Friendlier Look to Your Family Room

As the weather gets colder we find ourselves spending more and more time in various rooms of the house, especially the family room. Thanks to the folks at House Beautiful we can look to these 30+ design inspirations for possible redesigns of the family room. View all ideas here or begin below. 

"Designer Family Rooms"

By: House Beautiful

Blue and White Family Room
This family room is a natural extension of the kitchen, incorporating contrasting and complementary colors. Designed by James Radin.



American Cottage Family Room
Mona Hajj used pale blue and cream throughout the house and designed this ottoman to provide more seating options.

View the rest of the photos here.

Home Improvement in the Winter

Have you started hibernating with this colder weather yet? Try one of these winter home improvement projects courtesy of msn real estate before curling up next to the fire this weekend. These small adjustments will make a huge impact on your house! Begin article below or read full article here. 

"10 great winter home projects"

By: Leah L. Culler

When it's cold and wet outside, it can be tempting to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a cup of cocoa. But winter is a great time to complete some indoor home projects. Some of these tasks require only a few hours — even minutes — of your time; others will need a much larger investment of time and, in some cases, money.

For most of these projects, we'll give you a rough idea of what special skills, if any, you'll need to complete them, as well as an estimate of the cost and time involved. This is not a how-to, however. You'll want to do your research before you drag out the power tools and try to make "improvements."

Easy and cheap
Let's start with a few quick, simple projects that anyone can do. Yes, even you.
Professional Services

1. Change your furnace filter.
Ideally, you should have completed this task, along with a few other winter prep essentials, before the chilly weather arrived. Filters last about three months when you're using your furnace regularly, so you may need to do this more than once if it's an especially long and brutal winter.

Skills: Any homeowner can do this. You'll just need to note the size and type of filter you're replacing before you go out and buy a new one, and make sure the new one is facing in the same direction as the old.

Cost: You can find furnace filters for as little as $10. High-quality filters will catch dust mites and other allergens and are often worth the extra cost if you're prone to allergies, says David Lupberger, home-improvement expert for ServiceMagic and past president of the Master Builder Group Inc., a design/build remodeling company. (ServiceMagic is an MSN Real Estate partner.)

Time: This task should take just a few minutes once you have purchased a replacement filter.

2. Wash your windows.
Even if you're stuck indoors, that doesn't mean you can't improve your view of the winter wonderland outside. Winter's a great time to wash the inside of your home's windows. You can tackle the other side of the glass when it's bearable to step outdoors.

Skills: All you need is some basic hand/eye coordination, and possibly a decent sense of balance if you'll be cleaning tall windows using a step stool.

Cost: Most homeowners have window-cleaning supplies on hand. Use crumpled newspapers to polish your windows until they shine.

Time: Lupberger estimates you'll spend 15 to 30 minutes for an average window. Break it up into several shorter sessions if you're short on time and/or have lots of windows.

Read full article here. 

Stay Warm For Less

As winter approaches we must prepare our house to deal with the temperature drop. Thanks to our friends at This Old House there are ways to save money on the heating bill. Read full article here or begin below.

"Keeping Warm for Less"

BY: JOHN D. WAGNER



1. Install a Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat allows you to preset temperatures for different times of the day because you don't need to keep your home at 68 degrees around the clock. Although one shouldn't be used with heat pumps, a programmable thermostat is a real money-saver with air-conditioning as well as with heat. Choose a setting on the low end when you're sleeping or are away and go with a higher setting at other times (see table bellow) for savings of between 10 and 20 percent of your bill. Some units can store up to four temperature settings each day — e.g., morning, day, evening, night. All have a manual override switch.


Models from Hunter Fan are typical. The Set & Save 5+2 lets you program one five-day stretch and a two-day period. With the Set & Save 5+1+1, you program one five-day stretch and two other separate days. The Set & Save 7-Day and 7-Day Energy Star models provide the most flexibility, with individual programs for all seven days. The units use AA batteries to maintain the display if the power goes off and to hold settings.

Read full article here. 

Fall Cleaning Tips and Tricks

As we move further into October we think of pumpkin carving, hot chocolate, falling leaves and sweatshirts. As each one of you prepare for this weather change it is important prepare your house for the cool down as well.  We found a great series of tips from Better Homes & Gardens titled, "Fall Fix-Ups." These tips were published with the idea of creating a smoother transition moving further into October and eventually the winter. You can check out the tips here or begin reading below.

