House Decor
Conserving space with bunk beds
Bunk beds are an economical way to have added sleeping space while conserving floor space, but they should be utilized with a measure of caution. A recent study discovered that almost 36,000 children and adolescents are treated for bunk bed-related injuries every year. Between 1990 and 2005 about 573,000 children from infants to age 21 experienced injuries serious enough to involve a trip to the ER. Nearly one half of the injuries happened in children under 6, but there was also a surprising jump in injuries among 18 to 21-year-olds, who were more than twice as likely to be hurt as adolescents ages 14 to 17.
Almost three-fourths of the kids were harmed by falls, with approximately 30 percent suffering serious cuts, nearly one fourth reporting bruises and scrapes and about 20 percent suffering fractures. Worse yet, more than one in ten sustained concussions. The study showed 50 percent of the kids suffered trauma to the head, neck or the face, and that children younger than 3 years old were about 40 percent more likely to experience head injuries than older kids. About 60 percent of the kids injured were boys (which is not very surprising!)
There are voluntary safety guidelines for bunk bed manufacturers that have been issued by both the American Standards of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You need to determine if the bed you are considering meets these standards:
(1) Carefully examine and test the frame of the bed for sturdiness. The best test is for someone to climb onto the bed and move around; the bed should easily support an adult’s weight without feeling any movement of the frame or hearing any squeaking sounds. To be on the safe side, make the salesperson climb on the top bunk to prove its strength. (2) Inspect the whole bed to make certain that there aren’t any potentially unsafe parts protruding, that there aren’t any sharp edges, and that the entire construction is smooth. Be certain the bedposts don’t have knobs or finials that can catch clothing and other objects. (3) The top bed should always have rails attached on both sides, even if one side is against a wall. To stop a child from getting stuck between the rails or between the mattress and the bottom rail, no gap should be more than 3 inches, therefore preventing entrapment and strangulation. The top rail must be a minimum five inches higher than the top of the mattress to prevent the child from falling over it. (4) The gap between the mattress and the bed frame should not be more than three inches anywhere all around the bed. If there is a space greater than three inches, the mattress does not fit. A kid who falls into the space between the bed and the mattress while they are sleeping might be strangled, which unfortunately has happened. (5) Ensure that the ladder is well constructed and well attached to the frame of the bed. A well-made ladder ought to be able to hold an adult’s weight with no moving around. Once again, have the salesman demonstrate the strength of the ladder by standing on it and moving from side to side. The ladder must not slip at all. (6) There have been numerous reported injuries in which the mattress on the top bunk is moved by a child on the lower bed pushing up on the upper mattress supports. The mattress supports for the top bed should be safely attached to the bed frame with either bolts or screws. Unstable supports possibly could cause injuries if anything moves around and this type of construction should be avoided. (7) From time to time you should examine the bunk bed for any wobbly or missing hardware and replace them immediately. Immediately! Throughout your inspection be sure to check both the horizontal rails holding the upper mattress and all of the hardware holding the bed together. (8) Never allow a child less than six years old to sleep (or play) on the top bunk. As pointed out above, half of the injuries occur to kids under six. (9) Locate the bed out of reach of ceiling fans and light fixtures (both should be obvious!). Also you should make certain there is more than enough room between the upper bed and the ceiling.
Another type of elevated bed you might think about is the loft bed which has an open area where the bottom bed would usually be. This space could be used for a desk, chair, dresser, play area, or storage. The safety rules for bunk beds also pertain to loft beds and the same care should be observed when visiting a furniture retailer. If you acquire either style of bed from an Internet dealer, make certain it complies with the ASTM standards. Need help obtaining bunk beds? Visit Buying Bunk Beds.
Adjustable air beds for modern comfort
An air bed can give you a more restful sleep than a normal mattress. The ability to change the softness of a mattress will help reduce aches and pains as your body’s weight will be evenly spread around the mattress. Unlike the weak vinyl tubing that is employed in common air mattresses, the cells of an air bed are thick and durable. The notion of sleeping on air originated for hospitals. Once patients became bed-ridden, an air mattress would provide them with a more relaxed sleep, and they would also experience fewer bedsores. The sleeper can tweak their half of the bed to the amount of support that is most comfortable since the air baffles or cells contained in the air mattress are the main elements of support. Assistance to help you look for air bed is available at Buying Air Beds.
