Air Quality in Your Home
The Asthma Society of Canada estimates that three million Canadians suffer from asthma and that includes 12 % of all children! Indoor pollutants are the suspects; the consequences of not dealing with these toxins can be serious, and sad to say, deadly. It's important to try to reduce, or better yet, eliminate the sources of poor air quality indoors. Sometimes indoor air is more polluted than outdoor air has become!
Most culprits causing unclean air are invisible. Rugs and fabrics, vinyl and plastic, paint, pressed wood, and even cleaning products themselves, all release volatile organic compounds (VOC's) into the air you breathe. Dust mites, house dust, animal dander, mould spores, and pollen, float around the house giving your respiratory system its share of work to do to try and keep you healthy.
To protect yourselves from the hazards of cigarette smoke, ensure that no one smokes inside your dwelling. Second-hand smoke is lethal.
Try to avoid having carpeting, do vacuum frequently, and leave your outdoor footwear at the door.
It's possible to minimize the pollution through good ventilation such as fans, air exchangers, and air filtration. Simply opening the windows, when you can, allows fresh air to replace stale air.
Cultivate some lovely plants to be your buddies in the all important oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange!
Salt crystal lamps and copper coils reduce the effects of radiation coming off the computer, television, and other electronic devices. Place a few strategically around your home.
Now you can breathe easier knowing you're doing all you can to keep the air in your home fresh, clean, and healthy!
Trimming It Up
Its amazing what trim can do to make an otherwise plain looking, inexpensive, piece of furniture into a rare treasure.
Trimming a Chair
We've seen world famous interior designers turn something as common as a chair, into the centerpiece of a room, by simply trimming the bottom of the seat. Seems to work best when done with fabric chairs in suede, velvet or velour.
End Table or Bed Side Table Trimming
By taking a simple stand and placing a circular piece of wood on the top of it you can quickly drape a piece of fabric over it to make an otherwise inexpensive make shift table into a designer's masterpiece. Trimming the bottom of the fabric skirt makes it even more elegant looking.
Search for Throws with Trim
Throws with trim make living room furniture more elegant looking.
Curtains
What do you do with your drapes and curtains? How do you tie them back? Most people simply pull their drapes to one side or both sides of a window. To add the extra touch use trimmed tassels to tie back your curtains and drapes when you have pulled them over. You can also get some beautiful hooks to hang the tassels from.
Pillows
Take a regular pillow and trim all the sides of the pillow. Pillows that are made of velour and suede again are ideal fabric pillows to trim. Matching the same color of trim to the pillow fabric is suggested.
Interior Designer quality glue and glue guns are ideal tools to help you trim things up. Canvas Home Basics has designed a line of Interior Designer Quality accessories and tools such as glue guns, tape measures, hammers, etc. that make this type of activity simple and fun. You can learn more about these products at www.canvascorp.com or visit one of the leading retailers in North America who are carrying this innovative line of products.
Grilles and Registers
Save on energy bills with heat registers and air circulation grilles that let you control the airflow in every room and even lock it in. If you find the registers that you have are unsightly and glare at you from the floor or ceiling crying "cheap", there's help! More than that, there are beautiful, fine art quality grilles, registers, and vent covers which can absolutely transform a room, by blending into the natural warmth and beauty you're creating there.
Even on a limited budget you can improve the standard look of grilles and registers which, although extremely functional, can be a blemish rather than a beauty spot. For example, natural oak registers, lacquer finished, in a simple slotted design, definitely step up the harmony in a wood trend home. Aluminum is light, inexpensive, and can be painted to blend in discreetly or match your trim colors. Most important though is to choose hardware that doesn't clash with your interior design.
There are heavy solid brass registers in traditional scroll design, products of quality workmanship. Wrought iron is coming back! Check out the local antique/junk store and find some real treasures.
For a designer look, go with hand-crafted registers, poured in bronze then finished in hand oil rubbed patina. Very impressive are white bronze-nickel satin finishes. Depending on the feel of your home, there are many styles to choose from such as Art Deco, Victorian, or Renaissance, to name a few.
You would be wise to go with a perforated air diffuser screen to balance the airflow evenly across the grille. An adjustable damper is energy wise and convenient; some lock in as an added feature.
When putting the finishing touches on your home, don't overlook the significance of your all-important, air circulating registers and grilles!