"Fall Fix-Ups"By Better Homes & Gardens

Clear The Gutters
Falling leaves and evergreen needles can block downspouts and cause rainwater to overflow gutters. Depending on where you live, the coming of winter can mean clogged gutters. This can cause ice dams, which push water under shingles and into your house. Clean gutters after most of the leaves have fallen, and do so by removing the debris with a plastic scoop or with a special curved wand attached to your garden hose. To keep gutters clear for next fall, install mesh or perforated leaf shields. In addition to cleaning gutters, you might need to install insulation in the attic or apply heat tape along the roof edge above the gutters to prevent ice dams.

Caulk The Cracks
Caulk can help keep out dirt, moisture, sound, and radon gas, and it can improve the general appearance of your home. Caulk before painting for a more finished look. Caulk where masonry meets siding, where pipes or wires enter the house, around window and door frames, and at corner joints formed by siding.

Click here to read the entire article

Quick Fixes to Common Household Problems

We found a great series of tips on realsimple.com titled, "15 Quick Fixed to Make Around Your House." These tips were published with the idea of creating a quick solution for a problem. With juggling jobs, toting the kids around, and other errands you might not always have time to prep the house like you wanted to for company. With these quick tips you can fix the problem until a later time when you are actually able to take the time to do a complete renovation. You can check out the tips here or begin reading below.

"15 Quick Fixed to Make Around Your House."
By Realsimple.com

Squeaky Floor

For a temporary fix, sprinkle talcum powder over the noisy area and sweep it into the cracks. Be sure to remove any traces of powder if you’re ever going to refinish the floor.

Peeling Wallpaper

With a knife, smear wallpaper paste onto a piece of writing paper. Rub the paper against the underside of the peeling section. Press the wallpaper against the wall. Slide the writing paper out and smooth away bubbles with a clean cloth.

Worn Caning

A little sagging over time is natural but reversible. To tighten caning back up, use a sponge to wet the underside with warm water. Let dry slowly overnight. Repeat if necessary.

Click here to read the entire article.

Keep Your House Cool This Summer

Air conditioning and keeping your home cool during the summer can be very expensive. Thanks to the the team at MSN we have some cheap ways to keep our houses manageable to live in. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"27 Cheap Ways to Keep Your House Cooler"
By MSN Real Estate 

Sure, go ahead and turn that thermostat up to 80. You'll be sweaty and still shelling out a bundle -- unless you take other steps to make summer heat more bearable and reduce stress on your air conditioner.

Most of these cost little or nothing. Thank the Department of Energy's Energy Savers program, which provides most of these tips (and more) on its own Web site.

Get the most from your air conditioning

•Open windows and use portable or ceiling fans instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer -- you should feel the air blown downward.

•Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cool air through your home.

•Without blocking air flow, shade your outside compressor. Change air filters monthly during the summer.

Click here to read the entire article.

How to Redesign a Room

What do you think of first when redesigning a room? Color, shades, possible furniture, or light fixtures? Instead, you should hold off on the décor and first focus on the form of the room and its function. Here we have a short clip from Better Homes and Gardens suggesting a better approach of how to attack the redesign of room.

 See how to Arrange a Room here. 

House Doctors featured in The Caldwells Patch

House Doctors was recently featured in the The Caldwells Patch in New Jersey in an article about preparing homes for the summer storm season. Local owner, John Driesse, explained that before summer storms begin to roll in and wreak havoc on homes, there are quick and easy fixes that can be done to give homes a better chance at standing up against the harsh weather. His tips included inspecting your roof, checking your home’s siding, cleaning your gutters, preparing your basement, clearing out your yard and protecting your electrical devices. Click here to view the full article!

Summer Storms Are Coming—Is Your House Ready?

Before summer storms begin to roll in and wreak havoc on your home, there are some quick and easy fixes that can be done to give your house a better chance at standing up against the harsh weather. John Driesse, owner of House Doctors, a professional handyman service based in Caldwell, has the following tips for homeowners to ensure they’re ready for this year’s summer storms:

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