The Home Know-It-All

Add Pop to Your Address

Your home address marker is more than just a series of numbers. It’s an opportunity for you to put your personality on display in a practical way, and make a great first impression. Wall plaques, lawn markers, and mailbox hangings are just a few ways to add some flair to your home digits and spruce up your outdoor decor. Whether your tastes are simple, stately, or somewhere in between, make your home address a lively and striking expression of you. Here are a few of my favorite options.

Custom Wall Plaques
Personalized wall address plaques and signs offer a virtually limitless variety of looks and styles to complement your home’s exterior, whether you pick a basic ribbon plaque to accentuate a door frame or a brass Harley Davidson plaque to make a bold statement. (No, really!) Visit addressplaque.com to find a slew of fully customizable signs in a variety of prices.

Landscape Markers
If your house is poorly lit or set back far from the street, a lawn address marker strategically placed near the end of your driveway or under a streetlight make your home easy to find. Aluminum address posts like these from Franklin Signs ($147) are a sturdy and understated option. If you’re looking for something a little grander, though, embrace your inner geologist and consider my favorite option, address boulders. Durable and resistant to the elements, these bulky decorations can be made of sandstone, granite, or red rock. Depending on the size, they typically cost around $500, though this one from Home Garden and Patio Outlet will only set you back $300.

Mailbox Accessories
Your mailbox has a ton of untapped potential for adding some funky fun to your address. The signs offered by Franklin Signs perch atop your mailbox and provide one or two lines of night-reflective lettering on both sides that you can customize with your name and address. But here’s the best part: On top of your mailbox sign is an ornamental decoration, and what you pick is completely up to you. Enjoy hunting? Pick a mallard duck, mid-flight. Pine for that Maine vacation home? Pick a lighthouse to act as your very own beacon. These clever and colorful signs run for around $120 when you include two lines of custom text, and a few bucks less when you only include one.

Until next time,
The Home Know-It-All

Happy 4th of July!

 

The Home Know-It-All is taking today off to prep for a big Independence Day celebration tomorrow—and we hope you're doing the same. If you're still scrambling to come up with dinner options, check out our suggestions here. And for a few decorating tips, visit this previous post. 

Here's to a holiday packed with hot dogs, sparklers, and fun! 

See you Monday!

The Home Know-It-All 

Made in the Shade

Sun-loving gardens produce some of summer’s flashiest blooms. But even if you’re not blessed with a sun-drenched yard, you can still put your green thumb to good use by growing and maintaining a stunning shade garden. My mother has a small shade garden nestled near a tree-covered section of her yard, and it’s one the most tranquil parts of the landscape; perfect for cozying up with a book on a warm summer day.

Think a shade garden would be a fitting addition to your landscape? Though you’re better off waiting until fall when the temperature cools, it’s a good idea to plan now. Keep these considerations in mind as you plan.

Types of shade. Not all shade is equal, according to this handy guide from the University of Illinois Extension. Dappled shade means patches of sunlight hit plants through the leaves in surrounding trees. Plants in medium shade zones receive approximately 4–6 hours of sunlight daily. Dense shade is deep, and any plants planted in this area receive zero direct sunlight (which is why very few plants thrive in this kind of shade). Moral of the story? Before bringing plants or seeds home, check their growing requirements to see what type of shade they require.

Do a site analysis. If you’re planting your garden in a spot surrounded by large, mature trees, search for a section of dirt that’s root-free. This way, you’ll avoid damaging the trees, and your trees and shade plants can more peacefully coexist without competing for moisture and nutrients.

Prep your soil. It’s a good idea to perform a soil test to see what kind of soil you’re working with. In general, shady areas have less air circulation than sunny gardens. And if you’re dealing with a lot of tree roots, the soil may be heavily compacted. Encourage good air circulation by amending the soil with organic material. And conserve precious moisture with mulch.

Pick the best plants. What plants thrive in the shade, you ask?  This Boston.com article names top plants that thrive in shady surroundings.

Oh, and another thing. Remember how I mentioned that sunny gardens produced showy blooms? Even though shade plants aren’t as colorful or flashy as sun-loving varieties, you can still score some pretty sweet color. Classic foxglove comes in charming hues such as purple, pink, white, and yellow. Low-growing coral bells feature leaves in colors ranging from purple-metallic to lime green. And my personal favorite, hydrangeas, feature large clusters of blooms in pink, white, blue, and more. Learn about even more colorful shade plants from HGTV.

Design. Get free plans for stunning shade gardens a la Better Homes and Gardens here.

