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What’s The Best Furniture To Include In Your Living Room?

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The living room of your home is called that because it’s where you’ll spend most of your time – it’s where you’ll do most of your living. Yes, you might be in your bedroom for longer, but you’ll be asleep most of that time, whereas when you’re in the living room, whether you’re reading a book, watching TV, or just spending time with family and friends, you’ll be awake (for the most part, at least!), so it makes sense to ensure this room really is the focal point of your home. It makes sense to make it into a space you actually want to spend time in. 

 

One way to do that is to make sure you choose the right furniture, and although it might seem like an obvious thing to do, there are some options that are simply better than others. With that in mind, let’s look at what the best furniture is to include in your living room so you can make it as comfortable as possible.

 

Sofa 

When you think of living room furniture, the first thing that’s going to come to mind is a sofa of some sort. This is where people are going to sit, and a living room without seating isn’t really very useful at all – in fact, if there’s no seating, people probably won’t want to spend any time in there, so it won’t make any difference how hard you work to make everything else look fantastic. 

 

Of course, you can’t just pick any old sofa and assume that’s okay; there are lots of things to think about, and it’s going to depend on a few different factors as to what sofa is going to be right for you. After all, when there are two-seater sofas and three-seater ones, or even four-seaters in some cases, and when you can buy corner suites and armchairs and chaise longues and sofa beds, and when you can pick from various materials (including leather), and all of this, choosing a great sofa suddenly becomes a lot more tricky than you might have thought. 

 

Some of the things to consider before buying a new sofa include size (of the sofa and the room), color, and materials. Working out what’s best for you will help you narrow down your options and make the choice an easier one. 

Coffee Table

A coffee table isn’t exactly a necessity, but it is a lovely thing to have, and it can change a living room from okay to wonderful, so if you’ve never really thought about having one, now might be the time to change your mind. 

 

A coffee table sits in the middle of the room and, as the name suggests, it’s a useful place to put your drink, but it’s also handy for snacks, magazines, board games, or even for resting your feet on (assuming you don’t have a reclining sofa)! 

 

Of course, you do need to have space in the middle of the room to fit the table, otherwise it becomes more of a burden than a nice piece of furniture because it makes it hard to move around. If you haven’t got space but you still like the idea of a table in the room, a console table might work well. These are long tables that fit up against the wall, so they take up less space, but they can be just as useful. In fact, there are many ways to decorate them, and you can look online for the best console table decorating ideas to make sure your living room is just how you want it. 

TV Stand 

You might have a TV attached to the wall, and that’s certainly a popular thing these days, but it’s not going to be for everyone, and if it’s not to your taste or there isn’t a wall that will work for that, then what can you do? 

 

The answer is to get a TV stand. If you can find an interesting-looking one rather than something that’s been mass-produced and that you’ll find in everyone’s home, then you can make it a feature and perhaps even design your whole living room around it. Just make sure that whatever you choose has enough room for the TV and your devices and boxes underneath, as well as a place to keep your remote controls, and then you’ll be able to hide everything away and keep it all neat. 

 

And don’t forget that just because something didn’t start life as a TV stand, that doesn’t mean it can’t end up that way. Look in reclamation yards or antique stores and pick out random bits of furniture, like an old bureau, for example, or a chest of drawers, and with some upcycling and imagination, you can create an entirely unique TV stand for your living room. 

Top 3 Snacks That Keep Your Kid’s Teeth Healthy

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You don’t need to be told that children love snacks! Yours are probably reaching in the cupboards for anything they can find, which is why you need to focus on healthy snacking. Most parents see this from a weight gain point of view. Let’s be brutally honest, we’re dealing with a serious childhood obesity problem – and this has been the case for many years now. 

 

While obviously you should focus on healthy snacks from a weight management perspective, you can’t neglect another large elephant in the room: oral health. Young children are increasingly likely to have cavities and other dental health problems. This can be costly for you and lead to life-long issues for your child. 

