Inspiring Ideas for Home

Need some new ideas to spice up your home? I always get the house blahs in January … and I’ve found a great place for new ideas. Better Homes & Gardens has a great Web site brimming with delightful inspiration. Right now they’re running a special offer. They have catalogued over 20,000 photos and they are available for your viewing pleasure … for a price.

Find ideas from Better Homes & Gardens.

A three month subscription to their library is $24.95. They are offering free subscriptions to Better Homes & Gardens and Country Home magazines if you subscribe. In reality, they are collecting magazine subscriptions with 20,000 photos as an incentive. But if you want inspiration from the comfort of home …

I recently discovered Hooked on Houses. It’s a fun place to get your house “fix” — photos inside and out of everything from cottages to multi-million dollar mansions. I do not have, nor will I ever have a marble bathroom with gold fixtures, heated floors and glass shower walls. It’s fun to look at it though!

Hooked on Houses has great photos for your viewing pleasure.

And here’s a little bargain-hunting tip for mid-winter shopping. Sometimes you just need “something” … not necessarily an antique piece. Maybe it’s an urn for some dried flowers or an iron wall ornament … try Big Lots. You have to be careful. You have to sort through all of the bad to find the good, I admit. Every once in awhile, though, you can find a great basket or a luxurious throw or fabulous ribbon or some authentic looking faux pottery planters. And there’s nothing more exciting than turning super bargains into fabulous finds.

First things first, though. You should clean before you redecorate. There are all types of TV shows dedicated to it … Clean House … Mission Organization … etc. First I clear out the clutter, then I do a bit of organizing, then I dust and sweep. THEN, and only then, do I allow myself to indulge in the really fun stuff.

Discipline yourself. Work first, play second. Otherwise, you’ll have a well-decorated home that’s dirty and cluttered.

If you’re lost in a sea of despair when it comes to cleaning, try Spring Cleaning for Normal People.

Well, those are my house tips on this cold winter day … happy decorating!