1901 N. State Highway 251 Mendota, IL 61342 (815) 539-6263
www.meyersfurnitureandbedding.com
HANDYMAN
Hunter Handyman Services
LaSalle, IL 61301 chris7884@gmail.com (815) 780-7884
HEATING & COOLING
Energy Specialist Co.
224 N Main St. Toluca, IL 61369
815-452-2332
https://energy-specialists. com/
Grassers Plumbing & Heating Inc.
404 W. Main St. McNabb, IL 61335 815-882-2111
grassersplumbingheating.com
Kettman
Heating & Plumbing, Inc.
107 E. Harrison St. Granville, IL 61326
815-339-6124
kettmanheating.com
HOME IMPROVEMENT/ REMODELING
Mark Lucas
Remodeling
2704 5th St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-4805
R.P. Lumber
2758 Columbus St. Ottawa, IL 61350
815- 431-0711
600 8th St. Mendota, IL 61342 815- 539-1088
1315 N Main St. Princeton, IL 61356
815- 875-1141
220 5th St. Lacon, IL 61540
309- 246-2485
2515 N Bloomington St. Streator, IL 61364
815- 673-2822
www.rplumber.com
KITCHEN & BATH
Maze Lumber
1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742 www.mazelumber.com
LANDSCAPING MATERIAL
& SUPPLIES
Maze Lumber
1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742 www.mazelumber.com
LAWN MOWER SALES & REPAIR
Smith’s Sales and Service 1604 Peoria St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-0132
LOANS
First State Bank
Mendota (815) 538-2265
McNabb (815) 882-2146
Peru (815) 224-4484
Ottawa (815) 433-3727
Princeton (815) 872-0002
LaMoille (815) 638-2398
www.firststatebank.biz
Hometown National Bank
LaSalle, Joliet (815) 220-2288 myhtnb.com
LUMBERYARD
Maze Lumber
1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742 www.mazelumber.com
OVERHEAD DOORS
Overhead Door Company of the Illinois Valley 617 Shooting Park Rd. Peru, IL 61354 (815) 223-8471
www.overheaddoorillinoisvalley. com
PLUMBING
Grassers Plumbing & Heating Inc.
404 W. Main St. McNabb, IL 61335
815-882-2111
grassersplumbingheating.com
Kettman Heating & Plumbing, Inc.
107 E Harrison St. Granville, IL 61326
815-339-6124
kettmanheating.com
Lenhausen Plumbing & Heating
422 South Locust St. Wenona, IL 61377
815-992-1818
1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742
www.mazelumber.com
POST-FRAME BUILDINGS
N L Morton Buildings
203 N 4099th Rd Mendota, Il 61342 (815)539-9325
www.nlmortonbuildings.com
RENTAL
EQUIPMENT
Rental Pros 2 1150 38th St. Peru,IL61354 (815) 224-2800
United Rentals 2901 Peoria St. Peru, IL 61354 (815) 223-7962
www.unitedrentals.com
ROOFING
Maze Lumber 1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742
www.mazelumber.com
Northern Illinois
Seamless Roofing
705 Illinois Ave Mendota, IL 61342 (815) 539-5142
www.northernillinoisseamlessroofing.com
R.P. Lumber
2758 Columbus St. Ottawa, IL 61350
815- 431-0711
600 8th St. Mendota, IL 61342
815- 539-1088
1315 N Main St. Princeton, IL 61356 815- 875-1141
220 5th St. Lacon, IL 61540
309- 246-2485
2515 N Bloomington St. Streator, IL 61364 815- 673-2822
www.rplumber.com
STONE PRODUCTS
Maze Lumber 1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742
www.mazelumber.com
WINDOWS
Maze Lumber 1100 Water St. Peru, IL 61354
815-223-1742
www.mazelumber.com
4 DIY project ideas to bring new life to your home
(BPT) - More and more homeowners are taking on the challenge of renovating their homes. According to Statista, homeowners have spent more time and money on home improvement projects over the last two years than ever before.
While you can hire someone else to renovate your home, you can do many DIY projects without any advanced home improvement skills and knowledge. Check out these four simple DIY home renovation projects that can quickly spruce up your home’s interior.
1. Update fixtures
Small but purposeful changes can make a big impact on your home’s decor. An easy and costeffective DIY project you can do to refresh your spaces is to replace the knobs, handles and pulls on your cabinets, drawers and doors.
This design change can be as simple as picking fixtures with different metals or finishes, such
as switching out silver kitchen cabinet hardware for brass or gold hues or opting for more colorful and interesting knobs and handles. If your rooms have standard white switch plate covers, consider replacing them with decorative ones.
