In the deep midwinter, warmth comes from more than your furnace. Walk into this room and your first inclination is to snuggle into the chair of your choice and light the fire in the fireplace.

This room is made for chilly winter days, so ignore the summer trees outside and let’s take a look at why this room makes you feel so cozy.

Despite the sunshine coming in the window, the room has a soft dark feel. The mid-tone blue walls – in a color called sage blue – are warm with enough richness to add comfort.

The furniture is also soft and dark, with a mostly print-on-print approach that invites an echo of a country feel. The quilt and coffee table also say country, but the more formal needlepoint pillow and straightforward curtains keep the space from getting too fluffy.

The cream colored ceiling and the warm light russet carpet reflect each other, picking up the warm browns in the quilt and the main floral print. With this style, wood floors might be the expected choice, but carpet keeps up the theme of warmth and comfort.

Does the design of your living room, bedroom or den keep you feeling warmer at this time of year? Think about adding some soft, dark elements to cozy up your space when the snow falls.

Are you ready to decorate for the holidays? If you want to have your home feel designed as well as decorated, a few steps can help you reach your goal.

Adding decorations requires completely re-thinking your space. Do you have a tree that crowds the room? Consider what you can remove to make space for what is actually another piece of furniture for the duration of the holidays. You may even want to rearrange the room to allow the tree to be a focal point.

The same approach of removing before adding applies to accessories. Take as many of your everyday accessories out of the space as possible. If storage is limited, you may want to temporarily pack them in your holiday storage boxes. Decorations tend to be vivid and sparkling. Too many other items in the space can make it feel cluttered and overwhelming.

When you decorate your space, don’t feel obligated to throw holiday at every spot in the room. Instead, build tableaus using your decorations combined with natural elements such as holly and pine boughs. Do you have a collection of snow globes? Instead of scattering them, group them together to create an appealing display. Add a few shiny round ornaments or some tinsel, and you have an inviting holiday element.

Finally, find consistent elements to pull your holiday decorations together. Maybe you can pick up several bunches of two-color holly at a florist and use that to connect your holiday décor. Possibly staying with a few colors or a style will help your decorations feel like they are planned rather than random. Don’t be afraid to use contrast to make things interesting. Take a look at how the photo combines rustic natural elements with classic white and gold decorations – that took courage but it works.

Remember, you get to start over every year – experiment and have fun, and your home will be an inviting place for you and all of your holiday guests.

Preparing properly for the carpet cleaners is part one of the full carpet cleaning process. Now that we’re facing winter weather, part two is even more important – drying your carpeting. If you let your carpet dry slowly and naturally over a few days, you run the risk of mold in your home. It’s best to make sure your carpeting is dry within 24 hours.

The drying process is straightforward. The most important step is turning the fan on your heating system from auto to on (you will find this switch on your thermostat). You may also want to turn the heat up a few degrees to speed drying. It will help to turn on any other ventilation fans you have in your home, such as bathroom and oven vents, and possibly open a few windows if it’s warm enough.

Do you have any ceiling fans? They will dry the carpet quite quickly when turned on high. For corners and fan-free rooms, use portable fans, or rent a professional blower from your carpet cleaner. Move these around to ensure that every space has a chance to dry. Check for dampness by pressing the carpet hard with your hands.

Be sure to double-check any transitions from carpeting to hard flooring surfaces. Residual water can make those thresholds slippery. Dry them off and watch out when walking because the soles of your shoes can be damp. If you have pets, damp paws can be addressed by covering any pet-friendly furniture with towels until everything and everyone is dry.

This may sound complex, but with a few hours of effort, your carpeting will be dry and beautiful, ready for your holiday entertaining.

Do you love your Fulton home? If you do, shoot a 30-60 second video (use your phone, a flip or any camera) telling us why you love your Fulton home. Then upload to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FultonHomes and you could win  a GE Profile Harmony Electric Washer and Dryer in Platinum that talk to each other.  ($2000 retail value.) Contest ends 1-11-11. Here are more details about the prize.

GE Profile Harmony High-Efficiency Top-Loading Washer

With this GE washer, you get a King-size, 4.0 cu. ft. stainless steel wash basket — one of the largest-capacity washers available — for washing up to 24 bath towels or 50 T-shirts in a single load. Plus, the GE Harmony washing machine uses as little as 17 gallons of water for a small load and 24 gallons for an average-size load. **Please leave a comment if you need help uploading the video to our Facebook page. Good luck!

Now that Thanksgiving is over it’s time to prepare for the rest of the winter holidays. You may want to start the process with a professional carpet cleaning. Consider the following tips to make cleaning easier and more effective for you.

The first big step is finding the right cleaners. Unfortunately, a well-known name or lots of advertising are not your best source for evaluating quality and service. Check with friends and neighbors as well as the Better Business Bureau to find a good cleaning company.

You may also want to look into the type of equipment they use. The truck-mounted steam cleaners do an excellent job and leave no soap residue. Ask about the availability of professional blowers to help dry your carpeting afterwards. Generally cleaners have them at a reasonable price – around $20 per day.

Before your cleaner arrives, taking the time to make your home ready leads to a much better experience. Remove every piece of furniture that can be taken to a room with a hard surface. This may mean that your kitchen and bathrooms are a bit crowded for a day. For wood furniture that is too big or too heavy to move, be sure to place squares of plastic or wax paper under the legs. Sometimes wood stains will seep onto your carpet with the hot steamy water. As you are moving things around, be sure to pay attention to any spots, so that you can point them out to the carpet cleaner.

Be sure to place your pets in a safe spot, away from the cleaning and the open door that’s required during the process.

Having your carpet cleaned may be a nuisance, but the end result is well worth the effort – a carpet that looks like it was just installed.

We are pleased to announce the winner of the Facebook and Twitter fan contest. Congrats to Facebook fan Sharon Halpern Goode – the winner of the GE Beverage Center. (150 can capacity and it’s a $1200 value)

Stay tuned for more upcoming contests that you can participate in and win!

Thanks so much to everyone that participated and wrote to us about why you love your Fulton Home!

Ira Fulton made a fortune building homes. Now he and his wife are spending it on scholarships and school buildings — and hitting up their friends, too .

One of Arizona’s largest homebuilders, Ira Fulton, and his wife, Mary Lou, have given generously to Arizona State University and Brigham Young University. “I’m a pushover for kids,” says Ira, our No. 46 top giver, “because if we don’t educate them, we’re in trouble.”

An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (which owns BYU), the ASU alumnus expanded a California clothing store chain, which he sold in 1995, before making Fulton Homes one of the largest homebuilders in the booming Phoenix market. The 74-year-old philanthropist, who has no plans to retire soon, told BusinessWeek reporter Bremen Leak why he’s so eager to give away his fortune. Here are edited excerpts.

It’s been said that if you had stopped writing big checks, you’d be a billionaire by now, so why the constant smile?
You know something, I’ve been giving away half of my profit since ’91 to education, and my company averages over 45% gain in equity every year. It’s just crazy. I give it away, but it comes right back to me. I think it’s because it motivates me to get out and work harder.

Something else — you can’t take it with you. Before my mother passed away, I said: “Mom, I’ve figured out how to take it with me.” She said: “How?” I said: “Traveler’s checks,” and she hit me. I love giving it away. Every time I go out and make a new land transaction, I look at the profit I’ve made, and I say: “That would get me so many scholarships or build me another building!” I convert everything to buildings or scholarships.

Aside from donating money to ASU and BYU, what else have you been up to lately?
I’m glad you ask. In the past couple years I’ve been involved with the [Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii] because it helps pay scholarships for boys and girls to go to college. [The PCC is affiliated with BYU Hawaii through an international work-study program.] We have 700 boys and girls that could not go to college if we didn’t give them a job at the PCC. We have 11 villages there, and they literally dress up and perform their native customs for all the tourists. Last year we celebrated our 30 millionth tourist since it opened. We have quite a program there.

How do your wealthy neighbors respond to your giving?
All my friends, they have it. They just… I asked them the other day: “Have you ever seen a Brinks truck at a funeral procession? I haven’t.” You can’t take it with you. I’m on them all the time about that.

How do you know what these universities do with it?

They have to report back to me. I meet with the deans personally. I meet with the faculty. I’m not just going to give them a free lunch, because I don’t believe in free lunches. I believe if you teach somebody how to work, they’ll feed themselves forever, and that’s what I want to do.

When did you first learn the importance of generosity?
My mother was very generous. We had a little hamburger stand in Tempe [Ariz.], and she raised seven of us out of it. We just didn’t have any money, but we were able to eat, have clean clothes, and get an education. But my mother never, never turned anybody away.

I remember when I was a little boy, I used to scold Mama. I’d say: “Mama, you give away our food, and we work so hard for it.” And she’d say: “But they’re hungry.” Because of my mother, I became a very charitable person. I can hardly say no to anybody — if they’re in need. I can say no to people who want to twist my arm for an investment. But to help people that are down and out — you’re blessed for that, and I believe that.

Recently, you and Mary Lou celebrated your 51st wedding anniversary — something not all successful businesspeople achieve. Have your mutual giving efforts brought you two closer together?
Oh, yes. We’re 100% in everything. We’re just one.

What do you hope to accomplish with your giving?
I’m educating a lot of great men and women who will go out and be our future CEOs and CFOs, and within the church, our bishops, our general authorities, our mission presidents. Like I told the prophet [Gordon B. Hinckley] the other day: “I’m going to let you spiritually save their soul, and I’m going to educate the soul.” And he said: “Ira, you’ve got a deal.”

My goal is to get other people to have the same feeling I have about giving, to make things better in this world. We’ve been blessed so much. Everybody has. They just forget where it comes from.

Christmas is the most inspiring time of year to decorate. Almost everyone looks forward to it! This year stamp your unique seal on your home for Christmas! Your seasonal decorations represent you and your family. Read along for ideas.

Customize stockings by writing family member’s names with iron on letters. Mix fun items from around the house in garland (picture frames, pottery, crystal items) above the hearth. If you have power available, weave in white lights.  Use your entertainment center as your mantel if you don’t have one.

Don’t have space for a real Christmas tree? Mini trees covered in lights give the same effect as a big tree. White lights accent any style and color with grace and brilliance. Use several of theses minis if you have the room. A tree on both sides of the front door; immediately puts you in the spirit, each time you come home. Counter appropriate mini trees and extra small decorations are available. There could be one in each room of the house!

Greenery such as garland dresses up the everyday banister, doorframe and windowsill. Interlace curly vine like materials. These can be found in any craft section. Adding glitter to colorful faux leaves fit right in with garland and vines. Stick to one color of glitter like gold or silver. Add glitter to other foliage, such as vines and berries.

Basically you can decorate anything you want. All you need is garland, white lights, cheerful ribbons, colored ornaments and candles. Don’t forget candles, especially ones that smell like gingerbread, evergreen, peppermint and any other seasonal smell. Only light one type of fragrance at a time. Light other unscented; the soft glow and seasonal smell will really set the tone for Christmas spirit!