Sprucing Up Your House for the Holidays
BWS Design • December 5, 2016
Now that the holiday season is upon us, many families will be welcoming guests into their homes. If you’re like most people, you probably worry about your home being clean and welcoming enough for holiday guests. But if you put in the needed time to clean and prepare your home for guests before they arrive, you can enjoy them more, knowing they’re comfortable and relaxed. Here are a few tips for sprucing up your home for holiday guests.
The Kitchen
Because the kitchen is where your guests will probably be gathering to socialize and munch on holiday goodies, it’s crucial that this room looks and smells as fresh and clean as possible.
- To clean sinks, use a soft rag or nylon sponge, along with mild soap or an all-purpose glass cleaner. Don’t use abrasive cleaners, bleach or ammonia on stainless steel because this can compromise the finish.
- Get rid of any unpleasant kitchen odors, such as those coming from your garbage disposal. One way to freshen a garbage disposal is by chopping up a lemon, including the rind, and then throwing it down your disposal.
- To sharpen disposal blades, throw in a few small ice cubes. Be sure your kitchen garbage container smells good, so hose it down. Then, once it’s dry, spray it with an air freshener.
- To clean oven and stove-tops, use water and baking soda to scrub off caked-in goo.
Guest Rooms
- Adorn beds with decorative quilts or comforters, along with fluffy pillows.
- Consider installing lightweight sheers or woven blinds that can usher in morning sunlight.
- Launder bedspreads and shake dirt out of throw rugs.
- Include interesting magazines and reading material on bed-stands.
- If possible, set up a TV on the dresser for guests who stay up late.
- Remove any clutter.
Windows and Window Coverings
- To clean windows, use a commercial product or a water and vinegar solution. After spraying the windows, wipe them with a clean rubber-bladed squeegee. Work from the top to the bottom, making sure the squeegee is angled toward the base of the window.
- Clean window screens so that all grime is removed. Rather than taking down your screens and hosing them down, you can simply use a dust-brush attachment from your vacuum cleaner to remove dust. The quickest and most effective method is going side to side and top to bottom.
- Although cleaning curtains manually entails more work than just tossing them into a washer, hand-washing them reduces the likelihood of shrinkage, and it’s the best option for delicate fabrics.
- On the other hand, don’t wash heavy fabrics by hand as it’s harder to remove the water.
- Steam clean curtains made of exceptionally heavy materials.
- If you don’t have time to dry clean your curtains or drapes, you could still freshen them up by spraying them with fabric refresh spray. After gently shaking the fabric, stand back a few feet and spray the drapes. Then, shake the fabric once more.
Bathrooms
- Prepare guest bathrooms by making sure there are plenty of clean hand and bath towels, so your guests don’t have to ask for them. You don’t want them to use your old, ratty-looking, everyday towels.
- Remove all film and soil, using an all-purpose bathroom cleaner. Stubborn deposits can be removed with a soft-scrub cleaning product
- Launder shower and window curtains.
- To get rid of deposits on shower floors and eliminate bathtub rings, use abrasive scrubbing pads. It helps to use an old toothbrush to remove stubborn deposits that have built up around faucets and tub fixtures.
- Using a disinfecting spray to sanitize toilets, spray the seat, toilet rims and bowel exterior. Then, use a fresh cleaning cloth to wipe your toilet clean and dry.
Considerations and Warnings
- For best results, clean your windows on a cloudy day because direct sunlight can cause the cleaner to dry too rapidly, which can leave streaks on windows.
- To clean baseboards, use a sponge that’s been dipped into a solution of dish soap and warm water. Vinegar also works well in scrubbing away blemishes.
- Homemade bathroom cleaners do a better job of keeping your bathrooms shiny and clean without subjecting them to harsh chemicals.
- Dust all light fixtures and remove cobwebs from ceilings.
One of the main household items that guests notice is window coverings. Regardless of how well you try to clean old drapes and blinds, sometimes you just need to replace your window coverings. Don’t hesitate to call Just Blinds. We have a wide range of high quality window treatments for every room in your home. Please contact us and learn more about our various products.
