If you own a home, you have cracks in your walls.  Cracks are a part of life.  No matter how well we take care of our homes, we can’t prevent  the foundation from settling and cracks developing.  In an ideal world we would be able to patch up these cracks.

But what if you can’t?  With unemployment being so high, what if you don’t have the money to fix the cracks in your walls?  Or what if your mother in law is on her way over, and the last thing you want to hear is about needing to repair your walls?

Then these TakeBreak Wall Decals may be your solution.

By using stickers, you can turn your unsightly cracks into work of art.  Well that’s the idea anyway.  Does it work?  You’ll have to be the judge of that for yourself!

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Today’s Neat Features post seems to come just in the nick of time for me.  Just last week I came across two large boxes of 3.5 floppy discs.  (Because back in my day when we were walking up hill both ways to school, we took our homework on floppy discs, and we liked it that way!)  Since I found those floppy discs, I’ve been wondering what I should do with them.  Sure I can’t use them anymore.  I’m not even sure I have a working floppy drive.  But it still seems like a shame to throw them away (yes I realize they are useless).

Fortunately some clever people over at Instructables may have solved my problem.  They’ve created a tutorial on how to reuse old floppies and turn them into pencil holders.

One of the things we talk about here on Neat Features is that Neat Features can be very complex or very simple.  It’s not the size or expense that matters.  It’s whether something has personality and attitude.  Does it make you want to live there.  Those are the three characteristics that make up a neat feature.

And you don’t get much smaller than floppy discs.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.  Image courtesy Liefehacker Tip Testers photo pool by user vokabre

It’s hard to believe sometimes.  But our lifestyles are radically different then they were even five years ago.  Just a mere five years ago most people had only a single computer in their home.  Maybe, if they had saved up, they had a laptop instead of a desktop.  Now, it’s not uncommon for people to have several laptops, a media server, a desktop computer for video games, a few iPod’s along with a couple of smart phones.

To further add to this change, Apple has spawned an entirely new type of computing device: the iPad.

While this has been great for our lifestyles and leisure, it’s been a challenge to power all of these devices.  If you look at an old house it’s not uncommon to find only one or two electrical sockets in any given room.  Why?  Because 50 years ago (and certainly a hundred years ago) you only had to worry about a few electrical devices.  Maybe a few lights or a TV and phone.  But these days, all of our entertainment devices need plugged in.

That’s where the U-socket comes in to play.  If you like gadgets, or have someone in your family who does, you know that there’s always a constant search for wall plugs.  No matter how many USB ports your computer has, it’s either not enough or inconveniently located.

So what if instead of walking to a bed room or office to charge your iPhone you walk over to a wall socket and plug it in just like you would any other device.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

I live in the city.  It’s where I want to live.  In fact the closer I live to downtown Cincinnati the happier I am.  There’s something about urban life that appeals to me.  But at the same time, I sometimes miss living in the country.  Usually it’s in the spring or fall, when the weather is changing and it’s not that brutal combination of 90 degrees and 90% humidity!

I miss being able to sit outside in a yard and enjoy a nice day.  But there’s more to living in a house than just having a yard.  Homes remind us of where we’ve been and where we’re going.  That’s part of the appeal.  For me country living also reminds me of my childhood.  I loved reading stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings.  There’s always been something magical about forests and gardens.  Well at least when you’re outside of the city limits.

That’s why when I see a house surrounded by trees and forests, I’m drawn in.  It’s as if you walk into another time.  Things feel easier, simpler, and less hectic.  I can almost see C.S. Lewis sitting on the steps weaving a tale of children exploring a magical land.

City living is awesome.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  But there are times when a magical fairy tale house like this really appeals to me.  What about you?  Are you ready for a fairy tale adventure?  Or are you happy in the concrete jungle?

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

Normally Neat Features focuses on the architecture of rooms or some Do it Yourself project that adds a bit of personality to your house.  Rarely do we talk about furniture.  And of course by “rarely” I mean “never.”  But I can’t help myself.  I feel like we’re living in the future when I look at the Easy Breeze Bed. 

It’s a bed that cools you off when you sleep. 

Is this the future or what?!

Apparently the bed draws cooler air from under /around your bed (one hopes without the dust bunnies) and once “purified” sends a gentle breeze over you while you sleep.  They claim that it will cut your AC bill by 60%.  And for a price tag of $4500 for the bed, it better!  I have to admit, the idea of being cool, but still getting an outside breeze from an open window does sound nice.

Now the cool thing here (ha ha) isn’t the climate control.  It’s the fact that the BED is doing the controlling!  What a crazy messed up world we live in!  I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bed that brings me breakfast.

