Premium Real Estate News

Integrating your home and its landscape can be as simple as taking advantage of what nature has provided such as a distant views or a rolling hill or as complex as adding a structure.  Use nature surrounding your home for clues in developing your landscape.  But what if you planned and you planted, and your landscape still doesn’t look quiet the way you had imagined; here are some tips and ideas to help you to create the landscape of your dreams. 

• Find a vista:  This doesn’t have to be a sweeping view of a mountain.  It could be a nice tree or a fountain at the end of your garden; make sure there is a clear sight line to it.
• Create a garden room in your landscape.  Think of your landscape as an outdoor living space and divide the landscape into rooms:  a sitting room, a place for eating, an activity room, and an entertaining area.  By give each area a different character, it makes a small space seem larger.  Avoid over-accessorize your garden room with large sculptures or ornaments. 
• Incorporate native plants and local elements such as indigenous flowers or stones to your landscape.  If a certain type of stone is common to your region, chances are it is appropriate addition to your landscape plan.  Use it on walls, walkways, and other structures.  
• Plan meandering garden paths.  A meandering approach to your garden helps create a sense of solitude and a place to go to.  Paths should be 5 or 6 feet wide for two people to walk side by side without tripping over each other.
• Provide a place of destination in your landscaping.  Benches in the garden should be 5 or 6 feet wide for two or more persons to sit comfortably.  4 feet is too close for comfort, unless it is for a couple or an individual. 
• Install a secret retreat in your landscape.  One way to make a garden getaway inviting is to make it feel like a room.  An open structure such as a gazebo allows plenty of light and breeze to move through the area while still providing a shelter. 
• Give part of your landscape a sense of enclosure.  Screen the garden from view using a formal or informal hedge, a loose screen of plants, or even a tall potted perennial can give you a feeling of protection and a sense of privacy you want. 
• Know what you want from your trees or shrubs so you can plan your purchase and their location accordingly.  Buy plants with tags stating their maturity size; individual selections vary widely.  In its maturity, a Southern magnolia will grow 60 feet tall. 
• Plant some edibles.  The dwarf fruit tress bear fruit a year or two after planting and can be fitted into the small landscaping in many ways.  Apple, pear, cherry, lemon, figs, and berries add their own particular pleasures into your landscape. 
• Buy a container-grown tree with a 2-inch-diameter trunk.  It usually cost about 25 percent more than tree wrapped in burlaps (called balled and burlapped), but it will survive the transition faster and is less likely to go into shock when transplanted.

Successful landscaping is gained on trial and error.  Educate yourself with up to date information and learn from other people’s mistakes.  In time, you too will establish your own specialty; it takes a wide range of skills to take a dream and turn it into a dramatic landscape.

In our culture of typical 4,000 and 6,000 square feet houses, arranging furnishing to facilitate coziness can be a challenge.  A good sense of visual balance is called for to make cozy, comfortable style work.  Hire professional interior decorator for advice to transform your home into a cozy, comfortable retreat.  Here are some key guidelines and tips for creating the look. 

• Dimmer switches mechanically create the effect.  Use print lampshades and lamps with voluptuously curved bases.  Rich colors absorb the lights.
•  Create close conversation area.  Move furniture pieces close together on angles and avoiding placing everything against the wall to create a feeling of intimacy.  Add footstools, side tables, and a large coffee table to make lingering in soft chairs more pleasant.  To feel more intimate, make sure furniture is situated so people won’t be more than ten feet apart.
•  Choose rich tones and a balance of patterns.  Use one or more prints, floral, geometric stripes, and plaids intersperse with solid colors.  Unite the patterns with a common color.  If you use red as your base color, all of the coordinating fabrics should incorporate red too.  Limit the number of patterns in the room to three.  Balance the distribution of the patterns throughout the room by spreading them out in at least three different areas.  Rich tones and warm color make perfect palette that liven up the space while still keeping it warm and cozy.
•  Use collection of items to add warmth and coziness to a room:  More photos on bookshelves, more pillows on the overstuffed sofa, and a collection of decorative plates and pictures on the wall.
•  Think horizontal and soft.  Many coziest pieces of furniture have full, fluffy cushions, high backs, well padded arms, and they hug the floor with ruffled or pleated skirts or have short, stocky legs.  You and your guest will feel like sinking down into them, relax, and linger awhile.
•  Paint deep cove molding in a contrasting color with the wall will keep the ceiling at a comfortable height but doesn’t overly heighten it.  Wallpaper and stencil borders are effective alternatives to molding.
• Give each room a focal point; a room with a lot of visual activity needs visual center.  Otherwise, the room can feel chaotic.

