If you’re the type of person who needs to keep up with fitness trends, you’re sure not to have missed juicing. Drinking a variety of nutritious juices is promoted by health specialists everywhere. They say it’s one of the healthiest ways to get all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients you need. They say that juicing fruits, vegetables and other foods extracts more nutrients from them.

If you want to get on board with the trend, you need to buy a juicer. You would think that a kitchen appliance that extracts juice wouldn’t be too complicated. However, like any appliance, there’s much more to juicers than you might think at first.

You’ll find a broad range of juicers on the market, and each one has its pros and cons. Some juicers are better at preserving the nutrients in the juice they produce – but might also take longer to juice anything. Others can handle whole fruits or vegetables, so you can save time on chopping. 

Anyone who wants to start juicing as part of their healthy diet needs to ask some key questions. Think about how you’re going to get a juicer that’s perfect for your lifestyle and your health goals.

Keep reading the buying guide below to find out what type of juicer best matches your requirements or skip straight to Groom+Style’s list of the Top 5 Best Juicers.

Speed or Maximum Nutrient Extraction?

The first thing you need to ask yourself is whether you’re looking for a fast juicer.

Or do you want one that extracts as many nutrients as possible?

There are currently four main types of juicer you should take a peek at. You can then get into those made for specific foods. It used to be that just two primary types were the most popular on the market. You could get centrifugal juicers and masticating juicers. But now both slow juicers and triturating juicers are becoming more popular. Juicing enthusiasts everywhere are looking for something even healthier.

So what on Earth is the difference between these juicer types? And what do speed and nutrients matter to them? When you’re selecting your juicer, you can have one that’s fast. But these are less effective at getting you all the nutrients you need. Or you can have one that will extract all those vital enzymes and nutrients but will take longer to do it.

At a basic level, a centrifugal juicer is fast and affordable. Its vertical design shreds whatever is fed into it into a pulp. The juice is pulled out using centrifugal motion (hence the name). A masticating juicer crushes and squeezes the fruit, veg and other foods fed into it. The process is slower, but the juice will last longer and be more nutritious.

Serious juicing fanatics might want to consider one of the two other options. There are also slow juicers and triturating juicers. A slow juicer is a bit like a combination of a masticating and centrifugal juicer. It has the upright design of a centrifugal but works like a masticating model. Some advocates say it’s even better at nutrient extraction than a masticating juicer. A triturating juicer is for anyone who wants to start getting serious about juicing. Their more common name “twin gear juicers” tells you that these monster juicers have a double set of gears to tackle your food. Like slow and masticating juicers, these are also slow. But they’re by far the most effective.

What Do You Want to Juice?

You’ve decided that your lifestyle requires a juicer that works super fast. Or maybe you’re willing to wait for a slower juicer if it means you’ll get the most out of everything you juice. But that’s just one question out of the way. The next thing you need to think about is what exactly it is you want to juice. Naturally, some things take more effort to juice than others. Some fruits and vegetables are hard, while others are soft. Some foods will have lots of pulp and fibre in them. So it’s essential to consider what type of juice you want to make if you’re on the lookout for a juicer.

At a basic juicing level, perhaps you’re looking for a citrus juicer. You want to make fresh orange juice, and maybe occasionally juice a lime or a lemon. Citrus juicers can be much simpler than any fancy masticating juicer. You can buy hand-operated ones, such as the OrangeX Amco Olympus Citrus Juicer. It’s as simple as placing half of a citrus fruit in the juicer and pulling down a handle. You also have the option of buying a centrifugal juicer with a citrus mode, like the Novis Vita.

What if you want to get a bit more adventurous than a plain old orange juice? If you want to try lots of different fruits and vegetables, you need something that can handle more. You might be thinking about soft fruits, from kiwis to strawberries. However, many fruits and vegetables are harder and require a bit more power to tackle.

Luckily, most juicers will take anything you throw at them. The question is, do you want to chop first or not? If you don’t have time for pre-slicing, you need a higher end model that will take whole fruit and veg. The Retro Cold Press Slow Juicer and Blender is one option that could work for you.

But what about wheatgrass and all your leafy greens? Not all juicers can handle these well, or even at all. A centrifugal juicer can’t juice wheatgrass. It’s also not as efficient at extracting nutrients from leafy greens. If you’re hoping to juice a lot of kale, you should try looking at slow juicers. Wheatgrass fans can even get a juicer especially for juicing it. Just like with citrus juicers, you can get hand-operated ones with a handle you can crank. But you might prefer an electric one if you want to ensure you get all the juice you’re looking for.

What’s Your Budget?

When you’re choosing a juicer, the price is an essential factor to consider. Wouldn’t we all love it if we didn’t have to think about money? Unfortunately, you do have to pay more if you want a juicer that does everything. However, you can still get a powerful juicer to produce healthy juices if your budget is on the lower end. You can get a juicer for as little as under £30 or spend as much as £500 or more. It’s entirely up to you where you want to set your budget on the scale. More often than not fitness enthusiasts tend to go overboard on the price so set your budget!

If you don’t want to spend much more than you would on lunch for you and friends, you will be limiting yourself. However, many people aren’t looking to start a new juicing lifestyle. Casual juicers don’t need anything fancy. They just want a new appliance for their kitchen.

You might start by looking at a hand-operated juicer, which you could get hold of for less than £30. Get a little bit more sophisticated with a centrifugal juicer like the Philips Viva HR1821/01 and you’re looking at closer to £60 or £70. However, some are available for as little as you might spend on a hand-operated juicer.

With a budget of £100 or more, you’ll be able to look at juicers with more power and capacity. But it’s not until you have £200 or £300 to spend that you can start looking at the big boys. Of course, you’ll also need a lot more space on your kitchen worktop for a lot of these. You’re sure to know some of the popular brands, like Dualit and Magimix. However, you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get hold of these juicers. Many will be under £200 and are still compact enough to fit in a small kitchen.

Diehard juicing fans might want to look at the juicers at the top end of the scale. They’re probably not what you would choose for your first juicer. But if you’ve been juicing for a long time, and it’s part of your lifestyle, maybe you want to take things up a notch. Around £350 will get you a Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer. You might be thinking about buying a professional-grade juicer. If so, you’re looking at possibly spending thousands.

Best Juicers on the Market

By this point, you hopefully have a better idea of what sort of juicer you’re looking for. You know that you want to make green juices with kale and lemongrass. Or you can’t wait to make your first apple juice. And you know whether speed or efficient nutrient extraction is more important to you. You also know what your budget can get you. Now you need to figure out which specific juicer could be for you. Try these select few juicers on the market to choose the best one for your kitchen. Have a read of a reminder of their pros and cons too.

Best Centrifugal Juicers

Centrifugal juicers work quickly, using centrifugal force to extract your juice. They’re the most popular option for new juicers.

You have a huge range of centrifugal juicers to choose one, since they’re so popular. Choosing the best one can be difficult, so consider these factors:

• Best for budget: ElectriQ WF1000 Whole Fruit Power Juicer, from as little as £28.98
• Best for convenience: Philips Viva HR1855 with its compact size, making it perfect for travelling.
• Best for capacity: L’Equip 215 XL for its extra-large feeding tube
• Best Masticating/Slow Juicers
•  

Best Masticating Juicers

Slower masticating juicers crush foods to release the juices. They produce longer lasting juice high in nutrients.

Masticating juicers are more expensive, so you need to think about your purchase carefully. Try these recommendations:

• Best for whole fruit and veg: Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer
• Best for easy cleaning: The Omega 8006 breaks down into dishwasher safe parts
• Best for versatility: Tribest Slowstar Vertical Juicer and Mincer

Best Twin Gear Juicers

Twin gear juicers have a twin set of gears to work in a similar way to masticating juicers.

Twin gear juicers are for the hardcore juicer. If you want to buy one, you should look at what it can juice and what else it can do. Consider these best ones:

• Best for juicing anything: Super Angel 5500 Stainless Steel Living Juice Extractor
• Best for juice yield: Green Star GSE-500 Elite
• Best for warrant: the Green Star again with a warranty of 12 years

Choosing the best juicer for you shouldn’t take you forever. If you know what you want and how that translates into the juicer that suits you, go out and get it. It might help to make a list first of what you’re looking for. Choosing the type of juicer you want should be your essential first step. Set your budget and priorities and you’ll soon find your new favorite kitchen appliance.

