OK, so maybe with the stock market in the toilet and your 401k plan not looking so hot as of late, it might not be the best time to take on challenging remodeling projects for your home. But even as you tighten your wallet, sometimes you just gotta get your decorating fix on. And the best fix is something that actually fixes something, like a sky-high heating bill.

If you're looking to help make your home more energy-efficient and cut down on that dreaded heating bill, you should think about swapping out your current window treatment for cellular shades, which insulate against heat loss at the window. Cellular shades are an easy way to update the look of a room while earning a payback in reduced energy costs all year long as they also help to keep rooms cooler from the incoming summer sun.

Cellular shades were introduced more than 25 years ago, but with mounting concerns of rising energy prices, more and more homeowners have gotten hip to these shades. The vast collection of choices has also helped to boost their popularity. Cellular shades are offered in myriad colors and even patterns. Blinds To Go, which has 107 stores and an online store at Blindstogo.com has a new collection that is directly color matched to the best-selling Benjamin Moore paint trim colors to make decorating really easy.

While the current economy might be keeping you from knocking down those walls and building the master bathroom you've always wanted, small upgrades around the home might just be the remedy to help sooth that decorating itch.

Want to learn more about creating an energy-efficient home? Check out HomeFinder.com's Green Home Guide.

The U.S. Economy today has impacted every homeowner, as well as every business connected to the U.S. housing industry. If you're considering a home improvement project this year, you may want to be sure that the general and subcontractors you are considering will be financially viable enough to complete your project and pay their people. You also want to assure yourself they complete their work in a professional and timely fashion.

Virtually every homeowner can share stories or know at least one person who has experienced poor quality craftsmanship or long delays in getting home construction projects completed. I've even seen cases where the contractors went out of business or simply left town, leaving the frustrated homeowner holding the bag.

Don't get scammed
A dozen or so years ago, my sister-in-law and her family encountered trouble with a contractor they hired to build an additional room in their home. The work began professionally, with workmen completing demolition work and framing on schedule. My brother-in-law was referred to the general contractor, and even knew him socially.

But the builder's financial troubles soon became apparent. Rough interior work was left untouched for weeks at a time. Then, different workers would do some of the inside work piecemeal. Subcontractors would complain that they hadn't been paid.

The general contractor wouldn't return phone calls and as time passed, his phone was disconnected and his storefront business closed. Havoc ensued in the family, and they eventually got new workers and family to help them complete the job. But flaws in the previous work remain to this day, such as improperly leveled floors and settling cracks.

Attempting to find and sue the original general contractor went nowhere. Their home improvement budget was blown, and unpaid sub-contractors filed mechanic's liens for payments, which were subsequently settled, with the liens removed. But this took several years and created considerable headaches! So how do you protect yourself when hiring home contractors?

I recently came across a really great article in the Chicago Sun-Times which gave tips on how to avoid shady contractors.

Associated Press reporter, Melissa Kossler Dutton, interviewed Angie Hicks, who founded Angie's List, an Indianapolis IN, membership-fee-based online directory of home repair and improvement contractors of various stripes, as well as Shari Purves-Reiter of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, Kip Morse, Regional Governor for Better Business Bureaus, and President of the Central Ohio Better Business Bureaus.

Here are a few of my favorite tips from the AP article and a few suggestions of my own:

1. Check company credentials thoroughly, and ask for examples of previous work. Be wary if the contractor refuses to give you references, even if they are well known and advertised in your area. Be especially careful with those who have relocated their business locations frequently. My real estate team has had negative experience, with roofing contractors who offer "lifetime guarantees," but have a habit of moving around the Chicago area frequently, with slight changes to their company name in order to avoid living up to their warranties.

2. Get a complete list of all subcontractors the general contractor plans to hire. Contact them, and inquire how the general contractor's payment habits. Have the subs been paid in a timely fashion? In full? Have they had any disputes with the general? Again, if info is lacking you should be concerned. Very concerned!

3. If unsure about any company, check their credentials with the Better Business Bureau, or on Angie's List or a similar service. Call your local chamber of commerce and check with neighbors to see if they have any knowledge of poor performance by the contractor you are considering. Some verification companies and local government agencies, such as the Chicago Department of Consumer Affairs, may also help you check credit credentials of home contractors, and whether the firm has been sued by other homeowners.

4. Get a written contract, spelling out in detail specific work schedule and payment terms. Minimize your down payment. You should be concerned about contractors who require sizable down before work begins, and never make your final payment until ALL WORK is completed to your satisfaction. Written confirmation of a work schedule, perhaps building in a small contingency for unanticipated delays, may incentivize the company for finishing early, or penalize a company for delays in the project. Before signing any contract, review with your lawyer or professional adviser, if you are unsure.

5. Get lien waivers from the general contractor and all of the subcontractors after their portions of the work is completed. No waivers, no final payment! If possible, pay the subcontractors directly, rather than passing their payment through the general. This assures with certainty that the subs will indeed be paid. Avoid the potential for mechanic's liens against your home!

My real estate team also maintains our own Professionals Guide, which you can find on our Web site. It lists Chicago area companies previously used or personally checked out by our team members.

You can also contact us by phone or e-mail for a referral. We would rather you consider working with someone we have had successful experience with, and with strong reputations in business, versus a company you do not know. Please share this checklist with those you know and work with.

Visit DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO at BlogChicagoHomes.com.

It looks like there's a new eco-friendly label in town to help consumers when it comes to water conservation. WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helping to make it easier for Americans to save water and protect the environment.

The WaterSense logo is a green and blue water drop, and can be found on faucets, toilets, washing machines or any other appliance which uses water. Similar to the Energy Star label, using a WaterSense appliance or product can greatly reduce your monthly water bill and more importantly, it's a step toward helping to reduce your impact on the environment. The WaterSense label provides a reliable mark to help consumers identify products that save water and perform well. Unlike many other eco-labels, the WaterSense label is backed by third-party certification in order to ensure that every product that bears the label has met EPA's criteria for both water efficiency and performance. Any product that bears the WaterSense label has been independently tested to use about 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than conventional models.

Water shortage
The program is relatively new, so many consumers and professionals seem to still be unfamiliar with it. But as the green building movement grows more momentum, we need to look at the total green home package. While water conservation usually falls low on a homeowner's list when it comes to their green choices, it is just as important. As a growing number of regions across the country are faced with looming water shortages, municipalities and residents in those areas will need to find more efficient ways to conserve.

Many municipalities today have already begun discussing charging more for water usage. Currently, prices are kept low to ensure all residents have access to this vital source. But over the past few years due to heavy drought in certain regions of the country, some cities have begun setting limits for the amount of water used in a particular home, and charging at a higher rate once that limit has been reached.

This is the situation facing Atlanta's northern and western suburbs, where regional water wholesaler Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority increased rates by about 50 cents per thousand gallons in October. Atlanta communities had cut back water use significantly in response to a record drought in the region that started in 2007.

Water budget tool
In addition to identifying appliances that are water-efficient, the EPA has released a spreadsheet called the water budget tool to help builders and landscapers determine some factors to improve water usage in and around a home. What I like about the spreadsheet is that it is easy to use. What I don't like is that homeowners and possibly some professionals will not have access to the data needed for their local area. For example, to calculate your landscape water allowance (LWA) for a site, you need to know your grass reference evapotranspiration in inches per year. This means knowing how much water will evaporate through your grass in the course of the year. At this point, I think county extension agents may be flooded with calls asking for LWA data for their area.

Regardless of the complex calculations, you don't have to be a professional landscaper, home builder or inspector to surf the WaterSense Web site. The site provides a great deal of information for the average consumer, as well as items for kids and educators.

As green building initiatives take hold, water conservation will soon play a vital role in shaping the development and construction of modern homes. Even with the recent downturn in home sales, the demand for more eco-friendly homes is not going away anytime soon.

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, Professional Real Estate Inspector

What is space design? Space design is how we use and manipulate the space around us. The fields of architecture, interior design, land planning and green building all incorporate it. In large part, it requires the professional to truly consider all the possible and ever far-out ways the space will be used.

Space design goes beyond thinking of which way a door should open. It does not require large expanses of space, nor is it limited by small quantities of space. Rather, it's a matter of ultimate functionality. Beyond that, it isn't merely a literal process; it's also a matter of social and environmental sustainability.

Interior architecture
Imagine being able to move easily about the kitchen even when entertaining 20 guests. That's what award-winning architect Jonathan Parks of Sarasota, FL., achieved in one client's major renovation. He transformed the boxy, claustrophobic area, originally segmented by walls into an open, airy space that includes a wet bar, dining area, breakfast bar and prep area. The newly renovated kitchen area is a space people can easily move about, even when the cabinets, the oven or the fridge are open. How did Parks do it? He used forethought to incorporate flow, process and design. Not only did he use the boundaries of the space — the surrounding walls — he also emphasized the center space, which amplified the possibilities.

Knocking down walls, using an L-shaped bar, building in a small wine bar, and using pocket sliders between the patio and the kitchen helped manifest the concepts. The wife can remove hors d'oeuvres out of the oven comfortably and entertain guests in the kitchen, while her husband comes in and out of the kitchen as he's barbecuing on the patio. And the best part, no one gets in each others way.

Mixed-use communities
Smart growth, often associated with New Urbanism, is a growing policy trend in residential development and land planning. It's often manifested in mixed-use projects. In the book,'New Urbanism: Comprehensive Report & Best Practices Guide," Edward Gramlich, a former Federal Reserve governor, says that implementing smart growth strategies rather than permeating sprawl would save the U.S. $250 billion over the next 25 years. Those costs would be saved mostly by lower development and utility costs for developers and lower reduced land and road costs to the government.