The feeling your home conveys can be one influential factor on your emotions.  You can create an environment that nurtures you by interpreting the essential principles of interior decorating such as groping furniture together and using plenty of patterns, textures, and colors. Transform your home into a warm, inviting, and snug feeling place and make sure your home takes you toward happiness and satisfaction; your home should nourish your senses and feed your soul.

Storage is a personal issue.  Establish what function you need from your storage such as to display, to protect, to conceal, to store, or to organize your stuff will help you select the right type of storage for your possessions.  Your storage choice should also be organized to make everyday clean up easy and simple.  Analyze your storage requirement and make a plan.  Your local interior decorator or contractor can help you with your storage project once you determined what storage solutions suit you best.  Here are some tips to help you create practical and attractive storage needs that would fit your lifestyle and living space.

• To display objects:  Any collection has intrinsic display value that can be enhanced by its setting and good lighting.  Start by analyzing the items to be displayed and consider the most favorable position for the best advantage point.  Recessed alcoves, shelves, and well-lighted glass front cabinets are popular choices for displaying objects.  Designate the display area.  If your collection is large, rotate items on display rather than having everything out all the time.
• To store or hide frequently use items:  Find home for every single item.  If you know where to put it, then you will know where to find it.  Establish storage containers and store things where you use them to make them easily accessible; built-in-storage such as window seats that lift up can provide the perfect place to hide magazines or toys.  Ottoman that pops open provides storage area for extra blankets or pillows.  Armoire in the living room can house TV or stereo equipments.  Custom cabinetry can be designed and made to fit the kitchen, bathroom, or even the living room allowing plenty of storage space so your house remains functional, elegant, and uncluttered.  Built-in cabinets can double as a decorative feature in the room.
•  To conceal potentially dangerous items:  Keep medicine and other chemicals in high or lockable cabinets.  First-aid kits should be stored where they are easily accessible in case of emergencies. 
•  To protect your belongings:  Valuable items such as designer shoes or handbags need to be stored away from dust and sunlight and in sturdy boxes or bins to keep their shape.  They should be stored in the same environment that you would feel comfortable in-not too hot, not too cold, not too damp, and not too dry.
•  To store out-of-season clothing:  Store them in natural canvas storage boxes; breathable cotton canvas is ideal for long term clothing storage.  Keep the boxes in dark and dry place.
•  To store out-of-season blankets or quilts:  Store them in archival storage boxes made from acid-free polypropylene; they protect fabric from discoloration.
•  To store memorabilia:  If you have limited space, use off-site storage facility to hold off season items, keepsakes, and other possessions that you don’t need to access daily.

Everybody has something to store.  Hire professional to help you plan adequate, appropriate, and creative storage for your household; it makes for smooth running of your home.

An organized closet is about easy access to your clothes that will save much more than your time and sanity (from searching through cluttered); for most people, a neat closet gives a feeling of calm and orderly life.  Design your closet as you would any other room in your home for function and comfort.  Your closet organization goal should be easy storage and retrieval for your items.  Retrofit your closet by hiring professional to install closet organizer.  A closet organizer can make the most of the minimal space and is an improvement to your property.  If you rent, look into the systems that can be removed and taken with you when you leave.  Use these techniques to get the most out of your closet space.

• Group like items together.  Sort and separate casual clothes from work clothes and formal wears.  Then group garments by types such as skirts and shirts.

• Adding a second closet rod for expanding your closet function, or adjust the height of your existing one to allow for storage above and below.  By installing a double-rod system you immediately double your closet space.  It means you can hang pants and shirts or blouses and skirts in half the space you used before.   Double racks should be installed at about 82 and 42 inches high to make the most of your closet space.  Allow about 6 inches of clearance above and below each rod.

