Top 5 lighting tips for a brighter home

All Hallows Eve...lighting for a fun and festive fright night!

Top 10 Energy Efficient and Green Building Ideas for Your Home

Want to learn more about how to make your home energy efficient? Want to know what products and building practices can make your home "green"? Want the chance to win some fabulous prizes worth thousands of dollars?

Come to HomeSavvi's upcoming seminar on January 26th in Seattle from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. It's free, but limited to the first 30 people to sign up - and you'll be entered in a drawing to win valuable prizes like a Viking Continuous Feed Food Disposer worth $375 and a Fairmont Designs bathroom vanity, sink and mirror set worth $1,200.

At the Lighting Universe showroom in the Seattle Design Center, HomeSavvi will have experts in energy efficiency, home technology, and green building on hand to answer your questions and give you the best pointers to follow.

Just click on the title of this blog or call this number to sign up: 619-752-0060.

Our seminars get rave reviews - read on!

Reviews of the November 2009 HomeSavvi Seminar

I attended the Savvi Remodeling Seminar in November, and got great advice for my kitchen and bath. Very valuable - I'd highly recommend it!
Amy, homeowner from Bellevue, WA

High quality advice from people who obviously knew their stuff. And I won a 2 hour design consultation!
Josh, homeowner from Seattle, WA

Nice event. Liked the format and the advice was great.
Susanna, homeowner from Kirkland, WA

Building a Better Home: Remodeling and Custom Home Workshop

Many homeowners aren't aware of the tons of free advice that is available to them through the professionals in the remodeling industry. (I know I wasn't aware when I started remodeling my house).

HomeSavvi homeowners do as much research as possible before committing to a remodel - no matter where you live, seek out informative seminars that may be held at homeshows, in showrooms, or at professional designers, architects and contractors offices.

On January 14th, Ventana Construction in Seattle, WA is holding a workshop at their offices on Building a Better Home. These workshops have been really well received, and the homeowners who've gone in the past have rated them highly.

Learn about how to get started, what to expect, and the steps you can take to make your project successful. This 1½ hour event is free and takes place at Ventana Construction’s West Seattle offices in conjunction with Goforth Gill Architects. Seating is limited; call 619-752-0060 to reserve your space.

Want to find out more? Go to: www.ventanabuilds.com

This photo is an example of their work and can be found on Ventana's Construction portfolio on HomeSavvi.

To find out about more remodeling seminars and events, check our local events calendars at http://www.homesavvi.com/home-remodeling-event-calendar-seattle.

Home Improvement Wiring - Be Careful

If you've bought home improvement books from Lowes or Sunset that contain information about wiring - watch out!

Nearly a million do-it-yourself home repair books sold since the 1970s -- many under the Lowe's home improvement store brand -- were recalled because of improper instructions for home wiring, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Nine different books sold between 1975 and December 2009 for $13 to $35 are being recalled because following their wiring directions could lead users to get shocked or start a fire, according to a news release from the CPSC. "The books contain errors in the technical diagrams and wiring instructions that could lead consumers to incorrectly install or repair electrical wiring," the CPSC said.

In our opinion - another shockingly good reason to work with professionals.

Lead paint

Many homeowners don't know that the EPA has established new regulations with regards to the removal of lead paint. Starting in April 2010, these new rules will affect homeowners with homes built anytime pre-19878.

The EPA rules about removal are pretty strict and will have to be followed by anyone working in the home including builders, painters, plumbers and electricians. Any renovation or repair work is going to be affected.

Homeowners will need to be restricted from the area, and contractors need to take extra precautions for performing the work, cleaning up, and verifying the work.

The home improvement industry is getting ready by attending classes, getting certified in government approved programs and taking on extra liability insurance for jobs completed. Extra care needs to be taken to remove and properly dispose of the paint.

One HomeSavvi member asked a question in our Forums about why the cost for a paint job seems so high. In any paint job, the labor for removal, disposal, preparation and application is the expense that drives up the cost.
- next year, the costs will go up, but we'll be more assured of healthy homes especially for children and pregnant women.

I'd say it's a cost worth paying!

Inches DO matter!

Ok, we all know the joke here - but when remodeling my home near Seattle, I found out that inches really DO matter - at least in my dining room. Here was the scenario - it includes scope creep and everything!

Our contractor had removed the sheet rock on the wall that separated the bedroom from the dining room. Once the wall was down, I had the bright idea to install a gas fireplace in the wall, thereby creating a fireplace in two rooms: dining room and bedroom. (Here is the scope creep: it cost about an extra $10,000 to do this: $6,000 to purchase the insert and install it and $4,000 for the mantels we had designed by LeeAnn Baker Interiors)

And here is where the problem started....The fireplace insert was 28" in depth. A wall is typically 6" deep. So we had an extra 22 inches to place between the two rooms. We debated about it for about 30 minutes, and decided to shift the fireplace box 15" into the dining room and create a large mantle, and only 7" into the bedroom.

So, the fireplace got installed, the sheet rock got put up, the beautiful mantels were crafted, the walls painted, lighting installed...and our dining room is now too small! We hung a chandelier exactly in the center of the room, which means the dining table is also in the middle. When someone walks around the dining table to take a seat, the wall with the fireplace juts out so far that they have to duck about 6 inches to avoid ramming into the mantel.

Once I realized this, I wanted to tear the whole wall down and start over, but of course that is unreasonable, because it would now cost another $15,000 for demolition and reconstruction.

Fortunately, no one has really complained too much. Except my nephew who hit his head when trying to avoid the fireplace mantle.

Do you have a story of some small change in your home that would make it more livable? If so, visit www.homesavvi.com and post your story there.