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You know the Adirondack chair. What you may not have known is that the ubiquitous lawn lounger is based on an earlier design like this one—less refined, more rustic—called the Westport chair.

Thomas Lee was bent on comfort when he built the original, back in 1903, and the hallmarks of that vision remain. A deeply pitched seat and slanted back practically demand that you recline, and gratuitously wide arms easily host a good read and a cool drink, not to mention a lazy limb.

This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers based our version on plans from the Adirondack Museum, in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Follow along to put together your own piece of history.

Shown: The ingenious joinery actually tightens up when you sit down.

Download and print the Westport chair cut list and parts plan.

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Proof in the Plants

Some gardeners do everything by the books. Others wing it and watch. Rob Proctor is in the latter group, which may explain why his gardening segment on Denver’s NBC local morning news has been running for 10 years now. Twice a week, the former horticulture director of the Denver Botanic Gardens delivers tips that viewers trust because the proof is right there to see: Proctor’s half-acre garden, a true paradise.

Besides using his garden and its needs as a backdrop, Proctor frequently devotes time to answering viewers’ questions. He avoids queries like “How do I keep deer out of my garden?” because saying “Don’t move into deer country” doesn’t really help anyone. Instead, he favors questions for which he can offer useful, time-tested advice. It sometimes runs counter to conventional wisdom. But his philosophy is that truth is in results, not instructions on a package. Read on for his real-world, learned-by-doing insights.

Shown: A wide promenade is what’s left of the half-acre lawn that came with Rob Proctor’s 1905 home. He replaced most of the grass with wide perennial beds overflowing with lush but easy-care plants

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Illuminate Your Home

Here at This Old House, we love accents with purpose. These decorative metal lanterns with faceted glass panels look charming but also supply subtle illumination. Precursors to electric and gas lights, lanterns guided the way along dim paths and from carriage to front door. Modern versions still have handles for carrying or rings for hanging, as well as designs that echo centuries of use around the world, from Morocco to the English countryside. Some lanterns are meant for indoors or to be taken outside just for the duration of dinner alfresco, but others are built of weather-resistant materials to be left in the elements long-term. Here are 13 glowing options.

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Whole House and Family

If there’s one way to test family dynamics, it’s a whole-house redo—the kind that involves dozens of decisions, from the size of the smallest bedroom to who gets to sleep there. Now imagine not two but six household members, ranging in age and disposition from preschool to retirement. Make one an architect and another an interior designer, and you’ve got some serious discussions in store. Then layer on pressure from the neighbors to keep a sweet little bungalow from putting on airs, and it’s a wonder that the Powers-Kahn house in Jamestown, Rhode Island, got renovated at all, much less in 14 months.

Shown: Arnold and Joanne Kahn flank daughter Dana, son-in-law Donald, dog Ruby, and grandson Nate, 7, on the new front porch. Nate’s baby brother, Theo, and his uncle, Andrew Kahn (not shown), round out the household.

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Gallery: Before and After Cape Cod

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How to Afford the Kitchen You Want

Here’s a savvy approach to kitchen remodeling: Take your cues from a classic cooking space with timeless good looks—like the six-figure, fully custom one shown here complete with glossy white cabinets, gleaming stretches of marble and walnut, a showy stainless-steel centerpiece, every corner as carefully tailored as a Savile Row suit. Then order it up, à la carte.

Shown: Painted wood cabinets, marble prep surfaces, wood floors, and a stone sink have been the backbone of a traditional working kitchen for centuries. Stainless-steel appliances, decorative tilework, a handsome coffered ceiling, and an elegant light fixture help elevate the once utilitarian space to a luxe one.

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Secrets of a House Stager

Who knew that getting rid of family photos and clearing off countertops could help you snag top dollar for your house? These are just two secrets from Debra Gould, founder of Staging Diva. Gould, a professional home stager, has helped scores of homeowners clean up, rearrange, and style their homes to command top price. That can mean anything from putting extra books in storage to getting rid of moldy caulk in bathrooms to renting furniture to fill up too-bare spaces. “The goal is to make your home clean, organized, and welcoming so potential buyers can picture living there,” says Gould. Thus the no-family-photos rule: “They make people feel like they’re invading your space,” she explains.

Based in Toronto, Gould has trained a network of 800+ home stagers across the U.S. “Most owners aren’t seeing bidding wars the way they were a few years ago,” she says. “But with the right staging, you can get close to your asking price.”

Here are before-and-after photos of rooms in houses Gould has staged in the Toronto area, along with information about fees paid and sales prices.

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Growing fresh herbs indoors can be a tricky task, but an outdoor garden bed requires yard space that not all of us have. So what’s an herb lover to do? If you’ve got a free afternoon and basic carpentry skills, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva has the perfect solution: Build an all-weather raised planter that can live on your porch or patio. This compact piece takes up less than 6 square feet and has a few handy hooks to hold your gardening tools. Best of all, it will let you enjoy fresh herbs all season long without back-breaking labor.

Shown: Colonial pressure-treated-pine deck post; available at home centers.
Stain: Cabot’s Semi-Transparent Deck Siding Stain in Cordovan Brown

Download and print the planter cut list

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Eco-Kitchen Remodel

Sometimes the best way out of a bad kitchen is to salvage what you can and recycle the rest. Bronwyn Reice and Kenny Grono, who run an eco-oriented design/build firm out of their Victorian-era rowhouse in Philadelphia, loved the bare-bones kitchen’s big windows and the breakfast room’s built-in hutch but couldn’t wait to connect the two spaces to make a single, more stylish, more functional space. Patterned cement floor tiles from Avente create a colorful, hard-wearing backsplash.

See more details from this renovation in Remove a Kitchen Wall, Gain Unique Style.

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New, Open Layout

A small, dated house often requires thinking big. Gary and Eliza Hurlbut loved their 1912 bungalow, on a corner lot in their favorite Seattle neighborhood, but not the warren of dollhouse-size spaces beyond the front rooms. The words major surgery came to mind. “We wanted to open it up,” Eliza says, starting with what she politely recalls as “the pristine but one-person kitchen.” J.A.S. Design-Build devised an open plan on the first floor anchored by a kitchen large enough for a family of four. “Our goal was to open it up while keeping the original character,” says designer Kevin Price.

Shown: The finished kitchen. Walls came down and additional windows went in as the kitchen shifted to a new location, allowing the old sink area to become an open office.

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Common Areas with Color

Who said you have to keep things neutral? Your living room isn’t Switzerland—there’s no need to play if safe. If you like it loud, don’t be shy about turning it up. That’s right, go ahead and hoist a flag in your favorite hue, no matter how bright. And a coat of paint is the quickest route to a bright space. Pick the color that floats your boat the most, whether it’s marigold, pomegranate, cobalt, or emerald. Sound hard to pull off? Take a look at this gallery to see some of our favorite vibrant gathering spaces, which might just inspire you to take your own living room from comatose to colorful.

Lucky Stripes
If you love bright colors but can’t narrow it down to one, try painting your wall with stripes of all of your favorite hues.

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Q: We want to lay a stepping-stone path in our yard. Can we do it ourselves?
—Lorraine Idson, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Roger Cook replies: Absolutely. A pathway made of stone pavers is a great way to save your lawn from being trampled and compacted by foot traffic. And it certainly is an easy, one-day project for most DIYers. The hardest parts of the process are the labor of mixing the wet stone dust that serves as the pavers’ base and then lifting and moving the stones.

Go to your local stone yard and look for pieces at least 1 1/2 inches thick and about 24 inches wide. Pieces that size aren’t likely to crack, and no cutting is required; you simply adjust their spacing to fit a natural stride and to make the path curved or straight.

Once you determine the spacing, the digging and the setting go quickly. Start in the morning, and invite guests over that evening for a stroll across your handiwork.

Shown: Roger Cook determines the spacing between each stone before doing any digging.

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Article: All About Concrete Pavers
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Gleaming, oversize subway tile set with thick ribbons of matte grout: It’s the last thing you expect to see in a foyer or a dining room. But when the work is done with paint, the result can be a perfect, playful visual effect.

Decorative painter Ingrid Leess “tiled” this foyer wall in two days, using 1-inch-wide delicate-adhesion painter’s tape and latex paint in two colors and finishes. “The exaggerated grid delivers a lot of punch, and it certainly goes up faster than the real thing,” she says.

For maximum effect, she used a base coat of flat gray to create the look of grout lines, and high-gloss gold to make her glazed-ceramic-like tiles. “Strong colors work well,” she notes, “but the impact comes from the contrasting finishes; you could also choose flat white and glossy ivory.”

Read on for the step-by-step process, from blank wall to trompe l’oeil.

Tip: Any color combination will do—even two shades of white. But contrasting sheens are key. Choose a flat finish for the base coat (the “grout”) and a high-gloss finish for the top coat (the “tile”). Draw a brush through the wet paint to give the tile subtle texture.

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Plateful of Blossoms

In the past three years, spending on vegetable gardening has risen 20 percent, while flower sales have dropped. But why choose one over the other? Add color to your garden—and plate—by planting these bright, edible bloomers.

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Efficiency is Key

Let’s get right to the point. If you’re not irrigating your lawn, flower beds, and container plants using the most targeted, time-efficient methods possible, you’re wasting water. Here’s what you need to know to conserve valuable water, time, and money on your yard and garden maintenance.

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Cord-free String Trimmers

Quieter than a gas-fueled model and with no cord tethering you to an electrical outlet, a battery-powered string trimmer—named for the thin plastic cord or line that cuts by spinning at high speed—is a worthy addition to your outdoor-tool arsenal this month, when grass growth really kicks in. These models will quickly neaten narrow strips of lawn along driveways, patios, and walkways, and they boast handy features to help you get the job done right, too.

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If you’re looking for a stylish and original way to spruce up your home’s landscaping, well, look to the right. This outdoor lighting project is deceptively simple to build. Made of rot-resistant western red cedar, the fixture consists of a 2×4 center post to anchor it, a horizontal arm to hold the lantern, and 1×6 cladding that yokes the 2x4s together and creates attractive shadow lines. Fitted with a handsome copper-and-glass candle lantern, it exudes Zen-like beauty day and night.

This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers installed our lamppost along a garden path but says its proportions would complement virtually any outdoor space, from a patio to a water feature. Turn the page to see how it comes together. And if you’d prefer to wire the lamppost for low-voltage lighting, he shows how to do that, too.

SHOWN: H. Potter Craftsman Lantern, 9¾ by 10½ inches, $80; H.Potter
Watco Teak Oil Finish, $11 per quart; Rust-Oleum

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Gorgeous Green Master Bathroom

One thing can lead to another when a remodel is under way. The owners of this sunlit master bath in Westchester County, New York, were embarking on some changes to their Shingle-style home when architect Carol Kurth came up with a suggestion: Instead of the simple cosmetic update they’d planned for their leaky, 1980s-style bath, why not go a bit further?

“When we showed them the opportunities for storage and views that a small addition would open up, they decided to go for it,” says Kurth. Her plan hinged on a modest bumpout—about 8 feet deep and 10½ feet wide—to allow for twin vanities and a vaulted, windowed bay for a freestanding tub, positioned to maximize Hudson River views. The original section now holds a shower, a dressing area with custom cabinets, and a private toilet room. On a platform in the new windowed bay, a Waterworks tub soaks up natural light and scenic vistas.

See more from this remodel in Bath Bumpout Adds Space With a Vintage Look.

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Bold Choices

Spring brings renewal—and open windows—which makes it the perfect time to paint. Infusing rooms with color remains the easiest, least expensive way to give a home a whole new look, and this spring, color experts are forecasting bolder choices than ever, from burnt orange and Caribbean blue to high-noon yellow and grass green. To help readers separate fads from future favorites, TOH sifted through hundreds of paint chips to find 15 shades that go beyond trends to perform beautifully in real rooms. Whether you want to lighten up dull walls, brighten beadboard, or showcase the beauty of built-ins, read on to see how these handpicked hues could work for you.

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A Generous Helping of Color

If you like color but feel timid about using it in your home, try it out in the kitchen. It’s the most action-filled space in most homes, so gracing it with bright hues make sense, like the “Pow!” power of a comic book. Or look in your closet for inspiration, pulling from items that drew you in because of their hues. No matter what your color style, you can take inspiration from our favorites, gathered here.

Shown: Caribbean-cool blues and greens play nicely against a tomato red island and striped drapes.

Learn more about this colorful family gathering space.

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A Fresh Look

Nothing concentrates the mind like a flood. Once Carter and Rachel Cox got over the shock of seeing their Stickley furniture up to its ankles in water—a frozen pipe had burst while they were out of town—they saw opportunity. So did CGS Design-Build, which helped bail out the Coxes’ house, in West Lake Hills, Texas. “They are passionate about Craftsman and Prairie style,” says CGS architect Stewart Davis, “so we took a fresh look at everything,” starting with the master bath, where the designers incorporated period-style woodwork, hardware, and tile in colors borrowed from the landscape, and a limestone pencil ledge that suggests a wainscot by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Shown: Keeping its footprint, the space gained Prairie-style casement and clerestory windows and cabinets made with rift-sawn white oak. A custom stain and four coats of lacquer bring out the vertical grain in the woodwork.

Windows: Kolbe Kolbe

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Cheery Sets in Several Styles

Solidly built using lightweight materials, bistro sets have long been loved for their portability and simple elegance, offering cozy seating for two just about anywhere you put them. They date to 19th-century France, when lemonade sellers used them to create impromptu cafés along the banks of the Seine. Originally, they were crafted with seats, backs, and tabletops of wood slats secured to cast-iron frames, and could be folded for quick storage. Today, bistro sets come in several styles—both easy-to-fold and more-substantial fixed sets, some with comfy rockers or armchairs—as well as in high-tech materials, such as no-paint resin and weatherproof powder-coated steel. Here and on the following pages: nine eye-catching sets, any one of which we’d love to have in our backyard.

Shown: Fermob Bistro Set

Made of: Powder-coated steel

Table size: 30″W x 29″H

Basics: A blueprint of the original 1889 Parisian folding chairs was used to create these sky-blue repros with a coordinating table.

$509 per set of two chairs and table; fermobusa.com

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Gallery: Patio Dining Sets

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Salvaged from the ruins of old homes, factories, and outbuildings, reclaimed wood has a history, heft, quality, and character you won’t find in the new stock sold at your local lumberyard or home center. Many vintage beams, joists, and boards were originally cut from trees that grew slowly as they competed for sun and nutrients in forests. This made for tightly spaced growth rings and wood that’s typically harder and more dense than timber sourced from many of today’s quick-yield tree farms.

Thankfully, buying reclaimed wood has gotten easier and, in some cases, cheaper, given the rising cost of new hardwood, which is often imported from far-flung locales. Expect to pay $2 to $20 per linear foot, depending on the type and dimension. Where you shop also impacts the price. Reuse centers tend to sell old wood “as is” at a discount, but you often have to contend with splinters, grime, and nails. Dealers specializing in vintage lumber charge more in exchange for a wider selection and re-milled wood that’s ready to use.

Then there are the lucky finds, such as the three Douglas fir beams that I rescued from a Dumpster. Their massive size—about 6½ feet long by 15 inches wide—made them ideal for a communal dining table like the ones I’ve been admiring at all those trendy farm-to-table restaurants cropping up everywhere. Read on to see how I made mine.

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Outer Beauty

This fall, This Old House TV will visit the storied neighborhood of Avon Hill, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to feature the overhaul of an 1887 Queen Anne house in a historic area. Built originally as a two-family residence and later adapted to accommodate a family on each of its three floors, the house will soon be a single-family residence. Strict local standards limit changes to its exterior, which will include a new paint job, some reconfigured windows, and a smattering of modest alterations. But inside, TOH general contractor Tom Silva and his team will perform a drastic alteration that will essentially create a brand-new house within the shell of the old one.

Get more on the Cambridge 2012 TV project.

Watch the crew in action at the house on the project webcams.

Find out more about this season’s other project in Essex, Massachusetts.

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Gallery: TOH TV’s Essex House: Before

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Historic Olive

“Are you sure you want to get in the middle of a domestic dispute?” teased Jerry Lucianovic when he asked us to help him and his wife, Sondra, choose colors for their 1895 farmhouse in upstate New York. The one thing they agree upon is that the all-white house could benefit from a colorful paint job. But which hues? “I like some of the historic, muted khakis and creams,” says Jerry. “My wife is into more vibrant tones—she’s talked about a deep red—but I’m afraid to take the leap.”

