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Things to Put on Your Fall Maintenance List

Spruce up your home this fall season with some of our easy tips to make your home more cozy, beautiful and welcoming for the long holiday season to come! Plus learn some simple maintenance tips that will make a huge impact for your home!


Photo: Harold Leidner Landscape Architects

Fall is officially here, which means that the leaves are turning, people are gearing up for the holiday season, and it’s time to complete some last minute to do items before the temperature drops and fall turns to winter. Here are some chores you may want to include on your list to keep your home in beautiful condition as we ease into cooler weather.

Look Up

People often forget about their home’s roof, loft insulation, chimney, and gutters because they’re not at eye level. However, keeping these important pieces of your home is vital for its infrastructure and can help prevent water, ice, and other damage to your home. Start by cleaning your gutters of any leaves, twigs, or other debris that may have built up over the summer months. Gutters with a clear pathway allow water to flow freely away from your home, which protects your foundation from water damage. You should also spot check your roof for any cracks, holes, or tears that may be present. If you notice anything, have it repaired right away so winter weather doesn’t make it worse and cause leaks inside your home. A lot of repairs you can do on your own, and you can even order supplies online from stores like build4less.  If you plan to use your chimney throughout the winter, you may want to have someone come clean it out to keep it clear of debris, which can cause a chimney fire.


Photo: Rikki Snyder

Complete Final Lawn Maintenance

Once winter weather arrives, chances are you won’t be doing much lawn maintenance. Making one last lawn care effort should be on everyone’s fall home maintenance list, as it prepares your landscaping for the winter months. Decide what you want to do with your leaves. Some people rake and bag them while others choose to mulch them, which can provide your soil with extra nutrients.

Tip: If you have trees or other plants with special lawn care needs, you may want to wrap them to keep them in good condition during the long winter months. You should also get rid of any weeds or other debris that may have built up in your yard, since they can serve as a home to many unwanted pests seeking shelter during colder months. Put away any yard furniture and lawn equipment so it isn’t exposed to the elements.


Photo: Mary Prince Photography

Insulate

Having a well-insulated home can not only help keep you and your family warm during cold weather months, but it can also save you money on your monthly utility bills by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat your home. Caulk and use weather stripping around your windows and doors to block out drafts. If you have energy-efficient windows, inspect them to ensure they’re still in good condition and don’t have any gaps. Head up to your attic to inspect your insulation. If you can see the joists in your attic, chances are you don’t have enough insulation and should add more.


Photo: Gil Walsh Interiors

Service Your Furnace

Fall is a great time to have your furnace inspected before you turn it on for the winter. Call an HVAC professional and request an inspection and cleaning. Regular servicing can keep your furnace running efficiently and help reduce your monthly heating bill and even help prolong the life of your unit.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#eb8d09″ class=”” size=””]Tip: Make sure you have your filters replaced regularly as well to improve airflow, keep energy costs low, and keep your system running efficiently.[/perfectpullquote]

Check Your Plumbing

The last thing you want to happen is to have a water line freeze or burst in the middle of winter. Prep your pipes by wrapping them in insulation, which can not only provide peace of mind knowing your plumbing is protected, but can keep your plumbing running efficiently. If you have any hoses outside, detach and drain them so they don’t freeze and cause damage.

Maintaining a thorough fall maintenance checklist can help keep your home in great shape. Most of the tasks take a weekend to complete and can save you a lot of money in the long run in costly repairs.

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Review: Illumi Arts LED Artwork is the Hottest new thing in Luminous Smart Art Panels

Light up your home’s décor with light-up artwork that can change colors via Bluetooth! Meet Illumi Arts, a company that specializes in modern luxurious artwork that doubles as ambience lighting…

This season is all about great lighting, statement décor, and something we all love: uniqueness. It’s no surprise we stumbled across Illumi Arts, a company that creates LED art panels that light up and actually change colors via Bluetooth. It’s something a regular artist would have never though of, unless they had a strong background and knowledge in lighting and design.

Meet the Creative Director

Farah Barnes, the creative director behind Illumi Arts is a lighting design professional and knew exactly how to make a creative design and concept that would wow her clients. Farah is also a former architect and lighting expert that has previously worked on high-profile projects such as commercial buildings, bridges, museums and other interiors. After seeing how important and difficult it is to incorporate natural and artificial lighting into a space, she decided to specialize in lighting and create Illumi Arts.

Pop Inspired Artwork

Illumi Arts creates pop inspired modern artwork that features a backlit LED panel that lights up the design and also your room! It comes with important UL and CE certifications, which make it great for industrial and commercial use. Illumination is a huge part of interior design and can make or break your space if you don’t know how to do it right. We’ve seen tons of spaces instantly transformed just by switching up the lighting. It’s proven that lighting creates ambience in a space, sets the mood, and can also make your space look twice the size. Light up your home’s dark corners with Illumi Arts LED artwork and you’re bound to see a huge difference!

What is so great about Illumi Arts color changing artwork is that you can set the mood to whichever color you want! Feeling romantic? Use your mobile phone to connect via Bluetooth to your artwork and change the color to red! 

Color Changing Art

What I love about Illumi Arts is their products are very dual purpose. They serve as beautiful pop art inspired works of art but also double as fabulous lighting sources. They can be placed just about anywhere in your home to create a luxurious interior: living room, hallway, bedroom or even a fun game room where I think they would fit in perfectly. The artwork can change colors via Bluetooth right from you phone, which makes a great conversation starter and a fun way to impress your guests!

Here is some of my favorite color changing art pieces from Illumi Arts:


Paris, Wall Art Light – Illumi Arts

New York, Wall Art Light – Illumi Arts
 

To make this post even better, we are offering a special promotion to get FREE Priority International Shipping! Just enter code: MODERNARCHCONCEPT in the checkout! Already ordered? Post your reviews and comments below – I’d love to hear about how you’re enjoying your new illuminated artwork!