This type of development is a throwback to land planning before the prominence of the automobile. Before the advent of suburbs and the era of popular pre-WWII, small businesses occupy the first floor while residents live on higher floors. Curbside parking and courtyard parking are usually available to expedite and encourage the buildings use by those who live and work there. By their very nature, mix-used developments are green-oriented. These types of developments encourage their inhabitants to shop where they live and promote pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Residents and business owners become more interconnected, creating a healthy work-live environment. Smart growth projects like these also engender generational diversity. According to James Falbo, a marketing manager for Florida-based Waterford Companies, research indicates that both young professionals and downsizing seniors want to live in these mix-used communities.

Say no to bad design
The architecture profession has evolved boundlessly in the last century. Space planners, interior designers and architects have learned how to reconceptualize the space they're working with and are more likely considering long-term effects and usability in their design. They consider a wide variety of uses rather than simple, pragmatic ones.

Take for example my apartment – apparently unchanged since its 1920s construction. A radiator located in my bathroom proves to be a laughable impediment. Its permanent location negates the ability to completely open the bathroom door. Furthermore, getting burned is an immanent risk. Beware of bending down too much at the sink or ZING! Ouch! That radiator has been known to leave interesting (but fortunately temporary) tattoos in rather private places!

Had a designer with a good sense of space design created this today, she might install a pocket door rather than a fully opening one. But then again, she would have prevented the problem forthright by installing a contemporary heating unit toward the ceiling.

View more blogs by Nichole Reber at Spacedesignjournal.com

The other day my co-worker and I got into a discussion about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). I'm a big fan of these energy-efficient bulbs, but she isn't. My co-worker said she had all her CFL bulbs replaced after her electrician told her they were hazardous and more susceptible to short circuiting and causing a house fire. The electrician's advice seemed a bit farfetched to me and sounded more like a green myth.

CFLs aren't fire bombs
Over the past few years, CFLs have been all the rage since eco-friendly living became mainstream. But these ice cream swirl-shaped bulbs have many people scratching their heads. In the United States, lighting accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the total energy use in an average home and costs $50 to $150 a year in energy bills, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. Compared to general service incandescent lamps that emit the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life, but they generally have a higher retail price.

CFLs are a type of fluorescent lighting, designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in the existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescent bulbs. In the U.S., a CFL can save more than $30 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime, compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2,000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. But be weary of cheaper CFLs, because the quality of lighting may lack the same kind of illumination as an incandescent and can burn out a lot faster.

According to National Geographic's Green Guide, CFLs are perfectly fire-safe to use in homes:

Although a melted plastic base near the coil of the bulb might lead you to believe the CFL is a fire hazard, it is just the opposite. In fact, the melted plastic and burn marks are a sign that the bulb was working just as it should.

If you look at the plastic base, or ballast, of the light bulb, you should see a symbol indicating that the ballast is UL certified, which means that the plastic on the exterior can safely function during bulb operation and at the end of the bulb's life. The fact that the plastic on your bulb's ballast melted and turned black is totally normal, says John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager at Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the company that evaluates plastics for, among other things, flammability characteristics. A CFL generates light from an electric current that runs through glass tubing filled with gases.

The electrified gases emit ultraviolet radiation, which then comes in contact with a phosphorous lining on the glass, thus creating light. Bulbs burn out when the ballast overheats and an electronic component, the Voltage Dependent Resister (VDR), opens up like a fuse in your home's fuse box, shutting off the circuit and generating heat and possibly a small amount of smoke. This might sound dangerous, but the VDR is a cut-off switch that prevents any hazards. The melted plastic you're seeing where the glass coil connects to the ballast is simply a sign that the heat is escaping as intended in the design of the bulb.

Handling CFLs
According to fellow blogger and home inspector Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, the chemical inside fluorescent bulbs does contain a small amount of mercury, so if the bulbs do break and you handle them, you need to wash your hands right away.

'I have read no studies which indicate that CFLs are more likely to short circuit or pose any other hazard,' says Schulte-Ladbeck.

Carefully cleaning up a broken CFL will help avoid spreading any powder, glass or mercury into the home. It's recommended that you should open the windows in the room where the bulb broke and allow it to air out for about 15 minutes. Never use a vacuum to clean up the broken bulb, and always wear rubber gloves if you have to handle the broken glass. Put the broken materials in a plastic bag, then double bag it and dispose of it. If there's no disposal or recycling places near you, you can throw it away in an outdoor trash bin.

As more energy-efficient and eco-friendly products become integrated into our homes, it's important to ask questions and do your own research on how to best handle these new gadgets.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.