North of the 49th

I’ve come to understand that it is common for Canadian children to feel disadvantaged upon returning from a trip to the United States. The proliferation of fast food choices, amusement parks and mega-malls full of toys and the like made smaller-town Canada seem very pale in comparison.

My sister and I would bee-line for Chuck E. Cheese every time we made our way to Seattle, both of us understanding the combining of pizza and video games to be greatest merger of all time. Provided we kept a lid on it while we shopped for back to school clothes each year, we were rewarded with a precious 3-hour window of greasy cheese, soda and arcade favorites.

Just as quickly as it came around each Labor Day it was gone as soon as we departed the Anacortes ferry in Sidney. I remember getting one last fix of 50-cent chocolate bars on the ferry before proceeding into my annual rant on the way back into town on how “Canada gets nothing good.” Oh, the blissful ignorance of youth.

Granted, that was very short-sighted in a way to be expected of a pre-teen, but in truth the number of retailers and consumer goods available to Canadian consumers has grown exponentially even since those days. While it’s commonly referred to the “American Dream”, it might be more applicable to add the adjective “North” to the term as Canadians are just as determined to provide themselves with a comfortable life as their southerly neighbors.

Cymax Stores understands that Canadians demanding quality home furnishings, and at competitive prices, is a given as well. Accordingly, Cymax is pleased to consolidate all of its products available to Canadian consumers at www.cymaxstores.ca. Individuals can peruse the impressive selection of home and office products in much the same way they would do at www.cymax.com, but without the need to search for the “THIS PRODUCT SHIPS TO CANADA” tag on the product page. At Cymax Canada, you don’t need to give a second thought as to whether or not the product is available to you at a Canadian residence. Canadian consumers are similarly encouraged to take advantage of the free shipping offer extended to them until October 6^th.

When it comes to providing top-quality products at reasonable prices with a full-satisfaction guarantee, Cymax most certainly hasn’t forgotten those of you north of the Fourty-Ninth Parallel.

Taking a Stand for your LCD TV

Purchasing a TV stand for your LCD TV may be a little confusing. With so many styles and designs to choose from, you don't want to select the wrong one. Several factors will directly influence the kind of stand you will select, including available floor space, presentation and accompanying components. Whatever kind of stand you do purchase, you will want to make sure that it will perfectly fit your television and will be adaptable to your future home entertainment requirements.

Decide where the television is going and then take measurements. Take into account the size of your LCD screen and purchase a stand that will give you at least three inches of space on either side of the television. The average depth of an LCD screen is 8 inches, but you will want to select an LCD stand with a wide counter top in the interest of safety and added stability. You should also consider the height of the stand and whether or not it will be the optimal viewing height for the room you are purchasing the stand for.

Since your LCD television was a hefty investment, you will want to display it to its best advantage. Purchasing a cheap stand or one that does not complement either your television or your decor can greatly detract from your viewing enjoyment. Presentation plays an important role in the kind of LCD stand you select. You will want it to match your current furnishings and color scheme as seamlessly as possible.

When selecting a TV stand, also consider the weight of your television and any other accompanying components you would the stand to hold. The stand itself will need to be well-constructed, strong and durable. It should also provide easy access to all the components, and especially if you have chosen an open shelving concept stand, include a wire management system of some kind.

What kind of effect would you like to achieve? For a more traditional decor, choose an LCD stand made of wood with a medium to dark finish. If you are buying a TV stand for a contemporary or modern styled room, select one designed of metal and glass or one made of wood but with clean lines and a lighter finish.

All metal or metal and glass LCD TV stands are durable, strong and sleek in appearance. Typically, metal LCD stands are open concept in design. When selecting a metal stand that includes glass, make sure that it is tempered, since it will be stronger and safer than regular glass should it break. If you want the option of hiding unsightly wires, choose a stand with cable management.

An LCD TV cabinet can be made of a variety of materials including wood, metal and wood and metal. They generally offer enclosed storage options for tapes, DVDs and other accessories that you might want to store out-of-sight. This kind of TV stand is generally a larger furniture piece and therefore will be more of a focal point. You will want to ensure that an LCD TV stand fits in with your décor and will add to the room's comfort and functionality in addition to being a safe place to display your television.

