Locker Decorating Tips

When I was in school I just thought of my locker as a personal dumping place for my school stuff. And it's a place most people really just overlook and take for granted. But I just realized that school lockers can really also be a place where you can stamp your personality and show your creativity. Too bad I don't have any lockers now but here's some ideas for sprucing up your locker.

Think of the overall look you want for your locker. More specifically think of a single theme you want for decorating your personal space. The best inspirations are those things you enjoy doing or your favorites. For example you have fascination for say, Star Wars movies then this can be your main theme.

Start decorating your locker with that theme in mind. You can add shelf-paper, which you can easily purchase from bookstores.You can make use of movie posters or gift wrappers too. Whichever you fancy really just be creative. Once you have the material, measure the shelves (bottom) as well as the walls (if you want to decorate this as well). Shelf-paper usually comes with self-adhesives but if you use other kinds of paper, using double adhesive tapes can make it easier too.

Spruce it up more. You can add other elements like photos, stickers, mirror, magnets. The choice is really limitless, just be imaginative and stick to the theme. Don't overcrowd though.

Adding a to-do list, a calendar or a mini-white board can also be great so you can easily be reminded of things you need to accomplish.

If you have wood lockers, be careful about using pins or sticking too much stuff on it. Make sure you use items that can easily be peeled off or washed.

Pop Bottle Bench and Plastic Straw Seating

This is awesome, not to mention really innovative! When i saw this I just thought this should really go well together..:D

Pop Bottle Benches a.k.a. SIE43 chair by furniture designer Pawel Grunert created for the ‘Eco Trans Pop’ exhibition. Uber cool, right? The only question I have is - is that comfy? Since Grunet is a furniture designer as well as an innovator, I'm pretty sure it is. Well, comfort as well as aesthetics is one of the primary considerations in furniture designs, right? Just the same, I really like it!

For more of Pawel Grunert, visit his website here.

Plastic Straw Seating a.k.a. the Clutch Chair by artist and designer Scott Jarvie. Made of 10,000 drinking straws. A great ode to recycling and disposable objects. More of Jarvie's work here.

Tips on Setting Up a Home Gym on a Budget

What's the craze about home gyms? Well if it'll save you time, and the cost of going to a gym, then having your own gym can be the solution to your fitness dilemma.

Some say home gyms can be expensive but still you can set up a home gym that would suit your budget.

1. If you are on a limited budget, look for an exercise machine that feature multiple functions. There are lots of exercise machines that allow you to have multiple workouts . This way you do not neet to buy individual fitness equipment for every workout in your routine.

2. Do some research about these machines with multiple funtions first before doing the actual shopping.

3. Your topmost consideration in choosing a home gym equipment aside from your budget of course is the kind of workout you want to have at home. For example if you want to have a regular cardio workout, then consider threadmill as your first equipment. Now if threadmills can be out of your budget, then there are also alternatives as cardio workout like jump ropes.

3. Garage sales can yield great finds when it comes to gym equipments. Most items in garage sales are cheap. You can also find second-hand gym equipments in classified ads and second hand stores.

4. You can also save money by checking out after-sales season promos or by buying online (be sure though about the equipment you are purchasing as well as shipping costs) or you can check out refurbished fitness units.

5. You can also have a look at home gym programs. Check the websites of these programs and if possible request a free infomation packet so you can decide which one to have in your home gym.

The Textile Chandelier

Beautiful and elegant. All in addition to being unique. That's what I thought of the moment I saw designer Judith Seng's Textile Chandelier. This is a limited edition lighting fixture (only 12 made!) This chandelier was shown at the New National Gallery of Berlin and the Museum der Dinge in Berlin.

Made from torn white cotton strips anchored on a powder-coated metal frame. Judith Seng is a Berlin-based designer. See more of her work here.

Why Having Rain Barrels Is A Good Idea

You probably have a garden or you're obsessive about washing your car or scrubbing your porch clean. Either way, this could really mean consuming thousands of gallons of water each year. Everyone I'm sure would like to save from paying for and consuming this much water. Not just for financial reasons but really its doing mother nature a favor.

Rain barrels is one big way to save water and your household utility budget. It's actually quite simple, rain barrels are used to collect water runoff from your house roof. This utilize your gutter as well as a downsprout system.

Rain harvesting will save you a big portion of your utility budget and aside from that it presents some more benefits like regulating the amount of water that is deposited in your building foundation and it also controls water from going other drain systems, plus it helps prevent runoff of pollutants that could enter local water sources.

Here's some tips on installing your rain water barrels:

1. Locate your rain barrels near where you would be using it. It's a good idea too to place concrete pavement or block under your rain barrel.

2. Place a downspout hose to the end (or some rain barrels already comes with this). Add also a garden hose to the spout. This would come in more handy if you need to use your stored rainwater.

3. If you have a lawn or a garden, check also on adding a soaker hose to the spout. This would allow water to trickle directly to your plants roots. You may also connect a timer so it will turn off automatically on/off.

Home Decor Videos: Bringing the Outdoors In

You want to bring in the relaxed feel of the outdoors in your home and think its impossible? This video gives tips on how to make this possible.Watch designer Steve Suraci of Icarus Designs and pick some great advices on home decor..

