Tired, a little personally neglected and overwhelmed? No, that's not us all, as we struggle with the last minute preparations for Christmas - it's a description of the average spare room.

Around 54% of us have an 'unloved' room in our houses, according to recent research by B&Q, and most often that's the spare.

It's commonly a dumping ground and at the bottom of the list for decor attention, with the result that it ends up groaning with clutter and, style-wise, is way past its sell-by date.

Panic can set in with the impending influx of visitors, but there's still time for a revamp which can transform it into a welcoming space.

"For me, Christmas is all about family and friends coming together and guest bedrooms should always be welcoming, comfortable and cosy," says Jenny Blanc, designer and owner of Jenny Blanc Interiors.

"I often create a small seasonal display with berries, fir cones, dried oranges and holly to decorate the dressing table.

"This year I'll place decorative and scented candles around the room to create a festive glow and on the mantelpiece or window ledge, a small artificial tree, with reindeer, robins, and glass angels to bring a touch of Christmas to the room."

Be inspired by hotel room luxury, she suggests, and as well as choosing classic bedding, decorate the bed with beautiful, plump cushions, and soft cashmere or faux fur throws.

"In the wardrobe, I always make sure there are soft towelling robes, slippers, thick, fluffy towels and bath essences smelling of winter spices, such as pine, orange, bergamot and ginger."

This neglected nook can be saved, and making a few small changes to get it guest-ready could inspire you to lavish further TLC on it later and transform it into a sanctuary you'll love visiting.

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Don't spare the style

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Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Hospital expansion

LSUBMC CEO Kurt Scott points out features on a floor plan for an expanded emergency room department.

DAILY NEWS PHOTO/Lucy Parker

A temporary entrance is currently being constructed on the north side of LSU Bogalusa Medical Center, for use during an emergency room expansion project.

Posted: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 11:45 pm

$7.5 million expansion project under way at local hospital By Lucy Parker The Daily News The Daily News |

A $7.5 million project to expand the emergency room at LSU Bogalusa Medical Center has begun.

CEO Kurt Scott said work on the expansion, which began in November, will take approximately 18 months.

Its an exciting project for the hospital, he said. Its going to allow us to double the size of our emergency room and actually put a new front on the hospital.

The number of beds in the emergency room will increase from eight to 16 and waiting, treatment and clinical areas will be expanded. Scott said this will allow the hospital to provide emergency care for patients in a department that is more comfortable and efficient.

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$7.5 million expansion project under way at local hospital

News 13 - Tuesday 17th December, 2013

Roll Hall of Fame next year. The Rock Hall announced Tuesday that Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens also will be inducted April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their first release. Nirvana received a nomination in its first year of eligibility and next year the band will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut, ...

West Australian - Tuesday 17th December, 2013

Bangkok (AFP) - Thailand's opposition party said Tuesday it remained undecided over whether to boycott snap polls called by the government to mollify massive street protests. A boycott would likely plunge the kingdom deeper into turmoil, after weeks of street protests against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother Thaksin -- an ousted billionaire ex-premier who is despised by ...

Phuket Gazette - Tuesday 17th December, 2013

The warning follows the drowning of a 9-year-old nephew of a beach masseuse at Karon. There were no large waves and no red flags posted that day. Photo: Steven ...

Business Insurance - Tuesday 17th December, 2013

Developments and trends affecting buyers of specialty insurance lines, including D&O, E&O, employment practices liability, cyber risk, marine and transportation, and surplus ...

SINA - Tuesday 17th December, 2013

Former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (C) arrives at court in Bangkok on December 12, 2013 where he was indicted for murder in connection with a deadly military crackdown on mass opposition protests in Bangkok three years ...

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Russian man found dead in Pattaya condominium room

[Editors note: This story appears in the My Favorite Room section of the December 2013 issue of LCT magazine.]

Canaanwhich for this purpose refers to the historical town now divided into North Canaan and Falls Villageis a community with two dominant cultural traditions: WASP and Italian-American. The warm and inviting home of John Pozzi of Falls Village perfectly encapsulates both qualities, recalling the stalwart first families who settled the wilderness town in the 1730s and the equally intrepid Italian immigrants who left their homes and beloved families to find a new life in the United States a century later.

Mr. Pozzi, an educator who during his first retirement took a 90-day position as interim principal at Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village and stayed for 10 years, has now lived in the town for a quarter century, all of them in a cozy little cottage on Belden Street that once belonged to the prolific, pioneering Beldens. While the house has evolvedas all doover the nearly 250 years of its history, Mr. Pozzi has carefully maintained the historic quality of his home.