Learning how to cook and prepare your own meals is one of the most effective ways to save money, giving you a little more disposable income to line your pockets or stash away a not more in your savings account. Starting out, however, can be a little daunting. You might find the idea of meal planning to be restrictive and time-consuming, or you might be nervous that you won’t be able to cook the kind of delicious and satisfying meals that you’re used to eating.

While there are a few people who are intuitive cooks, for most of us cooking is a skill. You may start off low on the learning curve, but the more you do it, the better you will get. This also means that cooking gets easier and faster as you go. Planning before your grocery trips will become a more streamlined process, and your cooking creativity and fluency will increase with every meal.

We’ve compiled a handful of healthy recipes that use inexpensive ingredients to help you pick up your chef’s hat and get cooking:

Flexible Basics

Quesadillas: They require tortillas, cheese, and then basically anything you have in your fridge, from vegetables that you can fry up to mushrooms, beans, spinach, and even deli meats when it comes to quick meat options. Using corn tortillas can make these a low-maintenance gluten-free option as well. Quesadillas can take 7-12 minutes to make.

Basic Stir Fries: They are extremely versatile since they can incorporate whatever you have in your fridge, from assorted vegetables, such as carrots and broccoli, to your favorite meat options, such as chicken, shrimp, or even tofu for a vegetarian protein addition. Cook in the oil of your choice and flavor with anything from lemon to fish and soy sauce. Serve alongside rice. Stir fries vary in time but generally take 20-30 minutes.

Chicken Macaroni and Cheese: Being an adult doesn’t mean giving up on macaroni and cheese, it just means adding more to it so that it becomes nutritious and hearty as well as delicious. Macaroni and cheese is a great way to experiment with interesting cheese combinations that you might have in your fridge. It also offers the chance to mix vegetables and proteins like chicken into this pasta favorite. Nutritious stove-top macaroni and cheese may take 15-20 minutes and baked macaroni and cheese will generally have a bake time of 45 minutes to an hour but can offer leftovers for the rest of the week.

Stuffed Bell Peppers: They offer a nice big space for stuffing and baking. Try it by stuffing the bell pepper with rice and ground beef and then boiling it in water on the stovetop. Or stuff it with a spinach and artichoke mixture and bake in the oven. Oven baking will take 20-40 minutes and boiling will generally take 30-45 minutes.

Chicken and Quinoa Salad: Quinoa is a whole grain with a distinctive, even fun, texture that can absorb and blend with any flavor it’s around. Easy to prepare and filling, chicken and quinoa make for a fun meal that’s off the beaten path for many cooks. Depending on your chicken preparation, this dish can take 25-35 minutes.

Protein-Packed Vegetarian Picks

Chickpea Curry: This can be made with canned beans and offer a protein-filled vegetarian, spicy option that hits all the bases with cauliflower and warm rice. Depending on how much spice you like, you can easily tone down this recipe or build it up using fresh peppers and chilis. This recipe takes around 30 minutes.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: They offer a filling comfort option that you can add beans for protein, as well as vegetables and tomatoes, and you can cook it in the microwave to make everything a little easier. This dish takes 20 minutes using the microwave or an hour in the oven.

Steamed Vegetable Pasta: This is a simple matter of steaming your favorite vegetables or whatever you have in your fridge and add them to boiled pasta, oil, and your favorite citrus and spices. Top with diced raw tomatoes and parmesan or goat cheese. This dish takes 20-30 minutes.

Cauliflower Baked Ziti: This (or non-vegetarian variations Shrimp Fried Cauliflower Rice, or Shrimp and Cauliflower Grits). Using Cauliflower as a filler in dishes is a great way to cut down the starch of some favorites, such as pasta and rice. This dish takes an hour and 15 minutes when baked in the oven.

Hummus and Grilled Vegetable Wrap: Wraps have become popular as a low-calorie way of eating a less messy sandwich. Hummus works as a protein-filled dipping sauce, made from crushed chickpeas and sesame paste. When paired with grilled vegetables in an easy wrap, it makes a wholly satisfying lunch option. This dish takes 10-20 minutes using a grill pan.

Easy and Refined Dinners

Skillet Chicken, Apples, and Brussels Sprouts with Rice on the Side: Using a skillet, cook chicken and apples in oil. Remember to use your favorite spices, such as rosemary and sage. Then add the brussels sprouts into the same pan and cook until tender. This dish takes 30 minutes.

Salmon: Salmon is an Omega-3 rich brain food that can be prepared any number of ways including the low maintenance baking with lemon and oil sauce, pan frying, or even wood plank grilling. Salmon pairs well with a salad, rice, or noodles. Salmon dishes will generally take around 20 minutes.

Roasted Potatoes and Rosemary Baked Pork Tenderloin: This is an easily bakeable all-in-one-pan option. Pop it into the oven and monitor every 7 minutes or so. This dish will take about an hour in the oven.

Lemon Parmesan Chicken and Asparagus: This is a classic dish that will make you feel dressed up without having to work too hard for it. One of the things that makes this dish delightfully simple is the fact that it all fits on one pan, making cleanup streamlined and easy. This dish takes around 40 minutes.

Beet and Shrimp Winter Salad: Salads for dinner can be hit or miss depending on whether they incorporate the different food groups and offer us a filling experience. This salad uses shrimp which offer a lot of protein, as well as barley to fill you up while you enjoy the greens. This dish takes around 40 minutes.

How to Improve Quickly

For those who want to speedily increase their cooking and meal-planning proficiency, setting up a brief notebook, digital or otherwise, will help you keep track of your success and favorite recipes so that you can replicate these without much effort.

Some helpful notes to jot down include meals that you plan, meals that you like, and methodology that gives you your favorite results. It also helps to compile a standard grocery list of items and ingredients that you always like to have in your kitchen. Additionally, you can find helpful planner templates for meal planning that will make brainstorming and organization easier.

These are some of our favorite recipes for getting starting cooking. We hope you found something you can make soon!

DIY wood countertops attract homeowners with the promise of a natural aesthetic.

While similar to the desire for granite countertops among homeowners and remodelers alike, natural wood offers a much warmer and feeling in the kitchen when compared with many natural stone countertop options.

Perhaps you want to replace a worn-out counter top, or maybe you want something to offset the modernity of a new gas stove or other appliance.

Wood is an uncommon choice for countertops, which can help your counter to stand out.

Wood’s warmth isn’t in appearance alone. Wood countertops remain warm to the touch, making your kitchen an inviting gathering place. Wood also offers a quiet surface that dulls the sounds of cooking and clanking, so that your conversations take center stage in the kitchen.

About Wood Kitchen Countertops

Cutting and Food Prep

Many homeowners install solid wood kitchen countertops because they allow you to cut food safely with your knives while doing meal prep.

Wood is also a bread bakers dream when it comes to shaping the dough. As long as you keep your knives sharp and choose a durable type of wood, working right on the wood surface will do minimal damage, and you can buff out marks with sanding and oiling.

It’s a Softer Material

No matter what sealant you use, nothing will make wood countertops as strong as stone.

This means that your solid wood will get scratches and dents through use. For those attracted to wood because of its natural characteristics, this could be a favorable part of weathering and aging, but someone who prefers their DIY countertops to remain in pristine condition should choose a natural stone or another surface.

On the plus side, wood’s relative softness allows the countertops to be more gentle on your dishware than stone materials (which are known culprits of chipping and breaking dishes).

It Requires Maintenance

Wood is high-maintenance countertop material. To use it for cutting on, you will need to reapply its mineral oil monthly.

Maintenance for butcher block countertops might also require yearly sanding to clean the surface of dents and scratches, including pockets where bacteria and mold may grow in more humid climates. Increased oiling is necessary for drier climates as well to keep unsealed butcher block countertop from cracking.

Counters sealed with a clear coat require less maintenance but are also more difficult to refinish when it comes to dents and scratches.

