Home Improvement from Home / Garden

Home Improvement

Banish a Boring Bath

If your bathroom looks better with the door closed, it may be time for an update. Make some big impact changes without spending big bucks. A trip to your home improvement store and a weekend of elbow grease is all you need to transform your bath from boring to beautiful.

Renovation of Unfinished Basement Creates Two-Bath, Home-within-a-Home for Exten

Bathroom additions rank among the most common home improvements, and the investment almost always pays off at resale. But when it comes to basement renovations, the expense and mess of digging for plumbing drainage lines makes adding a bathroom financially impractical for many homeowners. As a result, homes with plenty of sub-level promise remain underutilized.

Where the Wild Things Hang Out

Remember when you were young and there was one house on the block where all the kids hung out? Every parent knows that giving kids a place to have fun with their friends is very important. Here's a way to quickly transform your basement into a fun place for your family.

How to Keep Your Home Pest-free this Winter

Cooler weather is on the way and with it - unwelcome houseguests. And it won't just be your Uncle Bob and his brood of eight settling in for the holidays. Critters - from rodents to insects - will be looking to join the party too.

How to Add Drama to The Bath

Small changes in your bathroom can make a big difference in refreshing the busiest room in the house. Focus on the details, and you'll be able to customize this space, making it more stylish while reflecting your personal taste.

High Tech Decks: Gen X Homeowners Fuel a Trend

Pragmatic, practical and particular, Generation X homeowners want to spend their free time relaxing, not working. When it comes to home maintenance, less is definitely more.

Fall Into Your Home Spruce Up

After the pool toys and picnic baskets have been put away, it's time to head inside. With the promise of cool weather, calm earth tones and the aroma of warm soups and baked goods, it's time to fall into your home spruce up.

Classic Outdoor Living Made Easy

If you're thinking about making some home improvements this year, consider increasing the value of your home with the addition of a deck. A deck can give you more living space and bring the feeling of the great outdoors right to your back yard.

Five Quick Fixes That Improve Curb Appeal for Under $500

It's a known fact: Good-looking, well-maintained homes sell faster (and command a higher price) than houses that appear worn down and tired. In today's attractive roller coaster real-estate market enhancing curb appeal -- the first impression of a house as seen from the street -- can mean the difference between attracting serious buyers and resulting in a sale, or having the property languish for months as unsold.

Mastering the Mix of Bathroom Design

Trendy designs for the home combine furnishings from a variety of periods and materials. Finding the right mix takes confidence, a spirit of adventure and savvy eye. This is particularly true in the bath. Whether home spa, master suite, powder room or his and her space, the bathroom requires practical design solutions given its utilitarian function. But it's a style matchmaker's field of dreams where virtually anything goes thanks to today's products and designs.

Easy Steps to Lower Your Cooling Bills

With hot summer weather just around the corner, now is the time to give your home a "check-up." Here are six tips from the Comfort Institute to make sure your air conditioning bills don't blow your cool!

Nature's Fury: How to Protect Your Home

Hurricanes are the storms that make headlines, but homeowners in almost every region of the country need to focus on storm preparedness this year. To help protect a home, choosing the right storm protection features for windows and doors is essential.

How to Choose the Right Painting Supplies

So you've decided to tackle a painting project. Maybe it was the drab color in the kitchen that finally got to you, or the dated design in the bathroom that did nothing to brighten your mornings. A new coat of paint will freshen it up without breaking the budget, but do you have the right supplies? Getting the correct tools before you start can save you time, and, in the end, produce a higher-quality result.

Protect Your Roof from Seasonal Storms

It's officially storm season and, depending on the region in which you live, hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds and hail can cause tremendous damage to your home.

Create an Outdoor Living Space in Your Own Back Yard

Today, almost everything you do inside your home is coming outdoors. From showers to kitchen sinks and everything in between, today's homeowners are utilizing the back yard to get more life out of their homes.

Outdoor Living Spaces: Adding an Outdoor Room

One of the hottest trends among homeowners is to extend a home's living space to the outdoors. Many homeowners want a refuge from the hectic pace of daily life. Decks can provide a place to relax and enjoy the outdoor setting.

