NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The housing market got some good news on Monday, as the government reported that sales of new homes rose 7.6% in May.

Sales hit an annual rate of 369,000, according to the Census Bureau, compared with the revised April rate of 343,000. That’s up 20% year-over-year, but still a long way from the annual rate of nearly 1.4 million recorded during real estate’s boom years.

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The sales hike beat expectations. Economists had forecast a sales rate of 350,000 new homes, according to Briefing.com.

The uptick in home sales was in line with other recent positive reports in the housing market. In May, home builders applied for permits to build new homes at the highest rate since September 2008, and mortgage rates hit record lows last week.

But not all housing numbers looked rosier for the month. Existing home sales slowed slightly in May, slipping 1.5% versus the month prior.

Economists said that the numbers restored some optimism after the soft March and April numbers.

“This improvement indicates that 2012 will be a year of gradual growth for new homes,” said Robert Dietz, an economist for the National Association of Home Builders. “It also means that we’ve seen the end of inventory that’s climbed over the last couple of years.”

Dietz explained that new home sales are a closely-watched barometer of how the economy is doing, since increases in construction translate into job creation.

“Each new home built represents three full-time jobs,” he said. “That’s just good for the economy overall.” 

The idea of infusing history into a space has an appeal that goes beyond the trends. Ironically, a sense of history is pretty timeless that way.

One way 21st century homeowners are leveraging this is by investing in reclaimed wood from older structures; homes, barns, warehouses, and beyond. Further, using reclaimed wood as interior siding is a rising trend, adding history, sure, but also a sense of hominess, and warmth.

To expand on some solid ideas as to how to use reclaimed wood paneling for interiors is writer Joe Mitchoff of Viridian Wood products.

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Interior design has experienced a renaissance with innovative new ways to incorporate reclaimed wood. Designers are recognizing that wood paneling doesn’t have to conform to the standard full-room or chair-rail applications. Reclaimed oak paneling and redwood paneling are making a big entrance in the design world as decorative accents and redefined traditional applications.

What are Reclaimed Wood Panels?

Reclaimed wood paneling is the same as traditional wood paneling, but with an eco-friendly twist. Instead of cutting down new trees, reclaimed wood paneling is made from lumber that’s had a past life but is still perfectly usable. This means prime pieces of lumber skip the landfill and get repurposed. Redwood paneling, for example, may be made from old wine casks. It’s hard to find virgin tight-grained redwood today, but you can enjoy its rare qualities just by choosing reclaimed varieties, which often come from old-growth trees. It’s an equally sweet deal for you and the earth.

Create an accent wall with reclaimed wood paneling

Reclaimed oak paneling is great for giving spaces a warm, rustic feel. Mix up the traditional design and give it a modern twist by lining an accent wall with panels in a different direction. If three of the walls have vertical panels, for example, use horizontally- or diagonally-placed panels on the accent wall. Additional ideas include placing the reclaimed wood paneling in a herringbone or mosaic-like pattern.

Source: img0.etsystatic.com via Adam on Pinterest

Use reclaimed wood paneling around a fireplace

In lieu of a traditional mantel, line the wall around a fireplace with a multicolored blend of wood panels that reach up to the ceiling. This technique will make your space appear larger and draw the eyes upward. Try this idea with fireplaces that have two exposed glass walls, or with double-sided fireplaces that divide a room.

Bins or display stands

Give your store an earthy or rustic feel by using reclaimed wood panels that match the color scheme or tone (warm or cool) of your space to create unique-looking storage solutions.

Give ceilings a modern appeal

Create a space that has a country, shabby-chic, colonial or Victorian feel by lining a ceiling with reclaimed wood paneling. As with paneled walls, you can arrange wood panels on a ceiling in non-traditional or clever patterns.

Create a room divider

Save money on construction materials and create a partial wall out of redwood paneling (or panels in the color of your choice) to divide a large space.

Source: sweetpeachblog.com via Victoria on Pinterest

 

Line bars, counters and kitchen islands

Give these items in your home or business aesthetic appeal and durability with your choice of reclaimed lumber. Since the wood panels are made from lumber proven to withstand a beating, your bar, island or counter will be kick- and bump-resistant.

Make custom doors and tables

Who says you have to use reclaimed wood paneling to beautify the construction of a room? Use this lumber to create sturdy, unique-looking doors and tabletops. If you want to give an entrance an old-world flair, consider using wind-worn textured paneling. Use redwood paneling for tasting room tables and matching room accessories.

Panel a staircase

Instead of using iron or wood balusters on a staircase, use reclaimed wood paneling between the newels. Choose paneling that’s uniform in color for a sleek look, or mix it up with reclaimed wood paneling in light or dark blends.

You can’t go wrong

You can’t go wrong when you integrate paneling into your interior design, especially if the panels are made from eco-friendly reclaimed wood. These panels boast some of the strongest and most beautiful types of lumber available, without the guilt that comes with using freshly cut timber.

Neighbors are like apple cider. When you first move in, they’re nice and sweet. That’s because they will want to borrow something someday, or ask you to take in the mail when they go on vacation, or baby sit in a pinch. They act friendly but they are really just checking you out.

