Have you ever considered all the things people have to do in the morning to get ready to go to work? For instance get up go in the shower run some hot water over your face. But you also have to start the coffee pot otherwise your coffee will not be ready in time, unless you have one of those special coffee makers with a timer on it, which you have to remember to set the night before. Then you have to get the newspaper, but you are not really wishing to freeze your toushy buns off in the early morning, plus god help you if the neighbors see you in that condition? There is a better way of course, one, which will be a lot less stressful and make your life easier. How so you ask?

You need a Smart House with all the proper robotic assistants is what you need. For instance you must get one of those Voice Activated Bedrooms, which makes you bedroom in to a command and control Ops Center. You see you need a new Net Centric Home to fight time in the modern battlespace and all this to go with your SmartCar Urban Assault SUV, you see? First the Net Centric war room (bedroom) is ready for your command Sir. You tell the system to start the hot water in the shower at 102 degrees. Then say; “Kitchen Wake Up!” Then order coffee and breakfast to be made, the system knows this means you want the newspaper too. So the robotic dog fetches the newspaper. If the newspaper boy screwed up and did not deliver it, your dog is set to grab the neighbor’s paper instead. Don’t worry about the future, just listen to me; I’ll get you through all this no sweat. Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Have you ever tried to hire any type of construction trade over the last 5 years? If so you know that it’s next to impossible unless you are some billionaire developer with his own T.V. show. The simple fact is that trades are just like any other business and follow the money. There is nothing wrong with the trades trying to please their biggest customer or taking care of customers that they expect will continue to build once the housing boom is over. In fact if you want a major non essential renovation on your home, you may want to consider waiting until the housing boom slows down.

Very simply all reputable housing trades want to earn the most amount of money they can while the housing boom lasts. Again nothing wrong with this. Ask yourself what you would do in their shoes? or their boots.

What if you need housework done now?

Here are some quick money saving tips

1. Consider hiring a general contractor vs. doing it yourself. The idea is that a general contractor will have a full time loyal crew working for him. Often he is able to pay his crew less in return for steady work. So by hiring a contractor its often cheaper that trying to hire the trades yourself individually.

2. Pair your needs up with a friend and offer the trade both jobs. DO NOT, I repeat do not insult the trade with an offer like “if you do a good job on my house I will recommend you to many others”. When I first started in business I believed this empty promise and never end getting one lead from anyone who said this. Now as a seasoned business person I would just answer that for every new paying customer they bring me I will deduct X amount off their bill.

3. Due Diligence—there are lots of way to find new contractors and trades. Try looking online or searching a home improvement directory

This article may be used as long as it is unaltered and includes the links and signature below.

Kris Koonar is Founder and President of Homehammer.com - a Home
Improvement Site that allows users to search for listings in over 4000 cities. Home Improvement Trades may add their links for free. kris@crackmarketing.com

Homehammer.com is professionally managed using Link Building Services

Kitchen canister sets add pizzazz to your décor as well as provide a smart way to organize and store foodstuffs. Where can you find the best selection of shapes, sizes, colors and materials for these kitchen storage essentials? Read below to get a list of online retailers that sell kitchen canister sets suitable for any décor - and budget.

For high-end kitchen canister sets you’d be proud to place in the snazziest kitchen, take a look at Horchow’s (www.Horchow.com). With an impressive selection of classy designs, Horchow’s kitchen canister sets raise the bar in terms of quality and good taste. From their ceramic French country Provencal set that lists for $390 to their pewter and glass see-through canisters at $265, this is the site to shop for the finest in kitchen canister sets.

Sincerely Yours (www.SincerelyYours.com) sells kitchen canister sets more in the mid-price range. This site offers a nice selection of quality sets such as their $60 Jane Keltner-designed set that comes finished in black with the words in gold-lettered French. And while you’re there, be sure and check out the hand-painted Italian marble set offered at $178.

Stainless steel kitchen canister sets by Calphalon, All-Clad, and Polder top the list at www.Cooking.com in practical designs at mid-price ranges. This old-favorite cooking site also offers many other kitchen canister sets in tried-and-true brands such as Fiestaware, Pfaltzgraff, and Oggi. You’ll also find offerings by cooking diva Nigella Lawson.

For those on a budget, the kitchen canister sets found at Brylane Home (www.BrylaneHome.com) can’t be beat. This Web site features an attractive four-piece set in stainless steel for only $29.99. Large oval windows allow you to see when flour, sugar, coffee, and tea need to be refilled so you won’t be caught off-guard right in the middle of making something.

