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The market for youth furnishings and décor has recently experienced a surge in popularity and profitability. Barbara Schmidt, a nationally recognized interior style consultant whose work has appeared in “In Style,” “Elle Décor,” “Architectural Digest” and “Metropolitan Home,” attributes the rise in popularity to children’s increased awareness of interior design and their resulting desire to play an active role in the look of their rooms.

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“Because of the Internet and channels like HGTV, kids are more design-savvy now,” says Schmidt. “They want to create their own spaces.”

Parents are also influencing the market’s increased popularity. “A child’s bedroom is another space parents can have fun with, revisiting their own childhoods,” says Schmidt. “You can use dramatic colors you wouldn’t be able to use in everyday décor.”

A prominent trend in youth décor is personalization – through throw pillows, monograms and framed art. “In addition to displaying a child’s own works of art, personalized wall hangings can teach children about the world around them, build anticipation for future events and preserve memories and milestones,” says Schmidt. She offers several suggestions for using framed art, photography and more to add personality to a child’s bedroom.

* A child’s own artwork is the most unique and personal piece you can frame. “It’s also a great way to keep those memorable works of art from getting lost in the shuffle,” says Schmidt.

* “Let your child be a part of the design process by giving them a job to do,” she adds. “Something like allowing them to pick out the colors of custom matboard can make them feel like they’re taking part in designing their own personal space.”

* “Frame pictures of places visited and maps to teach kids about the world around them,” suggests Schmidt. “Not only is it exciting for them – it will open up a whole new place in their imagination.”

* “Combine three-dimensional mementos, such as a first homerun ball, team jerseys, medals and certificates with photos to commemorate important youth sporting events,” says Schmidt. “With their creative eye and professional products, custom framers can help create a well-organized and stylish grouping.”

When it comes to preserving a special memory for your child, make sure you pick custom framing materials you can count on to protect those cherished pieces, like Crescent’s 100 percent cotton RagMat matboard. It’s guaranteed safe next to any artwork, so you know that special keepsake, whether it’s a first place ribbon or your child’s art class masterpiece, will last forever.

It’s also a good idea to incorporate color trends. “For girls, the classic pinks and purples are mixed with white this year, and for boys, brown and green have replaced the standard navy and red,” Schmidt says. She also suggests picking neutral frames, such as woods and whites, to avoid having to replace them if the room’s design changes. “Adding new artwork and getting more creative with what you frame is the perfect way to let the room grow with the child.”

For more information about professional custom framing, visit www.crescentcardboard.com or contact a professional custom framer in your area.

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Buy New: $26.99 - $49.99

Love this flannel and the construction. I was concerned since it is priced so low, but they are wonderful. I love the quality and construction and upon washing there was no shift or shrink. Buy many, at this price you will not be able to replace it! You can also see my review on the Cleopatra of this same collection. We ordered both figuring at this price, it would be worth the gamble! IT WAS!!!! There is no gamble at all.

Finding the perfect mattress can be time-consuming and cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But finding the perfect mattress is just step one. You also need to protect your investment to maximize your chances of getting a healthy night’s sleep for years to come. Considering the average American spends more than 2,000 hours a year in bed, it is important to care for your mattress correctly.

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Here are some steps to make sure your mattress stays newer longer, allowing you to have the most comfortable and healthy sleep environment possible:

Use a Mattress Protector
Using a mattress protector is the easiest and most effective way to care for your mattress. Every night, a person loses one pint of body moisture. Unprotected mattresses absorb this body moisture, compounding fibers and causing the mattress to collapse over time. Mattress protectors prevent moisture from ever hitting your mattress, therefore extending the life of your mattress.

In addition, a mattress protector from one of the most trusted names in the industry will safeguard you and your family from allergens such as dust mites, which can cause a stuffy nose, watery eyes, sneezing and eczema. Protect-A-Bed’s mattress protectors are made of a new-age breathable fabric with a 100 percent natural, hypoallergenic cotton surface. The material is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Furthermore, the protectors slip easily onto a bed like a fitted sheet and are remarkably quiet.

If you’re looking for complete protection from a more bothersome problem, like bed bugs, which are proving to be one of the most challenging bugs pest management professionals have ever faced, Protect-A-Bed also offers the AllerZip, a mattress protector that completely encases the mattress, making it impossible for bugs to enter and breed in your mattress.

“The easiest way to prevent these problems is to protect the mattress, and in my opinion, the encasements designed by Protect-A-Bed are the best to date,” says Richard Cooper, an entomologist and an expert in pest control.

Flip for Even Wear
To minimize wear, rotate your mattress every four to six months, or as recommended by the manufacturer. Make sure to flip over the mattress from top-to-bottom as well as turn it end-to-end for uniform weight distribution. Always have two people flip the mattress to avoid damaging the mattress and injuring yourself.

Air Out
It is also important to air out your mattress upon buying it and throughout its life. When you first purchase your mattress, take it out of the packaging immediately. Throughout the life of the mattress, occasionally fold back the covers to allow moisture and odors to escape.

