As any homeowner knows, the living room is a major focal point of the home. From family gatherings throughout the year to sitting back and watching TV together at the end of a long week, the living room is often a home’s social center for family and friends alike.
That being said, furniture placement can distract from such gatherings, affecting the comfort and functionality of the room.
Here are some mistakes to avoid when it comes to arranging your living room furniture:
Forgetting the focal wall.
A focal wall is the first place the eye comes to rest when entering a room. While not every living room has a focal wall, if yours does, you don’t want to pass it up. Set up the furniture so that most of the seating is facing or angled toward the wall you’ve pegged as the focal wall. A fireplace, mounted TV or picture window are natural places to have a focal wall.
Too much furniture.
Don’t clutter your living room with too much furniture. The couch should be the biggest piece in the room and should get the focus it deserves.
Start by pushing everything else out of the way in order to see where the sofa fits the best. Then bring in smaller pieces of furniture to complement the sofa.
Adding furniture you don’t use.
After arranging the furniture so that it works well in the space, don’t add nonessential items to the living room that aren’t used on a day-to-day basis. For example, don’t let a small side table or a chair that’s rarely used take up space for the sake of filling up the area.
Extra furniture is a good thing to have when friends and family visit, but it doesn’t have to take up space in a living room every day if it isn’t used on a consistent basis.
Keeping everything.
When moving from one home to another, some people put the same furniture in their new living room simply out of habit. Even if the room is the same size as the old one, it doesn’t always make sense to incorporate the same furniture into the space.
If you recently moved into a new home—or have a move on the horizon—it’s important to consider how much you use something before integrating it into your living space. Surface areas such as coffee tables, side tables and desks may not be needed as often as you think. In the same vein, storage areas such as cabinets and trunks may not be opened for years but will ultimately take up valuable space in the family’s main gathering place.
A couch against the wall.
Pushing a couch against a wall can be the easiest way to set up the living room, but it may not create as much space as you think. Instead of simply pushing the couch against the wall, try pulling it out at least 12 inches. This will create some space, which will ultimately make the room feel bigger.
While pushing the couch against the wall may be a good idea if you’re looking to get it out of the way, it can create a lot of dead space in the middle of the room. No matter your style, take the time to think outside the box and try something new…and see what happens.
Five Easy Organizational Tips
Do you feel like you’re constantly battling clutter around the house? You’re not alone, and nothing can feel more frustrating than not being able to locate something when you need it, or wading through piles of items to get there. Below are five, easy organizational tips that can offer major upgrades:
Tension Rod for Pot Lids
If you store your pots and pans in a drawer, install a tension rod along the inside and slip your pot lids behind it. No more rattling pots or hard-to-find tops!
Gallon Bags for Drawers
Organize your underwear or t-shirt drawer by separating your items and storing them in gallon-sized plastic bags. You’ll never lose 10 minutes hunting for that pair of socks again.
CD Holders for Tupperware
Remember those old CD racks? Repurpose them in your Tupperware cabinet by using them to keep your lids separate, sorted and easy to grab.
Repurposed Wine Rack
Gifted a large wine rack that rarely feels full? Use it in a hallway or closet to store shoes, scarves and other items that need to be tucked away.
Muffin Tin Magic
Have a junk drawer that never stays organized? Slip a muffin tin inside to separate your odds and ends.
Healthy Ways to Manage Stress
We all have stress in our lives. Busy days at work, problems at home, traffic jams and money trouble are prime examples of stressful situations. However, chronic stress can lead to serious health issues, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and depression, so preventing and managing stress is essential to living happier and healthier.
Here are some tips from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help you deal with stress:
Prepare yourself. Prepare ahead of time for stressful events like a job interview or a hard conversation with a loved one. Stay positive, picture what the room will look like and what you’ll say, and have a backup plan.
Plan your time. Feeling in control of your situation could lower stress. Think ahead about how you’re going to use your time. Write a to-do list and figure out what’s most important-then do that thing first. Be realistic about how long each task will take.
Relax with deep breathing or meditation. These are two effective ways to relax your muscles and clear your mind.
Relax your muscles. Stress causes tension in your muscles. Try stretching or taking a hot shower to help you relax.
Get active. Regular physical activity can help prevent and manage stress. It can also help relax your muscles and improve your mood. Aim for 2.5 hours a week of physical activity. Try riding a bike, taking a walk or lifting weights. Be sure to exercise for at least 10 minutes at a time.
Eat healthy. Give your body plenty of energy by eating healthy, including vegetables, fruits and lean sources of protein.
Talk to friends and family. Tell your friends and family if you’re feeling stressed. They may be able to help.