Keeping it Sanitary

Poorly sealed wood can hold bacteria and mold. Butcher-block or no, you still won’t want to cut your chicken right on your DIY project countertop. However, with proper sealing, wooden countertops are perfectly hygienic. Some studies even show that wood has natural antibacterial properties.

Can Be Eco-Friendly

While sourcing reclaimed wood for your countertops might be more expensive, it does constitute recycling and an eco-friendly measure. Also, if it comes time to replace your DIY project counters again in the future, you can recycle the wood from your countertops as well.

Weakness to Water and Heat

You will need to pay attention to how your wood countertops come into contact with water. Sealants can keep water from seeping into the wood, but prolonged water damage can still cause problems.

Wood is also not fully heat resistant, meaning you will need to place hot pots and pans on trivets, especially anything over 400 degrees. Fortunately, many burn marks can be sanded away and reconditioned.

Expansion and Contraction

Wood countertops kitchen require ventilation throughout the kitchen area since they will expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. You can also use the best humidor in your kitchen to control the humidity around wooden countertops

If you’re worried about your wood countertops moving, opt for installing thicker blocks as opposed to a panel counter. Blocks will be more stable in the long run.

What Does the Wood Grain Mean?

Wood has three sides:

• Face grain is the widest and most decorative.
• Edge grain is like the face grain, but it is more compressed and has fewer weak spots.
• The end grain is the rough section at the end of the wood board.

When we talk about what grain to choose, we are actually talking about what side to make into the surface of the counter.

Edge Grain

Edge grain fuses many pieces together with the edges exposed at the top, forming the surface.

Edge Grain is best for large installations. It is the most common, making it less expensive to source. It is also considered the most stable.

The best finish for edge grain wood is either mineral oil or sealant depending on whether you want to be able to cut on the surface of your DIY project counters or use cutting boards.

End Grain

End grain fuses together the end pieces of the wood rails, often making a decorative checkerboard pattern.

End grain is considered to be more durable. The pricing on these is higher due to their increased wood and labor cost. While less stable, it is a good choice for a prep surface that will be in frequent use due to its durability.

The best finish for end grain blocks is mineral oil so that you can use the surface to cut and work.

Face Grain

Face grain countertops are also called plank counters. These blocks are made from wide boards that lay flat when fused together.

While often less expensive because they require less wood and labor, many choose to make wood panel counters out of more expensive wood for its natural beauty, thus elevating the cost.

Face grain is more likely to have soft spots in the grain, making it less durable than the others.  Plank countertops are best for highlighting the natural beauty of the wood. These are also more likely to show scratching and denting.

Face grain is best for making a dining island or bar top and will be best protected with full sealing.

Wood Choices DIY Butcher Block Countertops

Here we wish to go into some of the more common wood choices for countertops. As a note, a wood’s Janka score is a measure of its hardness.

Birch

Janka Score: 900

Birch ($12 per square foot) is a light wood with a fine grain that will help to brighten a kitchen countertop space. It is also very economical in its edge-grain form.

American Walnut

Janka Score: 1,000

Walnut ($60 per square foot) is a beautiful darker wood that will warm up any kitchen with its elegant black grain. Walnut makes an excellent accent piece on a kitchen island.

Mesquite

Janka Score: 2,350

For Mesquite’s ($151 per square foot) premium pricing, you’re getting wood so durable start from home remodeling to years after. Mesquite gives a rich reddish-brown color that almost glows when polished.

Brazilian Cherry

Janka Score: 2,350

Cherry ($115 per square foot) is a very hard wood that offers a beautiful, understated grain and bright red-brown finish.

Bamboo

Janka Score: 1,380

Many wouldn’t call bamboo ($98 per square foot) wood since it’s technically grass, but bamboo can make a beautiful countertop for someone looking for a different take from the traditional hardwoods.

Rosewood

Janka Score: 1,780

Rosewood ($200 per square foot) is a heavy, beautiful wood that offers a strong accent to tie together a kitchen theme or design.

Maple

Janka Score: 1,400

When it comes to butcher block countertop, maple ($40 per square foot) is classic. It’s strong, clean-looking, and like a blank slate, it can inspire marvelous cooking feats.

White Oak

Janka Score: 1,300

Oak ($12 per square foot) offers a lighter finish with lots of grain at a lower price point. This is an excellent choice for a kitchen that needs a focal point.

Finishing Methods

Oils

Oils allow your surface to be food-safe for you to cut and do meal prep directly on. As the oil seeps into the wood block, it makes the wood resistant to heat, moisture, and even stains. That being said, oils will not give your wood counters a glassy shine.

• Mineral Oil – Mineral oil helps keep water out and natural moisture in to prevent cracking. It is also completely food safe and is the best sealer for those who will be cutting on the countertop. Mineral oil is not suitable for face grain countertops, because it will raise the grain, potentially creating an uneven surface.
• Tung Oil – Tung oil is a favorite among many homeowners since it cures to a hard protective finish. However, it is not suitable for those with nut allergies. Waterlox is a tung oil-based product commonly used to seal wood counters.

Oil-Wax Blend

Oil-wax blends are made from mineral oil. Blends include beeswax or paraffin wax that made an excellent food-safe finish for cutting. The wax adds extra protection from moisture and seals the oil deeper into the wood.

Sealing your countertops with an oil-wax blend means less frequent sealing and finishing. This provides a good option for someone who is worried about the wood surrounding their sink.

DIY Oil-Wax Blend for Sealing Wood Slab Countertops

Materials:
2 oz Beeswax
2 oz Mineral Oil
Soft Cleaning Rag

1. Combine beeswax and mineral oil in a saucepan, and put on stove at low temperature.
2. Stir as the beeswax melts and blends into the oil.
3. Allow to cool slightly. Then use the soft rag to rub the mixture over the countertops.

It makes a good wood filler as it has a great mix to fill in cracks and give your DIY wood countertop a strong seal that will last for about a year.

Clear Coat

Clear coats fully seal your wood, making it unsuitable to use as a cutting countertop space, while also fully protecting it from water, stains, and scratching. This is a great option for bar tops and dining tables, as well as for families with children.

Polyurethane takes away from the look and feel of natural wood. It is safe for food contact but isn’t as friendly to food preparation, and it is less easy to repair that wood with a more natural finish.

Stain or No Stain

Staining your wood makes it unusable as a cutting surface, and it must be fully sealed with a clear coat to be food-safe. Additionally, buying prestained wood can add about 5 to 10 percent to your DIY project wood cost.

However, a DIY wood countertops staining job can make a less expensive wood species, such as birch or oak, look like a more expensive wood, such as walnut or cherry.

DIY Wood Countertops Panel

Materials Needed

• Face grain wood boards about two inches thick of identical dimensions
• Biscuit joiner
• Biscuits
• Sandpaper
• Wood glue
• Chip brush
• Clamps

How to Make Wide Plank Countertops

1. Make sure that the sides of your DIY wood countertop pieces have straight, not beveled edges. If you can line the wood pieces up flat next to each other, and there are dips where the wood would join together, trim each side so that the pieces join to each other.
2. Cut slots with a biscuit cutter and insert biscuits. Use wood glue to join. Then clamp and join tight.
3. Sand the surface until it is smooth and level.
4. Now you can install the panel countertops as you would with the prefabricated butcher blocks below.

DIY Butcher Block Countertops

Materials Needed

• Flexible kitchen and bath sealant
• Plywood for blocking or furring strips
• Drill with changeable bits
• Wood screws
• Fender washers

Measuring and Making a Countertop Template

Measure the tops of your base cabinets while factoring in your desired overhang. The standard overhang is around 1 to 1.5 inches. If you’re interested in creating a breakfast bar or area for stools, consider a twelve to sixteen-inch overhang.

Cardboard templates will help you be sure of your numbers as you strategize how you trim your DIY wood countertop blocks. If you are cutting your own butcher blocks, you will need to cut the wood according to this template using a circular table saw and router by seeing DIY tutorials, so you can use your woodworking skills to do it.

Many manufacturers, however, allow you to send your template and measurements in with your order to cut it to size for you.

Be sure that your countertop template includes dimensions, decorative edge profile, orientation, such as where the walls will be, and space cut out for the sink. It should also include the contours of the wall, including many pieces that will need to be cut out of the counter to make it fit, and don’t forget cutouts for the range, fridge, or other appliances.

