Not many homeowners who are shopping for new appliances will consider energy-efficient appliances for their new or renovated homes. But they should. The price tag might be a little heftier right out of the gate, however it will save them money in the long run and help with the resale value of their home as well.

1. Utility Savings: An old dishwasher that is not energy-efficient will cost you an average of $35 more each year than an energy-efficient one. Though this doesn’t sound like much in the first year, think about how long dishwashers will last — 10 or 15  years at least? That works out to $350-$525 minimum. Now think about how much money you’ll save if you have an energy-efficient light bulbs, machine washer/dryer, HVAC, fireplace, refrigerator, oven and cooktop.

2. Rebates and Refunds: Most energy providers, big box stores and even the Federal and State governments offer rebate programs to help incentivize the purchase of energy-efficient appliances for your home or office. You can do the research yourself online to see what you qualify for in your area, or you can speak with your contractor who would know all the tricks of the trade.

3. Environmentally Friendly: It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway, in this day and age we all try to do our own little parts to help Mother Nature get back what we’ve taken. These energy-efficient appliances will not-only help you save money, but will put less pressure on our beloved environment. It’s an important small step we can all take to do our parts.

4. Resale value: Not only will having energy-efficient appliances help you save money, but when you eventually sell your home, the new homeowners will definitely see the extra value these appliances bring to their new house. You might have gotten your return-on-investment throughout the years of use by saving on your utilities bill, but you’ll also see it bring up the value of your home when you list it. This investment will also show the future owners that you loved and cared for your home. This is important as everyone wants to know previous owners put in the time and energy to take care of their home the way they plan on doing for years to come.

Tiny homes have become very trendy all on their own. These small spaces are anywhere from 200 square feet to 900 square feet. Tiny homes are inexpensive, and they reduce the overall cost of home maintenance, which allows many people to live a more financially independent lifestyle. Tiny homes are also more eco-friendly, so those who are interested in a sustainable lifestyle are drawn to these homes.

Some people live in tiny homes by necessity. In large, metropolitan areas like New York City, San Francisco and London, real estate comes at a premium. Even a small home can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore, many people live in homes that are smaller than they would like.

You don’t have to sacrifice style and comfort when you are living in a tiny space. You just have to be a little more creative with your design. Here are a few top trends you might want to try for your tiny space, whether you live in a micro home or you just live in a small studio in a large urban center:

Use Convertible Furniture

When your floor space is limited, you don’t have the room for multiple pieces of furniture. Even standard furniture like a bed can take up a huge piece of real estate in your home. Instead of resigning yourself to the clutter, you can open up more room by using convertible furniture.

Perhaps the most useful piece of convertible furniture is the wall bed. The bed folds up against the wall when it is not in use, opening up the entire floor for use. Some wall beds contain other pieces of furniture. For example, some wall beds lift up to reveal a sofa and others have a desk and bookshelves. You can turn your living room into a bedroom or use a guest room as an office space.

Other useful convertible furniture includes transforming tables. You can transform a coffee table or desk into a dining room table. The table legs pull apart to reveal tracks that hold additional leaves, transforming the small table into a large dining table that seats eight to 10 people.

You can get all the functionality you need without taking up more space just by using the right convertible furniture.

Take Advantage of Vertical Space

You may not have a lot of floor space in your tiny home, but you probably have a lot of wall space that you aren’t using for much more than hanging art. You can take advantage of this vertical space to get the functionality you need while also de-cluttering the room.

One of the best ways to use vertical space is to install a loft bed. The bed is raised to eye level, and you can use the area below it for bookshelves, a sitting area, or a desk.

Other ways that people have taken advantage of vertical space in small homes is to build shelves and cabinets all the way up to the ceiling.

When evaluating your space, it is important to consider ways to use every inch of it, even it’s on the walls or the ceiling.

Convert Unlikely Spaces

You may feel like your options are limited in a tiny space, leaving you room for little more than the necessities, like a bedroom, bathroom, sitting area and kitchen. However, if you get a little creative, you can get much more out of your space.

