4 Ways To Transform Your Yard Into An Extension Of Your Home

And How That Makes Your Yard Even More Fun For You

"Home is where the heart is," is how the saying goes - but what does that mean about the space around our homes? Many of us use our yards as gardens or just fields of green, with maybe the occasional patio thrown in for grilling and hosting small gatherings. What if instead you were to spread out and utilize all of that space to the max?

Creating spaces outside the home isn't always easy, though, especially when you have to contend with Texas' heat. To help with that, though, you can use a trellis with climbing vines, a pergola to designate “inside” and “outside,” panel walls, or furniture placement to create the idea of different rooms.

When you have a yard, as many of us in Texas prefer to, you need to break it up just as you would inside of your home. To best use the space, you break it apart into different rooms based on the goal of that area - and that is where this post comes in. We're looking at some ideas based on how you'd use them rather than what they're called. 

Places to Play

During summer, none of us want to stay inside all day, especially when you have children home from school. So why not use the areas around your home to create an outdoor playground for any age? 

Set up a playground:If you've got little ones, you can mark out an area that they can play in using gates and furniture, and (if you have it) a pergola. Alternatively, you can use an easy-to-break-down tent. Fill it with sensory activities, games, and books for kids to enjoy outside. They get time playing in the fresh air, and you know exactly where they are. 

Set up a living room:If your children are older, you can also set up an outside 'living room' space to allow them free range to spend time with friends or to hang out with family. All it takes is a bit of outside-the-box thinking. This setup could be used for everything from a movie night to space for board games and puzzles when you're too tired to face the heat. 

Places to Relax

While a living room, as we mentioned in our last section, would be considered a place to relax, we're looking at creating dedicated spaces. 

Set up a fire pit:Here is a space for relaxing and lazing about, sharing stories in the dying light of day, and creating memories with friends and family. Take your fire pit and draw a three-foot circle around it on all sides, giving plenty of space for safety. Fill that circle in with stone, and put down buckets for sand and water next to the pit in case of emergency. Beyond that circle, you can start placing poufs, chairs, and chaise lounges around the perimeter, creating an inviting and close-knit atmosphere for people to enjoy.

Use butterfly chairs, poofs, or a papasan:You can also scatter seating arrangements around your yard, with small tables in places that enjoy the shade at different times of day. Staking down the furniture where you place it is useful if you don't have your yard surrounded by a fence or broken up with windbreaks, but it's not necessary if you want to be able to move the furniture around easily. 

Courtesy of Kaboompics

Set up a swing or hammock:In your blogger's humble opinion, there's nothing better than a swinging hammock in the shade, a book and a cold glass of strong tea. Whether you hang it in the shade or in a spot in your yard that gets sun at different times of day, it's a great way to relax and catch a cat nap or just enjoy watching the clouds pass by. 

Places to Eat

Why stay inside where the air is still and everyone wants their phone or a screen? Take things outside instead and spend some time connecting to one another. 

Set up a table next to your garden, pool, or feature:Pick something in your home or yard that you find interesting. Is it a water fountain? Or a garden? Maybe it's an old tree. Now set up a table and chairs and eat dinner. Whether you intentionally focus on the feature that you chose or not, it's something that can spark conversation and make it easier to talk about all sorts of things. 

Courtesy of artyangel

Set up an outdoor counter:Alternatively, if you have a large window in your kitchen, you might consider setting up an outdoor counter with barstools along it for eating. This way, food can easily be passed back and forth between sides without having to go all the way through the house. It also means that whoever is cooking isn't sectioned off from conversation and company while they create food for the group. 

Places to Nap

There are many cultures that take a nap or quiet time in the middle of the day to avoid the heat. Why not set up your own space to let you do the same? While many people will say "well why then would I nap outside" we argue that there's something soothing about taking time to nap in the shade during summer. 

Set up a canopy bed:A first option might be portioning out a section of patio or your garden and putting in a bed with a canopy. Doing this allows for you to have space that is outside, but you get the full comfort of a bed. We'll point out again that whatever you put down, you want to make sure that it's weatherproof, but other than that, go for it. You can even go one step further if you love the stars and sleep out here at night, provided you have a bug canopy to keep away the pests. 

