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Home Improvement
The design element that can add drama and save cash
While drama may be unattractive in other aspects of your life, a dash of it can be just what your home's decor needs to spice things up. Fortunately, you don't have to choose between drama and cents. At least one popular design element can deliver positive impact on your decor and your wallet: skylights.
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Start enjoying your deck after one day's work
Most deck owners know that one of the keys to keeping their decks looking good is staining it every few years. However, while deck staining is a process that most homeowners are capable of doing themselves, finding the time to do it can be difficult. With the right approach and the right products, you can get everything ...
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Revive your bathroom quickly, easily and affordably
Remodeling projects have increased in popularity over the past few years as homeowners have decided to improve on what they have, rather than take a risk in the real estate market. Whether you're hoping to sell your home or create a more enjoyable living space, tackle home improvement projects that make a big impact and ...
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Don't let pesky ants put a damper on your summer
Ants, though often small, are the biggest pests of the summer for homeowners. They can enter homes through tiny cracks, looking for water and food - mainly sweets, meats or greasy foods - in the kitchen or pantry area. Ants may also be forced inside because of the weather, in search of a cooler or drier environment and b...
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Signs that termites might be invading your house
Termites live to eat. Their hunger causes $5 billion worth of damage each year in the U.S., damage most homeowner's insurance doesn't cover. In fact, a colony can devour a foot of 2-by-4 wood in only six months. And since termites are masters at going undetected, they can destroy entire support beams before you discover ...
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The good health advice you can easily follow
You may think one bit of common health advice - to get more fresh air and sunshine - would be easy to follow. The health benefits of cleaner air and natural light are well-documented. However our busy, technology-filled modern lives can make it difficult to fulfill our most basic needs for natural light and clean air. Fo...
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The heat is on outside, keep cool inside
As summer heats up, air conditioning bills can rapidly rise. As homeowners feel the heat, many are looking for ways to save and stay cool. One way to help lower utility bills in the summer and year-round is to replace drafty or leaky old windows with new, energy-efficient products.
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Easy kitchen updates that won't break the bank
It goes without saying that the kitchen is one of the hardest-working rooms in the home. For most, it's the heart of family life and usually the one room where everyone gathers together. With so much hustle and bustle, it's no wonder that the kitchen runs the risk of looking overworked.
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How to turn must-do home improvements into things of beauty
How to turn must-do home improvements into things of beauty
(ARA) - When it comes to home improvement, you can spend money in two basic ways: on things that make your home look better and things that make it function better. Under the first category, you'll find all the things you want to do, like replacing narrow casem...
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Top kitchen upgrades that blend beauty and value
Nowhere else in the home must design and function marry as harmoniously as in the kitchen. The most-used room in the house is also the one where we spend the most work and leisure time. It gets the most scrutiny from potential buyers and is the spot where most renovation dollars get spent. Here are some kitchen upgrades ...
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Five tips for conserving water during warm-weather months
Water and the summer months tend to go hand-in-hand - water skiing or fishing at a lake, taking a dip in a swimming pool and watering home-grown plants with a garden hose are among the season's most popular activities. Recent summers have also been some of the driest on record, prompting grass fires, drastically low lake...
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By Ian Simpson and Alice Mannette MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescue efforts in the tornado-ravaged Oklahoma City suburb of Moore continued through the night into Wednesday morning, with officials increasingly confident that everyone caught in the disaster had been accounted for. The massive tornado that tore through the area on Monday wiped out blocks of houses, killed at least 24 people and injured about 240. ...
By Steve Gorman and Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti opened a convincing election-night lead in his bid to become mayor of America's second-largest city as it faces an increasingly gloomy financial outlook, returns showed late on Tuesday. Garcetti drew 53 percent of the vote, compared with 47 percent for his opponent, city Controller Wendy Greuel, after tabulation of more than a third of ballots cast at polling stations on Tuesday and all mail-in ballots received as of last Friday. ...
By Michael Sadowski (Reuters) - The embattled mayor of Pennsylvania's financially crippled capital of Harrisburg was ousted on Tuesday when she lost the Democratic primary to the owner of an independent bookstore. Mayor Linda Thompson's loss to Eric Papenfuse comes after a tumultuous term in which her outbursts and statements caused a loss of confidence in her administration. Papenfuse is likely to win the general election in this heavily Democratic city in November, but he must still face off against independent candidate Nevin Mindlin. ...