A person living in a small space will often wish they had a larger one, but large spaces come with the unique problem of solving what to do with all of that extra, often vertical, space. One technique is to strategically place tall potted plants around the room to fill some of the vertical space, […]
300 Billion Home Remodeling Market: Better Material Choices for Kitchen Counter Tops
According to a recent report released by Harvard University’s Joint Center of Housing Studies, most of the investment that will maintain and improve the housing stock for the country can be found in the $300 billion spent a year on home remodeling and repair. The two most common investments in this realm, which is seeing […]
DIY Remodeling is Rewarding When Not Frustrating
John Melton is a good example of a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Remodeler, a human resources manager who moonlights as a remodeler after hours on his own home. While he has a full workshop, complete with a full set of tools, materials, and know-how, all of these thing built up slowly over time. Katie Hamilton, co-author of […]
Pull the Necessary Permits When Remodeling
One of the more unpleasant tasks of remodeling a home may be getting all the necessary building permits that are required for the project, but building without them can present a serious risk. One benefit of obtaining a permit is getting an inspection from the municipality, which can uncover shoddy workmanship on the home as […]
Spring Spruce-Ups for Your Home’s Exterior
While spring for many people means cleaning the house and working on the yard, there are many spring-time projects for the exterior of the house as well. Spring can be a good time to replace the windows, which can not only give the house a more modern look with modern style windows, but can also […]
Decorate with Intention: Could a Mission Statement Help Your House?
Mission statements are commonly utilized in businesses or even self-improvement as a way to coordinate values, goals, and style with decisions that will achieve the desired results. Not as commonly heard of, but still just as useful, are mission statements for houses. A mission statement for your home will help with making decisions for new […]
Fitch: Home Improvement Sales Underscore Housing Recovery
In early March, Home Depot and Lowe’s, two home improvement retailers, released their financial reports from the fourth quarter of 2012. The results were fairly good, with Home Depot seeing a same store increase of up to 4.6% in 2012, while Lowe’s stores showed a smaller increase of 1.4%. Fitch predicts that both stores will […]
How to Pick Your Important Kitchen Appliances
Since kitchen appliances are investments, it’s important to carefully consider options before making a purchase and understanding the expenses of “dream appliances” while budgeting for a kitchen. A range is the typical oven/cooktop combo that works effectively in most homes in both style and function. A range still comes in a variety of styles, such […]
Plant a Green Roof: Feed 70 Chickens and Lower Your Bills
Green roofs are not a new thing, seeing as how sod was used as roofing in the middle ages, but they are making a new and improved comeback. Besides just offering the possibility of some refreshing greenery in what may be an otherwise bleak city landscape, green roofs do carry many practical and environmentally friendly […]
Your March Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home
Spring 2013 begins officially on March 20th, so there’s no better time than now to start preparing for it. Things to start considering include taking the winter layers off of the house. This involves tasks like rotating the mattress and replacing the heavy sheets and comforters on the bed with fresh, light linens. Be sure […]