Galleries
Water-Saving Tips and Products
Wall Hung Toilet The Toto Aquia wall-hung toilet saves both space and water. The dual-flushing system optimizes water usage by offering a choice between .9 gpf for liquids and 1.6 gpf when a stronger flush is needed. Besides being environmentally friendly, the compact...
Smart Grid Products and Appliances
The Dish on Dishwashers Go ahead: load the dishwasher right after supper -- when electric rates will be high -- and hit start. GE's Smart Grid-enabled dishwasher will delay running until rates go down later that night. When you hit start, a delay light will come on...
Backyard Play Sets
All-American Play Set This red, white and blue fort uses a swing and slide from American Swing, and the owner added lots of personal touches including flags, a double shingled roof, and a ventilation grate in the upstairs attic. For a play set such as the fort...
Bathroom Sinks
Forest Stream Kohler's Mirovia Spun Glass plain vessels lavatory is simple and understated—perfect for any minimalist's bathroom. Note the sink's subtle texturtes, mimicking water, which create a waterfall-like effect when the faucet is turned on. It's a bit like...
Award-Winning Kitchen and Bath Designs
Kitchen: Best Before and After by designer Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design Project Details Homeowner's goal: Improve the existing dark and dingy kitchen, which was badly lit, offered insufficient flow and had no storage. Design process: Worked with...
Home Gyms
Batting Cage Centerpiece, Cont'd The batting cage, pictured here, is padded with vinyl. Custom-made light covers protect from flyballs and the color palette matches the homeowner's favorite team: the Yankees. Cost: $250,000 For more information: DiSalvo Interiors,...
Birdhouses
From Coal Bin to Sleep In This Hammered Copper Coal Bin Birdhouse was creator Brian Carlisle's first every "upcycled" birdhouse. Some used copper from a stained glass supply was segmented to follow the diameter of the bird hole. The perch is the handle from the coal...
ClosetMaid Storage Solutions
Love Your Living Room Whether your design taste is traditional, vintage, romantic or modern eclectic like this living room, you don't have to go penniless in order to decorate your home. There are affordable no-fuss solutions to help organize movies, books and all...
8 Ways to Prepare Your Home for the Winter
Beef Up Insulation Even new homes can benefit from added insulation. The questions are where, what kind and how much. Basements and attics are great places to start, as the insulation in these spaces can either be lacking, missing altogether or in need of replacing....
5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Climate Change
Insurance Knowledge Is your home insured for the climate of the future? Sadly, many homeowners learn the answer to this question the hard way. Get the latest home insurance information by looking into these insurance-related topics: What's Covered? Knowing where your...
5 Top Smart Home Solutions
Comcast Xfinity Home Just when you mastered the DVR and made sense of Triple Play bundles, the cable providers go and shove a new service in your face. But don't bat them all away as advertising noise just yet. Comcast's Xfinity Home is not exactly new, but it's...
8 Ways to Prepare Your Home for a Dog
Invest in a Collar As a general rule, your dog should have a collar on at all times, and that collar should display your dog's I.D. tags, which should include its name, as well as your name, address and phone number. As collars go, the traditional style is usually...
6 Steps to a Smooth Move
Two Months Out Relax, it's not time to roll up your sleeves...yet. But there's plenty you can do with 60 days and counting that will pave the way to an easier move. For starters: 1) Inventory. Take a weekend (or however long it takes) and go room to room in your...
Cold Weather Emergency Kit
Battery-Operated Radio It can be tempting to wander out into a snow storm after losing power to get a sense for the breadth of the outage and to check in with neighbors. In reality, this move can put you -- and utility workers -- in greater harm, especially if road...
6 Water-Saving Products for a Drought-Proof Home
Amphiro Water Meter Photo by Amphiro If you're looking for a more accurate way to track how much water you're using in the shower, the Amphiro may do the trick. The a1 model connects inline between the shower nozzle and the hose, the smart water meter displays...
2011 Wood Expo
2011 Baltimore Woodworking Show
Decks and Deck Materials
Thermally Modified Wood As a natural wood option thermally modified wood (TMW) has been around in Europe since the 90's and is starting to gain in popularity here in North America. The practice of heating wood dates back to the Vikings, who used it to...
12 Quick Ways to Save Household Energy
Save Attic Energy Loss Even with the attic access door closed, you may be wasting money heating and cooling a storage space. The Attic Tent insulator plugs that energy leak, reducing heat loss up to 71 percent and cutting your energy bill up to 20 percent – paying for...