Set up chaise lounges in the garden, under trees, or on the porch:If a full bed isn't your thing, maybe a spot to nap after a swim is. Consider a chaise lounge or daybed in that case, something that's easier to move around and cover with weather proofing when things take a turn. It's great to be able to climb out of the pool, towel off and stretch out in the sun to finish relaxing after a long day.  It's also a lovely spot to enjoy a book or podcast when you're taking some time for yourself throughout the year (not just during summer). Adding in additional pillows and blankets can make it a great spot to escape to all year round. 

Turn a porch swing into a porch bed with the right dimensions, a thick pad, and plenty of bolsters for comfort:Or you might be someone that wants the comfort of motion. Studies have shown that a gentle rocking motion creates the deepest sleep in adults and children, so why not have a hammock or swing? Since we're talking about sleep though, let's take your normal porch swing and upgrade it a bit. To start with, make sure that your swing has high sides. There's nothing worse than rolling off a swing when all you wanted was a cat nap. Grab two cot mattresses and stack them on top of one another, then cover with an outdoor slip. Next up, grab some bolsters in a coordinating fabric and line the edges of your swing with them. Drag out a blanket when you're in the mood, and voila, you have a perfectly soothing spot to relax, nap and chat, whatever your mood.

Which room are you most interested in creating for yourself? Is there a glaring idea that we overlooked? A flaw maybe that we haven't considered? Or maybe you're seeing a chance for a room that we didn't think of. Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. 

If you wound up here because the appliances inside your home are what are driving you out, then we can help. Whether it's your oven or your ice maker, give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or go to our website to set up an appointment that works for you. 

Turn Your Laundry Room From Mundane to Fabulous

Do you know what’s worse than doing laundry? Doing laundry in a room that doesn’t fit your needs and actively makes it uncomfortable or difficult. There’s no room to move, you can’t find the detergent when you need it and it’s impossible to fold anything. Who says it has to stay that way though? Instead, take a look at each of the small problems, and let’s see how to tackle them. Let’s figure out how to take your laundry room from miserable to workable. 

Lighting 

Is that a spot or a shadow? If you can’t see what you’re doing, whether it’s before or after washing, how are you supposed to know if something is clean?  So you end up leaving the room, trying to see it in different lights. Then you get distracted and have something else that has to get done, and the laundry takes even longer. 

Courtesy of sinisamaric1

The fix then is having evenly space, and clear, white lights in your laundry room.  A second, brighter light (or series of lights) set under your cabinets or over your folding area would also be useful. 

Visually Appealing 

Courtesy of Stux

If you’re having to do laundry at least once a week, do you want to be in a room you hate? No. So why not make your laundry room somewhere you enjoy being. Whether that’s a projector or a soothing shade of paint this way it’s fun to look around.  You migh also consider putting in a phone or tablet stand and a dedicated power outlet so that you can listen or watch as you fold or sort laundry. It makes it far less boring mentally when your brain is preoccupied. 

Cabinets 

Courtesy of LisaPhotos

You’ve got detergents, treatments, detergent boosters, dryer sheets, lint rollers, and materials to clean your machines. All spread out,  anywhere and everywhere in the room. And that’s not even taking into account trying to /find/ everything when you need it. So, the fix? Put in cabinets with raised shelving inside them so that you can maximize the space inside and sort out all of the tools you need. 

Counter Space

Once you have all of your laundry goods stored away, hopefully, that leaves you with space. Having a consistently clean space to fold clothing is something we need find important. Not only does it mean you don’t have to fight for working space, but it also means you can fold and sort one item at a time as you go, rather than having to leave the room. If you can’t install counter space in your laundry room, you might consider a butcher block counter on top of your machines or a fold-away table that folds into the wall. 

Sorting

Courtesy of Optima Brands

To us, there’s nothing more annoying than having to sort clothes at the machine. Doing it that way you can all too easily end up dying your clothes pink. (Ask us how we know that one!) A great way to get around this is either a) elevate your machines, you can then install baskets underneath them that slide out as needed. This is great for smaller households where you can toss in your clothes at the end of the day and wash as needed. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always go with option b) put baskets in each room. Then everyone can sort their laundry however they like and it’s still easy to move when needed. 

