Saturday, January 31, 2009

Geothermal Heating And Cooling, What Can It Do For You

Geothermal heating and cooling will save you money, reduce your energy use and keep the environment cleaner for your family and your community. It's the most cost-effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of heating and cooling your home that is available today. This is a way to reduce your utility bill by up to 60% today and for years to come.

How does geothermal heating and cooling work?

The temperature outdoors goes up and down. Four to six feet below the earth's surface, the temperature remains relatively constant year-round. In the summer the system takes the warmth out and brings the cool in from the ground. In the winter it takes the cooler temperature from the building out and replaces it with warmth from the ground. The fluid that circulates through the system exchanging heat for cooling and cold for heating.

If you are looking for a cleaner way to heat your home, this uses electric power ( this could be solar if you choose) to operate the unit's fan, compressor and the pump. It does not burn fossil fuel to generate heat. The system transfers heat away from the building or into the building from the earth as a more efficient form of heating and cooling.

This seems to be good for us and the planet. A lot of people are thinking green. This would be a good way to do this. To learn more go to: http://waterfurnace.com

We welcome your comments. If you have one, how are you enjoying it?


copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
http://moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://www.see-click.com

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Eight Things to help with Home Safty

Home safety starts in the place that is most vulnerable the windows. Security laminates strengthen your existing windows. Once the clear or tinted film/laminate is installed on the glass, it bonds and transforms your windows into an invisible shield. It is cost effective way to protect your home. 2 out of 3 break-ins occur through glass windows and doors, just like the ones on your home or office.

This is something that you can do for yourself or have someone do it for you. If you want to do it yourself go to this web site: http://www.diywindowsecurity.com/ . If you would rather have it done go to this web site: http://www.hylinesafety.com/3mwindowfilm.html or http://www.acesecuritylaminatesindia.com/pages/products.php . To watch the video go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODNp7BewR0 .

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson
"Marketing Unscrambled"
http://moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://www.see-click.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Kitchen Remodeling On A Small Budget Oh How Amazing It Looks Now



This is an example of something that my brother did in my mothers kitchen, they are some simple changes that make a big difference in the room. He sanded off the paint only from the raised part of the doors and put some clear varnish on the area that he sanded of. He also changed the hardware on the cabinets. The room was painted in a butter colored yellow. Look at how much brighter that it look by just a few changes.

If you are needing a change in your kitchen and you have a small budget to work with. Sometimes the simplest things that you can change are the best things to start with. It can bring a new look into the room. Start with the simple things first.

These are a few more simple things that you can do to stay in a small budget:










1. Change the hardware on the cabinets. These are some choices that you could use. ( This is copied from the book Van Dyke's Restorers, it can also be found at http://www.vandykes.com/ .)(Look to the right)







2. Changing the paint color in the room. This you can get from any paint department. It gives you ideas on how colors will look together. Look at the choices in this complementary colors with the walls and the furnishings. ( Look to the left bellow)




3. If your cabinets are in good shape and the counter tops look like the have seen better days. These are some things that you can do to make them look better without breaking the bank. If like in the image to the right, you have an island put the high end product like granite on the island. When you go to buy the piece of granite ask about remnant's, they might have just the piece for you with less of a cost. On the rest of the counter tops use something less expensive. Choose colors that are close to what is in the granite for the rest of the counter tops. Your eye will go to that island, you will think high end and the rest of the kitchen will look high end without all of the cost of granite on all of the counter tops. Something that is fun is you have small children is paint the lower cabinets with chalkboard paint. You can have new decorations every day. Or paint just one end of the cabinet with the chalkboard paint for a message center for the family to use. Maybe somewhere close to the phone. (above on the right.)




4. Change what is on the floors if they are in need of being changed. Hardwood floor are something that a lot of people are looking for now.




5. The ceiling is the fifth wall, do not overlook it. There are so many things that can help you draw the eye up. Decorative medallions enhances a plain ceiling (above.) Ceiling tins also add interest to the ceiling. (The can also be placed on the wall, they make a nice back splash. ) ( To the right.) Crown molding is a beautiful way to add elegance to any room. (Bellow and to the left.)























