Friday, April 28, 2017


(ARA) - It’s probably safe to say that no potential buyer ever passed on a house because the bathroom was just too lovely and luxurious. And few of us would prefer to come home at the end of the day to decompress in an outdated bathroom with a shabby shower and cabinets that have seen better days.


A beautiful bathroom can help po- tential buyers overlook other flaws in a home. And the bath is one room where homeowners can be confident their renovation dollars will yield not only improved home value, but en- hanced enjoyment as well. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend lavishly to elevate the luxury quo- tient of your home’s bathroom. Here are five “luxury” upgrades that can be done on a moderate - or even modest - budget:


1. Lighten up with a skylight When it comes to creating a com- fortable, energy-efficient ambiance in a room, it’s hard to beat Mother Nature. Natural light helps reduce dependency on artificial light sources and the electricity they consume, and can have a positive effect on mood and overall health. You may hesitate


to add a large, clear window to a bath- room, but skylights are a great way to add the luxuriousness of natural light without compromising on priva- cy. Choose a venting style which can also be a cost-effective way to help vent humidity, steam and odors from a bathroom. New models, like Velux America’s No Leak Skylight, elimi- nate leak worries; when properly in- stalled, Velux skylights are no more prone to leaks than any other quality window. Visit www.veluxusa.com to learn more.


2. Shower yourself with luxury Ripping out that old ceramic tile and replacing it with the trendiest stone may not be in your budget, or your shower’s future, but swapping out a standard showerhead with something more luxurious probably is. It’s easy to find a variety of showerheads - from rainfall and massaging, to hand-held or dual-head and multi-jet - that will elevate your daily washing routine to a spa-quality experience. What’s more, a new showerhead is one of the easiest bathroom renovations to do yourself, even if you have no previous DIY experience.


3. Accessorize, accessorize


Who doesn’t love warm, plush bath towels? Or foot-soothing rugs that protect tootsies from cold floors? It makes sense not to skimp when it comes to choosing towels, area rugs and other accessories for your bath. Even top-quality accessories cost less than major renovations, and they can go a long way toward making your bathroom feel polished, put-together and posh. From good bath linens to a towel-warmer that can make them feel extra cozy, accessories are an economical, effective way to add lux- urious touches to your bathroom. 4. Upscale downstairs


Think your downstairs powder room or first-floor master bath can’t soak up some sun? Think again. To bring natu- ral light and warmth into a first-floor bathroom, simply add a sun tunnel. This variation on the traditional sky- light uses reflective tubing connected to a low profile acrylic dome that sits on your roof to deliver diffused, natu- ral sunlight to interior spaces, allow- ing you to enjoy the luxury of natural sunlight in your first-floor, windowless bath. Add a light kit, and you’ve got a 24-hour light source. 5. Heat things up


Kids room decor that easy to replace when tastes change Installation - Service - Repair


(ARA) - Decorating a child’s room is a challenge filled with variables - not the least of which is just how long the room’s inhabitant will actually like walls decorated with fuzzy bunnies or fire engines. In fact, the one thing you can count on is that what your child loved as a toddler is most likely not what she’ll want for her room’s theme when she’s a “big kid.”


While you want your child to be comfortable in his own space, you don’t want to spend a mint if you know you’re going to have to redo the room again in a few years. It makes sense to choose decorating options that are easy to change so that a room’s decor can grow with your child.


Here are some hints for decorating touches that you can easily redo or re- verse: Take it to the walls


The walls are the biggest design el- ement in any room - and, fortunately for parents, they’re one of the easi- est things to change. Painting is an easy, cost-effective way to complete- ly change the look of a room. If your son is tired of baby blue walls, take a family trip to the local home im- provement store and pick out a new color. Do try to encourage kids away


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from very dark colors, as those can be harder to cover up the next time you repaint.


Another option is a peel and stick


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mural. Products like SmartStick by MuralsYourWay.com allow you to decorate a room without risking the integrity of the walls. Perhaps your daughter is seeking a princess room or your son is hoping for a Disney wall to depict his favorite movie. You’ll find plenty of Disney charac- ters available in easy-to-install and easy-to-remove SmartStick. A patent- ed adhesive allows you to easily place the material on nearly any surface (walls, windows, even doors), pull it down, reposition it, even move it to a different wall - all without damaging


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on your tween’s bed with something more contemporary for her age group, may allow you to keep the walls, car- peting and furnishings as they are. Even if you invest in high-end sheets and a comforter, the overall cost of linens will be far less than the expense of completely redoing the room. Curtains can work the same way. They’re easy to change, and by re- placing toddler-themed curtains with something more age appropriate - plus a decorative curtain rod - you can impart a classy, more-grown-up atmosphere to a room for a modest investment.


For a bit more of an investment, consider reupholstering the glid-


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the mural or the wall beneath it. Unlike wall decals or wall stickers, the mural does not rip or wrinkle and can be re- used hundreds of times. Log on to www.muralsyourway. com to learn more. The material world For bedrooms, linens can make a significant design statement. They’re also a flexible, cost-effective way to change a room’s look. Replac- ing the toddler-themed linens


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Page 31 Five bathroom upgrades that don’t cost a bundle


If you’ve ever stepped out of a relax- ing warm shower only to find yourself shivering in a cold bathroom, adding a touch of warmth to the room may seem like the ultimate luxury. You can find an array of heaters that work well in a bathroom setting, from wall units that will put warm air at body level, to overhead lamps that warm from above. You can even find combo units that both heat the bathroom and warm your towel at the same time, or exhaust fans that remove moist, cold air and replace it with warm air.


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ing rocker that’s still sitting in your daughter’s room. The neutral tones or pastel colors might have been ap- propriate when you were rocking her to sleep as a baby, but she probably has more definitive color preferences now. Rather than discarding or sell- ing the chair, why not add some bold patterned pillows and turn it into a welcoming yet sophisticated-looking spot where she can read or chat on the phone in comfort? Art and accessories Table lamps, floor lamps, wall hang- ings - even decorative faceplates for light switches - accessories can help remake a room’s image without breaking the bank. If your child is old enough to have voiced his desire for a new room design, he’s probably ca- pable of telling you his preferences in terms of accessories and artwork. Talk to your child about his vision for his room. Maybe he’d like to re- place the fire engine theme with an homage to his favorite sports team. It’s easy to find a range of accessories - from waste baskets to bed sheets - that will appeal to lovers of virtually any sport. Whatever the theme your child chooses, carry it throughout with cost-effective accessories.


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