5 Back to School Home Improvement Ideas

Kids or no kids, this is the time period that is typically reserved for parents and Back To School. Take this as an opportunity to get organized and see what kind of home improvements can be done around the house. This should also serve as a reminder that fall is almost here and it is time to unpack all those fall and winter clothes that you have in storage.

New Earth gives you five great things to take off this Back To School season.

Like we said before, this doesn't really apply to only families with kids but instead use this opportunity to take care of some of these things that we can all do!

Clean, Clean, Clean! 
Whether you have been putting off cleaning your backyard from kids toys, old bbqs, unfinished projects or even if you just have a cluttered home office space there is no time like the present! It is time to clean house, it will open the space and also be a lot more inviting for yourself and guests. Another thing that could be good to clean other than the standard kitchen, bathroom, living and bedroom spaces; would be to clean out old electronics. Have old computers, cellphones or appliances laying around? Get rid of them, but be responsible and take them to a place like Best Buy which recycles them for free.

Create Effective Use of Space
This is a great opportunity to add more closet space by adding shelves or storage containers. There are many options that are already made that can be hung inside closets that require minimal assembly. This will help you be more organized and give things that need their own space.

Do A Little Carpentry
Give new life to some of those old chairs, cabinets and tables by sanding them down and giving them a fresh coat of paint or varnish. Also if you have any old furniture that needs to be repaired this may be a good time, most repairs are typically small and only require basic tools and a minimal amount of materials to get them up and running again. This is New Earth's favorite type of projects

Switch Up Lighting 
Check to make sure all your light bulbs are in order and working properly, in addition to that you might want to consider more efficient lighting by switching to LED lights which tend to last longer and consume less electricity. Also if you have been contemplating getting track lighting or a have a fan installed, this might by the best time to do it.

Rearrange Furniture
Sometimes moving furniture around to use a space more effectively can breathe life into a stale room.   Also adding and subtracting furnishings can really improve a room, especially if you decide to use colors that pop and compliment the existing colors in the room.

For more fun recipes, please visit this link

For more tips and tricks for all your home needs visit:
NewEarthVA.com

Or follow us on
Instagram

Facebook 

Labor Day Drink Recipes

Labor Day Weekend is coming and we are looking at the last few days of true summer for this year. At some point this weekend you might attend or host a cookout. If you have been dreading what to kind of drinks you want to make, don't worry New Earth has you covered!

Here are some of our favorite recipes courtesy of AllRecipes.com

"Tea, mint, sugar, orange and lemon juices make this a quick and easy, refreshingly delicious drink on a hot summer's day, given to me by a true Southern lady. Goes great with Cajun or spicy foods too. Every time I serve this someone asks me for the recipe!"

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups boiling water 12 sprigs fresh mint 4 tea bags 1 cup white sugar 1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice 5 cups cold water 3 orange slices for garnish (optional) 3 lemon slices for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Place the tea bags and mint sprigs into a large pitcher. Pour boiling water over them, and allow to steep for about 8 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags and mint leaves, squeezing out excess liquid. Stir in sugar until dissolved, then stir in the orange juice and lemon juice. Pour in the cold water. Serve over ice cubes, garnished with orange or lemon slices. "Lemons, sugar, and water--in a process that has been handed down since the 19th century. A true classic of a lemonade recipe." INGREDIENTS: 5 lemons 1 1/4 cups white sugar 1 1/4 quarts water DIRECTIONS: 1. Peel the rinds from the 5 lemons and cut them into 1/2 inch slices. Set the lemons aside. 2. Place the rinds in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. Let this stand for about one hour, so that the sugar begins to soak up the oils from the lemons. 3. Bring water to a boil in a covered saucepan and then pour the hot water over the sugared lemon rinds. Allow this mixture to cool for 20 minutes and then remove the rinds. 4. Squeeze the lemons into another bowl. Pour the juice through a strainer into the sugar mixture. Stir well, pour into pitcher and pop it in the fridge! Serve with ice cubes.

