By Kathy Page

Faith is an important aspect in millions of people’s lives. It transcends boundaries, language, and culture. For thousands of years, people have looked to it in times of joy, sorrow, need, and thankfulness. To some people, faith is the very essence of their being. Faith defines them, molds them, shapes their character, and spurs them on to living their lives with passion and love. With faith reaching the core of so many people’s lives, it is easy to see how some of their fondest memories are created around spiritual matters. First communions, baptisms, and wedding ceremonies, intertwined with a couple’s spiritual beliefs, are just a few of those special moments. These are the moments that most people desire to capture in beautiful photographs, and religious picture frames are one of the best ways to preserve these precious occasions, while providing a decorative way to display them for all to see. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for the ideal frame.

When it comes to buying religious picture frames, there is a myriad of picture frames that will commemorate the blessed occasion. If an infant christening is the reason for celebration, pick a frame that will reflect that time in the baby’s life. A christening frame with a charming, spiritual quote regarding babies or children is a great option. If an older child is being baptized, consider displaying his or her photograph in a baptism frame decorated with a cross or a simple verse or spiritual quote. If a first communion is the occasion being remembered, consider buying a spiritual frame engraved with the date, name of the child, and location of the communion. Whatever the occasion may be, make sure that you pick a frame that will last a lifetime and will reflect the memory of that moment forever.

Infants and children, however, are not the only ones who get to experience these defining moments in a walk of faith. Adults are able to delight in their own personal experiences rising from a strong belief. Some adults come to faith in their later years and choose to be baptized before a loving and supportive group of family and friends. This is a special moment in an adult’s life and symbolizes the commitment to a new found faith. A Christian picture frame is a great gift to give to an adult who was recently baptized. Being able to display their photos in spiritual frames will remind the person of this amazing and tender moment in life. No matter what the occasion may be, try to pick simple religious picture frames that are not gaudy or soon to go out of style. Simplicity is key. You want a picture frame that will fit with your decor and cause you to focus on the photo and not the frame.

Religious picture frames are a great way to cherish and hold onto the fond memories that are created when you are a person of faith. A picture frame provides a way for you to display those occasions with honor and remember those moments forever.

About the Author: Kathy Page seeks to help home and business owners decorate their spaces innovatively using picture frames and albums to express their own style and creativity. Come visit to see the delightful and decorative

spiritually-themed picture frames

and many other great possibilities for distinctive and artistic frames and albums.

Source:

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byAlma Abell

Whether you want a minor update, or a complete kitchen overhaul, hiring a kitchen designer in Pittsburgh, or any other city across the country, can be a daunting task. How do you know you’re hiring the right professional for your needs? Here are some tips:

• Know your budget: Before you do anything, you’ll need to establish a budget. Be realistic in your expectations – you’re not going to completely redo your kitchen for just a few hundred dollars.

• Know what you want: Whether you scour the internet, look through magazines or visit home renovation stores, you’ll need to come up with a design plan that you’re happy with. Once you and your designer agree on a blueprint, try to keep changes to a minimum; otherwise it will delay the project and can end up running you over budget.

• Meet the designer in person: You’re going to be working very closely with this person over the next few weeks, or even months. Make sure you can get along with each other.

• Ask the right questions: Ask about what type of experience they draw their recommendations from, what type of guarantee they offer, if any, and if they sub-contract any of their work.

• Get everything in writing: Never sign a contract unless you’ve read all of the fine print and are comfortable with the terms and conditions.

• Discuss price and payment plans well ahead of time: Do they accept payment plans, or do they want all of the money upfront? Most require a deposit, with another payment halfway through, and then the remainder due upon completion of the project. Make sure you know how much it’s going to cost you, and what your payment obligations are.

Contact Patete Kitchens when you need a kitchen designer in Pittsburgh. We will work with you to create the kitchen of your dreams, regardless of your budget or style.

By Tammy Crosby-Editor, Dream Designs

Nothing will impact the appearance of your home more dramatically than the type of siding you choose, so its no surprise that homeowners are looking to dress to impress. As you look for exterior siding, look for a material that suits the style of your house, fits your lifestyle and works geographically, because you will be living with your choice of siding for a long, long time. When it comes to figuring out the cost of having your home sided – size really does matter, since its labor more than materials that youre paying for.

Here is a look at some of the most popular and affordable materials for exterior siding:

Solid Wood

The first choice for most homeowners is wood, because it stands unmatched for beauty and durability. Wood is available in boards, shingles or shakes. These products are typically made from red or white cedar but they are also available in pine, spruce, redwood, cypress and Douglas fir. The benefits to going with wood is it offers some insulation value, is easy to repair and install, and is available pre-stained, primed or unfinished in many styles. Some products even come with fire-retarding treatments. The drawback to solid wood siding is that it must be painted or stained, which will add several thousand dollars to the cost of the job and to maintenance expenses in the future. For example, wood shingles cost between $3 and $4 per square foot before staining or painting.

Cedar Shingles

Homes sided in cedar shingles (also called “shakes”) are made of natural cedar and are usually stained in shades of brown, gray, or other earthen colors. Shakes are very popular on traditional, ranch, historical and vacation homes that want to blend in with its natural or rustic surroundings.

