Bellaire - Meyerland - West University | July 2023

GUIDE

Local businesses oer home improvement tips

2023 HOME EDITION

HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE

ASK A LAWN AND GARDEN SPECIALIST

Jarmar Dupas is a Houston reghter who owns Peaceful Lawn & Garden, a clean- energy, organic landscaping company that serves southwest Houston neighborhoods.

COMPILED BY SHAWN ARRAJJ & MELISSA ENAJE

are pollinator- and bird-friendly to add to our landscapes. With the beautiful tree-lined streets of the Inner Loop, we’re choosing more shade-tolerant turf grasses. It is fun to watch us have our beauty and contribute positively to our local environment. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC LAWN SERVICE, AND HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO TRADITIONAL GAS POWERED ALTERNATIVES? The thing we hear most is just how quiet it is. ... Along with that, there are many environmental benets as well. The most obvious is the reduction in localized air pollution as well as the noise pollution we get from gas-powered blowers. ... When I think about it, hiring an electric lawn service is probably the simplest thing we can do to lower our carbon footprint without even lifting a nger.

WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE HOMEOWNERS WHEN IT COMES TO SUCCESSFUL GARDEN MAINTENANCE? It is often said that the best thing you can add to your garden is your shadow. The key to successful garden maintenance is to have regular hands and eyes on it so things don’t get out of control. With our wild weather, it’s best to have a regular cadence for garden maintenance whether it’s yourself or a garden maintenance company. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRENDS YOU ARE SEEING IN THE INNER LOOP WHEN IT COMES TO LANDSCAPING AND PROFESSIONAL LAWN CARE? Denitely more focus on the overall ecological impact of our lawn and garden choices. We’re choosing to mulch more often to retain moisture. We’re choosing more native plants that

ASK A HOME AUTOMATION EXPERT

Dick Rozic is the president of Aveon, a full-service custom audio/visual and home automation systems integrator with a showroom that can be found near River Oaks.

confusing switches in favor of a keypad with simple one-touch presets for setting lights throughout the house. WHAT SHOULD A HOMEOWNER THINK ABOUT WHEN CONSIDERING AUTOMATION FEATURES? If you are building or remodeling your home, take advantage of the opportunity to plan and install low-voltage wiring. Your TVs, speakers, cameras and video doorbells all work much better with hardwired connections. ... Even if you don’t already have in place what you need, retrotting new low-voltage wiring is usually worth the eort in the long run.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST HOME AUTOMATION FEATURES AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET? Lighting controls are one of the most popular but not always an intuitive category of home automation. Security lighting is especially important for urban neighborhoods, and lighting control systems can provide automatic timeclock scheduling to turns lights on and o whether you are at home or not. Use exterior lights to provide a blanket of security throughout the night. With new homes, or even a major remodel, lighting controls can help eliminate banks of

Jarmar Dupas Owner Peaceful Lawn & Garden 832-430-2630 www.peacefullawn.com

Dick Rozic President Aveon 2405 Norfolk St., Houston 713-529-2282 www.aveon.com

NORFOLK ST.

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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION • JULY 2023