Picket Fence Weblog

… to my deck that is. Isn’t this lamp gorgeous? I should have taken a picture at night. It’s solar so there are no cords and you can place it anywhere. It has a bronze finish and offers up to 8 hours of light. It’s nice and solid too, so it won’t topple when it gets windy (as it tends to do where I live). It is supposed to be in the 90s this weekend, so it may be too hot to be spend a lot of time outside, but when it finally cools down a little at night, this light will be bright!

Until next time…. Ann

P.S. The beware of pet sign you see here is held up by our siding hooks. They hold a lot of weight. This sign is made of slate and it stays up without falling.

The weather here has been beautiful lately. It’s almost as if we skipped Spring and went straight into Summer. I put out my deck furniture early. Flowers will go out in May. I bought an Outdoor Pillow to spruce up my patio table chair. It’s really comfy and can withstand the sun and rain. I’ll attach a pic so you can see how nice it looks. I think it’s great that you can now buy the weatherproof furniture, rugs and accessories that look as nice as the home decor you see on the inside of your home. Have you put out your deck/patio furniture yet? The time is here!

Until next time… Ann

Now that warm weather is finally on the way, my thoughts are turning to my deck. I know it is too early to buy flowers, but by the end of April I am planning on putting my deck furniture outside - no matter what!

One new addition to my deck this year will be these retractable awnings. I haven’t decided yet if I want to put them over where my back window is or over where my sliding door is. Decisions, decisions. Either way, I love the fact that these go up easily and cost about 70% less than other awnings. If you haven’t priced awnings lately, you are in for some sticker shock. These are very affordable and the quality is very good. I actually purchased them last season but never got around to installation. The green color set against my gray siding is going to look great.

Until next time… Ann

P.S. The second pic on the right is a pic of my deck from a few summer’s ago.

Art’s blog about bugs really started me thinking on how much insects upset me when I see them in my house. I especially hate spiders and silverfish. They just creep me out. There was a silverfish on my ceiling the other night. I used the Bug Buster to catch it. This handy device generates suction that captures the bug. You can then release it outside (or down the toilet). Silverfish are pretty speedy, so you need to be quick. It works great for other creepy crawlies as well. Picket Fence sells a huge assortment of pest control products.

Check them out HERE.

Until next time… Ann

“Two-legged creatures we are supposed to love as we love ourselves. The four-legged, also, can come to seem pretty important. But six legs are too many from the human standpoint.” ~Joseph W. Krutch

How can a mortgage be green?  Is it printed on green paper?  Or is the ink green?

There is a new way to help buy and save on your new home purchase.  This might be a great way for first time homeowners to save some money and have an excellent angle on getting that first mortgage.  By purchasing an energy efficient home many companies are helping you save, figuring that the money saved on long term utility bills should be applied to mortgage costs.

Bank of America, Citi-group, and JP Morgan Chase are all offering discounts on closing costs for energy efficient homes.  These are homes built to Energy Star Standards.  There are many appliances that meet Energy Star Standards, as well as insulation, windows, and heating and cooling systems.  This can help the homeowner save on buying an old home.

If you are looking to buy a home, you can go to www.naseo.org and find the contact information for your closest state energy office.  You can contact them for the specifics on efficient renovations and low-interest loans.

Green ideals are popping up everywhere.  They are becoming integrated into every aspect of our life.  To the car we drive, to the way we heat our homes, to the way we buy our home, to our schools and jobs.

As always, Art.

I came across something over the weekend that I wanted to share with you. Ever since I became interested in “green” philosophies and writing about it, the response has been overwhelming. There are so many people out there, of all ages, that are interested in this topic. I read a quote yesterday from Home Furnishings Business Magazine. It was in an article about an opinion poll called “Going Green”. Names were not given in the poll. One response said,

“Nowadays there are a lot of energy efficient products. I must admit that I had to swallow hard the first time I spent the money to buy new light bulbs…I will save money over the life of the bulbs…Ten years ago, I didn’t have the option to chose ‘green’ lighting, so maybe I appreciate it more now.”

I can’t be certain, but I think many people around the U.S. are starting to feel this exact way. The popularity of green lighting, solar power, and other energy efficient tactics has become less debatable and more accepted. That could mean a brighter future for generations to come. If more children see this type of behavior, they will carry into their adult years as the “norm” instead of a new idea. Any one with me?