If you want a stand just for displaying your LCD and don't need a place to store other components, consider purchasing a pedestal TV stand. Depending on the manufacturer, a pedestal TV may also include bolts so that it can be secured to a wall. Some pedestal stands are adjustable, which will allow you to adjust the viewing height of your television as needed.

Designed to fit into a corner, corner LCD TV stands still offer the wide counter dimensions needed to properly display your screen, while utilizing an area that might otherwise be considered as unusable space. Since they are available in a wide variety of styles and materials, you're sure to find a corner television stand that will perfectly match your decor.

A swivel TV stand is the ideal way to obtaining optimum viewing from your LCD screen. They come in a variety of different styles and designs. When selecting the right swivel stand for your plasma TV, make sure that it will not only fit your television, but that it will also accommodate its weight.

The type of TV stand you choose for you LCD television will mostly depend on your viewing and display requirements. With these basic guidelines, choosing an LCD television stand might be a little easier.

My New Perch

If you’re like many of us who spend an increasing amount of time at working at home on the computer, you’re one of two types and two types only. If you’re an A, you’ve already appraised the value of quality comfort and function seating – and invested in an office or desk chair that meets those needs. If you’re a B, this truth is likely becoming more and more apparent and you’re considering such a purchase yourself.

I’m the latter and have in fact, just today. decided to order a new Office Star office chair from Cymax Stores. OfficeFurnitureNMore.com has an impressive selection of desk chairs and I’ve decided to go with the Office Star Pillow Top Mesh Office Chair. The broadly cushioned seat and back panel seals the deal for me after all the function amenities. Lever-operated pneumatic height column, Tilt w/ lock, 360 swivel, adjustable arms – you know, the whole complement of what I’ll need when I’m looking to be productive in my workspace.

Truth is, since I bought my place I’ve been primarily using my computer while sitting on my drum throne. Now the Taye Drums 760 motorcycle-style cloth seat is one heck of a drum throne and super comfy, but I need something with a flex-back panel and some amrests for while I do my thing in the evenings. An office chair that features a molded mesh back panel and a built-in lumbar support beam is a good fit for anyone who can develop stiffness in their back after long seated periods or those who have existing back issues.

Those of you living in warmer climates can appreciate the appeal of a ventilated mesh or screen back office chair, and both Office Star and fellow American manufacturer Boss offer nice quality-made and competitively-priced models keep your shirt dry on hot days. The Boss Contemporary Executive Office Chair is a perfectly simple yet good-looking and full-function task chair that makes the grade for a professional office setting. A Boss Ergonomic Leather Chair can take on a more stately office role with a look that that can’t be beat at 134 dollars and only at officefurniturenmore.

Eurostyle Office Chairs are definitely the way to go for those whose workspace or den continues to be a focal point of their modern decor. These chairs have, as their name suggests, a very chic European vibe to them that falls right into sleek simple stylish.

Check out their Bungie Low-Back Office Chair and see what I mean.

I’m anxious to push off for a roll over to my file cabinet or all the way wall end to spy on the living room, not to mention lots of random 360 degree swiveling to “work it in”, you know. Looking forward to its arrival with, as I conveniently held until the last sentence,

FREE GROUND SHIPPING!!

8 Months

Laura found it hard to believe 4 and a half months had passed since she wrote the last final exam of her first year in college. Returning home after freshman year had been a much needed respite from it all. To think, she thought, I used to bemoan kicking around this go-nowhere town. Catching up on sleep and eating home-cooked meals had been a godsend, and she'd never appreciated the company of childhood friends quite like she had this summer.

This time last year, there was an allure of going away to college that created a genuine excitement and anticipation of living the life that Hollywood propagates for stereotypical 18-year olds. This August, the novelty of the experience didn't even register a murmur for Laura. Rather, it was a resignation to another 8 months of the trials and tribulations of dorm life. School itself was great - the challenges, the events, and all the guys, but when it came time to return to the "glorified closet" as she so disdainfully referred to her dorm room, the luster wore off quite quickly.

For starters, even a hyper-somniac would have difficult sleeping on that saggy old mattress. Couple that with incessant late-night hallway shenanigans and a roommate who, however agreeable, ground her teeth constantly, and there was little shut-eye to be had most nights. Then there was the desk chair that had been abused so thoroughly over the years that it featured the best in random-tilt technology and wheel casters as frozen as Lake Winnetonka in January. The dresser drawers that every morning required a tug-of-war-like pull before coming completely free of the cabinet added to her overall disillusionment.

"Character building" is how her dad had chosen to dispel her complaints when she brought them up over the course of the summer. "Maybe he's right," Laura thought, "after all, what's three more years in the course of a lifetime." She buoyed her spirits fairly well with this mindset in the days leading up to her departure, but as the bus rolled through the countryside Laura couldn't resist feeling down as she thought of her most unaccommodating accommodations.

Two weeks into the semester, she received an email from her mother:

"Make sure you're in your room next Tuesday between 3-5. If you can't let me know. Don't ask questions if you like surprises. Love, Mom"

Laura did like surprises, in fact so much so that she skipped Trig. that day to be there as instructed. Was it ever worth it when the delivery van pulled up. It seems Mom had been quietly sympathetic to her complaints, and with a quick e-visit to www.cymax.com she resolved to put an end to her precious daughter's discomfort. With a simple signature, Laura smiled as she accompanied her new twin bed, chest of drawers and Boss deluxe posture chair up to her room.

Banishing that bed, dresser and sorry excuse for a desk chair to the storage locker for the next 3 years was one task Laura happily took on. She thoroughly enjoyed filling her new drawers with all of her clothing, relishing the roller glides as she opened and closed them repeatedly. She rolled around her desk chair with glee, but nothing compared to the feeling of falling into that new bed. What a difference!

Just like that, dorm life was looking up. The hallway calamity and her roommates' teeth grinding were out of her hands, but ear plugs were one expense she could handle without Mom and Dad.

Putting the Spotlight on Dining Tables

I'll admit it; I take my dining room table for granted. Without giving it any thought, I'll plunk down a handful of junk mail, dishes that need a step-stool before they can be put away and even, I have to confess, the occasional pile of freshly folded laundry that didn't quite make it to wherever it should have been going in the first place. But when I went to buy new dining chairs to match the table, the salesperson began asking questions that I really had to think about.

It was an eye-opening encounter. Taking my dining table for granted had distinct disadvantages: since I didn't know the answers off the top of my head (like how high the table was and whether the finish high gloss or matte), I had to make the trip back home to find out. If you are in the market for dining table, there are some important things to keep in mind before making a purchase. After all, the focal point of every dining room is the dining table. You want to get it right the first time.

Size

Although the height of a standard dining table is 30 inches, they come in a range of sizes that can cozily seat two people or comfortably accommodate up to ten family members and guests. When shopping for a dining table, the first thing to consider is how large the space is and how many people will be sitting at the table on a regular basis. A person generally needs a minimum of 24 inches of personal space to feel comfortable. If you have guests over for a meal more often than not, you might want to factor them into your seating plan too.

Also, take into account that you will be using the table with chairs. To be able to easily walk around the table with the chairs pushed in or to slide a chair away from your dining table without hitting the wall or another piece of furniture, you will need to make room, allowing 48 to 56 inches between the table and the wall for minimum/maximum clearance.

Purpose and Place

Before buying a dining table, take into account your lifestyle. Give some thought to how and where you and family take your meals: on the go at a breakfast counter, informally at a kitchen table or gathered around a more formal dining table? If everyone's schedule is different and you are not in the habit of having sit-down meals together, a large formal table that seats ten might not be the best choice. A dinette set, a smaller, more utilitarian version of the dining table with chairs, may be the ideal alternative. On the other hand, if you enjoy entertaining and want a place to stage holiday gatherings, you will need a dining table with plenty of room.

Style

Style is the element that transforms four legs holding up a flat tabletop into a dining experience, one that will enhance the time you spend with family and friends. The style you select for your dining area will reflect your personal tastes and largely define the atmosphere of the room. There are a wide range of styles to choose from; however, they can be loosely grouped into four major categories: contemporary, modern, traditional and country.

Contemporary, although simple in design, utilizes a variety of finishes, palettes and materials to create texture and visual interest. Geometric forms are often softened by curved corners.

