(NAPS)—Just like your wardrobe, your home can—and should—change with the seasons. Sabrina Soto, Target Style Expert for Home and HGTV Designer, offers a few simple ways to revitalize your home décor with the hottest seasonal trends and a quick lesson in updating your wall décor.

Splashes of Color

The fall color trends are vibrant and easy to incorporate—think turquoise, rust and chocolate brown. Soto suggests adding these effortless pops of color with bright accessories—vases, toss pillows and picture frames. To make an impact, use one color in the room at least three times.

Lucite Clear Style

Lucite is an incredibly versatile material often used in coffee tables and lamps. Soto suggests adding a colorful shade to the base for a touch of personal style. Target has a chic geometric Lucite lamp base for only $29.99, and mix-and-match shades starting at $12.99.

Lush Velvet

Comfortable cable-knit throws and heavier window treatments can give a room a more cozy look, says Soto. Velvet is on trend with its lush-looking sheen in a variety of colors including plum, rust and evergreen.

Warm Scents

To make a home feel even more cozy, Soto suggests candles with pumpkin, cinnamon or vanilla aromas. A centerpiece made of pumpkins or gourds atop autumn colored linens for your dining table creates a warm, welcoming setting.

Create a Collage

A really hot trend right now is wall collages created with framed artwork, which can be easily updated each season by switching out photos or art in the frames or incorporating mirrors alongside traditional artwork for a personal, yet designer appeal.

Soto offers this step-by-step guide to create a magazine-ready look:

1.When creating a wall collage, think of the entire collection as one piece of art. Cut a piece of butcher paper to the size of the overall collection. Tape it on the wall and make sure it looks just right.

2.Place the paper on the floor. Arrange the frames on top of the paper until the sizes and color scheme are balanced.

3.Trace each frame onto the paper. Mark an "X" where the hook should go.

4.Tape the paper onto the wall. When hammering make sure the hook (not the nail) hits the hanging system mark and is below the top of the frame.

5.Once the hooks are in place on the wall, pull off the paper and hang your wall décor.

For more affordable, fabulous finds and trend ideas, visit www.Target.comm.

(NAPSA)-Here's how to go green and turn your neighbors green with envy at the same time: vinyl siding. It has a strong reputation as an affordable, low-maintenance and long-lasting material that brings color and beauty to the exterior of a home. A recent study by the Vinyl Siding Institute, Inc., however, reveals that vinyl is also a very eco-friendly material that can help homeowners "green" their home.

Consider the ingredients that make up vinyl and work your way through the product's life cycle.

Vinyl is primarily made up of two simple materials: common salt-one of Earth's most common compounds--and natural gas. In the manufacturing process, scrap material can be reworked into the production process, resulting in virtually zero waste at the plant and alleviating the burden on landfills. Vinyl requires less than half the energy and fuel needed to manufacture brick and mortar, making it an extremely efficient, more sustainable process.

A high-recycled content can be incorporated into vinyl siding, which is one of the most coveted green product attributes. Products such as CertainTeed CedarBoards Double 6-inch insulated siding boast a 60 percent recycled content--the highest recycled content in the industry for this type of siding. Additionally, vinyl siding is lighter than other cladding materials, which means less fuel and few carbon emissions to transport.

Designed to withstand prolonged exposure to the elements, vinyl is built to last. In fact, many vinyl siding products are backed by lifetime warranties. New technologies that enhance color retention and impact resistance contribute to long-lasting curb appeal. Ultimately, the longer the siding stays on the house, the longer it will stay out of the landfill. However, when homeowners are ready to replace their siding, it can be recycled--yet another green benefit of using vinyl siding.

Few resources are needed to maintain vinyl other than soap and water. No painting, staining or caulking is required, which helps eliminate the release of harmful toxins into the environment. Also, vinyl is impervious to termites and resistant to stains and moisture.