Vinyl Windows: Not All the Same

Over 50 percent of windows purchased today are vinyl windows. Choosing a superior vinyl window can be difficult if you don't know what to look for. It can prove even more frustrating if you purchase and install your vinyl windows only to find that they're poor quality, uneven and already fading in appearance. You might also face the realization that a bigger name is not always better and price is only one of several considerations.

Creating an Allergy-free Bedroom Oasis

Summer can be an uncomfortable time for the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies. In addition to outdoor air filled with pollens and molds, allergy sufferers are confronted with allergy triggers within the home. Now is the time to take steps to create a relaxing and allergy-free sanctuary in your home, and the best place to start is the bedroom.

Home Improvement 101

Is it time to tackle a home improvement project that will boost both resale value and your enjoyment of your house? What home improvements will provide the biggest returns? And how should you pay for the improvements? Here are some tips.

Selling Your Home in a Buyer's Market

By now you've read the headlines announcing the current housing rut. Too many homes are on the market, causing slow sales and falling asking prices. While it's the perfect time to buy a home, it is certainly more challenging to sell your home. But don't despair.

Weekend Painting Projects Made Easy

Outdoor painting projects can be intimidating. But now that the weather is warm, why not take them head on? In fact, with the right tools and planning, you could complete a project in just one weekend. Here are some examples to get you started, so you can paint quickly and easily, leaving you the rest of your weekend to enjoy your yard.

Building Your Dream Home? Don't Forget to Look Behind the Walls

Imagine the excitement and anticipation of building a new home. After a long wait and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the day arrives when you unlock the door and step inside. As you walk in, the floor creaks and feels bouncy. Everything else seems perfect, but a squeaky floor makes you wonder about the quality of the home. You can avoid this and similar disappointments by taking time up front to ask your builder some simple, yet critical, questions about the home's structural framing.

Make Design Easy: Putting Fun in Kitchen, Bath Remodeling

When starting on a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project, finding inspiration, good ideas and quality products can sometimes be a daunting challenge. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the process. But when you take a step back and get organized, the experience can be fun.

Improving the Quality of Natural Light and Ventilation with Skylights

Everyone talks about the outdoor environment but homeowners who are paying attention to the green building trend sweeping the country are taking indoor air quality just as seriously.

Flooring: The Foundation of Your Design

Creativity is one of the most important elements in interior design. But when it comes to the process of designing a room, over the past 40 years the industry has been anything but creative. Until recently the steadfast rule was to choose furniture, accessories and paint first. Then almost as an afterthought, choose flooring, but that's changing.

Outdoor Living Provides Venue for Stress Reduction

Nearly 47 percent of Americans say they are concerned with the amount of stress in their lives, according to the American Psychological Association. However, many homeowners fail to recognize that stress relief can be as close as their own backyard. A relaxing oasis that is right at hand is just what the doctor ordered to soothe jangled nerves and lower blood pressure.

How to Prepare Your Outdoor Living Space for Summer

Memorial Day and Labor Day are traditionally viewed as the unofficial beginning and end of summer. Between holidays, life shifts outdoors as many homeowners make the most of the season. To enjoy as much time outside as possible, homeowners are increasingly taking advantage of their decks and patios to create true outdoor living spaces.

Home Sellers Yield High Returns Investing in Curb Appeal

Realtors in a nationwide survey say replacing your garage door prior to listing your home can increase its curb appeal and the asking price -- anywhere from one to four percent. That's no surprise considering homeowner demand for more storage space has made three-car garages an architectural standard, not to mention, a major design focal point.

Learn How to Turn Any Back Yard into the Ultimate Outdoor Living Experience

With home improvement season upon us, homeowners are eager to make their outdoor living areas as inviting as the inside of their homes. Before visiting the local home and garden center or hiring a professional to create a backyard paradise, consider taking the DIY approach.

Women Increasingly Drive Home Improvement Industry

Men have traditionally taken the lead on home improvement projects -- in many cases at the insistence of the women in their lives. But today, women are not only involved in the decision-making process of what needs to be done and whether to do-it-yourself or hire it done, but are also making the actual purchases. Women account for more than $70 billion worth of purchases in the home improvement industry, up from approximately $55 billion in 1995.

