New York was buzzing last week with Design Week and ICFF taking place, but there were also a few other cool events happening around the city. Lowe’s was in town kicking off their Designer Challenge, which asked three designers to create an 11′ x 11′ space using elements from the retailer’s 2012 Outdoor Spring Collection.

The designers came from very different backgrounds and included Marcela Valladolid (celebrity chef, author and host of the Food Networks “Mexican Made Easy”), Elaine Griffin (notable New York Designer, TV personality and author of  Design Rules: The Professional’s Guide to Do-it-Yourself Home Style), and Danny Seo (environmental lifestyle expert).

Lowe’s set up their designs on the top floor of the Chelsea Arts Tower on the west side of Manhattan, not only a gorgeous place to view the designers’ work but also to catch amazing views of the sunset over the Hudson River.

Marcela embraced the outdoors, and her design was sprinkled with succulents and a must-have pergola.

Elaine’s room was cozy and colorful with beautiful lattice and lighting.

Danny went with an outdoor themed movie theater with comfy chairs and snacks.

Voting starts now on the Lowe’s Facebook page, and the winning designer will receive $50,000 towards their charity so everyone is a winner. Marcela’s charity is Olivewood Gardens, Elaine’s is the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club and Danny’s is Yum-o!

Related:
Talking to Celerie Kemble
Hardscaping Trend: Upgrade Your Outdoor Space
Outdoor Kitchens: High Style and State-of-the-Art Features

3 Designers Go Head-to-Head for a Good Cause Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair is filled with amazing designs for the modern home, and not to be forgotten are the kids who also deserve beautifully designed furniture.

There were at least a few pieces on display at ICFF that speak to a child’s sense of wonder and playfulness without being juvenile.

Art of Board (shown above) uses recycled skateboard decks and cuts them into tiles that can be used for a backsplash, wall covering, or graphic wall art. Every piece is unique and they are now producing wall prints of some of the coolest designs.

Kast van een Huis are multifunctional storage cabinets designed and manufactured in Holland for both children and adults. They mimic a typical Dutch cityscape and are made of FCS-certified MDF and are covered in non-toxic paint. You can choose from three distinct gable styles, and you can align the shelves in various layouts.

Playable Studio comes from the mind of inventor Willie Hoffman, whose goal was to invent playable furniture that is functional for kids and adults. It’s made of environmentally friendly materials, and the safe edges and ergonomics are suitable for children of all ages. The first line consists of a table that doubles as a slide or bench, as well as a rocker that can be a side table or stool.

Related:
Top 5 Seating Picks from ICFF
Wandering Through “Wood-Land” at ICFF
Creative Kids’ Spaces

Coolest Kids Products at ICFF Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Technology is permeating our domestic lives and “smart homes” are at the apex of this movement. Communications giant AT&T is launching Digital life, a connected home program in two parts. The first is a suite of web-enabled home products; the second is an intuitive platform for monitoring and managing those products—from any internet connection, be it laptop, mobile phone, or tablet computer.

Digital Life is being rolled out on a trial basis in Atlanta and Dallas. We assume that once they’ve worked out the kinks, the program will be made available nationwide.

The home systems include: security cameras; window/door sensors; smoke, carbon monoxide, motion and glass break detectors; remote door lock controls; remote thermostat access; moisture detection sensors; and remote home appliance controls. All of these cameras, sensors, detectors, and controls are wirelessly connected to the internet and therefore controllable through Digital Life (on the web or with the app).

The smart home market will continue to get more sophisticated and competitive, so make sure you look at all the competing services available in your area before getting locked into one. Click here for more information on AT&T’s Digital Life system.

Related:
Automation for the Smart Home
Bob Vila Radio: Smart Appliances
Nest Learning Thermostat: Digital-Age Home Temperature Control

New Smart Home Option: AT&T’s Digital Life Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Brushless motor technology has been around for a while, but only within the last couple years have power tool manufacturers actually incorporated brushless technology into cordless power tools.