Buying air mattresses
Everyone who spends any amount of time camping can appreciate the added comfort they have with an air mattress. A number of factors you ought to consider when choosing one will be portability, ease of care and durability. Portability is very critical when you will be backpacking but that will not be a major concern when car camping. Because the terrain of a campsite will usually include rocks and twigs you want to be sure you pick a durable one. Since it is common for condensation to develop in your tent during the night you ought to get a waterproof model. The smartest way to evaluate comfort, portability and weight is to head down to a store that has lots of assorted models on display. It doesn’t matter whether you use them while traveling or for guests in your home, ease of set up and take down is also important. Any decent model should include either a battery-operated or manual pump with your purchase. This website will help in buying an air mattress.
Install bed curtains to create a more romantic bedroom
To raise the romantic ambiance of your bedroom decor drape some lovely canopy curtains over your bed and immediately add charm and grace to your bedroom. Curtains around a bed create a heightened feeling of privacy in the bedroom, as well as a flavor of royalty. Be sure to co-ordinate the color scheme by matching the curtains to the bedding by combining soft, neutral colors to which you will be able to readily add brighter accents. The most common method of hanging canopy curtains is on a four post bed, but you can also attach a wire frame to the ceiling, or employ an attachment mounted to the headboard. Choose heavier curtain fabric if you desire an enhanced sense of seclusion, but for a more open feeling select lighter fabrics, perhaps something semi-transparent. You will sense the difference in ambiance instantly upon hanging your curtains, and you will feel enclosed in luxury without leaving your bed. Place the bed next to an open window and the romantic ambiance will be heightened even further by the flowing fabric all around you. Fine Canopy Bed Curtains can help with any questions you might have.
There has been a significant boost in the demand for unfinished wooden furnishings in recent years. One of the major advantages of purchasing this type of furniture is that you are readily able to assess the quality of the wood. One of the best things about these pieces is that they will give you a more handmade and rustic look and provide a room with a more comfortable feeling. There are lots of wonderful styles and designs to choose from whether you are hunting for the perfect family dining table or an elegant bedroom set. Since it is so easy to see the defects in this type of furniture they are typically well constructed with the highest quality wood. Among the many furnishings available, Amish styles and designs have become famous for the simple lines and top quality workmanship. You can easily add a finish coat of your choosing to keep your wood furniture from harm. These furnishings are usually an excellent value because the furniture manufacturer does not have to pay for the finishing process. Need help finding unfinished furniture? Go to All Unfinished Wood Furniture.
Home audio cabinets
People who take pride in their audio equipment use audio cabinets that allow quick access to the full range of components while satisfying their decorative needs. Highly useful in construction and design, audio equipment cabinets will complement room decor with steel or aluminum cabinets for a modern look, or with solid wood or wood veneers for a conventional look. An essential element is the visual impact the audio cabinet makes, whether it blends in like a normal piece of furniture, or you have the audio equipment itself as the center of attention. Looking at it as a piece of furniture, it is most important for the color of the cabinet door to match the color scheme of your room. On the other hand, if you’re more concerned in showing off the beauty of the equipment itself, then glass doors are the way to go. To obtain an even more striking look you should consider an art nouveau approach with a custom cabinet in the shape of a guitar or any other unique design. New audio components come on the market on a regular basis, so your audio equipment cabinet must be versatile enough to allow room for new audio technology. If you require proper sound separation you probably will not want to put the speakers close to your equipment, although this might not be much of an issue for compact speakers that can fit on top of the cabinet. Additional audio equipment cabinet options might be the wall mounted cabinet, which frees up floor space for other purposes, or a cabinet built on wheels that you will be able to move around. Information to help you find audio equipment cabinets is available at Best Audio Equipment Cabinets.