For those homeowners who love the look of wood, there are new technologies that transform vinyl material into unbelievably realistic wood grain textures. And, with such innovations as CedarBoards insulated siding, homeowners can reduce their energy bills and their carbon footprint.

Given the wide range of eco-friendly attributes vinyl siding brings to a home, it's an excellent choice for homeowners looking to go green.

For more information or to find a contractor, visit certainteed.com.

(NAPSA)-If you're thinking about buying a home, now might be the right time. Mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, and housing prices have yet to rebound from their recent declines.

As those conditions aren't expected to last, smart homebuyers need to consider their options, especially if they are making low down payments.

There are two main options for first-time buyers and others putting less than 20 percent down: loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and loans insured by private mortgage insurance (PMI). Premiums are tax deductible, and the insurance may be cancelable when equity in the home reaches 20 percent. Both programs have changed in the past year, and more changes may be ahead.

While FHA pricing has often been more favorable compared to PMI, rates are going up.

Earlier this year, the up-front premium required on FHA loans jumped from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent of the base loan amount, adding $1,000 to a $200,000 mortgage. Now the FHA wants to raise its maximum mortgage insurance premium, a change that could take the monthly premium on a $200,000 mortgage from $92 to $125.

PMI offers many premium plan structures that now make pricing very competitive. In general, PMI pricing is more affordable than FHA's for borrowers putting down 10-15 percent and can match FHA on loans with 5 percent down.

The minimum required FHA down payment is 3.5 percent, but new credit guidelines require a credit score of 580 to qualify for the 3.5 percent program. Borrowers with less than a 580 credit score must put at least 10 percent down.

PMI mortgages with 5 percent down are available nationwide, with 3 percent down for some loans that meet Affordable Housing Guidelines.

PMI can also offer extra benefits at no extra cost to the borrower. Genworth Financial, for example, purchases job loss protection that helps make a borrower's mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) in the event of involuntary unemployment up to $2,000 a month for up to six months during the benefit period, with a maximum of three monthly payments per job loss occurrence.

Genworth also provides free homeowner assistance to borrowers in financial difficulty as long as they have mortgage insurance with the company. In 2009, it completed nearly 20,000 mortgage workouts, saving over $2.6 billion of mortgages from foreclosure.

More information is available at www.SmarterMI.com/MI-vs-FHA.aspx.

The Arbor Day Foundation will brighten up your fall by giving you five free crapemyrtle trees when you join the Foundation in October.

The free trees are part of the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation's Trees for America campaign, a program dedicated to environmental stewardship through the planting of trees.

"Crapemyrtles are especially beautiful in the fall and were selected for this campaign because of their elegant color and form," said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "Crapemyrtles make an attractive addition to the home landscape."

The trees will be shipped postpaid between Nov. 1 and Dec. 10, at the right time for planting. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge. Planting instructions are enclosed with each shipment of trees.

New members of the Arbor Day Foundation also receive The Tree Book, which includes information about tree planting and care.

To receive the free crapemyrtle trees, send a $10 membership contribution to Five Crapemyrtles, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, by October 31, 2010, or join online at www.arborday.org/october.

(NAPS)—The blazing heat of the sun can raise the temperature of a roof to as high as 190 degrees during the summer. For years, solar-panel makers have been harnessing that energy to reduce and supplement the use of traditional energy sources like coal, electricity and natural gas.

Now that same technology is being used to reduce some of the heat that makes it from the roof into your attic. New solar attic vents can not only cut cooling costs but may prolong the life of your roof. Proper ventilation may extend the life of roof shingles and can help prevent ice dams. And solar models accomplish it all without using any energy except what the vent collects from the sun each day.

The solar vents start collecting energy as soon as the sun rises and can operate from dawn to dusk without any other power source from the homeowners. The latest versions of these solar-powered vents are made from durable materials including tempered glass and UV-stabilized ABS color-dyed plastic. Newer models can also be painted to match the roof color.