To nudge them over the edge, we enlisted the help of architectural color consultant Bonnie Krims of Concord, Massachusetts. “This house has a lot of elements that lend themselves to different colors without it becoming flamboyant,” she says. Playing peacekeeper, she produced three palettes: sober olive for him, at right, and, on the following page, fun red for her and a welcoming blue, too. What does the happy couple think? “Holy cow—they are all extraordinary!” says Jerry. “I love the first one, and Sondra loves the red as well as the blue…now what?” Nice try, Jerry, but we’ll let you two work it out from here.

Shown: Dark trim colors are typical of Victorian-era paint schemes.

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A Tight Lot and Budget

When Geoff Allen and Michelle Forcier bought their 1925 Cape Cod, in Barrington, Rhode Island, its waterfront location was by far its strongest selling point. The latest TOH TV project house had suffered from years of hodgepodge renovations and inadequate maintenance that had left the exterior shabby and the interior cramped and dreary. So the couple turned to architect Mary Dorsey Brewster and general contractor Andy Tiplady to figure out how to make it suitable for raising their young daughter.

In addition to tackling structural and mechanical upgrades and steep renovation challenges—boosting curb appeal, rejiggering floor plans, adding an extra bedroom and bath—the project team had to work within a tight lot and a no-bells-and-whistles budget. “Constraints helped us think creatively,” says Tiplady. They came up with a skillful remodel that manages to maximize space and brings out the house’s latent charms. Read on to learn how they pulled it off.

Shown: A second-story addition, including a new covered porch, and a small bumpout on the southwest corner add about 400 square feet inside and improve the house’s proportions dramatically. Double-hung windows also help unify the facade and suit the home’s traditional style. The red-cedar shingle siding will weather to a handsome gray; shingles on the gables were cut in a wave pattern to add visual interest and to suggest the rippling bay across the street, says architect Mary Dorsey Brewster.

Take a video tour of the finished project.

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Gallery: TOH TV’s Barrington Beach House: Before

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The History

Price: $95,000
Location: Lithonia, Georgia
Contact: Kate Ryan, 404-885-7817

This 1,200-square-foot farmhouse is one of the oldest residences in DeKalb County, Georgia. It was also home to the same family for more than 160 years. It was built as a simple hall-and-parlor house in the 1840s by the Housworth family, who had moved to this north Georgia town, just 19 miles east of Atlanta, in the 1820s. Two additions were tacked on later. In the next century and a half, generations of Housworths lived here, raising livestock, growing corn, smoking their own meats, and making sorghum syrup.

Shown: The two-bedroom, one-bath farmhouse was originally built as a hall-and-parlor house. Two additions were added in the late 19th century.

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Durable, Colorful Foliage

Go ahead, run your hands over the leaves—you wouldn’t be the first. There is something about hosta foliage that begs to be touched. Large and luxuriant, generally with a velvety matte finish, the leaves look like something born in a primeval forest. While many perennials have tender, delicate look-but-don’t-touch flowers, hosta color comes on robust leaves that stand up to the attention. And for gardeners who struggle with a shady area of the yard, these colorful, durable plants seem heaven-sent, transforming a potentially drab space into a lush, soothing oasis.

Native to China, Korea, and Japan, where they grow alongside streams and in woodland areas, hostas really became of interest to American gardeners in the 1980s, when breeders found success in changing the variegation, something that previously occurred only through natural plant mutations. The variegation appears as a band, or margin, of contrasting color around the leaf’s edge. It usually combines any of the two core colors—green, blue, or gold, which includes the chartreuse and yellow-tinged varieties—or a core color with white, though some newer varieties have three colors.

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All About Exterior Paint

We ask a lot from house paint. It’s not only expected to give our home a new look but also to withstand freezing winters, blistering summers, soaking rains, and a daily bombardment of UV radiation without cracking, fading, or peeling.

Such miracles don’t come without expense and effort. For the best results, you need an exterior paint that’s packed with high-quality resins, pigments, and additives, as well as a clean, smooth surface for the new finish to stick to. Making this investment in material and labor will virtually guarantee that you won’t have to drag out the ladders again anytime soon.

Modern advances in paint technology—specifically the arrival of all-acrylic formulations—have made the task of finding a top-shelf product fairly simple. Just look for “100 percent acrylic latex” on the label. You’ll be getting a paint that remains flexible, breathable, and colorfast far longer than paints made with vinyl resins or acrylic blends. And because it adheres tenaciously to most surfaces, you can use it with confidence on wood, vinyl, metal, and masonry.

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Once a nondescript catchall for books, photos, and knickknacks, this bedside perch now boasts one-of-a-kind style, thanks to strips of decorative molding. To make your own, start with a table that has a tall, slightly recessed apron. Assemble lengths of stock molding, available at home centers for $5 to $8 for a 6-foot piece­, into a pattern you like. Cut pieces to size, and use wood glue to adhere them to your table. Finally, stain them to match the table, or coat with latex paint in a bright hue for an extra pop of color.

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Green Done Right

Green is a wonderful color for kitchens—vibrant yet cool, denoting healthiness and calm at the same time. And it’s easy to find inspiration for the right shade; just look around. It could come from a celery stalk, a jadeite plate, a lime, an asparagus spear, a bunch of sage, a slice of cucumber, or even the skin of a Granny Smith apple. But first, take a look at our gallery to see how the projects of others, similarly inspired, came out.

Shown: Modern, pared down cabinets in equally modern hues of fresh lime and soft spruce. See more details on this vintage kitchen.

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Dream Come True

Chills ran up my arms while I watched the crew roll my beautiful old home, creaking and groaning, off its crumbling stacked-sandstone foundation and onto rails set up in the side yard. I knew we had to pour a concrete foundation to save the 1901 house, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. A few nerve-racking hours later, it was safe and sound on its temporary resting place. What a relief! My husband, Dennis, who has decades of home-building experience, had planned everything out to the inch, so I should have known he and the crew would get it right, but it was a scary ordeal. After all, this wonderful old house was my dream come true, and I really didn’t like seeing it perched perilously off the ground.

See, for years I routed my morning walks through the historic district of our mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, imagining what the interiors of the 19th- and 20th-century homes must be like. While visions of my very own old bungalow danced in my head, I never really believed I could talk Dennis into the idea of “rectifying someone else’s mistakes,” as he puts it. But after 23 moves during his 29-year career, he promised the next move would be my choice. I jumped at the offer, dragging him off to tour several old houses on the market.

Shown: The renovated Dutch Colonial Revival’s red shutters pop against new cedar shingles. Porch railings and a portico entry mimic the home’s original woodwork.

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What to Toss, What to Replace

It’s tempting to toss old paint, leftover cleaners, or even a busted VCR into the regular trash. But throwing away hazardous household products (HHPs)— defined as those with components that are flammable, explosive, corrosive, or toxic—without proper safeguards endangers human health and pollutes our land, water, and air. In addition to items such as paints and solvents, HHPs also include everyday products like bleach, which is corrosive, and home electronics, many of which contain mercury or lead. Bob Broz, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri’s College of Food Systems and Bioengineering, offers these tips for reducing your use of HHPs and getting rid of old ones.

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The Destroyers

There’s no thrill quite like tearing down a wall. These cordless reciprocating saws, with lightweight 18-volt batteries, compact designs, and smart features, keep the debris—and the fun—flying.

With a fistful of blades and a pair of full-capacity batteries, these saws can do a lot of damage. Just don’t expect to bring down the entire house without rejuicing.

What to look for:
1. A battery gauge to show charge level because lithium-ion quits without warning.
2. A dial to switch between a normal stroke and a more aggressive orbital setting.
3. A mechanism to make blade changes easy, like this chunky twist collar or a cam lever.
4. An adjustable shoe to set cut depth.
5. A pivoting shoe that allows the blade to get a good bite on pipe.

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A Cure for the Itchy, Sneezy, Stuffy Head

Sneeze much lately? Is your throat scratchy? Eyes watering, too? You’re not alone: Allergies affect more than 20 percent of Americans. Medications can help relieve allergy symptoms, but removing irritants from your home is a much more effective way to stop your stuffy nose, headache, itchy eyes, and shortness of breath, according to the Allergy and Asthma Network/Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA). Read on for the most effective ways to clear the air.

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Mudrooms

These helpful buffer zones allow an orderly exit—and reentry—with a place for everything.

Must-Haves

• Open hooks for airing out damp outerwear

• Shelves with bins for corralling accessories

• A seat for pulling footwear on and off

• Resilient surfaces that dirt can’t hurt

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All for Blue

Feeling blue? Go ahead and put it right out there—on your house. The color usually appears in one of its more somber versions on exteriors, where it can almost act as a neutral in its grayer tones. But more diminutive homes just may be able to get away with a brighter blast of blue. Here, a look at some successful uses of the cool color on the outside of homes around the country.

Shown: This 1860 house boasts a deep blue color that complements the lush garden. See more on the design of this home.

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Expanded Space

One way to know what’s wrong with a kitchen is to live with it for a couple of years. A great way to fix it is to share your vision with an architect and a carpenter who have already created something similar—in the architect’s own home. “That was my apprenticeship,” says wood wizard Dave Michael, recalling his path from the vaulted kitchen of architect Jon Sarkesian to the one they built for David and Jennifer Dilley.

Shown: Jennifer and David Dilley, with Matthew, 3, gather in their bigger, brighter space.

Cabinets: Plato Woodwork
Prep sink: Native Trails.

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Don’t Be Afraid to Make the Cut

March is notoriously unpredictable. Shrubs can be crusty with snow on the first of the month, and then, a couple of weeks later, temperatures can warm up enough for flower and leaf buds to show signs of life.

Still, some early spring cleanup tasks are sure things this time of year. Pruning (for summer-bloomers) and dividing (for late-flowering perennials) are two such tasks. It’s quick work, but pruning and dividing are among the most neglected tasks of homeowning. Why? Because for most, it’s a black art. The risks of butchery seem high, and the rewards low. “But it isn’t difficult,” says This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook. “And what you get in return is thicker foliage, more flowers, and healthier plants.”

Keep reading for a roundup of our best how-to advice on the topic so that you can make a few cuts of your own with confidence.

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Slaughter in the Grass

Homeowners are known to take solace in their lush, emerald-green lawns. Little do they know that their little patches of paradise might be home to some cold-blooded killers, such as poisonous fungi, cancerous chemicals, or maybe even venomous reptiles. Keep clicking to learn about the dangers that might be lurking in your lawn.



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Snapshots

With all the smarts built into cameras (and even cell phones) these days, it’s never been easier to photograph your garden. You just point and shoot, right?

Well, sometimes it really is just that simple—but even then, there are tricks of the trade that can make a huge difference in the quality of your shots.

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Benefits of Yellow

If your kitchen doesn’t get much natural light or could use some visual warmth, yellow is the perfect choice: It’s the most luminous shade and not too far from white, but has the added benefit of chasing any chill. Use it to brighten up the space where you and your family gather, and fuel yourselves with a burst of sunshine. And don’t just think canary, but amber, autumn leaves, corn meal, the mellow glow of a sunset, or a lion’s mane. To get you started, here are our 17 favorite yellow kitchens, from the pages of This Old House.

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Maximize Your Home Value

It’s a back-to-basics economy, but that doesn’t mean you should let your house be anything less than a pleasure to come home to. A welcoming exterior can put a spring in your step each time you climb the stoop. Adding the right elements can increase your daily comfort, too. Fixing up a front porch to lounge on during the hot summer months or swapping a failing roof for something new that’s also maintenance-free makes your space more enjoyable—and shortens your to-do list.

Quality upgrades continue to add value. Home prices may have dropped, but the return on remodeling investments remains strong, according to the National Association of Realtors. Not surprisingly, exterior improvements still lead the pack in terms of biggest bang for the buck, with siding and windows paying you back over 75 percent of their cost upon resale.

But it isn’t only major projects that make a difference. Whether it’s investing in a good faux version of a real, and really expensive, material like wrought iron or switching in new hardware to freshen your front, the following pages are packed with small ways to spruce up your exterior on any budget. After all, there’s never a wrong time to make your home more of a haven.

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Perfect Blue

Though the whole world is wrapped in soothing cerulean sky and vibrant teal ocean, most cultures only pinned a name on blue after they had named the rest or the colors on the spectrum. That’s probably because it’s so ever present, it can almost escape notice. Which is why blue is also a wonderfully calming color—not in your face, just there. Perfect for the place where you most want peace and quiet: the bathroom.

We here at This Old House happen to love blue bathrooms. And we do see a lot of them; it’s probably the most common bathroom color out there. So if you’re thinking of going azure, indigo, sapphire or robin’s egg in your favorite washroom, we’ve picked out some of our favorites to give you inspiration.

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Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Looking for your next dream home? Take a look inside some of the most luxurious properties in the world—once homes to the stars and currently listed for sale. Tour a landmark Italianate in New Orleans that was owned by Anne Rice and explore Bruce Willis’s breathtaking timber frame estate in Idaho, plus many others. Hey, we can dream, can’t we?

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Be Your Own Lawn-Care Professional

Homeowners really love their lawns. We love them so much, in fact, that we lavish affection on our turfs—to the tune of $40 billion a year—in the form of fertilizer, weed and pest controls, and yard-care equipment. But buying stuff in hopes of having a lush lawn has nothing to do with actually knowing how to grow one.

That’s why we’ve assembled all of your toughest lawn care questions and a TOH pro’s answer to each one. It’s all here: From seeding a brand new lawn and maintenance musts, to how to win the war on weeds and keep your mower in top shape. So forget hiring landscapers! You can be your own lawn-care professional— at a fraction of the cost.

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Gallery: Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Lush Lawn

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The white picket fence may be what we all dream of, but who says you need the whole thing? A crisp white garden gate provides the same feel. Install it at the head of a path, leading to a garden or your front door, and flank the posts with tall plantings. Though there are more styles than we care to count, choosing one could be as easy as researching historic designs. In fact, it may be necessary; some localities enforce historical accuracy, which is how we landed on this design in Bellport, New York. Luckily, This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers’s approach applies to a variety of styles. Follow along to see how to build a gate that won’t get you pilloried by the locals.

Shown: Devonshire Twisted Ring Gate Latch, about $49, and 16-inch Old Fashioned Heavy Reversible strap hinges, about $110 a pair; Walpole Woodworkers

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Video: Weekend Remodel Video: How to Build a Garden GateStep By Step: Weekend Remodel: How to Build a Wood Lattice FenceStep By Step: How to Repair a Fence GateGallery: All About Wood FencesSkill Builder: Straighten Sagging GatesGallery: Stylish Hinges

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Maintain a Healthy Bath

Mold, bacteria, viruses, and other irritants lurking in bathrooms could be preventing you from staying healthy and happy. See these 10 ways to get rid of the yuck and keep the bath clean.

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Q: I need to have my driveway redone. Is there a surface more environmentally friendly than asphalt or concrete?
—Lisa Matthews, Madison, N.J.

Troy Johnson of Outdoor Escapes replies: The best way to green up a driveway is to install permeable pavers, which allow water to drain down through the gaps between them and into a bed of crushed stone. From there, it seeps gently into the soil. Contrast that with a typical driveway, where water picks up oil and other chemicals as it washes into the street, overloading storm drains, polluting waterways, and increasing the chances of flooding from runoff.

The pavers are made of brick, stone, or, like here, concrete, but they’ll work only if laid over a properly installed base. For a job of this scale, hire a pro with permeable-paver experience; smaller projects, like a path or patio, are fair game for DIYers. Either way, regular maintenance is a must: Plan on sweeping or vacuuming the joints at least once a year to prevent them from becoming clogged with leaves and debris and acting just like your old driveway.

Shown: This driveway can absorb at least 10 inches of rain per hour, about twice the intensity of the heaviest 100-year downpour in the U.S.

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Article: All About Concrete Pavers
Gallery: Concrete Paver MaterialsArticle: Porous Driveway MaterialsAsk This Old House: Moss Between PaversSkill Builder: Repairing Concrete Pavers

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More Space, Same Footprint

Adding over and under your home are both smart ways to increase living space, but there are other creative ways to eke out extra square footage without drastically changing the footprint of your home. Look up, down, and all around, and you may find you have more room for rooms than you think—in the attic, the basement, the garage, or even an underused outbuilding. This Old House has gathered its favorite basement and attic bonus rooms, as well as shed and garage conversions, three-season porches, and more, to help you get inspired to find that hidden space in your home.

