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There is a new trend in interior design, where ducting is exposed instead of being hidden away in the crawlspace in between the roof and the ceiling. This supposedly saves energy.

As it turns out, ductwork that carries cooled or heated air through the house tend to leak, and the air leaked through the crawlspace makes up for a big loss. This leaked air cools or warms the crawlspace instead of the interior of the house.

Go to any attic in winter and you'll see. Instead of heated air warming up your wintertime, it's warming up the attic instead!

Even the most professional of installations will inevitable result in a leak or two in the ductwork. So this still wastes energy from the power spent cooling or heating.

So the new approach is exposed ductwork, which can sometimes be very ugly. People try to find better ways of concealing these. Some design their interiors as if the ceilings were intended to look that way. Faux finishes, moldings and cornices can work to add some creative flair. You can also be creative in painting. What's important is that you save on your electricity and gas bills in the long run.

Blue and yellow is a classic combination that will never go out of style. By adding white into the mix, a very interesting color scheme will come out.

For the bathroom: to make this three-color mix harmonious, the yellow of the wall above the tiles must also be integrated, even in small doses, into the lower half of the bathroom. A yellow bathroom rug or bath mat or a yellow storage basket for toiletries can do the balance.

Try the shade primrose yellow. For the bedroom, have one wall painted in blue and teal green stripes and the rest with solid baby blue. To contrast, use white furniture. With this, both the blue-ness and the busyness of the stripes will be balanced out.

Small spaces can gain benefit from container-based water gardens that have plants and other wildlife that are usually associated with bigger habitats. Container-based gardens can be found at home and garden centers which also sell accessories such as small waterfalls, fountains and even illumination appliances that can make it more attractive and functional.

Patios that have at least five hours of sunlight are the ideal places, but anywhere the sun rays touch would be nice. Shade in the hot afternoons is also needed for plants also suffer from sunburn. Be sure to locate your water garden that is within easy reach of water source in order to lessen the effort of topping it up during hot days where evaporation tends to take toll. Maintain the water quality with regular cleaning, making sure the water is free from pests such as insects and other nasty bugs.

Water treatment solutions can be found in pet stores to lessen, if not halt, algae growth which becomes unsightly in such a small space.

Wires and cables make modern living possible. But they are also the most unsightly parts of a modern home. Without provision for wiring and cabling, like ample power outlets, hidden raceways, and such, these would snake around hour house and become copper eye-sores. Most of us would want to do without this problem.

There are a lot of methods of hiding wires, such as with base boards and cornices that look like the real thing, but after closer inspection actually have built-in raceways where you could route your snaking cables inside. Not only do they hide messy cabling, they also give additional good looks to a room, getting rid of the multi-colored wire bundles usually causing trips and falls.

If wires cross a pathway, or snake through the floor, metal, plastic or wood channels that look like speed bumps only with a lower profile can be used. Be sure to get them installed properly so you won't get into accidents, if installed too tall. If you have kids, get cables routed through the ceiling to prevent electrocution hazards.