After a while neighbors get fizzy and sour like cider that’s turned. I mean, was it my fault the dog preferred their lawn to ours? And how was I to know that their kids were allergic to the poison ivy? We just grew a little bit to keep trespassers away and it worked pretty well.

I speak of my neighbors in the past tense because we don’t have them anymore. Most every house in walking distance is empty and has been for months. They’ve all been foreclosed. The families piled their belongings in U-Hauls and tearfully said good bye. Looks like they’ll stay empty for some time since it takes an average of 18 months to process a foreclosure in our state. For Pete’s sake, they built the Empire State Building in 18 months in the middle of the Depression.

Some wiseacre news person decided our neighborhood, Mirage Manor, was the worst in the region for foreclosures and then some big deal web site made us the reddest of all the red areas on its national heat map of foreclosure disaster areas. Wasn’t long before news reporters came around to cover what one of them called the “Chernobyl of American real estate.” The worst was a young radio reporter who breathlessly described everything she saw into her microphone. She made our neighborhood sound like Berlin after World War II, complete with graffiti, boarded up doorways, broken windows and waist-high weeds. She called our home “ground zero in the foreclosure plague” and “an island of homeownership in a landscape of tears.” I mean, really.

So when she knocked at the door, my wife Felicity invited her in for coffee, and she proceeded to stick a microphone in Felicity’s face.

“Mrs. Guthrie, tell me what your neighbors were like?”

“It’s very sad,” she said. “I miss so many of them. I used to baby sit for the Johnsons next door and we all looked out for each other the way neighbors do, you know.”

“And it’s such a pity that now that they are renters they won’t get their mortgage interest deductions next year.” I chimed in.

The radio reporter looked a little annoyed and turned her mike at me. “Mr. Guthrie, what’s it like having no neighbors?”

“Well, like everything else in life, it has its plusses and minuses,” I began. “It’s sure a lot quieter and now I can always park in front of the house, so I took down my “Anthrax Quarantine!! Park at Your Own Risk” sign. People don’t bother with our neighborhood any more. They don’t come to the door to pray for us and ask us to join their church. We save money on Halloween candy. And I haven’t run over a tricycle in months. Minuses? Well, I guess the biggest thing I miss is not having anyone to borrow tools from, which is actually not such a big deal. All our ex-neighbors left in such a hurry that I guess I forgot to return a bunch of stuff. I’m pretty well stocked for the duration.”

She decided to give me another chance to say something she could use. “Mr. Guthrie, perhaps you can tell us why you think you and your wife are the only homeowners to survive in this neighborhood?”

“Sure, that’s easy. You see, we’re both expert homeowners.”

The reporter looked amused. “Expert homeowners? What makes you an expert?”

“Well, for one thing, at this point our mortgage guy-his name is Earnest S. Crowe-knows he’d lose big time if he even thought about foreclosing on us. And we know that he knows what we know. See, we’re deeper underwater than the Titanic because we refinanced every chance we could in the good old days. When values sank, our lender ended up with all the risk. Homes in Mirage Manor are pretty much worthless. I mean, who wants to live in a place they call the Chernobyl of American real estate? If they were to foreclose on us, they would just add to their losses. Nor would it make any sense to make an example of us. There’s no one left around here who would notice. That’s how an expert homeowner would analyze the situation,” I said.

“What Homer forgot to mention is that the real reason we still own our home is that we pay the mortgage on time,” said Felicity. I frowned.

“I see,” said the reporter, who decided she’d had enough of us.

She only used a little bit of the interview, what Felicity said about our neighbors. Which is probably just as well. I’m hoping that I won’t have to give back the tools I borrowed.

Small Fruits in the Garden

An easy way to add homegrown fruits to your meal is by incorporating small fruits into your garden. Small fruits include strawberries, brambles, grapes, blueberries and such. They are ideal for home gardens because they don’t require the space or care of fruit trees.

General Culture

Here are a few basics about selecting and growing small fruits.

• Most small fruits have the same basic growing requirements: full sun and well-drained soil.
• Select varieties that are suited to your climate and look for those that are known to be disease and pest resistant.
• Buy healthy plants from a reputable source.
• Get off to a good start with well-prepared soil, the right amount of sunlight and proper planting techniques.
• Grapes and brambles have specific pruning guidelines. Don’t let that put you off. You’ll find it’s easier than you think.

Incorporating into Garden

You don’t have to have a dedicated area for small fruits. Edge a raised bed with strawberries or plant a blueberry hedge. You can train blackberries and raspberries to grow up trellises and grapes will easily grow over an arbor. Learn about the plant’s characteristics and incorporate it into your garden’s design just like a shrub, annual or perennial.

Strawberries – Strawberries form a carpet of semi-evergreen leaves that are tinged with red in fall. Plants produce runners with baby plants that can be transplanted to new areas.

Read about growing strawberries.

Read about growing grapes.

Blueberry – Blueberries would be an excellent landscape plant even if they didn’t produce tasty berries. The fall foliage makes them a colorful fall focal point.