Lilac City Momma

Lynn

Simple Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen

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When a kitchen is looking good, there’s no better and more stylish area in a house. However, the opposite is also true: when a kitchen is looking tired, outdated, and well worn, there aren’t many places in your house where you wouldn’t want to be in less.

Redoing an entire kitchen can be pretty costly, but thankfully, there are simple, easy and cheap ways to upgrade your kitchen and give it a new lease on life. Here’s some simple ways to actually do that.

Give Your Cabinets a Makeover

Aside from maybe the countertops, there’s nothing more impactful within the kitchen than the cabinets and shelves that surround it. Because of this, one of the best ways to give your entire kitchen a lift is to do some simple renovations on your kitchen furniture. The easiest way to do this is to give them a new lick of paint. This can freshen them up, make them pop more, and also cover up any stains or scuffs and scratches.

Another option to breathe life into your cabinets is to replace the fittings and handles with more modern and glamorous options. With the right handle you can turn these inconspicuous parts of a kitchen into a trendy focal point, and they usually don’t cost that much.

A final option to really reinvent your cabinets is to completely remove the doors and hinges and have open shelving. This creates a very modern and airy kitchen and can make it look minimalistic, clean, and critically, spacious. Be cautious that this means that all your mugs, cutlery, and utensils will be on display, but you can use this to your advantage and invest in things that match the color scheme of your home for better synergy.

Replace the Kitchen Door

If your kitchen has a door, or even a hatch on the wall between the kitchen and the dining area, then you can use these features to really enhance your kitchen and give it a unique flavor. Firstly, you can invest in kitchen replacement doors Bolton to add a splash of something new to your kitchen. Be adventurous and consider funky designs and colors to turn your doors into interesting focal points that can make you love your kitchen again.

Upgrade Your Tiles and Splash Back Area

The majority of kitchens utilize tiles behind their hobs as they resist oil splash back. These are areas you can easily alter to add a new spark into your kitchen. Firstly, you can simply paint your tiles with special tile paint to give them a new burst of color, or you can change the color of your grouting to make a substantial impact, too.

A good option is to use contrasting yet complementing colors with your tiles to make them more eye catching, such as white tiles and black grouting. You can also replace your splash back areas with new tiles, and you can even get tiles that have their own designs. You may also want to add a glass or stainless-steel splash back, which can be equally sophisticated and protect your back walls really well.

 

Why Become a Landlord?

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Becoming a landlord isn’t something that everyone can do. You do need to have some investment capital behind you, or you need to already own a property that you can rent out. If you have one of these two things in place, then becoming a landlord can have many benefits, and as long as the rent you are asking for is going to exceed any mortgage payments you need to make, you can make a good profit and have a great asset for the future.

There are many things to think about before becoming a landlord, but if you think it might be a good option for you, here are some of the benefits that might help you to make your final decision.

Making Money

The biggest benefit of being a landlord is making money. Most people won’t choose to take on this role if they aren’t going to be able to make at least a partial income from it, and this is why it’s crucial to ensure you have your figures right before you begin. The first step with this is to get mortgage advice Richmond whether you already own the property or not. If you’re looking to buy a property to rent out, you can get information about specialist mortgages. If you already own a property, you can look into remortgaging to ensure you have enough capital behind you to start your new business.

Buying a property is a good idea no matter what your reason, and if you can do it you certainly should. This way you will have a great investment for the future, and when you want to retire you can either sell and use the money or continue to rent it out and have a regular income.

Work Life Balance

Something that might not be quite so obvious when thinking of the benefits of being a landlord, but that is actually something that can really make a difference to those who choose to go in this direction, is the work life balance you can achieve with this as your career or side hustle.

The work life balance is crucial for health and happiness and the emotional wellbeing of everyone in your household, including you. If you have a good property you can rent out, or more than one in some cases, you can use this as your main career. For the most part, you won’t actually be doing too much, and you’ll get a nice regular income. Or you could still have another job but work fewer hours or take more time off when you need to, because you know you are receiving an income from the rental.

