Category Archives: Dear diary

What Does Your House Say About You?

 

home

The house has a lot of information in it. You can tell a lot about a person from a range of things, their car, their friends, their living space. The home in particular has heavy implications on the character of the person. The mess, the disorder and things laying all around the house has implications of laziness, silliness, lack of care as to your surroundings. Even little things can have implications you didn’t notice. So before you bring back a new friend or a prospective partner you may want to check the image you’re putting forward.

Mess

Mess is something that you want to stay in the middle of the road with. Too much and you may have the image of someone who doesn’t care about how they live, someone who is lazy, or too busy, or troubled. On the other hand a house that is too neat can be almost as big a problem. Too neat and impeccable can result in an image of someone who is too neat, obsessive, unyielding, the sweet spot is for your home to look lived in, but cared for.

Clutter

This is a major trouble a lot of people run into, particularly because it’s difficult to recognise. After living in a cluttered place for a while you become accustomed to having too much furniture or too many items around the room. Given enough time you might get used to your crowded surroundings and not notice that you’re protecting the image of someone who keeps too much on them. Someone who has too many possessions and no way to prioritise or organise. If you’re the kind of person who can’t bear to throw things out feel free to enlist a storage company like Fort Knox to keep it for you until you can get a bigger place. Visit www.fortknoxstorage.com.au for information.

Aesthetic

What’s on your walls? What colour are they? What does that say about you? It’s something of a difficult and troublesome maze to circumnavigate. Think about what ornaments, paintings and other things are hanging from your walls and what they say about you. Do they have interesting stories? Do they make you seem friendly? Leaving the walls bare will make you seem dispassionate and disconnected, while too much gives the same feeling as clutter. Rather than thinking about how much, think about why you have what you have.

Theme

If you don’t mind being thought a little overly fastidious a theme is a really good way to look impressive. Having everything suit the same image, pattern and idea will give an amazing image. With a little effort and some clever planning it can be used to massive effect.

The house has a lot of implications with them lies a lot of pitfalls and opportunities. Taking advantage of the opportunities to put the best foot forward when someone walks into your home can give a sense of ease, satisfaction and a good idea of who you are.

Avoid Eight Common Mistakes When Buying Furniture Online

onlinePurchasing furniture in any setting can be tricky, but it is even more so online if buyers do not take proper precautions and plan their purchase thoroughly.

  1. Set a budget and stick with it. Going over budget is a frequent mistake, especially since there may be hidden costs associated with the furniture purchase online. Hidden costs can include tax, shipping, fitting or customization charges, and extended warranties. Carefully investigate any purchase before clicking “Finalize Purchase.”
  1. Before making any furniture purchase, measure the space the furniture must fit.
    1. Length, width, depth and height are all important when choosing furniture.
    2. Include adequate walkways around furniture and consider line of sight to important features of the room. These may include the TV, other seats and guests, doors and windows.
    3. Write down the measurements to assist with your shopping.
  1. Always comparison shop for furniture, both at online stores and brick-and-mortar stores. Make sure you are getting the best overall deal with your online purchase before you buy.
    1. Check reviews for both the furniture items and the online store itself.
    2. Purchasing an inferior quality furniture piece or furniture from a shady seller is no bargain.
  1. Take your time when shopping for furniture online and in stores. Furniture is a major home investment, and rushing to make a purchase often results in overpaying and getting items that do not work in the space. Choose quality merchandise that will last for years.
  1. Visit stores in person to test furniture items before making a purchase online.
    1. Determine how fabrics and finishes look and feel, and what colors look like in person.
    2. Measure the furniture to make sure it will fit in your space.
    3. Sit in the chairs and use the furniture to make sure it works with your body.
    4. When you find the furniture you want in a store, make a note of the brand and model number, as well as the price.
    5. Choose several acceptable furniture makes and models, in case your first choice is not available.
    6. Find the items online and compare prices there, too.
    7. Choose your best deal based on what works best for your family, your budget and your home.
  1. Make sure you are getting the best online deal by using coupon codes and discount codes if they are available.
    1. Once you have determined what furniture you want, go online and search for “coupon code” or “discount code” plus the brand and type of the furniture.
    2. Most online coupon codes for furniture are for free shipping, which can save buyers significant amounts of money.
    3. Having a list of acceptable options for your furniture piece allows you to be flexible when locating online codes and coupons for your purchase.
    4. Be sure to read the fine print of any coupon or discount deal before using the promotion code.
  1. Determine the warranty and return policies for the furniture you want.
    1. Compare policies among the online stores and retail stores.
    2. Find out if you are responsible for return shipping costs if the furniture does not fit your needs. Shipping costs for heavy furniture can be prohibitively expensive.
    3. When your purchase is delivered, open the package and thoroughly inspect the furniture before the delivery service departs.
    4. Do not sign for receiving the furniture until assembling and inspecting it. Signing for the furniture usually includes a statement that the product is adequate and free of defects upon delivery. This may make returns or exchanges much more difficult.
  1. As with any online purchase, be sure to use appropriate security measures when making your purchase.
    1. Ensure you are purchasing from a secure site- the URL will start with “https” and there should be security symbols and statements prominently displayed on the site.
    2. Do not let online sites store your credit card or bank information.
    3. Clear your browsing history and online cache after making online purchases and then restart your browser.

