Congratulations on your new home!

This guide was created to help you with all aspects of homeownership, from decorating to remodelling, and maintenance to repair. You may wish to bookmark this page for future reference. I will be adding to it regularly with helpful advice from a wide range of experts.

Decorating

Colour and Our Moods

How does colour effect us? Is that beige wall getting you down? Will that new forest green couch help you relax after a hard day at the office? [Read more]

Interior Painting

Painting is one of the easiest, least expensive interior renovation projects you can do. A small investment and a little elbow grease can create an entirely new atmosphere in your home. [Read more]

Choosing the Best Paint

With names like Molokai Blue, Lapis Lazuli, Coral Beach and Prairie Sunrise, one can easily be overwhelmed by the selection of stunning paint colours on the market. Walk into any home renovation store these days and you can spend countless hours looking at thousands of colour chips. [Read more]

One Basecoat: Three Dramatic Paint Effects

Are you tired of solid coloured walls? Are you looking for some visual interest without completely changing the room colour? [Read more]

Pattern Pointers

Many of us get into the habit of using solid colours to decorate our homes because it is easy to mix and match different elements. Before long, however, a home can be awash in an endless sea of solids. [Read more]

A Guide to Choosing New Carpet

There are many styles of carpet to choose from to reflect your personal preference and decorating style. Each type of carpet offers varying degrees of durability, stain-resistance and insulation value. [Read more]

Selecting Tile

For thousands of years, people have enjoyed the lasting beauty of tile. It has graced walls in the form of mosaics and floors with intricate patterns. Around the world, there has been an evolution in the technology and artistry used to create tile. [Read more]

Rejuvenating Hardwood Floors

Does your wood floor look grimy and rundown? Are you considering restoring it to its once brilliant finish? Sometimes all a hardwood floor needs is a facelift, not a complete sanding. [Read more]

Maintaining a Shining Finish on Polyurethane-Coated Hardwood Flooring

Perhaps it is tradition that makes hardwood flooring so appealing. Imagine the dark woods of libraries and grand studies or the rich-hued plank flooring of cabins and chalets. Hardwood flooring also lends an elegant touch to modern homes. [Read more]

Renovating

Renovating? Start with the Money

The decision to renovate a home often starts with a dream: a new kitchen, a new bathroom, another bedroom, and so on. Such dreams are often based on a sound business decision. Renovating what is probably your biggest and best investment - your home - can increase both its value and your enjoyment of it.  [Read more]

Renovation Financing: The First Steps

If you have decided to borrow to finance your renovation project, you should take time to research the various ways that banks, trust companies and other financial institutions have of offering financing. In this first of a two-part series on renovation financing we look at the various ways to borrow. [Read more]

Planning your Renovation

For some people, the fears of cost overruns and months of living in a construction zone are enough to dissuade them from undertaking a renovation project. That's a shame because there are many good reasons to renovate. [Read more]

Living in a Home Undergoing Renovation

You've decided to renovate and "Everything" is now in place - plans, specifications, work schedule, appropriate financial arrangement, and selection of a good qualified renovator. All is well? Or is it! [Read more]

Planning Your New Kitchen

It always happens: despite your best efforts to make your living room seem inviting; your guests migrated into the kitchen at your last get together. You went to check on the hors d'oeuvres in the oven and turned around to find your entire dinner party crowded into your kitchen! Why fight it? [Read more]

Remodeling your Kitchen

Remodeling a kitchen may include anything from repainting the walls to redesigning the entire structure of the house. Space limitations prohibit covering every issue you might have to deal with, but this article will cover the basic principles of design, as well as the general considerations involved in planning a new kitchen. [Read more]

Kitchen Innovations

Considering that only a hundred years ago cooking 'appliances' consisted of sooty wood- or coal-burning stoves or merely a fireplace, kitchens have come a long, long way. Starting with the invention of the first electric stove by the Carpenter Electric Heating Manufacturing Co. in 1891, kitchens have changed radically. [Read more]

