Families are investing record amounts of time and money to create stylish outdoor living spaces furnished as carefully as their indoor living rooms.
Home and Garden
Homeowners know that improvement and redecorating projects can be financially draining. Pair that with the fact that the cost of gas and groceries continue to rise and sprucing up your home may be on the back burner. However, you can still invest in some simple projects that provide a big impact, and you won’t have to spend a fortune to complete them.
: I looked at ladder trellises at my garden store, but they are too expensive. The design does not look complicated. If I try to copy and build one myself, what is the proper procedure to make one? — Martha G.
DEAR GAIL: We are desperate for storage space. We moved from back East where we had a basement and just can’t fit everything into our house. Right now we have a lot of things in storage but want to get them out as the extra monthly fee doesn’t make sense. Some of the things like holiday decorations and luggage we can put in the garage, but we have books, games, our winter clothes, collections and just stuff. Besides garage cabinets what can we do? — Nancy.
Great Indoors to host Big Event July 26
Andy and Melinda just bought and moved into their first home: a new, 700-square-foot condominium in the city. While it might sound small, it’s certainly a big increase from the 400-square-foot apartment they were renting. They thought the extra room would make a huge difference, but once they moved in they found the unit a bit claustrophobic and didn’t know how to maximize the space.
DEAR DEBBIE: I am renovating my upstairs bathroom and want it to be basic black and white, but am looking for a color to paint the walls that will give it a bit of a modern edge. Also, what’s new in bathroom storage? — Emelia.
There is a bright future on the horizon for World Market Center Las Vegas, and it rests comfortably and securely in the hands of Robert Maricich.
“It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it.” Hans Selye (1907-1982), Canadian endocrinologist.
For nine years, Louis Almaraz and his wife, Debra, watered their front lawn in Fresno, Calif., like other homeowners. For most of those years, the couple often talked about changing their landscape — to something along the lines of a desert theme.
: We have just harvested a huge crop of fruit from our seven-year-old apricot tree. However, I noticed sap blisters on some of the branches. The tree looks green and certainly healthy, but I’m worried that it may have some disease. I was told I might have borers, but I can’t see any. I bought something systemic to put around the tree and am wondering if that will be enough. It’s supposed to be good for getting rid of insects and borers.
Don’t you just love TV makeover shows where they completely transform a plain Jane into a beauty queen? The pros see her potential and bring it out using a few tricks of the trade. Now you can do the same thing in what, for many, is the most plain-Jane spot in the house: the front stairway.
No one wants to come home at the end of the day to find several thousand ants crawling around the kitchen sink or discover half a dozen roaches gathered near the refrigerator celebrating their discovery of a three-day old piece of French toast. But household pests are a familiar site and they’re not going away.
: We recently bought a resale home. When we moved in, the front door took a beating. We were clumsy movers and we dented the door in several places. The door is metal and has been faded by the sun. Can we get rid of the dents or do we have to replace the door?