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We frost when it comes to a few everyday details around our homes, such as hanging art and draperies. The reflection of peppering the wall with nails from feeble attempts is a downer.</p><p>As for securing heavier objects &#x97; mirrors and cabinets &#x97; we often don&#x92;t do it ourselves because we&#x92;re cowardly they&#x92;ll be crooked or come crashing down. </p><p>So we called on the pros to help us overrun these trip-up tasks. They showed us the correct way to measure and how high to hold out the hardware. With practical steps in hand, you&#x92;ll be armed with ways to preclude time, money and the aggravation of patching holes before repainting the walls &#x97; again.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Hanging mirrors</h3></p><p></stretch>&bull; Mirror glass can weigh eight times more than picture-framing telescope, so ask for &#x93;idiot hooks,&#x94; says Philip Graham, overseer at Westport Glass & Mirror in Kansas City, Kan. &#x93;They&#x92;re foolproof &#x85; adjustable and easier to persist than D-ring hardware.&#x94;</p><p>&bull; Employ the buddy system. Two people are healthier than one because of the heft.</p><p>&bull; If a mirror is especially large and heavy, ask for Z-bar metal goods: One piece attaches to the wall, another to the back of the mirror. It anchors the mirror to the impediment and prevents it from tilting forward.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Hanging draperies</h3></p><p></span>Nothing stops an eye like curtains hung too low, which makes a lodge seem shorter. Shawna Hampton of Modern Haven Interiors in Olathe says:</p><p>&bull; In a cubicle quarters with average ceiling height, install hardware 3 to 4 inches above the top window tidy. </p><p>&bull; Hang hardware 5 inches or higher above the window if you have aged ceilings. </p><p>&bull; Floor-length store-bought portiere starts at 84 inches and can go up to 108 inches or more. Take into account where you thirst the foot of your drapery to land &#x97; either gracefully &#x93;knuckling&#x94; at the whip for a traditional look or stopping at the floor for a modern feel.</p><p>&bull; If you&#x92;re using wallop rings, consider the extra length they might add. </p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Measuring for window treatments</h3></p><p></span> <reach over class="bold">For ready-made treatments:</stretch></p><p>&bull; Measure the height and width of your window in three separate places: top, heart and bottom for width and at each third for height. If any of the measurements is different, use the smallest one for width and the largest for maximum to make sure the treatment fits appropriately. This is vital for internal mount treatments, such as blinds and shades.</p><p>&bull; If you have multiple windows that turn up to be the same size, you should still measure them individually.</p><p> <span class="foolhardy">For custom draperies:</span></p><p>&bull; Measure the breadth of the entire window, including any trim (in three places).</p><p>&bull; Come up to scratch the height from the top of the window trim to the bottom of the apron under the sill (in three places). Proportion the height from floor to top of window trim for floor-length draperies.</p><p>&bull; About a meet outside of the window trim to side obstructions (walls, doors, happen switches) to determine how much stack back &#x97; amount of drapery that overlaps the go bankrupt on each side of the window &#x97; to allow.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Drapery hardware: A newer way to linger</h3></p><p></span>A cable system &#x97; rather than rods &#x97; for draperies is gaining hero- worship for its minimalist look and space-saving ability. Find them online from West Elm or Ikea, or move at them from parts found at a hardware store or home warehouse. You&#x92;ll need determined steel cable, two heavy-duty screw-in hooks, two turnbuckles, wire cutters and go broke anchors (the cable can be cut to length in the store or with a small cable cutter). The system is saintly not just for windows but also for dividing a large room into a smaller recess &#x97; for example, curtaining off a bedroom in a studio apartment.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Installing crop cabinets</h3></p><p></span> <span class="bold">1.</extend over> Position the first, most logical cabinet (a corner or a sink). Shim the chiffonier as needed to bring the top to the Lower-cabinet chalk line on the breastwork. Verify that the face frame is plumb, and shim as needed.</p><p> <course class="bold">2. </span>Training holes in the back of the cabinet at the studs. Using 3-inch screws, join the cabinet to the wall.</p><p> <span class="bold">3. </go over>Set the next cabinet in place, shim as needed and clamp the face frames of the next to cabinets. Then attach the second cabinet to the wall. Drill flier holes, and screw the face frames together.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Hanging art</h3></p><p></span>More of us are downsizing, which leaves less go under space for art. Another challenge is that many of us don&#x92;t have one piece large enough to dominate an entire exasperate. The solution: salon-style art hanging, a floor-to-ceiling collage. In French, &#x93;salon&#x94; refers to a congress place for an exchange of ideas.</p><p>Designer Jonathan Adler says he loves the salon clarification because it gives presence to petite pieces. But the look can go hodgepodge in a haste.</p><p> &#x93;Anchoring a wall with three larger pieces is a great strategy,&#x94; Adler says.</p><p>Finished art consultant and installer Jackie Warren of Kansas City agrees.</p><p>&#x93;Then you can figure on a collection and add to it over the years,&#x94; says Warren, owner of Artistic Solutions. </p><p>Adler has salon-vogue art tips in his book &#x93;Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Accessorizing&#x94; (Nonpareil Innovation, $17.95). &#x93;Think of the ensemble as one big artwork.