In a typical brushed motor you have rotor, commutator, brushes, axle, and magnets. When a power current is applied, the brushes and commutator make physical contact, and you get heat and energy loss.

Brushless motors do not have brushes that make physical contact. The technology behind a brushless motor is more advanced, making them more expensive to manufacture. And brushless tools also take more time to develop, since the guts of a tool need to be redesigned. But there are plenty of advantages, including longer runtime, more power, and longer life.

Makita, DeWALT and Milwaukee have all introduced brushless motor power tools, starting with the impact driver. But be prepared to see a lot more cordless power tools with brushless motors. As they proliferate, the cost of manufacturing should go down, which in turn should lead to lower consumer prices.

Do you have any brushless tools and what is your experience with using them?

Related:
Why Every DIYer Needs a Thickness Planer
How To: Spring Clean Your Power Tools
Making Friends with a Detail Sander: Refinish Your Front Door

New Wave of Brushless Motor Power Tools Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Home sales are still recovering, but business is brisk when it comes to homeowners upgrading their outdoor spaces. Landscapes and lawns will always require maintenance, but more people are investing bigger dollars in adding outdoor kitchens, fire pits and seating areas.

Creating a more comfortable outdoor space enhances your quality of living and also helps add resale value.

Installing decks and pavers are popular spring projects that pay immediate dividends and—if you can get it finished in time for a Memorial Day BBQ—you’ll likely have the most popular house on the block this summer!

Before you dive into your hardscaping project, make sure you have a long-term plan that realistically fits your budget. Outdoor kitchens are difficult to move once installed; with fire pit locations, be aware of where gas and water lines are located on your property.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a hardscape plan, then start slowly and get that grill you’ve been wanting and that portable fire pit that you can try out in different spots around your yard.

For more on outdoor living, consider the following Bob Vila articles and slideshows:

Landscaping Made Easy
Outdoor Kitchens: High Style and State-of-the-Art Features
7 Reasons to Consider the New “Grass” Alternative

The Hardscaping Trend: Upgrade Your Outdoor Areas Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Pennington Seed has been cultivating and improving lawn seed for more than 60 years, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the company’s headquarters and lab in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

The art of creating the ultimate lawn seed is an ongoing process, as the product continues to evolve and adapt to different climates and disease. As a homeowner who continually battles to grow the perfect green lawn, I was eager to pick up a tip or two from the seed scientists and lawn care professionals at my disposal.

Here’s what the Pennington Seed pros had to say:

Lawn Height. Never cut more than 1/3 of the blade; cutting off more will shock the plant. During hot summer months, cut your lawn higher than the recommended rate.

Know Your Seed. Plant the type of grass seed that works best for your climate by following the USDA plant hardiness zone map.

Warm Season Grass. These types of grasses are planted in the spring when all danger of frost has passed. They turn brown or go dormant in the winter. So no matter how much you fertilize or water, it will remain brown until the Spring. The best planting time for warm season grasses spans from late spring to summer, when soil temperatures are above 65 degrees F at three inches below the surface.

Winter Season Lawn Tips. For lawns north of the transition zone, be careful when applying ice-melting products to sidewalks, since they could potentially burn your lawn. For lawns south of the transition zone, be sure to apply fertilizer to overseeded Ryegrass lawns.

Be Patient. We all want the quick fix to a green and lush lawn, but it can take a couple seasons for a lawn to really take hold and fill in. If you are patient, you will be rewarded.

For more on lawn care and gardening, consider:

Artificial Turf: 7 Reasons to Consider the New “Grass” Alternative
Landscaping Made Easy
7 New “Must-Have” Annuals

Lawn Care Tips from Pennington Seed Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

At one time or another most of us have considered remodeling the kitchen. It’s the one room in the house that sees the most use and abuse, the one that demands both efficiency and good looks. Because kitchens are used on a daily basis, however, finding the opportunity to remodel them can be hard. And unlike bathrooms, most homes don’t have a second kitchen to enlist, so when the countertops are ripped up or the cabinets pulled down—you’re stuck.