Modern, on the other hand, defines interior space by geometric form, neutral palettes and a strong emphasis on function rather than flourish. Furnishings are frequently asymmetrical, with sleek and polished surfaces; metal and glass are common construction materials.

Traditional furniture is typically characterized by carvings, leaf or scroll motifs, and stylized architectural details like ornate moldings. Usually in darker woods with rich, lustrous finishes, traditional styled furnishings have a very formal or stately feel.

Country style has a traditional air, but decorative flourishes tend to be more simplified while its lines are more relaxed. Having a comfortable feel, country furniture is usually constructed of wood, in milk-painted or natural wood finishes and can include whimsical details such as stenciling.

Having a functional dining room as an integral part of your home increases the versatility, practicality and value of your living space. To say nothing of the lifetime of memories we garner, sitting around the table and sharing our stories with one other.

All Eyes on You

The lectern is an oft-overlooked piece of office furniture that has an inherent value in successfully communicating business objectives. With a background in Toastmasters / Debating Club, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time behind these fixtures and can attest to the positive influence they have on both speaker and audience. Yes, they offer a convenient and easy-access spot for notes and prompts, but they provide much more than that.

How many of you can remember at least one birkenstock-wearing, semi-bohemian type professor from your post-secondary years? He likely delivered his lecture leaning against the desk, legs crossed and arms propped aback. While your interest in the subject matter may have kept your attention, there were likely more than a few fellow classmates who were decidedly less attentive based on his demeanor.

Conversely, any type of communication that is delivered with the air of authority provided by a lectern is almost sure to be taken in by the audience with a heightened

sense of significance and contemplation. Whether it be in a lecture hall or boardroom, a lectern has a very unique character in the way it commands deference and claims the floor for the speaker. Furthermore, this same quality is equally beneficial to the speaker, giving them a greater sense of confidence and resolve in delivering their communication.

It is this value, attached to the simple fixture standing alone at the front of the room, which makes a lectern such a worthy one for any large boardroom. The speaker’s presence is heightened so dramatically by standing behind the lectern that it buoys his or her confidence and demands the attention of the audience. The value of this type of atmosphere to spoken corporate communications goes without saying, or it should.

Individuals convinced of this reality are recommended to take advantage of the ease and convenience of online shopping and visit www.cymax.com. As a premier online retailer of quality-made and competitively priced office furniture, Cymax delivers with an impressive selection of Da-Lite lecterns to meet the needs of your office. From table lecterns and floor lecterns to multi-media lecterns that allow you to run presentations, you are nearly sure to find one that’s the right fit for you. Pedestal lecterns are popular with those that like to bring an old-world pulpit severity, if you will, to the room.

It’s a common piece of advice for nervous would-be speakers to pretend their audiences are completely naked. I too received this same suggestion, but it was wholly ineffective. In time, however, closing my hands over the top rail of the lectern did wonders for me before I scanned the audience and took a deep breath. You too will likely find the lectern to be a very calming, focusing and empowering “rock” as you prepare to be the center of attention.

Get Up and Go

How many of you take the elevator when the stairs are equally as readily accessible? How many drive the car two blocks to the convenience store for a liter of milk?

How many still find it’s not you walking the dog, but rather the dog walking you?

The majority of North Americans lead an overly-sedentary lifestyle. What’s more, the demands on our time and resources are growing exponentially almost daily and we have less and less of both to devote to changing this unfortunate reality. Diet is a contributing factor to many people’s lack of fitness and less-than-ideal physiques that can be adjusted easily. Finding a segment of the day and the initiative to make one’s way to the gym can be decidedly more challenging.

Further, many people find a crowded gym to be full of judgmental eyes and as much a young-persons social scene as a fitness center. Add obnoxious nightclub music and TVs in every direction, and many simply find the gym is not conducive to their focusing on an effective workout.

Enter the rise in home gyms and home fitness equipment. For those who either chose to or needed to exercise at home, these products were well-received and accordingly introduced to the market in waves. Some were well-made, some were decidedly poorly made. While the ones that came into your living room via infomercial night after night were usually shoddy, the quality products all shared one characteristic; they were expensive.