• Have adequate lighting in your closet to help find items and match color accurately.  Consider battery-operated light to provide visual access to all parts of your closet.

• Use clear plastic boxes to store miscellaneous items such as hair accessories and put the boxes on the shelf or use pre-made shelves for shoes and bags.

• Consider adding extra shelving for items you don’t use often, but still need to have such as bathing suits and evening shoes. 

• Use shelf dividers to keep folded stacks of sweaters and jeans from toppling over.

• Use padded hangers for more delicate items and sturdy wood hangers for tailored jacket to maintaining the shape of your garment. 

• Keep shoes off the floor of the closet by adding a shelf for shoes on one wall or buy over-the-door shoe pockets and group your shoes together by color for easy visual and access.  Ready-made shoe caddies or shoe bags are available in most department stores.

• Pack away the out-of-season clothes in a cedar chest or a box and store the box in an area that isn’t damp.  You will have more room in your closet and the remainder of your clothes won’t wrinkle as much because they won’t be pressed together.

By arranging your closet for maximum space and accessibility, you will cut down on time you spend hunting for clothes and getting dressed.  Even worse than standing knee-deep in sweaters or shoes at your feet is not being able to find what you are looking for; with closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.

Furniture placement often falls into the two extremes: the lineup, where every piece is backed against the wall and the obstacle course, where every piece floats in a free-flowing maze.  Here are some tips to help you find the balance.

• Buy one piece of furniture at a time, keeping it compatible in style with other furnishing in your home.  Avoid buying whole room sets of furniture.  You will be stuck with inflexible arrangements.  Before rearranging your furniture or buying a new piece, consider how you will be using the spaces; you will get a better understanding of what you need.
• Pay attention to how people move through the room and how you want them to move through the room.  Create an easy path through the room by allowing a-3-feet wide path where you want traffic to flow.
•  The goal to any room arrangement is to create a simple grouping of furniture pieces that will work for the room’s purpose.  Each room should have an architectural feature or a dominant piece of furniture that give the main focus point which all other items are oriented.
•  An area rug defines an island of furniture.  It groups and creates a well-defined purpose of a room.  By placing a console table behind a sofa that sits at a 90 degrees angle to a doorway creates a back to a comfortable conversational grouping.
• Folding screens are perfect for many decorating options.  Use versatile folding screens to divide spaces, display artwork, create a focal point, and to create private spaces within a public rooms.  Place a large folding screen in corner of a room to reshape the room and to add a focus and a backdrop.   Look for a model with solid footing for added stability.  Consider the back as well as the front of the screen.  Many styles can be found to fit any décor and budget.

Go for simple improvements to create beautiful and well arranged living space that fit your lifestyle.  The result of carefully planned rooms can give you comfort, pride, and joy. When you find it, you will know.  The problem is there’s always room for improvement.

Most cooks have their favorite kitchen utensils that are time-tested, functional, and well-worn.  Whether you are an everyday cook, a week-end chef, or an every once in a while entertainer, you need efficient and organized kitchen tools.  The key to an efficient kitchen is to be able to find what you are looking for right when you need it.  Every piece of kitchen utensil should have a home, and not a drawer that has every utensil imaginable.  Here are some tips to help you organize your kitchen utensils.

• Select the kitchen tools you actually use most often by taking all the utensils out of your drawers and put them in a large clean plastic bin.  For the next month, whenever you use one of those utensils put it back in the drawer.  If after a month, some still in the plastic bin, you don’t need them.  If your utensils are still in good shape, donate them to your local church’s soup-kitchen.

• Most people need only one each of the three types of knives in the kitchen: a paring knife, an 8-inch chef’s knife, and a 10-inch serrated-edged slicing knife.  Buy top quality brands and you will have knives that will stay sharper and last longer.

• Keep some low-tech kitchen utensils available to use during power outage.  They are manual can-opener; bottle-opener; zester (rasp) for citrus or ginger; fruit and vegetable peeler; mandoline (hand-operated slice equipment); and mortar and pestle for crushing, grinding and pounding your ingredients.

• If you have weeded out the things you don’t use in your kitchen and have moved seldom-used items out of the way, make sure your top kitchen tools are easy to find and easy to grab up when you need them. 

