Milwaukee/NARI Offers June Wedding Anniversary Gifts to Improve The Home

The highest percentage of weddings – 10.8 percent – take place in the month of June, making it the most popular month for celebrating wedding anniversaries. Fortunately for those who are unsure what to give their spouses, traditional and modern gift themes have been established for each anniversary year.

However, you don’t have to give gemstones and jewelry. The Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource for more than 47 years, offers gift ideas that follow the theme list while focusing on improving the home.

1st Anniversary – Paper, Plastics, Clocks: Kim Temkin-Taylor of Temkin-Taylor Design in Mequon suggests beautifying the home with a wall or table clock.

2nd – Cotton, China, Calico: For the second anniversary, consider new cotton bedding.

3rd – Leather, Crystal, Glass: Flanner’s Home Entertainment in Brookfield suggests the Bello TV Stand, which is tall and thin to save space and holds flat panel televisions up to 42”. It features scratch resistant, powder-coating, tempered safety glass shelves.

4th – Books, Electrical Appliances, Silk, Fruit, Flowers: A matching washer and dryer may not sound romantic, but American TV Kennedy Hahn Appliance in Waukesha offers a wide range of high efficiency models, such as the Whirlpool Super Plus dryer in bright magna red gloss with a seven cubic-foot capacity, noise reduction, and sensor control.

5th – Wood, Silverware: If the woodwork in your home is older, it has probably been scratched, chipped, and painted on over the years. Consider replacing the doors, casing, and baseboard throughout the entire home, or on one floor of the home, for instant home improvement.

6th – Sugar, Candy, Wood, Iron: Milwaukee/NARI members have found that a popular way to add living space to a home is to create a more usable outdoor living space. A Milwaukee/NARI member company designer can help you create a functional wood patio area with an outdoor kitchen, providing an extra place for family meals, relaxing, and entertaining.

7th – Wool, Copper, Desk Sets: Consider a six-piece traditional cherry modular desk set with hardwood solids and veneers, fluted moldings, raised panel doors, file storage, and a work easel for a complete computer work center.

8th – Bronze, Pottery, Linens, Laces, Electrical Appliances: Give the gift of a professional kitchen with a wall oven and warming door.

9th – Pottery, Willow, Leather: For the spouse who loves the movies, turn a spare room or basement space into a theater. Leather theater seats come as single seats, power recliners, and love seats – cup holders optional.

10th – Tin, Aluminum, Diamond Jewelry: Complete the home theater with quality speakers from Flanner’s featuring aluminum alloy dome tweeters (loudspeakers producing high frequencies).

11th – Steel, Fashion Jewelry, Accessories: Call a NARI Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler to update the kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

12th – Silk, Linen, Pearls, Colored Gems: Consider silk drum shade lighting that come in a wide variety of pendant, chandelier, sconce, table, and floor lamps, coupled with silk shades that add subtle sheen.

13th – Lace, Textiles, Furs: As a professional designer, Temkin-Taylor recognizes quality work, such as the Kyle Bunting collection of luxury hide floor and wall coverings. There are virtually no limits to the colors and patterns you could bring into your home.

14th – Ivory, Gold Jewelry: Could the kitchen or bathroom use a makeover? Consider ivory floor and wall tile, which can easily be laid in a pattern or single layout.

15th – Crystal, Watches, Glass: Consider replacement casement windows, where you can appreciate the ease of use and energy savings while taking advantage of the Federal Energy Tax Credit.

16th – Silver Hollowware: Hollowware includes kitchen items that aren’t flat, such as dishes and bowls. Temkin-Taylor recommends forgoing the shiny new silver bowls and instead looking for the one-of-a-kind antique. She suggests starting with the antique site www.1stdibs.com.

17th – Furniture: Installing a bar area can give your spouse a place to relax and to entertain. Select from a variety of finishes, fabrics, and stool heights, in styles ranging from casual to formal to modern to vintage.

18th – Porcelain: Give a cook some flexibility with the Maytag Self-Cleaning Smooth Top Range from American, which features a porcelain backguard in addition to two different radiant heat elements, a Flex-Choice Melting Element, and a “Power Boost” Element.

19th – Bronze: Let the faucet be the focal point in your bathroom remodel. Select from a variety of bronze finishes for the bathroom, tub, and shower.

20th – China, Platinum: Clean and modern designs of fine china are becoming more prevalent, with classical designs remaining popular.

21st – Brass, Nickel: An inexpensive and effective way to update the home is to replace the hardware, from hinges and screws to handles and doorknobs. Surprise your spouse with the improvement to kitchen and bathroom cabinets and more.

22nd – Copper: Let your spouse come home to new outdoor lighting, with a variety of copper outdoor lighting systems available for use to illuminate walkways, driveways, and backyards, and last for years with no maintenance.

23rd – Silver Plate: To really “wow” your spouse, turn a boring powder room into a glamorous silver “plated” bathroom! Sherwin-Williams offers the unique Illusions® Translucent Metallic Silver Finish paint, which adds shimmer to a room when applied over a basecoat or over another faux finishing technique.

24th – Musical Instruments: The musician in your life may appreciate high quality speakers and subwoofers.

25th – Silver: Milwaukee/NARI congratulates all couples celebrating this milestone anniversary. Temkin-Taylor offers one more professional design tip: check out the Silver Resin Drum Table or the antique silver Beverly Side Chair at www.olystudio.com.