New Skills

Owning a rental property may sound easy, and a lot of the time you won’t have to do anything at all, especially if you have worked hard to vet your tenants and they are taking care of the property while living in it. However, there will be times when you do need to carry out maintenance work or help your tenants out in some way. You’ll also need to understand how to market your property in the right way to ensure that there are very few times when it is empty and not bringing you an income.

Being a landlord means you will gain all kinds of useful skills including:

  • Marketing
  • Customer service
  • Negotiating
  • Bookkeeping
  • Maintenance skills (although for the larger jobs it is certainly worth calling in a professional)
  • Investment knowledge

It’s incredible just how many skills you can learn when you are a landlord, and the longer you do it, the more you will know.

Western Theme Party Ideas for Fall Birthdays

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One of my favorite pictures is of my girl from when she was about two years old. She’s dressed in a cowgirl outfit with a bandana around her neck, a hat on a string hanging down her back, her fave cowgirl boots on, and with her hair done up in little blonde pigtails.

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It was Halloween and she’s pictured sitting on a bale of hay. It’s so adorable, it squeezes my heart every time I pull out the photo album. Every time.

There’s just something magical about our kids and their love of horses and their wild west daydreams, which you must know since you’re looking for ways to throw the ultimate western-themed party.

Well, now is a great time to talk to your child and ask them what they love about cowgirls and cowboys and try to plan around what they say.

Here are a few tips to get you started.

Pony Up

First, figure out your budget. If you can afford it, there are companies that will bring you a pony for the children to ride. Nothing’s more memorable than an actual, real live pony.

I’ve seen them start at around $150 for a session and then go up from there. Each child should get a turn, and be sure to take tons of pictures!

If a real live pony doesn’t seem quite right for your shindig, then pick up some hobby horse stick toys. Buy ribbon, sparkly stickers and buttons, so each child can decorate a horse to take home. You may want to sew little loops on the horse heads to make decoration easier.

If you do go for hobby horses, only let the children use them for decorating, pictures, and maybe a quick race. Any longer, and somehow the horses will magically be transformed into whacking sticks. So cheerfully take them away and promise to return them at the end of the party when the children go home.

A third option is to spring for a horse-shaped pinata. Birthday pinatas are not exactly original, but these are kids. They’re new enough to them. Besides, they’re popular for a reason. A paper mache beast that rains candy and toys is always popular.

Dress Up

You can pick up a set of foam or plastic cowboy hats and a pile of bandanas fairly cheap online. Tell parents that their children can wear anything of their own that they have, but you’ll want to make sure to have plenty of accessories on hand so no one feels left out. You can also collect brown paper bags and turn them into vests that the kids can color.

Need a special outfit for the birthday child? Presley Couture carries adorable cowgirl dresses with western-themed Mickey ears. There’s also a unisex cowboy/cowgirl hoodie that’s as cute as can be.

Games

Of course, you can always play pin the tail on the donkey and musical chairs with your favorite cowboy music. You can turn any of the old standards into a rootin’ tootin’ good time.

But if you’re feeling ambitious, you can also paint some rocks gold, dump them and some other pebbles, sand and water in a tub, and let the children pan for gold. You can also put a lot of inexpensive, colorful stones in the mix and let the children take home what they find.

Don’t let them think it’s real gold, though. Some people think it’s hilarious to disappoint children. I’ve never seen the appeal myself. Besides, this party’s about them, so no pranking!

Food

This part’s easy. Call your local bakeries, comb online for cowboy/cowgirl themed recipes, and order candy and paperware from party supply stores.

Have fun and good luck!

 

Best Ways to Manage Ants in Your Home

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Do you have an ant infestation? If you’re experiencing an infestation of ants in your home, it’s important to know that there are ways to manage ants and make sure they don’t come in your home as often anymore. If you’re not quite sure what to do about the ants in your home, read this article first to learn more about the problem.


Facts About Ants

There are more than 700 different types of ants in the United States, all with different ways of working and living in different areas. This is one of the reasons that the same method of handling ants may not work with two different types of infestations — it might be a different type of ant.

Ants can also live in colonies of millions of ants. That’s why you can’t just kill whatever ants come into your home; you have to make sure your home is no longer attracting ants. That way, you’ll end up with a better system in place for future infestations.