Regardless of how you live, your kitchen is unique among the rooms in your home.  Keep your cooking area clean, organize, and functional.  It is a recipe for a healthy living.

Americans on average spend more than 8 hours sitting at their desks every single day.  The desk and the chair which are the center of the work area have a big impact on your health and well being.  Finding the right size desk and chair for your need to get the job done without putting your health, comfort, and productivity in jeopardy is not difficult.  Browse at your local office supply centers, look through catalogs, and visit your local furniture showrooms.  You will find large choices of desks and chairs for every style and budget.  Here are some tips to help you choose the correct desk and chair to optimize productivity without sacrificing comfort and style.

Important features to look for in a desk:  As you spend increasing amounts of time at your desk, you need to be aware of how the design and arrangements of the work equipments impact your health and posture.

• Select the desk with the right height for your body’s built.  A good working desk should have adequate clearance for your legs under the desktop; it should generally be between 20-28 inches (50-72 cm) from the floor to the underside of your desk.  Be sure that you have space about 2-3 inches between the top of your thighs and the underside of your desk.  Remove the center drawers of conventional desk to create additional thigh clearance if necessary. 
• Desktops that are too low or too high may lead to awkward postures and physical exertions.  Be sure clearance spaces under working surfaces accommodates a variety of sitting postures; the most important is the upright seated posture.
• If the computer is the center of your work station, desk surface should allow you to place the monitor directly in front of you at least 20 inches away comfortably.  Select the desk with rounded desktop edges to reduce contact stress (such as when your wrists or arms are pressed on sharp desktop edges for a long time) that affect nerves and blood vessels possibly causing tingling and sore fingers.
• Desktop should provide enough room to allow you to move while working, adequate placement for basic office tools, and space to comfortably write, open mail, and review works as necessary.   

Chair:  Sitting is hard on your back; sitting in poor posture for a long period of time can cause added pressure on the intervertebral spinal discs-the spongy disc between the vertebras.  If you spend a lot of times in your office chair, even more than in your bed, use the chair that will not damage your back.  Here are what important in an office chair.

• Backrest or lumbar support:  Ample lumbar support that adjusts as your lower back moves is the most important factor to look for in the office chair.  You should be able to adjust the backrest recline by at least 15 degrees for different sitting positions.  The angle of the backrest is subjective but your trunk and upper legs should form an angle between 90 to 115 degrees.  Look for chair that has lumbar support to maintain your lower back’s curvature. Adjust the height of the backrest to support the natural inward curve of the lower back with a pillow or rolled up towel for your lower back support.
• Seat size:  Sit back on the chair; if you can slide your hand in between the front edge and the back of your knees, the chair is a correct size.  The seat size should also fit your frame, not too narrow and not too wide that using armrests would strain your shoulders.  Make sure the edges are rounded so the chair doesn’t dig into your legs causing circulation restriction.
• Height:  When you sit, your feet should be planting firmly on the floor to support proper spine position, thus, preventing potential spinal disc injury.  The chair height should be adjustable to accommodate your lifestyle, i.e. in case you wear heels or flat shoes.  If your feet dangle, it is harder for your back to maintain the S-shape of your spine and you could end up with a lower back pain.
• Armrest:  The arms of the chair should be at a height where your shoulders are not raised up but relaxed as they would be when you are at rest.  Look for the armrests that are contoured, cushioned, and have adjustable height. 
• Chair base:  Office chair should have 5 casters legs on the base to provide enough support and stability.  The casters should glide smoothly so you don’t have to bend or reach to move around.  Periodically spray compressed air into the joints of the moving mechanisms to keep them free of dust.  The chair should have a tilt mechanism that control how far you can lean back and under-seat lever that help you find the perfect height.

Given how much time you spend in your office chair at your desk, you need to pay attention to how the desk and chair impact your comfort, physical health, and your productivity.  If after a full work day, you experienced muscle tension from raising your shoulders or lower back pain from sitting awkwardly, may be it is time to go office-furniture shopping.

Area floor rug is extremely versatile and useful piece of home furnishing. It can spark a visual interest, muffling sounds of foot traffic, increasing the life of your hardwood floor from heavy use, and much more. Browse through your local home furnishing stores, look through the internet, and visit rugs showrooms to find the rug that suits your fancy. Consult with your local interior decorator on how best to use floor area rugs to tie in your home décor. Here are guidelines to help with your rug decision making process.

