As a performer with multi-generational appeal, 1970s pop star and 2009 Dancing With the Stars champion Donny Osmond needs no introduction. Earlier this year, however, the 56-year-old father of five (and grandfather of six), and Debbie, his wife of 36 years, partnered with decor manufacturers to launch Donny Osmond Home. Priced to compete with offerings from popular catalogs and flash sale websites, the furniture and accessories collection also includes rugs, wall art (including the 3D-patterned wall tilesshown in the photo above) and tabletop items in a wide range of contemporary styles. There are modern geometric rugs (from $250) and Belgian-style velveteen settees (from $600) as well as a nature-inspired gilt branch chandelier that retails for under $500 and a set of five industrial-style reclaimed-wood-and-steel nesting tables priced at $699. For a list of retailers,visit Donny Osmond Home.

We teleconferenced with Osmond, who will release his 60threcording, Soundtrack of My Life, in January 2015, and his wife for a chat about his new family business.

A lot of entertainers put their names on bedding or accessories. Youre selling everything from furniture and lamps to electric fans. What made you want to do this?

Donny:Youd think that being in show business, wed have a palatial home, but its more of a family-oriented casual, comfortable space. And thats what we want to offer people. Debbie really has a way of making a house feel like a home and now that were almost empty nesters, its something that we can do together for the rest of our lives. (Laughs) And Ive always loved my fans and now I am selling them.

Debbie: A lot of electric fans tend to be awful-looking, but we had a company called Deco Breezeshow us ones that looked really cool and dont have to be hidden in the corner of a room.

Is Donny Osmond handy around the house?

Debbie:I am going to be honest: He is not a great plumber, but he is my total lighting guy. He can wire a whole house. If you need an electrician, call Mr. Osmond.

Donny:I started by wiring recording studios for myself. And weve taught all our kids woodworking and painting.

How did you become interested in home decor?

Donny:When I was 14 or 15 and I was one of the big teenyboppers of the time, we lived in the San Fernando Valley and my room was a tiny cracker box. I was really into electronics, so I had a workbench and I put my bed on a motorized lift that would go up into the ceiling. Id push a button and the bed would come halfway down, just above the workbench. So I built myself a little chrome platform elevator that took me up to my bed. When I woke up in the morning, Id push another button and my closet would come out of the ceiling. It was my James Bond room. Everything was dark brown with shiny chrome; red, white and blue furniture because of the bicentennial, and purple shag carpeting. Then I married my wife and she changed my evil ways. And I still drive Debbie crazy because I rearrange the furniture just to change things up.

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5 Questions: Donny and Debbie Osmond unveil new home furnishings line

When you look around at many of the smart home systems coming to market,mostrequire what is called in the business tech world afork lift upgrade, meaningyou have to throw out your old hardware and replace it with new gear in orderto get theadvantages of new technology.

Takethe Nest Protect smoke alarm. Its a neat device that enables you to get alerts and to control it via a mobile device, but in order to do so you have to toss out the oldsmoke alarmin the process.

But now, some newer smart home products are coming to market that enable you to use what you have by transforming a dumb device to one thats smart.

Consider the Roost smart battery. Just announced a week ago, the Roost is a Wi-Fi enabled battery that turns any smoke alarm that takes a 9 volt battery into a smart smoke alarm. The battery, developed by a team that helped pioneer some of the earliest low-power Wi-Fi chips, can last for up to 5 years and costs $25 to $35 depending on how many batteriesyou buy.

Swapping out batteries too much work for you? Then try the Leeo smart night light, which sends you alerts when your old smoke or carbon monoxide alarm goes off.

The Roost Smart Battery

And whatabout that door lock? If youve been thinking about making it smart, new smart locks from the likes of August and Danalock fit over your existing lock mechanism and make it a Bluetooth enabled smart lock.

Dont want to throw out those LED light bulbs you bought for $20 a pop at Costco a year ago? Try the Emberlight, which makes a smart light socket that transforms existing lightbulbs into smart bulbs.

And so on.

You might ask why not just throw out the old gear and replace with the new? For one, its a bit wasteful. A million homes throwing out a whole households worth of smoke alarms results ina whole bunch of electronics heading to landfills.

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In Smart Home, Retrofit May Be The Next Big Thing

Nicor

Tips:

Open curtains during the day to allow sunlight to heat your home naturally, and close curtains at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows

Keep furniture, drapes, stuffed animals and other objects away from your heating sources

Caulk and weather-strip drafty doors and windows

Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months

Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors and ceilings

Install insulated gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls to prevent drafts

Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home

Check your attic If your insulation is just level with or below your floor joists (or you can easily see your joists), you should add more insulation.

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Your Money Matters: Energy Saving Tips

The government offers two different tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements.

The more-generous credit covers expensive and somewhat exotic equipment and has no dollar limit. So it can be a major tax-saver.

The smaller credit cannot exceed $500, and it expired at the end of 2013. But it will probably be resurrected for 2014 right after the election.

However, you cant claim either credit on this years return unless the improvements are up and running by year-end. Heres what you need to know to cash in.

It's a conundrum even in 2014: Who pays the dinner check on dates?

The bigger credit equals 30% of expenditures to buy and install qualifying energy-saving equipment for your home. As mentioned earlier, there is no dollar limit on this credit. So big qualifying expenditures can generate big credits. Unlike many tax breaks, there are no income limits on this one, so even billionaires are eligible. If your 2014 credit is so large that you cannot use it all up on this years return, you can carry the excess credit forward to 2015 and beyond.

Qualifying expenditures

The credit equals 30% of qualified expenditures (including costs for site preparation, assembly, installation, piping, and wiring) for the following gear.

