Home & Garden

Dear Designer,
My name is Mary and I just recently moved to a new home in Westridge.  My new home needs everything from window treatments and furniture to paint on the walls.  I am so afraid of making a huge mistake in my decorating choices and I don’t want to be limited to one particular style.  I find that I like change every few years.  What should I do?

* With our Hydro-Magnetic® system one doesn’t have to use softening chemicals anymore (their use is considerably reduced in heavy industrial applications), and still can obtain all the benefits of soft water.
* There are no harmful side effects, and water is proclaimed safe and healthy for human consumption due to calcium and other minerals contained in it (that are held in suspension).

When it’s time to get rid of that old can of paint, it’s important to know that you can’t simply just toss it into the trash.  Paint is considered a household hazardous waste that can do severe damage to the environment if dumped in a landfill and allowed to seep into the ground.  Even if you seal the can tightly, that’s not a sufficient way of keeping the paint from getting into the soil and, quite possibly, sinking into the groundwater.

When you look around your house do you ever get the feeling that the paper monster is lurking in every room just to drive you crazy?  There is only one thing to do: get rid of that paper monster now and every day.

Buying artificial plants is so easy.  They come in a large assortment of varieties and always look very attractive when they are new.  They are shiny.  They are dust and dirt free.  They look very real.  They can be very inexpensive or very expensive and can be purchased in many different types of stores.

There is nothing quite like sitting in the garden with a glass of wine and enjoying the sights and scents of the garden.  A gazebo is a perfect place to enjoy a quiet summer evening surrounded by some of your favorite flowers and vines.  You can listen to the summer rain beating on the roof while you stay dry and comfortable underneath its shelter.  Why not build a retreat in your garden?  It need not be anything complex or overwhelming, nor does it need to be expensive.  With a few purchases from your local hardware store you will be able to put it together in a weekend.

Throughout the years the look of your home is bound to change.  You, the homeowner, have two options.  One, you can do the changes yourself only praying that the finished product has the look and feel that you had envisioned or two , hire the professionals to get the job done in a fast and pleasant manor.  Option two sure seems the easiest.  Now that you have made the decision to hire professionals, where are you supposed to go to find reliable and courteous help?  The answer is simple — Millennium Woodworking.

Would you perform your own root canal or climb up on your roof and re-shingle it by yourself?  Probably not.  Hiring a professional ensures a job well done and a guarantee of quality work.  Hiring an interior designer is no different from hiring any other professional.  Interior designers make your house into a home that works for you aesthetically and functionally.  Interior designers also save you time and the frustration of having to do it on your own.

Homemakers new Design Center is proud to welcome Kamila Sedek to their team of talented designers. Sedek’s formal training and schooling was done in Europe, but her hands-most recent brilliant hands-on work prior to Homemakers was at a very prestigious showroom in Pasadena.  With her husband’s recent move to Valencia, she chose to be closer to home.  She checked out every furniture venue in the Santa Clarita Valley and chose Homemakers as her base.

The most complex room to define lighting is in the bathroom.  Whether it is basic or one of today’s huge, regal bathrooms, we as builders and of course designers always want the lighting to be right.

Children’s playgrounds have come a long way from just swing sets and monkey bars.  Modern playgrounds feature things like rock climbing walls, wave slides, crawl tunnels, not to mention steering wheels and telescopes.  Playground creators have thought of everything to entertain and satisfy a child’s curiosity.

Herbs add flavor to food and provide extra scent and color in your garden.  They are among the oldest cultivated plants and are as fascinating now as they were hundreds of years ago.  Herbs can be annual, biennial or perennial.  Most have modest flowers, but some have very showy flowers, while others have quite striking leaves.  Many herbs attract bees and butterflies, which adds even more interest to your garden.  Here are the 10 most popular herbs for you to consider.

Sewing machines are expensive, so if you decide to purchase one, make sure it is the model that you want.  There are many styles to choose from, so make sure it does all the stitches and has all the special features that you want.  Of course, the more features you choose, the higher the price tag will be.  You can sit at the sewing machine in the store and try it before buying it to make sure it is the machine for you.  If you will be working mainly with heavy fabrics, you might consider buying a heavy-duty machine.

Once your baby is moving around, it will become absolutely necessary for you to make sure your home is safe.  Of course, the best way to keep baby safe is to make sure that you always know where baby is and what she is doing.

Candles are beautiful, powerful, hypnotic and riveting.  They can entrance, enhance and bring ambiance to any home.  They are the centerpiece of many decorations, have been used in spirituality and religious worship, for thousands of years.  They bring romance to many a dinner and touch our sense of the enchanted.  Because of the key element of fire, as well as the melted wax itself they can present dangers despite their multicolored beauty.

If your dog is sleeping through the chime of your doorbell, and so are you, why not consider installing a new one?  I know, all the wiring and everything is scary, but, if you are just replacing your old one, it really isn’t and in about a half day you could be jumping off the couch to the tune of a good loud “ding dong” (or any other tune you might want to select).

Great gardens don’t just fill outdoor vistas with scenes of beauty; they also spill over to fill inside settings with color.  Bring the best of the garden indoors this season by growing posies perfect for picking.  There are many beautiful bloomers that will open blossom after blossom when started from seed, and you don’t need years of gardening experience under your belt to raise them.  Get your clippers and vases ready – it’s time to grow bouquets from seed!

You finally got a dishwasher, no more tedious scrubbing at the sink when you’d rather be off doing something else.  But dishwashers get dirty too, and cleaning them is no picnic.  Do you remember the lady that got stuck in hers on America’s Funniest Home Videos?  Why can’t it wash itself?!  I mean, there is hot water, there is soap...why is it so grimy?  Food oils and soap scum combine to create a tougher than nails soil that is nearly impossible to wash off without some serious scrubbing.  No one has to ever get stuck in the dishwasher again with this tip.