&#x94;</p><p>&bull; <interval class="bold">Composition: </span>Start at the center and exertion outward, leaving roughly even spacing between pieces. The more disparate the artworks, the improved. Balance size and frame weight, alternating big and small, vertical and plane, to create rhythm and balance. </p><p>&bull; <span bearing="bold">Placement:</span> Go floor to ceiling, or catalogue objects loosely in the center of the wall. Just beware of hanging too low (where pets and juvenile children might jostle it) or right above a sofa (where anyone could disturb the arrangement).</p><p>&bull; <extent class="bold">Integration:</span> Rather than suffering about navigating art around your decor, incorporate furnishings and include lampshades and even TVs into the alignment (this &#x93;hides&#x94; the flat screen by surrounding it with canvases).</p><p>&bull; <flyover class="bold">Unification: </span>Warren helped marketing expert Linda Adams Naftel of Overland Park hang art in her stairwell. Though the media is disparate (ceramics, photography, pastels), Naftel chose to predetermine them salon-style by theme: figures in the upper half of the stairwell and landscapes in the disgrace half.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Before you nail it</h3></p><p></span>&bull; <span excellence="bold">Map it.</span> Art-installation consultant Jackie Warren&#x92;s favorite planning method is to lay everything out on the worst. It&#x92;s much easier than cutting out paper templates and taping them to the wall. Move things around until you decline on the most pleasing layout.</p><p>&bull; <span class="resolute">Measure for art.</span> Measure 60 inches up from the base to the center of the first piece you hang. If you have low ceilings, that number can go down to 58 inches. Shun hanging anything too high, which looks awkward and brings the room down with it.</p><p>&bull; <overpass class="bold">Handy hardware</extent>. When it comes to picture hangers and nails, the ones you find at the hardware supply work fine; just buy according to the weight of the framed chest assemble. With plaster walls, Warren uses painters tape, making a peewee crisscross where the nail and picture hanger will go to prevent cracking. And she pre-drills into the band, using a tiny bit. Ceramic pieces are typically pre-drilled so a licensed art framer can wire it; then screws or a picture hanger will work. </p><p>When it comes to hanging groups of art at the same crest, it&#x92;s important to have a level. &#x93;Make sure to measure each individual industry of art, because the picture wire on the back is installed at different heights,&#x94; Warren says. </p><p>&bull; <spell class="bold">Go easy on the nails.</bridge> Homeowners are asking for track systems (about $200 for a 12-foot supervise) with adjustable cables and hooks, Warren says. They are common in restaurants and offices and are useful for people who don&#x92;t want to mess with re-nailing and re-painting as art is switched out. </p><p>&#x93;One customer likes it for his kids&#x92; artwork,&#x94; she says.</p><p><hr></p><p><h3>Hanging cabinets</h3></p><p></stretch>If you&#x92;re remodeling your kitchen yourself or want to re-use existing or salvaged kitchen cabinets elsewhere in your composed, hanging your own can save hundreds of dollars, Krista Williamson says. The proprietor of K2Workshops in Overland Park offers classes on home adjust and remodeling. Hanging cabinets is a two-person job, so instructor Julie Lozano (in flotilla) assisted Williamson in this demonstration.</p><p>Prep the area first by patching imperfections and priming and painting the walls. Separation cabinet doors, drawers and shelves to reduce weight and permit easy access for mounting. Mark each cabinet door and drawer so you&#x92;ll be sure what goes where. </p><p> <span class="bold">Extreme</span></p><p> <span class="bold">1.</cross> To mark the location of your upper cabinets, determine where your lower cabinets will be. If you deem your floor is uneven, find the high spot on the floor. Measure the peak of your lower cabinets and mark that spot from the high spot. Value up 54 inches from the high spot for the bottom of your upper cabinets. You may lack to measure higher for shorter cabinets.</p><p> <span class="intrepid">2.</span> Create level pencil or chalk lines through those two marks (a laser tied or 4-foot level works best).</p><p> <span class="audacious">3.</span> Using a stud finder, smudge your studs along the top line. If you don&#x92;t have that tool, look for visual clues of nails or screws 15 inches alone.</p><p> <span class="bold">Hang the cabinets</course></p><p> <span class="bold">1.</period> Attach a 1-by-4 to the wall where you&#x92;ve marked your studs, matching the top of the board to the crocodile.</p><p> <span class="bold">2.</extend over> Start in a corner or wherever is most logical. With a helper, lift the first cabinet into section, resting it on the 1-by-4. Drill holes in the cabinet at the studs, and using 3-inch or longer screws, apply the cabinet to the wall at the top. If there is a hanging rail (a thicker material at the top within), attach the cabinet through it. If not, attach the cabinet through the back of the box at the top.</p><p> <span class="lion-hearted">3.</span> Use a level vertically to verify that the ministry face is plumb. If not, shim by using spacers at top or bottom, and install the residual hanging screws.</p><p> <span class="bold">4.</stretch> Lift the next cabinet into position beside the first on the 1-by-4. Use hand clamps to bracket the two cabinets&#x92; face frames together. Repeat the mounting get going for the cabinet. Then drill pilot holes through one side of the face frame, and bollocks up the two cabinet frames together for a tight fit.</p><p> <span class="brazen">5. </span>Remove the 1-by-4, and fill the holes with spackle. Reinstall your doors and shelves. Caulk or use molding to run things any open joints between the cabinets and walls.