Times change, and so has what you should expect to pay for quality home fitness equipment. For those who have made a resolution to pursue a greater sense of health, strength and well-being, a visit to www.fitnessequipmentselect.com is recommended. They feature one of the largest selections of fitness equipment online, and all at the same competitive pricing that you can expect of a Cymax Stores specialty site.

For those who wish to tighten or pump up long-neglected muscles, one of the many Phoenix Health or Keiser benches or strength machines is an excellent choice for those who have the space to accommodate these quality-made units. For others who are more in need of shedding pounds and getting a great full-body workout, a Multisports Fitness Elliptical will work both the upper and lower body and not your wallet. A Phoenix Health Treadmill is equally good value and a similar means of getting a solid aerobic workout at home.

Ever been cross-country skiing? If you have, you’ll remember the day after your first time traversing the hills and how your gluteus was so sore you could hardly walk right. Imagine capturing that tush-toning power in an exercise machine. That’s exactly what’s yours for the taking with a stepper from Fitness Equipment Select. These compact exercise machines are a godsend for your lower body and are particularly popular with women.

If you’re still drawn to the AB-Ressurectifier on Channel 132, so be it. However, you may want to consider that Fitness Equipment Select offers free shipping of its quality products straight to your door. Now, you may not be able to lift the box up the stairs YET, but we’ll check back with you in 6 months.

Ergo-Furnishing: Getting Smaller for Life in the 21st Century

Progressively smaller living spaces are now a permanent reality for big-city urbanite homeowners. While the 900-square foot 1-bed rental can still be found, young couples buying their first condo in the city should resign themselves to settling into a single bedroom unit in the ballpark of 600 to 700 square feet. With increasing population densities in all major North American cities, developers are left with no choice but to tailor their projects to conform to the accompanying space curtailing. The result can be a tough one to swallow for many; if you’re to live in the city, you’re looking at $370 per square foot - at least.

Welcome to a painful reality of 21st century city life.

The only recourse individuals have is to “get smaller” themselves. New homeowners must take an acutely space-conscious approach to both their furnishings and the choices they make as regards their placement in the home. I’m sure I wasn’t the first one who had to make the difficult decision to part ways with my sectional sofa and long double dresser when we purchased our new place earlier this year. That we were to go with a pair of vertically-oriented chest of drawers and a 79 inch apartment sofa was a necessity that I’m sure confronts nearly all homebuyers who are making a transition to city life.

Fortunately, furniture manufacturers have been sympathetic to this trend and pro-active in designing furnishings that are conducive to more effective management of available space. With the explosion of online shopping, more and more people are shopping for these products from the convenience of the home and Cymax Stores is a great place to get started. From armoires to wine racks, find what fits your new home best at Cymax Stores.

The Captain’s Bed is an interesting example of a furniture piece that has expanded its orientation in the wake of the aforementioned trend towards smaller living spaces. The captain’s bed was originally offered as something of a novelty for children or youth and derived it’s name from a very real design seen in the cabins of old tall ships, including pirate ships. These beds feature storage drawers, the same you’d find in a dresser or chest, being mounted below the side rails of the bed and directly above the floor. These platform beds are essentially resting on top of a horizontal storage cabinet.

It’s easy to see how these beds would be drawn into the realm of adult bedroom furnishings. Three drawers on either side of a bed would provide considerable garment storage and likely reduce the need for two chests of drawers for a couple. It wasn’t long before the captain’s bed expanded into this area, and now the design is as popular as ever with people who wish more open space yet not at the expense of their wardrobe.

You can find a captain’s bed to meet any style and budget with a quick e-visit to Cymax. For those looking for value and sturdy yet lightweight construction, a Prepac Sonoma or Monterey Storage Bed will likely be an ideal consideration. The opposite end of the spectrum is exampled nicely by the Hillsdale Tiburon Kona Storage Bed, blending a sleekly sophisticated urban look with the same practicality these beds are known for. The 2nd Nature Captain’s Bed from Stanley Young America falls nicely in between with an ever-popular contemporary vibe and four storage drawers.

History has shown that when cities struggle to expand towards the horizons, they grow upwards. This trend is starting to assert itself more noticeably in second-tier big cities across the continent and is very much a driving force in the “get smaller” phenomenon. We are in a transitional period right now, where many people find it difficult to not have the same living rooms and bedrooms that they grew accustomed to in the parents’ homes. It is likely, however, that in a generation or two those expansive and sprawling spaces will have been unheard of for city folk. After all, Grandma and Grandpa lived in a 2-bed condo as well.

