By Nancy Moffett If you’re not an experienced homeowner or are new to the area, it can be a daunting task to find a reliable, honest and skilled contractor. What are the best ways to sort out the good from the not-so-good and avoid the bad altogether? According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the home repair industry was the most-inquired-about industry in 2012 and ha... »
By Nancy Moffett Mother’s Day is this month, so our thoughts turn to babies and the joy they bring to our lives. When the new arrival comes home, it should be to a nursery that is comfortable, practical, but also beautiful, to foster serenity for both mother and baby. Walls Here’s where it pays to use your imagination to create a stimulating, yet restful, environment. Toda... »
By Nancy Moffett Owning a backyard pool was one of the best parts of summer I’ve ever enjoyed. On sunny days I swam for exercise, and then joined my husband on warm evenings to float away the day’s cares. We left our pool behind years ago, but I still have fond memories of that blue oasis. Adding an in-ground pool to your property is a major investment, so the more informa... »
By Nancy Moffett It’s one thing to be organized at your job, quite another to come home and face piles of mail in the kitchen, clutter in your closets and general disorganization. To help you get a handle on some of these problems, we asked two local pros for advice. How to Organize Paperwork Certified Professional Organizer Diane Albright says the number one thing she hel... »
By Nancy Moffett February is not one of my favorite months. The holidays are behind us; festive decorations have been packed away; and the long, dark nights seem never-ending. What to do while you wait for those first days of spring? This is the perfect time to take on an easy project that will lift your spirits and jazz up your surroundings at the same time. Allentown Int... »
By Nancy Moffett Another holiday season is upon us. I don’t know about you, but I’m really tired of decorating the banister with the same old lighted garland and hanging the same old tired wreath on the front door. So I asked the creative folks at area businesses for fresh holiday decorating ideas…ideas that don’t involve a lot of time or money. Victoria Leister, owner of ... »
By Nancy Moffett Nothing finishes off a room like a well-dressed window. It’s the icing on the cake, the perfect rose in a crystal vase. But, with an overabundance of choices, where do you start to find the treatment you need to make the room comfortable while accenting your decor? First, decide what you want to accomplish. Do you need room-darkening in a bedroom, light co... »
By Nancy Moffett Type “home theater design” into Google, and you’ll find lots of sites offering advice, products and pictures of home theater installations. The information and ideas can be both mind-boggling and intimidating to those of us who aren’t well-versed in the latest audio/visual offerings. So, we asked several Lehigh Valley experts to give us a primer on getting... »
By Nancy Moffett “Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating.” – USDA Forest Service “Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent.” – Management Information Services/International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Most of the ... »
By Nancy Moffett Though home sales in the Lehigh Valley aren’t anywhere near the volume of the “boom” days, they are on the rise. According to lehighvalleyrealestateblog.com, the number of homes for sale increased 3.5% from April 2011 to April 2012. Even more encouraging to sellers is the year-to-year jump in homes under agreement of 42.4% in the same period. So if you’re ... »