VSI Certified Installers Bring Out the Best in Your Home

If you're thinking about a makeover for your home this spring, vinyl siding offers a valuable investment for your new exterior. According to "Remodeling" magazine, homeowners who re-side their homes with vinyl typically recover more than 95 percent of the cost when selling their homes.

Summer Projects Made Simple

Summer is the time of year when outdoor projects, big and small, come to our attention. Small improvements such as fixing concrete steps, sealing driveway cracks and straightening fence posts can make a big difference in your home's overall appearance or resale value. If you know how to do it right, these kinds of DIY projects can easily be finished on a Saturday morning.

Homeowners Are Going Green -- Even Behind the Scenes

Seems like the whole home building industry is going "green" these days. There are energy-efficient doors and windows, high-efficiency refrigerators, redesigned toilets and showerheads that use less water. Even behind the walls we have "greener" options.

Get Professional Results without the Professional

In the do-it-yourself television shows, the pros make it look so easy and for them, it is. They have a lot of big tools to do the work; they know which tools are right for the job and how to use them. This information is not privileged and you don't have to watch years of do-it-yourself shows to learn how.

Innovations Make it Easier than Ever to Do It Yourself

Home improvement by homeowners has evolved. Innovative, high-tech ways to add curb appeal are the hottest new trend in the world of do-it-yourself. Here are some cutting-edge innovative products homeowners are using.

Add Value to Your Home with a Garage Make-Over

If your garage houses everything but your car, perhaps it's time to consider cleaning out and reorganizing. Making space for projects, hobbies and storage extends your living space. For some, the garage is the biggest room in the house; why not make it more livable?

Alternative Heat Source Warms Homes and Hearts

Winter is coming and with it cooler temperatures. Contractors are gearing up to help homeowners renovate their heating systems for a more efficient, comfortable and cozy winter. Many situations, such as the age of your home and the heat source you have, call for creative heating solutions.

Love of Western Red Cedar Is a Many-Splendored Thing

No wonder so many people have loved Western Red Cedar in so many-splendored ways for so long. From Pacific Northwest native longhouses to luxury contemporary homes, Western Red Cedar has been loved for hundreds of years.

DIY Projects for Increasing Your Home's Resale Value

With housing prices on the decline, homeowners are looking for ways to ensure top dollar when selling their homes. There are many DIY projects homeowners can easily do in a weekend that will increase the value of their property.

Twelve Steps for Easy Home Painting

Nothing freshens a home's exterior appearance like a fresh coat of paint. Why then do so many of us put off this task? What seems complicated can be easy with a little planning and the right tools.

Handy Homeowners Can Add Natural Light Quickly

If you're a homeowner with an area in your home that needs more natural light -- say a hallway, laundry room, closet, or a windowless bathroom -- an easy-to-install tubular skylight could be the answer.

Get the Most Value from Your Deck Project

More and more, outdoor living is no longer considered a luxury, but a way of life for homeowners across the country. Families are spending more time at home enjoying the freedom of relaxing and entertaining on their backyard deck.

Add Living Space Without All the Headaches of a Remodel

With the average home addition now costing upwards of $74,000, according to Remodeling Magazine's "2006 Cost vs. Value Report," there's a more cost effective way to add more living space to your home. Purchase a yurt.

How to Paint Like a Pro

You're standing in the aisle at your local paint dealer or hardware store trying to decide which brand of paint to buy for your living room remodel. Naturally, you want to save money, so you gravitate towards the less costly product. But top quality finishes are much easier to work with and offer superior long-term performance.

Tips for a Safe Summer Season on Your Deck

Gas prices are on the rise again, the number of people traveling is down and families are choosing to spend more time at home enjoying their decks. And with so many accessories available that make the yard an oasis -- from solar fountains and fire pit tables to stainless gas grills -- the deck extends the living space and creates an at-home vacation spot.

The Latest Trend in Kitchen Design: Expressing Personal Style

Can't buy a home with the kitchen of your dreams…then remodel your current home and express your personal style in every design element!

