Here are the latest month's daily tips from Right at Home Daily.
Once you're settled in, reframe favorite old photos and create a new grouping on a visible table, shelf or wall.
For a backwoods look in your bathroom, consider converting a tree stump into a sink. Hollow it out, put notches in the back for the pipes and drill a hole for the drain. Coat heavily with polyurethane to treat and protect the wood so it won't rot.
Plain is in; keep color schemes simple, pare down collections, use natural fabrics, and keep your wood floors bare.
If a room has different purposes, like a guest room or office, consider buying furniture that is multi-purpose. For example, several European manufacturers make coffee tables that "grow" into dining room or conference tables.
Invest in a sound system that allows you to play music in several rooms, including your kitchen, a den, your bedroom and maybe even your bathroom. Before you paint or wallpaper a new room, wire the sound system.
To give a room a taller feeling, place matching tall plants in the corners and add a torchiere light behind a sofa or chairs for extra illumination.
Buy a brass knocker for your front door. Consider having it monogrammed.
Bring out your good china, glassware, silver and placemats, place them somewhere where they accessible so that once a month you can use them for dinner when you cook a special meal with a theme.
Turn an ugly old tub into a nicer combination tub-shower or just a glass-enclosed shower.
Add an ethnic touch to your new living room by displaying a handmade cloth as a throw.
Place a small table or stand in your powder room and indulge your guests with pretty soaps, fabric hand towels, a vase for flowers, and some potpourri.
Buy some extra hand fans in case your AC goes on the blink. If your area experiences brownouts or blackouts during the summer, make sure you have flashlights and new batteries around in easy to find (in the dark!) places.
Sit outside to enjoy your front or back porch, if your home has one. It can serve as an outdoor living room with rocking chairs, fresh-painted wicker chairs, and tables.
Re-organize your new closets with do-it-yourself shelving, and throw out or give away clothing you haven't worn in three to five years. Get a tax credit for donating old clothes to charity.
Set aside a writing corner in your new living room or family room, not with a PC but a stash of beautiful stationery, pens, stamps. You will be surprised how much friends and family like to receive U.S. mail on a regular basis.
Instead of refinishing old wood floors in brown, consider a rich ebony finish (which will cover stains from years of traction). Black can be stained or painted, and it also comes in pre-finished hardwood planks that are much less expensive than individual
Start preparing for back-to-school days by making a list of school supplies and clothes your children need so you're ready to get going before the bell rings. Post the list in a prominent place, and check off items as you purchase them.
Whatever your religion, plan a holiday gathering. Consider an old-fashioned Easter egg roll for the neighborhood children, or if it's a rainy day, bring them inside to paint eggs. Or, host a Seder and invite some non-Jewish friends to partake.
For homeowners who live in the southern half of the U.S., consider installing an outdoor shower to wash off dirt. Put it near the backyard or garage, somewhere out of view.
Set aside a small area of your yard for a vegetable patch. You'll enjoy cooking with your own vegetables and herbs and if you're successful, share your harvest with friends and relatives.
Buy some outdoor sports equipment so you and your family will be active in your yard. Some family favorites include a basketball hoop, croquet, squash or badminton set.
Warm a fireplace wall with family mementos. A big mirror in the center of the wall above the fireplace adds a bright spot of contrast and makes the room appear larger.
It's hot outside right now, but you can create a personal steam bath inside your home by enclosing your shower in a custom glass surround.
Start a tradition in your new home to keep fresh cut flowers from your local market on your kitchen table, and in unexpected places like your powder room or even master bathroom. They're inexpensive, seasonal and will brighten your mood.
If you're undecided about what to plant this month, snap pictures of blooms you like. Take a notebook along on flower viewing jaunts and jot down names of flowers. Include color, height and bloom time of each, so your garden will bloom throughout the summer.
Jazz up a family room with an old jukebox and a popcorn machine.
Take an extra closet in your new home and turn it into a wine closet with shelves.
Think about a room's storage before you purchase furniture. If you're short on storage, buy tables and chests with drawers and doors so they can double as storage units to hide magazines, CDs, videotapes, remote controls, and computer discs.
Paint your new front door a new bright color and polish your brass hardware.
If you grow lavender for its blossoms and fragrance in your garden, how about capitalizing on its versatility? You can eat it, drink it, bathe with it, perfume your entire house with it, or use it to cure a headache. It isn't difficult to plant, but must
Once you're settled in, reframe favorite old photos and create a new grouping on a visible table, shelf or wall.