Hanging Rack 

Going right along with the last one, having a space to hang items that can’t go in the dryer. We’ve seen all sorts of options including: 

-A curtain rod that pulls tight to the ceiling when not in use using a retracting system. 

-A hanging rack that folds against the wall when you’re done with it. 

courtesy of pottery barn

-An A-frame rack that fits between the counter and the machines.

 All of these are easy to work with and best of all, get out of your way when you’re not. 

What do you think? Could you work in a laundry room like this or did we miss a few problems? Let us know over on our Facebook page. 

If your laundry room stresses you out because your washer is broken or your dryer is screaming, we can fix it. You can give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or go to our contact page and set up an appointment there. 

We’ll work with your schedule to find a time that works for you and have one of our trusted techs come. At Appliance Rescue Service we don’t stop until the problem is solved or you tell us you’re satisfied. 

Easy Steps to Get Ready for a Garden Party

No, we can’t say “Just buy all of the plants.”

It's the end of spring, and things are heating up. People are planning garden parties, barbecues, and pool parties every weekend between now and September. Preparing for an outdoor party isn't just about the food and who you will invite, though. Much of it takes planning well in advance. And yes, you can just have people come and go and do all the work for you, but sometimes you want to do the work yourself.  You've got to plan out the garden, patio with seating and arrangements, the grill, and then all the food. Fortunately, you're not alone in this, and we can help. 

Courtesy of ThorstenF

Cleaning up the outdoors

Garden

Let's get started then with your garden. Take a look around, and consider where it is now and where you want it to be before guests come. Is it at that point? If so, feel free to skip this! If not, let's dig in. 

By this point in the year, you've probably got weeds coming up in between your bricks and cement as well as in your garden beds. Start with applying a layer of borax in between all of the cracks and let it sit for an hour or so.  While that is going, let's tend to your garden beds and get those weed-free. Make sure that as you pull, you've got a basket to toss them into; this way, they don't get left in the beds to regrow or drop seeds. When you're done with that, it should be time to hit the bricks with your vacuum and gather up all of the borax. Once you've gathered it all up, go ahead and grab your powerwasher. At this point, the weeds are very much dead, and all you need to do is blast them out of existence, so you might as well use the time to give your pathways a scrubbing as well. From here, you can move on to your patio or deck and get rid of the grime for winter. As a last spot, let's go ahead and give the doors coming out onto the patio a quick cleaning. Make sure to pay attention the sills and door frame, as dirt loves to build up there. 

Now that everything's looking nice and shiny, let's talk about plants. Do you have any that you've been meaning to add to your garden but haven't gotten to? Have you read our article about dry gardens and been thinking about trying that out? Now's the time to do it.  Do you have a particular theme that you want your garden to reflect? Or maybe you just want it to be a colorful riot. Whatever it is, it's sure to be the talk of the party. 

Courtesy of Carmen

Patio 

Once you've gotten everything cleaned up and your garden sorted, you've got a blank canvas to work from when it comes to planning the party itself. Use this time to think about seating arrangements, cover from the sun, and where you'll have food. Take time to consider how people will move through the space as well. There's nothing worse than having everything become crowded and jumbled because people can't move easily from one area to the next.  Once you've got, it worked out, go ahead and sketch out a plan for it so that you know when you're laying things out later on. 

You've done the hardest part; now, let's jump back into some cleaning. 

While ideally, you'll want to clean your patio furniture at the beginning and end of the season, it's handy to keep some heavy-duty cleaning wipes in a storage area so that you can spot clean as it's needed.  For your furniture, we suggest grabbing your vacuum and using the soft bristle brush to go over everything, to gather up dust and pollen and any debris from your weeding earlier. If you've got wicker furniture, you can tackle that with a kitchen cabinet cleaner. It'll clean away messes without leaving residue or stripping off the varnish from your furniture. You can use a couch protecting spray on your cushions, arm rests, and pillows either just after you take them out of storage for the season or after washing them. It'll protect them from stains and make wiping them clean easier later. 