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DIYer’s Delight

Anyone can find a house that’s already “done.” Much harder is finding a house in just the right state of neediness—well built, well preserved, and aching for a redo. “The baths were original, the kitchen had its old metal cabinets—the front entry still had a nook for the telephone!” says Jim Zembruski, recalling the first time he and his wife, Sharyn, took a close look at their 1938 Colonial Revival.

Nothing terrible had been done to the house, last inhabited by a 99-year-old woman whose parents were its first owners. Actually, not much had been done at all, which meant that for all its charm and good proportions, the little house came with a big honey-do list. Perfect! “When we were looking to move, I wanted a project,” says Jim.

Shown: As part of a measured whole-house makeover, the owners of this 1938 Colonial Revival hid the living room built-ins’ quaint valances behind more tailored trim and installed new flat-panel doors and exposed hinges.

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Go for Quality Value

Stainless steel is an obvious choice for a kitchen sink because it cleans up quickly and has a great pro look. But once you get past the key design questions—one bowl or two, undermount or overmount—you want to base your buying decision on other, less obvious factors that affect quality and value. So we canvassed the experts for their tips. Read on for five ways to see beyond a shiny surface.

Shown: Franke GNX11020 undermount sink

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A Bath Fit for a Bungalow

When a house has only one bath, remodeling can wreak havoc with daily routines. Steve and Laura McElhaney, owners of a 1941 bungalow in Jacksonville, Florida, lived with their single bath’s cracked pink tile for five years before calling in general contractor Dean Celano—then asking neighbors for temporary bath privileges. Celano gutted the space, annexed parts of a closet and hall, including space that held a nonworking chimney and hall-facing open shelves, and moved the doorway. Replumbing allowed the toilet to move to a better spot, while the sink gained its own alcove, and a smaller tub opened up floor space. To give the bath a timeless, eclectic style, Laura chose a contemporary light fixture and sink, oversize subway tile, and traditional penny-rounds in white and blue, using it to cover the sink wall from floor to ceiling. Three weeks sans tub and toilet paid off. “It’s exactly as I pictured it,” says Laura, “the perfect combination of cheery and restful.”

Shown: Enlarged and finished with blue and white tile and a wall-hung sink, the space has more function and a new-meets-old look.

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Small Yard, Big Impact: Outdoor Rooms

To create a feeling of expansiveness in a small yard, carve out distinct garden areas and outdoor rooms. Consider my own property, which is shown in these slides: An ornamental border along the street adds curb appeal, an entry garden welcomes visitors, there’s a private patio for dining, and a woodsy backyard for lounge-chair relaxing—all on a 60-by-100-foot lot. Not only do the “rooms” make the yard more functional, they keep from revealing the whole place at once, so there’s a sense of discovery as you move through them.

Colorful perennials layered on both sides of the fence greet visitors, while a bracketed lamppost and garden gate lead them to the front walk. A flowering ‘Kousa’ dogwood tree is scaled to the house and provides a front-yard focal point.

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Troubleshoot Your Lawn

Green, cool, and comfortable underfoot, turf grass is as versatile as an outdoor surface gets. Whether hosting a spring yard sale, a summer cookout, or a game of touch football in the fall, your lawn works hard year-round. All that foot traffic may have left it a bit ragged, though, and any missed fall maintenance—that last dose of fertilizer you were supposed to spread, any bare patches that should have been reseeded—may have caused your lawn to look a little worn out this spring, with thin spots and less color than you remember.

Now’s the time to make amends with a proper feeding schedule and smart troubleshooting tactics to stop budding pest and weed problems in their tracks. Read on for what to do right now and in the weeks ahead to cultivate a hardy, healthy patch of green.

Shown: A thick, well-fed lawn is your best defense against weeds, which can’t compete for space and nutrients. Leaving the grass long, 3 inches or more, encourages roots to grow deeper, where they’ll weather drought better. Taller grass also casts shade, preventing weed seeds from germinating.

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30 Down-and-Dirty Tricks for Big Savings

Penny-pincher. Tightwad. Cheapskate. Bring it on! Here at This Old House, we celebrate frugality, especially when it translates into increased efficiency, comfort, or style for our homes. From cutting your hot-water bill by installing a shower timer to brightening a room with handsome sconces that you hook up yourself, the secret to saving real money is a combination of thriftiness, smarts, and sweat. So read on for clever get-your-hands-dirty ways to shrink your expenses and improve your home without spending a dollar more than you have to.

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Wood rounds. Choose two stain-grade wood rounds for the tabletop and base. The base should be at least 18 inches in diameter.

Ceiling medallion. Choose one that’s slightly smaller in diameter than the base, and make sure the center hole is large enough for the newel post to sit within.”

Vinyl adhesive caulk to seal the medallion to the base.

Newel post. Choose a post at least 2½ inches in diameter. You’ll cut lengths off each end to make your table the right height, typically 18 to 24 inches.

220-grit sandpaper.

Wood glue.

4-inch lag screws. Get two.

Primer and semigloss paint.

Round mirror. Choose one that’s slightly smaller in diameter than the tabletop. It should have a beveled edge.

Mirror adhesive to seal the mirror to the tabletop.

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Over-the-Garage Addition

“We love our house’s location, but it was tight on space,” says Geoff Allen of the 1925 seaside Cape Cod in Barrington, Rhode Island, that he shares with wife Michelle Forcier and their young daughter. Though the 1,600-square-foot, two-bedroom house, the site of the latest TOH TV project, was built as a seasonal residence, the family plans to live there year-round. So they turned to architect Mary Dorsey Brewster and general contractor Andy Tiplady to help them envision a plan that would make the best use of its rooms—and even squeeze in a few more.

Topping the couple’s wish list was an extra bedroom and bath upstairs. Given the house’s small lot and strict local zoning laws, Brewster sketched an addition in the only spot it could go: above the attached, unheated garage. “An over-the-garage addition doesn’t increase a house’s footprint, which helps reduce costs,” says Brewster. “But it also presents unique challenges in planning and construction.” What does a home-owner interested in such an add-on need to know? We asked Brewster and Tiplady for their advice and about how the project played out at Geoff and Michelle’s house.

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Gallery: TOH TV’s Barrington Beach House: Before

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Cottage-Style Bedroom

The average person spends around 8 hours each day in the bedroom—yet it often lags behind the kitchen, the bathroom, and even the living room when it comes to getting some decorating TLC. Not so with this master bedroom, which is featured in the new book Coming Home (Rizzoli). “It was top priority because it has such great light,” says Terry Pylant of Atlanta-based Historical Concepts, which designed the space. The result is a cheerful, sun-dappled room with furnishings that are full of character, down to the very last detail. To wit, nailhead trim bedecks an upholstered headboard and a leather ottoman, vibrant accents highlight an updated wing chair’s angles, and an intricate matelasse quilt graces the bed. Colors inspired by the home’s coastal location—sky-blue walls and pops of red-orange that evoke a sunset—top off the look. Read on for ways to create a similarly fresh space in your home.

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Gallery: Best Bedroom Before and Afters 2011

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Money Well Spent

There’s slow food and fast food, each with its attractions. Dick VanNewkirk, who likes to build as well as braise, believes it’s best to take one’s time. He spent “about a year” renovating this kitchen, in the 1939 cottage he and Karin Gately share in Wilmington, North Carolina—and that was with Karin working alongside him, from demolition and design to painting and tiling. While sticking to a $12,000 budget, they didn’t stint on tools and materials, managing to acquire, for example, their very own cement vibrator and mixer—helpful in making concrete countertops—and a vacuum press, which Dick used to add jatoba veneer to the cabinet fronts.

Shown: Marble wall tile, concrete countertops, cabinets made with exotic woods, and a butcher-block-topped island step up warmth and function.

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For too long now, a stubborn drip-drip-drip has been descending from the one-handled kitchen faucet in the home of Richard Trethewey, This Old House’s plumbing and heating consultant. “Most people will ignore a dripping faucet out of fear or ignorance,” says Richard. If they deal with it at all, it’s usually by cranking the handle so hard they risk tearing a rubber washer or cracking something and making the leak worse. At his own Second Empire house, it’s more the case of the cobbler’s child whose feet go unshod.

When Richard does finally find a free morning to break out the wrenches, he stems the tide within 15 minutes. A homeowner with a little wherewithal should be able to finish similarly simple repairs in half an hour. “Fixing a faucet drip won’t solve the world’s water woes,” says Richard. “But it will save the finish on your enamel sink and end your Chinese water torture.”

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24-inch-square tin ceiling tile

Painter’s tape

Very-fine-grit and fine-grit sandpaper

Red-oxide metal primer

Brush-on chalkboard paint

¼-inch plywood

¼-by-2-inch hardwood strips

Backband molding

Primer

Latex paint in a color of your choice (for frame)

Wood glue

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24-inch-square tin ceiling tile

Painter’s tape

Very-fine-grit and fine-grit sandpaper

Red-oxide metal primer

Brush-on chalkboard paint

¼-inch plywood

¼-by-2-inch hardwood strips

Backband molding

Primer

Latex paint in a color of your choice (for frame)

Wood glue

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It may sound strange, but lightly layering, or ragging on, a second color over one you love can actually enhance the base color. How? “It really lets you play with that color’s light and depth,” says decorative painter Ingrid Leess. Here, she populated an expanse of sky blue with cloud-like wisps of white to give this room a fresh, breezy quality.

Once the base coat is dry, mix equal parts clear acrylic glaze and a top-coat color that is a lighter shade than the base and has a satin finish. Mask off areas you don’t want to rag. Pull on rubber gloves, saturate a clean cotton rag—old T-shirts work well—with the glaze mix, and wring it out.

Pack the rag in one hand and, holding it lightly, dab on the top coat. Leave some areas unragged. Repack the rag every so often or whenever you notice a pattern starting to repeat. The result should be a 3-D effect—no funny glasses required.

Paint colors: Anthem White (glaze coat) and Breezy (base coat), by Valspar.

Step By Step: How to Paint a Color Wash

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Organization Central

The laundry room has finally come into its own as a bright and organized cleanup command center, whether in a tidy corner of the basement or a nook next to the kitchen. For help updating yours, check out our expert advice 
on everything from energy-wise machines and thrifty flooring options to the best labor-saving layout and how to safeguard the house from a potential flood or fire.

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Landscaping Lessons

Mike Eagleton is often asked to conjure miracles from small, cheek-to-jowl city lots. The Denver landscape designer’s own yard, around a 1929 brick cottage south of downtown, is a prime example of his professional sleight of hand. Within its 50 by 120 feet, he has incorporated sunny, street-side perennial beds, a private entry court in the rear, an elevated outdoor dining room, a secluded lounging terrace, a carpet of lawn, woodland views, a potting shed, and several destination strolls that lead to musical, spilling fountains. Front and back entrances, the latter marked by a wisteria arbor off the alley behind his property, make a garden walk of coming home. Almost year-round, despite his Zone 6 climate, with its frigid winters and baking summers, he’s got something in bloom—in pots and borders and on top of arbors. Shade trees blot out neighbors’ homes, and it’s easy to forget, when he and his wife and their teenage kids kick back outside, that they’re in a metropolis of 600,000 people.

Shown: An arched wood gate to the left of the front entry opens onto a fountain that muffles street noise. The brick path leads from front yard to backyard.

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Organization Central

The laundry room has finally come into its own as a bright and organized cleanup command center, whether in a tidy corner of the basement or a nook next to the kitchen. For help updating yours, check out our expert advice 
on everything from energy-wise machines and thrifty flooring options to the best labor-saving layout and how to safeguard the house from a potential flood or fire.

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Ceramic Garden Stools

It’s a spare seat, it’s a side table, it’s a plant stand—a ceramic garden stool can serve a multitude of purposes around the house. The typical barrel shape is a time-honored Chinese form, used for over a thousand years as a casual garden perch. By the 19th century, they were showing up in British conservatories, and English potteries started turning out designs with brighter colors and more openwork.

Today these drum-shaped stools are enjoying a comeback and run the gamut from traditional Chinese models to more contemporary interpretations. Outdoors, they can provide an all-weather hit of color and pattern on a patio or porch. Inside, they can hold a book beside the bathtub, a coffee mug next to your favorite chair, or serve as a spare seat at party time—as decorative as a throw pillow but a lot more useful.

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Gallery: Garden Urns

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Lack of Privacy

In the eternal quest for an additional bath, owners of older homes have been known to do strange things. Consider the arrangement that greeted Canadians Anamaria and Stephen Manna when they bought their 1914 house, in Toronto, Ontario. Previous owners had crafted an odd, 350-square-foot L-shaped bath with a carpeted sitting area on the second floor. With an interior window onto the hall and a French door, “privacy was what the bath lacked most,” says the couple’s designer, Jane Lockhart.

Shown: To-the-ceiling cabinets on each side help keep the shared vanity clutter-free. Cabinets: Luxor

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The Feel of a Well-Worn Hammer

Iron darkened with weather and age, wood worn to a rich sheen in all the comfortable places, old tools feel like the past frozen in a black-and-white photograph. Lining the dusty shelves of little-used workshops and the cobwebbed corners of a junk-filled garage, they may seem pointless today, easily replaced by some sharp new power tool with lasers and digital readouts. But hand tools from your grandfather’s day are actually worth checking out. With a little tune-up, these antiques are just as functional as they are beautiful.

This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram learned his craft at his father’s knee, and many of the vintage tools in his own working collection were once the instruments of his father’s trade. So we asked Norm if he would take a day at the famous Brimfield Antique Show in central Massachusetts to pick out a collection of tools that a modern homeowner—you, say—could still make use of. Norm walked the show’s acres of aisles and perused the chock-full tables. What he came away with includes many familiar favorites, as well as a few forgotten innovations that, surprisingly, might still be the best tools for the job.

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Super-Slim Trimmers

Why lug the work to your shop when you can take your router to the work? Whether you’re fluting a fence post or rounding built-in shelves, these one-handed wood detailers make a big impression.

Variable-speed trim routers won’t hog out as much material in one go as their big-boy cousins, but they’ll handle just as many woods and nearly as many types of cuts. “In general, the larger the bit’s diameter, the slower the router’s speed should be, to reduce the chance of splintering and burning the wood.” -Tom Silva, TOH general contractor

What to look for:
1. A flat top to stand up the router when you’re changing bits.
2. Accessible knobs to adjust rpm.
3. Easy-to-use depth controls.
4. A base design with a wide opening to let you see the bit.
5. A choice of interchangeable base plates, such as this clear acrylic one that improves bit visibility.

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Gallery: Routers and Bits

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To up the coziness factor of your bed, make an upholstered headboard. All you need is ½-inch plywood cut to size, plus 1-inch foam, batting, fabric, and nailhead trim.

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Video: How to Reupholster a Dining ChairStep By Step: How to Build a Headboard and Footboard from Bifold DoorsStep By Step: How to Turn an Interior Door into a Headboard

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The Couple’s First Redo

Live in a rental long enough and you’ll be itching to DIY when you finally buy. Once Amy and Chad Whited purchased their 1951 ranch house, in Durham, North Carolina, years of builder-grade finishes made them anxious to take a hammer and paintbrush to their bare dining room in hopes of making it a comfy, cozy gathering spot.

Shown: New panel-frame wainscoting adds old-house charm, while wood and wicker furnishings keep the room looking warm and fresh.

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A Flat Ranch

“We’ve always talked about doing something to make the house look less like a straight ranch, but we’ve never come up with any plan,” says Cheryl Huddleston about the home in Hot Springs, South Dakota, that she shares with her husband and son.

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Cozy Cottage Living

Cottage kitchens are are simply charming with an emphasis on functionality. They’re built for comfort with features that help you through your routine and bring life to the hub of your home. Whether you’re just refreshing your cottage kitchen or looking to add a dash of old-house charm to a new space, these TOH-featured rooms are sure to inspire.

Light, Bright Kitchen
When Curt, a green-building consultant found this circa 1910 shingled house in sore need of an update, he seized the opportunity to make it into a energy- and resource-saving home. He and wife Christine reused existing cabinets and added a restaurant range and broiler.

