(ARA) – ‘Tis the season to be chic on a budget, and with more people planning on spending quality time at home this holiday season, a financially friendly and festive facelift might be just what your house needs.

With stressors like the tough economy and the holiday hustle-and-bustle, finding the time and money for holiday decorating can by trying, says Lisa LaPorta, lead designer and co-host of HGTV’s Designed to Sell. There are countless quick and inexpensive do-it-yourself projects that can brighten a home in time for the holidays and beyond.”

Most homeowners will be staying put in 2009, according to the 2008 KILZ brand Roller Report. Those homeowners should consider renovations that will outlive the upcoming holiday fuss. LaPorta offers holiday design tips to brighten homes on a budget this year:

Dining rooms for holiday feasts ... and leftovers.
Applying a fresh coat of primer and paint is the easiest way to transform a space with minimal time and money. Save the season’s rich reds and golds for festive accent pieces like trim, picture frames and pillows. Try painting interior walls with shades of deep taupe, warm grey or soft brown. All are trend-right and make an impact without overwhelming interior design. Regardless of paint color, start with a high quality water-based primer like KILZ Premium. This will block and hide water stains and save time by reducing the number of top coats.

Commanding centerpieces for year-round flair.
Starting with a neutral wall color allows infinite options for a festive centerpiece. Fill a glass vase with an arrangement of rich red and orange flowers, simple twigs and glass beads or your favorite fruit for a powerful statement that costs close to nothing.

Kitchens that will enchant guests without breaking the bank.
The kitchen is the most-used, equipment-heavy and expensive-to-renovate room in the home, but it makes a huge impact on visitors -- which is especially important with the hustle and bustle of dinner parties and family get-togethers this winter. New appliances have the greatest impact on kitchen appeal, but can be costly. If you’re not able to make a large investment during the holidays, achieve a similar effect by updating cabinetry with fresh coats of primer and paint. This, along with new cabinet hardware, will make a kitchen appear brand new in time for the holidays at a fraction of the cost of a full renovation.

Merry accents to make a space pop.
* Use the colors of the season. Store cookies, candies, fruits, ornaments, toys and other treats in large glass jars around your home. Their bright colors and playful nature are perfect for the holiday season.

* Consider scale. Christmas trees are such large statement pieces that smaller decorations can get lost in their shadow. This year many stores are offering oversized ornaments, decorations and flowers that will be sure to pop against your home’s holiday backdrop. This is especially important when decorating outside. Instead of hanging decorations on doors and windows, consider wrapping your entire front door with metallic red paper and a giant bow to make a statement visible from the street.

* Make your ornaments. Visit your local craft store for clear glass Christmas ornaments you can fill with personal items, like family photos, twigs and berries, crystal beads or ribbon.

Visit www.kilz.com for more information.

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Education is something we all cannot get enough of in our opinion, so we like to promote such high quality and educational works-of-art to small children, teens, and young adults, as much as possible. We can do this in many ways, of course, but one we found to be great fun is the Bayeux Tapestries woven into 77 different events for the fun and eventful wall hangings to be talked about with our youth.
Not that many kids know these stories, which is part of history and the shaping of events of long ago. Its such a beautiful artwork and so nice that the original Bayeux tapestry (which, by the way is 230 feet long!) has been reproduced into all these smaller more manageable wall hangings is a treat. If they hang from the walls in their play room, bedroom or family room or den, the kids begin to wonder about whats in the picture. Whats that all about? .. and right there youve got them captivated for the telling of these stories of William the Conqueror and England and how it all came to be, when William was crowned King.
You can find Bayeux Tapestries and other treasures at Decor4u.com and see what an enjoyment you might find for your childrens education and entertainment, at the same time. Enjoy.

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Your bedroom should be one of the most relaxing places in your home. If your bedroom feels disordered, you may not sleep well. Experts suggest mess or reminders of work in your sleeping space will interfere with getting a good night of sleep. These things keep your mind moving, and you may be worried about what you forgot to do, or what you will have to do the next day. You have to design your sleeping space for peace and relaxation. Bedroom decorating ideas are abundant, and your biggest problems might not be finding ideas, it might be narrowing down what you want from a list of things you like.
Bedroom decorating ideas are everywhere. You can find inspiration in magazines, on television, in movies, and even in store displays and catalogs. What you have to do is decide what feel you want for your sleeping area. In most cases, you want a relaxing color. A bright red or yellow might not be the best idea. However, a deep maroon or a very light yellow might be all right. The idea is to make sure the color is relaxing to your eye and not energizing or bright.
There are other bedroom decorating ideas you can consider. If you don’t want to paint, you can choose to go with wallpaper. There are many from which to choose, and what you choose should be to your taste, but again, not bright or noisy. Look for something soothing, elegant, and easy on the eyes. You can find unique wallpaper designs by shopping around. You may not know what you are looking for, but don’t let that stop you. You will know what you like when you see it.
You can also watch home improvement shows like Trading Spaces, or television networks like HGTV to get bedroom decorating ideas. The options are endless, and you may end up feeling overwhelmed. Once you have found three or four ideas you have fallen in love with, turn the television off. If you have too many choices, you will end up having a hard time narrowing it down. Don’t let your selection of bedroom decorating ideas get the best of you.
If you can’t decide and don’t know what to do, you can ask with an interior designer to get bedroom decorating ideas. They will charge you a consulting fee, but it may be well worth it when you really want to do it yourself, but you have no idea where to begin. You can give them a general idea of what you want, and they can design something to fit the space you have, with the look you are looking for. They know how to mix and match colors, patterns, and ideas to make the perfect sleeping space for you.
About The Author
Linda E. Joy provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles on http://www.thehomelivingguide.com, as well as http://www.firstfamilylivingmagazine.com, and other related issues.

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recent survey conducted for the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Wakefield Research polled 501 US college students in September 2008 and found that nine out of ten say Wi-Fi access is as essential to education as classrooms and computers, while nearly three in five say they wouldnt go to a college that doesnt have free Wi-Fi. Almost 80% percent said that without Wi-Fi access, college would be a lot harder.
Wi-Fi has become a universal expectation among college students, and their attitudes towards technology are a good indicator of broad changes underway in how we as a society learn, work and communicate, said Edgar Figueroa, executive director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the global trade organization representing the Wi-Fi industry.
For students today, getting connected no longer means reserving a station at the computer lab or going to the library. Undergrads log-in at coffee shops and restaurants (55%), in parks (47%), and even in their cars (24%). 60% of the survey respondents agreed widely available Wi-Fi on campus is an indication that a school cares about its students.
Its a given that students will always adapt readily to changing technology and circumstances, that the wide availability of calculators, for example, led to higher grades in Math courses for some students, starting in the 1970s. But can Wi-Fi itself lead to better academic performance?
It depends what its used for: More than half of the survey respondents admitted to having checked Facebook™ or MySpace™ and sent or received e-mail while using their laptop in class. Just under half sent instant messages to a friend during class. Those uses of Wi-Fi are certainly not apt to produce higher scores.
On the other hand, 48% of the students said they would rather give up beer than give up their Wi-Fi, so perhaps we are in a nascent period of higher academic achievement after all.

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