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Spring Utilities Cost Savings Ideas

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11waystosaveonyourspringutilitybills

Spring is officially here and I am loving the warmer days! As part of my ongoing partnership with Rheem, I’m bringing you these Utility Cost Savings Ideas: Spring Edition. Here are 11 ways to save on your utility bills this Spring:

  1. Harvest rainwater to cut back on water utility consumption
  2. Open the windows when possible to cut back energy use from the furnace and a/c
  3. Continue using cold water for washing clothes
  4. Flip fans back into the setting to pull air down for a cheaper alternative to a/c for cooling rooms
  5. Have your a/c serviced before the summer rush (oftentimes rates go up when demand goes up)
  6. Replace HVAC filter (every 3 months!)
  7. Update older light bulbs with energy efficient versions, Use free sunlight when available
  8. Lower hot water heater temperature (it’s warmer now anyways, right?
  9. Plant trees on the east and west side of the house to reduce the sun’s rays from heating it up faster
  10. But keep plants trimmed at least feet away from your A/C unit
  11. Replace appliances and units that are underperforming

Utility Cost Friendly Products from Rheem:

SolPak with Electric Backup Tankless_Prestige_Condensinh__H95_&_H84_Direct_Vent_IndoorProfessional Prestige Series: 95 Direct Vent Indoor

Prestige_RA20

Prestige Series: Variable Speed (RA20)

A Designer At Home - Share this post11 ways to save on your spring utility bills

Is My New Hot Water Heater Saving Me Money?

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Tough Talk Has my new hot water heater saved me any money

Is my new hot water heater saving me money?

We spend a lot of money to upgrade our systems with the promise that they’ll save us money.

I’ve read this, I’ve been told this, but I’ve never experienced it. I’ve never seen real numbers.

So as part of a collaboration with Rheem, they’ve provided a hot water heater to put to the test. I’m revealing my actual utility costs for Water, Gas and Electricity to see what the numbers have to say.

Here’s my 1st Quarter Hot Water Heater Utility Bill Comparison:

am i saving money with a new hot water heater

December 2014- February 2015 VS. December 2015- February 2016

December 2014
Water (charged bimonthly): 96.12
Electricity: 115.82
Natural Gas: 88.92
Total: 300.86		 December 2015
Water (charged bimonthly): 106.60
Electricity: 111.54
Natural Gas: 142.54
Total: 360.68
January 2015
Water (charged bimonthly): 0
Electricity: 135.07
Natural Gas: 135.97
Total: 271.04		 January 2016
Water (charged bimonthly): 0
Electricity: 115.43
Natural Gas: 114.29
Total: 229.72
February 2015
Water (charged bimonthly): 91.70
Electricity: 111.65
Natural Gas: 183.18
Total: 386.53		 February 2016
Water (charged bimonthly): 122.22
Electricity: 132.37
Natural Gas: 141.12
Total: 395.71

So, actually, we’ve spent more money that we did in the same period. Are you shocked?

If you’re simply looking at the numbers, this doesn’t look good. Especially when you look at the fact that the hot water heater was in our garage last year. Our garage is not temperature regulated and we regularly have our washer’s pipes freeze out there in the winter.

But, when I tell you about the way it’s completely changed our lives, you’ll look at those numbers and agree that it’s so worth it.

A year ago I wasn’t taking very many showers in the winter. I have bad arthritis in my knees and we couldn’t get enough hot water to fill even half our tub let alone a long enough shower to loosen my joints. Now, I can hop in the shower and relax. The water is hot and I’m relaxed. And then there’s my son. A year ago he couldn’t play in the bath. We couldn’t get enough hot water to fill it up. And since a chunk of the water was cool, the water cooled down a lot faster. I’ve stopped using hand sanitizer because I can turn on the sink to wash my hands and the water is warm. I even use the faucet for hot water to make tea. The water gets hot enough for me to steep tea!

The previous hot water heater made the winter months so unbearably difficult for me. It probably sounds silly, but I’ve saved time. Time that I would’ve spent curled up in my bed counting the days until spring. I’ve saved sanity because I can let my boy splash around in the bathtub, like little boys ask to do.

I’m using more water than I was in the same time frame than last year. So I fully expected my bills to be higher. If I wasn’t enjoying my hot water so much, I know my bills would have been lower.

It’s going to get real interesting once the weather warms up. I’m betting those numbers are going to show an interesting shift that these ones haven’t shown.

If you’ve missed the first 2 parts of this 12 part series, you can catch up on those here:

Hot Water Heater Moved & Installed

About Econet- And How To Use It

The 100th #ThriftScoreThursday!

