So there you are - leaving the flooring store, the paint store, or the fabric store, and your arms are laden with different samples.  Now what? Now you take them home and observe them!  Put that flooring sample on the floor in the room for which it's intended.  Tape a paint sample to the wall that will be painted.  Drape the fabric over the sofa that will be recovered.  Look at it, then go away.  Come back in a few hours and look again.  See it in the morning, mid-day, dusk and evening.  What looks good at mid-day, may look washed out in the morning.  what looks like a glowing orange at dusk, may look more red at noon.  There's science behind it, wave lengths and such, but all you really need to know is how it looks.  Once you've observed in all the different lights (and maybe jotted down a note or two) then you can make your selections with confidence!  

If you're interested in the science, this article by Tad Simons at STIR breaks it down for you:  

Don't Make Color Decisions At Sunset

Disposable Furniture?

I was perusing my local community bulletin board, when I came across a notice from someone giving away a 2-year-old bonded leather sectional with power reclining seats. "Wow" I thought, until I saw the pictures. The old adage 'you get what you pay for' comes to mind. This sectional, bought from one of the big box national furniture stores, probably seemed like a great value at the time. But only 2 years later, this poor person is simply hoping that someone will haul it away for free. The comments on this post were full of people with similar stories. they had all been suckered in by the fancy showrooms and unbelievable prices. A few had even paid for extra “insurance” that had turned out to be worthless. Another old adage come to mind, ‘buyer beware’. We all want to believe that we’re getting a great deal, but the fact is that quality costs more. Better materials cost more. Better workmanship costs more. However, when you buy quality furniture, you don’t have to replace it every 3-5 years. So in the long run, paying for quality is cheaper than paying over and over again for a bargain.

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Do Granite Counter Tops Emit Radon? (And Other Radon FAQs)

Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of rocks and natural stones.  So, do we have to worry about this gas being emitted not just from the ground under our home, but also from the materials that we use inside our homes as well?

Check out this article from The Allstate Blog:

Do Granite Counter tops emit Radon gas?