Get professional help if you need it. Stress is a normal part of life. But if your stress doesn’t go away or keeps getting worse, you may need expert help. A mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or social worker, can help treat stress-related conditions. Lots of people need help dealing with stress-it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
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Four Mantras to Make You Happy
Some days, keeping a smile on your face can be a struggle. Whether you’re dealing with a stressful career, medical issues or just feeling weighed down by your daily routine, repeating positive mantras can help shift your mood—if you’re open to it.
Below are four helpful happy mantras to lift your mood.
You can do it. Whether you’re under a huge deadline for work or trying to finish that last mile on the treadmill, telling yourself that you can do it will make your success more likely. Be your own cheerleader!
Just breathe. Feeling overwhelmed? Remind yourself to breathe. Pair this mantra with big, deep inhalations to feel calmer and happier.
Thank you. Gratitude goes a long way, and can shift your perception of things (and the way people perceive you) if integrated into daily life. Be thankful for getting to work safely, even if you had a longer-than-usual commute. Be thankful you have the funds to buy groceries, even when your list of errands seems endless. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
No judgements. This is easier said than done, especially in a world where other people’s lives are constantly popping into our news feeds. Annoyed at your co-worker’s cheesy engagement photos? Irritated that your college roommate seems to be traveling constantly, when you can’t even afford a staycation? Remind yourself to pay attention to your own life, and don’t judge or envy others for their choices.
Avoid These Common Mistakes When Arranging Living Room Furniture
As any homeowner knows, the living room is a major focal point of the home. From family gatherings throughout the year to sitting back and watching TV together at the end of a long week, the living room is often a home’s social center for family and friends alike.
That being said, furniture placement can distract from such gatherings, affecting the comfort and functionality of the room.
Here are some mistakes to avoid when it comes to arranging your living room furniture:
Forgetting the focal wall.
A focal wall is the first place the eye comes to rest when entering a room. While not every living room has a focal wall, if yours does, you don’t want to pass it up. Set up the furniture so that most of the seating is facing or angled toward the wall you’ve pegged as the focal wall. A fireplace, mounted TV or picture window are natural places to have a focal wall.
Too much furniture.
Don’t clutter your living room with too much furniture. The couch should be the biggest piece in the room and should get the focus it deserves.
Start by pushing everything else out of the way in order to see where the sofa fits the best. Then bring in smaller pieces of furniture to complement the sofa.
Adding furniture you don’t use.
After arranging the furniture so that it works well in the space, don’t add nonessential items to the living room that aren’t used on a day-to-day basis. For example, don’t let a small side table or a chair that’s rarely used take up space for the sake of filling up the area.
Extra furniture is a good thing to have when friends and family visit, but it doesn’t have to take up space in a living room every day if it isn’t used on a consistent basis.
Keeping everything.
When moving from one home to another, some people put the same furniture in their new living room simply out of habit. Even if the room is the same size as the old one, it doesn’t always make sense to incorporate the same furniture into the space.
If you recently moved into a new home—or have a move on the horizon—it’s important to consider how much you use something before integrating it into your living space. Surface areas such as coffee tables, side tables and desks may not be needed as often as you think. In the same vein, storage areas such as cabinets and trunks may not be opened for years but will ultimately take up valuable space in the family’s main gathering place.
A couch against the wall.
Pushing a couch against a wall can be the easiest way to set up the living room, but it may not create as much space as you think. Instead of simply pushing the couch against the wall, try pulling it out at least 12 inches. This will create some space, which will ultimately make the room feel bigger.
While pushing the couch against the wall may be a good idea if you’re looking to get it out of the way, it can create a lot of dead space in the middle of the room. No matter your style, take the time to think outside the box and try something new…and see what happens.
Wood Floor Alternatives Worth a Second Look
Wood floors are a top choice for modern homeowners. Proponents believe they offer warmth as well as elegance, but they do require care to maintain their luster and are costly. Fortunately, say flooring exerts, technology makes it easy to achieve the look and feel of wood flooring without the need for special care—and at a far lower cost.
Check out the look and feel of these alternatives at local flooring or big box stores. (If you don’t plan to do it yourself, factor in $30 to $45 an hour for professional installation):
Bamboo
Bamboo flooring is an eco-friendly alternative to hardwood that is easy to clean, shrugs off wear and tear, and results in a similar look. Available in vertical, horizontal or strand-woven varieties, it will cost $2 to $5 per square foot.
Engineered Wood
Designed to handle moisture and wear, engineered wood flooring is durable, moisture resistant and available in a variety of wood-look patterns. This faux wood flooring is so much like the real deal (because it includes real wood in the layering) that it can even be refinished. Expect to pay $8 to $12 per square foot.
Laminate
Laminate vinyl is a photo of wood that is laminated onto vinyl flooring. Very resistant to high-traffic wear, it’s available in a wide variety of wood-like designs. It’s moisture-resistant, making it a great choice for kitchens and bathrooms. Laminate vinyl can come in sheets, tiles or planks. The price is significantly less than hardwood, with luxury vinyl tile coming in at $2 to $5 per square foot.