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Hello and welcome! Today is the 100th #ThriftScoreThursday. I am pretty stoked because this hashtag party fosters such a fun community of epic thrifters, watchers and everyone in between. I love that!

I went through to the beginning of the more than 7,000 entries to pick out the top 10 favorites of mine in 20 categories. Have you ever had to narrow 7,000 of something awesome to just 20?! Oh man was this the hardest thing I’ve ever judged. I wish I had a prize for every single one of you. But since I thrift for both aesthetic and financial reasons, I had to settle for teaming up with the other fab hosts to give away $100 paypal cash. Be sure to keep an eye on Instagram today because we’ll be announcing all the details there. Instagram: @adesignerathome

celebrating 100 the top thrift scores of thriftscorethursday

The Top Thrift Scores of #ThriftScoreThursday

Best In Sofa Scores:

Best In End Table Scores:

Best In Dresser Scores:

Best In Lounge Chairs:

Best In Ornate Chairs:

Best In Chair Pair Scores:

Best In China Cabinet Scores:

https://www.instagram.com/p/vVppANp75C/

Best In Dining Chairs:

Best In Bar Scores:

Best In Foot Stool Scores:

Best In Table Scores:

 Best In Kitchen Scores:

https://www.instagram.com/p/oTqrxoPCn1/

Best In Dining Scores:

https://www.instagram.com/p/nvKe2OsaEN/

Best In Little Scores:

Best In Art Scores:

Best In Brass Scores:

Best In Wall Hanging Scores:

Best In Light Fixture Scores:

Best In Rug Scores:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BB5VIYvigGU/

Best In Loot Scores:

Be sure to visit and give all the heart eyed emoji’s to these guys. Hard work thrifting pays off! Before I leave you to visit the other hosts, I wanted to drop in the piece that went with the plant stand I unveiled Tuesday–

thrifted wicker chair

Want to play along? Here’s The Rules!

  • We want you to participate! Hit up your local thrift stores, craigslist, yard sales, estate sales, side of the road, anything! Thrifty doesn’t necessarily mean from a thrift store. We want to see your good deals, wacky finds and treasures.
  • Don’t feel like you need to save those finds for Thursdays! Yes, features are shared on our blogs and Instagram on Thursdays, but we’re all checking in on (and using!) the hashtag all week long. So, when you see/find it, feel free to share it!
  • Each week, Trisha from Black and White Obsession, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Brynne from The Gathered Home, and Myself (A Designer At Home) will pick a favorite thrift score or two to feature! So please note that by linking up with #thriftscorethursday, you are giving us permission to share your finds via social media or on our blogs.
  • Please remember that we can only share love for photos shared on public accounts. If your profile is private, we can’t see your finds.

Now be sure to see how the other hosts are celebrating this awesome day!

Thrift Score Thursday Brynne color

Thrift Score Thursday Cassie

Thrift Score Thursday Trisha color

How To: Fringed Wicker Plant Stand

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boho fringe yarn skirt on vintage wicker plant stand - handmade creativity - it's so ugly it's cool challenge - adesignerathome

Ooh, I think you’re going to love this one. We love thrift scores around here. Sometimes the struggle is seeing beyond the current state of an item. A simple clean up, alteration or full on makeover can take an ugly find to the jealousy inducing pieces we see on Etsy. Jess from Domicile 37 rallied up a group of bloggers who love taking thrift store/craigslist/yardsale/flea market finds and bringing new life to them. The name of the challenge: #ItsSoUglyItsCool.

You can join the fun, too. Simply tag your makeovers on Instagram and use the #ItsSoUglyItsCool tag. We’ll be sharing our favorites on our accounts. Don’t get stuck on the word “ugly.” Basically what you need to do is to find used piece(s) (furniture, decor, vintage items, odd items, etc…) and show the BEFORE and AFTER of how you transformed the piece to fit in your home. You can DIY it, clean it, polish it, etc…Just share how you make it your own or how you add life to it.

