Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-March 11, 2009 Issue

March 11, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II & III • Page 27 Home Improvement & Gardening Revitalize your home for spring (ARA) - Few things will brighten your mood as much as transforming your home to greet the season. Even inexpensive touches can have a big impact. Some simple spring redecorating will lift your spirits as much as spotting the first migratory birds. Your secret weapon is color. The vibrant colors of spring will brighten otherwise ordinary home decor. Let nature lead you to your color palette: delicate pink cherry blossoms, lavender blue hyacinths, sunny yellow forsythia, and the pale green of new leaves. If you smile when you see a basket of tulips take your cue from nature and be surrounded by those beautiful colors. For inspiration, take an early spring walk in the park. Study the scenery. When a color makes you happy, that is the one to choose for your home. You can easily and inexpensively change a room by buying a couple of gallons of paint and doing the job yourself. For years, white or ecru were the standard wall colors, but no longer. Be daring and choose a color that makes you feel good. If you don’t like it, you can always paint over it. Take down heavy drapes. They may have made you feel cozy in the cold months, but for now, get them cleaned and put them away for next year. For spring, the word to keep in mind is light, as in airy fabrics and sheer curtains that let natural light into your home. Slipcovers are an age-old way of changing the look of a room from winter to summer. You might be able to find them ready-made and inexpensive. At least buy new pastel throw pillows that will quickly upgrade a room and give it a new look. Remember to arrange fresh flowers in pretty vases. Spring flowers growing in your garden are free. These flowers don’t know they’re not prize orchids, and will give their all to lift your spirits. “In any room, hanging botanical drawings, framed or unframed, is another way of bringing nature into your home, says Elizabeth Polish, interior designer and instructor at The Art Institute of New York City, If you don’t want to buy original drawings, cut images from magazines, and mat and frame them yourself.” Freshening the bathroom is also easy. Change the shower curtain and towels and you have an instant new look. Look for sales on bathroom accessories to complete the picture. About the kitchen, Polish says, “Even if you can’t redecorate, start an herb garden on your windowsill. Grow fresh dill, chervil, and mint. Watching things grow brings you in tune with the season of rebirth. And be sure to use the herbs to spark up your meals.” Bring on the spring. You will be ready with a home that has been refreshed, revived, and renewed. Spring �� Installed 2000 / Picture taken 2007. Our quality work only gets better with age. �� FREE Lawn Seeding with spring clean-up service. FREE Limestone and Lawn Fertilizer Application with seasonal lawn care program. with any planting work over $1,000 or Not to be combined with these or any other offers. Exp. 5/15/09 Not to be combined with these or any other offers. Exp. 5/15/09 with yearly maintenance contract. $2,000 min. contract. May not be combined with these or other offers. Exp. 5/15/09 FREE Seasonal Flowers ($200 value) Installed or 5 FREE Lawn Fertilizer Applications FREE Dogwood (6 ft.) 10% OFF any Planting, Patio, Lighting or Landscape Construction Work booked before 4/15/09. Offers may not be combined. 11 PATERSON AVE. SUITE 16, MIDLAND PARK, NJ NJHIC License #13VHO3311000 201-447-3910 www.FELNJ.com FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLANS