Good planning that takes these human factors into account will ensure that no matter how often you choose to make transformations in your home or how radical style, it doesn't throw your lifestyles out of whack by negatively impacting critical spaces, creating odd corners and circulation of movement. This home improvement blueprint can also guide you in making those big-ticket furniture purchases and lessen urge for impulsive imprudent buys.

With a good understanding of form and movement in your home as well as lifestyle needs, embarking on small-scale projects to give your home a new look and feel, be it asian, modern classic or gothic revival, would be fun, fulfilling and ultimately successful.

On a more personal level, families can also use this kind of home planning exercise as a way to find out more about each other's lifestyle needs and involve everyone in vision of making their homes cosy, lively and liveable.

Lighting - Endless possibilities with a small budget.

Everyone's moods are ever changing - sunny and bright, contemplative, dark, romantic, sultry - if only you could transform your home as often as you change your moods!

You can with right lighting. The same room can look vastly different under different modes of illumination. A good lighting system will afford you a variety of lighting conditions, soft and warm for entertaining, bright and efficient for household chores like ironing, focused and glare-free for reading.

If you have a small budget and big plans for your home, designing a multi-purpose lighting system may be your finest investment. Lighting not only invokes fancy, it also helps put an attractive glow on old, uncoordinated furnishings (and don't we all have those around house).

Home designing and decorating can be a most frustrating yet infinitely fulfilling activity. Start with a bright attitude, a good understanding of design process and plenty of communication between family members and you are not likely to go wrong.

Don't run your edger blade right up against concrete. Nothing works faster than concrete to turn your edger blade into an edger stub. Create an edge that's at least a 1/2" wide. Such an edge reduces wear to a blade and makes edging faster.

The line trimmer is most dangerous of your lawn care tools. Line trimmers are notorious for damage they cause to fence posts, sign posts, bender board, fence board, and stucco. Avoiding damage to these structures is easy. It's simply a matter of trimming carefully and slowly. If time is important then you should create edges, borders or wells around or along these structures. A combination of proper edging techniques, plant growth regulators, and herbicides should do trick quite well. Plant growth regulators can cut your edging and line trimming time by as much as 75%. Instead of trimming once per week you may need to trim only once per month.

The other landscape feature a line trimmer is dangerous around is trees. There is nothing more unsightly and amateurish than trees damaged by an inept line trimmer operator. This is one aspect of line trimmer use that customers are concerned most about. Nothing can kill a tree faster than having its bark and vascular layers slashed by someone who doesn't know how to use a line trimmer properly. A damaged tree is susceptible to insects, fungi, and diseases. In some tree species, this can lead to a quick death. When using a line trimmer around trees and other plants be very, very careful. Its always advisable to create at least a small well around any plant that's located in a lawn.

Remember, work smart. Don't work hard, work efficiently. __________________________________________

About Author:

Jack Stone is a Contributing Editor for ProGardenBiz Magazine, an online magazine for professional gardeners and landscape contractors. Visit ProGardenBiz to find out how you can get a free subscription, start-up guidance, business ideas and inspiration at http://www.progardenbiz.com.