The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Home and garden

Latest Stories

News >  Home and garden

Ask the Builder: Creating outdoor rooms

Several days ago, I was on magical Mt. Desert Island in Maine. I was visiting my daughter and granddaughter. Seven years have passed since I helped build her quaint three-story home with an attached garage. I was the plumber, electrician and radiant heat installer.
News >  Home and garden

Home styling tips

Styling a home is less about the big pieces and more about the final touches, especially the accessories. The most successful spaces feel curated rather than decorated, spacious and open as opposed to overwhelming.
News >  Home and garden

Ask the builder: Prevent clogged drains and nasty flies

Last week, I shared my broken boiler saga. Even though I did the repair myself, I was still out of pocket almost $540. Had I been forced to hire a professional to do the repair, the total bill would have approached $1,000. I’m sure he would have marked up the $387 fan at least 30%.
News >  Home and garden

Design recipes, trends in furniture and home decor

Furniture markets like the annual spring market in High Point, North Carolina, often function much like runway shows in fashion, revealing the newest trends in furniture and home décor. Curvy lines are prominent as are clean lines and neutral color palettes and natural materials. The trend is understated and minimal as opposed to bold and bright. Scandinavian influences and organic materials ...
News >  Home and garden

Ask the Builder: DIY maintenance hacks save big money

Several days ago, I found myself without heat and hot water at 6 p.m., just as I was washing dinner dishes. My propane-fired modulating combi boiler, which does double duty, heating the house and my hot water, decided to stop working. It’s still chilly in central New Hampshire, where I live. The fan that sucks in combustion air and blows out exhaust gases stopped spinning. The sensors and internal computer lock out the boiler burner when this happens.
News >  Home and garden

Gardening: Excessive pine cones are trees’ response to drought conditions

Recently a reader contacted me asking why there were so many ponderosa pine cones this year. He has been picking them up by the bagful and a friend has taken multiple pickup truck loads to the transfer station. My editor chimed in that a snow shovel would be useful for scooping cones out of her driveway. Me? I am more than tired of rolling my ankle on these pesky land mines.
News >  Home and garden

Ask the Builder: A wall-hung toilet to the rescue

I’ve shared in past columns how I’ve been blessed to help my son complete a massive remodeling project. He purchased a new single-story three-bedroom home four years ago. This house had a massive, wide-open, full basement beneath all the upstairs living space.
News >  Home and garden

Design Recipes: Furniture arranging mistakes

Furniture layout and placement are often a dilemma for many homeowners. Aspects such as where to place a sofa and where a television should be placed are often visual hurdles. Strategic furniture placement often comes from pre-planning, taking the time to create a floor plan and evaluating where items should be placed in a room. When laying out a room, here are some common furniture ...
News >  Home and garden

Gardening: The right system gets your water just where your garden needs it

It looks like we are in for a long , dry summer. The lack of winter snow and rain left the soil dry to start the spring. The forecast for the first half of May is dry, and there is a strong chance an El Nino will settle in by late summer or early fall and bring even more drier and warmer weather. Some forecasters are saying this El Nino may be “aggressive.”
News >  Home and garden

Give your home a seasonal refresher

Now that winter is out and spring is in, for many this is a time of transition. Convert those décor elements that are dark and heavy representing winter and transition to those that are light, rich and bright. Embrace the fresh colors and patterns of spring.
News >  Home and garden

Ask the Builder: Having fun with brick

My guess is that most of the bricks you’ve seen in your lifetime have been very uniform in shape. Each brick is rectangular. This is by design in almost all cases. The length of a brick plus one mortar joint in the U.S. is supposed to equal 8 inches. The depth of a standard brick plus a mortar joint is intended to measure 4 inches. The height of three bricks plus three mortar joints equals 8 inches. This is why many common bricks are referred to as modular.
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