For energy efficient and solar products click here.

As always, Art.

How’s that for going green? Chicago City Hall’s rooftop has saved in energy costs and reduced water runoff. Read more about it here.

For accent lighting and general accessory lighting it seems to be a waste of time to set up complicated wiring patterns . I know of a few people who have wanted to set up some lighting on their walkways to showcase what they are growing and the path to the front door, called in an electrician to bury the wires properly, only to have problems with it later that same season. It’s not impossible to set it up yourself, but there is a much easier way to do it, without breaking your bank and without having to bury wires and set up fixtures. By putting in solar accent lighting, you will save yourself money and time. Technology has made it much easier for us to accomplish those little things. Solar power is so useful and its there for the taking.

I have been writing about solar power a lot lately . I am a huge fan of perpetual resources. This includes wind, tide, and solar power. It’s not just about going green, its about making advances toward the future, for better, more efficient ways of electricity. It’s not an easy task and it’s some what of an uncharted territory for many of us. But there are plenty of small ways to do your part to help, such as my example at the opening of this blog.

Shoppicketfence.com is introducing a new category on the website. This category showcases some of the best solar products available on the market today. It’s a cutting edge way to accent your home and become the first on the block to do it without raising your electric bill.

Gather up the sun and get it done!

As always, Art.

P.S. Solar Power is making some headlines in Hollywood with big stars like Ed Norton and Will Ferrel. Click here to check it out.

It certainly is a hot button issue.  Every where you go you see companies boasting that they have gone green.  You hear it on the news, at work, in department stores, coffee shops, and all over the radio.  There are plenty of ways to go green, even if you’re not a multi-million dollar corporation.  Everything helps too.  From the light bulbs you use in your living room, to the small solar powered devices you buy for your yard. 

You could also save other resources besides energy.  Try to have a nice lush green lawn, one in which has strong roots and will not dry out to quick.  In a past blog, Ann talked about a neighbor who had a perfect lawn by using an underground sprinkler system.  That could be considered a waste of energy as well as water.  There are plenty of natural lawn care products that won’t fill your lawn full of chemicals, and having a strong lawn will help keep bare spots to a minimum, and keep you from wasting water trying to bring back a patch of dirt.  Try Velocity Lawn Patch Plus and/or Canada Green for the spring, to get your lawn back and help save a bit of energy.  Don’t forget about Solar Power Products too.  Every little bit counts.

As always, Art.

I have had my share of problems as of late, trying to get a pond started. I really should have waited until spring. When the weather is nice though, sometimes you forget what season it is, especially if you have been couped up for a few months already. It’s time to turn the focus back indoors, mostly since it’s been snowing for a few days in a row here in Rochester, New York, but also because I have thought of an awesome indoor project. I’m going to put wainscoting up in the living room, but I have an easier way than buying expensive materials and starting from scratch. With wainscot, you can turn a room into something a bit more luxurious than with just another coat of paint.

At shoppicketfence.com there is a wainscot wallpaper. I checked it out and it isn’t necessarily wallpaper, it isn’t paper at all really, its much thicker and very heavy duty. You get quite a bit for the price, too. I’m going to need two rolls, but it is still much cheaper than buying a whole wainscot set or building everything myself from scratch. This wainscot wallpaper, goes on much like regular wallpaper, and dries just the same. It is can be painted or left it’s natural color of white.

I’m going to put up the wainscot wallpaper and then buy a board to put up as a chair rail. I’m going to stain the chair rail, and paint the wainscot a dark blue. The mop boards are also going to be replaced to match the chair rail, and stained, this will create a “boxed in blue” look. Then, I’m going to put more boards in, over every stud, creating a panel inside a panel look. Click here to see something kind of like what I’m talking about, except the green in these pictures will be painted blue, and also would have the wainscot look.

There are always different ways to get incredibly expensive looks very inexpensively. It’s a matter of researching tools and materials, and then asking around too. There are some excellent ideas out there from some awesome DIYers. I had some help with this idea after reading a few posts by Greg Salata at Lumberjocks.com.

As always, Art.