Updates Ideas, Tips & Guides

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.

After a successful season of spring cleaning, it’s not uncommon to look around and realize your home could use some upgrades.

If you feel it's high time to update a certain piece of furniture in your home or to finally add a piece to a room that's been sitting empty for some time, don't do so without learning some of the most common mistakes people make when furniture shopping.

Not everyone has the fortune of living in their ultimate dream home the first time around, and even if they do, their tastes and needs may change over time. So, it’s more likely that homeowners will find elements and spaces in and around the house that they feel can be improved and updated.

Starbucks

May growing with Rachel

Julie Soefer

Wayfair

IKEA

Paul Archuleta / Getty Images (Left); Kritsada Panichgul (Right) | Design: Better Homes & Gardens

If you feel it’s time to refresh your home, but fear the cost and work involved, think again: you don’t need to break the bank or hire a professional to revamp your home or a single room. Nor do you have to go on a shopping spree to completely overhaul your home’s decor.

Living in a rental should not prevent you from showcasing your style and personality in your home. To make it your own, you can make plenty of easy upgrades that won't affect the security deposit. Swapping the showerhead, adding peel-and-stick tiles, refreshing the paint, and adding plants and accessories are some of the renter-friendly hacks to update your bathroom while working within the limits of a lease. 

Courtesy of Little Greene Paint & Wallpaper

Our Spring meeting season is starting to wind down, but keep an eye on the Upcoming Events tab periodically so you don’t miss anything. Coming up this week is the Upstate Vegetable Production Meeting in Spartanburg.

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Photo: Kaitlin Green; Design: Emily Henderson

With the return of BBC Gardeners’ World just around the corner, Monty gives us an update on the recent changes at Longmeadow. He shares some of his favourite areas to spend time in in the garden, reveals which section is the heart and soul of Longmeadow and explains some of the planting and design choices he’s made.

Your spring decor is about to be gorgeous—and super on trend, thanks to this list we coveted from Google.

Daffodil Blindness occurs when daffodils fail to flower, i.e the green leaves appear, but no flowers. I am updating this post formerly released in 2014 as I have just experienced  annoying blind daffodils.

With all the new trends this year, there are many ways to spruce up your space with style and your own flare. Personally, adding a few new designs and decor pieces to my bedroom is at the top of my list. Whether it’s experimenting with a little more color or putting more prints on my wall, I’m already eyeing what to update in my cozy room.

Kitchens are often the “hearth of the home” because they're actively used every day and are often the main gathering and socializing spot for family members and friends.

Dated cabinets, dingy backsplashes, and forgettable generic light fixtures, oh my—designing any room on a budget is a challenge, but that’s especially the case with a kitchen. Every element in a kitchen, from appliances to tiles to cabinets, can becostly to replace. Still, there are easy and wallet-friendly ways to create a classic kitchen that looks expensive—without maxing out your credit card.  For insiders’ knowledge, we asked interior designers how to make a kitchen look expensive, even if it’s not. Your secret’s safe with us—no one has to know.

Cherry wood-stained cabinetry was once a popular home feature in the 1990s. But after years of use, these cabinets started to feel outdated in some homes, especially in the wake of light wood cabinets and all-white kitchen trends.

On the one hand, the start of a new year is an excellent time to update your home. With fresh eyes and your goals for the months ahead in mind, you can assess your living space and see how you can make it better. On the other hand, though, upgrading your home can quickly become expensive—especially after the excess of the holidays.

When it comes to a kitchen’s design, one dingy appliance can distract from the coolest of cabinets and most eye-catching countertops. A yellowed refrigerator or scratched dishwasher can create a serious sore spot in your kitchen.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of landscaping is reviving the gardens of older properties, where generations have pottered and pruned.

The housing market is finally starting to loosen up a little in 2024. But if you’re looking to get the most value out of your home before putting it on the market, you might want to consider a remodel.

If you’ve eaten today, you can thank a trucker. Much of the food we eat in this country, and most other things as well, are transported by trucks—as much as 70 percent of the value of all commercial goods shipped in the US. And while the average American might not think too much about long-haul truckers in their day-to-day life, maybe we should. Not only is this an industry that we depend on critically, it’s one that is going through something of a transformation.

OOPS! Had a crazy hailstorm, and the garden’s topsy-turvy. But with a little help from my friends, I’ve got an action-packed, improvised “Open Day” on tap instead for Saturday June 1, anyhow, from 9 AM to 1 PM, at the nearby church here in Copake Falls, New York (with three unscathed nearby Garden Conservancy gardens open, too).