Today’s carpet offers a wide variety of choices in style, fiber composition and color. Gone are the days of having to select only conventional loop pile, a carpet style consisting of yarn in uncut loops. New technology can produce multilevel loop and cut-loop patterns allowing diamond, bow, pin dot or fleur-de-lis designs that “pop out” in sculptured effects.

One of America’s top patio enclosure manufacturers recently reports the top five ways consumers use their sunroom.

“While the most popular reason people build sunrooms is for relaxation, we are noticing a shift in how homeowners are using their sunrooms,” says Ken Sekley, Chairman of Patio Enclosures, Inc. “Owners are making their homes more than just a place to live, they are changing their houses into gyms, spas and entertainment areas.”

It takes a lot of work to make a house a home and a general contractor can play a large role in that transition. A&J Premier Construction, a licensed general contractor based out of Peachtree City, provides a wide scope of work, doing everything from concrete repair and installation to basement finishes, room additions, roofing, carpentry work, remodeling and just about any home improvement project.

Imagine this happening to you: one Saturday morning, you head out to your garage, ready to take your kids to their sports games. But the garage door doesn’t open. The spring system has broken and your car is stuck inside.

In a market already crowded with landscape businesses, what can one company do to stand out? For Robinson Landscapes, Inc., standing out from the crowd means offering the best in personalized customer service.

Due to drought conditions across Georgia, the Director of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has declared a level two drought response for the entire state. The declaration requires that Georgians immediately follow a more stringent outdoor water use schedule.

The long awaited day has arrived. Georgia Backyard in Fayetteville has just received a full compliment of Sundance Spas. Sundance Spas are known world-wide as the superior choice for outdoor relaxation.

When a business can succeed for 16-plus years, watching the county grow and expand around them while still remaining current and competitive, you know they must be doing something right. At South Atlanta Leisure, an outdoor furniture business located in Fayetteville, they are doing it right. Now they are expanding, almost doubling the size of the store with a new outdoor area and new products including grills and outdoor kitchens.

The Fayette County Master Gardeners are sponsoring their second annual Garden Tour featuring gardens in Fayetteville on Saturday, April 21 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (rain or shine). Six diverse gardens will be on display.

For 30 years, Nature’s Landscape Services has kept Fayette County landscapes growing and looking beautiful. Now the company is doing its own growing, recently announcing the acquisition of one of the most respected lawn care businesses in the Southern Arc, Brian Arnold and Company.

Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John W. Oxendine wants to remind Georgians that they must change their clocks to daylight saving time earlier this year – and they should also change the batteries in their smoke alarms at the same time.

Georgia Backyard, Atlanta’s award winning outdoor furniture retailer, recently opened a 20,000 square foot super store in Fayetteville, GA., located across from the Fayette Pavilion at the intersection of Promenade Pkwy and GA 85.

The beautiful Hamilton Rhododendron Garden that lie sprawled on the shore of Lake Chatuge on the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds will soon be in full spring bloom. The garden, which boasts more than 400 varieties and 3,000 plants, is in full bloom from early April to late May. The Hamilton Rhododendron Garden is open daily from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. There is no admission charge, but a donation of $3 is requested.

Spring is around the corner, and for recreational gardeners everywhere this means that it’s time to begin preparing for this year’s garden-be it a few well-planned pots, an expansive landscape, or beds for fruit and vegetables. The 2007 Old Farmer’s Almanac All-Seasons Garden Guide is here to help! This must-have gardening resource is now available for just $3.99 wherever books and magazines are sold throughout the United States and Canada.

Keeping on top of routine maintenance or other projects can be a daunting task. But, Angie’s List can help. Drawing on the expertise of Angie’s List members and the contractors and companies they’ve put on the list, Angie has put together a March Checklist to help you get it all done this month.

It used to be that you had to be rich and famous to get a personal theater in your own home. Tours of celebrity houses always showcased these rooms with giant televisions, comfortable furniture and great entertainment value. But these days, more and more people are building or converting rooms in their own homes to create home theaters for their family and friends to enjoy.

Don and Debbie Martin moved to Peachtree City from Michigan in 2001. The couple started their own business soon after their move, an after market home improvement consulting firm, and that little business, which operated out of an office in their home, became DeMart Sales, Inc. in 2005. DeMart Sales, Inc. includes Don’s Fence and Door, the trade name for the fence and door part of the business, and DeMart Exteriors, the window and vinyl siding part of the business. In the almost two years since incorporating, the Martins have created a business they are extremely proud of.

Fayette County citizens will be pleased to learn that the Fayette County Master Gardeners provide valuable volunteer services in several areas. The first important service is planting, maintaining and harvesting “Plant-A-Row for the Hungry,” a vegetable garden on county property that provides fresh produce for charity organizations such as Senior Citizens Center, Promise Place, Fayette Youth Protection Home, and Fayette Samaritans.

Robinson Landscapes is participating in “GreenCare for Troops” in Coweta and Fayette Counties. “GreenCare for Troops” is a nationwide outreach program initiated by Project EverGreen that connects participating local lawn and landscape firms with families of the men and women away from home serving our country in the armed forces.

Beauty may be more than skin deep when it comes to people, but the exterior of a home is important and no one knows this better than the staff of Complete Exterior Protection, LLC.

What is the one thing in your house that everything else depends on? It’s your flooring. But often the floors get taken for granted. Every day, we walk over them, drag things across them, place loads of heavy furniture on them.

As temperatures drop outdoors and people take steps to warm their homes, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) urges the public to be mindful of the risks associated with home heating which is second only to cooking when it comes to causes of home fires. Along with the colder temperatures that accompany winter, there is an elevated risk of dying from fire during this season with December, January and February generally being the deadliest months for fires.

Ten years ago, the average homeowner in Fayette County would have never considered building a deck out of anything other than wood. Today, alternative decking materials represent close to half of Donnie Miller’s deck-building business. The growing trend that started on the coast has now made its way to the heart of the country.

By Rebecca Kilby
Special to The Citizen

It is a miracle we own a single stick of furniture.

It is amazing that we have painted even one wall in our home.

The Georgia Forestry Commission has made it easier to get permission for outdoor burning activities with its toll free line, 1-877-OK2-BURN. With one call, homeowners can automatically find out if conditions are appropriate for burning fires measuring less than 6’ x 6’. The caller’s zip code, telephone number, and the call’s date and time stamp serve as a burn permit for both the caller and the GFC.

Imagine multicolored leaves crunching beneath your Timberlands and gooey s’mores sticking to your chin. Few things say “fall” as much as a well deserved getaway, complete with energizing hikes and cozy campfires. To help leaf peepers plan their autumn escapes, Georgia’s State Park System has developed the online “Leaf Watch 2006” that tracks fall color as it moves across the state.

By Kristine Loughman
kloughman@thecitizen.com

Georgia Borders is a concrete landscape edging company specializing in containing, contouring and creating a beautiful new look for your lawn. Concrete curbing is an easy and long-lasting alternative to tradition flower bed edging. Unlike wood that can rot or individual bricks that can shift or come loose over time, concrete edging does not require maintenance and can last for many years.

Ten free trees will be given to each person from Georgia who joins The National Arbor Day Foundation during September 2006. The free trees are part of the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

So you think need some color in your life.
Your walls are still that builder paint color or you just need to update.

By Rebecca Kilby
Special to The Citizen

Sometimes in the middle of home renovations you just can’t take it anymore – the mess, the constant work, and the setbacks.