Porcelain Tile
A perennially popular flooring material, porcelain flooring comes in a variety of sizes, colors, and designs, many of which mimic wood-grain textures. In general, tile is durable, easy to clean and water resistant, making it ideal for bathrooms and kitchens. Large-format tiles can serve as a dramatic decor element, visually expanding a room due to minimal grout lines. Average cost is $4 to $9 per square foot.
How to Up the Cozy Factor in Your Home
Looking for a home so cozy you almost want to cuddle with it? The following design elements can create a comforting, warm space that you will never want to leave.
Warm colors. Add warm colors to your walls, accents, linens window hangings and more to create a cozy vibe inside. Deep orange, rusty reds, buttery yellows and soft off-white colors can all add a “stay at home” vibe to your space.
Plush textures. From fleecy blankets thrown over every chair, to faux-fur pillows and rugs, having textures you want to lounge on will seriously up the cozy factor in your living space.
Soft lighting. Nothing derails a cozy home faster than harsh lighting. Add dimmers to your overheads and add ample accent lights on the walls and tables for a soft, warm glow.
Well-designed storage.
Clutter is the antithesis of a cuddly space. From properly organized closets to sneaky storage spaces (like under your sofa seats or ottoman), having a place to stow away your belongings that aren’t being used will create a sleek vibe.
Extra lounge areas.
Move past the living room set for lounge spaces. An oversized sofa, a sweet day bed, a hammock, big cushy floor pillows—all of these lounge areas can up the cozy ante in your home.
Common Natural Cleaning Products Found in Homes
Many home cleaning products can be expensive and include harmful chemicals. With just a little extra elbow grease, you can save money by using some natural cleaning products you may already have around the house.
Here are some common and cheap items that are free of artificial ingredients and can make house cleaning simpler:
Baking Soda
Baking soda can be used for many other things than refreshing the smell of a refrigerator.
For a dollar or so, a small box of baking soda can go a long way in cleaning up spills. For a carpet stain, cover it with baking soda and spray it with a mixture of half white vinegar and half water. The baking soda will foam up, then let it set for three hours before scrubbing. Let it dry overnight and vacuum the baking soda up the next day.
Baking soda can also be used to help clean dirty pans; deodorize musty upholstery, pet beds and other things; and remove mildew from bathrooms.
Distilled White Vinegar
This can be used as a nontoxic disinfecting agent. You’ll usually want to mix a half-and-half blend of it with water in a spray bottle. The solution can be used to treat all kinds of stains, and one cup mixed with a gallon of warm water can be enough to clean an entire home’s floors. Just be sure you’re in a well-ventilated area because vinegar can have a strong odor.
Lemons
If you have a lemon tree, or your neighbor does, chances are you have way more lemons than you can use. Put them to good use to clean your house.
A few drops of lemon juice added to dish soap can boost degreasing ability. A dilute solution of water and lemon juice can get rid of food-preparation smells on your hands, and half a lemon in the refrigerator can remove odors.
Furthermore, the acid in lemons is an antibacterial and antiseptic that acts like a natural bleach, and oils in the rinds can help clean and shine items in your home.
Vodka
Not everyone keeps alcohol in the home, but cheap vodka can be used to diffuse smells, de-stink mildewy clothing, disinfect a mattress and clean glass, among other uses. Just keep it out of reach from your children, as you would with most household cleaners, even some of the natural ones.
Five Spices That Add Flavor but Not Heat
Are you looking to add spice to your home cooking, but not heat? Here are five interesting flavors to try, while sparing your mouth from fire.
Cumin. With a mild, earthy flavor, cumin goes great in curries without adding any heat, and has been known to aid digestion and improve your immune system.
Coriander. Did you know coriander seeds come from the cilantro plant? This spice has a nutty, mild flavor and is great for creating rubs, adding to homemade pickles or putting in a curry.
Smoked paprika. While paprika is derived from the pepper plant, it doesn’t pack the heat that its cousin cayenne does. And this smoky version can add depth to chilis and stews without firing up your mouth.
Turmeric. This bright root has a bold flavor, but no spicy zing, and is wonderful for treating inflammation. You can add it to smoothies, soups, stir-fry’s and more.
Sumac. Popular in middle-eastern cuisine, this spice has a bold lemony flavor. Use it to flavor rice, sprinkle on top of cooked vegetables or add to salad dressings.
Or find a few more ideas from the photo: A kitchen table filled with a large group of multi colored spices and herbs like clove, turmeric, bay leaf, cinnamon, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, curry powder, ginger, nutmeg, peppercorns, salt, chili pepper, basil, parsley, lemon, rosemary, garlic, onion and saffron.