Better home

Linda L. Osmundson

Warm up with a fireplace

NOTHING IS MORE INVITING than a wood burning fireplace on a cold winter night if you are lucky enough to have one. Wood burning fireplaces are no longer an option, but there are many choices to consider if you wish to upgrade or add a fireplace. The National Association of Real Estate Appraisers says adding a fireplace can increase the resale value of a home by as much as 6-12 percent. And, you can expect to recoup 100 percent of its cost.

Select from natural gas, electric or ethanol burning. Before adding a fireplace, check building codes, requirements such as vent pipes, limits on fireplace emissions and permits. If you want something simple to use, inexpensive, easy to maintain with good heat output, choose a gasburning fireplace. You can also check out electric fireplaces that do not need any structural changes to your home. If you desire trendy, pick a see-through glass fireplace.

Whatever your choice, do your homework then enjoy the rewards of a cozy fire.

5 benefits of houseplants

INDOOR PLANTS CAN IMPROVE your health and well-being. Several studies over the years have shown some interesting benefits of houseplants in the work space, hospital or home. • Subject performed one of two tasks—repot a houseplant or complete a computer-based task— repotting reduced stress while the computer task increased heart rate and blood pressure. • Students who attended classrooms with live plants were more attentive and better able to concentrate. • Horticulture therapy proved to have created feelings of wellbeing in people suffering from anxiety, depression and dementia. • People recovering from surgery healed faster when looking at real greenery. • People worked faster and were less stressed, took fewer sick days and were more productive when a plant was in their work space.

Consider these for your home or work space—areca, lady, dwarf date and/or bamboo palms, Boston fern, rubber tree, spider plant or Ficus tree.

Cozy up this winter

AFTER HOLIDAY DECORATIONS ARE put away, create a warm, cozy feeling for the rest of the winter. Think bright, white and natural elements with evergreens and a bit of shine. Search the internet for ideas like these.

Gather some winter artifacts to use as a base—old sled, ice skates, empty planter, grapevine wreathes, snowshoes. Add symbols of winter—greenery, pinecones, bare branches and something bright like white/silver berries or snowflake cutouts. Welcome guests with winter decorations and a wreath at the front door.

Keep the holiday greenery on the mantle. Add white decor—berries, birds, pinecones, snowflakes. Display snowmen decorations. Add a group of candles in various sizes and odd numbers. Cozy up the furniture with layered white throws and pillows. Vary the textures—woven, furry, wooly. Include a pop of color, such as blue. Display firewood or birch pieces in a bucket. Make centerpieces of silver trays filled with symbols of winter and white candles.