2. Paint cabinets
Paint can do a lot to change the look of your home. Instead of taking on a large project like repainting every room or the exterior of your home, you can paint smaller furnishings like kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Repainting cabinets is an approachable DIY home update that can generally be done in a weekend. If you want to brighten up your kitchen, choose a soft green, bright blue or rich yellow to paint your cabinets. For your bathroom cabinets, find deep reds or dark grays and blues for a sophisticated and inviting atmosphere.
3. Put up wallpaper
One-Stop Shop!
Wallpaper is a fun alternative to repainting a room. Whether you wallpaper a whole room or just one wall as an accent, you can refresh the look of your bedroom, living room, office or kitchen. There are many wallpaper options to choose from, but if you want something unique that truly expresses your personal style, consider ordering custom wallpaper.
Whether you choose an image or illustration that is special to you or a bespoke pattern, you can quickly change the look and feel of your room. To create your custom wallpaper, make sure you find a business that uses reliable large format printers, like the new Colorado M Series printers from Canon, which use a unique and robust UVgel ink set which even includes white ink for a very unique and wide wallpaper offering.
The Colorado M Series printers can help users create wallpapers with rich color consistency in custom sizes and lengths in
matte or gloss finish so you can revamp your home’s interior with high-quality wallcoverings.
4. Install shelving
Many houses don’t have enough space for all your possessions. You can add more space and visual interest to your home by installing shelving. Installing shelves may seem a bit intimidating, but it’s easier than you may think.
You can install a simple, rustic wood plank on metal or wood brackets and arrange books, trinkets or other small objects on them. If you need a more robust storage system, look for fixed bracket or adjustable shelving to organize heavier objects like kitchen appliances, electronics and lamps.
Changing the ambiance and design of your home doesn’t have to be an expensive or timeconsuming endeavor. Let these four DIY project ideas inspire your future renovations so you can create a space that you can truly call home.
Designers’ trends to get your kitchen and bathroom ready for guests
(BPT) - Life at home has changed a lot and, for many people, being “on trend” has taken a backseat to designing around their needs. When it comes to styling your kitchen and bathroom, taking time to choose stylish, yet lasting options, will improve the look and feel of your space for years.
Delta Faucet Company product designers and Delta Faucet lighting partner Kichler Lighting are sharing the timeless kitchen and bathroom trends they’re seeing in real customers’ homes that will last well beyond the next trip around the sun.
Trend 1: Comfort Comes First
“Homes are our safe space from what’s happening in the world,” said AJ Tentler, Delta Faucet Company industrial designer. “Items, colors and finishes need to reflect that feeling of relaxed comfort.”
Sharp edges and harsh lines are out. We’re now craving curves and softer lines to cre-
Trend 2: Hidden Helpfulness
“The features that will gain the most momentum are things that aid your daily function,” said Maris Park Borris, Delta Faucet industrial designer. “It will be more about hidden helpfulness.”
Simple interactions that make daily life easier is the future of technology. Smart outlets and switches add a world of customization to lighting. In faucets, intuitive functions, like technology that turns on a faucet with a simple touch, is just one example of unseen technology that improves daily life.
Trend 3: Designs You Can Feel
“We’ve been in sensory deprivation for the last year,” said Park Borris. “People are craving both visual and physical texture.”
Texture and finish are going to be more in-focus than ever.
Wallpaper that adds a tactile and visual texture, or fixture finishes, can create an emotional connection with a huge impact on a space.
Trend 4: Mix and Match
“We can add eclecticism and our own style - like traditional knobs in a modern kitchen,” said Park Borris.
We’re all searching for ways to make a space our own. Mixing and matching styles and finishes is a unique way to accomplish that. Farmhouse blended with Scandinavian styles. A goldhued shower head with black shower doors. It’s all about what speaks to you.
Trend 5: Timelessly Tailored
“In 2026, customizable sconces are on the rise,” said Greg Martin, Kichler Lighting creative director. “Being able to have moveable arms, pin-up and plug-in options allow you to curate your own look.”
Tailored, purposeful and cus-
tomized pieces are everywhere. We no longer want to keep up with the Joneses. Instead, we want unique spaces that reflect our individual style. Updates that people can do themselves make homes feel more customized and ownable.
Trend 6: Outside In
“There’s a feeling of connection and warmth derived from the coziness and luxury of plants,” said Ben Stoler, Delta
Faucet Company industrial designer.
Plants have a purifying quality and make a space feel fresh and alive. Adding greenery can add a calming and de-stressing feeling to a room, further building your very own oasis.
Craving more kitchen and bathroom trends? Get inspired at deltafaucet.com/blogs.
Post Frame Buildings
203 N. 4099th Road
Residential, Ag, Commercial & Utility, New Construction & Repairs
Serving the Illinois Valley Since 1974
Take the guesswork out of designing your perfect bathroom
(BPT) - Whether you’re working with contractors and ripping out everything down to the studs or you want a simple DIY upgrade to elevate the space, a new bathroom is functional and adds value to your home. Unfortunately, many people have good intentions for upgrading their bathroom only to feel overwhelmed and confused once they start the project.
