guests over. Screener trees can help, and they can be purchased online.

The advantage of screener trees is that they are typically evergreen. This means that throughout the entire year, they never lose their leaves and as such, they’ll always provide you with the privacy you need. They grow quite tall too, ensuring that you do have a complete screen around your home and they grow fast. So, if you plant them now, you might find that they are sprouting up by the end of the year.

Tinted Windows

If your home is next to a busy road or street, you might find that people are constantly turning their head and looking directly into your home. This can be quite disconcerting and rather annoying if you want some privacy at the end of the day. But you don’t want to have to close your curtains or blinds. You probably like getting the natural light inside your home, particularly through the summer season.

The answer to this issue is tinted windows. With window tinting Perth Now's residential tinting and similar services can ensure that no one can see into your home at all. In fact, you can go as far to say that this is the ultimate form of privacy. You’ll still be able to look out, you’ll still get the light from the window, but no one will be able to look in. This can be a smart feature to have for security reasons too. Most break-ins are triggered because criminals see something valuable inside the home after peering through the window. With tinted windows, they won’t be able to do this.

Fencing

Or finally, perhaps your main issue is that people just aren’t respecting your private property. This happens all too often, and the simple solution is to put up fencing. It’s easy to buy fencing online that can be easily installed around your property. That way, you can let people know that it is your property, not theirs. It’s particularly useful if you own a large section of green on an open road. You’ll be able to keep muddy footprints off it and ensure that your property remains part of your home.

It's been a while since I posted one of my recipes so here's a new one. I personally love fava beans but Nick not so much. Well, he actually hates it and never tries it! However, we have decided to let our Fratzolaki taste everything so I am making it for me and my daughter nowadays. The version I am showing you is perfect for a vegan dinner party.



You will need
500g of fava beans
Some olive oil
3 large onions
Some olives for decor

I've made fava both in the slow cooker and the pressure cooker (and those who find the irony in that sentence are not wrong!). Personally, I prefer how it tastes when cooked in the pressure cooker but since I really adore my slow cooker I wont give up until I find the right recipe to make it there too.

The trouble with this bean is that you need to remove the foam that is forming while it boils since it will leave a bitter taste if you don't.

In a large pan put 1,5 liters of water and the beans. Bring to boil and remove the foam with a seeder until no more foam is formed. This takes almost 15-20 minutes depending on the bean quality. Once all the foam is removed you can either put the fava in the pressure cooker and cook for about 20 minutes or in the slow cooker for 6 hours on low or until ready depending on the size of your slow cooker.

Once the fava is cooked you can use a food processor to make it smooth or leave as is. In Greece we often put a fresh chopped onion in the middle but I prefer to cook it and caramelize it instead.

Do you like fava bean? How do you cook it?

Hello darlings!

When you enter a new home, it is understandable if you want everything in the house to remain perfect. However, as many people soon find out, a neat look doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of home maintenance and repairs to sustain it. A majority of first-time homeowners, however, find such tasks overwhelming for several reasons. Some honestly do not know what maintenance issues are likely to crop up. While for others, it could be that they do not know how to either prevent the unforeseen emergency or how to handle it when it occurs. So, how can a homeowner stay on top of his or her home maintenance? Here are some inspirational pointers. 

Inspect the property for potential signs

Even if you had conducted a thorough property inspection before purchasing the property, it is prudent to re-examine it once you occupy it. In this instance, however, you will be on the prowl for signs of potential damage or wear. Find out what features or areas of the home are more likely to break down. While at it, also consider the geographical location of your asset, as that will significantly influence the type and frequency of maintenance activities to conduct. If you are in an area prone to heavy wind or storms, for instance, roof repairs are something that you might have to contend with frequently.

Make a list of places that need maintenance

If you desire to stay on top of your home maintenance exercise, craft a list of all areas that need attention. It should include fire, smoke, and carbon monoxide sensors, plumbing, electrical circuits, HVAC systems, water heaters, roof, gutters, crawlspace, attic, door, windows, and chimneys. You should also examine the yard to determine the kind of maintenance it requires. For instance, weeding, mowing and pruning overgrown bushes. With such a list in place, it becomes easy for you to source for whatever maintenance tool or equipment you might need.

Determine which areas you can handle 

The good thing about home maintenance is that most of the activities involved are relatively easy to handle. Excellent examples are cleaning the property, discarding the trash, doing laundry, carpet cleaning and much more. Still, others like roof repairs, servicing the HVAC systems and fixing the electricity require expert skills. Take an objective assessment of your skills and determine which among the items on your list you can handle. Moreover, make sure that you have adequate time and resources to complete the task satisfactorily. 