If you decide to install a solar attic fan, you may want to follow these tips from the experts at TAMKO Building Products, Inc.:

•Make sure your attic is adequately vented as it can be the key to an energy-efficient home. In the winter, allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it cold, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a roof from an attic that is too warm and then refreezes at the gutters, causing an ice dam that can damage the roof).

In warmer weather, natural airflow in a well-vented attic moves superheated air out of the attic, removing moisture and protecting roof shingles.

•Don't block the flow of air. Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents and pushing hot air to the outside. If your attic has blocked soffit vents and is not well sealed from the rest of the house, attic fans will suck cool, conditioned air up out of the house and into the attic. This will use more energy and make your air conditioner work harder, which can increase your utility bill.

•You don't have to forgo aesthetics. When buying a solar vent, look for one that can get the most out of the sun while preserving the aesthetics of the house. Look for a heavy-duty, whisper-quiet motor. The TAMKO Solar Attic Vent features a 20-watt solar panel that ventilates up to 1,600 square feet and can be placed out of the line of sight while still absorbing plenty of the sun's rays.

Learn More

For more information, visit www.TAMKO.comm or call (800) 641-4691.

(NAPS)—While most people think about outdoor entertaining during the spring or early summer months, the late summer or cooler seasons can be a great time to transform a blah backyard into an outdoor oasis with the addition of a beautiful deck.

Here are a few tips to help.

•Keep Your Cool—Installing decking and railing involves spending a large amount of time in the great outdoors—especially if you've decided to handle the labor yourself. Try to arrange to do the work when the temperature is moderate.

•Score a Deal—Taking the time to obtain price quotes from various contractors may pay off with a substantial cost savings on labor. Just be sure to ultimately select a reputable professional to tackle your installation. To help, Trex Company, the nation's largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking, railing and fencing products, recommends contractors with extensive training and product knowledge. Homeowners may locate an experienced TrexPro(R) on www.trex.com.

•Look for Low Maintenance—If you want to spend more time enjoying—rather than maintaining—your deck, choose materials that keep a "like new" appearance for decades without the harsh chores of sanding, staining and sealing. Wood-alternative decking such as the new Trex Transcend(TM) can endure harsh weather and heavy foot traffic. It will even stand up to BBQ stains, dropped grill tools and other cookout mishaps.

"For long-lasting beauty, choose high-performance decking that offers the natural looks of wood while resisting staining and fading," says Adam Zabanini, director of marketing for Trex. "Also, be sure to look for decking that may be purchased with a complementary railing—which allows for a customized look and sets it apart from others in the neighborhood."

•Prepare for Rough Weather—Homeowners with wood decks need to wash, stain and seal—a process that can take several days. If you have a wood-alternative deck, however, you'll simply need to do a basic cleaning with soap and hot water—or a mild deck cleanser. Use a plastic rather than a metal shovel to remove any snow from your deck and calcium chloride or rock salt to melt any ice collected on the surface.

For more inspiration and information to create the deck of your dreams, visit www.trex.com.

(NAPS)—Think of the electric bills those poor souls living in much of the East Coast must have run up recently. Even if you didn't sweat through those record-breaking, 100-plus-degree days yourself, it should've been a reminder of the one thing every homeowner needs to know: If you really want to cut down on your own costs— and who doesn't in this economy?—look skyward.

To your roof, that is.

During the home-buying frenzy, one of the more popular statistics thrown around was how a roof represents about 40 percent or more of a home's "curb appeal" to potential buyers. That's still true. Less discussed, though, was how the components of the entire roofing system — particularly the shingles and proper attic ventilation—can actually save you big bucks year-round on both your cooling and heating bills.

"In the summer, I've seen some attics get so hot the shingles actually fry," says JoAnne Liebeler, former co-host of PBS's "Home- Time."

How hot might that be? Without the right intake and exhaust vents in your roof, shingles can reach temperatures hotter than 160 degrees.

