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When you first moved into your home, the walls mightve been white and the floors covered in beige carpeting. Although this dcor choice is classic for some rentals and brand-new homes, you don’t have to live with the neutral colors. In fact, there are simple ways to transform your homes ambiance and add some flair with just a few creative changes.

Try Vintage Furniture
Your home’s ambiance is dependent on not only paint color and flooring choices, but also your dcor selections. The furniture is a focal point of any living room. Think outside the box, and shop around some vintage stores in your area. You can find upholstered chairs, loveseats and other items for incredibly low prices. The fabrics you’ll encounter will be distinct, too. Vintage items tend to have decades-old patterns that can improve a home’s ambiance with one quick glance.

Decorate Your Glass
Choose a window in a high-traffic area and make it a decorative focal point by adding a stained-glass film to it. You can use the film as a partial accent for the window or fully cover the glass. Installation is simple, and many kits come with everything you need, including a tool to help smooth out any bubbles. When you carefully apply it, the film should last for years. The sun shines through the colors and creates a dramatic effect across a room.

Go Green With Indoor Plants
Although you could try artificial plants indoors, they still won’t have the same effect as real plants. Add real plants to your home in nearly every room. There are so many varieties that work well in any shaded area that the choices are endless. Along with adding a distinct look, plants can provide better air quality in a home. If you water them regularly, they should flourish.

Light Your Rooms With Flair
It’s possible to make any room look fresh and inviting with the right lighting concept. Free up valuable floor space by installing wall sconces along a hallway, or add sconces on a living room wall as accent points.

In your kitchen, consider adding drop-down lamps that hang from your ceiling and culminate with a subtle lampshade and bulb. Add two or three of these lamps just above your kitchen island, for example. You’ll always have enough light to cook by while adding a creative look to your home. In fact, you might want to connect the kitchen and dining room on a decorative scale with matching hanging lamps. All these fixtures will draw attention and spark conversations among friends.

Shelve It
Increase storage space and make a decorative statement by installing floating shelves under staircases or along living room walls. Use them to store books, and add quirky collectibles. The shelves should appear both functional and intriguing.

Source: Mikkie Mills/RISMedias Housecall

Published with permission from RISMedia.

The suns ultraviolet rays can do more than cause sunburn and contribute to skin cancer. They can also damage your home, both outside and inside. Sunlight can cause siding, roofing, furniture, fabrics, and flooring to change and deteriorate over time.

How to Prevent Damage to Your Homes Exterior
A window can act like a magnifying glass and reflect sunlight, focusing it on a relatively small portion of a nearby houses siding. This can cause older vinyl siding to melt. If youve noticed that your siding has started to melt because of sunlight reflected off your neighbors windows, or if youre concerned about the possibility, planting trees or bushes around your house can protect the siding and increase your homes value. You can also replace your current siding with a newer model thats designed to resist damage from high temperatures.

The suns rays can cause roofing shingles to deteriorate, which can eventually lead to leaks. You can shield your roof from sun damage by applying a coating with high emissivity and reflectivity rates. It will create a waterproof barrier to draw heat away from the roof and keep the surface cooler.

How to Protect Belongings Inside Your Home
Sunlight streaming through windows can cause furniture, carpeting and artwork to gradually fade. You can protect your homes furnishings with curtains or shades, window film or UV-repelling sprays.

If you have leather furniture, a leather conditioner can help prevent fading and cracking. You can use a sealant to protect your wood furniture from discoloration. Choose a sealant thats appropriate for the type of wood used in your furniture.

Exposure to sunlight can also cause artwork to fade. Paintings on canvas can be treated with archival protection sprays, while framed art can be covered with museum-grade glass or UV-blocking acrylic.

Sunlight can damage hardwood floors and cause the color to change dramatically over time. If some areas are covered with furniture and rugs and others arent, the result can be a floor with a patchwork of different colors. You can protect your hardwood floors with pigment-based stains and finishes that contain UV inhibitors. Periodically rearranging rugs and furniture can also help prevent certain areas from becoming significantly discolored.

Protect Your Property From the Suns Effects
Many people dont realize how much damage sunlight can cause to their home until they notice serious problems and need to pay for repairs or replace furniture and other possessions. Fortunately, there are many simple but effective ways to protect your homes exterior and interior from the sun. Take action now to avoid expensive bills later.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Many people struggle to come up with tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment on a house. Permanent life insurance covers a policyholder for life, as long as premiums are paid on time. The more paid in premiums, the more cash value accumulates.

If you have a whole life, variable life or universal life insurance policy with a substantial cash value, you can access money through a loan, partial surrender (withdrawal), or full surrender and use it for a down payment to buy a house. Youll have to choose how to access funds based on whether you want to repay the money and whether you need to provide death benefits to your beneficiaries.

Loan
Life insurance companies often limit the percentage of a policys cash value that can be taken as a loan. If you borrow money from your insurance policy, itll still have some cash value and remain in effect.