Installing Butcher Blocks

1. Determine what kind of cabinets you have. Most cabinets have no tops and you will have to install blocking to provide support for your DIY wood countertops. If, however, you have solid-topped cabinets, meaning that the cabinets are covered without a counter, thin furring strips are necessary to raise the countertop slightly off the cabinetry and give it room for air circulation.
   • Blocking Method:
     • To install blocking, cut plywood to fit within the cabinet’s width. Drill in angled pilot holes about half an inch from the edges. These will go through the top of the blocking and emerge from the cut ends.
     • Fit the blocking at the front of the cabinet, and use deck screws through the pilot holes to secure it.
   • Furring Method:
     • Make .25 in thick plywood long enough to fit two inches shorter than the depth of the cabinet. Lay the strips every sixteen inches across the cabinets, using kitchen and bath sealant as glue to stick them down.
2. Drill one hole per cabinet through the center of the blocking or through the solid cabinet up through the furrow.
3. Before you begin sealing the butcher blocks to the cabinets, use your choice of finish to seal its underside and any areas that will be hard to reach once it is installed.
4. From inside the cabinet, drill a screw with a fender washer through each of the holes into the butcher block. The screw must be shorter than the counter is thick. Tighten until the block is secured to the cabinets.
5. Use your preferred finish on the top of the counter.

How to Install Around the Sink

When it comes to installing wood around your sink, it’s best to take precautions so that your wood doesn’t come into constant contact with water either from the faucet or used while soaking the sink.

Regardless of sink type, all exposed edges around the sink, including cutouts and undersides, must be sealed with an oil-wax blend.

To avoid the risk of moldy wood around the sink, many homeowners prefer to install stainless steel all the way around the sink. Another solution is an undermount sink, where the counter is a little higher than the sink. This would allow you to sweep all water quickly in the sink, and make it less likely for water to sit on the wood counter.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t forget to seal the bottom of the counters.
• Give the countertop room for natural expansion to take place.
• Work soon after you receive your DIY wood countertop materials so that they don’t warp in storage.
• Do not use water-based top coats.
• Work cleanly without oily foods or oily clothes. If these get on the wood they will keep the sealant from working.
• When it comes to your countertops, avoid particleboard and wood veneer which easily peel and swell when hit by excess moisture.
• When you receive or buy your wood check it immediately for noticeable or large gaps in the glue holding the rails of the block together. Gaps are liable to open wider or become unglued as the wood expands and contracts.
• Do not use cooking or vegetable oil to coat and seal your DIY wood countertop. Organic oils such as these will eventually go rancid and spoil, so it’s best to use mineral oil.

Wood countertops offer many options for you to customize your counters for your lifestyle. Between the choices of wood, grain, and finish, a DIY wood countertop offers an inviting and unique kitchen experience. If you don’t feel like wood is a good choice for you, consider faux granite or other options instead. You deserve a countertop that reflects the price you have in your home and garden.

Having the sort of home that guests want to return to again and again can be extremely gratifying. Creating an inviting home for your guests means that they will feel comfortable, making the process of hosting easier on you. At the same time, a cozy home means some thoughtful designs, as well as a little regular cleaning and maintenance.

There are some qualities in a house that tend to deter guests, making it difficult to host or keep people around, such as untidiness, clutter, or a stark atmosphere. However, there are a few tricks that will help to make any space inviting and cozy.

Keep in mind that every element of a home helps to form an impression. This process begins the moment that they enter the house. While first impressions, such as an inviting entrance mat and a drop zone for your guests’ outerwear and bags, can help to solidify a first impression, there are a lot of measures that you can take throughout your home to make it a warmer, cozier place for guests to feel at home.

This article will discuss basic design and room by room considerations to help you make a cozy house, not only for your guests but for yourself and your family as well.

The Benefits of Creating an Inviting Home

Depending on your lifestyle, a warm and cozy home can be important for your social and family life. The home offers a gathering and living place where your friends and family will spend their time. This allows you the opportunity to host parties and holidays, and it is also likely to reduce stress when it comes time to host.

An inviting home also helps to communicate and foster your unique personality and tastes. As important as it is to present a nice home to your guests, it’s also important that you enjoy living in your home. In other words, one key to a cozy home is that you would want to spend time in it.

The Importance of Regular Cleaning Sprees

A clean and uncluttered home is one of the key aspects that will allow your guests to feel comfortable in your home. People tend to feel uncomfortable around other people’s messes, and they can be influenced by unpleasant odors and dirty conditions. If you want people to feel at home in your place, it’s important to keep up on your cleaning so that when you have someone pop over, it’s easy to put everything in place.

• Consistent cleaning keeps your home smelling great. One thing that has an undeniable influence on how guests feel about your home is the way that it smells. Regular cleaning will help you get rid of anything likely to cause recurrent odors. It offers the perfect time for you to open the windows and air out your home. It’s also important to introduce new better smells and fragrances as you clean.
• When you clean frequently, you can go beyond the obvious. When guests are about to come over, you’re most likely to do a surface cleaning by vacuuming, putting away dishes and cleaning the sink, cleaning the toilet, and tidying small clutter areas. For most homes, though, this isn’t enough. Regular cleaning allows you the opportunity to achieve a deeper clean so that you can make better first impressions. This might mean setting up a chore rotation or scheduling a time each week to tidy, scrub, and eliminate clutter.
• You will feel comfortable in your clean home every day. A clean and comfortable home is not just for your guests to enjoy, but it’s also a necessity for you to appreciate your home. If you’re comfortable and happy in your own space, it’s likely that others will catch on too. You deserve a clean space as much as anyone coming to visit, and regular cleaning can help you keep it nice and tidy.

Using Color Properly Throughout the House

Colors and textures have a powerful effect on mood, atmosphere, and light distribution. Your paint color plays a large part in making your home appear warmer and more cared for.

Here are a few tips for choosing colors and color schemes around your home:

• Use the 60-30-10 Rule. This is a technique in decorating that calls for using 60 percent of a dominant color, which is normally also the wall color, 30 percent of a secondary color, most often also used in the upholstery, and ten percent for an accent color developed by the accessories. The 60-30-10 rule applies from room to room, so not all the rooms of your home need the same color scheme.
• For a dull room, try contrasting warm and cool tones. Using muted colors, contrast warm and cool tones to offer just enough interest to lessen a dulled or boring room.
• Dramatize a small room with monochromatic color. This is a great option for a bathroom, small sunroom, small kitchen, or even a smaller guest room. When you go for a monochromatic look, you can pull off just about any color, vibrant or muted. In this case,  be thoughtful about choosing a complimentary neutral. While a bright white can be a good option for making a bathroom look clean, you might want a softer gray or beige in a more lived-in room.
• Use colors to create calm spaces. Softer colors, including browns, lighter neutrals, and pale blues can make a space feel calm and friendly.
• Go for a light-colored paint when trying to reflect light. Light-toned and vibrant paint colors can make a room appear warmer and more inviting. They are also better at reflecting light. Opt for these over darker colors, which can make a room appear smaller and less inviting.
• Use fabrics and textiles to add color as well as texture. Your upholstery and textiles are an important part of introducing color into your home. Different fabric materials have different associations and textures, so be sure that you’re giving off the right vibe. For example, faux fur and suedes will make a space feel warmer, while light and breezy cottons help to make an area feel light and open.
• Paint an accent wall to create a focal point. Accent walls give you a powerful pop of color that draws in guests, focuses their attention, and allows the space to feel more coherent. Keep in mind that “far walls” make the best accent walls. Using a “near wall,” on the other hand, could contribute to making the space look cluttered or busy.
• Add in touches of black to ground the space. If you’re finding that your room is lacking clarity, it can be helpful to add some black furniture or accessories. These can be simple accents, such as a black vase, lamp, or bookshelf.

Use Lights to Your Advantage

Lighting is one of the most important parts of helping your home to feel calming and cozy. Your home should be well-lit since your guests will always gravitate toward the brighter areas of the home.

However, it’s important to also be aware of the temperature of your lighting. Bright shouldn’t equate to lighting that is clinically cold. There are many lightbulbs that offer a warm or natural spectrum atmosphere.