Make Summer Home Improvement Projects Quick and Easy

As the weather keeps getting warmer, home improvement projects keep getting added to many people's to-do lists. From cleaning out gutters to painting to cleaning the house from top to bottom, the project list seems never ending. Here are some new tools and tips to make the most common summer home improvement projects a breeze so you can enjoy the warm weather with family and friends.

Wake Up a Tired Front Entry with a New Front Door

The old saying "You can't judge a book by its cover" isn't always true in the housing market. A weary-looking home with a tired front door is sometimes a clear signal to the neighborhood, and to prospective homebuyers, that a house is in need of major repairs or updating.

Gazebos: The New Gathering Place Away from Home

Many homeowners wish to turn their backyards into outdoor living spaces, bringing indoor comforts into the fresh outdoor air. Gazebos are uniquely suited to do this by providing a covered retreat that adds distinction to the outdoor living space.

New Solar Technology Helps Homeowners Save Money

If you're both eco-conscious and money-conscious, it's time to take a fresh look at solar energy. You could save up to 50 percent on your water heating bills and qualify for federal solar energy tax credits.

Ten Easy Steps for Reconditioning Your Fence or Deck

As the weather gets warmer, we begin to spend more time outdoors. The best part of having a yard is enjoying it during these months, but when items in your yard such as your deck and fence look worn and drab, it takes away from the pleasure.

Conservation Starts at Home: Everyday Tips for Going Green

Environmentalism is here in full force, and by the looks of things, it's here to stay. If you are looking for a way to go green around the house, start by taking steps to conserve water and energy. Try out these easy ways to care for the earth, enjoy your home and save money.

Curbside Wow: Boost Your Home's Look With New Shingles

If you buy a new car, you don't drive around with bald tires. When you buy a new suit, you don't wear it with old tennis shoes. So, when it comes time to remodel your home's exterior, don't forget the roof. Updating the roof can have a tremendous impact on the overall look of your home. With that in mind, you should approach your exterior color choices with the same care given when choosing interior colors.

Staged to Sell In a Soft Real Estate Market

Selling your home can be a challenge that may seem especially daunting in a softer real estate market. If you decide now is the time to sell, there are several aspects that can make your home more attractive to potential buyers. Following this advice may help justify your asking price and attract buyers.

Want to Update the Look and Feel of Your Home the Easy Way?

Whether you've moved into your home recently or been there a while, there's an "itch" every homeowner feels at one time or another -- the need to redecorate.

Customized Kitchen Cabinetry for the Ultimate in Organization

One of the beauties of custom cabinetry is the ability to create the look you want with the storage solutions you need. Consumers remodeling or building a kitchen crave the ability to maximize space options. Not all kitchen cabinetry allows for solutions that are personalized to your special requirements.

Affordable Upgrades Put Your Home's Best Face Forward

Buying a home is often the largest single purchase you'll ever make. But after investing all that hard-earned money just to get inside the door, how can you add value to your investment without breaking the bank? Whether it's customizing to fit your personal style or adding to its durability for years to come, choosing a few affordable upgrades will help you put your home's best face forward.

Next Generation Pressure-treated Lumber Boasts New Advantages

For many years, the most popular product for building fences, decks, planter boxes and other outdoor structures has been pressure-treated wood. But now there's a new alternative gaining in popularity.

'Greening' the Outdoors Begins in Your Own Backyard

Nurturing the environment starts at home, right in your backyard. There are countless steps the entire family can take to develop and care for their outdoor haven.

Take the Chill Out of Buying a New Refrigerator

Buying a refrigerator can be a chilling experience. When you think about it, it is a pretty big investment of time, money and effort. With so many brands and features to choose from, selecting the right appliance can be daunting. You can make it a more pleasant venture by getting educated about the variety of options before visiting your local appliance retailer.

Products For Your Home: Choice Words for Choosy Buyers

If you want to increase the value of your home by adding a few bells and whistles here and there, don't go into it blindly. To choose products that give the most bang for your buck, think in this order: health, wealth and happiness.