Mission furniture
Based on the furniture crafted in Spanish missions of the southwestern United States and Mexico centuries earlier, “Mission furniture” was first called that around 1890 in San Francisco. These furnishings reflect the unassuming ways of poor monks who made these highly functional pieces to convey their spiritual reserve. Mission furniture is celebrated for its straight, clean lines and aversion to excess decoration, although copper appliques and other cut-out designs were attached on occasion. This style was developed in the West but popularized in the East by a designer in New York named Joesph McHugh, who was the first to mass produce Mission-style furnishings. The Arts and Crafts movement adopted Mission furniture as a signature style and was very popular from 1890 to 1914, but its stress on well-made hand crafted products proved to be too costly for the average buyer. The craftsmen who developed these furnishings typically chose oak, a durable, naturally attractive wood which is appealing even when unfinished. Whether it works as a collector’s item or as an ideal modernistic decor element, this style of furniture has become more and more widespread in recent years. Need help finding mission style furniture? Visit Finding Mission Furniture.
Rustic and Mission style oak furniture
When the time comes to fix up your home, consider replacing your present furniture with rustic oak furniture. You can utilize rustic oak furniture to create the perfect ambiance in your home which can make it terrific for having guests. Oak furniture has a long record in the United States which goes back several hundred years and is recognized for its beauty, reliability and strength.
When you make your mind up to refinish in a rustic motif, you will need to locate the right oak furniture to match the new look. A good source for the rustic look can be either ranch style or mission style oak furniture. Ranch oak furniture is becoming increasingly widespread as folks look for a more natural decor for their homes, while Mission style furniture has been popular since about 1890. You will get charm and comfort from these big sturdy pieces. You can establish a very friendly and cozy atmosphere in your home by only adding a single piece of rustic oak furniture. An entertainment center or book case produced from oak is certain to bring many years of pleasure and compliments. After you have a good thought of what you want your entertainment center to contain, you can either obtain the piece already finished, unfinished, or have it. In today’s furniture market you are able to have your furniture custom created to your strict specifications. Once you want it custom built, it is necessary to call a professional to turn it into a reality. All you need to do is contact the sales rep and tell them specifically how you want your furniture to be made. By having the entertainment center or other pieces made just for you, there can be no question that it will meet all your needs, especially television, storage, and other electronics.
Purchasing finished furniture, either from a ordinary dealer, or from a custom furniture producer, is not necessarily the only way to go. Though the majority of buyers don’t have the financial resources to build a complete home workshop, or the skills to make use of it, nearly all people have the talent to put on stains and finishes. You can do an admirable job staining and finishing with minimal tools and no more than a little knowledge. The best part is that if you botch the job all you need to do is strip off the finish and start over. There are retail outlets which offer unfinished furniture for those who are looking for this type of job. You can ordinarily locate a fairly wide choice of furniture styles in a variety of woods, such as oak, pine, and others. There is the option of buying a whole collection or single pieces, such as a cabinet, table, bed or armoire.
Unfinished furniture, also referred to as raw furniture, could pose the challenge of figuring out the preferred way to finish it. You have a lot of choices possible with stains, paints, or clear coats. Stains are available in pure wood colors and with more bright color shades like purple and red. Stains can permit the natural appeal of the wood to come through. When it comes to paint, it will cover the wood completely regardless of the color you choose. The main items you have to buy to finish furniture are an assortment of sandpaper grits, good quality paintbrushes, rags, and a large amount of patience. While you will be able to complete the job faster with an electric sander (an orbital sander is a great tool for refinishing), a little hand sanding could still be required.
With a clear coat, or top coat, you can have three available selections: gloss, semi-gloss, or flat. There are many new water-based polyurethane finishes that have many benefits, mainly that there are no noxious odors and the clean up is very simple. They can be applied very easily and dry in a short period of time. Hand painted finishes are increasing in popularity. As an example, you could produce an elegant French country look or a delightful folk style. You can even apply a custom faux finish, makes it resemble everything from beautiful marble to elegant metal. You will enjoy your finishing project most when you take your time and don’t be concerned if it does not come out exactly as you had visualized. You may appreciate over time that a number of your favorite pieces are those that turned out differently than you had originally planned. Go to Buying Oak Furniture for further suggestions.
