For now, all you know is you want to feel the coolness of a floor touching your feet. And you've never liked carpet anyway. So where does this leave you when trying to pick new flooring for your home? With eight choices: ceramic, concrete, cork, engineered wood, laminate, linoleum, solid wood and vinyl flooring. The first four are presented here. You're smart to consider each choice carefully;...

Contrary to what many people think, a room doesn't have to be small to be cozy. But it does have to be warm and comfortable. You might be measuring a room's “cozy quotient” by strict definitions, but coziness really comes down to a feeling. It's true a room exudes coziness – beckoning you and overcoming you with easy familiarity – or it doesn't. This doesn't mean a cool, aloof room is forever...

They represent the cornerstone of your kitchen, those “big three” kitchen appliances. They probably also account for more than 10 percent of your energy bill. Still, if you're looking for ways to trim your energy bill, it's not as though you can unplug them and expect to achieve any real savings. Instead, turn to some simple tips supplied by appliance and utility companies. Doing so will help...

Your small garage is cramped to the point of discomfort, so it's time to get serious about maximizing the space you have available. Be sure to read fast because that wall should soon be covered with wall-mounted shelves to make the most of every square inch. Wall-mounted shelves offer one way to open up space, and there are five more that will transform your garage. But hold that hammer. Before...

You spend a lot of time picking out carpet, appliances, and bedroom sets when you're sprucing up your home. Some of it comes easily, and you can simply choose colors or styles most appealing to you. Other home furnishings require a little more work so you can find the form and function to best fit your needs. Window shades can be deceptively difficult to purchase, especially if it's a new process...

Just as each room in your home has a different purpose, each room has different lighting needs. Thanks to adjustable lighting and a variety of shade fabrics and paint colors, you can accommodate every single situation by creating a custom light setup for each space. Your color, lighting, and shade choices will allow you to maximize (or minimize) natural lighting during the day, and set the...

Motorized shades bring many benefits to your home when it comes to both looks and usability. You may already know some of the great benefits Polar Shades’ motorized shades can bring to your home but what about those unexpected benefits you may have never thought about? If are considering whether or not to install motorized shades in your home, these benefits may sway your decision. Eight...

When you go on vacation and stay at a hotel, you may request a room with a view. But when you live in a high rise, you can feel like you're on vacation every day – as long as you make the most of the view with interior shades. Interior shades are particularly well suited to high rises featuring large windows and an abundance of glass because they provide an effective solution to every window...

Sometimes it pays to bypass the middleman. Middlemen have played an important role in commerce for as long as people have been buying. They serve as intermediaries between the people who produce products and the people who want to purchase them. But sometimes middlemen are unnecessary. Here are some reasons why going straight to the manufacture can be beneficial: Cost Savings Middlemen are in...