Living inside out

If you want to enjoy the great outdoors this summer, you don’t need to travel beyond your own backyard. Simply bring all the comforts of the indoors to your patio, deck or other outdoor area via furniture, appliances and other amenities designed for alfresco enjoyment. Then, kick back and enjoy the sunshine or moonlight in style.

Discover why having an outdoor living area can make your home feel bigger without having to do major construction and how it can significantly add to your home’s resale value if you’re looking to sell by reading my newest article published in The Daily Herald, available here.

Your fridge, stove, washer and other appliances are getting smarter. Here’s why

It wasn’t so long ago that Americans thought of their home appliances as basic, boxy, bone white workhorses that simply got the job done. But today’s homeowners want more than mere functionality in their cooking, cleaning and cooling machines. They want a wealth of Internet age bells and whistles built in. Thanks to rapid innovation and more affordable technology, their expectations are being exceeded, say the pros.

Learn about the latest technological advances and cutting-edge features built into today's home appliances by reading my newest piece for The Costco Connection, found here.

The 411 on home security systems

Don't get alarmed, but consider that a burglary happens once every 13 seconds. In fact, 2.5 million burglaries occur each year, with two-thirds of those being home break-ins. A person is home during a burglary nearly 28 percent of the time; one out of four of those at home are harmed. A home security system can monitor your home against these threats.

But there are a lot of home security providers and options to pick from. With so many choices, it’s easy to get confused. Lacking knowledge, you could end up spending more money than you need to. Worse, you may find your home under-protected.

Learn about the different home security systems and companies by reading my latest article on this topic for The Mortgage Reports, available here.

Space: the final frontier

In the average American home, closets, garages, attics and basements will only get you so far. Sooner or later, you’re bound to run out of storage space for all the accoutrement you collect. And that’s when clutter takes over, making rooms appear disorganized and design-challenged. Fortunately, there are creative ways to solve your storage troubles – if you’re prepared to think outside of the closet box, according to the experts.

Learn how to transform wasted nooks and crannies into sneaky storage spaces around your home by reading my latest article for CTW Features, published here.

HEL vs. HELOC: which is right for your borrowing needs?

Owning a home isn’t cheap. Making monthly mortgage payments is tough enough. Then, there are other costs that can add up quickly. These include maintenance and improvement expenses. Thankfully, you can pursue funding options to help pay for these bills. Two of the most popular are a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit (HELOC). But which is better: a home equity loan vs. a HELOC?

That depends on your needs and goals. Each option involves tapping into your home’s appraised value to borrow money. Each has its pros and cons. Digging into these differences can help you make a more informed decision.

Get the 411 on each option by reading my latest piece for The Mortgage Reports, accessible here.

Fragile: contents agile

In the early days of the web, most companies seeking an online presence typically needed to take a dive off Niagara Falls—in the form of old-fashioned waterfall web design. The cascading approach was often slow, sequential and tedious, requiring every step of the project to be completed separately and individually in a linear, lengthy fashion. Then, in 2001, the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was created, espousing the benefits of an iterative, incremental and agile process. Developers began increasingly adopting an alternative methodology—agile web development—which involves breaking a website project up into smaller chunks that can each be finished and rolled out live one by one instead of waiting until the entire project is completed and releasing it all at once.

Since that time, agile has become the scheme of choice for building software and websites at many companies. Yet, agile hasn’t proven to be a perfect solution. While it offers several advantages over waterfall and other methodologies, it has its limitations, too.

Discover more about these limitations--as well as the myriad benefits of agile web development--by checking out my latest in-depth feature for EContent Magazine, available here.