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Great kitchen furniture can really enhance the look and feel of your home. Today’s kitchens are designed to embody style, functionality, and accessibility. Considering the wide variety of kitchen furniture available, finding items that will improve your décor may prove much easier than you think. The key is finding kitchen furniture that not only looks great in your home, but also serves an additional purpose.

For most of us, there is a need to decrease clutter in the kitchen. Kitchens often become the home for plants, decorative items, and cooking utensils. If this is the case in your kitchen consider incorporating a baker’s rack. Depending on the style that you choose, a baker’s rack provides additional shelves space, small wine rack, utility hooks, and/or small table top. This additional space could be used to free up areas by holding plants, pitchers, spices, and practically anything else. If you are excited about the organization that a baker’s rack would bring to your kitchen, then you will love the variety of styles you can choose from. A baker’s rack will also look good in a hall or area that is close to your kitchen. This will give your home more of a contemporary look and keep your kitchen open for better flow.

Today, there are even storage chests and units that are specifically designed for the kitchen and dining room areas. Kitchen storage furniture such as chests and other units can be a great place for table cloths, cutlery, cloth napkins, and similar items. Yet, unlike storage units for the garage, kitchen storage chests are uniquely designed to add elegance to the style of your home. Though they are often built as a combination item with a baker’s rack, or kitchen shelf, these items are also great to place in a hall near your kitchen or in your dining room area.

A baker’s rack is a great way to organize smaller items. However, if your kitchen is running over with pots, pans, and chopping boards, then a kitchen island may be just the thing that you need. Kitchen islands provide storage space for kitchen items, while providing you with a wide flat surface for preparing meals. The sizes, styles, and compartments of kitchen islands can vary greatly however. A kitchen island should fit comfortably within your kitchen while allowing for easy movement throughout the cooking area. Kitchen islands can also give your place a more cosmopolitan feel.

If you are looking at kitchen islands, but you do not see one that really fits the style of your kitchen. You may want to try a kitchen or cuisine cart instead. Though, they share similar qualities as kitchen islands, there are a few key differences that may make all the difference in your kitchen. For instance, kitchen carts are the best place store decorative items like plates or bowls. Kitchen carts can come with or without shelves. Also, depending on the layout of your kitchen, you can easily push the cart to another place for better flow.

Another great way to bring life to your kitchen would be to add a counter table. Kitchen counter tables incorporate a sense of tradition and a classic feel to you décor. The small, stylish storage units will remind of the stylish kitchens that your parents and grandparents used. Yet, their classic looks will mesh well with new styles. The table tops can be used to display plants, flowers, fruit, and even appliances.

Cabinets can also add a sense of style and functionality to your home. Cabinets are useful when looking for way to save space, especially in kitchens with high or vaulted ceilings. Cabinet styles vary, and you need to choose a style that fits your décor while adding functionality. For example, china cabinets are a classic way to show off hand painted plates and nice cutlery. However, microwave cabinets are typically used to house a wider variety of items, and often soften the feel of your kitchen.

If you are a wine enthusiast than a wine rack would not only add style to the décor of your home, but it would also be a great way to display the collection of great wines you have amassed. The flat surface certain wine racks provide is a great place to showcase your most prized or favorite bottles. However, you do not have to be an avid collector to appreciate the stylish display that a wine rack affords you.

The trend in kitchens today is to decorate for your life; so your kitchen furniture should be no exception. Those who love to entertain would need to have a good wine rack, with a nice baker’s rack to add the proportions of style, while opening up the kitchen to facilitate conversations. However, people who love or need to cook daily would benefit from a kitchen island. These are not hard and fast rules, kitchen furniture can be mixed and matched to fit not only the décor of your home, but also the style of your life.

Grow a beautiful garden the water wise way

Saving water and enjoying the beauty and environmental benefits of plants are not only possible, but easy says the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN). “Water Wise” gardening is built on some basic, commonsense principles:

Planning

Planning a water wise garden or landscape is as easy and fun-as planning any type of garden. Talk to the professionals at your local center/landscape firm to see which plants will do well in your area. You may be surprised to find that some very beautiful, colorful plants are low on water consumption-and they may fit into your landscape perfectly.

Group together plants that require the same amount of water. Plant trees and shrubs to provide shade to cool buildings, air conditioning units, patios, decks, and other landscape features.  Shelter container plants by moving them to shady areas. Spike or aerate lawns to insure maximum water penetration. Control weeds which compete with useful plants for water.

Soil Improvement

Soil improvement is another easy and beneficial step in building a water wise garden. Soil that is well prepared at the time of planting influences the plant’s initial development and yields the best results. And plants placed in the proper soil will be healthier, often needing less water.

Soil characteristics include texture, structure, depth, and nutrients. To find out more about your soil content, test your soil with the following garden products: Accugrow Soil Test Kit or the Sunleaves Three-Way Meter.  

Wise Irrigation

Efficient irrigation is a critical part of water wise gardening. Your irrigation system can be simple, such as a hand-held hose, or elaborate, such as an in-ground sprinkler system. Consider a drip water conservation system, which can save up to 60% of water used by sprinkler irrigation. Whatever you choose, make sure you plan your watering to get best results.

Deep, infrequent watering, promotes root growth and is the wisest use of water and encourages strong rooting. This provides greater tolerance to dry spells.  Water early in the day, and on less windy days, to reduce evaporation loss. The ideal time is from dawn to 9:00 a.m.   Turn off sprinklers before water is wasted as runoff into gutters and streets.

Mulching

Mulching is always a benefit to your garden and can help prevent soil erosion and evaporation, conserving the water that is available and keeping your plants healthy and strong.

Maintenance

Maintaining your water wise garden means learning how to water all over again. You may find that watering less means having more time to sit back and enjoy your garden. Generally, plants should be watered less often and for a long period of time. Drip, soaker, or deep root watering promotes healthy plants and less water use.

Water Wise Gardening Tips

Follow these handy watering tips from AAN, and you’ll soon be started on your own environmentally sound garden or landscape.  For garden products mentioned in this article, please visit http://www.spray-n-growgardening.com