Kitchen Renovations

Light is the key to creating the illusion of space. A brighter room can be achieved with artificial and natural light as well as light colours - all of these will help to visually open the room. [Read more]

New Products and Trends in Bathroom Remodelling

In ancient Rome, citizens who couldn't afford bathing facilities in their homes would visit public baths. These were not only places to scrub away the dust of the day, but they were also places to indulge in a warm soak surrounded by elegant décor and soothing music. [Read more]

Basement Renovations Give You New Options

In many homes, the basement represents great, untapped potential for more living space. It may offer the most cost-effective approach to adding a new family room, an extra bedroom or a home office. [Read more]

There's No Place Like Home When You're Self-Employed

The latest statistics show the number of self-employed Canadians nearly doubled in a 25-year period. In 1976, over 1.19 million people were self-employed. By 2001, the number had grown to over 2.3 million. [Read more]

Creating Your Dream Home Office

Email, faxes and voice mail have forever changed the office concept. Gone are the beige furnishings and the daily rush hour commute for many people who work from home. [Read more]

Closet Makeover

I'm willing to bet that digging through the closet to find a pair of matching shoes or one unwrinkled shirt in the right colour is the number one reason why people are late for work. When dressing up for a special event, most of us need to dig into the dark corners to find those rarely worn treasures. [Read more]

Upgrading

60 AMP Electrical Service

More frequently, insurance companies are denying home insurance to homeowners with 60 amp service. Across North America, a significant number of insurance companies now consider a 60 amp, 120/240-volt service to be unsafe or a significantly greater risk than a 100 amp or higher service. The wires coming to your meter, either overhead or underground, supply 120/240-volt electrical power to your house (unless you have knob and tube which is typically only 120-volt). Major appliances require 240-volt power. [Read more]

Insulation Tips

A home without adequate insulation can be drafty, cold and expensive to heat. If your walls feel cold in the winter or your indoor air feels warmer than outside temperatures in summer, you likely need to upgrade your insulation. [Read more]

Building a Home Addition

Building an addition on a home can be a costly and an involved process but it can also be the best option if you need extra space and don't wish to change homes and neighbourhoods. Whether you are planning to expand your kitchen, add an extra bedroom or an entire second story, all renovations, large and small, involve a number of important considerations. By keeping these points in mind and consulting professionals, you may save yourself time and money. [Read more]

Helpful Advice

Appraisals of Personal Property

When it comes to appraisals, most people first think of their home, but household items and possessions on our property often have value as well, both emotionally and monetarily. Professional appraisers offer services to determine the dollar value of possessions. [Read more]

Home Insurance

Whether you are a first time homeowner or an old hand at buying and selling houses, there are several things you should know about home insurance. [Read more]

How to Save Money on your Home Insurance

In recent years, insurance rates have increased in response to changes in the environment and national security. Even though many of us will not be personally affected by erratic weather phenomenon, terrorism, etc., they impact almost everyone who has home insurance. [Read more]

Home Maintenance

Tips from the Halifax Regional Water Commission

• Insulate drafty, unheated areas, and wrap the pipes with insulating material.
• Inspect your plumbing system, and locate the shut-off valve.
• Post emergency numbers.
• Turn off outside faucets and disconnect any hoses.
• Do not shut heat off completely when you're away.
• Patch any cracks in doors, walls, windows which are near pipes.
• Do not unthaw pipes using an arc welder or torch with an open flame. Instead, heat the room; use a hair dryer on low heat, or wrap the pipe with a towel. And remember, the pipe might leak when thawed.

Fluoride in the Water:

Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, is added to the HRM water supply to help re-mineralize newly formed cavities. It also reduces tooth decay by 20-40%. Fluoridation is supported by the Canadian Dental Association and is regulated by Nova Scotia Environment and Labour.