6. Lighting and electrical wiring are things that need to be planned in the beginning of your project. Because the walls or ceiling will need to be
damaged a little when adding new wiring and lighting. Above is task lighting for under the cabinets. To the right is a wall sconce. There are many styles and kinds of lighting. The kitchen is a place that the wiring really needs to be update. That is so that you do not trip the breakers all the time when you are trying to do what you need to do in the kitchen. You often have more than one thing on at one time. The kitchen is a place with a lot of power usage with big appliances. It is best to get an electrician to do this work. They know the building codes and the best place to put the lights, outlets and other electrical needs.






7. If your appliances are in good condition keep them until they need to be replaced. There are thing that you can do to make them look better in the room. There is paint that is made just for the painting of appliances. There is a material that looks like stainless steal. It has glue on one side of it, it sticks to the appliance and it looks like stainless steal without the cost of it.

8. Window treatment is another way to up date the look of the room. Other things that might have fabric on them are easy to change like the seat of the chairs and it instantly changes the look of the chair.

9. Stripping the paint or stain of the table and chair and changing the color of the stain or paint. They look just like new, with little cost.

10. Changing out the faucet or changing out the sink and the faucet. (If the sink is in good condition do not change it and just do the faucet.)


We would like to hear from you if you have used some of these things to make changes in your kitchen. Like in my mother's kitchen only a few things were done and what a difference it made to the kitchen. Not all of these things need to be done at one time. Start with electrical so that things can be patched and painted. Then go on to other things that you may choose to change. Have a plan of what the finished product will look like. That way it can be done in stages as you have the money to do it. That way you also stay out of debt. Have a great time redoing the kitchen. Most of the time the money that is spent in a kitchen or a bathroom you get most if not all of it back, if it is done right. The kitchen and the bathroom can make or break the sale of a home.



copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson
"Marketing Unscrambled"

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Friday, January 23, 2009

Log Homes As A Great Choice For Your Home

Log homes can be as big or as small as you would like them to be. Would you like it for your main home? This one would be on the larger side. On the other hand maybe you are wanting a small place in the mountains to go enjoy nature or a log home by the lake.

What are your needs for a log home? What about a retirement cabin? How about a vacation home? What might you need a log home for?

It can be as large as a lodge with 100's of rooms to rent. You have seen one of them at Yellowstone. That beautiful old building is a testament to how well log buildings can be built.

A log home is something that could be built in the city or in the country. Have you thought of building a log home?

They are beautiful to look at. So many choices no matter what part of the country you live in there are log home companies to help you with floor plans and the materials that you would need. These are some of the companies that can help with the floor plans and what is needed for a log home.
* http://www.kuhnsbros.com/
* http://www.countrylogcabins.com/
* http://www.yellowstoneloghomes.com/
* http://www.realloghomes.com/
* http://www.customwoodcraftbuilders.com/
* http://www.applog.com/
* http://www.mmsloghomes.com/
* http://www.loknlogs.com/
* http://olde.homestead.com/
* http://satterwhite-log-homes.com/


What do you think of the choices that these companies give to you? If you have built a log home, we would like to hear from you.

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson
http://moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://www.see-click.com/

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Fireplaces Are A Great Way To Warm Up Any Space

Fireplaces add so much to a room. There are many types of fireplaces, that burn different things. Wood burning fireplaces these vent through the ceiling. Some burn natural gas or propane, these use direct-vent technology to exit tough the wall. These can add to the heat in the home as well ambience in the room that they are in.

If you are looking at a fireplace as a mood-setter instead of a heat source, several lines of ventless ethanol-burning fireplaces are available - they're compact and can be installed just about anywhere in the home.

If you really want your home designed around a theme, there are many styles. As an example arrange a design around a Soutwestern - style fireplace.