You cannot claim the credit for equipment used to heat a swimming pool or hot tub (that would be too good to be true). Special rules apply to expenditures for residential co-ops and condominium buildings.

Make sure to buy certified gear

Continued here:
Tax Guy: Even billionaires would qualify for these energy-saving tax credits

Phyllis Nix said she returned to her Jupiter Farms home after picking up her grandson to find it engulfed in flames Wednesday night.

The house was in flames for 30 minutes -- destroying a lifetime of memories.

A firefighter on the scene told her the house was "gone" and that there was "nothing left" when she got there.

According to Nix, firefighters said the fire started with the electrical wiring in the walls.

"It's been hard knowing that everything in life that you held dear is gone," she said. "My daughter passed away last year and her urn and ashes were inside there."

Nix said fire crews scoured the property and found the urn.

Since the fire, Nix has received an outpouring of support from the community. Her and her three grandchildren are staying at a hotel for now. She said the family has received donations of food and clothing.

"I can only go forward," said Nix. "There's a great network of people who are coming together to help me."

Nix said rebuilding the home could take up to a year and will be costly.

Her boss set up a GoFundMe account for donations.

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Community rallies after fire burns family's home

home wiring safety

By: Mr. Bennet #39;s Channel

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home wiring safety - Video

For most of us, home is where the heart is! But, is your home fully protected and safe? Think again, it is probably not as safe as you think. People spend plenty of time and money on renovation to beautify their homes, but when it comes to their house wiring, they consciously compromise. The situation is grave and it needs your utmost attention. The health of your home directly impacts the safety of your family and property. So, using low quality electrical units into your homes is like breeding dangerous animals.

A healthy home is the abode of safety, security and happiness. If your home is unsafe, with possibilities of sparks, fires and short-circuits, then it is time to partner with us. Being the leading manufacturer of wires and cables, we at Polycab know that safety and security are the two fundamental values which enforce life. Hence, we have incorporated the same in our electrical house wiring solutions.

Powered with Tri Guard technology, Polycab's Stranded wires promise excellent savings, durability and safety. Curbing power leakage and preventing short-circuit issues, they are created to serve efficiently for longer periods. Designed by our experts and tested for quality, the electrical wires we produce saves 25% more energy than ordinary wires.

Enjoy peace of mind while living in a completely controlled environment, and live in the comfort and convenience of a safe home.

Remember, with Polycab, you not only save on money, but also remain safe. Save Karo, Safe Raho!

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Electrical House Wiring Solutions - Polycab

Photos courtesy of Wyckoff Police Department

Suspects videotaped at the scene of the most recent burglary in Wyckoff.

Wyckoff - In the wake of a fourth home burglary since Oct. 13, Police Chief Benjamin Fox issued an advisory Friday, Oct. 24, urging residents to be "the eyes and ears" of the community to assist law enforcement in preventing crime.

Fox said in a press release that two males in masks concealing their faces were captured on video walking to the front door of a home on Bridle Path at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, and kicking open the door.

Once inside, Fox reported, the alarm system and siren speakers as well as wiring were torn from the walls. The master bedroom, he said, was ransacked.

The homeowner, who returned two hours later, reported that jewelry had been taken.

Detective Sgt. Michael Musto, Sgt. Jack McEwan and Patrolman Mark Tagliareni investigated.

Three other homes were burglarized between Oct. 13 and Oct. 15.

"We are now approaching the holiday season when homes tend to be unoccupied more often and there are early hours of darkness - both of which lead to increased instances of burglaries," Fox said.

Residents should not feel they are immune because their homes are equipped with alarm systems and cameras.

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Fourth Wyckoff home burglarized in 10 days

Fly away home: This bird was an Etsy find.

THE HOME

A three-bedroom house set back from a main road in Queanbeyan, with a large converted factory out the back.

WHO LIVES HERE

Home sweet home: There is large painting by Queanbeyan artist Claire Primrose behind the sofa. Curtis double-glazed the windows. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Glass artists Matthew Curtis and Harriet Schwarzrock, who run a glass art studio in the backyard, and their two sons, Oscar, 14 and Hugo, 11, two large dogs, a cat and a pet snake.

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WHAT WE DID

We bought the property 11 years ago without seeing the whole thing, the place was far worse than anticipated one of the back rooms looked as though it had been a drug den.

Eclectic mix: Their house is filled with art, family clutter and interesting beachside finds. Photo: Rohan Thomson

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Home of glass artists Matthew Curtis and Harriet Schwarzrock

CTV Winnipeg Published Friday, October 24, 2014 7:15AM CST Last Updated Friday, October 24, 2014 7:16AM CST

If your house is forty to fifty years old, you might want to take a closer look at what's coming out of your electrical panel.

Winnipeg homeowner, Bev Masters, said shes had five fixtures melt on her over the past few years. Simple tasks like flicking a switch or pulling out a plug make her cringe.

Masters believes the problem is the aluminum wiring running through her home, so shes going to pay nearly $15,000 to switch it.

Masterss home is one of thousands in Winnipeg built in the fifties and sixties, when electricians chose aluminum wiring over copper to save money.

Fire investigator Ken Swan said he sees about two to three fires a year that can readily be identified as aluminum wire fires.

Swan said the material of the wire isnt the issue. Unmaintained points of connection and the use of unrated fixtures create what he calls cold flow.

"It tends to pull away from a tightened connection making a very loose, bad connection that is going to inherently arch and spark and create heat," said Swan.

Electrician Chuck Lewis said he's completely rewired four houses this year, some at the request of the insurance provider to eliminate risk.

"If that risk is aluminum wire, they take it away, now they've got a safe investment," said Lewis.

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Aluminum electrical wire in homes linked to fires