The last thing you need is countless trips to the dentist every few months, getting another one of your child’s teeth extracted or filled in. By the time they’re an adult, they may have barely any real teeth left! Your meals won’t typically cause oral health concerns – but snacks do. You must understand the right snacks to give your kids so their teeth remain healthy. We’ll kick things off with the top three:

Cheese

Small slices of cheese – or little wedges of snacking cheese – are excellent for kids’ teeth. Why? Because cheese contains calcium that helps fortify tooth enamel and make teeth stronger. It’s also believed that calcium helps fight off cavities and tooth erosion. This is because dairy products like cheese will neutralize acids in your mouth, which often cause cavities and other problems. Plus, cheese is high in protein – a vital nutrient your kids need to grow and develop!

Carrots, Celery, or Cucumber Sticks

To be honest, any type of vegetable stick will do here. We’ve picked these three as they’re typically the easiest to find and the tastiest for your kids. Aside from helping them get their five a day, veg sticks contain lots of water and fiber. Both are great at neutralizing the acids generated by sugars in the mouth. 

 

Moreover, carrot and celery sticks require a lot of chewing, which stimulates saliva production. This functions as a natural way to clean their teeth during the day and washes away lots of bacteria or food particles. 

Nuts

As long as you provide plain nuts, you will give your kids a very low-sugar snack. Nuts themselves don’t contain any nutrients that might protect your teeth, but they do help your kids feel full. This is thanks to the high protein and fiber content, meaning they’re less likely to reach for other snacks throughout the day. 

 

You can also throw seeds into this category. Nuts and seeds are healthy snack options and some seeds do contain calcium – we know how beneficial this is now! 

 

If you’re trying to satisfy your kids’ hunger cravings but don’t want to give them things that are bad for their teeth, try these three snack ideas. As with all food things, be sure they enjoy these snacks in moderation. Even “healthy” snacks can become bad for you if you eat too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should You Upgrade Your Home’s Heating Or Insulation?

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Winter is here and many of us are now looking for ways to warm our home. Two of the biggest things you can do to keep your home warm include upgrading your home’s heating and upgrading the insulation. But which is the better investment?

A good heating system can warm up your home quickly without using too much energy. In fact, many modern heating systems are 50% more energy efficient than those commonly installed 20 years ago. 

Insulation is meanwhile important for trapping heat in your home and keeping cold outdoor air out. A well-insulated home can also reduce your energy consumption by keeping your home warmer longer. 

Ideally, you want efficient heating and plenty of insulation in order to keep your home warm and keep energy bills down. However, upgrading both is very expensive – most homeowners can only afford to focus on one at a time. Besides, some homes already have efficient heating or efficient insulation, so there may not be a need to upgrade both. To help you decide which to focus on, this guide looks at the signs to know which one to upgrade.

When to upgrade your heating…

If you’ve got an old boiler, furnace or HVAC system and it’s not working efficiently, upgrading your heating could be your best option. Boilers have an average life of 15 years, furnaces can last 15 to 30 years, and HVAC systems last about 15 to 25 years. If your heating system is around this age and it’s experiencing frequent problems, you should look into a replacement.

It could be particularly worth upgrading your heating if you’re using an outdated system. Gas and oil boilers are already being replaced by electric boilers. Similarly, oil and gas furnaces are being phased out. If these heating systems are still relatively new, you may want to keep them. But if they are old and don’t have a great energy rating, you may want to look into a heating system replacement. 

When to upgrade your insulation…

Is your home prone to ice damming? Do you notice cold drafts running through your home? Do you have problems with pipes freezing up? If you answered yes to any of these, it could be a sign that you need to upgrade your insulation.

A well-insulated home should have some form of attic insulation, some form of wall insulation, double pane windows and ideally insulated pipes. If your home hasn’t got any of this, you may want to prioritize a home insulation upgrade. This can prevent many of the issues caused by a lack of insulation, while also reducing your energy bills significantly.

Do you need to upgrade both?

If you have old faulty heating and no insulation, then ideally you want to be upgrading both. Having no heating source is clearly more of an emergency, so if your heating system is breaking down, you should prioritize replacing this. If your old heating system is still ticking along nicely, you may find that it’s better to address a lack of insulation first. Consider focusing on one insulation upgrade at a time – most people start with attic insulation or double pane windows in the bedrooms and the living room.