Many different things are used to make them stand out and be a focal point in any room. Brick, stone, tile or even the way that the wall is painted around the fireplace. What a beautiful way to add interest and warmth to any room.

With the many types of fireplaces that are out there now, they can be in any room in the house.
If you want the heat of a fireplace ( wood burning, gas or propane) to help heat the home. What a nice thing to have in the home.

It is nice to have a wood burning fireplace for those times that the power is off because of a bad storm or some other reason. It is a source of heat and light in those times. It is also a place to cook your meals if you had to. What piece of mind that would give to you at those times of need, a way to stay warm, give light and to cook a meal.

How has the fireplace added to your home? Has it come in handy when you needed it for heat,light and cooking? Your comments are welcome.

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://www.see-click.com

Friday, January 16, 2009

Thursday, January 15, 2009

If You Are Building A New Home Or Restoring An Older Home Give It The Same Charm

If you are building a new home or restoring an older home, how do you give the new home the charm that you would like? How do you restore the existing charm of the older home that you are trying to restore? Where do you go to find the materials that will match what you have in that older home? You are building that new home but want it to have the charm of that older home, where do you find the materials to do that?

This is a great place to go to, check out this web site: http://www.vandykes.com/ . It has supplies for antique restorers, woodworkers, and for period homes. For the new home that you want to have the charm of the older home or restoring the older home this is the place to go. It has elegant hardware, stylish lighting, vintage medicine cabinet kits, classic plumbing. This is the place to go to find what you need. Van Dyke's Restorers is the place to find what you are needing.

These are the categories that they have on the web site:
* Architectural elements
* Bath
* Decor
* Furniture
* Gifts
* Hardware
* Kitchen
* Lighting
* Supplies
* Yard and garden

Enjoy Looking at this site even if you are not doing a project at this time. It is fun to just look and do window shopping for when you do have a project. You can also get catalog sent to you, if you would like to sit and look at it at home.

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://see-click.com/

Monday, January 12, 2009

This Mail Order Catalog Can Help You With Your Home Needs

This is a catalog that has some great things for your home and yard. It can help you organize every room in your home. There are many things to help you stay safe and secure. They have many things to beautify your yard and home.

Do you need gates to keep your pets out of rooms that you do not want them in. A pet door in the screen door. A pet stairway for smaller pets to get up without trouble. A water fountain drinking bowl.

Great things to help your patio look good, like solar powered fountains, solar powered lights to make things safe when you are outdoor, to make it warm and cozy they have firepits what a great way to enjoy an evening outdoors.

These are just a few of the things that can help you make things better in your home and yard.
It is called IMPROVEMENTS quick and clever problem solvers! Go to: http://improvementscatalog.com/

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://see-click.com/

Friday, January 9, 2009

Design The Perfect Room Every Time

This is a web site that helps a lot to design the perfect room every time. To help arrange the furniture in the room.

* It is free to use.
* You can build build your own room or choose from 5 prebuilt templates.
* View your room virtually and catch potential problems before you buy.
* Save, print, or email your designs to share with others.
* Design the perfect room and take the guess work out of the shopping for the furniture for that perfect room.
* Move things around in the room to find the best way to place the furniture. That is without hurting your back.
* Find the size of the furniture that fits best in the room. This means that the furniture will always be to the scale of the room without guess work.

Go to this web site: http://www.rcwilley.com/RoomPlanner.jsp

How did you like moving the furniture without hurting your back?

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://www.see-click.com

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

16 Interior Design Ideas For Small Homes And Appartments

Here are some things that are good to do with smaller homes and apartments. ( If it is an apartment - get the landlords approval before building or doing fix up kinds of things. Pick the things that you can do for an apartment that will not get you in trouble with the landlord.)

1. Hang the window treatments as high up as possible on the wall. From the ceiling down to the floor. This makes the room look taller than it might be and it draws the eyes upward, for a feeling of more volume to the room.

2. If you can add built-ins shelves (some with doors and some without ) this gives you much needed storage space without taking up floor space. It is a good place for your electronic, to hide all the wires ( tv, dvd player, stereo.)