Here, Christine shows off the large butcher-block-topped island. The cottage-style exudes from the creamy-white cabinetry featuring bin-style drawer pulls and glass-front upper doors. They opted for a 1910s look but mixed old and new with modern amenities.

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Major Budget Transformations

We’ve all been taught that it’s what’s on the inside that counts; but when it comes to your home, the outside is certainly just as important. A drab exterior can make you cringe every time you approach the front door, while a handsome, thoughtfully designed one can turn the experience into a true pleasure.

The good news is that you don’t have to spend a bundle to enjoy a happy trip up your walkway. Budget-friendly shortcuts, such as reusing old hardware or choosing high-quality replicas of expensive materials—plus some good old sweat equity—can lead to major transformations. They can even put big projects, like adding on a new porch, within reach.

Need proof? Read on.

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Gone With the Wind (1939)

Oscars aren’t handed out at the Academy Awards for best bathroom renovation or best converted barn, which is too bad, since over the years many silver-screen houses have outshone the stars. In fact, these dwellings offer the house-wise viewer the kind of life lessons you can learn from a statue-winning character.

The Old, Deep South loves well-built Greek Revivals, and nowhere in movieland was this as apparent as in Civil War blockbuster “Gone With the Wind.” Scarlett O’Hara’s (Vivien Leigh) stately white house, Tara, named for the hall of Irish kings, is certainly regal in its proportions, with four huge columns fronting a wide front porch.

Moral: Though the Union forces were unrelentingly destructive to Southern plantations, they spared Tara; even Yankees recognize good craftsmanship when they see it.

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Worthwhile Investment

If the idea of bathing your pooch in your pristine claw-foot tub gives you pause, or if he simply won’t suffer the indignity of being hosed down in the backyard, a dog-washing station might be the best home improvement you’ll ever make. “It’s a great addition to a mudroom, so you can clean your dog before he tracks in dirt,” says architect Healy Rice of Wilmette, Illinois, who designed the one shown here. Though this project can cost $1,500 or more, Rice’s clients say it pays for itself in savings on carpet-cleaning alone. Here are her tips for designing this handy spot.

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Chop, Chop, Time to Lop

If you need to shape overgrown trees and shrubs, you need heavy-duty pruners. Thankfully, this suite of serious tools lets you stay on the ground as you work.

The best time to do a major pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs is in the winter, when their leaves have dropped and you can clearly see the branch structure. “When woody shrubs, like lilacs, become old and overgrown, they need a major-renovation pruning to encourage flowering and vigor,” says TOH landscape contractor Roger Cook. “That means removing the thick branches—not just the small water sprouts—a few at a time over a few years.”

What to Look for in a Lopper
(1) Bypass blades: Their scissoring action severs live limbs cleanly, so cuts heal quickly.
(2) Compound-action jaws: They multiply force to make it easier to muscle through a branch.
(3) Unbreakable handles: These are steel, but fiberglass works well too.
(4) Contoured rubber grips: Paddle-like projections provide a comfortably wide surface to press against.

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The History

Price: $15,000
Location: Youngstown, Ohio
Contact: Mark Peyko, 330-259-0435

With its Mission-style gables and Craftsman-style porch, this house in Youngstown’s Wick Park Historic District has always been a standout. Then again, the neighborhood has long been known for its quirky, eclectic architecture, which includes everything from Mediterranean-style manses to a full-fledged Adirondack cabin. The house was built in 1910 by Frank Lyons, owner of a successful drugstore, and was later sold to another business owner, Beecher Higby Sr., who ran a Ford dealership on Youngstown’s automobile row.

Shown: The porch was built with Tapestry brick, an art brick manufactured from the early 1900s to the 1950s.

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Presenting 61 vibrant neighborhoods from coast to coast where you’ll find one-of-a-kind period houses.

Best Old House Neighborhoods: Editors’ Top 6 Picks

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Updated, White Farmhouse-Style Kitchen

Professional blueprints and a deadline are always a good idea. But what if you have more time and how-to chops than cash? After 27 years and nine houses, Gregg and Nancy Alling were eager to redo the kitchen in their 1968 house in Toledo, Ohio, but couldn’t do it all at once.

Shown: To-the-ceiling cabinets and trim, light-reflecting finishes, a built-in plate rack, a tiled toekick, and niches for the fridge, TV, and microwave add function and updated traditional style.

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Updated, White Farmhouse-Style Kitchen

Professional blueprints and a deadline are always a good idea. But what if you have more time and how-to chops than cash? After 27 years and nine houses, Gregg and Nancy Alling were eager to redo the kitchen in their 1968 house in Toledo, Ohio, but couldn’t do it all at once.

Shown: To-the-ceiling cabinets and trim, light-reflecting finishes, a built-in plate rack, a tiled toekick, and niches for the fridge, TV, and microwave add function and updated traditional style.

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Gallery: One-Room Reader Remodel Winners 2011

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One-Man Redo

Some redos take an army, while others are best left in the hands of one enterprising DIYer. Justin Moret, 27, and the reno of the windowless half bath in his parents’ 1960s lake house outside Fort Worth, Texas, fall into the latter category. A tight budget meant he wouldn’t be gutting the space, but the dated sink and vanity had to go.

Shown: Cool tones and sleek fixtures add up to a stylish new space.

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Home Solutions: Hidden Fire Hazards

Most of us know not to leave burning candles unattended or overload our outlets, but firefighters still respond to about 370,000 home blazes every year, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Experts reveal surprising hazards and how to avoid unwittingly fanning the flames.

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Pulleys have been doing the heavy lifting for centuries. Simple machines comprising a grooved wheel, called a sheave, inside a wood or cast-iron frame, pulleys can be found in various designs and sizes based on the task they were originally created for.

Among the most common and collectible today are barn pulleys with wood sheaves and cast-iron housings. In the late 1800s, most were used to move hay from horse-drawn carts to lofts. To the American farmer, this mechanized system was the antidote to the back-breaking work of slinging hay with a pitchfork.

By the 1950s, the hay elevator had pretty much replaced the barn pulley system. The upside is that recyclers can now find pulleys at flea markets, salvage yards, and auctions, and put them back to work as hangers for potted plants on the porch, wood-block bookends in the den, or as the basis for an adjustable bedside sconce like the one I created at here. To make your own light, follow along for the easy how-to.

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Step By Step: How to Rewire a LampArticle: Knots Homeowners Should KnowGallery: Barn-Style SconcesSkill Builder: How to Install an Exterior Sconce

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Adding a Half Bath

Adding a half bath to a home is one of the most common requests I get. People want to increase the value of their houses, of course, but what most of my clients really want is a bathroom that’s convenient for their guests to use but doesn’t compromise anyone’s privacy. (Who wants their friends to see dirty laundry and prescription bottles, anyway?)

Depending on your house’s layout, there are several ways to add a half bath by carving out space from your existing floor plan. What I’ve presented here are three options that have worked for my clients: a bathroom tucked underneath a stairway, one carved from a garage, and another nestled inside a gabled attic dormer. Other solutions I’ve used include fitting a half bath into an oversize storage closet and splitting a large full bathroom into a half bath and smaller full bath.

No matter where you decide to put it, there are a few key factors you should keep in mind as you’re planning this common renovation project.

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House Huggers

There is something unsettlingly stark about the intersection where house meets land—it begs to be softened with greenery. But just hiding that juncture with a tight fringe of evergreens isn’t the answer. Neither is a one-scheme-fits-all formula. “Two conical things on either side of the front door with two tall things on either end of the house with lower things in the middle—that’s a dated approach,” says Anne F. Walters, a landscape architect in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “The right foundation planting for most houses is a nice mix of evergreen and deciduous material, with dwarf varieties in order to keep window views open, some repetition of plants for a unified look, and an overall casual, naturalistic feeling.”

Shown: Curved, asymmetrical beds hide open space under the porch and provide color and interest with a mix of flowering and evergreen plants. A mophead hydrangea greets visitors at the stairway with big orbs of color in the summer, while a blue juniper and a fine-leaved azalea anchor the bed in every season. Hanging baskets with trailing ivy soften the porch posts and frame the entry. Red flowers in the baskets echo the foundation planting’s blooms.

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Go On a World Tour of Weird Houses

It’s time for another healthy dose of the wildest houses in the world! Take a tour of a castle made entirely of trash, a replica of the house from the classic television show The Munsters, and a couple of architectural wonders that take us below the earth’s surface. If you’d like to experience some of these strange structures yourself, a few of them are available for sale or rental. So if cottages and Capes bore you, you may find the house of your wildest dreams here.

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Gallery: World’s Wildest Houses VIII

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Renovation Motivation

Forget New Agey romance rehab (we saw how well that went for Vince Vaughn in Couples Retreat). If you really want to rev up your sex life, think remodel. Tackling even a minor domicile makeover can spark erotic notions, amp libidos, and bring you closer. Here, 12 ways to his/her heart (among other organs) that are built into most any remodel.

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Gallery: Partners in Grime

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Celebrate DIY Season

Why is it that when spring comes, you start dreaming about all the great projects you’re going to do around the house, but next thing you know, there’s frost on the lawn and you still don’t have that patio laid or those gutters in place?

Don’t worry, This Old House is here to help you get things done—and have fun doing it. We’ve assembled more than 30 of our most popular Step-by-Steps in one easy-to-follow planner. Each one takes just a weekend to complete, and we have one for every weekend of the spring and summer—including great ones for Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, and more.

So scroll through our calendar to get planning, then and click through to see how to manage each project yourself. by the time the leaves start turning, you’ll have created the home you’re always dreaming about.

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Gallery: Home Solutions Calendar

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Name That Tool

Ever see a tool and wonder, “What on earth is that thing?” Well, apparently quite a few readers have asked themselves just that after discovering an old tool at a yard sale or on the shelves of their local hardware store. Here are 10 of our biggest stumpers, as featured in This Old House magazine. See how many you can guess correctly!

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Gallery: Tough Tool Questions Answered

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Wonder Siding

Picking the right siding for your house is a delicate balancing act between good looks, durability, maintenance, and affordability. With wood, vinyl, stone, brick, or stucco, you might get only two or three of these. But with fiber cement, a resilient mix of wood pulp and portland cement, you get all four. It’s the only siding that combines the performance of masonry—minimal upkeep; rot-, fire-, and termite-proof; unaffected by wind or cold—with the look of painted wood clapboards, shingles, even stone or brick. Yet fiber cement goes for just a fraction of the cost of these other materials. No wonder nearly 15 percent of new homes—and many TOH TV projects—are clad with the stuff.

All this has happened in just 25 years, since fiber cement was first introduced. Now architects regularly specify the siding because it holds down costs without compromising aesthetics. It’s even accepted for use in some historic districts.

Shown: The siding on this Gothic Revival-style home looks like wood clapboard, but it’s actually fiber cement painted a custom color. 7¼-inch-wide smooth lap siding, primed, about $1.50 per square foot; CertainTeed

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Gallery: All About Composite Decking

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Splurge vs. Steal: You Decide

Natural limestone underfoot has a luxurious look and feel that has long made it popular among architects and designers. But as stone goes, this porous, ocean-formed material is relatively soft—hence the rise of porcelain tiles that mimic its color variations and subtle texture while resisting chips, cracks, and spills. Here’s how one low-priced natural limestone that’s sure to develop a patina with wear stacks up against a well-made impermeable porcelain rival.

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Step By Step: How to Tile a Floor

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Color Your Home Welcoming

It’s the first thing people see and the last one on many homeowners’ to-choose list: the color of the front door. But if classic green, red, and black have long been the defaults, that’s beginning to change. “People are starting to branch out,” says Amy Wax, an architectural color consultant in Montclair, New Jersey. “They realize the color of the front door introduces the world to the people inside, and it can be unexpected and playful.” Before you dash off for a quart of neon green, however, Wax recommends stepping back and taking note of the style of the door, along with the trim and siding that frame it. Adding a stately shade can make a simple cottage-style door look more sophisticated, she points out, while a casual, bright hue can make a formal facade friendlier and more whimsical. Follow along as Wax offers 17 fresh, inviting options.

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Gallery: Wood Entry Door Styles

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Bedford, After: More than Just a Paint Job

Low ceilings, cramped rooms, crumbling chimneys—it’s not often that a nearly 300-year-old home would still be livable today. But when Joe and Becky Titlow first toured their circa 1720 Georgian in Bedford, Massachusetts, the latest This Old House TV project, they jumped at the opportunity to buy it. “We knew it needed an overhaul, but we loved all the period details,” says Becky.

Shown: Cedar clapboards painted gray-blue, a revamped formal entry, and a gable-topped mudroom entry freshen up the facade.

Window restoration: Window Woman of New England
Interior design: Terrat Elms

Watch the full episode of This Old House television revealing the finished Bedford project

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 Bedford | Final Reveal

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Updated Interior, Classic Exterior

Seen from a distance, some houses have the grace and proportions of timeless classics. Inside, however, the style may be more of the moment, and not in a good way. Which is why Emily and Bryan Kelly can be forgiven for taking a sober look inside their newly purchased house in California’s Silicon Valley and texting their interior designer: “SOS.”

While the facade evoked traditional Colonial style, the interior suggested late-1980s McMansion. In the foyer, topiary nested in a wall niche, and stairs rose from an ocean of checkered ceramic tile before making a U-turn over an arched passageway. The family room was sunken.

Shown: The house has an added-onto-over-time look that keeps the fa硤e from looking too formal.

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Gallery: A Historic-District House Gets a Detail-Oriented Update

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Rehabbing a Dysfunctional Kitchen

Kitchens are natural gathering places, and the more they cue up feelings of hearth and home, the stronger the pull. But when the owners of this ­kitchen, Eileen Eisele and Greg Ruccio, moved into their 1906 Shingle-style house with their young daughter, the existing space felt as if it had been dropped into place without regard to early-20th-century architectural traditions or 21st-century lifestyles. It was large enough but lacked a heart. “All the workstations were around the perimeter, with nothing in the middle,” says Eileen, as if to discourage them from grabbing a meal together or working on the mother-daughter craft projects they enjoy.

A professional photo stylist, Eileen knew she could create a warmer mood with just a few changes in the visual landscape.

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Gallery: How to Create a Dressed-up Laundry Room

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Main House

The old house wanted to fall down but Brooks Banker wouldn’t let it. “From the moment I saw this house, I knew it had to be mine,” he says of the simple clapboard cottage in Garrison, New York, some 60 miles north of Manhattan. And neither the squirrels running amok in the attic nor the powder post beetles making mulch of the centuries-old oak beams could convince him otherwise. Not even his mortgage lender’s dour estimate that the house had only 12 years more to live—and the justified alarm that the bleak diagnosis provoked in prospective insurers—could deter this house hunter from acquiring the Hudson Valley ruin he had fallen for at first sight.

It’s not like he doesn’t have anyplace else to live. He keeps a comfortable apartment in Manhattan, where his law practice binds him most working days. But the unassuming, wood-frame dwelling in rural Putnam County has become Brooks’s refuge. And he has no intention of ever giving it up—or giving up on it.

Shown here: Christopher Vazquez, a woodworker and carpenter who designs what he builds, milled salvaged lumber to restore the porch deck. The French doors were installed in the vaulted-ceilinged wing by a previous owner.

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Gallery: The Forever Expanding House

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Before and After: Bring On the Built-Ins

Sometimes one little request leads to a major transformation. Married neuroscientists Vivek Unni and Tamily Weissman-Unni, owners of an 1870s house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, started out with a new baby and a simple goal. “We needed a first-floor bathroom with a changing table,” says Tamily. But they were also saddled with a dark front entry next to a front room that served as an ad hoc mudroom, and a “treacherous” narrow staircase.

Shown: The redo tweaked the layout, adding a half bath, plus hardworking built-ins that play off the period flooring and trim.

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Gallery: An Office Update with Vintage Appeal

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Colorful Kitchen Aids

One of the easiest ways to energize a cook space: Add a shot of color. And thanks to a bumper crop of vibrantly hued gadgets and small appliances, breathing new life into your kitchen can be as simple and affordable as picking up a tomato-red toaster or an apple-green coffee grinder. Most come with shiny steel or chrome accents to complement your existing fixtures, as well as dishwasher-safe grills, beaters, and bowls for easy cleaning. So read on for 18 bright and handy helpers that’ll freshen up your kitchen while adding a little fun to your meal-prep routine.