Building Green is Building Momentum

Green home building is moving into the mainstream, with 20 percent more builders engaged in environmentally conscious building practices this year. Homeowners are moving to the brink of a new, environmentally conscious era.

Small but Dramatic Kitchen Changes Can Really Make a Difference

You can make some dramatic changes in the kitchen just by focusing on one of the attention-getting trends highlighted at the annual Kitchen Industry Show and Convention in Las Vegas -- the lighting.

Your College Grad Might Boomerang Back Home. Will You Be Ready?

One day it happened: your youngest child flew off to college and, finally, the house was all yours. If you're like many couples, one of the first things you did was embark on a major remodel of your now-empty nest.

How to Better Protect Your Home and Family from Fire

More than 3,000 American lives are lost each year in home fires. Many of those deaths could have been easily prevented. The use of a smoke alarm and fire sprinkler system together reduces the risk of death in a home fire by more than 80 percent.

Saving Money With Energy Efficient Windows

When newlyweds Rob and Holly Fanjoy purchased their 1955 Cape Cod home, they were not wearing rose-colored glasses. They knew the 1,100-square foot house needed extensive work. One of their first challenges was to replace the drafty original wood windows. More than 50 years old, the leaky single-glazed windows were no match for frosty Michigan winters.

Shutters' Popularity Continues to Rise in Homes Across the Country

Today's homeowners have more opportunities for personalizing their homes than ever before. While it is good to have options in home furnishings, when it comes to stylish long-lasting window coverings homeowners across America are choosing interior shutters over blinds and drapes.

Survive The Honey-Do Weekend

For those who work with their hands, cracked fingers and splitting thumbs are a problem that exists throughout the year, and now there's something you can do about it.

Don't Let Extreme Weather Leave Your Home in the Dark

In a world of high dependence on technology, an increasing number of homeowners and small business owners are installing a permanent standby power generator -- and even more are considering one. Here's what you should consider before buying one.

How to Choose an Extension Pole for Your DIY Project

Extension poles are very versatile tools that allow you to safely reach high access areas to complete many different tasks. R.D. Newman, inventor and founder of Mr. LongArm, developed and manufactured the first extension pole in 1958. He saw the need for painters to reach high places without having to use a ladder. Today, there are many different styles of extension poles to choose from and they are used for much more than just painting. But how do you decide which one will best fit your needs?

The Decorative Accent that Will Set Your Home Apart

Look around your house and you will likely notice a lot of coordination. The brushed nickel knobs on your cabinets match the kitchen sink; all of the lighting fixtures on your upper level contain alabaster glass; and every window in your home has those same wooden blinds.

Trying to Sell Your Home? Give it Scentmosphere!

(ARA) - Looking to sell your home? All you hear these days in the news and from friends is how bad the housing market is, and for good reason. There are too many existing houses on the market, builders have had to get more aggressive in selling new homes, interest rates and gas prices are up … these are not ideal conditions.

Extend Outside Enjoyment with Retractable Awnings

Everyone wants to enjoy the beautiful weather that summer brings. But the warm sun and damaging rays sometimes force us to retreat inside, where we crank the costly air conditioning to stay cool. Consumers are looking for new ways to create an outdoor oasis so they can fully and safely enjoy the season.

Redwood: A Beautiful, Environmentally Smart Fencing Option

A fence can be one of the hardest working features of your home. The right fence will define your space, create privacy and shade, and retain its beauty while standing up to even the harshest weather. The perfect fence will also reflect your commitment to living "green." Here are some tips and reasons why redwood is the ideal wood for such a project.

Retractable Awnings Add Space without the Costly Addition

When looking at summer home improvements, many times we think about adding an addition to expand our livable space. But building an addition can be inconvenient, costly and take a long time. A new trend with consumers is to add retractable awnings to their home's exterior.

A Simple Way to Increase Outdoor Living Space

For those homeowners looking to add to their living space, improve their lifestyle and increase the resale value of their home, the perfect solution is to extend your living area outdoors through the addition of decks, patios, outdoor kitchens and entertainment areas. The walls between the indoors and outdoors are coming down -- and we're seeing outdoor rooms and living areas that have all the features of indoor kitchens and family rooms.

