Un-insulated basement may also result in money losses. There are two ways out of the situation: either you insulate the basement or hang a curtain or place the door at the basement entrance to prevent cold air from coming into the house. Whatever way you choose you will cut your energy expenses sufficiently.

The last but not the least section of the house to consider is your walls. The walls of your house is a true record-breaker in spending your money, as besides letting cold air pass buy it requires substantial financial investment in their insulation. If you are building a house there is no problem in laying the pink insulation between the outer and inner wall, but in an existing house this variant won’t do. Our recommendation is to turn to a local company that will ‘blow-in’ or ‘spray in’ the insulation using special devices. There are three types of insulation used in this way: foam (the best as it gets into all crevices and the most expensive), fiberglass (top 2) and cellulose. The same method is applicable to attic insulation so if you need both your walls and attic being insulated, ask for two quotations – only for walls, and for walls and attic. This method saves 30 % from you bills.

Nature can also help you in cutting your expenses. By planting evergreens near your north and west you protect your house not only from wind and cold air but also from direct sun rays. By planting deciduous trees near your south and east windows you protect your house from excessive heat in summer (the leaves will block direct sun rays) and allow the sun get into your house in winter (after they drop their leaves).
It may seem that insulating an older house is a big deal but if you think properly, consider all possibilities and choose the best for your case, your bills will be surprisingly small and you home full of warmth and care.

A common fallacy is that the cold comes through the gaps in doors and windows. Actually, a fallacy is a too strong word for this as these gaps partially result in the loss of warmth. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg and not difficult to deal with. You can seal your doors and windows with the help of caulking or weather strips, but this method is suitable only in case you consider drafts come from these gaps. Besides, it’s not expensive at all.

Not only can the gaps in the windows but the windows themselves pass cold air. Unless your windows are double-glazed the pane of glass passes cold air. If you can’t afford installing double-glazed windows at the moment you can always go to your local builders’ yard or hardware store and buy inexpensive but very effective ‘cling film’ packs for double-glazing your windows. If you install it either outside or inside at least on your north, west and east windows, you’ll definitely feel a huge difference in your bills. If you save the money that comprises the difference in your bills, within three years you can double-glaze your windows. The easiest thing to remember about is natural energy and if you have a chance to plan the model of your house, chooses to place the windows on the southern side of the house. In order to prevent the room from getting too hot in summer or too cold in winter create a small overhang (24 inches is ample).

When everything is clear with the windows we move on to doors. You can seal them as it has been mentioned before or install an extra door, known as a storm door, in front of your front door. It prevents drafts and cold from getting into the house, saves the warmth of your home as well as your money.

The furniture is the foundation of your patio but to add to it more character it is advisable to install some lights. There are lots of light types you can choose from: freestanding lamps, shaded and globe lamps, BBQ lights, ground lights etc. The only limit is your imagination. Lights may create any desirable atmosphere: formal, homely, intimate, ornamental. By changing the lighting you change the whole impression of the patio. So choose what you want today, a friend party, a romantic date or an official reception and look for the suitable elements in stores.

Accents

Every detail is of vital importance in your patio. But if there are no accents your yard is only an impersonal collection of furniture, light and flowers. Below are the perfect accents that will add spirit to any patio:

• Sundials: Many thousand years ago people were mesmerized by the flow of time and could spend hours observing the falling sand grains in sandglass. The same delight was brought to people by watching the shade moving round a sundial. After the invention of hand watch sundial has become a nice décor element for outdoor spaces. It adds antique touch to the atmosphere of the garden and can be made so that it’s a birdbath too. Sundials are sold in different designs such as tabletop and pedestal, and can be a great accent for any garden.
• Decorative Planters: this accent can become very inexpensive if instead of a bought flower planter you use an old container, an old watering can of a pickle barrel. The only thing they need is some form of drainage. You may change the flowers depending on the season and change their location. Whatever you do decorative planters will play their role being a charming focal point of the garden.
• Garden Sculptures: The most popular topics of statuary are saints, rabbits, dogs, frogs, saints and cherubs. They are mostly made of stone, wood, resin, marble and bronze. Statues will develop the idea of your patio as they embody the heroes of the surrounding. A charming dwarf standing under a bush will make your patio even more fairy-tale and a deer will bring wild nature into the garden. You may either hide a statue under bushes or near trees or place it to the fore.
• Garden Fountains: It’s so relaxing to listen to the murmur of stream that brings us back to the wood. Maybe that’s the reason for the fountains to be such a desirable and popular décor element. It may be just a modest garden fountain kit or a true ground fountain made of stone or bronze. No matter what you choose the impression a falling water produces is always captivating.
• Garden Benches: A rustic bench placed in the shade of trees always looks welcome and friendly. It doesn’t need to be sophisticatedly decorated, a simple wooden bench will add homely atmosphere to your patio.