There’s going to be a pretty big divide on my project. I already know there are going to be people who feel very strongly that my “boho-ifying” of this piece is ridiculous and that it was better before. Oh well!

multi colored rasta inspired yarn skirt

I call it: Boho Fringed Wicker Plant Stand

It’s like it’s wearing a fun festival style skirt. And it allows me to throw plants into it that are still in their ugly store containers without it being visible through the weave. I love it. It’s really as simple as picking out some kick ass yarn and cutting it to the length plus a little excess of the pot holding part. Knot it into the weave and knot additional pieces onto the first set.

the process of boho-ifying a plain wicker plant stand

I used this “Pueblo” colored yarn and this cool mixed yarn. And a couple episodes of mind numbing children’s cartoons and I was finished knotting. I’m not quite a maximalist but I do like to live on the embellished side of life.

split leaf pothos in wicker plant stand with diy yarn fringe skirt

jungalow style bohemian decor diy yarn fringe on wicker plant stand

vintage wicker planter boho-ified with yarn fringe skirt

base of wicker plant stand planter

And because everyone loves a before and after. Here’s a side by side comparison of my handiwork. It’s kind of like a string wall hanging on a planter. In fact, that’s exactly what this is, ha. I love string wall hangings because they’re simple but look really, really good when you use good yarns and mix different textures. Here’s one I made to look like a moroccan wedding blanket!

DSC00147 boho fringe yarn skirt on vintage wicker plant stand - handmade creativity - it's so ugly it's cool challenge - adesignerathome

Even better than a before and after? MORE thrifted makeovers! Yes, my awesome blogging friends and I have a whole slew to share with you. Please give these wonderful ladies a visit:

Domicile 37 // Britt Kingery // Shabby Grace Blog
Up To Date Interiors // Vintage Romance Style
A Designer at Home // Casa Watkins // Iris Nacole

Want to see what I scored along with this planter? Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed so you can get notified when the #thriftscorethursday post goes up and you’ll see!

Guidelines: Budgeting for Home Decor and DIY

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5 Guidelines for budgeting HomeDecor & DIY projects - the tough and honest self talk - a designer at home

Everyone’s home journey is very, very different. Some choose to decorate, some choose to DIY and others choose both or neither. I do think that decorating a home is a necessity. Happiness is important and there is a correlation between happiness and surroundings. Home is more than surface level so it can be hard for each person to determine how much of their budget should go to the home décor and DIY part of the budget pie. It’s going to end up being different for everyone but here are 5 guidelines for determining what to budget for your home décor and DIY projects.

guidelinesfordecorating

5 Guidelines for Budgeting for Home Decor & DIY Projects

  1. Explore the impact your own home has on your mood.

Pay attention to how you feel in other’s homes (and note whether or not they’ve decorated). What restaurants do you enjoy visiting? What spaces in magazines or online are you drawn to? If you have very specific feelings towards particular spaces and you catch yourself feeling differently in decorated versus undecorated spaces (and how they’re decorated), then the way your home looks and feels should take priority. If you aren’t drawn to anything in particular and you don’t notice changes in your mood in different places, then your priority would be low.

A generic and rough list of Budget priorities for me would go in this order: Shelter, Food, Bills, My Son, Health and Wellness, Home Décor/DIY/Improvements, Entertainment (and the list goes on and on)

2. Impact on How You Live life

The next area you should explore when determining how much of your budget to spend on home décor and/or DIY projects in what impact it has on how you live your life. Do you enjoy hosting dinner parties but don’t because you don’t have anything on the walls? Or maybe it’s more extreme and you don’t have guests stay over (but you want to) because you don’t have a bed for them.

Will life be enjoyable and fulfilling if you make tassels for a basket or a geometric light fixture?

If you don’t invite people over because you aren’t satisfied for any reason of the state of the public spaces of your home, you either need to prioritize doing something about them OR be easier on yourself. I can’t decide this for you, but creating a list of what you want to do in your home and beside it writing down why you don’t can help give you clarity on what impact having a decorated home has on your life.

3. Personal Worth Of the Results

Do you go out and buy something for your home, bring it home and display it and feel anything? If you feel dissatisfied, there could be a few reasons for that. 1) You’re trying to fill a bigger void than what 1 small thing can fill. 2) You didn’t love the piece to begin with. 3) You don’t actually love decorating.

If you don’t actually love decorating (and decorating can be hanging posters of your favorite sports teams, don’t get me wrong here!), then don’t budget much to it. Instead consider decorating by buying “cute” but practical pieces that you already need. Like pots and pans with a fun color or bath towels with pattern.

4. Resale Value

If your neighborhood isn’t raising in value, even the houses that have had renovations done, you should skip the decorator tile. I can’t truly tell you that your personal enjoyment is worth the potential loss in resale value. Just because you’re saving yourself money to do it yourself doesn’t mean what you do spend in materials is worth it. You just can’t ever know what the future holds. While some will disagree and tell you to have fun with the home you have and enjoy it- If you had to put your home on the market tomorrow and you had absolutely no money for some awful reason, will you want it looming over you that every potential buying is walking away because you put in something you enjoyed?

