5 ways to bring the outdoors in this fall (BPT) – With the weather cooling down and trees changing to vibrant colors, it’s no wonder many consider autumn their favorite time of year. Fall draws people outside to apple orchards and pumpkin patches and fills homes with the smells of seasonal baking. A recent YouGov survey commissioned by VELUX found that most people (over 69%) think exposure to daylight, fresh air and nature has a positive effect on their well-being, including reducing stress. Yet according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people today spend 90% of their time indoors. Even houses now are built to be more sealed, trapping bacteria and toxins inside, with many people unaware that indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air, according to the EPA. To enjoy the positive benefits of nature even when spending time indoors, why not open up your house and bring more of the outdoors in? Try these five strategies for bringing more nature into your home this fall.
1. Open your windows or skylights Before cold weather arrives, take advantage of pleasant temps to let in fresh air and sunlight, and even enjoy viewing the beautiful yellows, oranges and reds outside. The fresh air will help you breathe easier, ridding the air of toxins, bacteria and musty odors inside. Skylights are great options for adding fresh air and natural light, which can help make your indoor living environment healthier. Skylights are a simple home renovation project that can dramatically improve your home’s health and have changed a great deal from those of decades past. The latest skylight models and skylight blinds can open via smartphone app or remote control to bring in fresh air and control light. VELUX No Leak Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylights can be automated using VELUX Active with NETATMO, an internet-connected control system that compares online weather forecasts to temperatures, humidity and CO2 levels inside the home, automatically opening skylights to bring in fresh air if doing so improves indoor air conditions. In addition, VELUX offers a number of blinds options that can be automated with the VELUX Active with NETATMO system
to boost the skylights’ thermal performance by blocking intense sunlight or providing an additional layer of insulation during cold nights.
2. Fill your home with cozy, natural scents
pretty to eat, so why not display them for a while before cooking them? Look for visually interesting acorn, delicata and buttercup squash for your displays.
4. Leafy bouquets Rethink your cut-flower bouquets. Take a walk outside to collect branches of colorful leafy fall foliage to add to your floral bouquets, along with flowers of similar autumn hues. Think chrysanthemums, sunflowers, dahlias and daisies in tones of orange, crimson and gold.
Use fresh herbs and spices like rosemary, sage, cinnamon sticks and cloves to create your own homemade potpourri. Or you could make a wreath using sprigs of your favorite herbs, including lavender, rosemary, bay and sage. You can add sprigs 5. Incorporate fall of similar aromatic dried options to fresh-cut flower design elements arrangements, adding layUse autumn colors ers of scent, deeper colors and shapes to inspire and contrasting textures new design ideas. Swap to your floral displays. decorative elements, from 3. Bring pumpkins pillows and blankets to throw rugs and tea towindoors els, for new items highAutumn is not comlighting earthy tones like plete without pumpkins, brown and orange. Look but there’s no need to for items with nature-inbanish them to the front spired designs - from leaf porch. Pick up some small- or vine patterns to migrater pumpkins and other ing flocks of birds - that types of gourds, adding bring a feeling of autumn dried corn cobs to create into your home. a centerpiece for your dinChange up your wining room table or adding dow treatments to reflect a pop of color to a coffee the season, too. Swapor side table. ping out blinds on your Some types of edible skylights is simple; you can easily add fall-colored squash are almost too
blinds to match the tones of your new decor. To learn more about adding fresh air and natural daylight into your home with new energy-efficient skylights, visit whyskylights.com.
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Low maintenance, high curb appeal: Top exterior home trends of 2020 (BPT) – Whether you are thinking of selling your home next year, or simply looking to update certain elements, investing in your exterior will deliver a return on your investment in both resale value and enjoyment. From siding and garage door to the landscape and patio, there are many opportunities to refresh the outside of your home for style and function. The top trends of 2020 are all about bringing fresh ideas to tired spaces, updating with the latest product innovations, and ensuring your exterior gets as much love as the interior of your home.
Indoor-outdoor living With a strong desire to expand living space,
homeowners are investing in decks and patios that have a seamless flow from indoor to outdoor. Products such as Royal(R) Building Products’ Zuri(R) Premium Decking offer all the beauty of real hardwood flooring without the maintenance. Zuri’s variety of rich colors allow homeowners to create intricate designs and inlays that add an upscale look that can be completely customized. Screened porches with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors are popular as well as porch/ deck hybrids that can be designed to feature built-in kitchens, fireplaces and seating. To further personalize the space, homeowners are mixing textures and materials, including metal, wicker and wood, in outdoor
furniture and features to create individualized style.
