Read the latest articles from Bob Vila (Page 334)

Working from home saves on commute time and offers some nifty fringe benefits, such as being able to work in your sweats if you choose to do so. However, working at home can come with challenges, such as being bombarded by unwanted sounds. Distractions, such as the sound of kids playing in the room outside your office, or motorists speeding by on the street beyond your window can keep you from getting your work done. If you need a little peace and quiet while you work from home, check out the following 10 tips for soundproofing your home office.

Aah—that’s your sigh of contentment when you retreat from the hot summer sun and enter the sweet relief of your air-conditioned home. But if you want your AC to cool the air reliably and efficiently, it needs regular care and maintenance—and not just when Mother Nature turns up the heat. So, as the heat soars this summer, take a moment to give thanks to Willis Carrier, who invented modern air conditioning back in 1902, and then be sure to follow these 12 tips that will help keep all that cool comfort coming.

Remove stuck-on grime and protect your dishwasher with these top-rated dish detergents.

Call them necessary evils: the utility boxes, septic tanks, and random receptacles that houses require for functional reasons. That doesn’t mean we like looking at them, though. To downplay the visual impact of those homely household helpers, check out the following brilliant disguises.

Follow these rules for the proper disposal of paint thinner to keep your family and the planet safe from harm.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have high ceilings in their home. If your rooms are vertically challenged, don’t worry - there are ways to make them feel higher. The key is to use space to your advantage to create the illusion of higher ceilings. Here are nine ways to add visual height to your space.

Whether you're trying to sell a home or just make one look uniquely yours, an attractive exterior can seriously boost curb appeal. While the overall color of a house may need to be neutral to fit in with the neighborhood, the front door is a focal point that’s prime for self-expression. Here are 10 great front door paint colors, from classic to courageous, sure to give a house more street cred.

The centerpiece of any bathroom is the vanity. It not only holds the sink, but it also provides valuable storage. Its finish and style often help set the palette for the entire room. When you're choosing this all-important component of your bathroom scheme, you don’t have to settle for what you can find in the stores. There are unique DIY bathroom vanity projects that can replicate the many different vanity styles common in today's bathrooms, from large wall-to-wall units to small statement pieces. DIY bathroom vanity possibilities range from simple upgrades using paint or fun drawer pulls to inventively upcycled dressers or vintage pieces. Need some ideas? Here are a few fine examples of DIY vanities to get your creative juices flowing.

During the chilly winter months, the thought of touching your feet to the bathroom's ice-cold tile floors is enough to make you want to avoid the room altogether. And as for that dreaded moment when you step out of the steamy warmth of the shower into the frigid air—forget it! But there are some easy ways to cut the chill; here are ten ideas that will turn your bathroom into a cozy retreat during the coldest part of the year.

Attic rooms are challenging to furnish. Their charming-but-awkward features like sharply sloped ceilings and angular dormers can make furniture arrangement a real struggle. In these often odd-shaped rooms, the factors that most affect furniture placement and decor are the degree of the ceiling's slope and the size and position of the windows. One common solution for a slope-ceilinged attic room is to use the short space at the outer edges for low, built-in storage units, bookshelves, or even a wide, flat desktop. The awkward spaces created by dormers can also be put to good use. For example, a large dormer window can accommodate a single bed tucked right into its alcove. A smaller dormer may provide prime space for a writing desk or a window seat with storage underneath. Are you getting any ideas yet? Take a look at these 21 attractive attic spaces where challenge led to triumph.

Give your doors a fresh coat and you’ll be surprised by the striking impact it has on a room.

The easy elegance of a white room is part of the enduring appeal of this decorating style. Finding the right shade of white, however, is anything but simple. With countless paint colors to choose from and numerous factors affecting the hue's appearance once it's up on the wall, homeowners are understandably unsure where to begin the search. We spoke with paint experts and interior designers to demystify the process. Read on for their time-tested advice.

Bringing light to a dark room will immediately make it more appealing. If making structural changes like adding windows, doors or skylights just isn’t in the cards, you can use paint, rugs, lighting, and accessories to transform a cave into a captivating place where everyone will want to gather.

Stay entertained while staying at home. Get ideas and inspiration from these real basement bars, so you can build one for your own home.

If you have an unfinished basement, you probably don’t want to spend a ton of time down there. The air is musty, the floors are damp, and it feels just a tiny bit creepy. Luckily, there are some simple ways to get the feel of a finished basement without shelling out thousands of dollars. Here, 10 ways to turn your basement into a space where the entire family will want to hang out.

Wood floors bring warmth and richness to interiors, so it's no surprise that wood has a similar effect when it covers the upper reaches of a room. Wood adds texture, color, and style to a ceiling, "elevating" what would often otherwise be an empty canvas. Want to spice up your ceiling? Take some cues from these designers, who took wood to new heights in these elegant spaces.

If a trip to the bath feels more like a trip in time to the 1960s—complete with nostalgic but now dated design choices like pastel bathtubs, plate mirrors, and garish, textured wallpaper—your bathroom could do with an update. But you don’t have to take the plunge on a more costly or time-consuming renovation when there are a number of thrifty and simple alterations you can make to refresh your bathroom. Read on for nine easy ways to bring your bathroom out of the dark ages and into modernity.

Kitchen islands are the workhorses of a busy kitchen, but they also inevitably become a place where family and friends gather before and after mealtime. Whether topped with marble, laminate, or butcher block, a sturdy kitchen island provides a place to slice and dice, grab a bite to eat, store supplies, or stand around for conversation. A kitchen island doesn’t need to be big to perform its duties. Take some design inspiration from these small kitchen islands, then consider recreating the look in your kitchen, whatever the dimensions of your space.

When it comes to picking exterior paint colors, there are a number of things to consider before making a final decision. Here are some basic do’s and don’ts to help you choose the perfect color—or colors—for your dream home.