Take Back Your Garage -- Organization is Easier than Ever

Yard tools leaning against the walls. Random storage boxes stacked high. From oil-stained floors to the cluttered corners, garages are not usually the first room you show off in your home. But things are changing and the new trend in home improvement is to create a garage that is not only more functional, but one that extends your living space. Here's some easy steps you can start today.

It's Not Your Father's Garage Door

In the "Leave it to Beaver" era, garage doors were little more than heavy slabs of wood that sealed your garage shut from the elements. White, heavy and mostly flat. Little had changed to garage doors by the time the "Brady Bunch" arrived in the 1970s or even the "Cosby" generation years later.

Cut Kitchen Chaos with Orderly Cabinets

Over the years, the kitchen has morphed from a space strictly used to chop, dice, chat and dine, into a domestic sanctuary where all household activity takes place. This increase in activity has made the kitchen a very busy place. In order to keep kitchen chaos to a minimum, cabinet manufacturers are offering more time-saving accessories to make cabinetry more functional and practical without compromising style. Here are some tips to organize your kitchen.

Boosting Your Home's Bottom Line: Big Ideas for Making a Good First Impression

A home's exterior makes or breaks the first impression when prospective buyers see your home initially. If you're looking to add value to your home without spending a lot of money, consider enhancing its curb appeal with a new front door. A spruced-up entryway can add as much as $24,000 to a home's perceived value, according to research commissioned by Therma-Tru Doors.

Style With a Conscience

Functional used to be the best word to describe "green" home design and décor. But, luckily, "green" has been undergoing a glamorous transformation. With more demand for environmentally-friendly products, designers and manufacturers are introducing upscale and luxurious options that prove stylish and "good for the earth" can go hand in hand.

How to DIY Like a Pro

Home improvement season has arrived, and as do-it-yourselfers take on their much anticipated projects, they may hit a few road blocks along the way. DIY home improvement is challenging and, even with the best intentions, it's difficult to attain professional-looking results. Lisa LaPorta, design expert and co-host of HGTV's "Designed to Sell," offers the following tips to give DIY warriors an edge on their next renovation endeavor,

Choosing a Home-Comfort System Based on How and Where You Live

Selecting a heating and air conditioning system that meets your family's needs can be tricky. Here are some tips to keep in mind when choosing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system based on how and where your family lives.

Yesterday's Luxurious Home Accents are Today's Quick and Easy Upgrades

Decorative accents like crown molding, chair rails and ceiling medallions can give your dining room, den or living room an elegant upgrade without investing in a whole room makeover. And one of them is easier to install for the do-it-yourselfer than the others.

Your Patio Can Look Great and Give Back to the Environment

During the last year alone, more than 290 million scrap tires ended up in landfills according the Environmental Protection Agency. Adding to the volume of municipal waste is an ever greater percentage of plastic household items, about 26.7 million tons per year. As our available landfill space shrinks, finding new ways to reuse and reduce this waste will become increasingly important.

Does Your Garage Need Organizing?

Garage organization projects are one of the fastest growing segments of the home renovation industry. Here are some tips for getting yours in order.

Turn Your Garage Space into a Living Space

No matter how big your house is, there never seems to be enough room for everything. Whether it's space for hobbies, recreation or just more storage, most of us could use more of it.

Kitchen Problems Solved

Building your kitchen seemed like it would be fun and easy, until you ran into an unanticipated problem. The winners of this year's "Design with Decora' Contest" illustrate how smart design can solve some of the most common problems kitchen builders and remodelers face.

Throwing Money Out the Window?

Ever wonder where your hard earned money is going? Take a look around your home at the windows and doors. Here's how to figure out if it's time to replace them.

Help Protect Your Family and Breathe Easier

A healthy home? Does that mean everyone in the household is free of germs and sniffles? By today's environmental standards, it's much more. A healthy home is one that allergy and asthma sufferers and everyone can appreciate. It features clean indoor air with proper ventilation, filtration and moisture control. A healthy home is high on comfort and low on humidity, dust and other airborne irritants.

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Home Improvement from Home / Garden

Home Improvement