Get more shade-garden-growing particulars from Lowe’s. Happy shade gardening!

Until next time,
The Home Know-It-All

Independence Day Recipes

To me, it’s not truly summer until I’ve held my first sparkler and watched my first firework fly. So it’s safe to say I’m more than a little excited for this Saturday. What do I have planned? First off, there’s the fishing, then the eating, and then the opening of presents (it’s my mom’s and sister’s birthdays, too!). I’ll top that off with the lighting of fireworks and a little more eating. Oh, and did I mention the eating?

Because I’ll be chowing down this weekend—and because we taught you the art of 4th of July decorating last year—I’ve put together a list of recipes to make your Independence Day meal the best ever. Try them out. No need to thank me for making your guests ooh and ahh over your cooking prowess.

Sweet Restaurant Slaw from AllRecipes.com
Nothing pairs with a hot dog quite like a scrumptious slaw—and this recipe is the scrum-dittily-umptious.

Perfect Potato Salad from ThePioneerWoman.com
The Pioneer Woman is my cooking hero, so even though I’m recommending this particular dish for your barbecue, most any of her recipes would be just as divine.

Barbecue Chicken and Peach Kabobs with Bacon from Kraftfoods.com
Leave the traditional hot dogs and hamburgers in the fridge. Shake up your get-together by serving these yummy kabobs.

Watermelon-Mint Cooler
Cool off hot guests with this oh-so-simple (and kid-friendly) drink recipe.

Homemade Oreos
I’ve made these cookies a few times now, and every time, someone asks me for the recipe. If that’s not an indication of how good these beauties are, I’m not sure what is. Plus, they’re the perfect end to a great summer meal.

Until next time,
The Home Know-It-All

Efficient and Effective Water Heaters

Cold showers are a rude awakening. That’s why it’s important your water supply is in tip-top shape. If you’re in need of a new water heater, there are a few factors you need to consider before you make a purchase: size, fuel source, and most importantly, energy efficiency. For many homeowners, cost cutting is the name of the game, and lucky for them, more and more manufacturers are streamlining their heaters to make sure everyone gets the most bang for the buck. 

Every household has different financial situations and space constraints, so I’ve pulled together a list of different options as you prepare to invest in your next water heater.     

Improving What You Already Have
The storage tank water heater is the most common household model. Water is kept warm in a tank, but because it heats the water even if no taps are in use, substantial energy is wasted. If you already have a storage tank water heater, there are many great cost-effective ways to make it more efficient. Check out our suggestions in this previous post.

Earth-Friendly Heaters
If you’re browsing the market for a green option that’ll save you cash, look no further than ENERGY STAR® water heaters. You’ll find high-efficiency gas-storage water heaters, gas-condensing models and whole-home tankless heaters. Buy an ENERGY STAR® certified heater and you can reduce your heat bill by 7.5 to 55 percent.

Heat on Demand
The demand water heater also saves you cash. These models don’t have tanks, so water is only heated when you twist the tap. Thus, saving energy and money. These heaters also have easily replaceable parts, which significantly extends their liftetimes. The downside? They produce less water and usually have to be used in pairs to provide enough hot water to supply, say, a dishwasher and a shower simultaneously.

Putting the Air to Use
Heat pumps are an effective way to supplement your current water heater. They work by sucking air from the surrounding room and heating it (sort of like a reverse refrigerator). However, heat pumps don’t work well in cold rooms because of their reliance on warm air, and the exhaust they produce tends to make whatever room they’re in colder. Be warned: At $1500, these cutting-edge gizmos are pricey, so they’ll take a while to recoup their cost. 

Putting the Heat You Already Produce to Good Use
If you inhabit a colder climate, you may warm up to a tankless-coil or indirect water heater. The tankless-coil relies on a furnace or boiler to heat the water supply, which makes it incredibly efficient during winter months when you have the heat going full blast. If you live in a warmer region with kinder winters, however, your furnace won’t be running as often and it won’t be as effective. 

Sun Power
The average electric water heater is responsible for emitting eight tons of CO2 per year, which is more than double what most cars produce. Nearly 1.5 million homes and business in the U.S., however, are already use solar power to fuel their water heaters, and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute estimates that the U.S. receives enough sunlight that 29 million more could be added.  Installing a solar system can be expensive, ranging anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500. But when you take into account the amount of money you’d save, it’d pay for itself in four to eight years!  The government even offers a 30 percent tax credit if the solar water heater you install is $2,000 or cheaper.

Still confused?  Consult the U.S. Department of Energy website to calculate your home’s needs.

Until next time,
The Home Know-It-All