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Making a Healthy Home

Getting pregnant isn’t always as easy as it looks on TV. Some 7.3-million American women have trouble becoming pregnant or staying pregnant. Doctors can’t explain what’s wrong for about 10 percent of the couples who can’t conceive, and some experts suspect the culprit is all around us: environmental contaminants, particularly in the home.

That may help explain why male sperm counts are dropping, and it’s a fact that the male contributes to infertility about 40 percent of the time. Toxins in your couch, vinyl floor, and other spots where you may have made attempts to expand your family could be throwing a wrench in your reproductive works. As much as we like to see home as a benevolent vessel of our dreams, the materials and chemicals they’re made of and furnished with—from flame-retardant cushions to Teflon pans—can quash those dreams. Here’s what to look for, and what you can do about it.

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When a friend asked for help finding a replacement for the modern flush-mount fixture that used to light the entry to her 1930s cottage (below), I set out in search of a vintage hanging lantern that would better complement her home’s architecture. I picked up a mid-century painted steel lantern with amber glass panels in need of TLC for about $90 at newyorksalvage.net. Similar restored lanterns cost about $250. I then called the pros at Grand Brass Lamp Parts, one of the few remaining manufacturers of reproduction antique lighting parts, to order the wires, exterior-grade socket assembly, chain, and decorative ceiling canopy I needed to get the old lantern looking good and glowing again.

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Wash, Dry, Repeat

Americans spend more time in the laundry room than in the bathroom: an average of eight hours a week, collectively doing some 35 billion loads of laundry a year. And yet, while bath design has evolved into a discipline of its own, and the space into a bona fide retreat with soothing soaker tubs, the laundry is often relegated to a basement, separated from the life of the home.

Increasingly, though, homeowners are creating laundry rooms that are as integrated as a bath or the kitchen. They can even be in a bath or kitchen. Chalk it up to busier lives and a need to multitask, says designer Dana Jones of Long Beach, California. A first-floor laundry room can serve as a command center—a nook near the family room, where parents can keep an eye on the kids while folding, or off the back door, where it can double as a mudroom, home office, or hobby area. On the second floor, stackable, whisper-quiet front-loaders can tuck into a hall closet, just a balled-up-shirt-toss from the bedroom.

For help bringing your wash-and-dry space closer to the hub of your home and boosting its function, check out the elements of the decked-out laundry at left. Then, in the following gallery, see how those features, as well as other smart ideas and versatile layouts, are put to work.

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Gallery: Laundry Rooms With More

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Plain Facade

“We love the long front porch and the pillars, but it’s just very plain,” says Jason VanderWoude of the 1968 home he shares with his wife, Kristi, and their three children. Unlike most homes in their Grand Rapids, Michigan, neighborhood, theirs has yet to be renovated.

The VanderWoudes moved into their 3,000-square-foot house a year ago, not because it’s bigger than their old house, but because they “wanted to be in a neighborhood with kids and sidewalks,” says Jason. It has five bedrooms and 3 ½ baths.

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Not THAT Kind of Green Roof

“While you’re out there mowing the lawn, don’t forget to mow the roof.”

Richard Madore
Pillar to Post Home Inspection
Newington, Conn.

Courtesy of The ASHI Reporter

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If your kitchen cabinets are solid but dated and dark, a fresh coat of paint can go a long way toward transforming the space without draining your bank account. You can hire a pro to spray-paint them for a thousand dollars or more, but there’s a less costly, and less messy, alternative to consider: Use a brush and paint the cabinets yourself.

“You don’t need to spray to get a smooth finish,” says painting contractor John Dee, who has worked on a number of This Old House TV projects. He often brush-paints cabinets anyway because it gives him more control and avoids the risk of paint spray ending up where it’s not wanted. (Surface prep is the same whether you spray or brush.) Brushing is time-consuming, he warns, and could take up to a couple of weeks to complete. But the result is a durable, glass-smooth finish that’s the equal of anything from a spray gun. “You just need to use the best materials and take the time to sand and do the brushwork right,” Dee says.

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Gallery: PaintbrushesGallery: Tool Test: 5-Inch Random-Orbit Sanders Saving SandpaperSkill Builder: Save Time SandingCalculators

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End Of An Era

Just as certain clothes can signify an era, so can some kitchens. The one in Laurie and Kent ­Adamson’s Cape Cod—style house, in San Clemente, California, dated to 1985 and revealed its past with “oak, lots of oak!” says Laurie, from honey-colored floors to golden cabinets to whitewashed decorative beams. Though Laurie, an occupational therapist, and Kent, an orthopedic surgeon, love to entertain, they waited 19 years and until the last of their three children was a teenager—before tackling the room. Then they got to work. Guided by local designer Debbie Nassetta, they created a smart-looking, high-functioning cooking space in the 13½-by-19-foot kitchen without moving walls or changing the locations of the island, cooktop, wall ovens, or sink. Barn-red Wood-Mode cabinets and walnut and marble counters replaced the 20-year-old oak boxes and acres of ceramic tile.

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Gallery: A Family-Friendly Kitchen That’s Eco-friendly, Too

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Norm’s Best Knowhow

In every issue, TOH master carpenter Norm Abram dishes out advice to readers in his “Tricks of the Trade” column. Here, we’ve compiled his best how-to tips for stress-free DIY projects. Learn how to make sure roof shingles go down straight, exterior lights don’t leak, and baseboards go in with a finished edge.

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Gallery: Norm Abram’s Best Tricks of the Trade

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Norm’s Best Knowhow

In every issue, TOH master carpenter Norm Abram dishes out advice to readers in his “Tricks of the Trade” column. Here, we’ve compiled his best how-to tips for stress-free DIY projects. Learn how to make sure roof shingles go down straight, exterior lights don’t leak, and baseboards go in with a finished edge.

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Gallery: Norm Abram’s Best Tricks of the Trade

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Vodka: More Than a Drink

While it’s pricier than rubbing alcohol, this bar staple has the same antiseptic properties, making it a clever replacement in a pinch. Read on for spirited ways to put it to use.

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This Old House has gone to New England’s smallest state to cover the renovation of a small house in need of a big makeover.

A 1925 seaside cottage in Barrington, Rhode Island, has become the permanent home of Geoffrey Allen and Michelle Forcier and their young daughter. Recent transplants from Chicago, the couple relocated to Rhode Island so that their daughter would be closer to her grandparents and the extended family. When a house they’d been ogling just down the beach from the one they’d rented suddenly came on the market, they knew they’d found “The One.”

With its generous views of Narragansett Bay, the location is lovely; the 1,600-square-foot house, on the other hand, was anything but. Built as a tiny, seasonal Cape Cod, it had fallen victim to a hodgepodge of poorly planned additions and remodels. So Norm Abram and the rest of the TOH TV team are helping Geoff and Michelle turn it into a cheerful year-round homestead. Working with architect Mary Brewster and local builder Andrew Tiplady, they’re opening up the house’s first floor, relocating an interior staircase, and installing windows to take advantage of the views. A mudroom, laundry room, and two existing bathrooms are being updated. And some new spaces will appear on the second floor: a third bedroom, a master bath, and a covered porch.

This project involves a lot more than just aesthetics. While the first floor of the house sits just above the flood zone, it’s in the “Zone II” wind zone, which means that it faces particular hazards associated with strong winds of up to 110 miles per hour—a point that was tested for real when Hurricane-turned-Tropical-Storm Irene blew into town mid-renovation last September. Check out the episodes to see just how the Barrington house fared against the elements.

New episodes of the Barrington Beach House project begin airing in January 26 on PBS check local listings and on January 29 at thisoldhouse.com.

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This Old House has gone to New England’s smallest state to cover the renovation of a small house in need of a big makeover.

A 1925 seaside cottage in Barrington, Rhode Island, has become the permanent home of Geoffrey Allen and Michelle Forcier and their young daughter. Recent transplants from Chicago, the couple relocated to Rhode Island so that their daughter would be closer to her grandparents and the extended family. When a house they’d been ogling just down the beach from the one they’d rented suddenly came on the market, they knew they’d found “The One.”

With its generous views of Narragansett Bay, the location is lovely; the 1,600-square-foot house, on the other hand, was anything but. Built as a tiny, seasonal Cape Cod, it had fallen victim to a hodgepodge of poorly planned additions and remodels. So Norm Abram and the rest of the TOH TV team are helping Geoff and Michelle turn it into a cheerful year-round homestead. Working with architect Mary Brewster and local builder Andrew Tiplady, they’re opening up the house’s first floor, relocating an interior staircase, and installing windows to take advantage of the views. A mudroom, laundry room, and two existing bathrooms are being updated. And some new spaces will appear on the second floor: a third bedroom, a master bath, and a covered porch.

This project involves a lot more than just aesthetics. While the first floor of the house sits just above the flood zone, it’s in the “Zone II” wind zone, which means that it faces particular hazards associated with strong winds of up to 110 miles per hour—a point that was tested for real when Hurricane-turned-Tropical-Storm Irene blew into town mid-renovation last September. Check out the episodes to see just how the Barrington house fared against the elements.

New episodes of the Barrington Beach House project begin airing in January 26 on PBS check local listings and on January 29 at thisoldhouse.com.

Article source: http://feeds.thisoldhouse.com/~r/ThisOldHouseLatest/~3/uPXJhbfX8Ng/0,,20560147,00.html

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Get the Kitchen You Want

Who wants to settle for a cookie-cutter cook space? Not us. But these days we’re all looking to improve on what we’ve got without forking over fistfuls of cash. See how to use fresh paint and paper, vintage finds, and other smart buys to get made-to-order looks at off-the-shelf prices.

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A handyman’s secret weapon for setting door jambs, aligning molding, and temporarily fixing wobbly furniture, humble wood shims go from toolbox staple to style booster in this sunburst mirror frame. Making your own is simple and, at only about $35 for materials, far less expensive than any off-the-shelf version. All you need are shims in two lengths—for the 26-inch looker shown here, we used 234 shims in 8- and 12-inch lengths (about $1.50 for 14 and about $4 for 42, respectively; Lowes)—and a plain, round beveled mirror ($6 for a 12-inch mirror; Shop Hobby Lobby).

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Step By Step: How to Make a New Mirror with Old Door TrimAsk This Old House: Resilvering a MirrorStep By Step: How to Build a Mirror From Case MoldingGallery: Wood Glue Guide: Which Goes WhereCalculators

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Stay Ahead of Ice Dams

Icicles hanging along the eaves of your house may look beautiful, but they spell trouble. That’s because the same conditions that allow icicles to form—snow-covered roofs and freezing weather—also lead to ice dams: thick ridges of solid ice that build up along the eaves. Dams can tear off gutters, loosen shingles, and cause water to back up and pour into your house. When that happens, the results aren’t pretty: peeling paint, warped floors, stained and sagging ceilings. Not to mention soggy insulation in the attic, which loses R-value and becomes a magnet for mold and mildew.

Keep reading to learn more about how ice dams form so that you can prevent them altogether or make a quick fix if they’ve already formed.

TOH Tip: To keep ahead of water damage, snap photos where you see frosty buildup. Use the pictures to help target an interior inspection, during which you should check for leaks.

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Gallery: Snow and Ice Removal

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The Truth About Efficient Lighting

Like all remodelers, Joe and Becky Titlow, owners of the current This Old House TV project, wanted their house’s new lighting to complement its style. “We also needed to cut energy use,” says Becky, not just to save money but also to meet a state code requiring 50 percent of lighting in any remodel (and new construction) to be energy efficient. It’s a common challenge, as some 20 states have adopted or are adopting similar codes.

The Titlows soon found that shopping for energy-efficient lighting is a herculean research project these days. As incandescent bulbs disappear from store shelves, the bulbs that are replacing them have changed dramatically in the past few years. To get a better grasp on their options, the Titlows turned to lighting designer Susan Arnold of Wolfers Lighting in Allston, Massachusetts. We spoke to her, and a few other experts, to examine the pros, cons, myths, and realities surrounding this latest generation of lighting. Here’s an incentive to keep reading: Joe and Becky’s choices may slash their lighting energy bill by as much as 60 percent.

TOH general contractor Tom Silva places a wall sconce above the fireplace in the new family room. “We’re using CFLs in these fixtures,” says homeowner Joe Titlow.

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Nothing More Than Frozen Water

Next time you’re stuck at home with the kids on a snow day and they won’t pull themselves away from the video games, show them these astounding sculptures. Maybe they’ll get inspired to run outside and try to build a better snowman. Because as these crafty creations show, you don’t need much more than a few basic tools to turn packed powder into something seriously special. Click through to see the best of all the winter wonders we saw, and read on to learn some trusted techniques for building your own detailed and sturdy snow figures. If you follow our advice, you too can build a winter wonderland. After all, the materials are free!

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Gallery: World’s Wildest Snow and Ice Houses

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Find Out What Happened to Your Favorite ‘Save TOH’ Houses

Each week, we get dozens of emails from readers wondering what ever happened to the houses featured in our popular back page column, Save This Old House. We know you’re dying to find out if that 1900 Queen Anne survived the wrecking ball, or if that eye-catching Kentucky farmhouse ever found a new owner. Some of the houses we featured last year did in fact find new owners—owners who are at work painstakingly restoring them right now. Others were not so lucky.

So, are you ready to learn the fates of last year’s STOH superstars? Keep clicking.

Oh, and take note, bargain hunters: As a Proud Preservation Partner of Save This Old House, Behr will help ease the way of fixing up an endangered house by providing up to 20 gallons of interior and/or exterior paint to the buyer of a featured house—at no charge. For more details, write to toh_marketing@timeinc.com

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Gallery: ’Save This Old House’ Update: 2010

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Putting Away the Holidays

Holiday decorating can go from fun to frustrating in no time flat. And putting it all away can really be the pits. To help you get it done, we’ve gathered a few clever storage solutions and some pro organizational tips from Lea Schneider, author of Growing Up Organized and a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers.

“If you take the time to stow decorations properly after the busy holiday season passes, next year will be easier,” Schneider says. Keep reading to see how to store fragile holiday items, and save yourself a few headaches (untangling! dusting!) next holiday season, too.

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Gallery: 14 Smart Storage Accessories

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Beauty On a Budget

You don’t need loads of cash to refresh a room! DIY is a big money-saver. Pair that good, old-fashioned elbow grease with smart shopping for materials and the results can be inspirational. See how these readers transformed a mudrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and baths at bargain prices—without sacrificing on function or good looks.

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We’ve asked for your Holiday DIY Disasters and alerted you to Common Holiday Hazards to Avoid. Contrary to what we might have you believe, though, this is the most joyous time of year. Certainly, we’ve all got good holiday home memories to share. So, we went ahead and asked you for those, too. Here are a dozen of our favorite recollections, as told by you—our valued readers.

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Gallery: Hey, My House Had One of Those!

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Over-Decking the Halls

Some neighborhoods take their holiday decorating very seriously. But, some homeowners go a smidge too far. Okay, who are we kidding? Some homeowners border on bulb abuse. Here’s a new crop of holiday decorated houses you could probably see from outer space. Note: This is NOT an inspirational gallery of “Dos”. It’s more of a list of please “don’ts.”

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Gallery: World’s Wildest Holiday House Displays

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Space-Saving Tables

Here at This Old House, we’ve got a soft spot for folding, expandable, and multifunctional furniture—even better if it’s got built-in storage. Why live with a bulky desk when you can free up floor space with one that folds out from a wall cabinet lined with cubbies and a corkboard? Or settle for any old ottoman when there’s a storage cube that, with the flip of its lid, turns into a cocktail table? If you’re short on square footage—or even if you’re not—consider these seven tables that change shape, tuck away, offer hidden storage, or do some combination of all three.

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And the Winners Are…

It’s astounding what DIYers can do with some gingerbread and a few trusty tools! You’ll see how TOH readers put their band saws, wood rasps, belt sanders, Dremels, and X-Acto knives to work to build this year’s roundup of edible abodes—and a few other kinds of cookie creations (like Santa’s car and Noah’s Ark, shown at left).

We’re proud to present the best masterpieces from the 2012 TOH Gingerbread House Contest. Here, we count down to the $500 Grand Prize winning house in hopes that we’ll inspire you to create your own baked bungalow this holiday season.

Can’t get enough? See all of this year’s entries to gather even more inspiration for your very own creation.

