Should You Use Composite Timber in Your Landscape? (9 photos)

Composite timber can be a low-maintenance and sustainable alternative to wood in home landscaping projects. It has been manufactured to be stain and blemish resistant, without needing an annual sealant, and comes in a wide range of colors and textures. Composite timber made with recycled content gives...

Delight in Summer's Garden Glories — Here's What to Do in June (10 photos)

Anticipation for the summer gardening season peaks in June. Seeds have been sown, edibles started and watering schedules adjusted. Gardeners across the U.S. are now enjoying their spring efforts and making sure that their gardens thrive and perform throughout summer's long days and warm nights.
Start...

A Kitchen That Cooks With Color and Creativity (8 photos)

It’s not often a bright yellow oven is the starting point for a kitchen design, but an artist and her partner were determined to include one in their Somerset, England, cottage. “The kitchen grew from [her] choice of range and her ideas for storage, much of which now contains her art and...

Forever Furniture: A Buyer’s Guide to the Dining Table (12 photos)

The dining table is not only a gathering spot for family and friends, but also a focal point in the home. If you intend to shop for one you’ll have forever, you will probably want to buy only once. So what do you need to look for? A dining table needs to be well crafted and strong, seat a good many people...

How to Take Your Indoor Decorating Style Outside (11 photos)

Any outdoor space, from a small balcony to a spacious garden, can act as an extension of your interior and a valuable extra “room.” Yet often when it comes to decorating it, we head for specialist garden retailers for our furniture and accessories. An alternative is simply to take your interior decorating...

Cool Ways to Add Storage to Your Staircase (12 photos)

In these space-starved times, most of us want to utilize every inch of storage in our homes. So making the most of the area under and on the stairs doesn’t just make sense, it can help create a clutter-free environment. Here are 12 ways to make the most of what you’ve got — with cabinets, drawers, shelves,...

What to Know About Adding a Deck (13 photos)

Good weather should be enjoyed to its fullest extent. To do that you have to actually go outside. But if your home lacks an enticing outdoor living space, there’s little incentive to venture out.
Outdoor living is seeing a bit of an explosion lately: Adding

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10 Outdoor Banquettes Add Fresh-Air Seating With Style (12 photos)

The reasons for having a banquette indoors are well known. Banquettes saves space, can accommodate more people than chairs and can be outfitted with storage. Considering those compelling points, why wouldn’t you take the concept from kitchen to patio? Here are some designers who did.

Honeycomb Shapes Are the Bee’s Knees (19 photos)

Arising out of our continuing love affair with facets and geometric patterns, the six-sided hexagon was bound to be a big hit as a stand-alone shape and all-over pattern. We saw it first in tiles and soon after in drop-repeat patterns on rugs and wallpapers. Now the shape is finding favor in other decor...

Learn the Secret to Bigger and Better Roses (7 photos)

I’ve had a love affair with roses since I was a little girl, when I used to help my dad take care of the rosebushes in our Southern California front yard. Now that I have my own garden with more than 40 rosebushes, I’ve learned that adding a few ordinary amendments, as well as a couple of unexpected...

How to Create a Room With a Magnetic Personality (9 photos)

Painting a room is easily the No. 1 way to transform a space, and adding magnetic primer elevates the game. Widely available wherever interior paint is sold, magnetic primer is created by adding iron dust particles to the paint.

Patio Details: A Shaded Patio Opens Up the View in Wine Country (6 photos)

This patio in a valley outside Santa Barbara, California, stands up to warm summers and cold winters, while its subtle details blend with the picturesque surrounding landscape. “This is a very harsh climate in terms of hot, dry summers and frost-ridden winters. Plants of the wrong variety...

9 Ways to Jazz Up Your Decor With Pattern (9 photos)

Whether you’re a lover of neutrals or partial to simple color blocking, a well-chosen pattern is a great way to tie together a color scheme, bring focus to a space and define the theme of a room. See some of the myriad ways Houzz pros have sneaked pattern into decor that wouldn’t scare even the most...