September 4, 2009

Tips for Painting Your Ceiling

The ceiling is the forgotten "fifth wall" in many rooms.  Adding color to your ceiling can produce dramatic effects.  Here are some helpful tips for replacing that old dull white ceiling with something spectacular:

• For high ceilings, select a color that is a shade or two darker than the wall colors.
• For low ceilings, select a color that is a shade or two lighter than the wall colors.
• Lighter colors and cool colors will make your room seem larger.
• Darker colors and warm colors will make your room seem smaller.
• Likewise, lighter or cooler colors will make trim and accents blend into the background. Darker and warmer colors will make these things stand-out.
• White or very light ceilings are usually best in rooms without much light. If you decide to use white, cool or warm whites can be used to achieve your desired effect.
• It can be difficult to paint heavily textured or “popcorn” ceilings. If this is your situation, we recommend sticking with white.

We recommend Benjamin Moore waterborne ceiling paint - available in the full Benjamin Moore color pallet.  Here are 3 of our favorite colors:*

*Over 3,000 Benjamin Moore colors are now available in new color sample pints.  Ask one of our Sales Associates for details.

August 4, 2009

Michelle Carlson's Favorite Back-2-School Organizational Items

The best time of year to go through the kids’ rooms is Fall when they go back to school.  Here are some of my favorite organizational items that you can find at Ace Alameda Station.

	Large zipper-style storage bags and totes.  These come in a variety of sizes.  They are transparent so you can see what you put inside.  You can also easily label the bags with a Sharpie.
	This stackable 35 quart latching storage box is perfect for toys, drawings or craft items.  I find that sticking with 1 or 2 sizes of these helps keeps closets well-organized.  The clear sides help you see what's inside.  Kids 5 and up can usually carry these boxes themselves.
	InterMetro shelving units can be used in closets or free-standing in the kids rooms to keep bins and toys well-organized.  These shelves are infinitely configurable and built-to-last from grade school through college and beyond.  You can always add shelves, hooks and other accessories as you kids grow and your needs change.
	"Shoe box" size bins are perfect for all sorts of things around your kids' rooms from model-building supplies to pens and pencils to Hot Wheels.  The kids enjoy using this size bin to sort their own things.
	A fast way to get the bedroom floors cleaned of little stuff is to have a canvas shoe organizer hanging from the back of the kids’ doors. These organizers have been great when I give them 5 minutes to pick up their floor so I can vacuum.

 I hope you find some of these items useful in your quest for back-2-school organization.

- Michelle Carlson, co-owner of Ace Hardware - Alameda Station

June 1, 2009

Miller Moths Cropping-Up in Denver

Here's a quick trick for catching Miller Moths from http://www.myaceonline.com:  Fill a bucket with water, add Dawn dish soap, and place a lamp or light above it.  The moths fly into the light at night and fall into the reflection.  Bingo, they're caught.

May 24, 2009

April 22, 2009

- LEHR propane powered trimmer: $199 (Ace SKU, 7204779)

- American Push lawn mower: $109 (Ace SKU 70382)

- Revive soil conditioner (allows you to use less water on your lawn): on sale at Ace Hardware stores this weekend for $17.99. Regularly $25.99 (Ace SKU, 7201791)

- Scotts EcoSense insecticide and fungicide $7.50 each (Ace SKUs 7206311 and 7206147)

- Easy Bloom Plant Sensor (sensor you put in your soil, then in your USB port and it tells you which plants are ideal for your growing conditions): $59.99

April 18, 2009

April 8, 2009

March 31, 2009