It's a good idea to invest in some blankets for benches and coordinating table clothes to create a warm, relaxing feeling for your guests the day of the party. Plus, if you choose the right type of blankets (something in cotton or linen), it can help with keeping people cool. Which, given the Texas heat, we could all use.) 

You'll also want to pick up different lights and test them out during the planning stages. Fairy lights are easy to come by, and they create a soft glowing atmosphere while also marking out areas guests can go and can't. Small lanterns on tables can provide pools of light, and if you use citronella oil inside them, you can protect your guests from pests as well. 

Courtesy of daniellam

Setting Up Indoors

Celebrate! You've gotten your outdoor area all set up, and now it's time for the last stage, cleaning up and organizing indoors. 

Let's start by giving everything a good scrub. We're not talking about the usual cleaning up spills and crumbs; we're talking about making sure everything is shiny for guests. Put away any of your small appliances that you won't be using the day of the party. (This is when having an "appliance garage" is fantastic, in our opinion.) You want to make sure that you have enough room for all of your food, dishes, cutlery etc. You also want to make sure that you've got separation space between your food prep area and your serving area. Ideally, this will be prepping in the kitchen and serving outside, but due to heat, bugs, etc, you don't always want to do things that way.  You want to make sure that if you're cooking on a grill outside that, you also have a clear separation between food prep and serving. Nothing is worse than making some delicious burgers and getting everyone sick because you put them onto the same platter you brought the raw meat out on.  

Speaking of your grill, this is a good time to go over it. Is it clean? Have you cleaned out any built-up ashes, fat, gunk, etc? Are the grates clean? Have you made sure that you have enough of your fuel of choice and that the grill itself is sound and whole? Better to check these things now, rather than right before the party when you won't have time to fix it. 

With all of that taken care of, all that's left is to enjoy the day of the event. Spent time with friends and family, enjoy the food you've made and your garden, and relax, knowing you made all of it happen. It's not always easy to put together a garden party, but it is so worth it for the memories we get to share. 

If you do have a party at some point over the weekend, let us know on Facebook and share the photos! We'd love to see what you got up to.

If you wound up here not because you're looking at willingly using your grill but are doing so because your stove quit on you, well, we can still offer help. Believe it or not but we specialize not in organizing backyard parties but in repairing your major appliances. Whether you live in McKinney or Dallas, Coppel or Garland, we have you covered. You can reach out to us on our website or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to find a time that fits your schedule so that we can get your home running smoothly again. 

Making Your Home Sustainable

Definitions, Retrofitting and Small Choices to Make Your Home Greener and More Sustainable

Table of Contents

Definition

What does that mean for a home?
Some ways you can achieve it. 

Benefits! 

Do you ever wonder what all of the jazz is about being 'sustainable?' What does it even really mean? We're taking a look at that, some ways to retrofit your home to be sustainable and everyday choices you can make. 

Definition

According to Merriam Webster "sustainable" can be defined as: 

-able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.
"sustainable fusion reactions"
-conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.
"our fundamental commitment to sustainable development"

What does that mean for a home?

So your home in theory needs to either be "able to be maintained at a certain rate or level" or "conserve an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.  Well, that gives us a start, but it's not really clear is it? After all, once a home is built, you're not doing a ton to bring in new materials, or are you? Let's try looking at it this way. A sustainable  home should be one that's either built or retrofitted in a way that it respects resources and their availability, optimizes energy usage and creation (when possible) and uses water wisely. Sustainable homes use low-impact, high-performance materials throughout, and are efficient in terms of manufacturing, shipping and installation. 

So ideally, whether you're retrofitting your home or looking to build from scratch, your home should "respect resources," optimize energy usage, and use water wisely. With that list in mind, that's considerably more manageable to tackle than trying to redo EVERYTHING from the ground up. Wouldn't you say? 

Some ways you can achieve it.

These are meant to be a guide for you, not a step-by-step outline. If you want more information and more in-depth guides, let us know in the comments and we'll expand on it! 