No matter what elements you use and how you place the furniture and lighting you should like it and feel relaxed in this atmosphere. In this case your patio will always be a part of your personality.

Furnishing

Draw a layout of your patio and create a number of plans including main furniture items. Those are benches, tables, chairs, grilling station, a work station if you prefer to work outdoors. You need a few plans in order to have something to choose from. Besides, a good layout will help you to position all the furniture you need so that after the final look at the plan you say “That’s what I wanted. Everything is on the right place”.

The only important remark is that your furniture is made of water-proof materials that can weather high humidity and direct sun rays. The materials can be various: from wrought iron to cedar, wicker and teak. But looking for practicality don’t forget about comfort and style. In most cases your patio is the place for rest where the whole family is to spend lots of pleasant hours. Designer patio furniture will be of great help but in order to find the things you like and that will suit your idea you need lots of patience as not everything can be easily found.

Light is a great source of decorating your house. But you can use lights not only while lining out the roof or windows, it can be used everywhere on your territory but before coming closer to decorating it is necessary to find out more about the range of lights offered on this market. Your local store may offer such types as icicles, net lights, blinking lights, chasers, lights with multiple speeds that can blink slow or fast, or simple lights that only shine. It is essential to keep in mind that combining more than three colors while decorating may ruin the charm of your Christmas decoration as it may make your yard seem overcrowded and tasteless. Do not overuse the possibilities of your lights, if you choose lots of blinking lights with high blinking speed it may result in inability of people to look at your lawn as it may cause them feel dizzy because of fast changing pictures. Nevertheless try to use some variety of lights and complement simple lights with LED Christmas lights. Besides the pleasure this image will bring to you and your neighbors it is also energy saving, what is no doubt to be a great bonus for your home budget.

As we’ve already mentioned it is essential not to use more than three colors while decorating your yard. Choose the colors wisely. Besides, it is recommended to keep a solid color to one string, it is more than valid for such moulds and outlines as reindeers or stars. Solid light used in decoration of each mould will make it look posh and separate each image from the other. Nevertheless, there is a place where multi-colored strings are perfect. Those are trees and bushes that lighted by Christmas lights look beautifully.

It may seem that nothing else can be done with the lights to decorate your house. Not at all! A wonderful designer step is to create a front door wreath. The lights can be wound around a frame of a wreath and hung on the front door. Mini-lights will perfectly suit here and create the atmosphere of welcome and warmth for every coming into the house.

Not only electric lights but also candles are ideal for Christmas. Buy large candles and line with them a sidewalk, a driveway or a winter garden. Burning candles produce mysterious and magical look of your lawn. There is one more interior designer idea that is perfectly seen from outside and add festive look to the house, that is small candles placed inside the home in windows.

No matter how much you can spend on the decoration of your house it should be full of taste and sense otherwise it will be only an odd mix of lights.

No matter whether you prefer a particular flower type or you’d like to have a combination of different flowers in your window planter box, be particular about the glowing conditions of the flowers and the available amount of light at your place. No matter what the conditions are, make sure your window planter box is always full of marvelous variety of color and fragrance, hedged with love and care. What is more you can change flower types from year to year and make it so that due to the difference in blossoming period of the flowers you may have a blossoming mini garden almost all year long.

Besides the lighting conditions and the variety of plant types it is essential to take into consideration the material planter box is made of. There are lots of window planter boxes of different styles and of various materials: metal fiberglass, plastic. Still, nothing can be better for your plants than a traditional wooden planter box. The best wood for planter boxes is considered to be teak, the strongest wood type. It can not only stand all weather attacks but remain in the same perfect condition for many years with almost no maintenance.

Teak wood has originally come from Indonesia, where it was used in ship building industry. Due to its high oil content providing good water resistance, teak wood is considered to be ideal for ships. Since then this quality of teak wood has been used not only in ship building but also in furniture production. Outdoor furniture can leave through more than 50 summers and winters without lots of care. The original color of teak is golden and in case you want to preserve it use teak protector, otherwise it will change to silver gray under weather influence.

No matter whether you window planter box is made of teak or any other wood type it is recommended to take some care of it. Besides covering it with wood protector you may decorate it with something you like, for example bright sparkling décor elements that will attract even more attention to your window.

Wooden planter box can become a perfect gift for your relatives and friends. They, as well as you, can enjoy the wonderful benefits of it. They will get fresh herbs and fabulous flowers while you may receive their secret sauce recipes and warmer welcome as a sign of gratefulness. Planter boxes are produced in different sizes what guarantees a perfect result with every purchase.

