Enlarge Your Living Space

Your Home - Enlarge Your Living Space - 5 Optical Illusions Tips

I am quite sure everyone wants a big and nice house with a lot of space. However we often need to live in smaller areas. This is not a big problem, as we have prepared for you some great optical illusion tips to help you make your home brighter and more spacious.

Avoid the dark colors

The secret of the comfortable and spacious interior is to use a reasonable quantity of dark colors. For example, if you choose the furnishing of the room to be in dark colors, then the walls should definitely be bright colored – this solution will make the different elements contrast and it will help you to make the room more spacious.

Use accents in the rooms

The focus can be created by using colors – you may paint one wall in a different color, or you can put color wallpaper, and paint stripes on. If you choose floral wallpaper, its elements should necessarily be large; the same applies to ordinary wallpaper - repeating the pattern of big ornaments creates a sense of space. Horizontal stripes always make the room look wider and vertical stripes make it longer.

Avoid using contrasting colors

When you enter a room, your eyes move slowly from the floor, then they shift to the walls and finally they reach the ceiling. If the floor, walls and ceiling are similarly colored your eyes will move smoothly along the line and the space will seem larger. If all three elements are in contrasting colors, the eye will distinguish them and space automatically becomes less spacious.

Use the vertical space

When we live in a small house, it is common to feel like there is no room for any more items. Think again - the walls in most cases remain empty except for some paintings or frames. You have the option to put various shelves to store some of the items and to make more space in the room. This will open up the room and make it more vibrant.

Avoid the heavy curtains

Some large halls and living rooms usually have heavy curtains descending from the ceiling to the floor, creating a flow throughout the room. In small rooms however it is better to avoid heavy curtains as they are hard to clean and will make the space look darker and smaller.

Enlarge Your Living Space

Your Home - Enlarge Your Living Space - 5 Optical Illusions Tips

I am quite sure everyone wants a big and nice house with a lot of space. However we often need to live in smaller areas. This is not a big problem, as we have prepared for you some great optical illusion tips to help you make your home brighter and more spacious.

Avoid the dark colors

The secret of the comfortable and spacious interior is to use a reasonable quantity of dark colors. For example, if you choose the furnishing of the room to be in dark colors, then the walls should definitely be bright colored – this solution will make the different elements contrast and it will help you to make the room more spacious.

Use accents in the rooms

The focus can be created by using colors – you may paint one wall in a different color, or you can put color wallpaper, and paint stripes on. If you choose floral wallpaper, its elements should necessarily be large; the same applies to ordinary wallpaper - repeating the pattern of big ornaments creates a sense of space. Horizontal stripes always make the room look wider and vertical stripes make it longer.

Avoid using contrasting colors

When you enter a room, your eyes move slowly from the floor, then they shift to the walls and finally they reach the ceiling. If the floor, walls and ceiling are similarly colored your eyes will move smoothly along the line and the space will seem larger. If all three elements are in contrasting colors, the eye will distinguish them and space automatically becomes less spacious.

Use the vertical space

When we live in a small house, it is common to feel like there is no room for any more items. Think again - the walls in most cases remain empty except for some paintings or frames. You have the option to put various shelves to store some of the items and to make more space in the room. This will open up the room and make it more vibrant.

Avoid the heavy curtains

Some large halls and living rooms usually have heavy curtains descending from the ceiling to the floor, creating a flow throughout the room. In small rooms however it is better to avoid heavy curtains as they are hard to clean and will make the space look darker and smaller.

Natural Bug Repellent

Vinegar of the Four Thieves Insect Repellent:

1.      Put 32 oz apple cider vinegar into large glass jar (at least 1 qt. with airtight lid)
2.      Add to the jar: 2 TBSP each of dried Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme and Mint
3.      Seal tightly and store on counter or place you will see it daily. Shake well each day for 2-3 weeks.
4.      After 2-3 weeks, strain the herbs out and store in spray bottles, preferably in fridge.
5.      To use on skin, dilute to half with water in a spray bottle and use as needed.
6.      Use whenever you need serious bug control!

It may not smell great at first, but the smell goes away as it dries.  Keep bugs from biting this summer – naturally.

Summer is here!!!

Now that the summer break is here (or almost here), we need to think about how to entertain our kids. There are many activities parents can plan for their kids during the summer and here are some of them. 

There are many "drop-off and pick-them-up" activities that parents can get their child involved in, like karate or dance school. Some colleges have activities for kids during the summer as well. The best way to find activities is to look in the local newspaper or in the phone book. The internet has a great deal of information for things to do with children during the summer. It is great to keep the kids' brain working during the summer break. The earlier you start the better. Some places take reservations very early and some programs will fill early, too. Start your planning today. 

On weekdays kids could go to camp. A lot of people are getting out of the tradition of sending the kids away for the whole summer to a secluded forest with a bunch of teenagers and a couple of adults. There are now camps that have a meeting place where you can drop the kids off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. The camp will drive a bus to the site every day so the kids still have a camp-like experience but not the whole "spend-the-night" thing. They will still get to do activities like swimming, hiking, sports, and arts and crafts. 

