Online Features
Kitchen, Bed & Bath
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Five fast home decor updates with fantastic results
(BPT) - With the fast-paced lives people can lead today, often we strive for instant gratification to fit into our busy schedules. So when it comes to home improvement projects, wouldn’t you love an instant update for boring home decor? Fortunately, there are numerous fast fixes that can produce fantastic results. Try t...
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Use a fresh start to get organized with these tips
(BPT) - Whether you’re celebrating a new job, new house or new member of your family, fresh starts and major life events herald a time to rejoice. While you’re feeling good about a positive change in your life, it’s also a great time to get organized so you can focus on what’s to come instead of worrying about where to ...
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A guest-friendly home is easier than you think
(BPT) - One of the many exciting and sometimes stressful parts of the holiday season is entertaining at home with friends and family. To prepare for their arrival you may be tempted to just clean the kitchen counters, toss a few extra towels in the guest bathroom and ignore the rest of the house. Instead, your visitors ...
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Go with the flow to add flexibility to your home
(BPT) - Talk to any contemporary architect, remodeler, interior designer or homeowner, and you’ll find one of the hot topics these days is “flow.” Gone are the days of floor plans burdened by closed-off, claustrophobic rooms, each designed around specific functions.  “Today’s new homes and home remodeling projects em...
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Four fast fixes for a fabulous shower
For many people, the shower is an escape from reality ... perhaps the only "me time" in an otherwise hectic day. But if your current shower isn't living up to your relaxing expectations, it may be time for a facelift. Don't think you have the time or money? Don't throw in the towel just yet - an improved shower is withi...
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Four steps to a more beautiful bathroom
The bathroom is one of the most frequented areas in your home, making your choice of bathroom decor pretty important. Don't forget about this key area when considering your next home improvement project. With a few tips, you can take your bathroom from so-so to spectacular in no time at all.
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Bathroom design: It's all in the details
It's most likely one of the top reasons you've been putting off that bathroom makeover or remodel - you're not sure where to begin. What should the decor be like? Do you want a pedestal sink or a furniture-style vanity? Will you incorporate any water-saving faucets or fixtures? And, with all the decisions to make, will i...
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Color tips from the pros: How to bring bold hues into the kitchen and bath
Why is it that some people can do daring things with color in their living rooms or bedrooms, but stick with the strongholds of beige and white in their kitchens and baths? As bright hues are surfacing in kitchen and bath design trends, existing oft-neutral palettes make it easy to introduce bold splashes.
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Eight ways to improve your home's energy efficiency through lighting
It's easy to instantly trim your energy consumption and boost the eco-friendliness of your home. The key to easy energy savings is lighting. Though for many homeowners and renters, knowing how and what to do to improve their home's lighting energy efficiency can be confusing.
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Continuous hot water report [Infographic]
When Americans wake up in the morning, they want one thing: a good hot shower. A recent study commissioned by Noritz America, a tankless water heater manufacturer, showed that while shower styles varied, the demand for continuous hot water and strong water pressure is nearly universal. But so is the need to cut utility costs and save energy. Consumers can cut operating costs up to 40 percent and help ensure that every shower is a hot one by shifting from conventional tank-type water heater...
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Quick-change kitchen decor ideas make redoing a room easy
Falling out of love is a painful experience - especially when the love affair that's ending is between you and the pricey, permanent design changes you made as part of a kitchen renovation. While it's always easy to repaint if you don't like a wall color, more significant renovations - like cabinets and countertops, floo...
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Upgrading your kitchen from 'blah' to 'bling' for less
To design a kitchen that meets the multiple needs of today's modern family, including standing up to its daily wear and tear without breaking the bank, homeowners can transform their kitchens with a few tips and tricks from interior design experts and companies that have created more durable and affordable yet equally be...
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national news
Powerball jackpot could go higher than $600 million

People wait in line to purchase Powerball lottery tickets at the Port Authority bus station in New YorkBy Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Powerball jackpot Saturday night could be even higher than the record $600 million being advertised, possibly rivaling the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, a Texas Lottery official said on Saturday. "Oftentimes, the advertised amount is lower than what the actual jackpot ends up being," said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery. "It's entirely possible this $600 million jackpot will end up being a bigger jackpot." The Powerball record in November was advertised at $550 million, but ended up being $587. ...


Sat May 18 13:30:43 UTC 2013
US Airways plane makes unusual belly landing at Newark airport
By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A US Airways flight made an emergency landing on its belly at Newark Liberty International Airport early on Saturday after the plane's landing gear failed to deploy, but no one was injured, airline and government officials said. Piedmont Airlines flight 4560, operating for US Airways from Philadelphia with 34 passengers and three crew members, landed safely at 1 a.m., and passengers were evacuated on the tarmac and transported to the terminal, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said in an email. ...
Sat May 18 12:51:40 UTC 2013
Chicago commuter headache as 'L' train line shut for five months
By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago will shut down part of its "L" elevated rail system's busiest line for five months starting on Sunday, forcing thousands of commuters to seek other routes and creating the biggest such U.S. transit disruption in two decades. The nation's second-largest public transit system after New York will rebuild 10 miles of the "Red Line" on the city's South Side, which passes through some predominantly poor and African-American neighborhoods. It will be the biggest U.S. ...
Sat May 18 14:01:05 UTC 2013
Residents capture amazing videos in the face of tornadoes
A series of 16 violent tornadoes ransacked north Texas this week, killing six people and flattening entire neighborhoods. Seven people who were reported missing early Friday morning have now been accounted for, but the storms aren't over yet. Severe thunderstorms are expected late Friday in Alabama and Mississippi, and the Plains and the Midwest face [...]
Fri May 17 19:53:22 UTC 2013