hellobeautifulcreatures

It's hard to imagine what a human being consumes in a lifetime. All the food you eat, the potatoes, the fruits, the bread, the chickens. And everything you drink, and all the clothes you buy and toss. All the furniture and appliances and toothbrushes and bath products and newspapers. The list goes on and on. If the rest of the world consumed at the rate Americans do, we would need five planets worth of resources to cover it. And it is indeed possible to add it all up. For a special called "Human Footprint," the National Geographic Channel calculated all the energy, resources and products used by each American over an average lifetime. Watch "Human Footprint" on the National Geographic Channel . Over the two-hour broadcast, the consumption of a lifetime is piled up and put on display. Got milk? It does a body good, and Americans consume 13,056 pints of it in a lifetime. A sea of 28, 433 rubber duckies represents the number of showers taken in a lifetime. A ...

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers. As Reid Highley wrote in the pages of Fine Homebuilding in 2012 , at its best, an entry door is a condensed reflection of a home’s design, projecting the outward attitude of a house to visitors and passersby. A door can convey an image of formality or playfulness, solidity or lightness, privacy or hospitality. The choices you make about door size, placement, and materials define a personality that sums up the character of the home. For this reason, entry doors are often placeholders in an architect’s drawings until late in the design process, when the character of the home is more fully developed. The first design decisions for a new door include careful consideration of its size and its location in plan. These choices establish the door’s impact on views, privacy, traffic patterns through the house, and the transition from outdoors to indoors. With that in mind, please click the slides...

A perfect senior accommodation is above all practical. However, be that it is an adapted family home or a room in a retirement home, it can appear somewhat too practical. In order to avoid their living space looking like a hospital facility, you need to employ your creativity and invest in decor. As with everything else, you can splurge or you can have everything done DIY but you need to do something and that something is easily doable. I do not think there is a single elderly person who appreciates Ikea minimalism , so let’s see how you can help them retain the style. Work on the curb appeal A front porch is a place where people like to spend their time. Apart from that, it is the first thing one notices when approaching a house. A senior’s home should almost always be equipped with a ramp and handrails for the stairs (and the ramp). You can make the path leading to the entrance gradually turn into a ramp, that way you will not have a steep slope and it will seem more natural. As...

Bathrooms require special attention in order to meet the living needs of elderly adults who want to age in place. Everyday routines like bathing, washing up and brushing teeth can be challenging for some older adults in a standard bathroom . Luckily, there are a number of ways to make bathroom faucets more user-friendly for seniors with mobility issues. The design tips shown here should be part of an overall design philosophy for aging in place bathrooms that include appropriately placed grab bars, nonslip flooring and adequate lighting. 1. Handheld Showerheads Replace a wall-mounted showerhead with a handheld model. A  handheld showerhead attached to a pole allows elderly users to adjust the showerhead's height when standing or to use it as a handheld model when sitting or standing. Here are some other user-friendly changes that can help older adults: Combine the showerhead with built-in or portable shower chairs to make bathing more comfortable. Bathtubs and walk-in showers ...

How do I prevent mold and mildew from accumulating in my bathroom? Mold and mildew can be located anywhere in our homes, but is most likely to grow in areas that are wet, humid and damp.  It is most commonly found in bathrooms, basements and attics, when a combination of water and insufficient ventilation are combined. One of the most noticeable areas you will find mold and mildew is in your bathroom because of the high levels of humidity confined in this small space.  Most commonly, mold and mildew are found in the corners and bases of your shower, under your sink, and along the walls near your shower.  Bathroom mold occurs because it loves damp, isolated and non-ventilated spaces. Leaky toilets, sinks and plumbing pipes also increase the likelihood that mold will accumulate in your bathroom.  Add water saturated wood , wallpaper, grout, drywall and fabric, and your mold will have all the surface area it needs to take over your bathroom. How do you know you have a mold problem? If yo...

Danny Lipford: This week is the second and final show on the renovation of Today’s Bath. Announcer: Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford , the voice of home improvement , with projects, tips and ideas to help you improve your home. Danny Lipford: We’re right in the middle of a two part renovation called Today ’s Bath, it involves the renovation and updating of two different bathrooms, one being a very small master bathroom that was in this area and then on the other side of the wall even a smaller bathroom that was kind of the guest bathroom and we’re making them a lot larger by encroaching into this area which was once the master bedroom . Now, by taking up this space we were able to create this very nice custom walk -in shower than a very long vanity, two different sinks, and this cozy little niche for the whirlpool tub. Also the existing guest bathroom ’s a lot larger, a lot more functional and we had enough space left over by encroaching into this bedroom to create a very nice...

Remember that juice and milk cannot be brought through security (and may not be available on board). Buy them once you have passed through the Transportation Security Administration ’s checkpoint and pour contents into sippy cups and bottles before boarding the flight. Make sure to account for flight delays with sustenance. Photo A flip-top snack cup from Skip Hop. Germ Warfare Studies by the Federal Aviation Administration have shown that viruses can lurk on airline surfaces for up to seven days. How can you keep your family healthy? You can try by stuffing your carry-on with germ-avoidance products. Portable anti-bacterial wipes are mandatory. Use them to disinfect tray tables , armrests and seatbelts. Avoid direct contact with the bathroom sink, the toilet flush and door handles by using either a paper towel or tissue paper. Table toppers, disposable adhesive place mats , can be slicked over the grimy tray table (where travelers have been known to change diapers) for a clean play...