Kitchen canister sets add perk and personality to any kitchen and with all these choices, you’re sure to find one that fits the bill perfectly. After you’ve browsed and shopped and seen as many as you have time for, you may very well find the most difficult thing about kitchen canister sets lies in deciding upon which of the many to select!

Carlo Morelli writes for OnlineTips.Org, where you can read tips on
ceramic tiling,
metal roofing and other home/garden topics.

When you redecorate your master bedroom, don’t leave the master bath out in the cold! You can add some zing to your bathroom too and create a cohesive theme between the two rooms that will give you a real sweet master suite.

One thing you need to do when redecorating your master bath is to be sure to tie in some of the elements from your bedroom. You don’t have to make it an identical match, but using a common color or theme will really unite the two rooms. If your bedroom has a cottage theme, carry this over into the bathroom by putting out some shells in dishes on the vanity. If your bedroom is more shabby chic with big floral wallpaper, then think about carrying the color of the flowers into the master bath.

One of the big design elements in the bathroom is the hardware. Faucets and spigots, in addition to tubs and toilets are made in a variety of shapes and materials which can be the centerpiece of your design. Open showers are currently popular with the younger upwardly-
mobile crowd, and claw-foot bathtubs are almost always considered to be classic and
attractive. When selecting hardware and figuring out a floor plan, think about privacy issues and don’t put the toilet and tub too close together.

Another big element in the bathroom is the tiling. The more expensive tiles
should have durability, aesthetic value, and a non-porous surface. Make sure your tiles can be easily cleaned and sanitized, and that it is easy to install and does not require special adhesives which can become costly. When choosing tile, think out of the box. You don’t have to use only porcelain tile, consider marble, clay and anything else you see in the store that catches your eye.

Once you have the design down and selected the major elements, focus on decoration accessories to bring out personality and individualism. The bathroom doesn’t have to just be functional and putting interesting items on the walls or shelves is a great way to give the room some character. Don’t be afraid to use your own ideas and put what you want into the room when redecorating your master bathroom.

Lee Dobbins writes for Bedroom Designs And Decorations where you can find more tips on decorating your bedroom.

Everyone can use more storage and one of the best places to add storage to is the bedroom. What with all your clothes and personal items cluttering up the closet and bureau, the bedroom can sometimes seem like a messy catch all for all your household clutter. Here’s some ways you can clean up the bedroom and get some extra storage space too boot!

Your Closet

One way to gain a ton of space is to install a closet organizer. It doesn’t have to be a fancy expensive one (although feel free if you want one). You won’t believe how much extra space you can get from when you use one of these systems.

The metal rails systems for closets are great. You can get acrylic shelves, chrome baskets and special slotted pieces for shoes and hats. The slotted systems are good as they provide ventilation which helps your clothes to breathe and are easy to maintin. These adjustable components come with a non-chip and non stick coating.

When choosing a closet organizer, make sure you pick a system that allows you to double up your rack space. This way you can hang shorter clothes like shirts and skirts on top of each other and literally double your closet space!

Hidden Storage In Your Bedroom

You might already have some storage space in your bedroom that you don’t even realize you have! Do you have space under the bed? Are you using it to it’s fullest? Clean out all the dust bunnies and throw away the socks and junk that has accumulated under there and use this for long term storage. You can put off season clothing, camping gear, toys or whatever under there when it is not in use. Store the items in Tupperware containers (you can buy the low ones on wheels for easy retrieval) or space bags to protect the items and create a neat storage space.

Another overlooked storage area is a room divider. If you have one sitting in the corner as a decorative item, you might want to look at the space behind it. This can be used to store items that you don’t need to get at every day like craft supplies or maybe even cleaning supplies.

Storage Baskets

Storage baskets are a great place to store various objects and can also add decorative touches to your bedroom. You can use them for small stuff like keys, holding bills or correspondence, toiletries, towels, jewelry and just about anything else that will fit in the basket. You can buy large baskets for your laundry and smaller ones to use as catch alls.

When buying baskets to use as storage in the bedroom, make sure you pick ones that match your bedroom décor. There are many types of storage baskets available in the market in many different sizes and shapes and colors, and in different materials. Some are utility oriented, while some are meant as decorative items. You can choose from willow, woven ash, rope, wrought iron, woven sea grass, bamboo, woodchip and a variety of other types with all different kinds of embellishments so you should be able to find a basket that matches any bedroom décor.

Adding more storage to your bedroom can help you get better organized and even help you remove some of the clutter from other rooms in the house. Now you just need to remember to put that stuff away in the right place!

Lee Dobbins writes for Bedroom Designs And Decorations where you can find more tips on decorating your bedroom.