• Types of rugs. There are many choices of area rugs available in variety of styles, colors, shapes, and materials. For Persian or Oriental rugs, they are either hand knotted rugs or hand-tufted rugs. Hand-knotted rugs are top of the line for quality; have the finest details and are well known for durability. This ancient hand-knotted technique is still used on contemporary rugs. The more knots per square inch the better; they can vary from 40 to 1,200. Check the underside of the rug; if you see the reverse pattern, it is a hand-knotted piece. Hand-tufted rugs are half man-made and half machine-made. If you see a backing on the underside of the rug, it is hand-tufted. Look for the RugMark label, which means it was made without child labor.

Wool rugs are naturally stain-resistant and the fibers fluff right up with vacuuming, which makes wool rugs excellent choice for use in high traffic area. Wool rugs should last decades, but you pay for durability.

 Cotton rugs are even more affordable choice, but they can stain and wear out quickly. Most can be washed in a large washing machine.

Rugs made from plant-based fibers such as sisal, jute, sea grass, or bamboo are biodegradable and are renewable resources which made them eco-friendly. They are good for sunroom or outdoor use. Plant-based rugs are more difficult to keep clean and may last only a few years with heavy use.

Synthetic rugs are made from either polypropylene or nylon. Both types hold colors well, are excellent at hiding dirt, and are water and UV resistant. Yarn made of polypropylene fibers can get crushed over time; the nylon yarn is bulkier and is better quality than polypropylene.

• Size. An area rug is meant to give a room a focal point, to draw the eye, and to make the room inviting. For use in an entire room, try to leave an equal amount of flooring exposed on all sides as border.

For the bedroom: Allow three feet of rug on either side of the bed for a soft landing in the morning. The bedside table should be on the rug as well.

For the living room: Furniture that is half-on and half-off the rug creates a casual feel; furniture that is entirely off or entirely on the rug makes the room feel more formal. For use under a coffee table, buy a 4’X 6’ or 6’X9’ area rug. Table legs should stand within the rug. To accent furnishings leave the floor space between the rug and furniture. For the dining room: Buy the rug that is large enough to fit beneath the chairs that’s pushed back from the table and then add 6 more inches to get the rug dimension. Also, to be sure of the size, measure the length and width of the table and add at least 4 feet to each.

• Prices. A general rule of thumb for how much to pay for a rug: A rug’s price should match the cost of the other major furniture in the room. In the living room, the area floor rug should be about the price of the sofa. 5 feet by 8 feet synthetic polypropylene or nylon rug costs less than $100. 5 feet by 8 feet cotton rug costs $50 and up. Plant-based fibers start at a low $100. Wool rug prices vary: 5 feet by 8 feet machine-made replica start at $200 up to thousands of dollars for an authentic hand-knotted Persian rug.
• Rug pads. These handy floor and rug protection provide comfort and have gripping capabilities. They work to add years to your rug’s life by keeping the rug in place-less movement means less friction translating to less wear and tear on your rug. Most pads are made of synthetic materials such as PVC or latex and come in various thicknesses. Buy a pad that is one or two inches smaller than your rug and in your budget. A good quality rug pad will not mar, stain, or discolor your flooring. If you have a valuable light-colored hardwood floor, invest in a good quality rug pad so the rug colors will not bleed through to your wood floor. Some rug manufactures require that their product be placed on a quality rug pad in order to validate their warranty against defects in workmanship. Pad ranges from $20 to $80.

Decorating with floor area rugs is the easiest ways to revitalize, update, improve, and beautify any room in your home. Select a floor area rug of your choice and create a new look underfoot without the hassle or high cost of new flooring when you want to change your home décor with seasons or moods. It could be your magic carpet

Bugs and pests interfere with outdoor enjoyment. If you live in the mild climate area, you might consider hiring a local builder to add a screened porch to your home. Determine what your priority’s are such as keeping out the bugs, concerning about excessive exposure to the sun, intruder problems, the surrounding elements (salty air or high wind) and the attractiveness of the addition. Nowadays, bug screens are available in a variety of colors, materials, and finishes from galvanized steel screening (now considered outdated) to fiberglass, bronze, and aluminum. Here is some information about bug screens for homeowner to select from in order to optimize your outdoor living experience.

