The LED lighting craze started with our Christmas lights and moved to our flat screen televisions.  Now the future of lighting is moving toward LED bulbs at a rapid pace.  You can purchase LED lights now in different light levels, light colors, energy consumptions, and bulb types.  These bulbs are found in a variety of fixtures, in different colors, in different styles, and are presently compatible with dimmers.  Bulbs vary in shape:  omnidirectional, globe, candelabra/flame, track, and flood.  It is really a no brainer since using them instead of the incandescent bulbs cost less and lasts 25 times longer.

I recently went bulb shopping at Home Depot for a burned out oven fan bulb.  It was a new hood with a specialty bulb.  The incadescent bulb had burned out in 4 months.  The salesman at Home Depot explained that the LED bulb burned cooler plus would last for 22 years.  The incandescent would last 4 months at $5.35 versus the LED lasting  22 years at $12.00.  The answer seems pretty clear.

Did you know that you should run your ceiling fan counterclockwise in summer so that the air is pushed straight down and in the winter the fan should run clockwise to pull the air up toward the ceiling.  
Fans have more than one purpose.  They circulate the air, enhance the decor, and provide light.
CONTROL - A fan can be controlled with a pull chain, a switch/dimmer, or a handheld wi-fi remote control device.  LIGHT KIT & BLADES - They can have light kits and the blades may vary in width and length.  FAN ARM - The fan blades are connected to the fan arms.  FAN MOTOR & HOUSING - The motor is enclosed in the housing.  DOWN ROD - This rod makes it possible to adjust the fan's height in increments of 6" usually. If you have a low ceiling, consider purchasing a flush mount fan.  CANOPY - The canopy is the circular cap that fits against the ceiling to hide the wiring.
When shopping for a fan, there are three things to consider.  
     1.  Where is the fan going, indoor or outdoor?  An outdoor fan is made to withstand moisture.
     2.  How wide is the fan and how high is the ceiling?  The blade span can begin at 24 inches.
​     3.  What is the motor type?  There is AC or DC motor power to consider.
Contact Dreamland Interiors, Inc. to get more information and change out your ceiling fan to update your decor. #dreamlandinteriors  

 If you are planning a Cinco de Mayo Party, I found a great website that organizes the decoration ideas, menu items, games, favors, and excellent margarita help in one place.  The ideas can be found here.

I came across an article in the Real Estate Section of the New York Times on how to deal with the problems one experiences with aging wood floors such as the scratched and worn finish, dings in the floor, a floor that is too thin to sand, and the plain unsightly wood floor.  There were recommendations to fix all these problems.  Click here to check it out.

• Soelberg Industries also manufacture Textured Wall Solutions, Furniture, and Cabinet Doors.

​

If you are interested in any of these Soelberg products, contact Dreamland Interiors, Inc. for more information.  www.dreamlandinteriors.com

​I recently attended The 2017 Coverings Trade Show in Orlando, FL.  I was very impressed with a new outdoor product called Kronos USA Porcelain Pavers available at Tile Outlets of America.  They have three locations:  Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Tampa, FL.  The pavers are thicker than ordinary pavers at 2 cm or 3/4 inch and can be installed outdoors.  The pavers are unique because they consist of 14 SKUs (5 wood looks, 3 shell stone looks, 2 Travertine looks, 2 stone looks, and 2 Quarzite looks) that are each 2 cm thick and 24 x 24 inch square. The Coral Stone finish comes in white cool, tan, or black and is very popular in Florida as is the Icon Travertine in pearl and river shades.  Kronos Pavers also manufacture two special coping pieces for pools that are 16x24 inches and have the added beauty of coming in either a rounded or beveled edge.

​The tiles are great for outdoors since they are thicker and stronger compared to the normal 10mm tile.  The Kronos USA Porcelain Pavers are being used to install walkways, garden paths, swimming pool areas, balconies, patios, terraces, garages, gazebos, etc.  They are also slip-resistance, resistant to thermal shock, maintenance free, quick draining, easy to install, fade resistant,  reusable, impact resistant, and available in many colors and styles.

​There are four different installation systems with these pavers.  They can be installed on grass for a Zen Garden Look.  They can be dry installed onto soft ground.  An adhesive installation is also available.  Or, they can be installed using the raised floor installation process.

There is little maintenance because of the qualities of porcelain.  Cleaning would only require using water mixed with a non-abrasive floor detergent.

The pavers are manufactured in Tennessee and can be delivered to Tile Outlets of America in 5 days from the purchase order.

Check back for more information.