Improve Your Home and Garden
From the category archives:
by Doreen Coleman on March 1, 2010
I’m not crazy about using green in my home. My favorite color is brown, because it is warm, and almost neutral, which means I can switch out accent colors as I please. Our brown carpet also conveniently matches the dog, but that’s another article.
I recently learned, however, that I could go green while keeping my [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on February 14, 2010
Quartz Countertops – Sinks need to sit on or in something and the newest trend in countertops is quartz. This natural stone look surface is perfect in kitchens because it’s non-porous – cooking debris and bacteria can’t soak in making quartz totally food safe. Quartz is also easy to maintain, unlike granite, which requires sealing, [...]
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by Cary Baumann ASID on January 20, 2010
My mother deliberated endlessly between harvest gold and avocado green when selecting the appliance color for our new home. Those were the current color trends–burnt orange was as well-but it had already been eliminated by my father. He hated the other two less, but equally, that is why my mother got to choose.
My father [...]
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by Cary Baumann ASID on January 14, 2010
A&E and HGTV still haven’t called, nor have their cameras ever appeared at one of the many properties I “flipped” or rehabbed.
I’ve been at it longer than these stations have existed: buying foreclosed and distressed properties fixing them up, staging them and selling the property for a profit. It did surprise me [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on December 18, 2009
I don’t live in Portland, Oregon, but the more I talk with businesses, there, I think I seriously need to reconsider my living arrangements. Take the Mirador Community Store, for example. This place is a veritable Heaven on Earth for anyone even just a tiny bit green-minded.
This place is the brainchild of Lynn and Steve [...]
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by Lori Feldman on November 30, 2009
With unemployment at its highest point this year, many of us know at least one family affected by layoffs, disappearing bonuses or – my favorite euphemism – furlough days. Many who are still employed are nonetheless nervous about the future of their own jobs and have begun investigating top home-based business opportunities.
Beth Leeper, a consultant [...]
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by Lori Feldman on November 20, 2009
In the heirarchy of increasing your home’s for-sale asking price and improving its curb appeal, it’s aluminum siding, then brick, and then the highest ROI is for manufactured stone.
Indulge in a mental picture for a minute of a romantic night spent watching the flames dancing around in a roaring fire. Is the fireplace you’re [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on November 13, 2009
In yesterday’s post I discussed modular homes. Now for a primer on manufactured homes.
“Even today, when most people hear ‘manufactured homes’ they think of a trailer that they were in 40 years ago. They have no idea what our product has become.” That’s Jeff Held of Riverview Homes describing how manufactured home craftsmanship has matured [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on November 6, 2009
Jeff Held would like you to have a better understanding of manufactured and modular homes. Why? Because his company, Riverview Homes, is the premier provider of “quality family-affordable homes” in western Pennsylvania.
According to Jeff, “We can do anything a home builder can do, we can do it for less money, we can do it faster [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on October 30, 2009
The Joinery takes sustainability one-step further: their shop is 100% fueled by wind power and uses Smart Energy to reduce greenhouse gasses.
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by Lisbeth Tanz on October 23, 2009
Has this ever happened to you? You have the perfect spot for a beautiful furniture piece. You can see it there, imagine using it and enjoying the compliments of friends and relatives as to your decorating savvy.
The only problem?
You can’t find exactly what you envision. Some pieces come close, but not close enough that you [...]
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by Lori Feldman on October 16, 2009
By the year 2030 there will be 70 million baby boomers over the age of 65, more than all age groups put together.
It’s the primary driver behind Congress’ struggle to reinvent health insurance. But closer to home, families we all know are quietly seeking solutions from what is being called the Aging-In-Place Initiative.
Aging in Place [...]
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by Kat on September 25, 2009
Everyone is looking for ways to save money these days. It’s not just a desire; it’s a necessity. Margie Ross from Ross Retractable Awnings will be exhibiting at the St. Louis Builders Home and Garden Show and will tell you one great idea to do that.
I didn’t realize all the different ways there [...]
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by Kat on September 4, 2009
I love the idea of glass blocks because I am a light hound. It cannot be light enough for me while I’m inside my house.
But I also love my privacy. Those are 2 reasons many people and businesses install glass blocks. My father was an architect/builder/developer, and he used glass blocks in his office.
Originally [...]
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by Kat on August 14, 2009
I can remember it vividly.
I was about 10 years old and repeatedly rode my bicycle up to the neighborhood Ben Franklin 5 and Dime store to buy stained glass, paint by numbers, mosaic kits. I loved creating art.
That was the childhood memory that flashed in my brain when I met artist Rick Hecht of [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on July 11, 2009
I have to admit that when I first read the name of this company Flip Flop Flower Pot, I wondered how they could possibly piece together flip flops to make a flowerpot worthy of holding a plant. Boy, was I strolling down the wrong path!
The idea behind the Flip Flop Flower Pot is its design [...]
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by Kristen on July 2, 2009
If you are one of those who loves to do home improvement projects, you probably surf online for hours for the best websites for home improvement tips and tricks.
To help you solve this problem, we created a top ten list of our favorite home improvement websites. We compiled our list from the most [...]
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by Lori Feldman on July 1, 2009
Wall cladding is a widely used method for copper roof shingles. This house has a vertical wall shadow of copper on the side.
Fashionistas have always known the secret to standing out in a crowd when there’s no money for couture is: Wear one signature piece of jewelry. Same with houses.
With the economy such that [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on June 19, 2009
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent some time staring at your windows, trying to decide the best window treatment to buy to dress them up. There’s no shortage of options available – curtains, drapes, blinds, shades – and materials to consider – opaque fabrics, sheers, wood, plastic and metal. Just for fun, I’m going [...]
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by Lisbeth Tanz on June 17, 2009
How many times have you looked around your home at all the repairs you need to do–big and small–sighed, and then went back to being a couch potato?
Many homeowners have good intentions to get these projects off their “honey-do” lists, but find they don’t really have the time, tools or talent to do the [...]
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