Furniture Can Make You Mad

I have a computer desk that makes me mad. It has a beautifully scalloped apron that digs into my left thigh, leaving a deep rectangular indentation whenever I sit in front of it for longer than an hour. It's not really the desk's fault, since it's not really a desk. A much loved hand-me-down, originally this piece of furniture was a dresser with a tri-fold mirror bolted on the back.

The mirror, my friend who gave me the dresser reported, was cracked right down the middle, a casualty of a rough-housing session with an older brother, and was consequently dragged out to the garage until it was finally hauled away to the dump. Fifteen years later, the dresser was banished from the apartment when he and his partner redecorated. I became its proud new owner because at the time, I was looking for a writing desk and I liked the dresser's deep drawers.

I refinished it to match some of the darker wood pieces in my living room. When it was used strictly as a writing table, it wasn't a problem, but once I upgraded and put a computer on it, that's when I started running into difficulties. Still, I'd rather keep massaging my thigh and muttering under my breath whenever I walk away from the "computer desk" than relinquish it for something more appropriate, like a computer cart or computer armoire.

Although, even if I'm the only one in the room, every time this happens, I get embarrassed. But I'm not alone. A very quick, very informal and very unscientific poll of unsuspecting co-workers queued in front of the fax machine revealed that almost everyone owns a piece of furniture that has a tendency to irritate, annoy, frustrate or anger. When it comes to furniture that ticks us off, it seems that I am in good company.

Someone in accounting says that she is constantly bumping into the corner of her bed whenever she passes by, even though they're rounded and not particularly sharp. One of the customer service representatives reports, that no matter how they place the coffee table in front of the couch, he and his roommates constantly snag their knees on its edge whenever they get up from the sofa. Another fellow worker emphatically complained about the dresser drawer that keeps inconveniently sticking, especially it seems, whenever she's running late for work.

And when I mentioned this theory in casual conversation to my neighbor across the hall, he too had a story to tell. In fact, he opened the door to his apartment wider so that I could see exactly what he was talking about. In his entryway, he has a beautiful real-life antique console table with cabriole legs, which he maintains, conspires to trip him in the most inopportune moments, like when he's carrying a cup of something hot into the living room.

To me personally, the most interesting and revealing aspect of this impromptu survey was that no one asked, "What are you talking about?" Most everyone, it seems, has a piece of furniture in their lives that has a mind of its own and conspires, in a fit of whimsy, to annoy us every now and then.

Don't Know What You Got

Quite often, we hear the term “a sense of accomplishment” applied to any one of hundreds of instances where persons feel a sense of gratification in observing the fruits of their labor. From the student whose first-place ribbon in Science Fair was worth every studious minute to the activist whose campaigning lead to legislative changes, we all have times where we feel pleasantly redeemed for the effort we’ve put in.

I believe, more indirectly, that many of us increase our sense of personal well-being by deriving a sense of accomplishment out of everyday tasks. Nothing so menial as brushing your teeth, say, but generally in changing the state of our surroundings and / or belongings to be more attuned to the lifestyle we wish to be surrounded by. It could be something as simple as vacuuming the living room or folding laundry, but for most it requires a little more elbow grease, if you will, and a greater depth of visual redemption.

Like most boys, I believe my father had me pegged to be his lawn-mowing successor from the very day I was born. Sure enough, by the age of 12 or so he was prepping me for my ascension to family groundskeeper. At first I disliked it. However, after a time I began to savor the moment when I had finished, standing there admiring the symmetrical mower lines and light-green sheen of the freshly shorn grass. I very quickly became much less begrudging as I walked to the shed each time Pops would say “Time to mow’er again, son.” I went through the same progression when it came to washing my car by hand; after a period of time I came to routinely bask in the cleanliness of my vehicle for a good five minutes before taking Armor-All to the tires.

