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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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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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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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

Candidates hold U.S. flags during a naturalization ceremony to become new U.S. Citizens at Convention Center in Los AngelesBy Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of U.S. immigration reform are hoping that the smooth and drama-free passage of their legislation through a Senate committee - a departure from almost everything that has happened in Congress over the past four years - will boost the likelihood of the bill winning full Senate approval. Even Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee who voted against the immigration bill on Tuesday, told Reuters TV that the "very fair" debate by the panel "does improve its chances. ...


Wed May 22 17:29:42 UTC 2013

Charles Taber opens the two-week old storm shelter that saved his life in the May 20 tornado in Oklahoma CityBy Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Tornado survivors thanked God, sturdy closets and luck in explaining how they lived through the colossal twister that devastated an Oklahoma town and killed 24 people, an astonishingly low toll given the extent of destruction. At least one family took refuge in a bathtub and some people shut themselves in underground shelters built into their houses on Monday when the powerful storm tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. ...


Wed May 22 19:58:05 UTC 2013

Hagel takes part in a news conference on efforts to eliminate VA claims backlogs, at the U.S. Capitol in WashingtonBy Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Military and civilian lawyers for prisoners at the Guantanamo naval base urged U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to improve conditions for detainees, putting more pressure on the Obama administration to make good its promise to close the camp. The plea from 18 lawyers representing "high-value" prisoners came before a speech by President Barack Obama on Thursday when he will address counterterrorism measures such as drone strikes and closing Guantanamo. ...


Wed May 22 21:30:47 UTC 2013
The horrific attack that left a U.K. soldier dead on the streets of London could have been worse, were it not for the actions of a 48-year-old single mom, the U.K.'s Telegraph reports. Ingrid Loyau-Kennett spoke with the Telegraph about speaking directly with the suspected killers in the attack's immediate aftermath. In a photograph, Loyau-Kennett [...]
Wed May 22 18:53:08 UTC 2013