Living

Get helpful advice on remodeling, home maintenance, and home security, plus tips on decorating, gardening, DIY home projects, how to prevent damage to your home, and more.

Living Tips for Moving Into a Smaller Home as a Senior For many seniors, there comes a time when the expense and upkeep of a big home no longer seem realistic. All of your kids have moved out, and suddenly, your multi-bedroom house feels excessively large and empty. Plus, it may be difficult to keep up with mortgage payments if you're expecting a lower income during retirement. Whether downsizing is a financial necessity or an emotional decision...
Living 10 Steps to Get Your Home Clean and Ready for Spring Warmer months are ahead, so now is the time to plan for spring cleaning and maintenance. A clean home offers a fresh start for the year, and a checklist of tasks guides your efforts towards efficiency. For many homeowners, spring cleaning can be a personal challenge. It can also be one accomplished with the help of the rest of the family or other residents. In some occasions, however...
Living Guaranteed to Please: Holiday Gift Ideas for the Home Every holiday gift list has at least one person who is tough to shop for. Wavering between a risky guess at clothing that might not fit and just throwing in the towel and buying a gift card can be frustrating. But there’s one thing you can be sure of: everyone on your list probably loves to have their home looking stylish. If you’re hoping to score a big win with the pickiest of people of on...
Living Making Your Home Smarter With Smart Appliances Products that let you control every aspect of your home remotely are growing at a rapid rate. Smartphone-connected devices and appliances are increasingly common and deliver a stylish, effective design. You can pick and choose your favorite gadgets to assemble an affordable, intelligent abode on your own terms, or opt for an entire smart home system that does all the work for you.
Living Four Holiday Decor Trends We’re Excited About This Winter The holiday season is here and for many of us, that means it’s time to deck the halls. If you’re looking for some inspiration and a place to start, here are some ideas that are certain to get everyone in the spirit.
Living Bringing Your Plants Inside for Winter Winters in many parts of the Western U.S. can easily see temperatures that dip down below freezing. For many gardening homeowners, this can be troublesome when precious plants are concerned. Covering your plants with sheets may not be enough to save a plant from succumbing to freezing temperatures. Check out these ways to bring your plants inside for winter:
Living The Do’s and Don’ts of Hiring a Contractor Constructing or remodeling a home is a complex, expensive endeavor. Ideally, everything goes as planned, and when the dust clears, the homeowner can settle in and enjoy the new home — and never think about the building process again. But what happens when, nine months after the owner moves in, the floor develops a crack, the dishwasher begins to leak or the shower water won't...
Living How to Stay Safe During the Holidays With Design and Planning While many people look forward to the arrival of a jolly red-suited visitor one night this winter, for all of us the holidays are a gift and a danger. All of us want to stay safe from burglary, and there's nothing paranoid about taking a bit of extra time to stay safe. The holidays are a time for relaxation, peace of mind, and sharing love and affection. From old-school security tricks to new...
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Living Go for Gold This Thanksgiving We're in the thick of autumn now, with Thanksgiving just days away. That means it's time to start considering how to best showcase your home before the calendar shifts fully into winter. One of the cheeriest bits of fall is the shifting colors that bring a canopy of rustic rainbow hues to a walk through the neighborhood. You can bring that cozy feeling inside yourself with some golden-dipped...
Living Designing the Perfect Home Office to Work From Home In Style Working from home is an aspiration for many of us, but to do so effectively takes work. A disorganized space at home can be just as troublesome as a hectic office. The most disciplined telecommuters will tell you that you need a structured routine and organization to rise and grind and get into work mode. Having a designated workspace is quite possibly the most important piece...
Living Trick or Treat! Five Frighteningly Decorated Halloween Homes Who doesn’t love a good scare every now and then? One of the best parts about fall is the chance to celebrate Halloween. While some folks are in it for the costumes and bags of candy, the eerie spirit of the season also sparks some imaginative home decorations. From the creatively crafted to the downright fright-inducing, there’s no shortage of spooktacular stylings out there...
Living Planning for the Life Expectancy of Your Home Nothing in life lasts forever – and the same can be said for your home. From the roof to the furnace, every component of your home has a lifespan, so it’s a good idea to know approximately how many years of service you can expect from them. This information can help when buying or selling your home, budgeting for improvements, and deciding between repairing or replacing when problems arise...
Living Making a Rental Feel Like Home Stylizing your own home can be a daunting but rewarding challenge. When you own your living space, it's easy to feel a sense of ownership over every piece of your design. But for renters, the challenge is a bit different. Despite limitations, it's no less important to one's well-being for a residence to convey a sense of ownership and self. To make a rental unit feel a bit more like home, we...
Living Outfitting Your Home to Survive the Threat of Wildfires Much of the Western United States is grappling with the same issue this summer – the specter of smoke and fire from some of the largest forest fires in recent memory. For individuals, even the decreased air quality can be a threat, while the destruction that the fires themselves can wreak is devastating. Homeowners living near impacted areas are often left with an impossible choice...
Living Refreshing Your Home and Your Spirit With Seven Easy Steps The yearning to move lives in the spirit of many homeowners, but that desire for something new is often at odds with what feels feasible. That sense of newness needn't come from a dramatic uprooting, however. The great part about having a home of your own is you can make improvements and give your home a chance to evolve over time. You just need to help your home live up to its potential! We...
Living Hosting the Right 4th of July Meal for You The 4th of July is a day of patriotism, revelry, and family. It gives friends and families an opportunity to gather for a day of relaxation, celebration, and of course, food! There’s nothing quite as quintessentially “summer” as a 4thof July cookout. With that in mind, we decided to look at a few ways to best set up this tastiest of traditions.
Living Preparing Your Home for Summer The calendar may claim summer begins on June 21st, but for most of us, it's already fully in gear. Kids are getting out of school, families are making summer vacation plans, and backyard barbeques are on everyone’s minds. This is also a great time of the year to get your house in order and ready for the summer season. The following are a handful of ideas and tips to help you with this process.
Living Let’s Make Your Memorial Day a DIY Breeze If you have ever had the responsibility of hosting a get-together over Memorial Day weekend, you probably know that it can be a daunting task. Between barbecuing, decorating, and general mayhem, the three-day weekend can feel like its own brand of work. To ease those stresses, we’ve gathered up a few of our favorite DIY Memorial Day traditions that can make everyone’s lives easier.
Living Start Moving in the Right Direction Moving is stressful, whether it is across town or cross-country. Once you've closed on your house, the reality of packing, moving, and setting up a new home can become overwhelming. While no list can make a move “stress-free”, planning ahead and staying organized can help make your move a little smoother. Here is our list of tips:
Living Simple Steps for Maintaining Air Quality in Your Home Most of us tend to think of air pollution as something that occurs outdoors where car exhaust and factory fumes proliferate, but there’s such a thing as indoor air pollution, too. Since the 1950s, the number of synthetic chemicals used in products for the home has increased drastically, while at the same time, homes have become much tighter and better insulated. As a result, the EPA estimates...