3. When buying furnishing - look for things that might do double duty. Here are some examples: * End tables that also have a place to store things in as well.
* A sofa bed, for guests to sleep on if needed. A hide a bed is out of the way until it is needed, then it poles down when it is needed. Great for spare bedroom.
* An ottoman can be used for extra places to sit, to set things down on them. Some even open up so that you could store a blanket in (for when you get cold).
* A bench that has storage space in it as well. More seating and storage at the same time.

4. Open up one room to another. This makes both seem larger than they are. Some rooms still need to be private, like the bathroom and bedrooms. Here are some examples of how to do this:
* The simplest way would be if there is a door - take it out.
* Change the door form a solid door to one that has glass pains in it. This lets you see from one room to an other. This also lets the light from one room into the other to brighten both.
* If you can enlarge the doorway, make it into an archway. This opens up both rooms, but they still are defined as two separate spaces. It gives the illusion of having more space.

5. Extend the flooring from one room into the other. ( If it is hardwood floors, have the length of the wood go in the direction of the other room - it pulls the eye into that room as well.) This gives continuity to both rooms.

6. The paint color of the two rooms needs to be similar. One room lighter or darker in the same color than the other room -two different shades of green for example. ( On the paint swatch that you get from the store, they come with more than one shade of the same color. Pick one shade for one room then pick 1 or 2 shades lighter or darker from that one for the other room.)

7. Choose colors that are lighter for smaller rooms. If you get the rooms to dark than the room feels like it is closing in on you. Do not forget the ceiling, they can be painted the some color as the walls or paint them a lighter color than the walls.

8. These are some things that add a great look to any room.
* Crown molding - lifts the eyes up. Use stain or a crisp white to make them pop. If you are using the same color on the ceiling and walls this is a good way to give separation to them.
* Vertical striped also help a room look taller. It can be wallpaper or stripes that are panted on. The stripes that are painted on can be done in a bold way with using two different colors or a more mild way by using the same color but one is flat paint and the other stripe is a high gloss paint.

9. If you have a nice sized screened in porch, a patio or a sun room, then you have more living space. Treat them like an other room. Art on the wall (make sure that it is weather resistant if it is out doors ), chairs to sit on, table to eat on and do not forget lights of some kind. This adds value to your home.

10. Scale the furniture to the size of the room. If the furniture is to big for the room it will make it look cluttered and crowded. Use one larger piece of furniture in the room to give a little weight to the room. No wimpy rooms here.

11. Is there a focal point in the room? A fireplace, a bay window are good focal points. Make them stand out. Paint a different color on the fireplace or on the wall around the fireplace to make it stand out. The bay window use the window treatments to help it stand out. If you do not have these, make a focal point for yourself. Use the large piece of furniture like a sofa, put it in the place that you see it as soon as you walk into the room. In a dinning room - a very nice table and chairs.

These are the things that you should not do.

12. Do not overwhelm the room with to much furniture. Less is more when it comes to small spaces. It only makes the room look cluttered.

13. Do not forget to make your architectural detailing stand out. Crown molding draws your eye up, but only if it stands out. Using the crisp white or the nice stains do a good job with this. Chair railing, wainscoting, baseboards and other things like this should not be forgotten as well. These things add interest to the room. If they are not standing out then they add nothing.

14. Do not use to many patterns in a small room. Use them as accents, they will pop more without making the room to overwhelmed with patterns.

15. Do not let even an inch of space go without the best use possible. In the top of the closet or cupboard can you add an other shelf for more storage? The back of the door can be used for storage of shoes in the closet. Pantry door can hold more food stuff.

16. Do not forget to use closet organizers so that you can use every inch that you have. Go though the things that you have, weed things out so that you can have the room that you need (give things to charity or thrift stores, this helps others out as well as yourself.)