Mixing styles and designs Following the popularity of farmhouse styles in the last decade, homeowners continue to create a hybrid look that incorporates select modern farmhouse designs, as well as elements of midcentury modern and industrial influences into the exterior home design. Mixed-use siding is at the forefront of this trend. Board and batten siding mixed with stone continues to gain popularity for a modern farmhouse look. Another popular design is mixing clapboard siding with textures of shake or vertical style of board and batten to create visual interest and balance. Black windows
add a modern industrial look along with a sleek metal garage door to pull together the overall design.
entryway decor, adding personalized doormats, house numbers and door knockers, as well as changing out decor seasonally. Exterior colors and While dark colors are accents trending nationwide, pasAcross the country, tel colors are popular for darker, more pigmented coastal homes. Light blue colors are transforming is just one example that homes with showstoplooks striking paired with ping appearances that white PVC trim in extestand out from a sea of rior applications. Royal beige that was so popular Building Products Celect in the past. Canvas, an unpainted The traditional red version of the brand’s front door is being cellular PVC siding, is an replaced by statement ideal low-maintenance doors that define an option for coastal homes entryway with style and that need durability for class. Black and blue harsh weather. The siding doors are trending as can be customized with well as designs that hundreds of beachy paint feature glass and iron color options to suit your elements. Dutch-style individual style. doors are also popular Minimalist for 2020 and beyond. In maintenance addition to a statement Homeowners are confront door, homeowners tinuing to invest in design are thoughtful about
solutions for their exteriors and yards that require little to no maintenance, yet allow them to fully enjoy outdoor living. They are opting for high quality products using durable materials, such as limestone, gravel and bamboo. Garden bed designs incorporate pavers, rocks, evergreen plants and annual plants, to achieve a low maintenance exterior that still delivers on curb appeal. Above all else, homeowners are looking to make exterior designs their own in 2020. New builds and home renovations that utilize durable materials are a top trend, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to design. For more exterior design inspiration, explore the photo gallery at www. royalbuildingproducts. com/gallery.
Embrace timeless design elements for a lasting aesthetic (BPT) – As trends transition in and out of style, an understanding of what takes a space beyond temporary can help achieve a truly timeless design. Whether it’s blending the past with the present for a new take on traditional, or selecting decor and furnishings with a quiet, yet self-assured air, certain elements will establish endurance and ensure an aesthetic that is - and always will remain - relevant.
Enduring interiors Curate a space that will withstand the test of time by opting for clean lines and even proportions to create an unobtrusive look that will remain effortlessly in style. For a sense of depth and character, consider textured wallpaper, or an authentic rosewood coffee table that will develop a natural patina over time. To further establish
staying power, select a complementary neutral palette of soft gray or sandy beige, then accent the clean canvas with quintessential jewel tones for stately elegance.
elements display intricate craftsmanship in every graceful nuance, from hand-assembled linchpin joints to finely ridged coining for an artisanal touch. Finishing details, such as black crystal Classic cues knob handles, elevate Invite the past to the the overall look, bringing present, blending influadornment into a space ences from the Edwardian without excess. Era and sensibilities from Quiet confidence the Machine Age for timeless appeal. IncorA sense of poise and porate a modern revival purpose helps to achieve of classic forms with the an ageless aesthetic. Invari Bath Collection Select perfectly scaled furnishings that enhance by Brizo. Subtle design
the design, while also serving an intentional role. Opt for fewer, more distinguished elements that can easily transform to changing tastes. Consider a stately stone fireplace to ground the space, or tasteful, yet surprising elements, such as lacquered cherry wood walls or scalloped wainscoting. For an overall cultivated tone, add worldly accents such as a decorative sculpture to create a visually striking and self-assured focal
aesthetics, from built-in, vaulted bookshelves in the living room, to lustrous tile flooring in the Outlasting elements bath space for a clean, Take time to curate polished look. Where posa space without grantsible, maintain a sense of ing trends too much forethought and incorpoinfluence, whether it be rate decor that is easily a patient search for an adaptable. Elements antique mirror or a large- such as elegant pendant scale painting that boasts lighting or lush linens can modern, yet classic styles be updated easily to fit for a transitional effect. current trends, carrying Make design decisions the space seamlessly that lend versatility across through time. point, then position dramatic uplighting, giving it an almost regal air.
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