apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Where are those cozy rugs from?? I must know!

those are west elm cable rugs--- WORST CARPET EVER. I loved how it looked, but after a year of picking up more gigantic balls of lint than I ever should, I sold it. Literally gets all over everything, constantly. More upkeep than its worth. I have been looking for something similar but with moderate shedding. Anyone have any ideas?

Wow, thanks for the advice! It's a good thing there's no west elm in canada!

Similar rugs are available in Pottery Barn, but I am not sure if the shedding is any better:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p11586/index.cfm?pkey=call%2Drugs

CB2 has shag rugs that look pretty good too.

CB2 has bath mats that look a lot like those rugs. They felt amazingly soft in the store (and machine washable too) but I ended up deciding that I didn't need to drop $20 on a bath mat.

i've found that using the shrinkwrap weatherproofing plastic over the windows makes a HUGE difference! you can find the kits at lowes or home depot. it's not that expensive and it's easy to put up with the included double-sided tape. you use a blowdryer to shrink it to fit tight. it's like adding another pane of glass.

I have the shag rug from Pottery Barn and found it not to shed as much as I thought it would. I love it and mine hasn't created any lint balls.

hey thanks dM and a la mode for the great tips!

I bought a beautiful ethnic-looking oriental-type rug (yes, I am woefully ignorant, no idea what the real name for this rug is) from Ikea of all places. Great rug, no shedding. All wool, thick. The rug in my kids room is wool from Ikea too, no shedding there either.

Those cable rugs from west elm are NOT recommended! I had to return mine because it sheds like nobody's business. felt yummy underfoot, but then your foot, sock, etc would be covered with rugfur.

In my bathroom, the louver window doesn't shut all the way and it gets cold in the winter. So, my mom gave me the idea of using a dry cleaning bag from around your clothes. I remove the screen from the window, slide it into the clear plastic bag, trim to size, tape the loose ends down and set the screen back into the latches. The window is 99.5% sealed and since the bag is clear, it still lets light in. Voila!

Now if I could just figure out how to completely seal my wall air conditioner vent!

A big cozy blanket and some coffee or hot chocolate, that's all I need! I'm attempting to knit myself a blanket this year... hopefully I'll get it done before it gets too hot in LA again. :P

How To Reduce Your Energy Bills / Energy Conservation Begins at Home

Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan or AC Return, a fireplace or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.

These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outside air to rush in -- costing you higher heating bills.

Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize heat loss and cold drafts.

But what can you do about the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan or AC return, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.

Attic Stairs

An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling.

Whole House Fans and AC Returns

An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan cover. Installed from the attic side, the whole house fan cover is invisible. Cover the fan to reduce heating and air-conditioning loss, remove it when use of the fan is desired.

Fireplaces

A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces.

An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, a fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after.

Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts

An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape.

If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan, an AC return, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes.

Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover, an attic access door, and is the U.S. distributor of the fireplace draftstopper. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com

Does anyone have thoughts about using the plastic to insulate windows while trying to sell the house? Our house heats weird, and while the windows are decent, they're definitely not perfect and the sliding glass door to the patio leaks like no one's business. Short of spending $7,000 to replace it, there's not much we can do. We did the plastic on the windows last year and it made a huge difference. This year, however, our house is on the market. Would it turn you off from buying a house if you saw plastic on the windows?

kls987: I'm not a real estate expert, but plastic on the windows wouldn't put me off too much. Most folks are trying to get heating costs, and this is a cost effective first step, especially if it is done carefully. That said, I would probably leave the prominent windows shrink-wrap free and hide the space heaters before a prospective buyer shows up.

hey kls987, I hope this info helps you. Over the last 3 years, I have sold all of the real estate I own (3 homes). Now we are in escrow on the last one and soon will be happily renting. All of my homes sold quicker than other units that were the same as mine at the same price. Here was my secret. I made each room look like a hotel room/magazine layout. If it was personal I removed it. If it was more than what was needed I removed it. If some personal fix, pointed out that something was less than ideal, I removed it and just made it look good. You already indicated that the sliding window would be $7000 to replace, by putting plastic on it, you are just highlighting that fact. So a buyer that is turned off by that, will move on to buy a house from someone else, even if it has the exact same problem.

Best of luck in your home sale.

Thanks for the advice and thoughts!