Don’t Bend
Bending a mattress can damage the innersprings. If you have to bend the corners to put on a sheet, the sheet is too small. Carry the mattress on its side when moving through doorways, and if you must bend it, do not flex more than 45 degrees.

Clean Gently
Before putting a protector on a mattress that is not new, you should clean it first. To remove dust and surface dirt, use your vacuum’s upholstery attachment. To remove stains, use a damp washcloth and mild detergent or vinegar on any soiled areas and scrub lightly. Limit the amount of water you use. Excess water can get trapped inside your mattress triggering the growth of mold and mildew. Once clean, place it in the sun or set up a fan to dry the damp areas.

“Your bed should be a comfortable, personal sanctuary, and more importantly, clear of allergens and other pests like bed bugs. Caring for your mattress will not only help you achieve a better night’s sleep, but it will help keep your mattress in good condition for much longer,” says Cooper.

For more information visit www.protectabed.com.

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(ARA) – Furniture and fabric designer Joe Ruggiero often finds it difficult to bring partners together when it comes to furnishing their homes. One wants a look that borders Barbie-town and the other - a bachelor pad. According to Ruggiero, meeting somewhere in the middle can be a daunting, even divorce-defying task.

“I’ve saved a lot of relationships,” Ruggiero jokes, “by finding a common ground, and from there combining both individual styles and personalities throughout the home.”

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Making his job more interesting today is his collection of classic upholstery designs from Norwalk Furniture and Sunbrella fabrics that mimic fashion apparel, specifically menswear. Today, menswear is no longer a gender-specific style. In fact, you might say it has moved from the male body to the female body to the androgynous home environment with all the style and grace of an Astaire greets Hepburn movie set.

Suiting up your upholstery

The migration of masculine fabrics and patterns – from argyle to herringbone, tweed, plaid, flannel and even the necktie stripe – to women’s apparel, even couture, is proof of its staying power and “unisex” appeal. “The look is right for the home,” says Ruggiero, “because it is something you will never tire of. It’s pleasing to both him and her.”

To suit up upholstery profiles, Ruggiero resorts to menswear-inspired blends from his Sunbrella collection of performance fabrics. His favorite pattern is the ever-popular, traditional glen plaid - appropriately called Glen. Inspired by a classic 1930s men’s sports coat, the designer softens it “for her” with a hint of tropical color in a custard coloration. “It has a little bit of melon worked in with dark chocolate,” says Ruggiero. “Melon makes her happy – because it is seen today on the fashion runways – without losing any of the masculinity in the pattern for him.”

Ruggiero also recommends classic herringbone to clients - with row after row of tiny V patterns. His interpretation, however, is more subtle, making it even more appealing to both sexes. Houndstooth represents another option - a woven design of broken checks that find their way into high fashion collections each fall.

Appreciated, too, is the fact that Ruggiero’s fabrics are considered ‘performance’—making them resistant to everyday wear-and-tear.

Selecting classic, not trendy upholstery

Upholstery anchors the room, says Ruggiero, who has been designing interior spaces for nearly 30 years. So, what to do when you want a high back tufted sofa with traces of Victoriana and he wants an old-school style recliner for Sunday football?

When tastes don’t match up, Ruggiero offers these tips to couples.

* Steer clear of a room full of furniture that is tied to a specific era of design. “It can be too limiting especially when accessorizing,” says Ruggiero.

* Look for designs with a traditional meets modern day persona. For Norwalk Furniture, Ruggiero has designed a collection of “trad mod” upholstered pieces. Among the sofas, chairs, ottomans and occasional benches and headboards are a mix of more structured silhouettes for him and, for her, softened, more detailed styles.

* Especially suited for him is the English club chair called Arthur, extremely tailored with capped arms and a tight seat and back, while pleasing her softer side, you can add trim or embellishments to the chair, such as nailheads, buttons and luggage stitching, all influenced by fashion.

* Take an elegant piece of furniture and cover it in a subtle menswear texture, such as beautiful camelback sofa wrapped in sophisticated herringbone.

His Study vs. Her Sitting Room

When confronted with a stalemate where neither side will budge, Ruggiero often recommends his-and-her spaces. “If you can’t get a couple to agree on a specific style in a main area of the home, then you try to give them their own personal spaces,” says Ruggiero.

Getaway rooms range from sitting to sewing, to reading and crafting for her. For him, the media room is becoming number one, followed by close seconds: the library or den, and today’s modern home office. “I encourage ‘personal’ spaces because the house is melding into one large gathering area,” says Ruggiero.

For fine furnishings and fabrics by Joe Ruggiero, visit www.norwalkfurniture.com and

Got shoes? I do. I have more shoes than I need, many more, and my husband often reminds me of this every single day. I don’t know where to put my shoes, and quite often, someone trips over them in the middle of the night. It’s not that I’m lazy; it’s just that there are so many of them. Perhaps they have started a union and have decided to take over the household. I don’t even remember buying some of them, so perhaps they are bringing outside help. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are organized, and ready to attack. They situate themselves so that someone gets hurt. I’ve even tried to use a shoe rack to keep them in check, but even that doesn’t seem to work.