The splendid styles of antique dresser sets have remained as practical pieces of furniture for so long that almost everyone has seen them at some time or another. For example, that overweight dresser you worked so hard to move around Grandma’s guest room may itself be an actual antique. Nowadays a very popular type of antique dresser set has been the Rococo revival style which is quickly identified by its fancy drawer pulls. Frequently these will be produced from mahogany, walnut or rosewood and are characterized by curved faces. The Renaissance revival era is an excellent style of antique dresser for those who are looking for something ornate and classical. A few of the characteristics of these ornate dressers include marble inlay tops, carved handles, fluted legs and framed mirrors. When looking to buy antiques you will need to spend your time researching the various styles to assure you are acquiring the genuine thing. A couple of hallmarks of a genuine antique dresser will be the slight fading of the wood and the bent mirror glass, both of which indicate that the furniture is hand-built and old. Need help obtaining antique dressers? Try Antique Dresser Set.
Bamboo sheet sets
Those who will be wanting the newest thing in the world of luxury sheets should definitely have a look at bamboo. In case you are a person who wants to make choices which avoid harming the earth, then bamboo is a great alternative for you. A lot of times the bamboo fibers utilized in the production of bedding are the leftovers from making other bamboo items, therefore making certain that nothing is thrown out. A couple of the numerous benefits of bamboo sheets include the fact that it is unaffected by water and is grown without using pesticides because it is naturally pest resistant. Some of the several choices you can have while purchasing these comfortable bedsheets are natural or artificially colored. Probably the main disadvantage to employing this type of fabric is going to be the higher price tag that is frequently charged. This is due in part to the small production amounts for these type of sheets plus the production process used that is more intensive than you normally find with cotton sheets. You can find bamboo bedsheets at numerous retail shops, varying from tiny ecology-minded Internet boutiques to high-end department stores. Need more answers to your inquiries about bamboo sheets? Then visit New Bamboo Sheets.
Memory foam neck pillows
Having a good night’s sleep will be a real problem for many people without the comfort and support of a memory foam neck pillow. Probably the most important purpose of a pillow will be to hold the head in the appropriate position, and soft fluffy pillows usually do not provide adequate support for that. The firmness of a memory foam pillow is what enables it to give your neck the appropriate support in the correct spots. Whenever you’re buying a new neck pillow be sure you find one that is properly formed to match the contours of your head and neck. Choosing the right pillow from the broad selection available might be simpler if you take time to consider your own sleep style and support requirements. There is a variety of densities which is employed in the fabrication of foam neck pillows. Pillows which are less dense will feel softer and will usually be chosen by people using memory foam for the first time. Going to this website will be of help in locating memory foam neck pillows.
Bed bug treatments
Recently, the surge in reported bedbug infestations has given new meaning to the words “domestic terrorism.” Even though bed bugs do not spread diseases to humans, there can be a couple of health concerns involving the increase in infestations of bed bugs throughout the world. The first is dealing with the rashes which result from bed bug attacks. The second concern is mental health. It’s difficult going to sleep at night worrying about whether your backside is a meal for a parasite. Even thinking about it makes people uncomfortable. Disturbed sleep patterns can cause additional health risks. The first problem is readily addressed. There are many ointments and creams for sale which can treat the bites. It is essential to cleanse the rash with anti-bacteriological soap, and avoid scratching, which just makes the situation worse. People have been known to cut their fingernails to ensure that they won’t automatically scratch while sleeping. Eliminating the pests themselves will be a much more time consuming task. The small blood-sucking beasts will hide wherever the corner of a credit card will fit. Utilizing with a flashlight and a vacuum cleaner a person will be able to seek out and destroy the elusive pests. Thoroughly vacuum mattresses, box springs, armchairs, couches, dresser drawers, and under the edges of rugs and carpets. Vacuum behind baseboards, headboards, electrical socket and light switch wall plates, and wall hangings. Search for openings in wall boards and around plumbing fixtures. Besides finding these pests hiding or scurrying, look for the tiny brown specks of their fecal droppings, their pinhead sized whitish eggs, or spots of blood. Read more information on how to get rid of bed bugs.