Learn how to inspect and service the home

If after the above assessment you discover that you lack some essential home maintenance skills, consider acquiring those skills. Thankfully, there are many offline and online platforms from which you can learn how to tackle various household repairs and maintenance. These include practical lessons and DIY videos tutorials on how to test GFCI receptacles, change batteries in a fire or smoke detector, fix a leaky tap, change a worn out or dirty AC filter, unclog the gutters, remove stubborn stains on the upholstery and much more. Armed with such knowledge, it becomes relatively easy for you to tackle those pesky repairs.

Get suitable tools

Have you ever watched a home improvement episode on TV and wondered how they manage to make the maintenance exercise look so smooth and effortless? Well, the secret is that they have the tools and supplies appropriate for the job. Do yourself a favor by sourcing the right maintenance equipment and supplies such as vacuum cleaners, pressure washers, cleaning detergents, dishwashing machines, shovels, aprons, hand gloves and any other relevant tool. Such equipping will give you an easy time when handling the repairs and maintenance exercises.

Identify reliable service contractors

If you are prudent, look for qualified professional service and maintenance contractors for your home. Go for the ones who have excellent reputations, great customer reviews and are affordable. Thanks to their background, your home will always enjoy impeccable service. It is equally important if they offer twenty-four hours emergency services. After all, you rarely know when you might need their services. It can be disastrous if a technician is unreachable when you are suffering a bathroom emergency.

Develop a maintenance schedule

At times the only reason you find property maintenance a daunting task is that you do not have a particular routine of handling it. As such, you might end up overlooking the “boring stuff “and only concentrate on the easy-to-do fun activities. The only problem is that the tasks that you ignored will eventually catch up with you in the form of breakdowns or high energy bills. Avoid such a predicament by developing a practical home maintenance and cleaning schedule and stick to it. Soon enough the entire exercise will seem effortless and natural to you.

Hello darlings!

Hello darlings!

If there is a phrase that has stirred a lot of buzz among lawn enthusiasts, it is organic lawn care. But just what is it and why should it be of so much concern? The following article shed more light on the practice and explains why it is the way to go.

Hello darlings!

Do you know who you're really sharing your home with? They might be crawling around, eating your food or snuggling up in your bed. In a bug census, entomologists surveyed 50 homes in America for bugs and found that every single home had between 32 and 211 species. Gross! Unfortunately, many people leave these household pests until they're swarmed by infestations. There are, however, ways to nip them in the bud when their numbers are still small so you don’t need to use chemicals to eliminate them as that can be toxic to your health.

Here are some of the most common household pests and how to evict them.

1. Cockroaches

Even writing their name has me on goose pumps! Wikes! It's the only thing that can make me cry on sight! Nick is sick of me and I keep telling him he's the man of the house, he should get rid of it!!! According to Discover Magazine, cockroaches carry over 30 bacteria species, including E.coli and salmonella. These pests eat anything, but they have a certain interest in anything starchy or sweet. The problem with cockroaches is that they reproduce very quickly, making it easy for infestations to occur.

You can keep roaches out of your home by filling it up with catnip or bay leaves. A study found that catnip is 100 times more effective than DEET at ridding your home of roaches, and isn’t dangerous to your health. Other ways to keep roaches away is to prevent food lying around, washing dishes immediately after they've been used and closing your garbage cans properly.

2. Bed bugs

If you’re waking up with small red rashes, bed bugs might be to blame. These small, flat, oval-shaped bugs like hiding in mattress seams, headboards and behind wallpaper and clutter. Bed bugs are fond of latching onto you in busy places like hotels and schools, and then hitching a ride to your home where they can get food - your blood - while you sleep. Eeuw! The only solace is that they don’t spread disease. Simple ways to keep bed bugs at bay include storing items that you regularly take out of the home, such as suitcases or jackets, outside of the bedroom to reduce contamination. 

3. Ants

You might kill the ants you see but there are usually many more, forming nests in the hidden areas of your home. Ants leave behind a trail of pheromone chemicals for other ants to follow them once they've found food. Seal up any cracks in the walls because the tiniest ones can be enough for ants to move through. Be careful of food that you leave lying around or spill as this can attract them. According to Scientific American, there are many household ingredients that repel ants successfully, such as cinnamon, mint, salt, bay leaves, onion and garlic. Store these near any openings in the wall or windows.

4. Rodents

Rats don’t just infect you with a bite - just breathing in dust that's contaminated with their urine or droppings can make you susceptible to viruses such as hemorrhagic fever. Rats enter your home for warmth, water and especially food. Keep food stored well instead of lying around, and make sure your garbage cans aren’t stored close to the house where rats can hide behind them. Essential oils can repel them, such as bergamot oil and geranium oil, according to studies.

5. Flies

These are annoying, especially during the warm weather, but they pose a real problem. Many viruses are associated with flies, including salmonella and e.coli. What’s so dangerous about flies is that they can transfer diseases to you simply by walking on surfaces. They like warm temperatures, so close windows and doors when it’s chilly outside. Clean your surfaces regularly and don’t leave food out in the open. You should also stock up on essential oils to keep flies out of your home. When essential oils such as geranium, lavender and peppermint were applied to cows, they repelled flies for up to 4 hours. The trick is to continue using these scents in your home regularly to keep flies away.

6. Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes affect millions of people every year with diseases such as West Nile virus that can cause neurological problems, plus they’re super annoying when they leave your skin covered in itchy red welts. Essential oils are good mosquito repellents. All you need are a few drops of citronella oil, lemongrass oil, lavender oil and peppermint oil to keep them away. You could even douse a ribbon in these oils and hang it up in a window so that the scent will keep mosquitoes out of your home. Best of all, they smell good so they won’t irritate you while you try to sleep like those annoying buzzing mosquitoes. If you want to make a beautiful wooden trap visit this blog here.

Your home could be visited by loads of small, flying or crawling insects, but you don't have to let them overstay their welcome! With green options such as the above, you can keep bugs away and reclaim your home.

Hello darlings!

Have you ever tried to recreate a look in your home that you once saw in a magazine or film, only to end up with an unsightly looking room? If you have, then you definitely can relate with how frustrating it can be. However, before you throw in the cards and conclude that you can never get a strikingly breathtaking indoors, you need to know there is still hope. 

The reason why the magazine and film properties look so aesthetically pleasing is that those who designed them understood and applied some basic principles of home decor. Always remember that your property is an investment and it pays to do things right, not overlooking design is a critical aspect for an enticing appearance. You too can actuate an equally attractive appearance by using the same principles. These principles are:

Balance

Balance refers to creating a sense of equilibrium of items and objects within the room. It involves the use of color, shape, texture, and patterns to equalize or approximate the visual weight of the objects in the chamber. Such a room will feel comfortable and refreshing to the eye. When it comes to home decor, there are three main types of balance involved. These are;

Symmetrical or Formal balance

Creating the symmetrical or formal balance in a room occurs when you place objects or items in such a way that one side mirrors the opposite side. An excellent example is positioning two chairs on each side of the coffee table or placing two chairs that have an identical sconce, on either side of a tall cabinet.

Asymmetrical or informal balance

You can actuate an asymmetrical balance by using objects or items that have similar visual weight but varying shapes, colors, patterns, sizes, and textures. For instance, you could place two chairs on either side of a sofa, or position on top of a shelf, several tall, trim candle holders, facing a small wide vase.

Radial Balance

You can actualize a radial balance by arranging objects around a central focal point. For example, you place seats around the dining table.

Proportion and Scale

Another important house decor element to help you design like a pro is proportion and scale. Here, proportion refers to the ratio between one object to another with regard to size or space in which you place it. The scale, on the other hand, is all about how an object or item relates to the room’s size. For instance, if you put a large overstuffed sofa in a tiny living, it will be out of scale. To achieve the perfect proportion and scale, therefore, you should make sure that the ratio of the smaller areas to the larger areas are equal to the ratio of larger areas to the entire room.

Focal Point

It is practically impossible to successfully carry out an indoor decor exercise without introducing one or more focal points. The focal point helps to eliminate boredom and make the design more charming. It is worth noting, however, that for the object to have a compelling effect, it must be dominant and exciting enough to capture the audience’s attention and make the viewer want to explore the room or object further. Typical focal points in the home could include elegant furniture pieces, aquariums, artworks, fireplaces, state of the art electronics and much more. 

Style and Theme

Every property has its unique style or theme, which can include Formal, Casual, Contemporary, Tradition, Tropical, Chic and Western. Whichever, your home’s theme is, you must ensure that your decor takes that into account. Hence, go for home decor that will not only complement but enforce the desired theme. You can accomplish that by introducing equal decorative pieces that enhance the aesthetics you want.