To summarize, find furniture that do double duty, built-ins that add storage. Find things that help you to organize closets, cupboards, pantry. Use all the space available to you in the best way possible. We would like to hear how you use your space to the best way possible. Others are looking for ways to do that for themselves. Let us have your comments that others might benefit from what you have done.

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson
"Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://see-click.com/

Friday, January 2, 2009

THE IMPORTANCE OF CURB APPEAL FOR THE SELLER OR THE BUYER

Curb appeal is more than just how the house looks from the outside. It is the neighbor hood - are the other yards and homes well taken care of or are they run down and not taken care of. Is it a busy road out front? Are you next to the freeway or a train tracks? Are there businesses next door or across the street - How do they look? Are they an eye soar, lights at night form a parking area of a business that will bother you, big trucks coming and going - what time do the come and go? All of these things affect the property that you are trying to sell or trying to buy.

If you are selling, some of these things can not be changed - that makes it harder to sell. If you are thinking of buying - do you want to live by them. It makes it harder when wanting to sell?
These are some of the reasons that curb appeal is so important.

Now for the curb appeal of the house that you have to sell or the one that you are looking to buy. It is important as well. Is there a mixture of lawn, trees, bushes and flowers? Is it well thought out in the placement of the plants? Are trees to close to the house? Are they the kind of plants that will take a lot of water and you live in a desert environment? ( It might be best to change them out for plant from your area that are more drought tolerant.) If you can not see the house because the bushes that are next to the house are over grown - trim them back to let the beauty of the house show through.

Why is curb appeal so important? If you are trying to sell - it could be the difference between someone driving by without even looking at the house or coming in to look at the it.

If the house is in need of repairs - do them before putting the house on the market. People will offer less when they know that they will have to fix this and that when they buy it. You will not get top dollar for it if you do not do what needs to be done. That includes burned out light bulbs. The thought will be, "if they can not fix that what else will I need to fix when I move in here."

Does your house look just like all the other houses on the block? What can you do to make it stand out from the rest? Maybe it is as little as painting the front door RED. Add an arch way across you front side walk or a picket fence when the rest have none. For night time add out door lights to light up the side walk or drive way. Light up the address of your house to make it easy to find. Do not forget to add some color into the yard, if it is all green shade - grass, trees, bushes, add some colorful flowers to brighten it up.

Are there things about the outside of the house that make it look dated? Is it something that can be replaced or taken off the house, then do it. Are there things that night be an eye soar to look at in the front of the house? Can it be moved some were else? ( Like a window air conditioner) Can it be hidden behind a screen or something to make it look more pleasing?

Do yourself a favor when you think of putting your home on the market - go find the free home buyers magazine. In my area the names of a few of them are " Home choice magazine" or "Your next home magazine", they might be different where you live.You have seen racks of them at the grocery store and other places. Look at them, see the houses that catch your eye. What do you like about it? What makes it stand out to you? That some kind of thing is what is going to make your home stand out to someone else. Also notice the ones that you do not like? Why do you not like that one? If your house is pink - a man is not going to like it to much, you might want to think of a more neutral color that will appeal to more people. You like it but not everyone does. You want a good number of people to look at your home. Look at your home from the buyers perspective. Does your house meet the test. If it does not, it will sit on the market for a long time.

Once you have the outside in good shape, do not let them down on the inside. Have it be as appealing on the inside as the outside. If the house appeals to as many people as possible - you will get more people to look at it. It will sell faster and for a higher price. That is the goal is it not?

For the buyer, they want a good value for there money. They do not want to over pay for what they get. If they are looking for a fixer upper they are not wanting to pay top dollar for it when they are going to have to put a lot of money into it as well.

A real estate agent can give you some pointers about what you might need to change to make it look better and sell faster. They see a lot of house, they know what has been selling and what has not. Do the fix up things that you know need to be done, then ask a real estate agent.

I would be interested in how curb appeal help you sell your home. If you were buying how did it affect your choices on a house to see or buy?

copyright 2009 Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
moonlight1458@gmail.com
http://www.powerpointerspage.com/152893/
http://see-click.com