Okay...so I'm wandering through all of the booths at the Go Green Expo this past weekend and I take notice of quite a few products that have a lot of technology and innovation behind them to make them green and to have them stand out amongst the competition down the row.

Then I came upon the BreezeDryer booth. Nothing very technical here and not a competitor in sight. Just a bunch of different styles of clotheslines to line dry your clothes on. Now THIS is eco-friendly! Imagine enjoying the great outdoors and doing your laundry at the same time.

It brought a big smile to my face for a couple of reasons.

The Go Green Expo - Atlanta 2009  was chock full of interesting green products, services and solutions for home, lifestyle and then some. My interest was focused on homebuilding products and services (of course) and anything that would improve my lifestyle while at the same time lessen my impact on the environment. Basically, like many of you out there I'm trying to live greener as time goes on. This means putting into practice all of the green homebuilding products and services at my disposal whenever possible.

One of the products on display that interested me a great deal was a product known as Eco Seal. It is a ceramic coating applied to the exterior of your house. It is also known as ceramic paint or insulating paint. In this case, Vickie, with Southeast Coatings was demonstrating the benefits of Eco Seal, green and otherwise.

Knowing how to select the correct paint gloss, also known as paint finish, for your interior paint project is key to getting the look you really want and the durability required for a particular room.

There are basically six or seven levels of finish for interior paint (depending on what resource you're looking at). Why are there so many different types? Why is it important to know the characteristics of each type? Which gloss should you use for each room in your house?

Enough questions. Now for some answers.

A few years ago, we wanted to change the look of the walls of our foyer and living room in our house to have a rag painting effect using an basecoat of yellow latex paint with a slightly darker glaze. More specifically, I used a method called rag rolling paint off. This is a great diy project for homeowners looking for something a little different other than just the run-of-the-mill paint job.

Rag rolling paint off was not that difficult to do, although it required a good game plan, quick hands and a lot of patience. I'll explain what I mean by all of that later on. You'll do fine...so let's get started.

In the depths of the recession, current homeowners and new home buyers are more focused than ever on keeping the cost of home ownership as low as possible, which means discount diving on insurance coverage.

Beyond the tried and true "raise your deductible," there are a number of factors that have a bearing -- both directly and indirectly -- on getting the lowest cost home insurance:

It's time that I posted another installment of Dumb Homebuilding Ideas here on The Fun Times Guide To Home Building. The topic for this "dumb idea" article is an huge, oversized garage with a very high ceiling.

The ceiling in this garage has got to be 18-20 feet in height and probably 22' D x 32' W. The square footage is not the issue. It's the height (or cubic ft.). Why in the world would the builder construct a garage with a ceiling so high? And look at the placement of the windows.

Houses with open floor plans are some of my favorites. I love the sight  lines that it creates and the "elbow room". One feature that many homes do not have, including some homes with open floor plans, is an open staircase design.
 

I enjoy seeing the variations of craftsmanship involved that showcase beautiful newel posts, handrails and balusters. Show me lots of iron and you've got a fan!