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

A while back we showed you a room with a pretty elaborate jungle paint job.  Perfect for the 7 and under crowd.  But what about older kids.  (Or the older kid inside all of us?)  I don’t know about you, but as cool as the jungle was, I’m not sure I really want to go with the "Welcome to the Jungle" feel. 

Well here’s an office that was painted in argyle. 

Neat Features don’t have to be expensive, they don’t have to be complex, and you don’t always need an engineering degree to lay them out.  Sometimes you just need some paint and tape. 

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it.

I like to work.  In fact, I work a lot.  Sometimes it’s work I get paid for, sometimes it’s work I just enjoy doing for a hobby, and other times it’s work I do on a volunteer basis.  The bottom line is, I always have something going on.  And I like it that way.

But being so busy has its own challenges.  Especially when I head home.  Where do I work?  How do I keep things organized?  How do I keep track of what I am supposed to be doing?  Sure it can be nice to have a home office.  But if you’re there, you know there are distractions – TV, cleaning, and the like.  Plus if you have kids, you can’t always guarantee they are going to stay out of your office.  Do you really want your 5 year old to “improve” your newest report for work with Dora the Explorer stickers?

Because of all this, I’ve been thinking about having a separate room or office.  What got me started on this was seeing a shed on a house that was wired for electricity.  I figured a little bit of renovation and I’d have a perfect place to work.  So since then I’ve been looking for better solutions.  Which led me to this house with it’s small studio / room / office / shed.  (OK, so I don’t really know what to call it.)  But something like this would give me all the benefits of working from home (convenience, relaxed atmosphere, ability to concentrate) with a lot less of the “at home distractions.”

That’s what I would use this space for, how about you?

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it. 

We’ve shown a few Neat Features involving wine.  These are great solutions for storing your wine.  But how many of us only store wine?  Usually, we get around to drinking it.  So does that mean the Neat Features need to stop?

Of course not!

You can put those wine corks to good use, by creating a bath mat. 

How durable is this bathmat?  Well that’s a good question.  I’m not convinced it will be a long-lasting solution.  However I could be wrong.  You can follow Monica Ewing’s (Caftynest.com) Twitter feed to find out.  She’s promised to test the bath mat for a few weeks.

Another potential problem is mold and mildew.  (Just remember to seal the bath mat and keep an eye on it.)

Even if the mat doesn’t hold up long-term, it’s still a great solution for a guest bathroom.  This bath mat adds personality, has some attitude, and creates a guest bathroom that’s worth using.  (Which are the same three things that I said make something a neat feature.) 

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it. 

It’s funny how your perception changes.  I’ve seen pictures of painted walls before.  But until I wrote a few weeks ago about “what kid wouldn’t want to sleep and play in this room?” I never really paid attention.  But now, of course, I realize that they are everywhere!  It seems that I can’t help but turn around and see a kids room with playfully painted walls (say that three times fast!).

Take, for instance, this great image of a frog playing.

This particular image is in a Cape Cod house.  Now Cape Cod’s tend to feel a little on the small side.  Add the fact that the room itself is only 12x10, and you have a recipe for claustrophobia.  But with the image, and the added sense of depth, it makes the room feel much larger. 

I’m starting to wonder if my parents didn’t hold out on me when I was a kid!

Do you have a Neat Feature of your own?  Consider submitting it, and we may post it. 

Power cords are the scourge of modern living.  But they are a necessary evil.  We need electricity for our computers, our TV’s, our appliances, and a thousand other things.  And if you’re anything like me, it seems like every time I go to plug something in, there is never a convenient wall socket.  So we can't completely eliminate power cords or we'll be forever reaching behind the couch to plug things in.  So what do we do?  Well the way I see it we have three choices when it comes to cords.

1.  The Man Behind the Curtain – We simply declare “there are no cords here, please ignore them.”  Sure you know they are laying out in the open, your guests know they are laying out in the open.  But we all just agree to ignore them.  Hey it worked for the Wizard of Oz!

2.  Twist & Shout – Here we break out twist ties, measured cables, and cable management devices.  We just work very hard to organize and maintain our cables. 

3.  Get Creative – While this approach isn’t for everyone, being creative with our cabling can blend the first two strategies.  By making the wiring part of your decoration, it can become a Neat Feature all by itself!

Now personally, I don’t want a lot of little birds hanging out on my walls.  But I have to admit, it’s a lot better than having a power cord laying on the floor!  Because let's face it, when you tell people not to look behind the curtain... that's the first place they look.