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IMPROVE

Bath Baubles: Easy Updates for Your Bathroom

According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the average mid-range bathroom renovation costs more than $17,000 and—unless homeowners are extremely handy—requires the use of a general contractor or Complete ...

Durable Decking Materials

Adding a deck is one of the most requested home improvement projects. Decks can extend your entertaining space by creating an enjoyable outdoor spot for dining, grilling or lounging. An ...

Smart, Savvy Home Appliances

Our homes may not be as automated as The Jetsons, that childhood cartoon we remember from the 1960s (but set in 2064), but we’re getting closer with today’s “smart” ...

Walk This Way: Decorative Walkways Say “Welcome Home”

Transforming the path to your front door into something extraordinary is easier than you might think. The days of uninspiring gray or white concrete walkways in Central Virginia’s suburbs and ...

What About Wainscoting?: Decoding Decorative Wood Paneling

Today’s options for wood paneling go way beyond the rec rooms of the 1970s, when ceiling-to-floor sheets of oak-looking fiberboard stole the show. Now decorative wood paneling meets homeowners halfway—literally ...

The Ideal Coat Closet: From Dumping Ground to Shipshape

“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Growing up, this was a phrase I heard more times than I cared to. My father, a career naval officer, spent ...

All Season Arrangements: Decking the Halls has Never Been Easier

The arrival of holiday season means quick transitions. Swiftly we move from fall to winter, and from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s. There are overnight guests, family gatherings, ...

Party Fouls: How to Clean Up the Most Common Party Messes

I will never forget the time I was invited to a Bunco party at a swanky home on a golf course. As I sat down at a card table draped ...