To consider how you can improve the lighting in your home, consider:

• How many light sources are there in the room? Having more than one source of light in any room is important to help the light illuminate the corners of the room and create a cozy feeling. If you have too few light sources, use task lighting, including lamps, candles, and even string lights to create ambiance.
• Is the light coming from different levels? Using primarily overhead lighting isn’t flattering for anyone. You can fix this by varying the height and levels of your lighting.
• How do you feel about the lighting fixtures themselves? Light is only one aspect of a lighting fixture. Sometimes we need the light but dislike the appearance of the fixture that holds it. Or, you may really enjoy a certain fixture but it’s the wrong fit for the area.
• Do you have focal lighting? Clustering some of your lighting together can help to direct your guests to focal points and points of interest, particularly as it starts to get dark.
• Are you using cool-tone or warm-tone light bulbs? Lighting that is too cool-toned can appear clinical and unflattering. While we recommend natural spectrum or cool white lights throughout most of your home to keep things level, if there’s an area that you want to feel cozier, opt for a warm-toned bulb. To tell whether your lights are cooler or warmer toned, check their kelvin rating. The higher the number, the cooler the lighting is. The average cool white bulb is 5000k and warmer lights tend to be around 3000k.
• Could you use a few night lights? Nightlights are a low-impact addition that will make your guests feel right at home. They can be very helpful to help navigate an unfamiliar house. Guest and hall bathrooms are one of the best spots for a night light.
• Have you considered smart lights? Smart lights allow you to change the color and temperature of your lights depending on mood and time of day. They easily dim, giving you full control over the atmosphere set by your lighting. Many connect with voice controller applications and timers.

Beautifying Your Home Room by Room

When it comes to creating a cozy home, each room may take on a different tone and purpose, depending on how you use and decorate it. Some rooms are for vibrant entertainment, and other rooms, such as a study or office can offer a space for quieter moments. The idea is to identify how you use each room and arrange it to match this purpose. This harmony between space and purpose will help your guests orient themselves in your home.

Living Room

The living room tends to be the second heart of the home, after the kitchen. This is where most people do the majority of their entertaining, as well as their day-to-day unwinding. When putting together an inviting living room, it’s good to remember to make it a comfortable living space.

Choosing Living Room Furniture

In most cases acquiring furniture is best done in person. This gives you the opportunity to see the actual size and colors of the materials, while also trying it out for yourself. Particularly with seating, your guests will thank you for providing comfortable seats around your home. 

Ultimately, it’s important to pick furniture that suits your needs. For example, If you often host large groups, you might consider furniture that can accommodate many people. However, if you often have overnight or weekend house guests, you might prefer to offer relatively secluded seating away from other entertainment, such as a reading chair. To determine what you need, keep an eye on how you and your guests use the space, then adapt the furniture to fill in the gaps.

• Design around the focal point. Most living rooms have a focal point, so one key is to find the focal point and design your furniture around it. At the same time, consider color and the vibe that you want your living room to give off.
• Size and fit matter. It’s important that your furniture fits the space you have. Guests will feel better with less furniture in cramped spaces than cramming everything in despite the size. At the same time, having very small furniture that does not fill out a larger space can make a space feel uncomfortably empty.
• Think about how you will arrange it. Feng Shui and furniture harmony play a large part in how your home looks and feels. To achieve a balance, try not to overcomplicate your designs. Furniture should have room to navigate around without too much difficulty. Use open designs when setting up furniture to keep things from feeling cramped.
• Look for higher quality furniture that won’t fall apart after a year or two. Higher quality furniture will have a sturdy wooden frame. This also means choosing materials that are durable and won’t wear out on you too quickly. Microfiber and leather both offer better stain resistance that you will not get with cotton.

The Ideal Color Palettes for Your Living Room

Fortunately, there’s no one ideal color palette for every living room. This gives you the freedom to choose the colors that most appeal to you, as you adapt the living room to your style and tastes.

• Playful Elegance – If you keep your color palette in the charcoals and grays, you can get away with very lovely pops of color. Keep them in the blue or teal range to keep the peaceful tone in the home, or a warm red-orange to keep the energy up.
• Soft Neutrals – Neutrals offer a clean warm background for everything that takes place in your living room. Try pairing it with soft shades of brown, and if you need to breathe some extra life into it, go for terracotta colors. Gray, for example, is a very versatile neutral that allows any vibrant to pop.
• Deep Colors – You by all means don’t have to shy away from deep or saturated shades. This style helps to make a statement, but to keep everything on the side of cozy, we recommend sticking to warmer hues, such as deep rust, chocolate brown, and opt for light-hued flooring.
• Hang art on the walls to add color variety. The right wall art can change up the colors in a particular room, adding extra colors and a fresh focal point.

DIY Projects for a Cozy Living Room

• Use faux greenery to create atmosphere. High-quality faux flowers are great to decorate with since they won’t die and still give off feelings of warmth and coziness.
• Add texture with interesting bookshelves. Use bookshelves for storage, displaying accessories, and books of course. The display of your bookshelf can offer a sense of balance and texture. However, it’s important to make sure not to clutter them.
• Make your own custom window treatments. Custom window treatments can completely transform the appearance of a room while also offering you more privacy and control over the interior lighting.
• Use optical illusions to make a small space appear larger. One of the most important optical illusions you can put in your home is a mirror. Not only does it help to give the illusion of expanding a cramped space, but it also helps to reflect and redistribute lighting.
• Create unique or signature furniture. Reupholster and personalize a signature piece of furniture to add your own personality into your home. This will help the home feel more one of a kind.
• Don’t be afraid to hang your photos. Seeing photographs around a home can be comforting for guests. It helps them gain insight into the people who live in the house while offering a point of interest to spark conversation. It also demonstrates care and concern for your loved ones.

Bathroom

A clean and nice bathroom is a necessity for hosting any guest who will be visiting for more than an hour or two, particularly if you intend to feed them. However there are many styles for a bathroom, and no one will fault you for opting for your own. The key is to keep it clean, hide away anything unsavory, and provide a few amenities that will help your guests feel right at home.

Don’t shy away from using rugs to warm up the bathroom, and we’re not just talking about bath mats. Instead, many people are using decorative and Persian rugs to decorate their bathrooms.

How to Keep Your Bathroom Smelling Nice

Frequent cleaning is non-negotiable for a fresh-smelling bathroom. No matter what fragrances you layer over an odor, the smell will continue to show up if the bathroom is unclean. If you can’t tell where the phantom smells are coming from, make sure to clean out drains, as well as places where odors might linger, such as floor mats.

• Use an automatic air freshener, odor absorber, or scented candle. These fresheners will puff out fragrance at regular intervals. Try not to choose an overly floral scent, instead opting for something that smells like clean linens or spices.
• Ensure your bathroom has good ventilation. If it doesn’t have a good vent and fan, it may risk growing mold. This is worth installing and making it easy to turn on with a quick switch.
• Luxury soaps offer an opportunity for guests to indulge. Additionally, their subtle scents can help contribute to a good overall atmosphere in your bathroom.

DIY Projects For an Organized Bathroom

• When something feels off in the bathroom, it’s probably the lighting. Good bathroom lighting is very important for helping guests to relax, groom themselves in the mirror, and even use the mirror as a vanity to put on makeup. If your bathroom lighting is too low-intensity or oddly colored, this can be a problem. If you notice that the lighting in your bathroom is less than welcoming, you might make a DIY change, to both add some style into the fixtures and make sure they help your guests to relax and ready themselves.
• Make your own over-the-toilet storage and shelving, using an old wooden ladder. This can be a good place to hang towels while also creating a shelf for toiletries.
• Install hooks on the wall. Extra hooks can give you a lot of use and flexibility, including hanging towels, steaming out clothes, hanging a dopp kit, or whatever else your guests may need.
• Install floating shelves for bathroom amenities. Most bathrooms don’t have a lot of cabinet or storage space, so installing a few floating shelves can solve many of your storage problems.
• Install a great shower head and shower filter. Bathing is one of those frequent luxuries that everyone can feel good about. Many people leave the shower in a good mood, and with a top-notch shower head, you can help make their mood even better.