For the past six years, city life and the pursuit of bigger and better things has necessitated an apartment life for me. With the exception of a visit home this past July, I haven’t cut a lawn in the better part of five plus years ( & rest assured I relished it wholeheartedly) as there’s never been so much as a blade of vegetation on any of my decks or balconies. Oh how I’d love to prime the 2.5 on that Toro one more time, and rip at that cord. Similarly, my new condo offers no means of washing my car by hand and, quite honestly, the drive-through doesn’t cut it for me one bit and the wand-wash pales in comparison.

Little things like this, where you can genuinely feel a sense of accomplishment in everyday tasks, interestingly do fall into the adage of “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.” I had no idea I would miss hand-washing my car this much, and I was almost giddy cutting my parents grass this past summer.

Those of you who are fortunate enough to have lawns, driveways and exterior taps of your own - I urge you to cherish each day you can feel good about completing domestic chores. Further, don’t lose track of the extent to which the proper accessories and elements of your lawn and patio can heighten the effect that a freshly-mowed lawn can have. Just because this summer is ending doesn’t mean you need to wait for the retail stores to re-stock their shelves with these products. With the online shopping revolution, you’re only a click away from Cymax Stores and their impressive and competitively-priced selection of outdoor products.

A Uniflame Portable Outdoor Heater on your patio table will allow you to comfortably soak up your landscaping prowess long after the sunshine begins to wane. An Oakland Living Chiminea / Firepit will keep the flames off your perfectly manicured greens, sure to be appreciated by marshmallow-gorging youngsters during those annual backyard campouts. Consider an Alfresco fountain as a tasteful addition to your definitively weed-free flower beds. Finally, at the end of the season, you can reward your trusty lawnmower with a Classic Accessories Lawn Mower cover for that long winter in the shed.

Jump at the chance to cut the lawn kids. Trust me.

Keeping Them Close By

It seemed that it was just yesterday when your mother was worrying about whether you had enough to eat for lunch or if you had packed your heavy sweater when off on an overnight camping trip with girlfriends. But now the shoe is on the other foot and you’re worrying about your aging parent and the challenges they face living on their own.

Many families are choosing accessory apartments as a viable answer. An accessory apartment is a self-contained unit built in an existing or new house. One specifically designed for a relative can have several nicknames including “granny flat” or “in-law suite.” But whatever you want to call it, for many families accessory apartments are the ideal way of helping an aging parent maintain their freedom and independence while keeping them nearby.

Since an accessory apartment is a fully operational living space with separate sleeping quarters, living room, kitchen and bathroom, it is subject to local building codes and bylaw restrictions. But once it has been built and is ready to be occupied, there are some things you can do to make the space safe, comfortable and convenient for the senior who will be moving in. In many cases, the mom, father or in-law moving in will bring along their own furniture, but if you need to furnish the accessory apartment in preparation for their arrival, here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind when creating the ideal age-proofed living area.

Because many accessory apartments will be in the basement, you can off-set their tendency to be smaller in size with less natural light by choosing lighter colors for furniture. Or if the elderly parent or relative prefers darker woods or finishes, paint the walls of the unit a lighter color to make the area appear more spacious. When selecting a dining table, end tables, a coffee table or nightstands, purchase ones with rounded corners.

Many manufacturers are producing furniture pieces smaller in scale, designed specifically for apartment living. Opting for two loveseats rather than one sofa can increase the seating options of the living area while taking into account less space to work with.

To make the most out of the available floor space, choose multi-functional pieces whenever possible. A coffee table with open shelving, an end table that includes a magazine rack or an ottoman that doubles as hidden storage are just a few of the many ways you can introduce multi-functional furnishings into an accessory apartment.

Of course, the right lighting is a very important concern when decorating an accessory apartment that will be occupied by an aging parent or in-law. Select lamps, wall sconces and other fixtures that can accommodate bulbs of higher wattage and have at least two bulbs. Old age can play havoc on the eyes, and using higher wattage light bulbs will shed more light, preventing unnecessary accidents. Choosing fixtures with two or more bulbs will make allowances; if one burns out at night, the lamp will still provide some light until the bulb can be replaced in daylight hours.

Having a separate place for an aging parent or in-law to live can provide the perfect balance between maintaining the senior’s independence, and a loved one’s concern for their safety and well-being. Good design and wise furniture choices can create an accessory apartment that is comfortable, practical and inviting.