One of the best ways to convert an unlikely space is to use your closets. Take the door off a closet you don’t need, and turn it into a mini office space. Put up some shelves, and create a desk top out of a sturdy piece of wood. You’ll have your own little nook to study and do work, and you won’t have to take up more floor space for it.

Organize your other closets to ensure you still have enough storage space eve with the loss of that one closet.

Use Hidden Storage

The area underneath your furniture is typically wasted space. You can change that by using it for hidden storage — and we don’t mean just cramming random things under your bed.

Several pieces of furniture are available that offer hidden storage. For example, storage beds have a hydraulic platform that allows you to lift the mattress and reveal a boxy area underneath in which to store your belongings. Ottomans, cabinets and some sofas also provide hidden storage. You can reduce clutter in your home without having to sacrifice your belongings.

Create the Illusion of Space

Size can often be a visual trick. For example, a room will look much bigger if you just reduce the amount of furniture and other belongings that are in it.

An easy way to create the illusion of space in a tiny home is to paint everything white. The room will appear to open up and be more inviting. You can also hang a lot of mirrors around the room, creating the illusion of even more space.

Don’t sacrifice good design and style because you live in a tiny home. Use these tips to help you create an inviting space that provides everything you need and still shows off your signature style.

The kitchen is a homey nook in any house, a room where meals are made and families sit down and share their day over dinner. However, over time, even a good kitchen can become a little bit boring. If you’re in the market to remodel or redesign your kitchen, you will want to choose a trend that will be popular for many years to come so that you know that you made a solid investment. If you’re feeling a little uninspired, the following kitchen trends will look great and stun family members and guests.

Let Some Color In

If tired colors like black, white, gray, and beige seem a little boring to you, then let your kitchen shine with some real hues. Sinks especially look great with a dash of green, red, orange, blue, or yellow. These colors will make doing the dishes fun, or at least you can tell the kids that when you put them on dish duty. Try to pick a shade that will complement rather than clash with the rest of the colors in your kitchen for the best look.

Embrace Hydraulics

In a world where technology continues to change on the daily, some of that has filtered into home decor. For example, kitchen cabinets, shelves, and pantries now tend to include hydraulics that allow for quick opening and closing with very little effort on your end. You won’t have to hear the slamming of cabinet doors any longer. You can also save time with meal preparation anytime you’re in the kitchen.

Forget Manual Appliances

Ideal for children who made a mess or someone with sticky hands, sinks and other kitchen appliances are now automated. Rather than require you to manually turn on a sink, these appliances may need you to tap them or have a sensor that detects motion so that the sink turns on automatically. If you’re someone who cooks a lot and constantly washes your hands when dealing with raw meats or cracked uncooked eggs, being able to wash your hands without contaminating the sink handle is a lifesaver. There’ll be less mess for you to clean up too.

Turn on the Lights

Of course, a beautiful kitchen will still look dull if you have those same old lights that were there when you bought the house. By choosing bigger light fixtures with interesting and brave designs that still match the rest of your kitchen, you modernize the space with very little effort. If you don’t have a ton of money to spend, changing out the lights alone could be enough to make your kitchen suddenly much more impactful.

Consider Going Gray

If you have a relatively small budget for improvements in your kitchen, you can make a big impact by changing the color scheme from white to gray. While white is still a popular hue, according to HGTV, gray will soon make resurgence. Therefore, embracing the color now will ensure that your kitchen looks modern for years. Cabinets and countertops in the demure hue attract the eye somewhat more than regular white does.

Reconsider Your Countertops

Countertops are an expensive investment, and so they may have been one that you’ve been holding off on until you can save up enough money. However, if you’re dealing with faded or unattractive countertops, the wait can seem so much longer. HGTV recommends that instead of buying that top-notch brand name countertop that you saw in a magazine or online that you buy a close copy instead. For example, instead of a pricy granite countertop, the one you purchase may be made out of strong laminate. It looks just like the granite version but doesn’t have such a huge price tag.