The first shoe rack I had was a rather short set of shelves. It said shoe rack on the box, so I bought it. I was tired of hearing the complaints from my husband, and he wasn’t buying my mutiny story. I dutifully put some of my shoes on the rack, and put others that I don’t wear very often in the closet. By the end of the week, the shoes were scattered around the house again and only one pair was left on the shoe rack, and they weren’t even my shoes. This convinced me further that there were outside forces at work here. It’s not me, I put them away, I swear it!

The shoe rack soon became a place for toys, so I had to go buy yet another. This one hung from the back of my closet door. That should have worked, as the shoes were all confined to the closet. What I failed to realize was that the pair of shoes I left by the door had other plans. Perhaps they let the other shoes out, I don’t know, but they all managed to escape the shoe rack. My husband said if I blame it on the shoes one more time, he’s going to commit me.

I soon learned to live with my messy shoe habits. I know that the shoes aren’t really conspiring against me, and I know it’s me that leaves them lying around, but do you think I’m going to admit it to him? Until he cleans up his act, I can do what I please. The shoe rack in the closet still holds two pairs of shoes, but they are shoes I never wear. The rest of the pockets are now filled with scrapbook supplies. At least it is good for something.

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(ARA) – Summer can be an uncomfortable time for the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies. In addition to outdoor air filled with pollens and molds, allergy sufferers are confronted with allergy triggers within the home. Now is the time to take steps to create a relaxing and allergy-free sanctuary in your home, and the best place to start is the bedroom.

The bedroom is especially susceptible to becoming a dangerous place for allergy sufferers. What should be a relaxing oasis can become an allergy sufferer’s nightmare for many reasons. For instance, we all sweat when we sleep and even more so during the summer months. In fact, every night a person loses one pint of body moisture in addition to shedding millions of dead skin cells. This creates an ideal breeding ground for dust mites and other bacteria — major causes of asthma, eczema and allergies.

There are things you can do to keep your bedroom the relaxation center of your home. Implementing these simple tips will go a long way toward reducing the causes of allergies and other health problems in the bedroom:

* Sleep Tight All Night

We spend up to a third of our lives in bed, and although sheets can be washed, mattresses and pillows are not as easy to clean. Limit the amount of allergens that can collect on them by using mattress and pillow protectors.

For example, Protect-A-Bed bedding protectors are breathable fabric barriers that are waterproof, washable and have a 100 percent natural cotton surface that is hypoallergenic. There is no “plastic” feel like other mattress protectors, so it is guaranteed to not only be quiet, but also cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Avoid using or handing down old, possibly dust mite-infested mattresses or bedding sets to other family members, especially children. Reusing a mattress may seem like a good idea to save money, but mattresses that have not been properly cared for are breeding grounds for allergy triggers and can be passed from one household to the next.

* Fresh and Squeaky Clean

Be sure to wash your bed linens weekly at a temperature above 130 F or 54 C. Washing your linens in a hot temperature will kill dust mites and rid your bedding of other contaminants. Finish by hanging bedding outside in direct sunlight for a few hours.

Cleaning furniture in the bedroom, such as the dresser, nightstand and television, regularly will help eliminate dust. Dust, a common allergy trigger, can be inhaled while asleep, causing an uncomfortable night’s sleep. Be sure to clean off surfaces with a damp rag on a regular basis to remove excess dust and dirt.

Mold is also a common problem for allergy sufferers. Mold produces a musty odor in addition to millions of spores that become airborne easily, causing allergic reactions, asthma episodes and other respiratory problems for you and your family. Treat any mold growth with a bleach solution and make sure the area is kept dry.

* A Retreat, but Not for Dirt and Dander

Forty-one percent of dog owners and 51 percent of cat owners allow their pets to sleep in their beds according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. To prevent bringing dander and other pet allergens into the mattress, wash your pets regularly and, if possible, keep your pet out of the bedroom. If you can’t sleep without your pet, use Protect-A-Bed bedding protectors, which will keep your mattress and pillow free of dander.

Also be conscious of the dirt that is brought in on your shoes, pants, coats and other items. This dirt can penetrate carpets, bedding and mattresses and can be difficult to clean. Remove items that can potentially collect dirt prior to entering your bedroom.

A bedroom is a place for relaxation and rejuvenation and should not be a place that causes health problems. A clean, allergen-free bedroom will create an oasis for the body and mind. Visit www.protectabed.com for more information.

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Every night the human body sheds millions of skin flakes and loses a quart of body fluid through the pores of the skin and mouth, which provides the perfect food source and breeding ground for bacteria and dust mites (a major cause of asthma, eczema and rhinitis). Protect-a-bed offers the gold standard for preventing bacteria and dust mites from breeding. As a bonus, this protector is 100% waterproof, which is especially helpful for cases of incontinence. Protect-a-bed is easy to fit, machine washable and sterilizable.

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