First off, don't try and do everything at once. Pick one section, list what falls under that section in your home, and then look to see what you can change. Out of everything else that we talk about today, that's the most important one to keep in mind. If you try and take everything on at once, you'll burn yourself out before you get it done. 

Both retrofitting and building new will have drawbacks, so consider carefully before you decide. Make a list of pros and cons to get a better grasp on what will affect your day to day life, finances and family. 

Different things you can look at include:

- Building materials - Sustainability isn't just "are these materials going to last a long time," it's also "how are these materials harvested?"; "How are they made?"; and "how are they used?"

-Building methods - Can you have a cool roof? What about designing your home in a way that allows air to move fluidly through the home? 

- Insulation- You want to look at a type of insulation that is sustainably produced, and is also going to protect your home best from loss of heat and cold. 

-Windows - Again, keeping heat and cold in or out of your home, your windows are a big deal. 

-Heat, ventilation and air conditioning

-Plumbing fixtures

- Appliances -  Energy Star appliances 

- Energy generation from solar and wind- If you can generate power on your own property, you can reduce your bills which is always a win. 

- Your habits when it comes to regular maintenance, conservation and green cleaning

For this post, we'll focus on retrofitting your current home, with the potential of covering building from the ground up later. 

Replacing Windows

-Why - It results in less loss of heating/cooling and makes your home quieter. (Which we absolutely love, and bet you will too.) 

-How - Look for windows that are tagged "low solar gain." This means less heat is conducted into your home through the windows. Reflective tech and double glazing are supremely important for keeping even more heat out. It also doesn't hurt to look at windows you can open on a breezy day. 

Appliances 

-We've talked about the Energy Star Seal before and how important that is to cutting your bills. Investing in appliances that are energy efficient is good not only for the environment but also for your environment as they draw less energy from the grid. 

Ditch Your Sprinkler System

-While we are planning on talking about the benefits of getting rid of a 'traditional' lawn, for now let's consider a drip irrigation system. 

Rather than watering your lawn 2-3 times a day just to keep it green, this is more efficient. Instead of soaking your yard and hoping the water gets to the roots, a drip irrigation system uses gravity to go directly to the roots. You save electricity and water. Double Win. 

Every day changes you can make include the following: 

-Draft proof your windows and doors- Seal them at the edges with foam or tape to help them close more firmly and keep drafts out. 

-Invest in curtains or blinds, or both! - We've talked before about the importance during winter or summer of keeping your windows covered, and it's just as important now. While we know that curtains and blinds are as much a matter of design choice as anything else, using both can help cut down on your bills further. 

-Reevaluate your home's insulation - Whether you go through your attic or basement, or take a look at the building plans for your home, check out what type of insulation was used on your home. It might be a project to tackle one room at a time to improve it and keep your home better insulated. 

-Install solar panels 

-Clean your refrigerator's coils - Keeping your refrigerator clean helps to keep it running more smoothly and staying cool. 

-Clean your dryer vent 

- Clean your dishwasher's filter

-Install a water filter that removes microplastics - Let's be frank, no one wants to eat plastic. Right now it's theorized that each of us is eating approximately enough microplastics to form a credit card, every day. Right now the easiest way to stop that is to install a water filter. Although it won't do anything to microplastics in your food, it's a place to start. 

-Replace fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs

-Clean out your gutters -Having overflowing gutters will not only affect your home, as we've discussed in the past, but it will also keep water from flowing into your drip irrigation system. 

Benefits! 

-Using less water and electricity, results in lower bills for you! 

- Lower maintenance costs 

Since one of the definitions of sustainability is "able to be maintained at a certain rate or level," a well-built green home is going to last for a very long time. Thanks to construction methods, your home will require less maintenance over time, which means less money spent to maintain it. 

- Lower carbon footprint and better for the planet. 

Do you think you'd like to go sustainable? What reasons are keeping you from doing so? Drop us a line in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. We'd love to hear from you! 

If you're here because your refrigerator isn't keeping cool, or your dryer is taking forever to run, we can help! You can reach out to us on our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). We'll work with you to set up an appointment that works for your schedule.