Taking a couple of weeks to go on vacation is a great way to get a break from it all. A lot of places have packages for early booking and the longer the stay, the better the deal. There are also good deals as more people come. Some hotels will give a discount if more than one room is booked. Amusement parks will give discounts to families and some offer deals for kids or senior citizens if the grandparents come along. If a person cannot travel for two weeks straight, then there is always traveling on weekends. The family can pack up the car to leave on a two hour drive on Friday and come back on Saturday. It could be a camping trip or going to the next town to shop and sight-see. 

Whatever you plan for this summer, make sure that your kids will get a balanced vacation with a mixture of relaxation, physical and brain activity.

Mothers day is May 12th!!!

Mother's Day is something to constantly celebrate, but what is it exactly? It's a celebration of those who took care of us while we were growing up — a celebration of life and true labor — and the meaning of sacrificing one's time and energy for another human being. While this might sound like a lecture on the importance of motherhood, there certainly isn't a place like home, and there's certainly nothing like a mother to take care of us. Celebrating them once a year certainly isn't enough, so most sons and daughters do something to make this day truly wonderful.
We have Anna Jarvis to thank for this. She started with a celebration of her own mother in 1908 and began a campaign to increase awareness. Jarvis decided to set the official celebratory date as the second Sunday in May. As the movement spread worldwide, it merged with similar traditions in other countries — like "Mothering Sunday" in the British Isles. This led to the present day "Mother's Day."

We love chocolate!!!

Personal Interest - 20 Fun Facts About Chocolate

Chocolate is known throughout the world as a delightful treat and loved by billions of people. Would you like to learn a little more about it? Here it is:

1. Ancient Aztecs thought chocolate had magical powers; like the ability to give them strength.

2. Chocolate was consumed by the ancient Aztecs as a frothy beverage, somewhat like hot chocolate we drink today.

3. Chocolate contains over 300 mineral properties that are beneficial to your health.

4. Chocolate comes from a plant, called Theobroma cacao, which translates "Food of the Gods".

5. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea and just as many as blueberries.

6. White chocolate really isn't chocolate. It's made from cocoa butter, the substance you get by pressing cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is absent of the cocoa solids used to make chocolate.

7. Chocolate does contain chemical elements that really do boost your mood and produce a euphoric feeling.

8. Eating chocolate gives you the same feeling as falling in love. This is probably why Valentine's Day and chocolate go hand in hand.

9. Chocolate comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl" which means "bitter water".

10. Switzerland is one of the top countries for chocolate consumption. The Swiss consume about 22 lbs of chocolate, per person, per year.

11. Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Perhaps this is where the saying "Money grows on trees" came from.

12. Allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces the same or even stronger reactions as passionately kissing.

13. Hershey is the oldest and largest chocolate company in the US.

14. Cadbury is the most popular chocolate in the UK.

15. Most cocoa comes from West Africa.

16. The most expensive chocolate in the world is $2,600 per pound. It's called Madeleine and is made by Fritz Knipschildt, a chocolatier in Connecticut.

17. Chocolate is beneficial for proper blood flow to the lungs and other organs.

18. The minerals in chocolate help to increase brain power and function.

19. Thomas Jefferson, third president of the US, was quoted as saying "The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain."

20. One of Hershey's ads reads: More Sustaining Than Meat."

Why Home Sales Slipped in March
 
By Gino Blefari
President & CEO
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

If you've been following housing market news this year, you may have been surprised by the latest home sales numbers to come out this week. Sales of existing homes stalled at 4.92 million, dropping 0.6% in March from February.
 
But what about this hot spring we've all been anticipating? What about the great recovery and growth period we're supposed to see in 2013? What's going on here?
 
The problem is lack of homes. There's plenty of demand from buyers, but just not enough to choose from on the market.
 
Some areas are experiencing multiple bids, which can frustrate buyers after they've been outbid a handful of times and turn them away.
 
And in some cases, we see sellers being affected as well. For those in tight markets, they may not feel confident enough to list their homes until they know for sure they'll be able to find a new one to move into.
 
Despite the decline in March sales from February, home sales were still 10.3% higher than the same month a year ago, marking the 21^st consecutive month of year-over-year increases. That's good news, and a good indicator of how the market is trending in the big picture.
 
Demand is still strong, according to the National Association of Realtors, which reported buyer traffic is 25% above a year ago. But the drop in available homes has put upward pressure on prices. And some buyers are getting frustrated and priced out.
 
The national median home price was $184,300 in March, 11.8% higher than a year ago. The increase was the highest gain since November 2005.
 
Total housing inventory was up 1.6% to 1.93% homes for sale, representing a 4.7-month supply at the current pace. For-sale inventory was 16.8% below what it was a year ago, showing how lack of supply is truly impacting the pace of sales and overall market activity.
 
What happens next?
 
At the rate things are going, we can likely expect more price increases, driven by continued tight markets with some increases in new home building to balance supply.
 
At some point, prices will reach a tipping point where more sellers are able to sell because values will meet their needs.
 
Until then, buyers need patience and the ability to act fast; sellers need motivation or the right price points to get out from an underwater mortgage. We have an interesting second half of the year ahead!