Important Toiletries for Hosting Overnight Visitors

Everybody loves amenities that help us feel provided for, especially your house guests. One of the best ways to let someone know that they’re welcome in your home is to offer them the necessities they use or would like in their own home.

• Always have extra rolls of toilet paper where they can easily be found. No one wants to have to ask or go searching through all of your cabinets for that.
• Extra toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste are amazing for when your guests are in a pinch or might have forgotten their own.
• Keep a toilet brush in each bathroom. You’ll never know when your guests need it, because they probably won’t say anything.
• Make sure that the bath towels are available, clean and easy to access.
• Keep a first aid box with bandages and medicine to treat allergies, headaches, and heartburn.
• Have grooming essentials on hand, such as shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and even lotion.
• Keep the bathroom stocked with basic toiletries, such as cotton swabs and tissues.
• Shaving cream and disposable razor blades will come in handy for guests who might have forgotten these underrated tools.
• Keep a sample of feminine products in the cabinets just in case.

A Welcoming Kitchen

Hosting guests in your kitchen can be tricky. Unless you have long-term houseguests, many guests will hesitate to cook something without you there with them. Nonetheless, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and you can still make it a thoroughly welcoming space by providing a few necessary tools.

To begin with, it’s always nice to have coffee and tea available. The coffee aroma helps to fill your home with a fragrance that many find to be comforting, especially in the morning.

Essential Tools Any Good Host Should Have in Their Kitchen

• A corkscrew and bottle opener
• A coffee maker and tea infuser
• Basic cooking utensils
• Silverware in an easy-to-access drawer
• Serving plates
• Dishes, cups, bowls, and mugs
• Clean sponges
• A stocked cookie jar

Picking a Color Palette For Your Kitchen

Most colors can easily belong in the kitchen, making this color scheme truly up to you. While many people like a kitchen made of warm and restful neutrals, kitchens are one of the few places in the home that can easily sport the most vibrant color, such as bright reds, blues, or greens.

At the same time, you want to be sure that your kitchen color palette still follows the usual rule of picking colors, so it doesn’t look too chaotic. Stick with the two main colors and add in a useful neutral.

DIY Projects For an Organized Kitchen

• Make a subway tile backsplash. If you have a large kitchen this can fall into more of a renovation. Never fear though, subway tiling doesn’t go out of style, offers customizable colors, and it’s easy to install as a DIY project. Or, if you are having trouble with the traditional tiling, you might opt to use stick-on tiles for your backsplash.
• Install hanging pot and pan storage. Once you get used to hanging storage for your pots and pans in your kitchen, you’ll never want to go back. You can easily DIY hanging your pots and pans from a wall rack, or by installing a hanging rack from the ceiling of the kitchen.
• Organize and label your spices out in the open. If you have guests cooking at your home, one of the best gifts you can give them is the ability to spice their food without having to dig through your cabinets to find your spice collection. Well organized spices, whether you’re using magnetic tins or an aesthetic wrack, can appear attractive, while also showing off a few of your own spice preferences.

Dining Room

Some hosts use their dining room frequently when entertaining guests and others won’t spend a lot of time in it. It all depends on the kind of events and guests that you intend and enjoy hosting. For example, those who host dinner parties might put a lot of time into making their dining room inviting.

The old notion of a stuffy dining room with its china cabinet and infrequently used finery, however, is not always necessary. With the right styling and furniture, you can make your dining room as cozy a space as any of the others in your home, so that when you invite guests to wine and dine, they’ll want to stay awhile.

Choosing a Dining Table

Picking your dining room furniture is all about picking a table. The rest, such as a small bar, or dish cabinet, will follow.

Your dining table should fit in your space. Allow room for guests to be able to scoot their chairs in and out without worrying about banging up your furniture. It’s commonly recommended that you should have three feet of breathing room on all sides of your table. 

Additionally, a table that is too large will dwarf a room, making it feel stuffy, which will have an effect on making larger meals feel uncomfortable. Also, consider the shape of the room. A round table fits nicely into a square room, whereas an oval table might be better for a more rectangular room.

Pick a table that is built to last. The average dining table should last about ten years if not more. This means that you may not want to choose the trendiest table you see, as it may become dated before its lifespan is up. The best dining tables are simple, stable, and sturdy.

The Ideal Color Palettes For Your Dining Room

• Soft neutrals won’t let you down. If you’re nervous about putting intense colors in your dining room, go for a lighter neutral, such as a soft gray, beige, or white.
• Make a deep accent-wall focal point. For a smaller space, it can be helpful to go deep with one of your walls, such as with brilliant navy, lush brown, or rich terracotta. Just make sure that you have adequate lighting so that your dining room doesn’t appear too dark.
• Use vibrant pastels. You can’t go wrong with a lighter or pastel version of your favorite color. This is common with lighter gray-pinks and soft jade shades.
• Metallics touches bring the right timeless elegance. Pop in some metallics, particularly gold to warm up a stuffy dining room.

DIY Projects for the Perfect Dining Room

• Keep fresh flowers in the dining room. Fresh flowers offer a beautiful and timeless touch to any area, and they are particularly beloved on the dining room table. Make sure to change the water and continue clipping the stems to help your fresh flowers last as long as possible. Rather than concentrating all your flowers in one spot, consider splitting the bouquet to make multiple smaller arrangements that you can distribute throughout the house.
• Create a Dining Table Centerpiece for Each Season. Centerpieces on a table help to add charm and intentionally use empty space. When in doubt, opt for fresh flowers. Or, DIY your centerpieces with seasonal and holiday-inspired arrangements.

Guest Bedroom

For overnight guests, your guest bedroom is a crucial part of helping your visitors feel at home in a safe space. At the same time, since this space isn’t constantly in use, it offers a good place to discreetly store odds and ends that don’t belong elsewhere in your home, using chests and even more permanent bedroom furniture.

How to Arrange a Bedroom

To begin with, your guest bedroom needs a bed. The bed doesn’t have to be huge. Instead, it should properly fit the room, and keep in mind that guest rooms tend to be a bit smaller than rooms designed for permanent living.

One of the keys to a good looking bedroom is the bedding. High-quality sheets, a nice comforter, and ornamental pillows to fill out the space help to tie a guest room together. Additionally, keeping a throw blanket on the bed not only adds additional texture and interest, but it also helps to encourage guests to feel more comfortable.

When arranging the guest room make sure that there is appropriate space for a suitcase and a little unpacking from your guest. Additionally, it’s helpful if you don’t fill up all the space with your own storage, or display all of your own favorite things on the top of furniture, as your guests should feel free to use that space as they need during their stay.

When picking out colors for your bedroom, it can be helpful to consult a color wheel. Since the bedroom is meant to be a casual and relaxing space, it’s best to choose colors that are near to each other on the color wheel, such as blues and greens.

If your guests are children or have children, you may also wish to make sure the space is safe for them.

Tips on Guest Bedroom Furniture

• Give yourself some discrete storage. Since guest rooms aren’t constantly in use, it can be a good idea to make sure that all furniture doubles as storage space. This can include a bedside table with drawers and amenities for guests, or a blanket ladder to hang throws that your guests can use during their stay. Whatever you do with the storage though, make sure it’s nothing that would embarrass your guest to see and make sure to leave some space to invite them to place their own things.
• Offer your guests a comfy seat. In most cases, this would be an armchair right in the room. If there’s space you can also give a small pedestal table and lamp. This will offer the guests a place to sit, aside from the bed, any time that they retreat to the room.

DIY Projects for a Cozy Bedroom

• Add house plants. House plants play an important part in making a guest bedroom feel lived in without causing the guest to believe that they are intruding on someone else’s space. They are an easy way to make a space cozy without over-decorating a space that might see limited use.
• Offer them a clothes hamper. When traveling hampers help to keep clean clothes organized and away from the more stale clothes. It also gives guests a place to discard used towels or linens if they decide to change the sheets.
• Install a floating shelf to act as an end table. If you don’t have space or the furniture for a guest bed end table, don’t sweat it. Make your own shelf with enough space for a small bedside lamp and other bedside necessities.

