College

College students rarely want to spend money on anything, besides food. If it’s not $5, it can be hard to catch their attention. However, there are necessities that a little money needs to be dropped on every once in a while, like new clothing or dishes (instead of using the same paper bowl, maybe?). And usually, this list does not include a new mattress. After all, someone who can sleep on their friend’s couch doesn’t really invest much thought into the quality of their sleep. However, here is why college students should invest in a new mattress.

Mattresses can make college easier.

1. Cost-effective over time

It might seem like most of your paycheck at the time, but buying a new mattress frees up later incomes for something else. If you spend fifty dollars on a mattress, you will be buying a new fifty-dollar mattress before the year is up and so on and so forth. Before long, you are spending more on eight different mattresses than one that will last the same amount of time.

2. Your parents will be pleased

Your parents are worrying about your state of living. In college, it can get particularly bad – like living in a house of boxes bad. It’s true that technically you are an adult, but your parents will still worry about the decisions you are making in college. To call them up and say “I bought a mattress today” is possibly one of the most adult things you could do. Better even than buying a different piece of furniture, like a recliner.

College

Buying a new mattress is a necessary expenditure.

3. Your health

College is stressful. 80 percent of college students reported they frequently or sometimes experience daily stress, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Additionally, a study from Brown University found that 73 percent of students were found to have sleep problems. Having poor sleep and a large amount of stress can be a deadly combination and lead to health complications later on in life, including a more irritable mood in general. College students sleep bad enough as it is, there’s no reason to further that problem by not having a comfortable sleep when you do have time.

College is a time of poor eating, stress and just being poor in general, but there’s no reason for your sleep to suffer. Having a better night’s sleep will help you tackle the daily stresses like a professional and make even a little part of your life better. Think of buying a new mattress as an investment into your future. Stop by a Baumgartner’s for great deals on a necessary item.

College

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Organized

As an adult, life is hectic. There are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be done. This is especially true for cleaning – except for the weekends, who has time? No one really wants to spend his or her few days off work doing more work, but for no pay. However, adding just a few items in your life to help keep organized can help some tasks go quicker and leave time for more enjoyable tasks. Luckily, Baumgartner’s Furniture carries many organizational items that can keep a home orderly and efficient.

1. Bookshelf

Bookshelves usually are delegated as a one-use item – they are for keeping your books organized. However, bookshelves can be utilized in many ways. For instance, using one shelf just for the TV remotes can save those minutes of panic and searching under the cushions just to turn the volume down. Additionally, a decorative bowl could be placed on one of the shelves to keep keys in, rather than finding them under your bed as you are late for work one morning. Check out Baumgartner’s selection of bookshelves here.

A bookshelf from Baumgartner’s

2. Media consoles

Media consoles are great for protecting some of your most expensive items, like TVs or gaming consoles. Most people keep DVDs on the shelves that usually come with consoles, a great way to display your home movie library and keep the titles organized. The glass doors and display place, however, make the shelves a perfect home for collectibles, which keep them from cluttering up the rest of the room. Consoles can also hide unsightly (and dangerous) wires from just lying on the floor. Check out Baumgartner’s selection of media consoles here.

Organized

3. Hutches

Hutches are a dream for keeping organized. Not only do they have shelves, but they have many drawers as well. Hutches can be particularly helpful for keeping office supplies separated – there is no reason for your notepads and pencils to reside in the same space. Hutches are another great place to keep your keys for those rushed mornings. There is no need to panic when they are always in the upper left drawer. Hutches can also be great for keeping creative ideas organized, allowing for a more expansive, free-flowing process. Check out Baumgartner’s selection of hutches here.

A hutch from Baumgartner’s.

Utilizing furniture specifically created for being organized can only be to your advantage. If you recognize that there is some need for organization in your life but not sure what could help, a Baumgartner’s associate can help you in finding the piece of furniture that will make your life easier and leave you more time to the things or people you love.

Organized

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Color

Humans can roughly distinguish about 10 million different colors. With so many combinations, it can be easy to mess up putting colors in your home and suddenly, it does not look as good as that one bedroom on Pinterest that had a similar scheme. Knowing how to work color and what looks good and what doesn’t can be crucial in taking your house from regular home to an envied design. Here are easy ways to use a color wheel to design your home.

The color wheel.

Work the color wheel

The color wheel can be your best friend when it comes to deciding a color theme for any design because the color wheel is the law for what works well in a scheme and what does not.

Complementary colors are colors that are across from each other on the wheel. For instance, beiges, browns, and blues work together because they are complementary. Similarly, pink and green also work well together, and can look good when used in muted tones.

Color

Monochromatic colors are essentially shades of one color. This can be especially helpful for accents. As an example, one wall could be red and the curtains, pillows and rug would be different shades of red so as to not look harsh against the other relatively neutral environment. Using different shades can keep a room from getting boring, lessen a harsh color, or make a calm shade like blue even more relaxing.

Analogous colors are colors that are on similar sides of the wheel and usually fall into the warm or cold categories. Warm shades include orange, yellow, red, whereas cold colors are purple, blue, or green. Using analogous colors is an easy way to tie a room’s design together. It is also a way to keep the room from looking too rigid in its design – for instance, if the accent pillows were blue and the paintings on the wall are purple, the theme is clear without everything needing to be the same shade.

A green couch could make a colorful statement.

Whether you want to have one color and a mostly neutral design or many options, using the wheel can be a helpful tool in deciding the swatches you could use. Once you decide on a scheme, stop by a Baumgartner’s location and one of our knowledgeable sales associates can help you find the perfect accents or furniture to match the vision in your head.

Color

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Flooring

People can often take for granted the items they use everyday — from sinks, to mattresses, to even chairs. One part of your home is used every day, the moment you step into your home and that part is your floor. It might be time to look at your floor and consider if it should be redone or touched up. Here are four things to consider when looking for new flooring for your home.

1. Cost

Cost is always the primary factor to consider when redoing or changing anything in your home — find something that you love that also fits your budget. Before purchasing flooring, research different materials and the costs of those materials. A Baumgartner Associate can help you find flooring options within your budget and options to get the look you are imagining.

Soften a hardwood floor with a carpet.

2. Look

Not only is the overall look based on the material, it can be based on the color of that material. Carpet can make a room seem more comfortable, while hardwood can make a room more modern. Flooring is what the rest of the room is based off of. If the flooring seems off, the rest of the room seems off. Additionally, darker colors make a room seem smaller, which can be good if you’re going for a more comfortable or relaxing setting, while lighter colors can make a room seem more open.

3. Comfort

Flooring

Harder floors are great for the overall look of a house, but how comfortable it is is something that should be considered when purchasing flooring. Hardwood flooring can be balanced out with carpets and furniture while making a room look classier and more chic. Carpets make everything seem warmer and comfortable, but can be harder to clean if anything were to spill.

Hardwood can be great for high mess areas like the kitchen.

4. Extenuating circumstances

Again, floors are used every single day by every member of the household. If floors are harder, they could get scratched by animals or children could get hurt if they were to fall. Moving furniture can also scratch the flooring. Carpet can get indents from furniture which is hard to recover and again, can be harder to clean and get dog hair off of.

When considering new flooring, consider all these factors and what will fit your specific needs. Stop by a Baumgartner’s location and one of our knowledgeable sales associates can help you find the perfect flooring to fit your needs.

Flooring

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