Online Features
Home Improvement
Dress your home to impress buyers this summer
(BPT) - Your home is a place to kick off your shoes, relax and enjoy precious time with friends and family. Nothing quite tops the feeling you get when you walk through your foyer, close the door behind you and forget the day’s troubles. But as families expand, promotions require unexpected relocations or a coveted resi...
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Five steps to create a customized outdoor living space with railing
(BPT) - Railing can upgrade any deck from drab to fab – adding style, as well as safety and support. In fact, it’s often the one element that truly sets your outdoor living space apart from others in the neighborhood. Here are five steps to create the perfect perimeter for your deck. 1. Find ideas at your fingertips – ...
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Tips for extending your home into your patio
(BPT) - In warmer weather, patios transform into the ultimate gathering space for backyard barbecues, reading, relaxing or even exercising. These outdoor rooms become an extension of the house, seamlessly merging the outdoors inside and vice versa. This summer, many homeowners will tackle revamping the home to expand t...
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Turn over a new leaf this season with a home energy makeover
(BPT) - As the seasons change, turn over a new leaf and give your home an energy makeover. You can improve your home’s comfort while helping the environment by making your home more energy efficient, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, a variety of compatible technologies are available to...
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DIY gifts for guys
(BPT) - Show the man in your life how much he is appreciated, not just for Father’s Day, but 365 days a year. Choosing the perfect gift for that special guy can sometimes feel like a challenge. If he enjoys fixing things around the house and tackling home improvement projects – big or small – look no further for the per...
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Eight easy ways to organize - and maximize - a small bath
(BPT) - The bath serves a variety of uses, from a functional room to a serene sanctuary, a storage facility to a salon. And, whether you enjoy it yourself or share with the family, every bathroom is in need of one major thing – organization. To help keep your bath feeling more serene and less insane, follow these eigh...
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Home chefs use new technology to cook with ease
(BPT) - Home cooks are spending more time in their own kitchens and less time dining out, according to the January Monthly Measuring Cup Trend Report . Nearly half of surveyed consumers said they’re dining out less this year than they did in 2012 and are relying more on their cooking skills at home. Fortunately, techno...
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Surprising ways hot tubs heat up relationships
(BPT) - On average, working adults spend less than an hour per day socializing and relaxing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s American Time Use Survey . Yet a host of research – and common sense – tells us that spending time together in a social, relaxing way is essential to building and maintaining healthy...
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Wall-mounted sliding door 'reflects' a genius design solution
(BPT) - Like many couples who share a bathroom, one Arizona couple was frustrated by the space that was compromised by a swinging bathroom door. The open door swung into the bathroom vanity and took up too much space in a very traditional bathroom. The couple turned to Board by Board, an Arizona kitchen and bath design...
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Four hot, new-home trends that can work for your remodel
(BPT) - Builders are back in business, and new-home construction is up in areas across the country. So is remodeling, as plenty of Americans choose to stay put and upgrade their current homes rather than tackle the challenge of buying and moving into something new. If you’re planning to renovate your home, you can tap ...
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DIY tricks that make bathroom renovations easy
(BPT) - When it comes to home improvement, Americans have embraced doing it themselves – in a big way. Among homeowners who plan to make improvements, 64 percent say they will do it themselves, according to American Express’ Consumer Spending and Saving Report. Yet one area of home improvement continues to give even adv...
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By Victoria Cavaliere SEASIDE HEIGHTS, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New Jersey shore ushered in the unofficial start of summer on Friday, with businesses making last-minute preparations and officials declaring the resort towns ready for visitors seven months after Superstorm Sandy. Governor Chris Christie oversaw a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a freshly re-constructed boardwalk in Seaside Heights and declared it "a great day for New Jersey." "We're here with the whole country welcoming the Jersey shore back," he said. ...
(Reuters) - Tornadoes that struck the United States from May 18 to May 20 caused between $2 billion to $5 billion of insured losses, disaster modeling company Eqecat said late Thursday. At the high end of the range, the tornado outbreak may rank as the second-worst ever in terms of insured losses, behind the late-April 2011 twisters that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and other communities. Eqecat said most of the losses were attributed to the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday. ...
By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - A bridge collapse that sent cars and drivers tumbling into a frigid river in Washington state appears to have been caused when a semi-trailer truck carrying an oversize load struck a bridge support beam, officials said on Friday. The truck crossed the bridge safely before a portion of the structure collapsed, sending two vehicles and a mass of concrete and steel into the Skagit River Thursday evening. Three people had to be rescued, officials said. ...