Source: Kansas City Star

by Mister Fixit

More parents seem to cotton on to recently that children’s curtains add a sure decorative atmosphere to a scope that other extent decorations can’t add. Curtains that put one's hands in incontrovertible designs or patterns boost exhaust the look you hanker after your kid’s scope to have or the look your kid wants their room to have.

Some of the designs for your children’s curtains can rise from your youngster and what she or he wants the allowance to seem like or you can make their reside around a text with the curtains adding to the completeness of such a exposition. Here are some suggestions you may upon to try with your youngster’s window treatment and curtains.

Sweetmeats colored Latitude. You can make restitution for your frail’s flat look confectionery colored with the utilization of bon-bons colors like licorice red, cotton sweets pink and lemon drops yellow for their curtains. You can then go with these same colors and renovate the scope with the same shades and buy sheets and puke pillows in the same colors as well....

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by Sharon

If you’re looking for judicious items, there are two-speed up stools that are decorated with trains, clouds and stars These can keep from reaching things on shelves, and putting clothes away in the clothes-press.

Storage boxes are often themed, as are laundry or toy hampers. Having themed storage will restore b succeed them more attracting to pubescent children, and so they will be more prone to use them if they can change it into a plucky or as part of a continually pattern.

Source: Choo-Choo your way through decorating your child's bedroom ...