Most Common Places for Ants to Hide

Where do ants most commonly infest? These three locations are the top ones when it comes to ant concerns.

  • Kitchen

The kitchen is definitely a top location for ants to hide. Ants love the fact that the kitchen has a lot of food, which means they’re going to walk around the kitchen and get into all sorts of food if they can. Plus, there are many shelf-stable products you have in your home that may not be airtight, like cereal and pasta, which can lure ants inside.

  • Bathroom

Where the kitchen draws in ants because of food, the bathroom draws in ants because of water. Even a small drop of water can be enough for an ant to investigate more of the bathroom. Because bathrooms tend to have so much water, it’s common for small droplets to start forming all around the bathroom, making it hard to keep ants out.

  • Basement

The basement is a less-common but still important location to address. Most commonly, ants get into the basement by burrowing around your home, finding a crack in your foundation wall, and coming in through the crack. Because you probably don’t spend a lot of time in your basement, ants can infest the basement for a long time before you notice and stop them.

Methods of Preventing Ants From Coming Inside

How do you prevent ants from coming inside your home? For the most part, it’s about making sure there’s nothing that ants want in your home and reducing the opportunities ants have to come inside. Here are some of the best ways to make sure ants don’t come inside your home:

  • Seal Cracks and Holes in Walls and Doors
  • Fix Your Leaky Pipes and Faucets
  • Seal Food in Airtight Containers
  • Wipe Down Kitchen Counters After Using Them
  • Use Vinegar Wherever You See Ants Regularly
  • Empty Your Trash Regularly
  • Stack Firewood at Least 20 Feet Away From the Home
  • Repair Cracked Pavement and Foundations

These range in difficulty and intensity, for sure. When you’re preventing ants from coming inside your home, you will probably want to start out with the less-difficult ones and move onto the more-difficult ones. If you see any underlying problems, like issues with your home’s pavement or foundations, you’ll want to talk to an expert before moving forward.

Conclusion

No one wants to deal with ants in their home, but sometimes you do end up with an infestation. This is definitely nothing to worry about; many people struggle with ant infestations every year, often through no fault of their own. However, it is something you should tackle as soon as you can. With this knowledge, you can manage your ant problems much more easily.

Tips For Accurate Home Renovation Budgeting

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Creating a budget for your home renovation can be one of the most complicated parts of the process as a whole, and it’s crucial that you get it right.

Whether you’re renovating for your own pleasure, to flip a quick purchase, or to start listing your family home, making sure you have the money to do the job right is vital.

Take some time for research now, and check out a quick look into some helpful tips for accurate home renovation budgeting.

Set a firm total for the budget

Before you start itemizing everything you need done during your renovation, you should focus on setting a firm ceiling for your budgeting efforts. For instance, you can renovate up to four rooms for under $50,000 if your budgeting skills are honed and refined.

The total of your budget needs to be firm for obvious reasons. The cost of a renovation can easily soar out of control without strict direction for the process.

Decide on what you really need

Take the time to sit down and consider what is most important about your upcoming renovations. The most important changes should be prioritized in the budgeting process to assure the funding is available.

If the decision making comes down to two different aspects of the renovation, consider cost versus value to help make the decision making process clearer.

Consider cost versus value for each project

Even if you’re doing the renovations on a home you plan to inhabit for a while, there’s equity to be gained from the improvements.

If you’re faced with a situation where you have to trim something from your plans, consider the cost of the project versus the amount of equity you’ll gain in the property once the job is complete. The situation anc choice will become much clearer once you’ve done the math.

Properly vet the professionals doing the work

Before you make a final decision on a contractor, you should take the time to do some research. Call and meet with at least three different contractors to gain an accurate feel for the industry.

You’ll learn what you really want and how to achieve it by experiencing more than one way of getting the job done. Don’t sell yourself short, and don’t skip this step in the budgeting process.

Research various materials needed for the renovation

Some materials used in renovating your home don’t have to be the most expensive offer on the floor to do the job in a reliable and long lasting way.

Filed Under: DIY