Photo: Benjamin Moore
Just like windows are the eyes to the soul, the outside of a home gives viewers a first impression of what’s inside.
This fall, take the time to improve your home’s exterior entry area. The National Association of Realtors says curb appeal sells 49% of all houses, but you don’t need to have your house on the market to try out a few easy and affordable change-outs.
Slideshow: 10 Simple “Under $60″ Curb Appeal Updates for Any Home
If you’re looking for a quick and inexpensive way to give your kitchen a pick-me-up, replacing the sink faucet might be all you need.
Photo: actiontotherescue.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON REPLACING FAUCETS, or read the text below:
As you start putting your lawn to bed, you must take care of three fall lawn maintenance tasks now to secure healthy grass growth next spring.
Photo: theshould.com
1. Fertilize
This is the most important time of year to fertilize for cool-season grasses. This last application of slow-release organic fertilizer will provide the grass with the strength it needs to make it through winter. Lay down about 1-4 pounds per 1,000 square feet of grass that gets full sun (shaded areas of your lawn don’t need quite as much). Getting your soil tested first will help you determine any nutrient deficiencies you may then correct by adapting your dosage of fertilizer. (Warm-season grasses need fertilizer in the spring.)
Photo: Get More Curb Appeal
Boldly colored mums on porches or planted in garden beds are wonderful harbingers of fall, going hand in hand with that nip in the air, the turning leaves, and the children in their back-to-school clothes.
Unlike mums found in a florist’s shop, garden mums prefer cooler temperatures and continue blooming well into fall. Buyers should be aware that while mums may be on our minds right now, this time of year is not ideal for planting.
Slideshow: 10 Low-Maintenance Mums
Keeping up with the Joneses can actually be a good rule of thumb if you’re planning to sell your house within the next five years.
Photo: lowesforpros.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON REMODELING ROI, or read the text below:
Photo: Camelbak
There are many reasons you might be working on a project house without running water, but there are fewer reasons to go thirsty, even if the only water available is unfiltered.
Camelbak makes the All Clear, a personal ultraviolet (UV) water treatment plant in the form of a water bottle. UV light damages the microbes in untreated water, making it impossible for the bacteria to reproduce. NASA actually douses the craft it sends to Mars in UV in order to protect that planet from our germs. New York City, meanwhile, is working on the world’s largest UV-treatment plant.
And now the All Clear. It’s a fantastically sophisticated advance on Daniel Boone’s canteen, and can be too easily dismissed as overkill until you need safe water. Here’s how it works:
Hanging a framed picture is about as DIY as many homeowners get. But although it may seem easy, hanging art properly is much more than a haphazard task. Here are five favorite tips for taking a one-hole approach to placing art on the wall.
Photo: Young House Love
1. Don’t eyeball it! If you’re hanging multiple pieces of artwork, you need to figure out how they’ll work together before you start making holes. My recommendation is to make a template. Use newsprint or butcher paper to create true-scale templates of your frames, then use painter’s tape to figure out the best arrangement. Young House Love has a great walkthrough of the technique.
Whether you’re building a whole house or just adding a new bathroom, one of your first decisions has to be how you’re going to heat the space.
Photo: manasquanplumber.com
‘Knot’ just for sailing fanatics or decorating summer beach houses anymore, rope has found its way into homes of every style. Typically made from cotton or hemp that’s been braided or twisted, rope combines industrial functionality with a homegrown, natural look and feel. As an added bonus, it wears well and ages beautifully.
Whether used as dresser pulls or a stairway banister, rope can be simultaneously decorative and practical. The opportunities to use it in your home design are limited only by your imagination—or by your glue gun!
1. Rope-suspended bunkbeds
Photo: thebumpercrop.wordpress.com
Photo: HydrangeasHydrangeas.com
The end of the summer is just days away but instead of celebrating the season, the last bright blooms are starting to look like a symbol of summer’s end. If dried now though, hydrangeas—one of summer’s most decadent ensigns—can decorate your home throughout winter. There are a few ways to do it, all simple.