Five Appliance Trends That Won’t Last

And what to replace them with

Table of Contents: 

Open Concept Kitchens     

The Color of the Year 

Air Sous Vide 

Smart Appliances

Dual Dishwashers In Your Kitchen

Trends are something we love discussing here on Appliance Repair Service. We’ve talked popular ones, new ones, and ones that died miserable deaths. Now we’re taking a look at different ones that are popular here in 2022.  These are things you may be thinking about jumping on immediately, but we’d advise waiting a while to see how these trends play out, so you aren’t spending thousands of dollars on something you’ll hate in three months. 

Open Concept Kitchens

From the early 2000s up until now, the open concept was the most common style of new home on the market.  They’re all about a home being able to serve multiple purposes with very little change or adjustment. Being able to shift seamlessly from one room to another, and having the family together without having to hunt through different rooms. 

With Covid and the rise of people working from home, the open concept plan doesn’t work either in your kitchen or for your whole house. Being able to separate ourselves out, and find quiet during different points of the day is important. You might need to use one area for an office, or another for your child’s school area, and section those off. You don’t want to hear shouts of “hey, where do we have the oregano” when you’re in the middle of a zoom meeting” if it can be avoided after all. 

The Color of the Year 

Going for the color of the year is something many of us want to do. There are hundreds of blog posts, magazine articles, and social media posts all over the net talking about how to best use Very Peri in your house, your kitchen, or your wardrobe. Many of us want to have the most recent colors or designs when it comes to somewhere we spend a large amount of our time. It’s the same as working on the rest of your house, where you might update every few years and bring in either a color you love or whatever the most popular color series is.  In the kitchen, we’re not talking just about painting your kitchen the color of the year. Many companies also will update their ranges, ovens, and refrigerators to come in new and different colors. (This year for example is seeing many companies adding “Mint Green” as one of the colors they offer?) 

But, we have to point out that color trends change. Like we point out every year, colors that were popular this year may not be next year. A better option might be to choose a color palette that you love and work from that in different ways. You might bring in tile with several of the colors that you like. Or paint your cabinets different colors to blend into the overall pattern.  This allows you to more easily change out colors when you want to refresh, but it also means that you’re standing out on your own. 

Air Sous Vide 

Think about the concept of sous vide, if you’ve ever run into it. If you haven’t, it’s a process of sealing food into a bag and boiling it until it’s cooked just right. Air sous vide then, is the same concept, except you’re using air. 

There are too many mixed thoughts on this one and not enough hard reviews about how well it works or recipes that are repeatable. We don’t recommend getting this one until (and if) they manage to solidify the way it works.

Smart Appliances

We’ve spoken before about smart appliances, both the uses of them and the downsides. We want them to be able to do all sorts of things and make our homes more automated so that we can focus on other aspects of our lives. The truth is though, that propaganda is just that, propaganda. Smart appliances might promise you the moon, but they aren’t there yet. 

With this one, we advise keeping a level head on what they can do vs what they can’t. Instead of thinking that your oven will cook you a perfect steak with potatoes and broccoli on the side and a perfect bearnaise sauce on the side.  Instead, it’s able to turn on when you tell it to, alert you when it’s come to the proper temperature and let you know when what you’re cooking has finished cooking. 

Dual Dishwashers In Your Kitchen

This one is lovely, honestly. It’s just a matter of what do you need? Do you need to have two dishwashers in your kitchen? Do you entertain a couple of times a week and deal with all of the dishes inherent in that? Or do you have a large family that you prepare food for and you need to be able to wash all of the dishes easily and without leaving yourself exhausted?
If the answer to that is no, then you might want to reconsider whether you want to bring a second dishwasher into your home. While it’s really popular, it’s not always needed, in which case, why bother? Instead, take a look at how much you use your current dishwasher. Would a larger one be beneficial for you? Do you need a different style? Maybe one that can handle larger pots and pans due to the amount of cooking/baking you do now? 

Do you have any of these already or are you looking at getting them? Let us know over on our Facebook page, or in the comments below! 

Don’t forget that we can also help with the appliances you have already. If your dishwasher is refusing to clean dishes or isn’t draining fully, we can help. Call us at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out to us on our contact page.