A new product from Rust-Oleum could solve the time and budget issue for at least one of your kitchen remodeling desires: countertop re-surfacing. The company’s new Countertop Transformations system is a do-it-yourself solution formulated to turn worn and old laminate kitchen countertops into durable, like-new surfaces. Rust-Oleum invited me to their launch event to “test drive” the new product and—over the course of a couple hours—I was able to transform a sample countertop in just five easy steps:

Step 1: Prepare the surface with the Diamond Embedded Sanding Tool (included).
Step 2: Apply the Countertop Transformations Adhesive Base Coat.
Step 3: Spread the Decorative Color Chips.
Step 4: Sand and smooth.
Step 5: Apply the Countertop Transformations Protective Top Coat.

Once the top coat dries, you have the look of a designer finish without the expense, mess or downtime associated with replacement.

There are a variety of finishes including Pebbled Ivory, Desert Sand, Java Stone, Onyx and Charcoal–some of the most popular “neutrals” in kitchen design today. The finish stands up to daily wear and tear and features HomeShield Antimicrobial Protection, which serves to inhibit the growth of mold, mildew, and other odor- or stain-causing microbes.

Rust-Oleum’s Countertop Transformations is backed by a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. A dedicated product support line is also available for assistance with projects, should you need it.

If you’re seeking an inexpensive alternative to a countertop upgrade, you may want to give this product a try. A single kit covers 50 square feet and sells for $250, a fraction of what you would pay for new countertops. Look for Rust-Oleum’s Countertop Transformations at a home store near you.

Related:
Laminate Countertop Renewal
Kitchen Countertops 101
Personalize Your Kitchen Countertops

DIY Kitchen Countertop Transformation Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Wagner Double-Duty Paint Spray Gun from Northerntool.com

Are you tired of using a brush and messing with a tray whenever you paint? Consider investing in a paint spray gun. Some of the newer models are a great value and can save you time on your next paint job. But it does take a little practice to learn how to use these tools properly.

A spray gun works great for coating uneven surfaces like door frames and window shutters, but because properly cleaning one takes a considerable amount of time and effort, you might want to consider using a sprayer exclusively for bigger jobs.

Below are some tips to help you use a spray gun successfully:

Air or Airless
We are talking about air sprayers here. Airless sprayers take even more training to use and typically aren’t appropriate for home projects.

What are you painting?
Keep in mind what type of surface you are painting and what type of paint you are using. Not all paint guns are the same, and they all have different settings. Check the thickness of the paint and the volume of the spray. You can also adjust the angle from a wider spray to a narrower pattern.

Technique is Everything
First, test your technique and the sprayer itself by running water through it. You want an even application best achieved by keeping the sprayer level while moving your body along the path of the spray, instead of just moving your arm. If you only move your arm, the amount of paint won’t be even.

Take it Slow
You’ll be tempted to finish a job quickly but if you start to rush, it’ll show up in your work. And you’ll waste paint. Paint dispenses from a sprayer at a higher rate than you’d expect, so take it slow.

For more on painting, check out the following Bob Vila articles and videos:

Choosing a Paint Sprayer

Painting the House: Should You Hire a Pro?

Weatherproof with Paint

How To: Use a Paint Spray Gun Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

Photo: Flickr

Those of us lucky enough to have a garage space in our home tend to take it for granted. This private and secure parking space can quickly become a ‘catch-all’ for myriad tools, products, and boxes of clothing—anything we just want out of sight. The problem is these items can also disappear from our mental inventory of possessions and, before you know it, become a garage full of stuff that you never use—or worse—forgot you ever had.

One of the problems with all this accumulated clutter is that the legit items that you need in your life, such as your tools or space for long-term storage, tend to get squeezed out or lost amid the mess. Here are some tips to help organize your garage to retain your sanity before you lose all hope.