"This is the sangria that my friends taught me to make in Spain. It's quick and easy and makes a great drink to mix up for a summer party."
INGREDIENTS:

4 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine 1 1/4 cups white sugar 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced 4 sliced fresh peaches

2 bananas, peeled and sliced 2 cinnamon sticks, crushed 3 liters lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large pitcher, combine red wine, sugar, apples, peaches, bananas and cinnamon sticks. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
2.	When you're ready to serve, stir in the lemon-lime soda.

"Considered Cuba's national drink, this lime and rum cocktail is a favorite with pirates, swashbucklers, and colorful characters in the Caribbean and beyond."INGREDIENTS:

10 fresh mint leaves 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste

1 cup ice cubes 1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum 1/2 cup club soda

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge. For more fun recipes, please visit this link For more tips and tricks for all your home needs visit: NewEarthVA.com Or follow us on Instagram Facebook

Antique Chic

(Image courtesy of Restoration Hardware)

Have you checked an interior home decorating catalog lately? If you have, you probably have noticed that there are plenty of stage houses that include a very modern yet natural look to them. There is a heavy use of wooden furniture that hints to a natural look while combining that with accessories made out of glass, steel and fabrics such as lamps, sinks, tables and stainless steel appliances.

This is definitely a growing trend and it is more easy to accomplish than people think, especially because a lot of original pieces can be created by you with a little bit of work and shopping around at antique shops or thrift stores. New Earth really enjoys repurposing found things and give them new life.

(Image courtesy of Restoration Hardware)

Take for example the table pictured above, this is a table that is sold at restoration hardware. It is a beautiful table made out of wood finished to have a "brushed" look to it. Finding an old table in this style shouldn't be too hard to find if you know where to look, a quick search online will point out your local thrift stores and antique shops. To achieve the "brushed" look, you have to be sand down the table and add the right type of varnish by hand. Asking the right questions to your preferred home improvement store's representative will get you the right varnish, you can probably even take a picture of what you want to achieve and they'll help you find it. 

When you pay attention to the chairs that accompany this table, you'll see that they don't match the table. They are modern pieces of furniture that can be found at assorted stores. It's the combination of wooden materials and modern pieces that gives this room a special kind of flare. 

Don't be afraid to mix and match materials, we especially like the metal lamps that are hanging from the ceiling. They have a metal frame and glass panels to form a sort of hexagon shape. These kinds of lamps do exist at thrift shops and antique shops. They are usually pretty heavy duty also so you know they'll last for a very long time, in some cases you may have to modernize them by adding the right electrical cord which should not be too hard if you do a quick google search for instructions.

(Image courtesy of Restoration Hardware)

Check out this awesome bar made from an old cabinet painted in white. Old cabinets are a dime a dozen, finishing a cabinet with black paint and shiny gold paint at the top should not be a challenge for most people. We especially like how expensive and high end this room looks with vintage looking chairs and old school bar set. A lot of these ideas can be done on a budget and if you're not on a budget you can always visit www.restorationhardware.com to buy some of these great pieces. 

New Earth can make most of this style of furniture and help you finish pieces that you have found on your own to make them look like a lot of these pieces. New Earth has a sawmill that we work out of so we have all the tools to create rooms that have this type of look. 

For more tips and tricks for all your home needs visit:
NewEarthVA.com

Or follow us on
Instagram

Facebook 

A Passion for Restoration: New Found Life

New Earth has a commitment to produce high quality products while preserving the full integrity of the raw material.

In the case of these wooden coat rack hangers, we build them so that you can see as much as the grain as possible. We want that earthy feeling to shine through the finishing coating. The contrast of the wood and metal create an unusual marriage that is complimentary: rustic vs. industrial. 

For this cabinet, we've tried to have the individual pieces fit like a puzzle. This allows easy assembling and disassembling. We've paid close attention to detail, always keeping the grain of the wood in mind. The drawer part of it uses a carving in the wood itself to open and close, we've avoided the use of too many moving parts since they tend to fail over time. 

Here is another view of the same cabinet closer to completion. 

We found this wondeful piece of wood recently. We'd like to use it to perphaps create a unique coffee table or a great looking foot rest. Like an artist that carves out of marble, it's important to envision the art within.

For more tips and tricks for all your home needs visit:
NewEarthVA.com

Or follow us on
Instagram

Facebook