Recommendations Ideas, Tips & Guides

The thought of a professional organizer entering your home may send you into a cleaning frenzy. Even if you’re naturally tidy, piles of items can easily stack up, whether due to a lack of storage or a lack of a system.

Audrey Scheck knows her way around a kitchen. As an interior designer based in Austin, Texas, she often puts her stylish touch on kitchen remodels by creating custom design plans that reflect each owner.  From down-to-the-studs renovations to arranging the final touches of decor, Scheck is there for it all. That’s why we turned to her to reveal the common decorating mistakes she sees in the heart of a home. Read on eight decorating mistakes you may be making in your kitchen—and how to fix them.

Planning some house parties this summer? As you compile your guest list, give some thought to those who will not be welcome—notably mosquitos, ants, wasps, and other nasty pests. 

Q: Our 25-year-old Aloha rose has failed to bloom again this season. It used to be in full bloom throughout the month of June. Can you recommend any treatment to restore it to its former glory? A Forsyth

Buff Strickland

Given how often your home requires cleaning, it's worth taking some time to brush up on essential tips and tricks that experts rely on to help streamline your process.

New bed sheets are always a luxury we can't wait to sleep on. If you're like us, you can't wait to pull out your new sheets, make your bed, and get a good night's sleep (once you've narrowed down your favorite bed sheet type, of course).

There’s a new product that seemingly everyone has been turning to lately: microcement. In the season of the home remodel, it’s no surprise that homeowners are looking for new ways to upgrade their style this summer. It’s the perfect time for outdoor or indoor projects, and microcement can cover both.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Not all bedroom styles remain popular forever, and interior designers are pretty quick to pinpoint a few design schemes that they're ready to say goodbye to for good.

Scraping off greasy grime and burnt residue from an oven is no joke—it takes hours and requires some serious elbow grease. But, it doesn’t have to be this way as long as you stick to a regular cleaning schedule.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Purchasing a bed, dresser, and some nightstands will definitely get the ball rolling when it comes to designing a sleep space, but you're not fully done with this room until you incorporate some accent pieces, too.

The garden shed is a part of a home garden that can have multiple purposes. Besides storing gardening tools, it can also be used as a place to relax and enjoy the garden. In case you also want to utilize your garden shed as a place to relax, it’s a good idea to enhance it with some additions, such as adding some garden furniture and installing wood wall panels. The following are 3 tips on how to enhance your garden shed that you can follow to make it better.

The kitchen is the heart of the home—but for those of us on budgets, it sometimes gets overlooked, thanks to the high price tag a full-scale renovation can come with.

Q: I recently repotted my acer into a bigger pot, however it now is looking dead. Can you offer any advice? WT, England

It's time to start making the most of your living room, no matter how small it is in size. Here, interior designers share the top six mistakes that people make when it comes to laying out and decorating a small living room.

In April 2024, the EPA passed its first-ever legally enforceable drinking water standards on a handful of PFAS—a group of man-made chemicals widely used to make non-stick coatings and products that resist heat, oil, water and more. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware, make clothes and carpets resistant to stains, and create firefighting foam that is more effective. They are referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their tendency to not break down. PFAS have been used commercially since the 1940s, and it has long been known that these chemicals are toxic to people. Big chemical companies, such as 3M, have known about the harmful qualities of these toxic chemicals for decades but intentionally hid the evidence. The EPA now admits that “exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.

You're just a few steps away from creating the comfy outdoor space of your dreams—and the best part is that you don't have to spend a dime to bring it to life.

Having feeders for your birds is beneficial for everyone involved. You get to watch a vast array of magnificent bird species visit your backyard, and they receive a valuable food source that will provide them will energy to keep our ecosystems healthy and beautiful. To maximize the amount of visits from birds, there are certain places and positions to put your feeders that will entice them to come. While being able to view the birds is important, there are other necessities to be considered in order to keep the birds protected. Keep reading to find the perfect spot in your yard or garden for a bird population to flourish.

We all love the idea of a soothing, pared-back lifestyle. But, turning your living space into the stuff of minimalist dreams takes a lot of work.

Summer is getting closer and closer, and now is the time to start checking some key home and yard maintenance tasks off of your to-do list so that you can fully enjoy the season when it arrives.

Decluttering your space is simple in theory: just sell, donate, or discard/recycle anything you don’t use or need anymore. But it's the practice of that simple theory that can be hard. 

To get ahead of summer—the best season for home revamps, in our opinion—home renovation company Dwellify released a list of their best expert tips for updating your home on a budget.

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Summer temperatures are here. This also means more weeds, insects, and other pests in yards. It is tempting to spray pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc.) in the yard while wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Is this safe, though?

In previous coverage, we’ve told you about PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that don’t readily break down and can accumulate in humans, causing serious health problems.

There are a few topics in the design world that can stir a bit of a lively debate, and wall-to-wall carpeting is one. Love it or hate it, we've been noticing an uptick in designs with this floor treatment.

Most contractors will tell you that re-tiling a bathroom floor is a costly endeavor. Fortunately, you can save your money and opt for peel-and-stick floor tiles instead—these are our secret to an instant bathroom refresh.

I do not know about you all, but I look forward to spring and summer to have more options for fruits and vegetables after a cold, dead winter! During the spring, most farmers markets and local stands open back up and offer fresher options for us to eat and enjoy through the summer!

Laurie Black

James Carriere

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

From outdoor entertaining to improving curb appeal, it’s that time of year when a home’s exterior is front and center. But before you embark on any exterior updates, learn what the pros have to say when it comes to home exterior mistakes, so you can avoid making them in the first place.

The summer gardening season is here, and whether you're growing your first patch of flowers or are a seasoned pro, now is the time to prepare.