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KIDS
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Whether you’re a parent-to-be or simply wish to give a new mom and dad something special, consider crafting a DIY cri...
A night at the movies doesn’t come cheap. With the steep price of tickets, not to mention the popcorn and M&Ms, t...
Although it's nice to spend spring and summer visiting fancy parks and outdoor camps, comfort, cost, and convenience keep many families close to home. With some s...
Nothing makes a young, aspiring artist feel accomplished quite as much as having an easel to work on. But a tradition...
Though they're growing up fast, my girls still love to play with a dollhouse—so much so that we needed to upgrade fro...
The holidays always bring a fresh influx of toys, games, and craft sets into the home. Come January, we struggle with...
No matter how hard you try, it seems you can never quite keep your floors clear of stuffed animals, toy cars, and all the other playthings that come along with li...
For kids, nothing beats the thrill of the first snowy day of the season. While they get busy building a snowman, you ...
The holidays are all about making and enjoying memories. Almost every ornament on our Christmas tree holds a personal...
My kids love Lego so much that it borders on obsession. We have a lot of these plastic bricks and, until recently, no...
Many of the clichés of parenthood hold true, but this one does especially: Kids grow up so fast! Before you know it, ...
Ghoulish, ghastly, and downright clever decorations are popping up everywhere this time of year. That can only mean one thing: Halloween is just around the corner...
Nothing says family fun like a little bit of competition! When the weather's nice, there are many great backyard game...
For most parents, the week of Labor Day is jam-packed with barbecues, parades, or back-to-school shopping. But for ki...
There’s something so incredibly appealing about a simple tire swing. Whether it’s the freeing feeling of soaring thro...
Summer vacation is all about fun: swimming pools, later bedtimes, and epic blanket forts. With all the lively activit...
Ants are one of those annoying pests that seem to pop up everywhere they're unwanted during the summer—picnics, kitch...
It's pretty much every kid's dream to have a secret hideout right in the backyard. Building even a simple treehouse, however, takes design and construction skills...
As temperatures warm up and we unglue ourselves from the television to head out into the yard, that hardly means we need to leave the fun inside. Before your next...
With a design that evokes images of dream catchers and fort-like fabric walls, teepees have grown to be a favorite ha...
Whether you're looking for a way to personalize the lawn and garden with mementos from the kids or you're on the hunt...
'Tis the season when all the creepy, crawly, and buzzy things are waking up and starting to stir. The same goes for m...
Often an afterthought in home design, the bathroom can meet most homeowners' needs with just a few essentials: a sink, toilet, tub, and—if you're lucky—a little s...
The earliest swing sets, which date all the way back to the fifth century B. C. , were nothing more than slabs of woo...
Spring and summer bring longer days—but that doesn't mean it's much easier to squeeze in all the projects and repairs that you'd like to do. But when it comes to ...
You can't possibly pick a more important job to do around your home than keeping your family safe. And of course many...
Remember your mom’s heavy sigh when you and your brother carried off the couch cushions, plundered all the blankets, ...
As they grow up, kids change their ideas about their favorite color about as often as they change their socks. So how is a parent to choose what color to paint a ...
A house feels most like a home when you share it with those you love—and gathering together with friends and family is even more fun if everyone has a comfortable...
If kids are in the household, toys naturally follow. Parents soon find themselves facing herds of stuffed animals and towering piles of playthings. Luckily, some ...
Pets and children put homes to the test. Which types of floors are up to the challenge?
Mere days away from the official start of winter, we're eagerly anticipating some of the activities that only snowy w...
Trees to trim. Gifts to buy. Recipes to make—sometimes in epic proportions. Sure, it's all in the holiday spirit, but when it comes right down to it, we all wish ...
As you play Santa this holiday and shop for the youngsters on your list, go for gifts that give all year long. The marketplace is packed with arts and crafts sets...
Kid-sized furniture is cute but it isn't cheap. And kids outgrow tiny furniture quickly. So upcycling a pallet into a...
Is there any better holiday than Halloween to indulge your wildest imagination? Your home decor gets free license to be outrageously creepy and campy all at the s...
Summer might be over, but that didn't stop us from appreciating these amazing (and amazingly simple-to-make) summer c...
Any parent knows too well the avalanche of artwork that comes home with their children from school. There simply isn't enough space to store it all, but there are...
So many memories are made in the backyard. Every kid craves a little place of his or her own—a place to imagine and invent, plot and plan. A clubhouse is the perf...
A staple of summer camp (and of America in the late '60s), tie dye entertains and engages the young and young-at-hear...
In the DIY world, there are great projects, and then there are the truly genius projects that make life a little more...
Summertime is on, and the kids are out of school. Every mom knows that for these three months it's more important than ever to keep the kids busy. But you don't h...
Depending on where you live, you may be completely surprised or utterly unimpressed by this fact: Worldwide, bicycles...
Up in the attic, down in the basement, or out in the garage, chances are that you've got a chest full of old toys. If...
Wondering how to fit three or more kids into one bedroom? Between beds, toys, books, and clothes, finding room for everything can be a challenge. Take a look at t...
Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's: It can be a real challenge to avoid stress this time of year! If...
Over the snowy-white winter, adults and children make the most of the cold by taking part in a smorgasbord of seasona...
If you love to use tools and you love to play games, then you're not alone: Scores of handymen and women have used wo...
From beginner's tool sets to building kits, we've gathered the best gifts to give young DIYers this holiday season.
Thought you were too old for toys? Think again. Adults have ample reason to revisit Legos, if not for sheer amusement...