The loan will have interest, but you can take as much or as little time as you want to pay it back. The amount of your death benefit will be reduced by the value of the loan. If you want to leave money to your loved ones after you are gone, you should repay the loan as quickly as possible to make sure your beneficiaries still receive death benefits.

You wont have to pay taxes on a loan from an insurance policy if the policy remains in force. If you surrender the policy or cant afford the premiums and interest, and the amount of the loan is greater than the amount of the premiums you paid, you may be taxed.

Withdrawal
If you take a withdrawal, youll partially surrender your life insurance policy. The amount of your death benefit will be reduced by the amount of the withdrawal. The insurance company will probably require you to keep at least a small percentage of cash value in the policy. You may have to pay surrender fees in the early years of the policy. If you withdraw more than you have paid in premiums, youll have to pay taxes.

Full Surrender
If you want to withdraw all your life insurance policys cash value and you dont need to leave insurance for your family after your death, you can choose a full surrender. You may have to pay surrender charges, plus taxes if the cash value of the policy is higher than the amount you paid in premiums.

Should You Use Life Insurance to Buy a House?
If you have a permanent life insurance policy, you may be able to use the cash value youve built up to achieve your dream of homeownership. Talk to your insurance agent or financial planner to make sure you understand the potential benefits, costs and risks.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or legal advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Roof damage can occur suddenly”for example, if shingles are blown off in a storm”or a small leak can gradually grow larger. A leaky roof can affect the inside of your house as well as the foundation. It can also affect your familys health by causing mold that can trigger allergic reactions and lead to breathing problems. Many homeowners are unaware of roof damage until they notice leaks inside the house, but there are often warning signs much earlier. Detecting problems quickly can minimize damage and repair bills.

Have Your Roof Inspected
Regularly inspecting your roof can help you identify problems before they get too serious. If you dont feel comfortable inspecting your roof yourself, hire a professional roofer. The person conducting the inspection should pay particular attention to the flashing, since that is where most roof leaks occur, as well as missing or damaged shingles.

Check the Interior of Your House
Walk around the upper floor of your home and check the ceiling and walls for any signs of water damage. Moisture may cause brown, yellow or grey stains. You might also notice that the paint on the ceiling or walls is peeling or bubbling.

If your house has an attic, check to see if the rafters are damp. If they are, that could indicate that the roof needs repairs or that there is a ventilation problem. If the vents are blocked, that can lead to moisture damage. Removing any objects that are blocking the vents might be enough to solve the problem.

Make Sure Your Gutters Are Clean
If snow on the roof melts and then water runs down to the gutters and refreezes, it can form an ice dam. That can then cause water to seep beneath roof shingles and inside the house. Keeping your gutters clear can prevent this scenario. If you notice an ice dam, call a roofer to get rid of the ice and see if it caused damage to the roof.

Monitor Your Utility Bills
A damaged roof can allow warm air to escape from your home in the winter and cool air to escape in the summer. If youve noticed that your utility bills significantly rose recently for no apparent reason, your roof might be damaged.

Check for Signs of Problems
Roof damage isnt always obvious, but you might be able to spot signs if you know what to look for. If you notice any of these issues, call a roofing company to schedule an inspection. A professional will be able to identify damage, understand its severity and make any necessary repairs. You should also check your roof yourself or have it inspected by a professional on a regular basis so problems can be identified and repaired before they get worse.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

When its time to sell your home, you want it looking its best. This often means putting your designer hat on and doing a bit of staging. One of the many areas to consider breathing new life into is your shelving. Though often overlooked, shelves are an opportunity to strike a balance between functional storage and fashionable display. If youre looking to make your house more memorable, here are five tips for curating shelves that are stylish and creative.

Form and Function
First, consider your current shelving situation and determine if its time for an upgrade to the overall aesthetic. If you dont have built-ins, there are tons of different options that are easy to install, from floating shelves to open box shelves. Wood and glass are popular to use because of their versatility, though you should have a sense of how youll decorate your shelves before picking out materials.

Show Off Books
If you read on a Kindle or tablet, the reality is that your collection of books may not be seeing the use it once did. The good news, however, is that the books still look good on your shelves. Rather than putting the entire collection out in the living room, theres a much stronger design impact if you choose a handful of books that are visually pleasing or mean the most to you. If you have a vintage record collection, that works just as well.

Go Green
Houseplants can provide the perfect sense of balance amidst your other objects and artifacts. Cacti or succulents are fun and low-maintenance options that work especially well if youre going for just a few select items in a clutter-free space.

Exhibit Your Art
Give your home the feel of a gallery with a selection of artwork displayed on the shelves. Whether its handmade pottery, sculptures, or framed pictures that are leaning against the wall, this can be a surprising use of space that feels sophisticated. Its far from just using it as a place to store everyday odds and ends.

Published with permission from RISMedia.