Read the latest articles from Bob Vila (Page 386)

While your vacuum cleaner is designed to do most of the work for you, understanding how to use it properly can make a huge difference in the cleanliness of your floors. Learn what you may be doing wrong when you're performing this common household chore so that you can be on your way to fresher, better-looking carpets and other flooring.

While laws vary from state to state, generally speaking, sellers are responsible for disclosing only information within their personal knowledge that could affect the property value, such as structural defects, mold, and lead paint. Some issues, however, fall into a gray area that a home seller may try to conceal in order to get a top-dollar offer. To protect your investment, hire a certified home inspector before making an offer, and be on the lookout for the following signs that a seller has something to hide.

You can run, but you can’t hide from the dog days of summer. You can, however, camp out on your balcony to enjoy slightly deflected rays of sunlight while keeping all the cool comforts of home within arm's reach. Whether you have a traditional balcony that amply extends your living area, or a diminutive Juliet balcony, you can convert the bleakest outdoor space into a serene sanctuary. Just focus on adding a few of these 11 simple but striking garden features, architectural elements, textiles, or furnishings. With inspiration from our collection of favorite accents, your balcony can project an inviting style and ambience that you’ll want to bask in year-round.

Before you decide to go the "For Sale by Owner" route, it's a good idea to figure out what you're getting yourself into. You might find that the time commitment, marketing costs, and legal processes may be more than you bargained for. If you're getting ready to put your home on the market and think you may want to do the dirty work yourself, make sure you're prepared by perusing these 10 must-know considerations of being your own real estate agent.

Turn gungy grout like-new again using this easy and colorful approach!

Rub-a-dub-dub, soap is great for a scrub! But bar soap is handy to have around for many reasons that go far beyond the bathtub. It can serve as a lubricant, freshener, and even a pest-repellent. Here are just a few unusual and clever uses that make the most of a single bar of soap.

Organizing the bath can be as easy as finding underutilized real estate and repurposing it into crafty compartments for all of your bath goodies. Soak up these 18 sleek storage ideas, designed for spacious and space-challenged bathrooms alike!

We bet you didn't know that you have an incredibly versatile tool—cleverly disguised as a common hair-styling essential—hiding just under the bathroom sink. Learn how to move beyond the blowout with these little-known ways to use a hair dryer to simplify tasks in your home.

Add a touch of originality to your shelves with a DIY geometric bookend, molded easily from leftover cardboard and a little concrete mix.

Up your backyard's game with an outdoor classic: the DIY tire swing. Follow these easy instructions to create seasons' worth of family fun, all in less than an hour.

Learn the pros and cons of medium-density fiberboard, or MDF, and decide whether it's the right choice for your next carpentry project.

An affordable option for the average homeowner, installing window film enables you to dress up your windows with a new look or dramatically increase their level of energy efficiency.

Long saddled with a bad reputation, today's vinyl siding is weather- and insect-proof, fade-resistant, and virtually indestructible under normal circumstances. And it looks good, too.

While many of us think of the freezer as the home of our favorite cool treats and last-minute meals, we don't often realize the range of possibilities this underappreciated appliance has to offer. Here are a few surprising freezer feats, from prolonging the life of your batteries to cleaning your favorite pair of jeans, that prove that this workhorse's frigid temps are good for a lot more than storing ice cream.

While a few lights around the windows or doors are a classic way to display holiday cheer, you might be feeling like it's time to amp things up a bit. If you're stuck in an outdoor decorating rut, try one of these incredibly simple yet charming lighting ideas to add a bright and festive touch to your home.

The right houseplant brings beauty and calm into a space and improves your home's air quality, but that's only the start of it. There are plenty of other good reasons to keep some greenery in every room. Houseplants offer a whole host of benefits, from promoting productivity to flavoring your next meal. Read on to find the perfect houseplant for every room in your house.

The holidays are a time for visiting family and friends near and far, but it can also be a prime time for break-ins since it’s easy for burglars to recognize the all-too-familiar signs you’re out of town. Good news: A handful of easy tactics can keep your house safe by fooling any passers-by into believing you’re home. They range in cost from a little to a lot, but any expense is a small price to pay for peace of mind when you’re tens to hundreds to thousands of miles away.

Irons aren’t just for the laundry room anymore. There are plenty of unusual ways to put this wrinkle remover to good use, whether it's for candles, crafts, or cleaning. Discover 9 alternative ways an iron can make your everyday tasks easier.

Half baths may be smaller than their full-fledged counterparts, but that doesn't mean you need to sacrifice on storage or style. Learn how to make the most of every inch of space in your small bathroom with these smart and attainable tips.

Once upon a time, you had to live with that “old book smell.” Now, you can banish it to a faraway land with one pantry staple.