Rhythm

In indoor decor, rhythm is all about using patterns colors and shapes of contrasts, progression, transition, and repetition to actuate an interesting, continuous and recurring movement of visual. The idea is to make the eyes move around the room in interesting ways. You can create rhythm in your home for instance by using pillows that have a pattern, color or shape that is identical to the wall painting, area rug, or flower vase. Such repetition will force the viewer’s eyes to move around the room.

Details

At times the difference between the design you wanted and the one you get, are the subtle and minor details. Therefore, pay close attention to the small details as these can have a significant dent on your room's final look. For example, make sure your choice of home decor complements the right house theme and style, and that it has the right colors, proportion, and scale.

Unity and Harmony

Seasoned interior designers understand that even though the perfect look involves the excellent combination of minute details, for the look to work, one must have the overall bigger picture in mind. Consequently, they view the entire designing exercise as a combination of the spaces within the room. Moreover, they take the time to ensure that each area within the chamber, be they walls, stairs, ceilings, and floors, have decor that blends in perfectly with every other item or object in the room.

Hello darlings!

Outdoor lighting is an excellent way of decorating your home. Besides enhancing security, the lights make the property more attractive and magical, more so when dusk falls. But just how can you use lights to actuate such an invigorating landscape design that blends naturally? Here are several practical tips worth considering.

The first thing you should do is to determine the outcome that you want to actuate. For instance, is your intention to facilitate a weekend entertainment, prevent slip and fall injuries, or solely to enhance the property's architectural aesthetics by making it alluring to prospective renters and buyers? Whatever your intention may be, it is important to go for lighting solutions that will help you in your quest. Besides, bearing in mind that there are hundreds of outdoor lighting solutions in the market, clarifying your objective beforehand will make it easy for you to identify what equipment to purchase.

Many homeowners, with the intention of saving a few bucks, often install one or two lights along the walkways, or in the backyard. While such a move might help you to save money, it does not create a magical night scene. Remember it’s an investment property and instead of going that route, consider installing the outdoor home lighting in such a manner that they adequately highlight: the pathways, steps, trees, patios, entry points, as well as unique architectural structures such as pools, water fountains and much more.

When installing outdoor home lighting equipment, it is judicious to invest in solutions that will last long, to keep you from climbing trees or digging through snow frequently to change the bulbs. To this end, the LED lights are an excellent pick. They are remarkably durable and can last up to a hundred thousand hours. Moreover, they can withstand inclement weather like hail, winter storm or the hot sun. Another impressive trait of the LED lights is that they boast of unique, versatile qualities. They come in an assortment of colors, and you can dim, brighten or manipulate them to create whatever illusion you want.

The trick to a great outdoor home lighting exercise is to identify one or two elements on the property to towards which you will draw attention. It could be an exciting feature like a waterfall, swimming pool or oriental outdoor plant. Whatever you decide to be the focal point, you should use the lights in such a way that they not only highlight these features but also create a sense of depth.

The best way for you to identify the perfect outdoor lighting design is to conduct the installation exercise at night. Under cover of darkness, you can get a full understanding of how trees, bushes, or any other object on the property, cast shadows. Subsequently, it becomes easy for you to position your lighting equipment where it will give you the best service possible. Moreover, you will not waste precious time on trial and error exercises since you will get instant feedback on how the lighting arrangement plays out.

An ingenious outdoor home lighting design is one that offers a variety of visual interests. For instance, it should include overall lighting solutions to light up the entire landscape, accent bulbs for accentuating the architectural elements, as well as task lighting solutions for illuminating specific functional purposes. Combining all these landscaping lighting solutions helps to create a fuller feel, and sparks life into the property.

As stated above, you can play around with outdoor lights to create different effects. You, should, therefore, consider what nightlife impression you want and install lighting equipment that will help you actuate it. Typically, you have three main ways of aiming the lights. These include up-lighting, down-lighting, and cross-lighting. 

i. If you wish to create a full moonlight effect on your property, then the down lights should be your choice. All you ought to do is to place the bulbs on a raised surface, for instance, a tree or tall lamppost, and aim the lights so that they point downwards towards your property.

ii. Still, if you want to create a strong dramatic effect characterized by an emphasis on bright light and dark shadows, up-light outdoor solutions will suffice. Just aim the lights upwards towards an interesting architectural feature or a tree.

iii. However, if you want to create a magical effect of an incredible outdoor that does not have shadows, then you need to look for lighting solutions that will help you cross-light the property. You then only need point your property’s focal points from all sides.