Entertainment Room

Your entertainment room will likely be another space frequently traveled by both short-term and longer-term guests. This is a good place for playing games, enjoying a movie, and keeping it casual while spending time with your guests.

It’s important to know the potential uses of your entertainment room. Film buffs might want to set up a home theater, while others might be looking for a more family-friendly entertainment room. The best way to go about it is to plan out what you want to use the space for.

How to Equip Your Entertainment Room

• A reliable television is useful. Whether you spend some of your time watching television, or just on the odd occasion, a reliable television offers you the chance to host movie nights and game watching with your friends.
• A Bluetooth speaker gives you and your guests the opportunity to put on shared music. While most entertainment rooms don’t need the theater-quality surround sound systems so often advertised with televisions, it is absolutely useful to have something that will play music on demand.
• Stock the room with a variety of games for more active entertainment. It’s up to you to pick your poison, from gaming consoles to board and card games, and more kinetic indoor games, such as darts. You know best what your family and friends are likely to play and enjoy.

The Best Party Games to Get

• Always have at least two packs of cards and some poker chips. A regular deck of cards is one of the most versatile and budget-friendly gaming sets in your arsenal. Cards cover poker nights, trick-taking games, solitary games, and many child-friendly games as well.
• Classic board games offer nostalgia for the adults and something new for the kids. Keep around some of your favorite classic games that you might have played when you were younger, such as Monopoly, Risk, Life, or Settlers of Catan. These can be enjoyed by a large age range, though they do tend to inspire competition.
• Pick up a few house party games. House party games tend to be more social than they are competitive. This means that they can help you break the ice and get to know your guests. These games can be classics, such as Pictionary or Charades, as well as new favorites, such as Cards Against Humanity.

Outdoor Spaces

When you have outdoor space at your home, it’s a shame not to use it. However, many guests won’t stray into these spaces unless you make them purposefully inviting. Here are a few tips to make sure your outdoor spaces are just as beloved by your guests as those indoors.

Front Yard

Your front yard offers the first impression that guests will see when they visit your home, making this your first opportunity to welcome your guests. This often includes walking up to the house through the yard on some path or another.

While there’s a lot of factors with the outdoors that you may not have direct control over, such as the weather, there’s still a lot that you can do to make your home appear hospitable from the outside.

To Make an Inviting Front Yard

• Create sheltered seating, such as an entry bench.
• Keep the front yard tidy and uncluttered.
• Use open fencing, so that you don’t appear to be secluding yourself.
• Decorate your doorstep seasonally.
• Make pathways and keep them clear.
• Use lighting to direct the path of guests after dark.
• Use trees to create natural shade and privacy.

DIY Projects for an Inviting Front Yard

• Landscaping offers some of the best DIY opportunities for welcoming someone to your home through the front yard. It shows that the yard and home have been cared for, while also offering an opportunity to show your own special style.
• Use trellises to decorate with the natural greenery. If you have a large front yard, you might even consider a pergola to create front yard shade for your guests.
• Give your mailbox a makeover with flowers around it and a nice paint job.

Backyard

Creating an outdoor hangout space is one way of inviting guests to enjoy the outdoor spaces that your home has to offer. With the right preparations and furniture, your backyard space can be the life of the party.

Tips for Creating a Cozy Backyard

• Don’t forget that the outside of your home needs lighting too. Backyard lighting will help your guests feel oriented in the space and comfortable spending time outside. Keep in mind that for the most part your guests will only spend time in areas that are lit after the sun goes down, so if you have an unlit path leading to your lounge area or an unlit lounge area, expect it to go underutilized.
• Make stone pathways to connect the different parts of your backyard. Your guests will be more likely to walk throughout your backyard and from one space to another if there are clear paths for them. This also helps you to keep your grass or groundcover healthy and in place.
• Keep it clean back there. Perhaps it goes without saying, but a clean backyard is much more inviting. And we’re not just talking about cleaning up after your pets. Also make sure that there isn’t too much brush, large branches, or potholes, as well as anything that would make journeying through the backyard difficult or dangerous.
• Pick a lawn game to keep around. Barbeques can take some time to get everything just right, and lawn games are an excellent way 
  to start breaking the ice between your guests and keep them occupied. In most cases, they won’t even ask before they pick up a game if you set it on a nice day.

Designing the Lounge area

• Comfortable outdoor chairs are a must. It’s all too easy to find uncomfortable outdoor chairs, but they aren’t likely to entice your guests to stay and spend some time. It’s worth it to spend a little more to make sure your lounge and patio furniture is very comfortable.
• Make a warm center. Whether you live in a colder climate or a relatively warm one, there is nothing cozier for outdoor hangouts than sitting around a fire pit. Fire pits can be used during fair weather seasons and can take the chill outs of a later evening.
• Use an outdoor rug. You can imbue your outdoor seating area with a sense of style, just as you would with a living room indoors by using an outdoor rug. This is a great way to add color or elegance to your outdoor space, while also making it cozier.

Outdoor Entertainment Solutions for Different Weather Conditions

• Use area heaters to keep guests warm. If you intend to dine outside on a colder evening or live in a climate where it often gets uncomfortably cold after sunset, you might invest in area heaters for your outdoor dining spaces to keep guests warm.
• Set up awnings to keep your guests out of the rain. There are many kinds of waterproof awnings that you can install over your outdoor space to keep your guests from having to sit in the elements, particularly when a passing rain disturbs your outdoor dinner. Consider a retractable awning which would give you the best of both worlds.
• Use umbrellas to offer shade in the summer. Harsh sunlight can make it difficult to enjoy a meal. While shading your lawn is often a matter of planting trees, shading your patio for outdoor dining can be accomplished with a wide umbrella.

Decorating the Outdoor Dining Area

• Use string lights to create mood lighting. If you’re dining outdoors past noon, you’re going to want some extra lighting, and there is nothing more ethereal than a few string lights outdoors.
• Get cushions for your outdoor seating. No one wants to sit on cold metal or hardwood slats, after all. Cushions and a few outdoor pillows will help to make sure that your guests want to sit on the seats.
• Set up a trolley bar for outdoor events. Having drinks with your guests outside? Make it easy and inviting for them to pour themselves one without having to go in and out of the house by using an outdoor drink trolley as a pouring and mixing station.

Making an Impressive Barbeque Area

One way to make outdoor cooking a bigger part of your own routine, spend some time outside, and dazzle your guests, is to create a full kitchen to work on. You can do this by turning your barbeque area into a polished outdoor kitchen.

Not only does this cut down on traveling between an indoor prep table and the outdoor grilling space, but it also helps to centralize the party and make it so that the chef is a part of the action. You can do this by embedding your barbeque into stone countertops or building outdoor-worthy cabinetry around your grills.

Conclusion

Putting together an inviting and welcoming home is one of the best ways to ensure that your friends and guests keep coming back to visit you time and time again. There’s a lot you can do to make your home inviting. The best way to go about this is to know what kind of events you want to host so that you can plan what spaces your home will need to bring this about. Then, once you know what you want, you can begin working room by room to design a home that makes everyone feel welcome.

How To Remove & Prevent Ingrown Hairs Fast – 10 Amazing Tips

Whether you’re a man or a woman, you may suffer from ingrown hairs at some point in your life. Ingrown hairs are little hairs that don’t properly grow out of the hair follicle. They are curlier and grow back on themselves.

They can look like small bumps on the skin, and if you have lots of them they can ruin the smooth look you’re going for. They can also be really annoying! You can get ingrown hairs anywhere on the body, from your legs to your face. This guide will help you to prevent any problems like that in the future, with 10 amazing tips to prevent ingrown hairs and some pointers on ingrown hair removal.

1. Use a Pair of Tweezers

If you’ve spotted a pesky ingrown hair growing under the skin, then there aren’t many things you can do. If you want it to go away as quickly as possible, you could potentially use a pair of tweezers to pull the hair out of the skin. The hair will then be ready to be removed in the same way you remove the rest of the hair. The reason the hair is stuck in the skin in the first place is because it has grown curly and back on itself. This may even be down to hair removal techniques that you’ve used in the past, so using these techniques again may not help the situation. However, if you regularly suffer from these you can buy special skincare tools that help you get the hair out. You can buy extra sharp tweezers specially designed for ingrown hairs. You can even get other tools with different shaped/sized heads for the job.