Store to Your Heart’s Content

With hydraulics and more evolved cabinets, shelves, and pantries, storage space has increased exponentially. The designs of these spaces keep the regular homeowner in mind who has a lot of cups, bowls, utensils, plates, Tupperware, and kitchen appliances to neatly put away. If you’re someone who’s always cramming for space with your current cabinets, upgrading these and your pantries can allow you to enjoy a cleaner kitchen.

Match Your Kitchen to the House

If you’re going all-out and completely remodeling your kitchen, HGTV suggests that you try to pick a design that will match the rest of the house as closely as possible. This creates a type of connectivity between room to room that you cannot achieve otherwise. The trick also makes your kitchen that much more attractive, meaning that you’ll want to spend more time there than ever before.

The future is now. If you want your home to look like the kind of residence you’d find aboard a top-notch spacecraft, you can. Rooms like the bathroom, living room, backyard, office, and bedroom can all be transformed by simply swapping out objects and replacing them with funky, fun, and futuristic options.

Bathrooms

If you want to revitalize and update your bathroom, consider switching your sink. If you think that you’re bound by bland white porcelain models, the world of sinks has expanded greatly. For children, Meridiana, a company based in Italy, has produced deep, bowl-like sinks decorated to look like soccer balls, baseballs, and basketballs. For those that don’t have kids, you’ll appreciate a sink designed by Flux, which features a transparent bowl-like sink and a large circular storage container beneath that comes in a range of modern colors.

Pendant Lamps

The lights that illuminate your home can also look fresh and futuristic. Pendant lamps make a huge impact on their own, but when you find some with interesting designs, that impact is far greater. For example, lamp producer Slamp has made a pendant that looks like a large purple flower. The flowing and bending glass connects with straight edges to produce a creative piece.

If you appreciate more contemporary decor, a brand called Alma Light has a drop-down light, which simply looks like a large light bulb with a chrome base. It’s simple and would work in any type of room that has plenty of decorative touches and needs utilitarian lights. A brand called Zero produces beam lights that you can adjust like spotlights around a room as needed.

Lounge Chairs and Footstools

Even the standard lounge chair has been redesigned with more flair and fun in mind. Egg chairs will certainly stand out to guests, as these have deeper seats for a more comfortable feel. The footstools that accompany these types of chairs tend to have a heavy dip in them too for the optimal relaxation experience.

For a really futuristic lounge chair, invest in the Gaetano Pesce piece called the UP5 chair. Recalling ancient art and its preference for voluptuous women, this chair mimics those curves with a rounded top and raised arm rests. The footstool is also circular. Infectious stripes of bronze and beige cover the entire chair.

Metal Fire Pits

If you don’t own any fire pits, you may want to consider changing that. Most of these metal warmers have evolved with home decor trends to look sleek rather than bulky. Having one of these will actually add rather than take away from your home. Some of them are colored metal and look more like decorative sculptures than fire pits, while others embrace their metal roots and feature artistic designs around the edges to make using these a delight. You can also find more standard designs if these match your preferences. However, no matter what kind you choose, if you plan on doing any outdoor entertaining on a cool autumn night, a fire pit will keep you and your guests warm while generating lots of wows.

Offices

Whether you work from home or take your job home with you, if you feel like you don’t get enough privacy in your home office, you’ll be pleased to know how far office trends have come. The OfficePOD is a United Kingdom creation that is a completely separate entity from the house. As the name suggests, it’s a pod that you erect in your backyard or other outdoors space to get some work done and have a nice view as well. Before you buy your OfficePOD, you can choose whether you want air conditioning or heating in it, what kinds of light sources you want, what power sources you’ll utilize, and what type of ventilation you want.

An OfficePOD will last you for about 25 years and can be moved, making it a worthwhile investment if you need to get some work done. You can buy pre-designed OfficePODs or even completely create your own according to your needs.

Tree-Shaped Bookshelves

Enchant your children and any guests with tree-shaped bookshelves. These come in a range of thicknesses and designs; some have thinner branches where you can place your books while some are wider and able to store more books per branch. If your current shelf isn’t inspiring you, one of these might. They also come in a range of colors, making them attractive. These bookshelves go right against a wall just like any other, but they take up far less space and increase the aesthetics of your home. You’ll want to toss your regular old bookshelf.