1. Purge
Before you can even begin to organize the good stuff, you’ve got to remove the superfluous junk that you no longer need. That camping gear that you haven’t touched in 10 years, get rid of it. Those clothes that will never come back in style, donate. Consider having a yard sale to try and squeeze a little cash out of your better discards.

2. Plan
Once you’ve got to the good stuff, you’ll need to set a plan for organizing these items. First consider your layout and what items you’ll need easy access to and what items can go in a more “permanent” storage location. Tools, clothing and household items should probably be front and center so you don’t forget you have these items. Holiday decorations can be positioned further back as long as they are properly labeled and you know where to find them.

3. Organize
When you’ve decided where everything will go, you will need to determine how to physically organize the space. Open shelves are great for storing file boxes and power tools; getting them up off the floor and in an easy-to-reach position. Cabinets and drawers are good places for chemicals and cleaning fluids. Hooks are also great for getting things like bikes, brooms, and sporting equipment out of the way. Getting items off the floor is a huge factor in sorting out your space.

4. Label
As you begin to place your items on shelves or in storage bins, make sure you label them with BIG BOLD WORDS.  Use tape and a Sharpie instead of writing directly on a box so you don’t have to continue to cross out old contents. Be very clear on recording what items are in each box as this will save you time and headache later.

5. Keep it Clean
A clean and organized garage can quickly become messy. To prevent this, make a staging space on top of a box or counter in your garage where you can place items temporarily until they are stored in their proper place.  This will save you from just haphazardly throwing boxes or items on top of boxes and starting the vicious cycle all over again.

Photo: Flickr

For more on storage and organization, consider:

Optimize Your Attic Space
Quick Tip: Garage Storage Solutions 
Basement Storage Ideas

Organize Your Garage to Keep Your Sanity Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com

MILWAUKEE®, founded in 1924, definitely caters to the professional user–electricians, plumbers and contractors–but their cordless lineup of power tools continues to grow. They showed us some new tools that any homeowner-DIYer would covet, many of them “coming soon” to a Home Depot near you.

The M12 cordless platform is one of the fastest growing segments for the company and this year they will introduce a compact jigsaw (pictured above)—one of the first of its kind. Our on-site testing of the tool showed it to perform extremely well. We were able to cut puzzle pieces out of particleboard with ease.

The company also offers the world’s first cordless palm nailer (above); a portable nailing solution without the hassle of an air compressor or hose. It can replace the traditional nail gun for around-the-house tasks and, like most of the M12 lineup, features onboard fuel gauge and LED work light.

MILWAUKEE® has expanded their M18 professional cordless line too by introducing a new rotary hammer (above)—a tool that despite its design and size is extremely lightweight—and a right angle drill/driver that is perfect for working in tight spaces, like areas between studs or around ductwork.

As the company that kick-started the transition from NiCad (nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery) to Lithium batteries, MILWAUKEE® is introducing a new REDLITHIUM (below) technology that, according to company officials, will provide up to 40% more run-time, 20% more power and 50% more recharges than other Lithium products. The new battery will still power older versions of the M12 and M18 cordless tools, and set the stage for more powerful tools in the future.

While touring the facility and becoming more familiar with the company’s history and innovations in cordless tool technology, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my dad’s old Craftsman electric drill—the chuck key that it required for swapping out drill bits and the visible sparks and “electrical smell” that came from its motor.

I bet my dad’s old drill will still fire up—which is testament to it’s solid build—but I won’t be giving up my MILWAUKEE®, M12 cordless anytime soon.  To find out more about MILWAUKEE® click here.

For more  on tools, consider:

Quick Tip: 5 Tool-Buying Tips
Tool Storage
Choosing Essential Tools for Woorkworking

Milwaukee Tool Introduces a Refreshed Lineup Home Improvement, Home Remodeling & Home Repair - BobVila.com