Do not forget that everything needs decoration: your house would be unattractive and dull without pleasant accessories and so is your garden. The accessories should match each other and create an impression of a whole.

The entrance of the garden is of extreme importance as it gives the visitor the overall impression of the garden and shows the importance of it to the owner. An arch erected at the entrance demonstrates the seriousness and privacy of the place. The final touch will be the installation of tall lampposts located at the entrance. After coming into the garden a visitor may face an obstacle that is in evening hours it may be difficult for him to see where to go, it may occur even in gloomy weather. To avoid this problem we insist on using lighting systems that may be not only a functional but also a décor element. First of all install solar lights along the driveway and walkway as well as in the yard. Lights can also place wonderful accents, by burying solar lamps in ground below trees and bushes. When the sun sets down your garden will become a fairy tale place with beautiful shades and silhouettes. By buying statues of dwarves and other fairy tale heroes with solar lighting installed will add even more magic to the garden. The statues of frogs, rabbits, squirrels and dogs are very popular in garden design.

It’s difficult to imagine a real garden without sparkling water spring. It can be easily substituted by small fountains near the entrance. They will bring the atmosphere of friendliness and wealth, besides it may serve as a transition source from one area to another. The same function can be performed by hand painted signs or such garden decorations as butterflies, birds or bird houses placed near a new garden section.

Once you’ve done the necessary steps from converting a place for vegetable growing into the garden you can add your details. It’s up to you what atmosphere your garden should have.

This type of home décor doesn’t require substantial financial investments; you can put into your new environment everything you like. Still, there is a number of features almost every country-style decorated house is to obtain.

Fabric plays an essential role in country home decorating as it adds special home atmosphere to the place. The most commonly used fabric in this regard is gingham. It is a very durable and easy washable fabric that can be used everywhere: in bathroom - as a shower curtain, and all around the house as window curtains, wallpaper, furniture upholstery etc. Your imagination is the only limit.

Using of gingham сheched wallpaper is common for putting accent on such things as file organizers or wall shelves.

Gingham is also often used for creation of wreaths that suit perfectly into country style. A wide-spread fallacy is that a wreath is only a Christmas décor element. It can be used all year round being a wonderful addition to country atmosphere. A wreath can be done not only from pine but also from intertwined wooden branches. There’s no need to turn to professional designer in order to create a wreath. There is a plenty of on-line instructions and books on its creation. Don’t be afraid to experiment, add the details you like, pieces of fabric, dead flowers and plants. Your wreaths can be hang on the walls as well as on entrance and interior doors.

Antique and vintage details, such as hardware, will remind you and your guests of simpler times. Vintage hardware is presented in huge variety of styles, so you can always find the hardware, suitable to the unique style of your home.

One of the ways to display your personality in your home decorating is to use stenciling that can be placed either around the top of your room, or on the shelves. Stenciling can be of different shapes and will diverse the image of your place.

Being the heart of the house, the kitchen is a commonly used place for country home decorating. A kitchen is usually decorated with roosters, cows, chickens and apples. All mentioned details, such as gingham curtains, wreaths and vintage elements, are widely used there.

As you see, it’s not difficult to create a country home atmosphere in any house. Don’t be afraid to implement all your dreams and ideas into life.

Finally, we came to the place where people spend most of their time – beds and couches. People have been preoccupied with decorating their sleeping places for centuries; they’ve been using various fabrics, fur and even precious stones. My opinion is that pillows are the best in regard of decorating beds and couches. And again there is no need to buy something extremely expensive; you can always find a better place to invest your money. In the today’s variety of pillows of different sizes and shapes you only need to find those that match your couch or bed. Besides their decorative role you can always lay on them.

These are my tips, simple and money saving. I do hope that you find here at least something useful for yourself. Good luck and rely on your taste. In case you are afraid that you won’t be able to do everything yourself and feel lack of designer skills there are plenty of books on the topic available in your local bookstore.

If you are one of those who want to mesmerize your guests with your new tasteful decoration the following are my tips. These simple recommendations is a part of my daily life, I understood long ago that home design is not the thing you should be preoccupied with all the time, there is much more in this life than this, your family for example. So, if you don’t want to feel headache every time you think about your home comparing it with that of your friends, follow my simple rules.

Color plays one of the leading rules in your design. Whether it is enticing purple, cheerful blue or innocent white the color always creates a special atmosphere in the house. Instead of having simple white walls try to paint them using such gracious shades as beige, tan or cream. Maybe you already tried these colors and want something more bright and exciting, than such pure colors as blue, green or yellow is your variant.

Even though you may be a great fan of one particular color don’t forget to discuss it with your family. Every hardware and building supply store offers paint samples, take some of them, try on your walls and ask your family members. This family council may become an exciting thing that unites the whole family.