Kids grow so fast, it doesn’t take long before their rooms can feel pretty small… but before you plan an addition, here are some simple solutions that might help.
Photo: decorating-cool-kids-rooms.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON KID’S STUFF STORAGE, or read text below:
Whether you’re focused on going back to school or getting back to organizational sanity, the desk is a great place, maybe the best place, to begin. This time of year everyone seems to be scrambling to get their workspace outfitted, but luckily there are deals to be found on products that will help you maximize the storage potential of your study or office area. There’s spring cleaning and then there’s fall organizing; we’ll help you accomplish the latter without straining your budget.
Lighting. Adequate lighting is a must-have, and of course desktop lamps come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s hard to beat the utility of a lamp with an adjustable neck. This weekend Target is offering a basic, attractive model for just $12.00 (reg. $14.99).
PB Teen, $59.00
The hoses that deliver hot and cold water to your clothes washer may not be something you think about very often, but failing washing machine hoses are responsible for $150 million yearly in flood damage.
Photo: homeadditionplus.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON WASHING MACHINE HOSES, or read text below:
Falling down the stairs is so common and so dangerous, if you’ve got a baby in your house, you ought to have safety gates to fit both the top and bottom of all the stairs inside and outside your home.
Photo: bringmaeflowers.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CHILD SAFETY GATES, or read text below: Read the rest of this entry »
Your dryer removes about a gallon of water from every load of laundry. The longer that water stays inside your home, the more damage it can cause. Locate your dryer on or near an exterior wall so the vent line can be as short and as straight as possible.
Photo: shutterstock.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON DRYER VENTS, or read text below:
Here’s a job you can do in the cool basement to beat the summer heat, and you should add it to your twice a year to-do list: clean the dryer vent. Poor dryer venting and maintenance causes more than a hundred million dollars each year in damage.
Photo: yelp.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CLEANING YOUR DRYER VENTS, or read text below:
KOHLER StereoStik
While people of good faith will forever debate whether reading materials should occupy a bathroom, there can be no logical argument about the manifest virtues of listening to music or the spoken word while in the bathroom.
Short of installing a whole-house system with recessed speakers, there are few elegant ways of achieving this modest goal.
Kohler, of all companies, has an answer. It’s the StereoStik ($227), a digital-tuning FM/AM radio and clock/alarm that amplifies music from your MP3 player.
It probably should be StereoStiks, plural, as it’s a two-piece device that bolts onto either side of a 26″ x 36″ x 4 5/8-inch wall-mounted medicine cabinet.
Bob Vila Radio is a newly launched daily radio spot carried on more than 60 stations around the country (and growing). You can get your daily dose here, by listening to—or reading—Bob’s 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day. Today, it’s all about Cord Storage.
usonly.us
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CORD STORAGE, or read text below: Read the rest of this entry »
Bob Vila Radio is a newly launched daily radio spot carried on more than 60 stations around the country (and growing). You can get your daily dose here, by listening—or reading—to Bob’s 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day. Today, it’s all about Childproofing Tips.
bornangels.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CHILDPROOFING TIPS, or read text below: Read the rest of this entry »
Every home is different—and children are great at finding different things to get into every day. There’s a childproofing gadget for just about any hazard, from toilets to refrigerators to electronics, but you want to find solutions the rest of the family can live with.
Photo: rhoost.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listen to BOB VILA ON CHILDPROOFING GADGETS, or read text below:
