Aisha Sultan St. Louis Post-Dispatch When many of us start fantasizing about a dream kitchen, the potential price tag is a jolt of reality. And while traditionally the kitchen was considered a prime home investment for resale purposes, things have changed in this slumping housing market. Real estate agents caution sellers about ...

James Dulley Columbus Post-Dispatch Q: We're planning an addition to our house and want it to be efficient and green. I heard that using reclaimed lumber makes sense. Is it more efficient and as strong as new lumber? Where do you get it? A: Reclaimed (recycled) lumber is popular for many reasons. Most reclaimed ...

Bridget A. Otto The Oregonian Remember the opening sequence to the iconic'60s cartoon "The Jetsons"? Everything was automated, sleek and clean, thanks to Rosie the robot maid. The concept of simplifying through automation is becoming a reality in the design studios of firms such as GE, Italy's Scavolini and Germany's SieMatic. Their ...

Whether you are remodeling an old kitchen or designing a new kitchen for a new home, functionality is the key to kitchen design. Having a functional layout in the kitchen not only makes the kitchen more inviting to your family and guests, but it also makes things easier on the ...

Margaret Slaby McClatchy Newspapers In these tough economic times, sprucing up your home might be the last thing on your mind — or in your budget. However, there's a relatively inexpensive way to give your home a facelift: a fresh coat of interior paint. Depending what you buy and where you shop, for around ...

Katherine Salant Washington Post Last week, I saw the most remarkable kitchen I have ever encountered. It looked as though a dancer or a sculptor designed it. On one side of a simple galley arrangement, the cabinets were held in the embrace of a thick, curved, black walnut butcher-block slab that was a study ...

A. J. Bauer Gatehouse News Service When considering new kitchen cabinets, it's easy to get caught up clipping photos of your dream designs out of magazines and lose track of the ultimate task at hand: rebuilding your kitchen. While she recommends using magazines to develop aesthetic preferences, Marlene Ketchen, owner of The Cabinetry ...

Adrian Sainz Associated Press For homeowners looking to remodel their kitchens, picking a durable and attractive countertop is a way to make the room both comfortable and practical. Kitchens are usually among the busiest rooms in the home, the place where families cook, eat, gather and entertain. It's also the room that's ...

Q: My children just got a dog, so we need a fence. Since I am going to have a fence, it might as well also function as a windbreak for energy savings. Is expensive vinyl fencing a good choice for this? Judy M. A: Adding a windbreak on the northwest and north ...

By Maureen Patzer The Tennessean Three years ago, when Lisa and Lance Strawn bought a home in Franklin, Tenn., their landscaping consisted of the standard "shrub it up" builder's package of two trees and bunches of big bushes. "But it didn't look like anyone had done any planning," Lisa Strawn says. "And most ...

By Lisa Sim Epoch Times We usually think of cork as something we attach to our walls and stick memos to, or pull from a wine bottle, but cork has been used in flooring in Europe for over 300 years. At first glance, it seems that cork would be easily damaged because ...

Ask an interior designer about rich, dark colors and they're likely to bubble over with praise: "Dark colors are my favorite for my own home and for clients," says designer Brian Patrick Flynn. Chocolate brown, midnight blue, deep scarlet -- even black. Deep colors are welcoming and cozy, they say, perfect ...

For homeowners looking to remodel their kitchens, picking a durable and good-looking countertop is a way to make the room both comfortable and practical. Kitchens are usually among the busiest rooms in the home, the place where families cook, eat, gather and entertain. It's also the room that's usually seen ...

It’s the height of remodeling season during a weak economy, which is a tough combination for homeowners needing to make upgrades to their kitchen. This summer, things are heating up as people debate a costly home improvement that also offers one of the best returns on investment. To help, DreamMaker ...

Andy Bertrand St. Louis Post-Dispatch The bathroom is often the smallest room in the house. So you might think it would be one of the easiest and cheapest to remodel. You would be wrong. Bathroom remodelers say $25,000 to $30,000 is average for a total renovation, even in these tight economic times. In ...

Bob Shaw Pioneer Press If Brown's Creek had arms, it would hug Elizabeth Brod. The creek is healthier now that Brod has installed two water-cleansing rain gardens in her back yard. Better yet, her homeowners association helped persuade 12 neighbors to do the same. "It was very worry-free," she said as she ...

Jennifer Forker Associated Press Step aside, orange. It's yellow's turn to shine. The primary colors blue and yellow are muscling back into the forefront. "Orange has started to run its course," says Jack Bredenfoerder, president of Color Marketing Group. As in the fashion world, with its punch of yellow in bangles, bags and high heels, ...

The great outdoors can offer both adventure and hazard to pets. So pet care and landscaping experts suggest releasing dogs and cats into a well-maintained, pet-friendly yard that's safe and fun for them to explore. Homeowners frustrated by urine-marred sod or emergency vet visits after a pet has ingested something ...