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Gallery: 2010 Gingerbread House Contest Winners

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Revamped Attic

A small-space remodel can be as exacting as a jigsaw puzzle. That’s what Matthew and Darci Haney found while renovating the three-room upstairs space in their Carlton, Oregon, cottage.

Shown: New windows meet fire code, and built-in furniture, cabinets, and open shelves—together with a new bath—make use of every square foot.

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Gallery: Read This Before You Finish Your Attic

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A Special Place in a Small Space

Anything worth owning is worth a place of honor, be it a painting, novel, clutch of vases, or pair of shoes. Yet in most homes, possessions tend to gather on desks, counters, and closet floors, waiting forever for a spot of their own.

Which helps explain why the home of Ellis and Seth Lesser—shared with four school-age girls, one schnoodle, and all their stuff—seems like a series of mini miracles.

“Games go in one cabinet,” says Ellis, consulting a mental map of the built-ins framing a loveseat in her kitchen’s eating area. “Plastic cups and plates for the kids go in a cabinet at one end of the island, where they can reach them. Pots and pans are in cabinets with pullouts. “Even the space over the loveseat has been colonized, with open shelves devoted to collectibles and the kids’ artwork. “It makes me crazy,” Ellis adds, “not to have places to put things.”

Shown: Cabinets bridged by a soffit and open shelves create an alcove for the kitchen loveseat, so traffic flows around it. The tall unit on the right stows board games.

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Trade Secrets Revealed

Pros are well versed in the complexities of their fields, of course. But their on-the-job everyday experience has also given them insights into the little tricks that deliver the biggest results, from adding affordable storage in the kitchen to enhancing the efficiency of your radiators. These techniques may be largely subconscious; the contractor, electrician, or architect may not even realize how valuable such gems are to regular DIYers like us, but we did. So read on for some of This Old House’s favorite been-there-learned-that bits of wisdom gleaned from some of the nation’s top pros, including our own.

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Bah, Humbug!

The holidays are traditionally a time to kick back at home with the family and put depressing thoughts—like death, for example—aside in exchange for fuzzier feelings of comfort and joy. Unfortunately, the Grim Reaper is not one to take a holiday, even if it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year’s Eve. His handiwork often manifests itself in some of our favorite holiday home traditions, too, from living room Christmas trees, which catch fire and kill about 15 of us each year, to backyard sledding, which sends more than 33,000 of us to the hospital annually.

To make sure Death doesn’t nab a seat at your holiday table this year, we took a look at the different ways he tries to sideline this most wonderful time of the year. The hope is that you’ll avoid his sinister plans so that you can savor the comforts and joys of many holidays to come.

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Gallery: Craziest Homeowner Holiday Disaster Stories II

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Prevention is Key

We don’t mean to be kill-joys during the most joyous time of the year, but the stats don’t lie: According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 12,500 of you have to leave the company of your loved ones to rush to the emergency room due to holiday-related accidental injuries. Here are some common holiday dangers that are overlooked by distracted holiday revelers more often than you might think. Take a look, know the warning signs, and you’ll be the first to know if you, your loved ones, or your pets are victims of a toxic Christmas.

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Limited Room

When quarters are tight, layout is critical. Consider this hardworking kitchen, configured by designer Heidi Piron for serious cooks Liza and Peter Tulloch. Owners of a 70-year-old Colonial Revival in Summit, New Jersey, they had two kids, one dog, and lots of ideas when they asked Piron to improve the workings of their 110-square-foot kitchen. She did so without changing its footprint, and left the sink under the window so Liza could keep an eye on the kids.

She also converted an out-of-the-way broom closet into a message center that doubles as a storage-packed serving area. To make the room seem larger, she suggested glass subway tile and other light-reflecting finishes, like pale granite and red-oak flooring. The cabinets fit together precisely, with a pullout for spices and oils, squeezed in near the range, “in a frameless cabinet, which offers a bit more space inside than one with an inset door,” Piron notes. Says Liza, “As the space was quite limited, every inch was thoughtfully maximized.”

Pictured: In a space that is all right angles, rounded shelves soften the cabinets’ crisp lines.

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Kidproof your Holiday Decor

Little ones love the razzle-dazzle of baubles and trinkets, but if they get their mitts on the wrong ones, you could have a problem on your hands. Child-safety pro Debra Smiley Holtzman, author of the newly updated Safe Baby, told us how to deck the halls so no one gets hurt.

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Gallery: The Holiday-Ready House

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All About Wallpaper

Wallpaper is like a shot of Botox for a tired-looking room. Sure, paint will perk it up, but paper adds more than just color; it gives walls character, dimension, and pattern.

Wallpaper has adorned American homes since colonial times, but after its heyday in the early 1900s, it had a hard time overcoming its connotation as something only for chintz-loving grandmas or high-end designers. These days, thanks in part to buying opportunities on the Internet, homeowners are discovering an exciting world of sophisticated patterns, improved materials, and easy installation methods. You can choose from beautiful papers made in the 18th-century manner, as well as 21st-century nonwovens, which are sheets of fused fibers that are a breeze to hang—and remove.

We’ll guide you through the many types of wallpaper—including plain papers, vinyls, metallics, nonwovens, and grasscloth—and the essentials of buying and caring for them. Plus, you’ll find useful tips on selecting a pattern, estimating how much to buy, and proper hanging technique. Once you see what paper can do for drab walls, you may reach for the paste rather than a brush the next time you need to freshen up a room.

Shown: Vinyl papers, such as this one, hold up in bathrooms that are well ventilated. Coral Gables in Aqua, textured vinyl on a fabric backing, $190 for a 61-square-foot roll; Thibaut for dealers

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Houses That Will Make You Hungry

If you’re feeling handy and hungry this holiday season—and who isn’t?—then decorating a gingerbread house might be the perfect project for you. Get inspired by these stunning, award-winning creations from The National Gingerbread House Competition Display at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. See techniques for a range of confectionary structures, from a classic home to a whimsical tree house.

And don’t forget to enter your own masterpiece in TOH’s annual Gingerbread House Contest for your chance to win a $500 gift card.

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British Colonial Powder Room

The average half bath may measure only about 20 square feet, but you can still give it a well-furnished look. Consider the space shown here: Its crewel rug, cane chair, and fancy grained mirror could just as easily adorn a living room or den. “Though it serves its purpose, the room goes beyond utilitarian; it feels warm and clubby,” says color expert Eve Ashcraft, author of The Right Color (Artisan). Working with architect and interior designer Gil Schafer, Ashcraft devised a rich palette of golden walls and creamy wainscoting to play up the bath’s furnishings, which blend bamboo with more traditional antiques, including a mahogany table vanity and ceramic bust. Nickel and brass fixtures add a 19th-century glow.

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The Lincoln Room: Welcome to Blair House

Across the street and just a few doors down from The White House on Pennsylvania Avenue sits Blair House, a line of four 19th-century townhouses that together serve as the guest house for foreign heads of state visiting the president. During one recent holiday season, the United States Department of State, which manages the use of Blair House, teamed up with the Magazine Publishers of America to decorate the rooms. Then they held a reception, hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for the families of the Unaccompanied, Department of State employees posted to areas abroad that are too dangerous for their families to join them.

Six magazines participated, and This Old House took on two spaces in the house, one of which was the Lincoln Room just off the main hall of the original 1824 structure. The room is named for President Abraham Lincoln, who used to meet here with his friend and confidant, Francis Preston Blair. It is also here that in 1861 Lincoln asked Robert E. Lee to lead the Union Army in the Civil War. Lee, a native Virginian, refused the post and went on to take command of the Confederate Army. Portraits of both Lee and Lincoln hang in the room.

The decorations TOH created for the room draw from the Federal-style architecture of the original house and traditional trimmings used during the period.

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Picking the Perfect Tree

Christmas comes but once a year, and picking out the perfect tree to jolly up the living room is a family ritual full of fun and promise. But with all the different types of trees out there, it’s hard to know which one is right for your holiday display. And knowing how to keep it green and fragrant once you deck it out is a talent that eludes many a yuletide reveler. “When a tree goes south,” says This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook, “ninety-nine percent of the time it’s human error.” So before you turn your tannenbaum into the Charlie Brown special, take a few tips from our experts on how to pick one, measure for it, and make sure it lasts through December 25 and maybe into the New Year.

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Easy Transport

Whether you get your holiday evergreen from a local lot or a nearby tree farm, read on for a few foolproof tips on how to transport it without risking life, limb, or damage to your house.

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From Ho-hum to Hue-tastic

Little spaces have the potential to carry a lot of weight. “A small space can be a wonderful jewel box,” says Sonu Mathew, senior interior designer at Benjamin Moore. Foyers, hallways, and mudrooms can establish a mood. Tiny studies, bedrooms, and even baths often serve as retreats.

Before picking a paint for a snug space, ask yourself what effect you’re after: Do you want the room to feel light and airy (try a cool color) or warm and cozy (veer toward richer and warmer)? Or maybe you’re craving a little drama.

Shown: Castleton Mist, a yellow-green in Benjamin Moore‘s Historic collection, is a favorite of San Francisco interior designer Arthur McLaughlin, who also stages properties for sale. “This play on celery green has some energy to it,” he says. “It can lift the mood, which is what you want in a small space that might otherwise be overlooked.”

Read on for more of our experts’ favorite small-space-enhancing shades and strategies.

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Not-So-Happy Holidays

For this installment of Holiday Home Disasters, we’ve gathered Facebook fodder to serve as cautionary tales. From bursting pipes to spider mite-infested Christmas trees, here are the terrifying tales of your fellow DIYers, who made the mistakes once so you won’t have to. Look for related how-to links on every slide, and you just might arm yourself with the know-how to save the day in the event of your very own holiday emergency.

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Making a memorable first impression is tough if your front door has ho-hum hardware. Even worse is a tarnished, pitted entry set with a peeling lacquer finish, like the one below.

To give the door more polish, we shopped around for a shiny brass replacement. But rather than get a set from a specialty hardware shop, where they can easily top $1,000, we chose a Baldwin one-piece handle and tubular lock set with a handsome escutcheon for $179 from the home center (The Home Depot). Hardware manufacturers’ home-center lines, which range from $100 to $350, are also easier to retrofit because they’re designed for DIYers.

Completing the door’s makeover is a shapely new knocker for $41 and a gleaming kick plate for $66 (Cape Cod Brass), for a total project cost of $286.

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Get This Look

The best way to turn your everyday dining area into a festive spot for winter celebrations? Rev up your DIY skills. The cheerful room shown here features seven handcrafted projects—including a gold-edged runner and birch bark-wrapped candles—most of which you can assemble in less time than it takes to set the table. Combined with weathered wood furniture, rustic accessories, and colorful pops of green and orange, they create an unfussy space that captures the warmth of the holiday season. Read on for how to adapt these creative ideas for your house.

Download and print our stencil template for the craft wood conifers.

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Gallery: 12 Smart Ways to Store Holiday Decorations

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Tool School

A tool chest usually starts with a small investment on the part of a new and inexperienced homeowner and grows over time as new projects need to be completed and skill level improves. On these pages, TOH put together tool kits for the beginner, semi-skilled, and experienced DIYer. Just remember that no experienced DIYer’s kit is complete unless it contains the tools from the beginner and semi-skilled collections.

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The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

It’s that time of year again! The kids are off from school, your parents are encamped in the guest bedroom, and there’s enough food in your fridge to feed a small island nation. Ah, the holidays. If you’re the host this year, you know how much work goes into making the family gathering as perfect as can be. But you also know it pays to be prepared for the unexpected. Because despite all the careful planning, even the best host can—and will—fall prey to at least one disaster during a family gathering (and we don’t mean granddad horrifying the young’uns with his war stories).

In the past we’ve shown you how to prep your home ahead of time to minimize holiday mayhem. But some things are just unpredictable, like spilled wine, guest-trapping blizzards, or the overeager but hapless aunt who insists on being your sous chef. Don’t worry—This Old House is here to help. We’re giving you our 10 best tips for smoothing over those last-minute glitches so that you can keep the celebration going with a perfect holiday smile.

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You Can Get the Job Done

The holidays are right around the corner and now is the time to take care of the improvements you’ve been procrastinating about all year long. From dead doorbells and jammed doors, to caulking the bath and replacing broken tiles, here are our top quick fixes, and all the information you need to get the job done right.

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Look Good, Spend Less

Adding character to your cook space doesn’t have to put you in the poor house: The secret’s in the finishing touches. See how fresh paint, new lighting, and smart use of colorful tiles and vintage accents can personalize the hub of your home.

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Image is Everything

Here at This Old House, we believe that a handsome front facade ranks right up there with a solid foundation and good bones.

Sure, there’s the satisfaction you get in showing passers-by that yes, indeed, you’ve got a gem on your hands. But more important, it’s about how appealing details such as cheery blooms, a crisp white fence, and eye-catching shutters create a welcome sight for you and your family to come home to each day.

On the following pages, see nine stunning exterior transformations, including some from fellow readers whose homes were among the worst-looking in their neighborhoods. Through smart investments and, often, sweat equity, their diamonds-in-the-rough soon caught up to—and even surpassed—the rest of the block. Read on to see how these readers, as well as other inspiring homeowners, did it.

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Image is Everything

Here at This Old House, we believe that a handsome front facade ranks right up there with a solid foundation and good bones.

Sure, there’s the satisfaction you get in showing passers-by that yes, indeed, you’ve got a gem on your hands. But more important, it’s about how appealing details such as cheery blooms, a crisp white fence, and eye-catching shutters create a welcome sight for you and your family to come home to each day.

On the following pages, see nine stunning exterior transformations, including some from fellow readers whose homes were among the worst-looking in their neighborhoods. Through smart investments and, often, sweat equity, their diamonds-in-the-rough soon caught up to—and even surpassed—the rest of the block. Read on to see how these readers, as well as other inspiring homeowners, did it.

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Dishware, serving pieces, table linens—a sideboard packs a whole lot of storage space into a relatively small footprint, making it a handy addition to any household. A sturdy, high-quality one can leave a thousand-dollar dent in your finances, but as This Old House general contractor Tom Silva demonstrates, you can enhance a few stock kitchen base cabinets with molding, furniture feet, and knobs to produce a handcrafted piece for a fraction of the cost of buying one ready-made. Opt for unfinished 15- or 18-inch cabinets fitted with doors and operable drawers (not the fake drawer fronts used for sink cabinets) and take a day to put all the pieces together. Your handsome creation will turn heads at dinner parties for years to come.

The design for this sideboard is based on one found in the book The Find, by Stan Williams.

Paint: Fabulous Red in semigloss; Valspar. Rub n ‘Buff Metallic Finishes in Antique Gold; Amaco.

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If you’re hosting a holiday meal, a big dining table is as much a necessity as extra silverware and a seating chart that doesn’t cause a family feud. But a solid-wood table can be a four-figure investment, so we scoured the home store looking for materials to help us build one that wouldn’t dry up our gift budget. With the help of This Old House general contractor Tom Silva, we designed a generous trestle table that incorporates some decorative flourishes without breaking the bank. The legs are simply newel posts that were cut to size, stabilized with feet made from corbels that have carved scrollwork details, and connected by a stretcher cut from a length of handrail. Stock lumber and molding finish off the top. Spend a weekend making it and we guarantee you’ll get as many compliments on your newest piece of furniture as the food you serve on it.

Shown: 56-inch red oak newel posts, 10½-inch decorative whitewood corbels, and poplar interior stairpart railing; Lowe’s.
Paint: Valspar’s Deep Earth.

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

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Get Your Kitchen Ready

We all know what happens when Thanksgiving goes bad—and it can go really bad. In fact, one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers isn’t Super Bowl Sunday, with its fabled toilet-busting bathroom-break halftime. No, it’s actually the day after Turkey Day, with its garbage disposer mishaps, clogged sinks, and dishwasher meltdowns. And there’s nary a home chef who hasn’t had a holiday horror story.

The good news is, with a little advance planning and our tried-and-true tips, you can avoid most disasters this holiday. Then you can actually enjoy the satisfaction of a meal well prepared surrounded by friends and family.

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All About Kitchen Islands

Topping the list of must-haves in most kitchen renovations, an island is the perfect value-added improvement, one that transforms the way you use and enjoy the busiest room in your house.