• For the screen material, you can choose from aluminum, plastic, fiberglass, copper, or bronze. Aluminum is inconspicuous, but it is subject to staining. Fiberglass and plastic won’t stain, but their filaments are thicker which affect some visibility. Copper and bronze must be coated with vanish periodically to prevent staining.

•  Screen mesh is categorized by its weave density. Standard mesh screen is commonly refers to as “18 by 16”. This simply means it has 18 openings across and 16 openings down per square inch. The mesh with more openings per square inch means more tightly the weave.

• For severe sunlight area, consider sun shading screens. All screens stop some sunshine, but solar screens are woven so tightly they offer significant shading for anyone near the windows. Typical solar screens stop up to 65 % of sunlight for less than $ 1.00 per square foot. Aluminum and bronze screens are capable of blocking out as much as 85% of sunlight at cost up to $15.00 per square foot. Solar screens are available in 100-foot by 36-inch rolls and will cost you $175 to $200. Buy the sun shading screens that are 18/14 mesh or finer.

• If you are only concerned about mosquitoes, light aluminum or fiberglass screens should work. These inexpensive screens come in colors and they can be installed easily. Look for a mesh count of 20 by 20 to keep out mosquitoes and other pesky insects. Basic aluminum or fiberglass screens come in 100-foot-long by 30-inch-wide rolls and cost $78 to $85 per roll.

• Hurricane strength screen mesh can be installed as a security measure. Hurricane mesh Aramid (Kevlar) wrapped stainless steel doesn’t look much different than other screens, but they are made of heavy mesh Kevlar-like material that is mounted in tough frames. (The foundation for the mesh, Aramid, is one of the strongest existing materials in the world. It is the basic material for Kevlar, which is the trademark and registered name from DuPont). The screens won’t stop the most determined criminal, but they can’t be kicked or punched out and are very difficult to cut. The security mesh can be installed onto doors that lead to the outside or used as hurricane screens. The screens can withstand debris blown by 100-mph-plus wind. Contact your local home security company for availability and proper installation of the product.

• If you have a small dog, you can install dog proof screening on lower panels of your screened area only. Durable weave such as vinyl coated polyester “pet screens” can be seven times stronger than standard insect screening.

•  For coastal regions, fiberglass and bronze are better choice of screens. Aluminum will anodized and break down in salt air if the rust proof coating chips or cracks. Bronze screening, really a combination of copper and zinc is extremely durable and will withstand severe coastal weather. It comes with a bright gold finish that fades to a patina of dark brown overtime. Bronze screens cost about $ 1.20 per square foot. Fiberglass, on the other hand, costs about 14 cent per square foot. It won’t corrode in the salt air and require little maintenance. Fiberglass is less rigid and easier to work with than bronze screens and aluminum, but it can ripple if not stretched correctly during installation.

•  If you want to savior the unobstructed view or you are concerned about severe storms in your area, consider a retractable screening. They are about 15 % more to install than a permanent screened porch. They keep the bugs out in the summer but fully retracted away on mild days or during the most severe storms (you will save money on screening replacement cost in the long run). Screened in area keeps out pests, increases privacy, and lets you enjoy the outdoors. Before you rush out to hire the dream building expert, take sometime to carefully plan your screened area, and pretty soon, you will have an extra light, airy, and casual living space you would love for years to come.

Getting enough sleep is critical to your overall well being.  Sleep deprivation affects more than 70 million Americans and people are spending $ 24 billion a year trying to fall asleep.  The golden rule of bedroom essential is that what will enhance sleep, relaxation, and rejuvenation stay in the bedroom and avoid or remove what will interfere with sleep.  Here is how to choose wisely.

• Mattress.  Choose a right size and length bed for you and your mate.  The more room you have to move around, the more comfortable you will both be.

There are three basic types of mattress to choose from:  the inner spring construction; the air-filled models; and the foam mattresses.