Blending Modern Furnishings with Existing Home Decor

I stumbled across an online furniture store selling designer European furniture. It's called conceptfurniture.net and of course, I got hooked browsing their products. They have modern home furnishing that would surely make your home a standout. It got me thinking that though ideally some people prefer having just one style as a home decor, other may have existing theme or furnishing but would end up liking a modern furniture piece and they would be in a dilemma if it would fit their current decor scheme..

What I really like about contemporary furniture is that its colors and styles are easy to blend among other furniture styles. Adding one or two modern decor or furnishing in any area in your home would definitely bring out a different and refreshing look. You might want to add a modern designer sofa set on your living room to give it a splash of color and boldness or you may want

to add some modern closets on your rooms, either way this can add a fresh look to your home.

Modern contemporary furniture are a great complement to any exisiting decor. If you have existing home furnishing and you just want to put an extra modern touch to your room, then keep in mind that the furniture you choose will blend in with the exiting furnishing.

If you are starting from scratch then its simply a matter of picking our which furnishing you want to be your focal point. Say, in your kitchen you can choose a contemporary kitchen table and chair set, then simply add in complimentary contemporary home accents to go with your dining set. Just like this dining room area in the photo..

A tip that you would most likely find very useful is to learn about colors and understanding how it works. If you're serious about redecorating your home, then purchasing a color chart is a good idea. You can either go for monochromatic scheme meaning you can choose furnishings that have shades right beside the shades of your existing furnishings. You can also go for complimentary colors and choose additional furnishings that are on the opposite poles of your existing room colors. Either way is up to you and what is appealing to your senses. After all, you'll be the one using it and your home should have your individual preferences in showcase.

Make Your Home or Business Easy To Find

Our friends who come over to visit used to complain about having a hard time looking for our house. Added to not having an address plaque in our house, address numbers here in Phnom Penh are often not in sequence. So we what happens is that our guests usually get lost. We had been thinking how we could make this easier so we have added an address plaque in our entrance. Makes it easier for the postman too so less bills are getting lost.

It's just common sense to want your address to be easily found. Especially if you are running a business from that address, adding address plaques would make it more visible and would also add value to your business in terms of business name recognition.

Address signs are easily customizable as well. You can source it in your area or you can also order it online for more choices. If you are also into creative arts, why not try to make one as a weekend project with your kids?

Easy Tips on Organizing Yourself At Home

I used to waste a lot of time looking for things I need. There are things that one should have handy yet there were times that I find myself looking for these necessary things and getting frustrated because its all buried under clutter.There are times that I miss paying some bills simply because I can't remember where I put it or I mix it up with previously settled bills. For a work at home mom that proved to be almost disastrous for me.

Time which I could have spent updating my weblogs or writing articles were simply wasted looking for stuff. And to top all that, I can't follow my schedule because I simply get caught up with things I should have taken care of first if I was more organized.

So I decided to take control and have a good look at myself, my habits and what I need. I made a list of things I need handy. Then I made sure I organized my workspace, home and myself in a way that I could easily get what I need, follow my schedule and stop wasting time. Here's some tips I have for those who'd like to get a little more organized.

1. Have a daily calendar. Make it a habit to update it. Note down your appointments, bill payment duedates, things to do etc.I find it effective to update it every evening and first thing in the morning. Find out which works best for you.

2. Having a notebook for details of your activities and projects will also be very handy. List down things you need for every activity. In my case, I have a lot of web projects and keeping track of them with no notes is hard. So I have a separate notebook for this and each web project has its own sub-heading and there I list all important things I need to remember like usernames, passwords, rss feed urls etc. You can apply similar technique to other activities like picnics and list down what you need to bring and all other important information.

3. Have a folder or filer for all your paper bills. An accordion type envelope is my favorite since I could easily segregate the paid and the current bills. Don't mix other paper with this to avoid clutter and them piling up. Throw out and put on recycling bin paper that you don't need to keep.

4. Filing systems you create should be simple. Don't create too many sub-categories and sub-headings that you get lost just looking for something. Have it alphabetical or based on date whichever is more applicable.

5. Make your own daily to-do list and place it where you can easily see it. I also find it useful if I place a schedule deadline for each task.

Most importantly, make being organized and on schedule a habit. It's easy to fall off and be disorganized again but the main technique is to be consistent and do things on a daily basis and after some time being organized will now come naturally to you because you have developed the habit already.

Stainless Steel Home Accents

Can you imagine your home having stainless steel fireplace accessories and other accents made from stainless steel? At first I thought stainless steel should just be confined to appliances or cookware but then again I was browsing around stores on home accessories and I chanced upon several with items made from stainless steel. Let's just say, I was intrigued.

Of course before, I know only home items like cookware, stainless steel mailbox, kitchenware, cutlery and other appliances are made of stainless steel materials. After a hopping around and checking out home accents made of stainless steel I am convinced that they would definitely make a unique and elegant addition to a home.

Why so? Stainless steel is stain-resistant, easy to maintain and inexpensive compared to other materials. Another reason is that its attractive, and gives off a sophisticated and modern look. And since I am a big fan of modern contemporary style I'd definitely love having home accents made of stainless steel.

I did say I did some online window shopping and here's some stainless steel home decor I found really unique and stylish..

from left: stainless steel table torch, stainless steel wall mounted wine rack, stainless steel soap dispenser

from left: stainless steel aromatherapy burner, stainless steel tea light holder, stainless steel wall mounted magazine rack,blomus stainless steel mailboxes