One of the most frustrating aspects of designing a bathroom is selecting and coordinating design elements and materials. Metalworks are key features in the space, adding to the aesthetic and polishing the overall design. They also can be quite intricate, especially when selecting lighting components, which can be difficult to coordinate with everything else. And if metals clash or mismatch, it can make your upgrade look amateur rather than elevated.
Finishes have the power to evoke a certain look in the bathroom space, from traditional to
modern and beyond, depending on your personal style preferences. Color-matched finishes and material quality matter, but finding finishes that match or coordinate can be difficult, timeconsuming and stressful.
For instance, if you choose brushed nickel, you want the same tones in the metal and texture in the brushing. For popular matte black, this choice might seem straightforward, but blacks can have many different undertones not to mention the matte levels can vary dramatically.
One simple trick to take the guesswork out of designing the perfect bathroom retreat is finding brands that offer partial or whole-room solutions that create a coordinated look. Kohler is often a go-to brand for this because it offers a comprehensive approach with a variety of collections that coordinate lighting, faucets and accessories. Plus, if you don’t want everything matching in style, but you want to coordinate metals and mate-
rials, you can cross collections and still get a cohesive, colormatched look.
One example of coordinating with different collections is drawing from the Kohler Riff Bathroom Faucet and complementing Kohler Riff Lighting Collections. Both are inspired by Louisiana French Creole design and incorporate similar decorative elements available in a range of color-matched finishes to help you build out your room with core products that were meant for each other.
The Riff Collection Lighting features squared metal framework and faceted details juxtaposed by sweeping, slightly flared glass shades, the dramatic, straightforward forms leaning traditional in scope, yet taking on a decidedly more contemporary air when finished in Brushed Moderne Brass or Matte Black. The Riff Faucet Collection reflects the same angular shape and bold pattern as the Lighting designs and when
combined create a coordinated, sophisticated look that is tactile and visually appealing.
The stress of a renovation and choosing the right products can be daunting. Finishes, although the same by name, can be different when mixing brands. When selecting from the same company, you are assured that you will be able to get color-matched finishes, with designs that have like quality and are made from materials that complement each other
5 easy DIY plumbing fixes you can tackle yourself
(BPT) - Dealing with anything plumbing related can sound intimidating, but there are minor repairs homeowners can easily do themselves. As long as you follow the instructions provided with products you’re using, you should be able to fix some common issues - and save a lot of money. Just remember, before tackling anything: Turn off the water to that area first.
Here are five common plumbing items you should be able to tackle on your own.
1. SWAPPING OUT A SHOWERHEAD
If your showerhead is malfunctioning, or you just want an upgrade, this is a simple fix. A necessary product for this taskor to fix a leaky faucet - is thread sealant. This will help ensure you won’t have future leaks. Thread sealant tape like Hercules Megatape is easy to use, and comes in several colors, widths, thicknesses and densities. An
ideal option for replacing showerheads is Hercules Megatape 1 inch X 1000 inch gray PTFE Tape, which is compatible with virtually any piping system.
Wrap thread sealant tape clockwise several revolutions around to fully cover the threads. Clockwise is the same direction you will be screwing on the showerhead, so applying the tape the same direction prevents the new showerhead from catching the end of the tape and unraveling it.
You can watch a short YouTube video showing the process, called “How to Use Hercules Megatape Thread Sealant.”
2. REPLACING A SINK SPRAYER
Kitchen sink sprayers frequently wear out. If you’re unsure what type of sprayer you have, bring it (or a picture) to the store to be sure you purchase
the correct replacement. If your sink sprayer is older, you may be able to replace just the sprayer without also swapping out the hose. Newer models typically come in one piece, while older ones may have a detachable hose. If the hose is torn or damaged, you may need to replace that as well.
Follow the instructions included with your new parts, and keep your thread sealant tape handy, as you will also need it to complete this project.
3. FIXING A RUNNING TOILET
Contrary to what you may think, jiggling the handle will not fix your running toilet. If your toilet is running, it’s probably
caused by a faulty floater valve or stop valve (also called a float cup or floater switch). That large bulb floating in the toilet tank prevents the continuous flow of fresh water into your toilet once the tank is filled, but if the valve is old and no longer prevents water from getting through, the tank will keep filling - hence the constant running, which is annoying and wastes water.
The best approach is simply to replace the entire toilet tank float valve assembly, which you can purchase at your local hardware or home improvement store. These come with complete instructions, and there’s no need to be nervous about using your hands in the tank, as the water
Fortunately, the Oatey Fix-it Repair Ring securely repairs broken, cracked or worn-out toilet secure, level, leak-free repairs.
Learn how to install the Fix-It
sure to choose the right one for the type of drain you’re trying to clean. For kitchen blockages,