If your child has outgrown her baby crib, you may have found it's a tough piece of furniture to dispose of. Even thri...
LEGOs underfoot, G. I. Joes behind your seat cushions, and Beanie Babies up on the rafters? This weekend, return a se...
When it comes to designing spaces for kids, some parents are bona fide naturals. Mom has a magic touch with the paint...
It was a challenge to find a desk for my five-year-old daughter. I needed something size-appropriate that would provi...
Although your new arrival may not be heir to the British throne, he—or she—is no less deserving of the royal treatment. Take inspiration for your own royal nurser...
These clever water games and activities will have everybody cooled down and perked up faster than you can say "cannonball!"
Many child-safety experts believe that children should be kept out of the kitchen and that no amount of childproofing...
When a family brings a child into the world, they begin to look at the home through a different set of lenses. Grand ...
According to the American Lung Association, lung disease and breathing problems are the number one cause of death in ...
When today’s parents and grandparents were growing up, many backyards boasted a simple, inexpensive swing set made of...
Since 1991, more than 175 infants and young children have died from accidentally strangling in drapery and window cor...
Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under five in the United States. Most deaths occur in fami...
When Dr. Randy Pausch gave his famous “last lecture” in September of 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University, he talked ab...
Bathroom AccessChildproofing a room begins with some common-sense approaches. “So much of it doesn’t cost a cent,” sa...
Safety is an important consideration in any home renovation, but when children live in a home under reconstruction, k...
Statistics show that almost 75 percent of Americans have some sort of home office. And as these dedicated work areas ...
Childproofing: What Do You Need?Most new parents know they need to take steps to protect their child from household d...
Summer brings flowers and sunshine, but it also has a way of dragging outdoor sports right into your front hall. Fort...
When summer is on, it’s time to get outside and play. If you're looking for ways to make your backyard more fun, why ...
There's so much fun to be had in the summer. Yet for many of us, these months present a familiar challenge: The kids ...
Kids may be small, but they tend to take up a lot of space— at least their stuff certainly does! Between the toys, books, DVDs and craft supplies, you may wonder ...
We've rounded up the best new trends for kids' room decor, so your child's space can be just as incredible as he or she is.
Do you know what a Jack and Jill bathroom is? If you grew up watching The Brady Bunch in the 70’s, you may already kn...
Having young children fills our house with a lot of noise, and a lot of laughter. They keep us so busy, it also makes...
One thing we miss about living in New York is the awesome city playgrounds. You could walk to a different one every d...
Important Safety Tool If you’re a parent, one of your many important jobs is making your home safe for your child. As...
A basic teepee is not hard to make, provided you keep it simple and fun, as I discovered when I created this project ...
There's nothing more fun for a child than learning to fly a kite. Who doesn't remember the thrill of watching their f...
With just some basic home improvement knowledge, you can build a simple backyard sandbox like this with colorful stri...
Create some outdoor fun this summer—the old-fashioned way—with this "oh so easy" tire swing how-to.
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair is filled with amazing designs for the modern home, and not to be forgo...
When my husband and I lived in New York City with our two young girls, we had a single bathroom in our one-bedroom ap...
The way to a young person’s conservation-conscious heart is through active learning—and maybe some candy. Kids love t...
One of the most important tasks for new parents is insuring the safety of their child. While the basics are generally...
Educational, craft-y, and just plain cute gift ideas for the DIY kid in your life.
The house is insulated for sound control to provide a quiet environment for baby. The installation of the insulation is demonstrated along with the necessary safe...
The new windows in the baby’s nursery are highly insulated for cold and sound and have health and safety features for young children. They can be installed by do-...
Bob talks with homeowners Nick and Maggie Beasley, who are remodeling, babyproofing, and insulating their home before the baby is born.
Bob continues to talk with Bernadette Upton of EcoDecor about the materials used in an ideal room for baby and safety procedures to put in place when the baby bec...
Much cosmetic, insulation, and sound reduction work has transformed a tired-old attic bedroom into a peaceful, pretty, and healthy room for baby.
The unusually shaped room with original beadboard that sits under the roof’s eaves will be adapted from its prior use as a home office to be a child’s bathroom wi...
A peaceful nursery and childproofed home await the baby, and an elegant new master bath and powder room greet family and guests.
Bob talks with Jay Martel from the International Association for Child Safety about kitchen safety products for toddlers and baby safety gates for the stairs. Bob...
Bob reviews child safety gates and organic baby bedding products that will help keep baby safe and healthy.
Sound attenuating insulation is added to the nursery to reduce the echo effect of noise.
Bob visits the Burpee trial gardens in Ambler, PA, to review the current and future catalog of plants and flowers.
Bob discusses the best ways to discard debris and unwanted items before starting a renovation.
A high-tech lighting control system is reviewed, as well as furniture, storage, and decorating choices in various rooms.
Cole Stanton (from Fiberlock) joins Bob to talk about Child Guard, an encapsulating coating for lead-based paint.
Decorator B. Smith paint a lavender stripe pattern on a bedroom wall.
A new puppy is presented as a special house warming gift to homeowner Michelle Hayes and her daughters.
In Columbus, OH, Bob and other volunteers are constructing a playground. Bob discusss the materials and techniques used in the project, including the octagonal ro...
Bob makes his third visit to the playground in Columbus, OH to tour the nearly-complete project and comment on its various features.
Bob takes a final tour through the nursery, office, kitchen, and family room.
Bob visits Joanne, a landscape designer, at a local nursery to find plants for the project house's outdoor space.