"Moisture can seriously reduce the effectiveness of your insulation," says Liebeler. "That means higher energy bills—and who needs that?"

Okay, so now that you know why yours may be among the nine out of 10 homes in North America that have been needlessly feeding the utility companies' profits, here's what you need to do to fix it:

Check the insulation levels in your attic. Find out the current building codes in your area and make sure that your attic contains at least the minimum recommended levels. Updating would immediately help maintain comfortable temperatures.

Embrace the new world of shingles. Liebeler is high on the Timberline Cool Series line of shingles from GAF Materials Corporation (www.gaf.com), North America's largest roofing manufacturer, which can shave another 7 to 15 percent, on average, off your air-conditioning costs thanks to its new reflective technology. Plus, since both the white and color shingles are Energy Star qualified—traditionally, only white got that nod—you could be eligible for a tax credit to boot.

•Think ridge vents. They may not sound sexy, but they can help remove excess heat and moisture when installed on a roof's peak. The same applies to solar-powered, roof-mounted attic fans, which have a higher "sexy" factor. And remember that intake venting is required for your ridge vents to work properly.

In the meantime, you just have to get by the old-fashioned way: Close your shutters and blinds when the sun streams in.

The National Association of Home Builders has a website that explains in simple terms the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and the $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credit. Located at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com, the site provides details of the program that are easy to understand, including frequently asked questions.

"The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time homebuyers purchasing a principal residence. The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.

"For sales occurring after November 6, 2009, the Act establishes income limits of $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for married couples filing joint returns.

"The income limits for sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009, and on or before November 6, 2009, are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns," the site goes on to explain.

$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax

Credit at a Glance

The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time homebuyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.

The tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer's principal residence within three years after the initial purchase.

The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.

The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009, and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.

For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009, and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 ,and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer

Tax Credit at a Glance

• To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.

• The tax credit does not have to be repaid unless the home is sold or ceases to be used as the buyer's principal residence within three years after the initial purchase.

• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.

• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.

• The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009, and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.

• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000, and married couples with incomes up to $225,000, qualify for the full tax credit.

Some additional frequently asked questions include:

What types of homes will qualify

for the tax credit?

Any home that will be used as a principal residence will qualify for the credit, provided the home is purchased for a price less than or equal to $800,000. This includes single-family detached homes, attached homes like townhouses and condominiums, manufactured homes (also known as mobile homes) and houseboats.

Instead of buying a new home from a homebuilder, I hired a contractor to construct a home on a lot that I already own. Do I still qualify for the tax credit?

Yes. For the purposes of the home buyer tax credit, a principal residence that is constructed by the home owner is treated by the tax code as having been "purchased" on the date the owner first occupies the house. In this situation, the date of first occupancy must be on or after January 1, 2009, and on or before April 30, 2010, (or by June 30, 2010, provided a binding sales contract was in force by April, 30, 2010). In contrast, for newly constructed homes bought from a homebuilder, eligibility for the tax credit is determined by the settlement date. To provide proof of purchase, homebuyers must attach a copy of the HUD-1 Form, or certificate of occupancy to IRS Form 5405.

Is a tax credit the same as a tax deduction?

No. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in what the taxpayer owes. That means that a taxpayer who owes $8,000 in income taxes, and who receives an $8,000 tax credit, would owe nothing to the IRS. A tax deduction is subtracted from the amount of income that is taxed.

Using the same example, assume the taxpayer is in the 15 percent tax bracket and owes $8,000 in income taxes. If the taxpayer receives an $8,000 deduction, the taxpayer's tax liability would be reduced by $1,200 (15 percent of $8,000), or lowered from $8,000 to $6,800.

Of course, as with all purchases of this size, buyers are urged to use trusted sources and not to get caught by ruthless salespersons misrepresenting themselves.

When it comes to buying a home, always look before leaping.