1.  The inner spring construction is the most common; it is consists of steel coils and covers with layers of padding.  One good measure of how well it will support your body is the number of coils it has.  For a full-size mattress, you need a minimum of 350 coils, 480 coils for a queen-size, and 580 for a king-size mattress.  Expect to pay anywhere from several hundred dollars to $ 2,000.

2.  Air-filled type allows you adjust the firmness of your bed.  The mattress is composed of air chambers surrounded by foam.  Select one with a top layer of high-density foam.

3.  Foam mattresses come in latex, either natural or synthetic rubber; polyurethane, which varies in density; and viscoelastic, the similar type is the memory foam that molds to your body’s shape.  The foam retains heat, so if you get hot while sleeping, look for open-cell construction for maximum air permeability.  The memory foam mattress costs from $1,000 to $ 5,000, for a thicker mattress covers in silk or satin.  

• Pillows.  The type of pillow that you should choose depends on your favorite position when you sleep.  If you sleep on your stomach, select a soft pillow so you won’t strain your neck.  If you lie on your back, use a medium pillow so that it will hold your head as though you were standing upright.  If you lie on your side, opt for a firm pillow so you can breathe easier.  If you roll around a lot in your sleep, go with a medium pillow.  Select an appropriate pillow for each person.  You may need to have two different types of pillows on your bed if your bed partner has a different sleeping position than yours.  Invest in Dacron polyester-filled pillows.  They are more durable than traditional foam and won’t get moldy when exposed to dampness.   

• Bed linen.  Quality of tread or fiber, high number of thread counts, the weave, and finishes are what counts for luxury sheets.  Look for sheets or bed linen labeled “Egyptian long-staple”, “pima”, and “Supima” Percale with a thread count of 180 or higher.  If you suffer from allergies or from chemical sensitivities, look for finish-free option:  organic sheets, which are untreated and woven from cotton grown without the use of pesticides.  They are available in a variety of colors; cost $60 to $90 per set.  Know that you will have a harder time keeping the sheets wrinkle free.  Here are what made up high-quality sheets.

1.  Fibers.  If you are looking for the cool, soft feel, nothing beats 100 % cotton.  Cotton fiber wicks moisture away from your skin.  It is a water-loving fiber which will release dirt easily when wet and cotton sheets are less likely to stain than polyester blends.  Look for high quality long fibers on the label.

2.  Weave.  Percale is an upscale plain weave (woven from equal number of vertical and horizontal yarns and are the least expensive).  Sateen weave have more vertical than horizontal yarns.  The higher proportion of vertical treads results in an extremely soft fabric but it is more prone to pill and tear than a plain weave.  Intricate weave such as jacquards and damasks have textured feel, with a pattern alternating from satiny soft to course and thick.  They can be as durable as plain weave, but they are made on special looms and are considerably more expensive.

3.  Finish.  Most sheets are treated with chemicals including chlorine, formaldehyde, and silicon to keep them from shrinking, losing their shape, and wrinkling.  Some sheets are treated with alkalis to produce the sheen effect.

4.  Dye.  Patterns and colors are usually applied to the sheets after they are woven which means the sheets may feel stiff until you have washed them a few times.  The softest and most expensive colored or patterned sheets, including jacquard weaves, are made of yarn-dye fabrics that are woven from colored yarns.            

• Blankets or comforters.  A comforter cover made of quality cotton such as Egyptian cotton will become softer with each washing.  If you share a cover, consider buying a king-size comforter or blanket.

• Bedroom environment:  Light, temperature, and sound can affect not only how fast you fall asleep but also whether you stay asleep.  The following tips can increase the chances that you sleep like a log and feel refreshed afterward.

1.  Use a 45 watt bulb.  Limiting your light exposure in the evening is a transition for your brain to produce melatonin, a chemical that your body produces to help you sleep.  Depending on the height of your night stand, the top of your lampshade should be from 24 to 29 inches from the table top for good light source and for reading in bed.  Install a blackout shades made of non-woven polyester which can keep out virtually all outdoor light. 

2.  Keep your bedroom slightly cool can help you sleep better.

3.  Turn your telephone to silent mode. 

Bedroom needs to be the simplest, most comfortable, and most restful room in your house.  Create just the right atmosphere for sound, restorative sleep with essential bedtime gears will guarantee your ticket to dreamland.