Want to brighten up a room but don’t have the time to paint or the budget to add a window?

Consider the following easy fixes:

Hang a mirror. Hang a mirror (or lean a large one against a wall) to toss light around your room and open it up.

Add metallics. Golds and silver accents will make any space sparkle. Think picture frames, fixtures, lamps and decorative items like vases or candle holders.

Freshen with flowers. A floral pop can brighten a room, especially with fresh flowers. Add a bouquet to a table for a bit of vibrancy.

Think yellow or white. While light colors may show dirt and grime, white and yellow accents can brighten an area, fast. Add white and yellow throw pillows, swap out the duvet on your bed or hang a new set of curtains.

Declutter. Last but not least, a clutter sweep will help brighten your space up. Stack books, toss old magazines, fold the laundry, nix the knick-knacks and your home will thank you for it.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Here are five tips for storing your wine collection.

Proper Temperature

The ideal temperature to store a bottle is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Having a controlled environment for your wine maintains its longevity.

Keep It Sideways

When stored sideways, the wine is in contact with the cork, which will keep it from drying out.

Darkness Is Ideal

Make sure your collection is away from any UV rays that can harm it.

No Vibrations

Vibrations can disturb the sediment in a bottle and cause chemical reactions that change the flavor of the wine.

Monitor Humidity

Keep the humidity between 50 and 70 percent. Humidity above that level can cause mold, while going below can dry the cork.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Having more meaningful relationships with friends both new and old is a great goal, and it can start with your conversations. Below are five tips for those of us frustrated with small talk.

Skip the weather. As tempting as it may be to springboard off the weather, this can lead you down the empty-conversation rabbit hole and into a twenty-minute dialogue about rain. Asking about almost anything else should yield more interesting results.

Think of base questions. So, what should you talk about, if not the weather? Come up with a short list of base questions you can turn to in a flash. If you’re talking to a stranger or new acquaintance, try “have you done any traveling lately?” or “are you reading any good books?” These more personal questions show genuine interest and will actually reveal something about your conversation partner.

Make eye contact. Regardless of what you’re discussing, work to maintain or at least occasionally create eye contact, which signals to your conversation partner that you’re listening; this can help forge intimacy.

Keep asking questions. An awkward lull in the conversation? Keep asking questions. If you know your convo partner well, turn to questions about their family or hobbies. If it’s a new acquaintance, ask them if they’ve checked out a specific restaurant you loved, or what they do for fun in the area.

Understand how to wrap up. Nothing is more uncomfortable than not knowing how to escape a conversation when it has run its course. A simple, “well it was great chatting with you,” should suffice, and is a lot less uncomfortable than floundering in social agony.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Most of us spend a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing meals and cleaning up. In many cases, we spend so much time in our familiar kitchen space that we dont pay much attention to what it looks like.

But the trends, they are a-changin’. Todays kitchens are sleek and practical. Design experts list seven kitchen looks that are quickly going out of style:

Short backsplashes. Backsplashes that reach up to six to eight inches above the countertop are sorely outdated. If youre up for a remodel, take the backsplash all the way up to the upper cabinets to make your kitchen feel bigger and cleaner.

Distressed wood cabinets. Once the darling of country-style kitchens, the clunky distressed wood of yesteryear is giving way to natural wood or white finishes.

Over the stove microwaves. When microwaves came into fashion, homeowners put them over the stove to save counter space. But todays families want necessities accessible for the entire family. Some are redesigning cabinets to move the microwave into an under-counter nook where smaller family members can reach it.

Top-of-cabinet dcor. Gone are the days of filling the space between the tops of your cabinets and the ceiling with dusty accessories like artificial flowers or greenery. Removing them from above the cabinets gives the room a more open feel.

Hanging pots and pans. Once, every kitchen shown in a magazine had a big, beautiful, hanging rack filled with copper or stainless-steel pots and pans. Kitchen designers today are making room for them in drawers or cabinet, trading in that outdated country look for cleaner, minimalist lines.

Anything but stainless steel. Over the years, kitchen appliances have gone from white to copper to avocado green and back again. But the desired look today is the cool, sleek look of stainless steel.

Kitchen desks. At one point in time, every upscale kitchen featured desk space"a little nook where you could scan the mail, pay bills, etc. But those mess-collectors are now yesterday’s news. Moving desk chores to another room can give your kitchen extra space and alternative storage options.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Do you need to put down 20 percent to buy a house?

Not necessarily. In fact, most buyers make lower down payments.

But putting down 20 percent or more does come with major perks.

A mortgage lender would consider you more financially stable and less risky.

That means you wouldnt need to pay for private mortgage insurance.

Youd receive lower interest rates, too, which could save you thousands of dollars over your loan period.

With a larger down payment, youd also likely stand out among your competition if a seller has multiple offers.

A 20 percent down payment isnt necessary, but if you can afford it, consider these upsides.

Published with permission from RISMedia.