2. Try a Sterilised Needle

If the ingrown hair can only be noticed as you have a bump, you may want to try getting rid of it with a sterilised needle. This will allow you to get a little further into the follicle than a pair of tweezers to get the hair out. It shouldn’t hurt, providing you use a small needle and you’re very careful. In fact, in some cases, you may just need to pop the bump the hair has grown in. Just make sure that whatever you do, the needle is sterilised as you could end up giving yourself an infection if you’re not careful. Then you’ll need a whole different blog post to sort you out!

3. Soak Skin for a Short While Before Removal

Before removing your hair, it could be a good idea to soak your skin for a while. This is an especially useful tip before you go about shaving. Soaking your skin in warm water will help to open up the follicles and soften the hairs, priming them for a better removal. You should even find that you get a closer shave. You don’t want the follicles to be too open or the hair too soft though, so don’t want until the end of your bath to do it. Wait about 5 or 10 minutes before shaving to see if this helps you keep those ingrown hairs at bay and get a closer shave. You don’t need to immerse yourself in the water for this to work; you could simply have a hot shower first and let the steam do it’s thing. Whether you’re shaving or waxing, this is a tip that anybody can use.

4. Exfoliate Regularly

You can’t exfoliate once in a blue moon and expect ingrown hairs to be a thing of the past for you. You must exfoliate regularly if you’re going to get rid of those ingrown hairs once and for all. You should exfoliate up to twice a week with a good grainy exfoliator in order to get rid of any dead skin cells and keep skin smooth. Many people find that they get a closer shave by doing this too. You could also use an exfoliating body brush or a pair of gloves, whatever method of exfoliating you tend to prefer. As a bonus, your body will be nice and smooth and you might even help reduce cellulite and things like that. If you have sensitive skin, then you will want to avoid exfoliators that are too rough. You might be helping your ingrown hairs but you might also be rubbing your skin red raw! You can purchase exfoliating products that contain less grain and more exfoliating beads, that are gentler on the skin if you prefer. Some people like to use products like that each day. If you are planning on hair removal that day, then you will moisturise after you’ve gotten rid of the hairs. If you’re simply keeping your skin soft and prepped in between hair removal, make sure you moisturise after patting your skin dry. It’ll stop your skin from cracking, drying out, and making your life difficult in general.

5. Use a Sharp Razor or Better yet an Electric Razor

When shaving, don’t use the same old razor you’ve had in the corner of the bathroom for weeks. Instead, make sure you’re using a sharp razor. You should be mindful of how long you’re keeping your razors for, as they will go blunt pretty fast. If you’re using a blunt razor, you won’t get a very close shave and you will likely experience a few ingrown hairs to top it off. You don’t need to use the most expensive razor that money can buy, but you should make sure you’re changing it regularly. If you do use a cheap razor, then shave slowly to make sure you’re not cutting yourself as you go. Rushing with a cheap, sharp razor can be a recipe for disaster. You might be avoiding ingrown hairs but you don’t want to end up with shaving nicks and cuts.

You could also consider switching from a manual razor to an electric shaver?

For men you can read more in Tips To Choose Shavers for Ingrown Hairs.

For women you can read about the Top 5 Best Bikini Razors and Trimmers.

6. Shave With the Grain

Many people shave against the grain, as they believe it helps them to get a closer shave. However, if you speak to a hair removal professional, they’ll tell you that the best thing to do is shave with the grain. Shaving in the direction of hair growth might not give you as close a shave, but it will be far more comfortable. You’ll not only avoid ingrown hairs, you’ll also eliminate the risk of any shaving rash. This is a good tip for men who are shaving their faces. However, both men and women can use this technique. Just be mindful that it won’t get quite as close as shaving against the grain.

7. Invest in a Good Shave Gel

So, you have a good razor, you’re going to shave with the grain, you’ve softened your hair – what else can you do? Invest in a good shave gel to get an even better result. Some people just lather up soap or a shower gel. While that may work fine for them, soap is for getting rid of germs. Although it can create a good lather for shaving, that’s not what it was specifically designed for. By investing in a product that was designed for shaving, you’ll get a better result and minimize your risk of ingrown hairs. The product should lubricate the razor nicely, helping you to smooth easily with a great finish. A good shave gel doesn’t cost too much these days, so it shouldn’t cost you too much to keep one stockpiled in your bathroom cabinet. The great thing about it is that a small can lasts for ages, as the product expands once you’ve squirted it in your hand. Then all you need to do is make sure you lather it up properly to make as much product as you can.

8. Apply Lotion Afterwards

When you’ve finished removing your hair, the fun shouldn’t stop there! After patting yourself dry, apply a good lotion. They do great lotions for both men and women that allow them to soothe the area of hair removal and keep ingrown hairs at bay. Ingredients such as cucumber are used to create a soothing effect on the area. You might not want to apply your regular moisturiser, depending on the kind you use. Your regular moisturiser might actually irritate the open hair follicles. This is why special shave lotions were invented in the first place. If you have particularly sensitive skin, then investing in a sensitive shaving lotion is a good idea for you.

9. Try Hair Removal Cream or Another Removal Method

Instead of shaving, which can be the worst method for ingrown hairs, try another method. You might also want to avoid waxing, plucking and epilating at home – especially if you’re looking at methods that specifically stop ingrown hairs. Those methods have been found to produce more ingrown hairs than any other hair removal technique. Hair removal cream is a really good, cheap way of removing hairs while avoiding ingrown hairs. All you do is make sure you follow the packet instructions, as they will vary depending on the brand. You usually apply the cream, leave it for the recommended time on the packet, and then use an included plastic tool to scrape the hair away. If you have the right hair type for a product like this, you should be able to get rid of your hair with minimal fuss and enjoy a smooth result. The results will only last as long as shaving, but you can get a much smoother finish. Just make sure you only ever use hair removal cream if the packet says that it is suitable for you. If you have particularly coarse hair or your skin is quite sensitive, it could be a good idea to stay away from it altogether. If you don’t, ingrown hairs will be the last thing on your mind. You could end up with really sore, irritated patches of skin.

9 a. Investigate Laser Hair Removal

Another option for hair removal without risk of ingrown hairs is laser hair removal or professional epilation. Laser hair removal devices are now more affordable than ever so you can invest in one and treat yourself at home.  Alternatively you can visit a professional. One of the upsides of laser treatment is that you can get a more permanent result if you keep up with your treatments. The amount of treatments you have will completely depend on your skin and hair type, but once the hair stops growing back you can say goodbye to it for good! It takes commitment and costs money, but it can definitely be worth it in the long run.

The option you go for will depend on your budget, skin type and hair type. If you think this is something you’d like to do, start researching clinics in your area to find one with a great reputation.  Then you can go in and discuss your needs with a professional. They can tell you the best treatments for you, what to expect, what can’t be achieved, and they’ll fill you in on any risks. Most consultations are free, so it’s always worth going along to see what can be done for you.  Or if you are considering trying it at home you can read Groom+Style’s detailed review and how to guide for the Tria Hair Removal Laser.

9 b. Try a Home Electrolysis Machine

Although it is not for everyone, buying a home electrolysis machine has worked very well for some people.  It requires some skill and patience (and in some cases a big budget) but the hair removal results are permanent.

10. See a Dermatologist

If you regularly suffer from ingrown hairs and you’ve tried everything in this guide, the only other thing you can do is see a dermatologist. They should be able to work out what the problem is. The dermatologist can take a look at your ingrown hairs to determine the main cause of them. Maybe give you some more professional advice on how to prevent them and maybe some other ideas on ingrown hair removal. In some cases, they might give you something to specifically treat the hairs. You can buy roll on products and even creams that you dab on, designed to treat ingrown hairs.

Suffering from ingrown hairs is no fun. If you find these regularly on the areas you remove hair from, it could be a good idea to try the 10 tips in this guide to see which ones work best for you. If you try everything, from changing your method to exfoliating more regularly, you should reduce the amount of ingrown hairs. If nothing seems to work, then it’s definitely worth going to see a professional to find what they recommend.