Here one finds the heavy wooden beams, now exposed, that form the strong bones of the house, still tight and square despite the centuries. Here, too, is the massive central chimney whose stones, once heated by fires that never went out, radiated warmth throughout its rooms. And here, is a modern additionthe compact but efficient kitchen that is the social center for this warm-hearted Italian family.

Mr. Pozzis love of cooking and entertaining explains his designation of his favorite room: the large communal room that was once central to the Colonial life of the Belden family and that today is the focus of family gatherings for the extended Pozzi clan.

My wife and I had six children, he said, and now I have 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. We have always been a close family and often have as many as 20 people here for holidays.

Mr. Pozzi is expecting his family to gather once again for Thanksgiving. He was seated recently at the head of the modest size dining room table, which was surrounded by six authentic-looking Windsor chair reproductions. Asked where he would put such a large gathering, he said a table in the living room folds neatly out of the way most of the time but extends amply when the holidays roll around. More family members eat at the table in the dining room on other side of the kitchen and, if there is overflow, They can sit in the chairs in the den, he said.

Italians are very food-oriented, he said, and social gatherings center around wonderful meals and sharing that. My grandparents had six kids and there were a lot of us. It was the preparing and sharing of good food that was most important.

Mr. Pozzis classic little saltbox home is one of five houses that will be included in the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Societys third annual Holiday Historic House Tour slated for Dec. 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a snow date of Dec. 8.

While the exact date of the houses construction is not certain, it was probably built by Charles Belden Jr. in 1778 or slightly later, when he married Lois Bosworth in 1784. Despite this relatively early date, Charles was already the third-generation of his family in the community. His grandfather, Silas Belding, bought land when the town was sold at auction in New London in 1737, and received the first share of land allotted by the proprietorsa parcel located near the Point of Rocks at the end of what is now known as Belden Street. Continued...

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Falls Village Home on December 7 House Tour

Regional Medical Center has improved its emergency room in recent months, speeding up procedures in preparation for a greater patient load caused by federal health reform, hospital officials say.

During the regular meeting of the RMC board, hospital CEO David McCormack said changes made to the emergency room in October have been successful by cutting down wait times for patients considerably. The changes have prepared the emergency room for increased patient volume from major health care expansion policies that begin in January as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, McCormack said.

"We have realigned the staff and the results have been significant," McCormack said. "Fortunately what we've done is working."

McCormack said that since October, emergency room visits for significant or life-threatening injuries have decreased to 2 hours from 3 hours, on average. In addition, the time for lesser emergency room visits, such as treatment for the flu, has dropped to an average of 20 minutes from 30 minutes, he said.

McCormack said that while hospital staff is always looking for ways to improve, the changes to the emergency room were needed to better handle impending patient increases through the ACA. On Jan. 1, insurance coverage begins for Alabamians who have bought health care through the state's federally managed insurance exchange. The exchanges were created through the ACA as a way to offer low-cost insurance mainly to people who previously could not afford it. The exchanges offer various plans through private insurers that will be federally subsidized by tax credits.

"When the ACA expansion begins, we wanted to be as ready and be as efficient as we possibly could," McCormack said.

McCormack said hospital staff researched the matter for months before developing a new process. Part of the change included hiring around 10 emergency medical technicians who all take turns managing the front desk at the emergency room. Previously, a secretary managed the desk, McCormack said.

"The EMTs can assess you quicker and decide if you need to go to the main emergency room or urgent care," McCormack said.

In addition, an urgent care room was established next to the main emergency room, which helps cut down on wait times, McCormack said. Previously, all emergency room visits, even if for minor injuries, were filtered into the same room, meaning there could be times when there was insufficient space for serious cases. Now, minor cases are sent to the urgent care room, freeing up more space and cutting wait time in the main emergency room for heart attack patients and other life-threatening cases.

Also during the meeting, the board learned part of RMC's fourth floor will soon be converted into a new Intensive Care Unit waiting room. Joe Weaver, COO for RMC, said the renovations will cost $150,000 and $175,000, will begin in January and probably take up to 90 days to complete. Weaver said an internal department was moved to another area of the hospital to make space for the planned 2,500-square-foot waiting room.

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Regional Medical Center improves emergency room wait times

Dormer Room Addition
This is an affordable room addition project if you happen to have a high sloping ceiling in your home. It #39;s called a dormer addition. Typically it is half th...