These steps help make it harder for thieves to steal your information or your identity.

What You Need For Your Own Relaxation Station

home

As life becomes increasingly stressful, more and more homeowners are opting to include a relaxation area in their home. Traditionally, people went to professional spas to be pampered and wind down, but having a relaxation station at home allows you to come home after a hectic day and find pea
ce and well-being.

To create your home relaxation station you will need to choose soothing colours for your walls and accessories. This area is all about peace and gentleness. Choose soft comfortable furnishings, and add relaxation music and gentle aromatherapy oils. Your décor needs to be calming and everything should contribute to making the area harmonious. Browse online at Super Amart Australia for furnishings, accessories and wall art in soothing greens, beiges or blues. Lavender will work well too.

Gentle Colours

Colour plays a very important part in setting the ambience of a room. Your relaxation station should be painted and decorated in gentle tones. Avoid bright colours like red, yellow and orange. These colours stimulate rather than soothe and will have the reverse effect of softer tones. You are aiming for a Zen-like simplicity, so be minimalistic with colours. In other rooms of the house you will often add a bright chair or painting to a neutral room. Don’t do this in your relaxation station. Everything needs to be tranquil and anything brightly coloured will negatively impact the calming level of the room. Lighting too should be gentle. Natural light is best but soft lamps or lights with a dimming switch will also work well. Fluorescent lights are completely wrong for a relaxation space.

Comfortable Furniture

When deciding on furnishings for your relaxation room, think about the kind of furniture you would find in a professional spa. This is the atmosphere you are trying to create. Go for comfortable chairs or couches, seating that you would be happy to lounge on with a good book. Furnishings should be minimal and are best kept to the perimeters of the room to create a simple, spacious feel that evokes peace.

The Senses

Smells and sounds can do a lot to increase the relaxation effect of your space. A noisy room will not work well. You need to pick a place that isn’t disturbed by outside traffic noises or the sounds of the television. Add pleasant sounds to the space. A water feature will work well as the sound of running water is very soothing. You will also need a CD player and some carefully chosen music. Relaxation or quiet instrumental music work well. Buy an oil burner and aromatherapy oils. Again go for gentle rather than strong scents. Smell the tester bottles at your local health food or new age store and find something that resonates with you. Some scents are designed to invigorate, things like citrus for instance. These are not suitable for the relaxation station. If you are unsure you should ask the shop assistant which scents are for calming.

Once you have created your relaxation station you should try and take time each day to enjoy it.

 

Do you love F1?

f1

The Formula One racing seems to be one of those “Marmite” things; you either love it or hate it. Personally, I love every minute of it and can’t wait for the new season to begin, perhaps more so than ever before.

That’s because the required designs for the cars have undergone their most sweeping changes for a generation. Firstly, they need to embrace green technology so the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engines are out and 1.6-litre V6 turbos are in. There’s also a fuel limit of 100kg, roughly 130 litres – down from 150kg or so last year when there was no such limit. Also, engines must now consume fuel at nothing above 100kg per hour.

But the new engines will be hybrids, using ‘energy recovery system’ which harnesses kinetic energy from the back axle during braking through an electric motor that harnesses energy from the turbo which would otherwise be wasted as heat.

Such big changes will mean the results for the first few Grand Prixes could be all over the place as constructors and drivers get to grips with the new technology in real race situations. This is fun for those of us who enjoy a bet on Formula 1 now and again as the races could throw up some pretty anomalous results.

Currently with Betfair, for example, Sebastian Vettel remains a firm favourite to win the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne on 16th March. He’s also less than 2-1 with Betfair at the time of writing to retain the driver’s championship.

These look like very short odds given the huge technological changes required – and there are even more that we haven’t mentioned like the lowering of the noses of the cars, making them look like enormous anteaters. Then there are the exhaust changes which require a single, central exhaust pipe exiting over the gearbox, so the previous usage of exhaust gases to boost down-force is no longer possible.

This will, arguably, hurt Vettel-Red Bull more than anyone else – so the cards really are up in the air and a longshot on Betfair – with a few to laying the bet back at shorter odds as the season progresses looks to be the shrewdest bet – and it all adds to the fun if you’re a “love it” kind of person when it comes to F1. .