At a minimum, an island adds counter and storage space just where you need them: at the pivot point between your kitchen’s cooking, cleaning, and food-prep zones. And outfitted with fixtures and appliances, such as a sink and cooktop, or bar stools for dining, an island itself can become the hub of activity. Such utility is the reason builders and designers say that adding an island offers more bang for your buck than just about any other kitchen upgrade.

The first kitchen islands in America date to the colonial era. These simple worktables, situated near the hearth of the home, were where families prepped meals and then sat down to break bread. Even after the advent of built-in cabinetry, and well into the first half of the 20th century, the island remained a freestanding piece of furniture, often with a look and style all its own. The tradition continues today, as islands often integrate materials, colors, and design flourishes that are different from those of the surrounding wall cabinets, making them the focal point of the space.

On the following pages you’ll find all the information and inspiration you need to create a kitchen island that’s right for you—from the critical clearances for good traffic and workflow to the many ways you can customize it to suit your particular space and the way you cook and entertain.

A handcrafted island made of reclaimed chestnut stands apart from the painted wall cabinets.

Shown: Custom kitchen island, $15,000 (not including the countertop, sink, or faucet); Crown Point Cabinetry.

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Relocating the Cook Space

Start rejiggering a home’s layout and almost anything may seem possible‚ including swapping the locations of the family room and the kitchen. For Matt Totaro and his wife, Connie Eiseman, moving the kitchen was one of several improvements made during the remodel of their 1909 house, in Catonsville, Maryland. With two kids‚ joined later by a third‚ they craved an open eat-in kitchen situated at the center of the household. The existing family room presented just the right spot.

So, after a work crew gutted it, taking down a wall to annex a side porch as well, the couple worked with kitchen designer Steve Fair to finish one large space with an eating area at one end and plenty of room for entertaining. Today, traffic flows from the kitchen to the new family room (located where the old kitchen stood), skirting an island that delineates the cooking-and-cleanup zone. Pendant lights, soapstone counters, an apron sink with a wall-mount bridge faucet, and refinished pine flooring reinforce the home’s period look. “Starting from scratch meant weeks without a place to cook,” says Matt, “but the payoff is having an eat-in kitchen that really serves as the heart of our house.”

Shown: Relocated to where the family room once stood, the new open-plan kitchen has plenty of room for family and friends.

Oven range: GE
Range hood: Kobe
Microwave: Frigidaire

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Things to Know Before You Spark Up the Logs

With natural gas and propane prices continuing to rise, you’ll likely be looking to the old fireplace this winter to help cut your home-heating bills. But before you spark up the logs, take heed that fireplaces and chimneys are involved in 42 percent of all home-heating fires. So first make sure yours is up to snuff by following these seven safety tips.

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Budget Dining Room Redo

When a whole house needs work, often there’s no better place to tackle than a high-traffic area. For J.K. Pfannmuller and her husband, the dining room in their 1985 Colonial Revival fit that bill. With a kitchen short on eating space, they needed a dining spot for regular meals as well as entertaining, so they wanted to give it a “formal air but casual feel.” The laminate floor and baseboards were in good shape, so the couple turned to the walls, rolling a gray-blue above the chair rail before adding crown molding. Wall frames made of panel molding glued in place created a low-cost wainscoting. All of the trim and the lower portion of the walls were coated with a white semigloss to complement newly installed shutters, and wood furniture warmed up the room’s cool tones. A new chandelier and a pair of lamps, tied together by their natural-fabric shades, add a soft glow to complete the transformation. Traditional without being cold or stuffy, the space now gets a lot of use. Says J.K., “We feel comfortable in the room, and it’s perfect for our dinner guests.”

Shown: New crown and panel molding added old-house charm to the existing stock trim.

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Gallery: A Charming Kitchen Revamp for $1,527

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Budget Dining Room Redo

When a whole house needs work, often there’s no better place to tackle than a high-traffic area. For J.K. Pfannmuller and her husband, the dining room in their 1985 Colonial Revival fit that bill. With a kitchen short on eating space, they needed a dining spot for regular meals as well as entertaining, so they wanted to give it a “formal air but casual feel.” The laminate floor and baseboards were in good shape, so the couple turned to the walls, rolling a gray-blue above the chair rail before adding crown molding. Wall frames made of panel molding glued in place created a low-cost wainscoting. All of the trim and the lower portion of the walls were coated with a white semigloss to complement newly installed shutters, and wood furniture warmed up the room’s cool tones. A new chandelier and a pair of lamps, tied together by their natural-fabric shades, add a soft glow to complete the transformation. Traditional without being cold or stuffy, the space now gets a lot of use. Says J.K., “We feel comfortable in the room, and it’s perfect for our dinner guests.”

Shown: New crown and panel molding added old-house charm to the existing stock trim.

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Gallery: A Charming Kitchen Revamp for $1,527

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The Best New Home Products of 2011

How great would it be if someone invented a bath fan that stays on until the humidity’s gone? Someone did, as you’ll see on slide 17. And wouldn’t it be nice if someone could make energy-efficient CFLs more attractive? Check out slides 85 and 86. While we’re at it, shouldn’t there be a friendlier way to select moldings for your walls? We refer you to slide 46. Okay, but what about stone veneer that requires no mortar to install? It’s here too—along with many other not-so-humble products for your abode. One hundred, to be exact, many of them surprises, all of them terrific in their own way. TOH editors hunted high and low to find them because we know that people who love old houses also appreciate new ways to fix them up. Which is to say, in the following pages, we hope you’ll find as much inspiration for next year’s project calendar as we do.

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Brick-A-Brack

“I think all the different types of brick is what makes it so weird looking,” says Romina Quillin of the patchwork ranch she shares with her husband, Ed, near Pittsburgh. “We’re both artists, but I’m just not sure what can be done.”

To find out, we enlisted designer Brian Mann, a founding partner of Omnia Group in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. “The brick isn’t gorgeous, so using it selectively makes it more special,” says Mann.

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A Plan to Revamp

Everyone’s heard stories about renovations gone awry, but how often do you hear a homeowner describe a process that moved smoothly, start to finish? The way Paula Rau tells it, finding and refining her gem of a house in Staunton, Virginia, was a real pleasure—even if it did take five years of dreaming and 18 months of hard work.

“I have to credit my team,” she says, referring to a series of skilled pros who live nearby and are united by a fondness for diamond-in-the-rough properties: architect Carter Green; general contractor John Workman; and cabinetmaker Paul Borzelleca, who has worked on and off for Paula for a dozen years and, as he puts it, knows her sensibilities.

Her Folk Victorian find, squeezed into a thicket of old houses in the historic Newtown district, came into Paula’s life indirectly. A friend was shopping for a deal on an in-town fixer-upper, spotted the house, and made a phone call. Yes, the owner said, the house might be for sale.

But when the two women returned to take a closer look, they had second thoughts, despite the house’s lovely wraparound porch and five-digit price tag. At some point, the house had been divided into two apartments; the foyer was split down the middle, with a wall biting into a once-graceful arched opening to create two narrow front entrances. A full bath was wedged in next to the kitchen in the first-floor apartment, and a kitchenette was squeezed in alongside the bath in the apartment upstairs.

Shown: A new soapstone surround gives extra weight to the lone wood-burning fireplace and keeps the flat-screen TV from dominating the living room.

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Know Your Weatherstripping

Sealing gaps around doors and windows can make your home feel warmer—and save you 10 to 15 percent on your energy bills. But with so many different types of weatherstripping lining shelves at the hardware store, choosing the right one for a particular job can feel like a guessing game. To help, we’ve broken down the most common options by material and profile so that you’ll know just what to install to chase away the chill.

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Salvaging Pieces of the Past

Joe and Becky Titlow are die-hard old-house devotees—thus their decision to buy a charming-but-needs-work Georgian built nearly 300 years ago. So when it came time to remodel it, as part of the current season of TOH TV, they had a not-so-small request. “We asked the team to reuse as many original building materials as possible,” says Becky.

Fortunately, this directive suited TOH general contractor Tom Silva just fine. “I’m Yankee and I’m cheap,” jokes Tom. “If used parts are in good shape, I’d rather recycle them than buy new.” So, after knocking out walls and tearing up floors, the TOH team was left with centuries-old wood and brick that might have been destined for the Dumpster at many job sites. Instead, they’ve been picking through the pile, spotting pieces with potential, then transforming these and other old house parts into finishes, details, and furnishings. These salvage projects will make even brand-new areas look perfectly at home next to existing rooms, and will also keep intact the house’s historic character—the very thing the Titlows fell in love with. Read on to see what’s in the works.

Shown: TOH master carpenter Norm Abram and furniture maker Stephen Staples review a trestle table design for the kitchen, which Staples hopes to build with reclaimed lumber from the house.

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Salvaging Pieces of the Past

Joe and Becky Titlow are die-hard old-house devotees—thus their decision to buy a charming-but-needs-work Georgian built nearly 300 years ago. So when it came time to remodel it, as part of the current season of TOH TV, they had a not-so-small request. “We asked the team to reuse as many original building materials as possible,” says Becky.

Fortunately, this directive suited TOH general contractor Tom Silva just fine. “I’m Yankee and I’m cheap,” jokes Tom. “If used parts are in good shape, I’d rather recycle them than buy new.” So, after knocking out walls and tearing up floors, the TOH team was left with centuries-old wood and brick that might have been destined for the Dumpster at many job sites. Instead, they’ve been picking through the pile, spotting pieces with potential, then transforming these and other old house parts into finishes, details, and furnishings. These salvage projects will make even brand-new areas look perfectly at home next to existing rooms, and will also keep intact the house’s historic character—the very thing the Titlows fell in love with. Read on to see what’s in the works.

Shown: TOH master carpenter Norm Abram and furniture maker Stephen Staples review a trestle table design for the kitchen, which Staples hopes to build with reclaimed lumber from the house.

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Gallery: Salvaging the Good Stuff

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Salvaging Pieces of the Past

Joe and Becky Titlow are die-hard old-house devotees—thus their decision to buy a charming-but-needs-work Georgian built nearly 300 years ago. So when it came time to remodel it, as part of the current season of TOH TV, they had a not-so-small request. “We asked the team to reuse as many original building materials as possible,” says Becky.

Fortunately, this directive suited TOH general contractor Tom Silva just fine. “I’m Yankee and I’m cheap,” jokes Tom. “If used parts are in good shape, I’d rather recycle them than buy new.” So, after knocking out walls and tearing up floors, the TOH team was left with centuries-old wood and brick that might have been destined for the Dumpster at many job sites. Instead, they’ve been picking through the pile, spotting pieces with potential, then transforming these and other old house parts into finishes, details, and furnishings. These salvage projects will make even brand-new areas look perfectly at home next to existing rooms, and will also keep intact the house’s historic character—the very thing the Titlows fell in love with. Read on to see what’s in the works.

Shown: TOH master carpenter Norm Abram and furniture maker Stephen Staples review a trestle table design for the kitchen, which Staples hopes to build with reclaimed lumber from the house.

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Gallery: Salvaging the Good Stuff

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

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A New Beginning

Starting from scratch may be everyone’s decorating fantasy, but most people have to work with what they’ve got. Take empty-nesters Trish and Tom Rump, who turned to designer Kelly Keiser to update the staid Mediterranean-style interior of their new San Francisco home. Graced with original arched windows, passageways, and niches, the place also came with hardwood floors, an elaborate fireplace, and a remodeled kitchen too new to redo.

Shown: San Francisco interior designer Kelly Keiser helped update this home with pale colors and modern accents.

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Vintage-Style Storage

Equal parts decorative and utilitarian, the classic wall-hung medicine cabinet literally stands out in a world of recessed metal boxes. These two have beveled mirrors, close with the click of a spring-loaded latch, and open to reveal a pair of adjustable glass shelves. The budget version is a bit taller, and the high-end one is heavier. Read on for other differences that may point to the best fit for your bath and budget.

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Gallery: Medicine Cabinets with More

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Murder We Wrote

Would you buy a house that was the scene of a grisly murder? Truth is, you might never come to know your home’s dark history, since only about half of the states in the U.S. have formal seller disclosure laws. That means agents don’t have to fill you in on a property’s past unless you ask outright. Why? Well, selling houses is hard enough these days. But don’t worry. TOH has your back with another list of what the National Board of Realtors calls “stigmatized properties.”

Meantime, if you’re in the market for a new home and you’d rather not live where someone once died, do your homework. Make sure you explore the neighborhood and chat with locals—and ask your agent about the house’s history, especially if the property is particularly grand with a suspiciously low price tag. (Amityville 101, people!)

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Gallery: 13 American Murder Houses

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This Old Monster House

Our 4th annual TOH Pumpkin Carving Contest has brought us our best harvest of ghoulish gourds yet! Here’s an Honorable Mention to start things off, courtesy of Mary H. in New York. Every year for the past three years, Mary took the time to create a TOH-themed pumpkin like the This Old Monster House one shown here. Thanks, Mary!

Keep clicking to see the top 25 pumpkins from this year’s contest—24 runners up and some of the best carvings we’ve ever seen—and the Grand Prize Winner! Have a safe and happy Halloween.

See all 200+ amazing pumpkin entries from this year’s contest, or check out the crazy jack-o’-lanterns from years past.

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Gallery: 12 Inspirational Pumpkin Carvings

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From Scary to Stunning

Saving an old house is no small feat. Just ask any of these homeowners, all DIYers who lived to tell the tale. From fire-damaged to foreclosures and everything in between, get inspired by these unbelievable makeovers that’ll either give you the restoration bug—or make you really happy your renovation is over.

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Gallery: Best Whole House Before and Afters 2011

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DIY Halloween Party Decorations: Salvage-Style

Freddy Krueger was freaky in the movies, but the melty-faced, striped-sweater-wearing dummy from the Halloween store is just lame—and expensive. Plus, it smells weird, like charred rubber and mothballs. Armed with a few key props, such as fake cobwebs and a handful of plastic spiders, you can make your own fright-worthy decorations out of salvage-yard and thrift-store finds, even the junk collecting dust in your attic.

To inspire you, This Old House Salvage-Style Projects author Amy R. Hughes shares nine spooky creations. Make one or make them all, and start scaring up some friends for a crafty and thrifty party this October 31.

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Paranormal Activity

Troy Taylor is the author of more than 84 books on all things paranormal—most notably haunted houses. He’s also the founder of the American Ghost Society, a network of ghost hunters who collect stories of sightings and hauntings, then use investigative techniques and equipment to track down evidence of the supernatural. Here he explains how you can find the right ghost buster to rid your old house of its specters and spirits.

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Marilyn Monroe

“This pumpkin is of one of my favorite movie stars Marilyn Monroe. She is carved onto a artificial pumpkin. I think she turned out great and I am proud to have her as part of my portfolio.”

Dan S.
Milwaukee, WI

Did you carve your own cool-looking pumpkin, famous face or not? Enter it in our Pumpkin Carving Contest and you could win a $500 gift card!

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Gallery: How to Carve a Pumpkin

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How to Carve a Pumpkin

You’ve seen their creations in our Inspirational Pro Pumpkin Carving gallery. Now, here are pro tips and secrets for every step of the pumpkin-carving process. And, when you create your masterpiece, make sure you enter the 2011 Pumpkin-Carving Contest for your chance to win the $500 Grand Prize.

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Gallery: 2010 Pumpkin-Carving Contest Winners

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Get Recommendations

Start with your friends and family and then check in with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for a list of members in your area. You can also talk with a building inspector, who’ll know which contractors routinely meet code requirements, says This Old House general contractor Tom Silva, or pay a visit to your local lumberyard, which sees contractors regularly and knows which ones buy quality materials and pay their bills on time.

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Gallery: Is Your Pro a Con?

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Save This Old House: Saginaw, Michigan

Price: $25,000
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Contact: Marcia Hoffman, 989-274-0423

The history: We are told not to live in the past. But whoever rescues this 1886 fixer upper in Saginaw’s Cathedral District will have a hard time not waxing nostalgic for the city’s gilded age as a thriving lumber town. The house was built for lumber baron Clarence Hill by Fred. W. Hollister, a notable architect who two years prior built the Saginaw County Courthouse. Hill lived here until his death in 1901. After his wife, Susy, passed on in 1949, it was divided into five apartments. The last tenants vacated in the 1990s, and the current owner, a nonprofit neighborhood group, is looking for someone with a viable rehabilitation plan to save it from the wrecking ball.

Pictured: The 51,819 square-foot house has a new roof, and five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and three butler’s pantries.