By: Chris Doering

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Dormer Room Addition - Video

WEST LAFAYETTE -

Purdue University will decrease overall room rates and for the second consecutive year reduce board rates.

Purdue's Board of Trustees on Saturday (Dec. 14) approved a 2.5 percent reduction in the predominant room and board rates for the 2014-15 academic year. The overall average rate reduction is 0.2 percent for housing, and prices for the most popular dining plans are being cut by 5 percent, marking the second straight year that board rates have decreased by 5 percent. Tuition will remain unchanged for 2013-14 as part of a two-year freeze announced last spring.

The board also approved new discounted rates for a 12-month room and board contract, as well as rates for Purdue's Calumet and Fort Wayne campuses.

"Our pledge to students and their families is to deliver a world-class college experience - from the classroom to campus life - and to keep a Purdue education as affordable as possible," Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. "By controlling and, when feasible, cutting rates, we seek to extend the clear academic and social benefits of living on campus to as many students as possible."

Students living in residence halls are required to carry one of four meal plans, ranging from $2,998 to $5,172, and starting next fall dining dollars can be used in all Housing and Food Services retail locations. Depending on the type of campus housing students select, the price per academic year for room only, minus a required meal plan, will range from $2,574 for a room with two beds in Cary Quadrangle to $9,500 for a single-bed unit in First Street Towers. There also are options at Purdue apartment complexes where no meal plan is required.

Additionally, another housing option will be available to students with the opening of the Third Street Suites next fall on the West Lafayette campus.

Purdue also will provide a room-rate discount of about $150 for students opting for a 12-month housing contract and staying in McCutcheon Hall to continue their studies during the summer months.

"While serving a diverse student population and maintaining affordability, we're also providing an incentive for students to stay on campus during the summer to work toward their degree requirements," said James Almond, senior vice president for business services and assistant treasurer.

Purdue's on-campus residence program houses more than 11,919 students, and all campus housing is voluntary. The system is financially self-supporting, and no state funds or general student fees are used for construction, maintenance or operations.

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Purdue trustees approve decreased room, board rates for 2014-15

KU news More LJWorld KU News Coverage

From a need to a concept to groundbreaking, and through the Byzantine world of state building regulations, the Kansas University architecture school is getting closer to its first-ever lecture room and commons area.

Dubbed the Forum, the extension to Marvin Hall, which houses the KU School of Architecture, Design and Planning, is now under construction. Doing the work is the schools Studio 804 team, a specialized architecture class that follows a project through the entire building process, from design to laying floorboards.

Built in 1908, Marvin has been without a lecture hall through its entire lifetime, which has meant students had to go across campus for large core classes.

Well aware of the need for a large seating space at the school, John Gaunt, KU dean of architecture, made some early drawings of what such an addition for Marvin might look like. I sort of hatched this little dream, and we are now about to realize it, Gaunt said.

Meanwhile, Studio 804 was gaining experience and credibility within the university, with three of its recent projects including higher education buildings at KU and Johnson County Community College, Gaunt said.

Once it designed the Marvin addition, Studio 804 began construction on the $2 million project earlier this fall. It began by demolishing the builders yard and prepping the excavation site for the foundation. After a delay while the team waited for state permits on construction applications, everything is in now place to start laying the foundation next week, said Dan Rockhill, a KU distinguished professor of architecture and instructor for the Studio 804 class. Once the foundation is laid, the team really hopes to hit our stride in January and start getting the physical building up, Rockill said.

In your typical construction project, the foundation would have gone in well before now. Usually you just blow and go to beat the weather, Rockhill said. But before excavating the foundation area, the Studio 804 team had to sift around with shovels looking for random infrastructural remnants: live pipes, broken pipes, electrical wires, former steam tunnels and more. Its just a minefield of problems, Rockhill said.

Marvin Hall has come a long way since it was first built in 1908. This year, Studio 804 students have designed an addition to the building: a lecture hall. Take a look at how the building has progressed into the present and renderings of what it may look like in the future.

The new addition will use a glass exterior meant to be contrasting but complementary to Marvin, Gaunt said. The Forums glass walls have another purpose beyond aesthetics. Two thick panes of glass will trap heat from sunlight during the winter to help warm the building, but will circulate the hot air out of the building during warmer months to help cool it. Inside, the lecture room will seat 120 people for classes and presentations. Connecting Marvin to the Forum will be a commons area that acts as a foyer to the lecture hall.

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New addition to KU's Marvin Hall will fill a 105-year-old need