The Comfort Food Cookbook eBook and Unique Comfort Food Cookbook eBook are now for sale in the DIY Store at Homes With Character.net.  Each book includes easy step by step recipes for 25 different meals.  Check them out today for only $0.99 each.

Recently several upgrades were made to the site including customer reviews and ratings.  You can check them out here.

All voting in the HWC Green Home 2008 feature polls has ended.  Thanks to everyone who voted.  You have helped us choose many of the features in this years HWC Green Home.  The final features were decided this past weekend.  Thanks to a 4 way tie on the HWC Green Home Luxury Feature poll the final luxury feature choice will be a surprise shown in the final project.  For more information on what features were chosen or just more information on the HWC Green Home 2008 visit our website.

You can now shop our Furniture Plan gallery by price anytime you want.  We offer furniture plans ranging from $1.95 - $12.95 for sale.  Also added is a a new Product Comparison button and page which you can now use to compare our plans to our top competetors.  Also new is our Gift Center to help you find just that right gift.

 

Many new plans have been added, check them out on our site.

 

If you haven't had your say already visit Green Home 2008 Voting today to choose the final two features for the Green Home 2008.

Join the quest for the Traveling Seas Collection.  Do you like to travel, collect rare or valuable antiquities or enjoy world history?  Then it's time to go globe trotting like a famous explorer with the Traveling Seas collection.  More plans to come.

 

Also check out all the new recently added plans at Homes With Character.

Several new plans have been added since the last update and pricing has been adjusted on many of the plans to better reflect the complexity of the individual plans.  You may or may not have noticed the many small updates that have been made to the site recently.  A quick rundown of some of the latest updates includes a new bookmark button (that will allow you to bookmark or blog about many of your favorite articles on our site), new favicons, updated layouts on a couple of pages including HWC eBooks, updated page designs on many pages so the whole site ties together better and a couple small bugs fixed.  One of the most important changes has taken place because of you, the internet shopper.  Thank you for increasing the traffic and popularity of Homes With Character.

Work continues on the Green Home.  Still in the final design stages you can help make design decisions for the Green Home at Homes With Character.net.  Voting continues on Green Home design features, currently the seventh feature poll is being voted on.  Make your opinions heard, only 4 days left on this weeks poll.  As you may already know this is Green Month at Homes With Character.net so as announced several new green articles have been added.  Read about them on DIY Tips & Tricks.

Backwoods Canoe Entertainment Center and Highland Living Settee plans have been added to the list of available plans in the DIY Store.  Check them out today!

If you have not already noticed the California Dreamin Cabana plan is now for sale.  Any of you who love to bask in the sun next to a nice cool pool or just lounge in the shade in your own backyard will love this new cabana plan.  Get yours today at Homes With Character.net

Congratulations to all those who got caught in our April Fools Day prank on April 1st.  In case you didn't catch it or did not understand we are not going to teach you to create leaks in your homes or how to demolish your home in less than 30 seconds.  These jokes were only meant to give you a good laugh, so if you did not understand I apologize.

Homes With Character is turning 4 years old next month and in honor of our anniversary we have decided to declare next month is Going Green & Saving Green month.  In honor of that our experts with over 12 years of experience in green home design are going to be sharing some of their best tips for green living with all of our website visitors and customers.  Check out our last post for a sample.

As with the HWC Green Home it doesn't take a lot of work or a lot of money to start going green.

 

1. Change as many of your light bulbs as you can to CFL's (Compact Fluorescents).  This can be an easy and affordable way to lower your energy bill by 75% or more.

2. Choose low odor or low VOC paint when doing any paint projects.  This not only makes it more comfortable for you when you're painting, but also cuts down on the lingering fresh paint smell in your house (a big help when trying to sell).

3. Choose beautiful low cost green flooring for your home.  Hardwood, laminate and tile are not only beautiful alternatives to your worn out, unhealthy carpet, but can also be cheaper and easier to install than carpet if you do it yourself.

4. Choose solid wood or plywood cabinets when doing your next kitchen or bath remodel instead of fiberboard.  The initial investment will cost more typically than standard fiberboard cabinets, but the investment in quality is always worth it.  (ROI 81% in the first year after the investment)

5. Shop architectural salvage stores and thrift stores for good buys on products for your home.  Some items may need work, but it can be worth the work for the savings.

6. Choose the right species and locations for trees and save as much as 25% on your energy bills.

7. Add extra insulation wherever you can.  Adding insulation to uninsulated basement walls and adding another 9 or 10 inches in your attic can cut your energy bills by as much as 35% or even more experts say.

8. Changing out old 3.5 gallon toilets made before 1998 with new low consumption 1.6 or 1.3 gallon toilets will save you over 50% on your water bill.

9. Choose Energy Star rated appliances for your next kitchen remodel and save on your energy costs.

10. Replace your old manual thermostat with a new programmable thermostat and not only save on your heating and cooling costs, but increase your home's comfort.

Be the first to vote on the flooring for the HWC Green Home 2008.  This poll will be available until next Friday.  Thanks to everyone who voted in the latest Green Home 2008 polls.  Help decide what features will be in the HWC Green Home 2008.

Homes With Character now has DIY articles to help you with your home improvement projects.  Learn tips on going green or just how to add a little more curb appeal to your home.  Check out DIY Tips & Tricks.

 

Visit http://homeswithcharacter.net/default.aspx for more help, information and plans for your next home improvement project.

Vote for what price you think should be charged for a typical green home.  Your choice may be used in Homes With Character's Green Home 2008.  For more about the HWC Green Home 2008 visit our website.

 

 

By now many of you have probably heard of our Green Home 2008.  We are getting very excited about this new ground breaking project here!  The Green Home is not only being designed by us.  That's right, we aren't the only ones designing this home, YOU are too!  By voting in the online polls on our Green Home 2008 page each week you too can help us decide what should go into this home.  Already you have chosen in our first poll that the most important feature to many of you in a Green Home is green flooring.  NEW! This week YOU can decide what a Green Home should cost.

 

Feel free to tell us about your choices below. If you are new to blogging, we want to hear from you!

 

See what's new and vote on our new features each week on Homes With Character.net.

     Whether your question is about a leak in your sink or building a home this is the place to ask your question.  Our home improvement experts will answer your questions.  If we don't know the answer to your question we'll find one.  So don't be afraid to ask your question here.  If you have a question on any of Homes With Character's products we will answer those here as well.  If your question is about your order or pricing or any type of customer service question do not post it in this blog, as that is not appropriate here and will be removed.  All customer service or general technical questions about our products or website should be submitted to the appropriate email on our website.

 

     Also on this blog there will be no how to information directly related to building any furniture or plan on our website posted.  If you are interested in building any of our plans you should order them.  If you have problems directly related to building any of our plans direct your questions to the appropriate email on our website.  No profanity, pornographic material, drugs, alcohol, smoking, illegal acts, copyrighted material, advertisements or links shall be allowed to be posted to this blog.  This blog is to be appropriate for people of any age to read.  Advertisements or links may be posted to this site by Homes With Character personnel only and only with permission to do so.

 

     General questions about home improvement, home construction, woodworking, landscaping, interior decor or any Homes With Character products or webpages are allowed.  Also allowed are specific questions on any of the above topics except for Homes With Character's products.  Feel free to post your questions at anytime.  Don't feel bad if your question is not answered right away as it may take time to answer.

 

     If you are not familiar with Homes With Character or our products that we offer please visit us at http://homeswithcharacter.net