Engineered or Composite Wood

If solid wood is too much of a strain on your pocketbook you might want to consider engineered or composite wood products like plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and hardboard ($1.50 to $2.70 per square foot), but even the best of these products wont give you the look of real wood. Of the group, plywood (often sold in a reverse board-and-batten design) is the least expensive, easiest to install and has the longest track record. It works best on contemporary-styled homes. OSB and hardboard products are sold as 4 x 8 sheets or are molded to look like clapboard. They are available preprimed or prefinished in a wide variety of colors, which keeps the cost down.

Fiber Cement

If you want the appearance of wood, stucco or masonry, but cant afford it, fiber cement siding offers a strong and attractive alternative. This durable, natural-looking material is best known by the brand names HardiPlank and HardiPanel. A real selling point is the fact that its fireproof, resistant to rot, fungus and termites (a great perk if you live in an area that is hot and humid), and may have a warranty of up to 50 years.

The installed costs of fiber-cement are reported to be less than traditional masonry or synthetic stucco, equal to or less than hardboard siding, and more than vinyl siding. As always, size matters when it comes to your exterior.

Stucco

You cant get any more sturdy than stucco. Simply put, youre covering your home with a layer or rock. Cement stucco is made up of a small quantity of lime, Portland cement, and water. This fine grained concrete is attached to your house using waterproof barrier paper, galvanized wire mesh, and metal flashings (handy devices that channel water to the exterior wall). While the strength of stucco remains unchallenged among sidings (it has a track record of say over a thousand years), it does have it drawbacks because of its rigid makeup. If the wood framing beneath it shrinks or if the house foundation moves, the cement stucco could crack. To avoid this happening to your new home, be sure the contractor frames your house with wood sheathing and allows the lumber to dry for about 60 days before installing the stucco. If you hire a talented plasterer, you have unlimited surface texture possibilities. If you want to add color to your stucco be sure to spend the extra money on a masonry penetrating stain, because other paints may peel after time. Traditional stucco has a low material cost, but is expensive to install ($12 to $16 per square foot).

Aluminum and Metal Siding

Aluminum and steel siding, may be considered a step up from vinyl in durability, but its plagued with its own limitations. Like vinyl, metal siding comes in limited colors, is a worse insulator than vinyl, dents easily and is very difficult to repair. So if you live in an area where you get a lot of hail or your house is surrounded by acorn trees, you might want to reconsider using metal.

Vinyl

Thanks to new technology in the vinyl industry, the common stereotype of a plastic home has all but faded. New product offerings wood-like textures, shingles and shakes, deeper colors and more trim options are making vinyl a popular alternative to its high priced rivals. Vinyl is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which makes it immune to rotting and flaking, but even the best vinyl siding will crack, split and look dingy after awhile. The fact that it requires low maintenance – it can be washed with a garden hose – and that it is cheap – $1.50 to $2 per square foot, makes it very appealing. Not so appealing is the fact that it has limited color choices, provides virtually no insulation, is not easy to repair, can fade over time and doesnt stand up well against Mother Nature.

EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Stucco)

Synthetic stucco, also called EIFS (exterior insulated finish system) consist of a a polymer-and-cement mixture, which is applied in two coats over rigid foam insulation and a fiberglass mesh. You might want to double think using this product, because since it came on the scene two decades or so ago it has been unable to successfully keep the water out. Water gets behind many EIFS systems and cant get out. What that means for you, is that your home will likely suffer some serious structural wood rot. Synthetic manufacturers are working on rectifying this problem by using special water management systems which collect the water and divert it back to the exterior of the home before it suffers water damage. Being a new homeowner, this may be one worry youll want skip. Synthetic stucco materials cost more than the real thing, but because its easier to apply it costs less.

The biggest trends in exteriors are vibrant colors and a wood look. Interior design has always been the big in when building a home, but now homeowners are starting to look outside. Lets face it – first impressions go a long way, so your exterior home should really stand out. People are looking for something different and unique, but at the same time want low maintenance – in walks vinyl. Vinyl manufacturers are hard at work to meet the demands of homeowners who want a higher quality and more stylish vinyl siding. The big change to vinyl is that its coming out bright and colorful, now that its adding acrylics into its mix. Most color palettes for vinyl used to be very similar and pale, but now homeowners can find deep rich colors like forest green and barn red.

Another new look by vinyl is dressing up as cedar shingles. These cedar shingles come very close to looking like the real cedar. The real beauty to these shingles is that they wont split, rot, flake, peel or chip like the real thing. Over the last several years, almost every vinyl manufacturer has come out with some sort of replica cedar product.

With everyone trying to simulate wood products, it would only make sense that someone would market a real wood siding product. Thats what Georgia-Pacific, who makes vinyl and fiber cement, has done with its Catawba hardboard siding. Catawba is 100 percent hard wood made out of pulp-grade wood chips pressed and bonded at very high temperatures. This process makes the wood very weather resistant. If you use two coats of paint you wont have to paint it again for 10 years – double the time of traditional wood products.

About the Author:

thehousedesigners.com

are independent architects and designers who joined together to provide you the best home plans at the best price.

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