On the other hand, if the monetary risk is smaller, say you got that decorator tile for less than the basic tile. Or a DIY light fixture that doesn’t cost $100 in materials. I’m a realist and I understand when something is too much. There are so many other ways to DIY and decorate and just have fun than taking on a huge financial commitment.

DIY projects should make sense financially. Decorating should make sense financially. Don’t price yourself out of paying bills, out of your neighborhood, or out of reversing and going in a different direction.

5. Personal Journey

Everyone’s personal journey is different. You’re going to experience different financial situations, changes in what you enjoy and changes in experiences. You know how Jon Acuff’s saying goes, “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” How about “Everyone’s middle is different, embrace your own middle.” Your beginning and on is different, your middle will be different because of it. If you have a lot of excess income and you actually enjoy decorating and creating things, than you know how much you can spare. If you don’t have so much, embrace the things you can do, really hone in on your creativity and celebrate what you make and do.

Be honest with yourself, are you creating it because it’s cheaper and you love to make things?

Will you be happier making something versus other things you could be doing instead?

If you hate creating things, can you wait until you’ve saved up a bit or it goes on sale?

If you wait to buy it 2 weeks from now, will you still love it in your space?

Is it the item you’ve been needing to mold the atmosphere of your space?

Is it essential to your journey?

Does it make financial sense?

There’s no special formula with an exact number for every case. I think 2 books I’d highly recommend for those in this journey who are feeling constrained by time or money are Love The Home You Have and The Nesting Place. They’re very encouraging with lots of practical ideas and tips for those journeys. Even if you do feel like you have a comfortable budget, those books are fantastic. But you could also have fun with Styled or Sarah Style.

If your considering decorating, feeling frustrated by DIY or are curious what a home decor and DIY blogger would suggest when creating a budget for either/or answer these questions: Does it affect your mood? Does it impact life in your home? Are the results rewarding? Does it affect future or current financial stability? and Does it work in line with your personal journey? And gauge your budget from there.

Vintage Bohemian Dining Room Mood Board

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vintage eclectic dining room mood board

I’m still avoiding the bathroom remodel and dreaming of other spaces so I put together a mood board for the space I want to set my sights on next- the dining room. The basics of great dining room design is simple, but looking into the function of the space and playing around with all of the different furniture options we have now gets a little daunting. Overall, I have a general idea of what I want the space to look and feel like. I have most of the furniture but the walls need to be painted. I have little trinkets and window treatments. But, I also have a pile of junk that I need to figure out what to do with. An ugly old light fixture that needs replacing. And a lot of painting to do. I’ll consider sharing pictures of all that chaos later, for today- it’s pretty spaces and a mood board 🙂

Featured in my mood board: Hairpin Bench,  Chairs, Shades, Tapestry, China Cabinet from Retro Therapy Rehab, Dresser, Rug, Light, Bar Cart, Boho Chair

I’m inspired by eclectic dining rooms. With a lot of neutral pieces and pops of rich jewel toned color.

This dining room from Lindsay of The Buffalo Styling Co. has inspired me for ages now. That light fixture has haunted my design dreams since the first time I saw it. But there’s other pieces, too, that I’m inspired by. Like the subtle, yet still fresh and vibrant, curtains. The rustic vibe of the table paired with the clean lines of the mid century china cabinet is so interesting. And the fact that the space isn’t huge is a big thing for me. It can be so overwhelming looking at giant spaces full of all the bells and whistles when that just isn’t relatable to my space at all.

cozy-dining-room1

There’s a similar trend with many of the dining rooms that serve as inspiration for the space I hope to have. This space from Ashley of Bigger Than The Three Of Us also has a fresh and bright vibe. Eclectic, again, is the theme of the space. The mid century dining set is to die for. She also used an interesting light fixture, different style but still so cool and different. Those same style chairs pop up again and it’s a mixed seating situation in both spaces. Hm.. and now that I think of it, anyone else seeing double with the cowhide rugs? Ha, I’m kind of predictable, eh?

Modern-Eclectic-Eat-In-Kitchen-Reveal-2

One other space that I’ve swooned for pretty majorly is Thought’s From Alice’s dining room. Striking lighting never fails to enter the dining room of my dreams. Her space isn’t so heavy of the jewel tones like Lindsay’s is, but I love that they both have a rustic feel to them. The pretty coordinating artwork have warmer tones that I adore. And look, more of those cafe style chairs.  Every one of these spaces are stunning. It’s crazy how beautiful they are, but they still look comfortable and easy to be in. That’s exactly the feeling I want in my space.

Rustic-Boho-Farmhouse-Dining-Room