I thought I would share some of my pain with you.  Below is a collection of things in my house that I can’t stand.  Mind you I will probably have to live with them for a while before I can save up enough to replace them all, but nonetheless here are some things I’m looking to improve.

Our door handles and Door stops in the house definitely give the 80’s vibe.  I always love when my friends come over and tell me that their parents have the exact same handles… Unfortunately every door handle in the house matches, and I would like to keep it that way… so replacing 15-20 door handles in the house can get quite pricy.  Personally I like gadgets too much to have door handles high on my priority list.

Also I mentioned in a previous post about Switches and Plugs, the ones below don’t help with my “soup up my house” theme.

Next on the list would be light fixtures.  Angela and my mother went out for her birthday and picked up a few that I intend to put in this weekend (although I seem to recall saying this a few times…)

Once I put in some of the new light fixtures this weekend I’ll be sure to show them off.  Next on the list would be wall paper.  I stripped wallpaper for probably 2 weeks straight so far in 3 rooms of the house and I’ve left these other rooms (since they are un-used bedrooms).  As you can see they need to go.  The 2 below are in the same room, and the wall paper in the picture above is in a bathroom.  There are 2 other rooms that have wall paper as well that I’d like to change, but they are also on the low end of priorities.

Window Coverings… If they weren’t so expensive to buy new ones, these would have been first to go.  I’m tempted to pull them down, but then there would be nothing to give us any privacy. 

In the picture above, they were expensive coverings when they were purchased.  Angela and I are looking into the possibility of dying them a darker colour – possibly a project to look out for.

And here are some other anomalies:

Door bell… No it doesn’t make a chime, and it is hideous.  I’m still looking for the finger print door bell button that once you press will announce the person’s name.

What is that?  Good question…  It is on the ceiling in the middle of the “fancy room”.

This one is something everyone should pay attention to… My brother in law is a fire fighter and said fire alarms need to be replaced every 10 years.  Having an old faded fire alarm isn’t just an eye sore, but a safety hazard.

And last, but not least:  Carpets…  These carpets have seen better days, never mind the pink one in the “fancy room”…  It’s always nice to have a few speed bumps in the carpet as well…

Again all these things are $$$, so 1 thing at a time, but as you can see there will be exciting posts to come.  Out of all the pictures posted, what do you think is the worst?

Eric

Security cameras have always been for the Rich & Famous in the past, but now they are an easy DIY project that doesn’t have too much of a hefty bill.  I just found this site (www.networkcamerareviews.com) tonight that does reviews on IP based Video cameras.  There is a massive amount of information on this website, and if your interested in the idea I suggest you check it out. 

Trendnet TV-IP512WN

Some people might think that they don’t need security cameras, and I’d probably agree with most people on that.  Although they can provide you with some other benefits that you may have not been aware of.  For an example, if the doorbell rings, and your home alone on your computer, you can connect to your camera via a web browser and see who is there.  Even if your out, you can have your camera record video based on motion sensitivity and you can see who came by your house when you were out.  One of my co-workers had a bull-dog puppy and he has set his security camera up inside the house so that he can check it from work to see what his little puppy is up to.  Or maybe you just want to catch which neighbor is bringing their dog around to crap on your lawn (yes one of my co-workers bought one for this reason).

Some features on various cameras can include:

• Email you pictures of when motion is detected
• Record video when motion is detected onto a network share or computer
• FTP a picture when motion is detected (this is great as if you are getting robbed, this can send the picture to the internet so that if your computer is stolen you can still find what was on the camera)
• Record sound as well as video and even have speaker attachments.  This way you can hook a speaker up to your camera and talk through a microphone hooked up to your computer – this will drive your pets crazy
• Cameras that Pan/tilt and swivel, that you can control via your web browser (or even automatic target tracking so that it can follow a subject walking by - possibly creeping out your visitors)

 Now when I think of a wireless security camera I think it can provide a little more security on your house as people may be intimidated to rob a house with them.  On the other hand, maybe people will think you have something worth robbing… 

Wireless security camera’s aren’t the most secure.  They do have built-in security, but for some of those hackers out there, they could essentially hack into your camera to either disable them or see what they are seeing.  So I wouldn’t 100% rely on these cameras for full home security.

The camera in the picture at the beginning of this post is by TrendNet.  They have quite a few affordable cameras with some great features.  Also most cameras will come with TrendNet TV-IP512WN I listed above comes with software that can control up to 32 cameras – for the extra paranoid. 

I will personally be purchasing a couple of these, as I think they are a “Soup up my House Essential”.  This is definetly a wow factor to people who visit your house, nevermind the people you can show at work.

If you have any experience with any of these cameras please let me know.  I’m interested in the different software each brand comes with and how good they are. 

What do you think, good investment? or kinda creepy?