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2011 Pumpkin-Carving Contest

Check out all the entries from this year’s contest, below, and tell us how they rate. Or upload your own photos to show off your pumpkin-carving prowess.

Article source: http://feeds.thisoldhouse.com/~r/ThisOldHouseLatest/~3/kFYH-Ep_l1I/

Refreshed Facade

First things first, right? When a house looks like a geriatric case, you want to dive right into fixing up its facade, gladdening the hearts of passersby. But decades of water damage dictated that this home’s owners begin in back, even though the only eyes that fell on the racked lawn and rotting foundation belonged to the deer and an occasional bear.

“The backyard was sloped, so rainwater came rushing up to the house and moisture was eating away at the foundation,” says homeowner Sean B. Nutley. And yet when Sean and his partner, Gregory Triana, first saw the place, it was the site they fell for. “The lay of the land won me over,” says Gregory. “The house was on a country road, on a corner, with amazing light that traveled around it.”

Shown: New painted cedar clapboards, a rebuilt porch, and a double row of clipped chartreuse barberry bushes reinforce the geometric lines of the house.

Paint: Carrington Beige (siding) and Rosemary Sprig (trim) by Benjamin Moore

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Gallery: 2009 Reader Remodel Winner: From Forlorn to Refreshed

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— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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What’s That Noise?

If you jump awake at every little late-night squeak, pop, and knock, don’t call in a ghost hunter. Your house just needs a little TLC. Check out these five common noises and the best way to silence the sounds for good.

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Article: Dream House Turned Nightmare

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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Spooky Halloween Home Decor

Sure candy and costumes are fun, but Halloween just isn’t complete until you trick out your house with some truly frightening decorations. But where to find 6-foot spiders or a lawn full of ghosts? Don’t fret, little ghouls. This Old House has scoured the shops to bring you 21 truly terrifying decorations that’ll make your Halloween haunt the scariest on the block.

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Gallery: Halloween Home-Improvement Costumes

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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Everything Modern is Old

We like to call so many things in the home a “modern convenience,” but so many of these things have been around for the greater part of the past century. Here’s a look at some of the best home innovations of their day; you’ll be amazed at how long ago these newfangled ideas, inventions, and milestones actually hit the market.

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Everything Modern is Old

We like to call so many things in the home a “modern convenience,” but so many of these things have been around for the greater part of the past century. Here’s a look at some of the best home innovations of their day; you’ll be amazed at how long ago these newfangled ideas, inventions, and milestones actually hit the market.

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A Historic Iron City Manse

Price: $95,000
Location: Pittsburgh
Contact: Bonnie Kramer, 724-737-5537

This circa 1890 Queen Anne was built by William Wigman, a lumber industry tycoon, who outfitted his Iron City home with stunning architectural details. It has remained a single-family house ever since, last occupied by one Grace McClory. She lived there for over 40 years with her husband, Regis, while they raised their seven children. Last year, after Grace moved out, the house was threatened with demolition by a potential buyer. Luckily, a group of locals banded together to safeguard the house and got it designated a historic landmark.

Shown: The four-bedroom, two-bath house is located in the Carrick neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It stands at the gateway of “The Boulevard,” a brick-paved street lined with stately turn-of-the century mansions.

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Choose Your Weapon

When the leaves start piling up this fall, don’t sweat it. Our high-powered yard-clearing arsenal stands at the ready to turn that age-old chore into, well, less of one.

The job hasn’t changed, but the tools sure have. Some blow, some vacuum, some grind—and some do it all. But any of these will get it done faster than a lone rake.

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Starting with A Blank Canvas

“There’s absolutely nothing I like about the front,” says Christine Matthers of the 60-year-old house she shares with her husband, Tom Raffensberger, in Girard, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been totally unsure what to do out there.”

For ideas, we showed their blank canvas to architect Michael Hiller of Hiller Albert Design Group, in Milton, Pennsylvania.

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Starting with A Blank Canvas

“There’s absolutely nothing I like about the front,” says Christine Matthers of the 60-year-old house she shares with her husband, Tom Raffensberger, in Girard, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been totally unsure what to do out there.”

For ideas, we showed their blank canvas to architect Michael Hiller of Hiller Albert Design Group, in Milton, Pennsylvania.

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Gallery: Photoshop Redo: Add Charm With Bold Color

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Renovate for Less

You don’t need to spend a fortune or call in the pros to get high-end results on your next redo project. Coming up, can-doTOH readers give a plain home curb appeal, transform a lackluster living room with new trim and paint, carve out a stylish and space-saving breakfast nook, and more—all on a shoestring.

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Read This Before You Finish Your Attic

Whether you envision your house’s top floor as an away-from-it-all master suite, a quiet home office, or a hangout spot for the kids, don’t lift a finger until you’ve read TOH’s expert advice

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Gallery: Read This Before You Remodel a Kitchen

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Read This Before You Finish Your Attic

Whether you envision your house’s top floor as an away-from-it-all master suite, a quiet home office, or a hangout spot for the kids, don’t lift a finger until you’ve read TOH’s expert advice

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Get an advance look at the new seasons of This Old House and Ask This Old House.

New episodes begin airing on PBS on October 6th. Check local listings or watch full episodes starting on Sundays at 7 pm EST on ThisOldHouse.com.

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Let the Flecks Fly

Spattering really is something your kid could do, but that shouldn’t trivialize its impact. “Spattering is an easy way to revive a blah piece of furniture and give it a custom touch,” says decorative painter Ingrid Leess.

This child’s desk set started out as plain plywood, so Leess first primed and painted with latex in a satin finish. If you’re working with a painted piece, you can go directly to spatter.

Just mix equal parts satin latex—choose a color that contrasts with the base coat—and clear acrylic glaze, which gives the specks shine and dimension. Then lightly load a spatter brush, and tap it against a stick about 6 inches above the surface to create a hail of paint flecks. Do one surface at a time, letting it dry before turning the piece and spattering again.

In just a few hours, watch that ho-hum piece take on a whimsical and original new look.

Paint: Behr’s Red Hot (base coat) and Snow Fall (glaze coat)

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Step By Step: How to Paint Kitchen CabinetsStep By Step: Decorative Painting Techniques: StrieStep By Step: Decorative Painting Techniques: DamaskStep By Step: How to Paint a Crackle Finish on FurnitureCalculators

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Hedging On the Chimney

“A team of landscapers was sent in to try to locate this ‘alleged’ chimney.”

Paul Staron
Valley Building Inspections, Inc.
Scottsdale, Ariz.

Courtesy of The ASHI Reporter

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1. Wallpaper an Alcove

Highlight an alcove by wallpapering the back wall.

Similar to shown: Fern Damask prepasted wallpaper, $44 for a 60-square-foot roll; yorkwall.com

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Heat Trappers

Introduced in the 1980s, honeycombs are built on a simple concept: Trapped air is an insulator that can conserve your hard-earned heat. Since then, makers have scrambled to make honeycombs work even better. Consider these two blackout versions. The budget one has double cells and side tracks to nip drafts, while the high-end one has an extra air pocket to hold in heat. Because there’s no universal energy-efficiency test for shades—at least not yet—they can’t be ranked, but both high performers qualify for a 2011 federal energy tax credit when installed inside a double-glazed window. Lowering either will raise your comfort level, so look for differences in style, function, and price.

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Revived Turreted Queen Anne

My fiancée, Merle, and I wanted an old house and found ourselves drawn to Newburgh, New York, where the streets are lined with Victorian mansions. An 1887 Queen Anne, encased in asphalt shingles but with its grand octagonal tower intact, stood out from the crowd. We joked that with five bedrooms, two baths, four fireplaces, and about 2,200 square feet,­ it was big enough to ride our bikes around in. At $46,000, it seemed like an unbelievable deal.

We knew it needed work. At some point the house had been converted to a two-family, with bleak little kitchens upstairs and down. None of the fireplaces functioned, the plumbing and wiring were kaput, and holes in the roof invited in rain, destroying much of the third floor—where Merle, a filmmaker, envisioned her office. Shortly after closing, the former owner’s daughter dropped by for a farewell look. Walking around the kitchen, she suddenly felt her foot go right through the floor.

Did I mention that the house had been condemned? The kitchen floor was soggy because a blocked waste pipe had leaked, sending sewage down inside a wall. Moldy carpet, peeling paint, and dangling ceiling tiles greeted us at every turn, and the water-damaged third floor was an unheated no-man’s zone.

Shown: Colorful vinyl siding, new roof shingles,
and a porch re-created with salvaged period trim brought the Queen Anne back to life.

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Preventing Accidents

Whether you’re installing crown molding or hanging holiday decorations from your roof, your ladder is only as safe as you make it. Think balancing two stories above the ground is no big deal? Tell that to the nearly 247,000 people who landed in the ER last year because of ladder-related injuries—that’s more than were hurt by any other piece of DIY equipment. To help you avoid spills, TOH general contractor Tom Silva weighs in on the dos and don’ts of ladder use.

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Planning the Perfect Kitchen

For many renovators, a gleaming pro-grade kitchen is the Holy Grail of home improvement, even if all the action it gets is reheating last night’s takeout. But for Joe and Becky 
Titlow, the owners of the current This Old House TV project house, in Bedford, Massachusetts, such a showpiece would be a waste of time and money. “We grow vegetables and herbs, we cook most of our meals at home, we freeze foods in bulk, and we compost food waste,” explains Becky. “The last thing we need is a kitchen that looks good but doesn’t function well.”

In short, when it comes to cooking, the Titlows are following in the footsteps of their grandparents’ generation. So it’s not surprising that their planned kitchen has features, such as a separate pantry, that were common in houses of yesteryear. With help from kitchen designer Kathy Marshall, this energetic young family is developing a space that works just as hard as they do, one that combines old-fashioned storage and prep areas with modern amenities for cooking from scratch. Keep reading for more on the space’s noteworthy features.

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From Dated to Sophisticated

Living next door to the in-laws has its rewards. When Kevin and Jennifer Johnson, owners of a 1917 foursquare in tight-knit, family-centric Lowellville, Ohio, redid their only bath, Kevin looked for help from neighbor Bob Coppola—aka Jennifer’s dad—and a network of local suppliers and advisers. From an aunt, who, coincidentally, lived in the house 60 years ago, they learned that the space once held a kitchenette. That explained its generous footprint, but not, as six-foot-one Kevin puts it, having to “scrape my knuckles on a lowered ceiling while showering in what felt like a cave.” He and Bob took the room down to its studs; replaced pipes and wiring; popped in a new vanity, tub, toilet, and sconces; and crafted new casings. They finished with paint custom-tinted by Bob, a retired painting contractor. A plumber friend provided know-how, and the only paid help was the tile installer. Says Kevin, “I like that we did it ourselves—and everything works.”

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Gallery: Bath Bumpout Adds Space With a Vintage Look

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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Period-Style, Low Cost

Sure, there’s something to be said for splurging on marble mosaic tile or a handblown sconce shade. But nailing a vintage look doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. To prove the point, we turned to our favorite big-box retailers, online megastores, and renovators’ catalogs for low-cost look-alikes of pricey reproduction fixtures and finishes. The result? The wallet-friendly finds here and on the following pages, from a pedestal sink full of period charm to prefab wainscoting that delivers a paneled look in no time.

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Gallery: Period Perfect Details at Any Price

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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A Modern-day Salvage

To keep a modern-day kitchen from appearing too cookie cutter, it can pay to look to the past. “Antiques offer such one-of-a-kind beauty,” says Fifi O’Neill, who wrote Romantic Prairie Style (Cico Books) and helped design the space shown here. Anchored by a stock island customized with oversize corbels, the room features almost entirely second-hand (or third- or fourth-hand) finds, from the freestanding pine dish cabinet to the painted breakfast stools. A soft palette of white, cream, and gold brings out the faded patina of these furnishings—and ties in the few new pieces, including bronze cabinet hardware and a home-center pendant lamp. Read on for more ways to mix off-the-shelf with salvage.

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Gallery: Read This Before You Remodel a Kitchen

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Deep Cuts

Even before gridlock in Washington sent the global economy into yet another tailspin, towns and cities across the country were facing grim budget cuts. Everything from tree trimming to firefighting has been affected, and homeowners are the ones who lose out in the end.

But don’t worry. At This Old House, we know how to keep your home working just fine, even if your hometown isn’t. Here’s a look at nine ways local budget cuts may affect your house—and what you can do about it.

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Gallery: Homeowner Perks in the Stimulus Package

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

Article source: http://feeds.thisoldhouse.com/~r/ThisOldHouseLatest/~3/DuEpZIEnAMQ/0,,,00.html

The Most Used Feature

Of all the working parts in a kitchen, the faucet might be the one we most often press into service. According to faucet manufacturer KWC, the average family turns on the tap more than 40 times a day, whether to fill a pasta pot, rinse off salad greens, or simply get a glass of water. That’s a lot of on-off cycles for a product that should last for years.

Today, these workaholic fixtures come in a wider variety of designs and price points than ever. High-end models can cost up to $2,500, but prices are actually trending in the opposite direction. In fact, you can score a kitchen faucet for as little as $15, though we don’t recommend it; expect to spend about $200 or more.

By and large, even budget-priced cartridge-valve faucets are a big improvement over their compression-valve cousins of yore. Better manufacturing and engineering helps them stay drip-free and last longer while keeping their looks, and quick-connect fittings have made them a cinch to install. Still, not all faucets are created equal. Beneath their shiny surfaces lurk differences in materials and technology that affect cost and longevity. Plus, the sheer number of choices on the market can be overwhelming.

Shown: Perrin Rowe bridge faucet with sidespray in chrome, about $1,470; ROHL Home

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Gallery: All About Kitchen Cabinets

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Protect Yourself

The ability to tile a tub surround, replace an outlet, or fix a drooping gutter on your own may leave you feeling invincible. But being a whiz in the workshop doesn’t exclude you from the reality that two of every 10 homeowners who tackle a DIY project this year will wind up injured. Before you pick up any more tools—power or otherwise—take note of the following tips.

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Gallery: 47 Skills You Need to Survive Homeownership

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

Read Tom Silva’s Answer

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Refresh Your Rooms With Color

A fresh paint job enlivens a ho-hum interior, but picking the right color (or combination of colors) and figuring out where best to put it and how much to use can prove perplexing.

To narrow your choices, break out a color wheel. Paint pros use this tool to see how colors will look together before they roll them on. Hues that are next to each other on the wheel, such as yellow and green, make pleasing pairs, as do shades of complementary colors, which are found on opposite sides of the wheel.

To judge where and how much, try the 60-30-10 rule. “Basically you use a dominant color for 60 percent of the room, a recessive one for 30, and an accent for 10,” says color expert Debbie Zimmer of the Paint Quality Institute. For a whole-house scheme, Zimmer suggests using the same three colors but varying which ones play the starring and supporting roles.

If you’re thinking on a smaller scale, consider adding a single dose of a color you love to just one element in a room, such as the inside of a built-in bookcase. “Painting one surface or an interesting architectural detail is such a great way to get some bold punch,” says Ann McGuire, a color consultant for Valspar and founder of Beehive Studios.

See more paint tips put to work in 15 colorful spaces. Then steal a few to stylishly and inexpensively update any tired rooms in your house.

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Gallery: Choose Paint Colors With a Color Wheel

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Q: What kind of paint and sealer should I use on concrete flooring?

— Reyna, Port Arthur, Texas

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A Brick Federal with River Views

Price: $38,000
Location: Wheeling, W.Va.
Contact: Laura Kuhns, 304-368-1555

It may come as some surprise, but Wheeling was once one of the wealthiest cities per capita in the United States. A hotbed of iron, textile, and cigar manufacturing, the city spent much of the 19th century fortifying wealthy businessmen, who built hundreds of handsome houses in the Federal, Greek Revival, and Queen Anne styles. One of those houses was this sturdy 1830s brick Federal, owned by a prosperous meat-packer named George Cotts. Cotts and his wife, Agnes, lived here during Wheeling’s heyday, raising seven kids. After more than a century of single-owner occupancy, the house was carved into small rental units. It has been empty for the past several years.

Shown: The 4,200-square-foot house was built with two separate entrances. It’s believed the former owner, George Cotts, used the address on the left, with its separate entry, as an office. The exterior brickwork was recently repointed but needs stripping or repainting.

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Gallery: Save This Old House: Greenwood, Mississippi

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