Expert Advice by Just Blinds
When the mercury soars, never underestimate the power of blinds, shades, and other window treatments to keep your living space cool. With the techniques that follow, you can limit demand on your air conditioner, lower your energy bill, and maintain stunning aesthetics both inside and out. 1. Go For the Layered Look If you don't want blackout blinds that completely block out light and heat, consider layering your window treatments for the summer months. This is a great way to add depth and texture to your rooms while still maintaining a tight home envelope and limiting solar heat gains. Use wood or faux wood blinds to create a solid base layer. Then, add sheers and custom curtains to finish the look. Layering creates levels of flexibility and adaptability that single window treatments cannot match. You can close all three layers for maximum heat blocking, slant your blinds and close your sheers to let limited sunlight in, or open your drapes and your blinds and use your sheers for light filtering. 2. Beat the Heat With Outdoor Window Treatments Some of the best window treatments for blocking heat and light during the summer months belong on the outside of your home. If you haven't done so already, consider investing in shutters. Shutters can vastly improve the efficiency of your home while providing excellent UV ray protection. This will keep your flooring and furnishings from fading while offering a fair amount of skin protection. In addition to tightening home envelopes, shutters provide excellent noise reduction and offer added protection against the natural elements. With your shutters standing guard as your home's first defense, you'll still have one or more window treatments at the interior of the building during the next big heat wave. Outdoor Shades Work, Too If shutters aren't the right look for you, opt for lightweight, retractable shades. Installing outdoor shades gives you yet another way to safeguard your home from solar heat gains whenever temperatures spike. You can use outdoor shades with layered indoor window treatments to create an airtight space and reduce stress on your AC during the hottest portion of the day. Once the sun sets, you can easily draw them open. 3. Optimize Airflow According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be up to five time more contaminated than outdoor air. Even though air conditioners and heat pumps filter the indoor air during operation, they don't extract volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other gaseous chemical contaminants. When the sun's out and you're running your air conditioner non-stop, all the contaminants introduced into your home by off-gassing building materials, cooking, room freshening sprays, and chemical-laden self-care products and cleaners remain trapped indoors. Blinds are great for optimizing airflow. When the sun sets, the mercury dives, and a cool breeze rolls in, you can turn your blind slats upwards to reflect light from the setting sun and slightly crack your windows. This technique works well for giving ACs an early evening break. It's also an excellent strategy for improving indoor air quality (IAQ). As natural light decreases, you can open your blind slats wider and let more fresh, outdoor air flow in. This easy air exchange will get your home and your IAQ ready for the challenges of the next sweltering day. 4. Keep Indoor Moisture in Check With Shades With a high-functioning air conditioner or heat pump, you'll get reliable humidity regulation whenever your cooling system is on. The right shades can support this by keeping outdoor moisture outside and preventing the buildup of condensation on your windows. Cellular shades are made for high-moisture areas, and they're the perfect addition to any other southern home. You can get similar benefits from faux wood blinds, vinyl blinds, and aluminum blinds. Moisture-resistant blinds or shades are an essential upgrade if you currently have heavy fabric drapes or multiple layers of sheers. Some materials capture and retain moisture. They're also prone to problems like mold and mildew and can lower IAQ as a result. 5. Go Motorized Don't worry about dragging your ladder out to draw your outdoor shades or running through your home to manually adjust your blinds. Shop for motorized window treatments that you can open, close, and adjust with just the touch of a button. This way, as lighting and temperatures change, you can quickly adapt your window treatments to reflect your most current needs. At Just Blinds, we're all about comfort. We want your window treatments to look amazing, but believe that you should feel amazing too. We offer a fantastic selection of blinds, shutters, shades, and custom draperies to help our clients beat the heat in the summer months . Let us help you stay cool in style. To speak with our design consultants, contact Just Blinds today!
Windows give a home warmth, light, and a view of the outside world. But with the right treatments, you can also use your windows to make your home feel cozy. Coziness is a semse of comfort and familiarity. It defines a charm that feels like home, whether it's the coziness of a warm room in winter, your movie den in the summer. When we think of coziness, we often think of couches, candles, and throw blankets. But your windows play an equally important part. After all, it's your window treatments that frame the light, add softness to your walls, and set the mood for every room. The right window decorations can make your home feel warm and inviting. Using Windows, Drapes, and Shades to Create Coziness Window treatements create a vibe for your entire room. Drapes, shades, and shutters can be used to create a backdrop of texture, color, and style. They also allow you to control the light levels in your home and even the color of the light. This means that your windows are the best place to start when making a room feel cozy. Layering soft drapes in rich colors is a great way to add that sense of comfort and warmth to a room, while cheerful blinds in soft neutrals can help a room to feel relaxed and welcoming. You can also use drapes or blinds to add a splash of color as a bold accent in any room. These touches combined with glowing sunshine during the day create a cozy and comfortable space. Plants as Cozy Window Decor You can use other types of decor to evoke a sense of coziness, too. We particularly love plants. Leafy green plants love the sunshine as much as you do and thrive when placed in a sunny window. Place an elegant snake plant in the windowsill or hang creeping ivy from a hook near the top of a window frame to make your room feel cheerful and alive with green energy. Plants make a home feel natural and vibrantly lived-in which is perfect for your cozy vibe. For a cozy kitchen, you can even grow fresh herbs in a box on the windowsill that add a delicious aroma and tasty fresh seasoning along with their natural visual appeal. Enhance Your Space with Aromatherapy Speaking of aromatics, you might be surprised how much your windows can take part in cozy aromatherapy. Window treatments like drapes and blinds are fabric that can help purfumes and essential oils linger in the room for days. Cozy scents are often warm aromas like cinnamon, vanilla, lavender, almonds, and coffee. But fresh fruit or floral scents that smell like "home" to you can also add a sense of coziness to each room. Simply spritz your curtains with your favorite scents and each room will subtly carry that comforting smell of home that makes you want to snuggle into the couch and relax at the end of each day. Moody Shade and Maximizing Light When we visualize coziness, light levels often play a role. Your minds eye may see a sun-drenched cottage or a gently lit library as your mental idea of a room that is perfectly cozy. Window treatments allow you to set the mood by reducing or maximizing light to the perfect levels. Well-designed shades and drapes can pull back attractively to maximize light, bathing your room in the warm welcoming glow of sunshine. Or if you prefer a more relaxed coziness, you can use translucent drapes or cellular shades to filter the light exactly the right amount. Diffuse and reduced light filtered through fabric of a warm color can make you feel safe and at peace. Increase Your Happiness with Window Design Your home should feel welcoming, relaxing, and cozy. The right window treatments can help set the stage for a delightful welcome home each night, rejuvinating weekends, and an overall feeling of at-home coziness when you are relaxing in your favorite place. To achieve this goal, you can experiment with home decor changes, including your windows, to achieve your ideal at-home bliss. Contact us today for custom drapes and blinds to complete your cozy room design.