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Shown: San Francisco interior designer Kelly Keiser helped update this home with pale colors and modern accents. Lightening Up With their kids grown and on their own, Trish found herself drawn to white rugs and fragile porcelain collectibles. Jettisoning the existing dark finishes and iron sconces and working with some pieces the couple owned, Keiser introduced a pale palette and a smattering of contemporary items, like a chrome lamp and glass-top table, balancing them with soft draperies and cushy pillows....

Shelves Mount shelves at least 1 foot apart using standards, which can hold up to 70 pounds per foot. Try: Sand and Platinum Elfa Office Shelving in a Closet, $303.37; Container Store. Storage Keep stationary and other miscellaneous items stowed in stackable boxes. This is a more attractive solution for desktop clutter and labels will help keep things in order. Cork Board If you don’t have folding doors, hang cork board on the back of the doors to collect and display important notes, bills, swatches, and photos....

If you’re looking for ways to avoid these products and still keep a clean, sanitary home, DIY natural cleaning supplies may be the answer. Simple, common grocery items like baking soda, vinegar, and lemon can be extremely effective. And since they’re non-toxic and you’re combining them yourself, you know they’re not harming you. Do Natural Cleaning Products Kill Germs? While they may not be as powerful as commercially formulated products in eliminating bacteria, natural sanitizers inhibit bacteria growth....

But there’s a lot more to know about lighting, particularly for an aging population whose eyes need brighter and better directed light as time passes. In fact, for a large project, hiring a lighting designer is a smart move. Safety First The most important aspect of lighting is safety. We need to be able to see to walk down steps to the basement, for guests to approach the house in the dark, or even to chop vegetables for dinner....

Today, even in traditional-looking homes, the “futuristic” stuff is often the framing itself. And there’s a new language to go with it. Besides understanding the true sizes of dimensional lumber—that a 2x4 is really about 1 1/2 by 3 1/2—carpenters now need to know a host of abbreviations: LVL, OSB, I-joist. They also need to understand more about load and force as strong, efficient engineered woods and steel replace milled stock....

Choosing and using a hammer

Resources: When working on a roof, safety is very important. Tom added a roof anchor to the rafters, wore a harness, and used a safety line. These can be purchased at home centers or hardware stores. Tom used a push broom to gently remove the loose pieces of moss. He then installed a roll of zinc strip moss preventer, which can be purchased online or at specialty retailers. Finally, he sprayed down the roof using a solution of water and bleach....

Metal Dried paint can be removed from metal by one of three processes: chemical, heat, or sanding. Sanding is a quick and easy solution, but if you’re working with a piece that’s small or delicate, try the next options. When using chemical strippers on metal, paint remover is available in various forms: liquid, aerosol, or paste. This method is ideal for smaller target areas. Simply apply your product of choice, let it settle for at least five minutes, and then wipe or chisel the residue off....

How to Deer-Proof Small Trees and Shrubs Tools Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants

How to Fix a Wobbly Toilet How to Fix a Stuck Faucet Handle Materials Repair flange Mineral spirits Wax ring or seal Closet bolts (typically included with seal) Stainless steel wood screws Replacement valve stem Turkey baster or small cup Tools How to Plunge a Toilet How to Fix a Wobbly Toilet

Some of the more advanced techniques, like grafting, take a bit of skill. But there are easier techniques that suit beginners—including rooting stem and leaf cuttings, root division, and ground layering—no greenhouse required. You can propagate most plants on a windowsill that gets only indirect light (harsh sunlight will bake tender cuttings). Follow the advice on the following pages—and be patient. “Sometimes it can take longer than you think to get adequate roots,” says Hachadourian....

Pedestal sinks were originally made of enameled cast iron, but by 1915 manufacturers began fabricating them from vitreous china, a glass-like porcelain. For all their stylish attributes, pedestal sinks present some installation challenges. “This is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects,” Trethewey says. Drain and supply pipes must be roughed in at the right height. Completed pipe work has to look neat. And looming at every turn is the dreaded “tink,” the sound porcelain makes when a fastener is tightened too much - and the china breaks....

Gutters are most often installed by professionals, but there’s no reason you can’t do it yourself. All the materials and accessories are readily available at home centers, lumberyards, and roofing-supply firms. And if you’re going to replace your gutters and downspouts, you may as well upgrade the entire look and performance of the rainwater system. Here, we’ll show how to install reproduction half-round gutters that are exact replicas of the size and style of gutters found on older homes....

Normally, the finished floor beneath an exterior door is slightly below the top of the threshold. Your door was trimmed after the new flooring was installed so that it could open, creating the gap you mentioned. The fix involves adding a new ¾-inch-thick oak threshold on top of the old one (to cover the exposed edge of the new flooring), trimming the door slightly, and installing a new door sweep that will make a tight seal when the door is closed while clearing the rug....

Grass Patch Repair Steps: Use shovel to dig out section of damaged lawn. Check for weak roots and poor soil. Dig out 6 inches of poor soil. Fill the excavated area with a mixture of topsoil, compost and sand. Use a rake to spread and lightly compact the topsoil mixture. Add more mixture and compact again; repeat until topsoil is 1 inch below grade. Lay sod over the area, making sure to butt the pieces tightly together....

What’s the Fastest Way to Remove a Tree Stump? For those who don’t want to spend hours shoveling out dirt and cutting roots, you may want to consider renting a stump grinder, which will do the trick in less than an hour. How to Remove a Tree Stump from the Ground in 12 Steps Tools You may want to rent a power stump grinder to eliminate the stump once removed....