Shown: Barn wood covers the floor and island base in the now-larger kitchen, a natural gathering spot for homeowners Jenna and Steve Pelaez and kids Aria, 5, and Payton, 7. Salvaged corbels accent the wide passageway that opened up the cook space to the existing dining room. Kitchen sink, rohlhome.com; backsplash, walkerzanger.com; range, bertazzoni.com; fridge, jennair.com; island, heritagesalvage.com; stools, pier1.com; pendant, restorationhardware.com; cabinets, Gao’s Group Dull, Drab and Dreary The dining room’s original stained woodwork made the room feel dark....

So in May 2006, we moved into the main house. I’ll admit, it wasn’t an easy decision. I cried that first night and asked Walt if we were doing the right thing, leaving our friends and our country home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono mountains to take on this rundown little house in a slowly revitalizing urban area. But by the next morning, that moment of doubt had passed, and I was mentally picking out paint colors for what I was sure would be a three-month project....

Whether you prefer a Queen Anne, Italianate, or Folk Victorian, these 25 spots have plenty of ornate details and varying rooflines to go around. Union Springs, Alabama On Friday evenings about 35 people meet up at Union Pizza in the small southeastern Alabama town of Union Springs to discuss important matters, such as how to properly reglaze a banged-up window, which stain to use on heart-pine floors, or whether or not to restore plaster walls....

Put grid-lock traffic in your rearview window and snag an old house in one of these thirty-plus neighborhoods located just a short bike, train, or car ride away from the workplace. Park Hill, North Little Rock, Arkansas Small-town values get big-city perspective in North Little Rock’s historic Park Hill neighborhood. Located just across the Arkansas River from the state capital, this cozy bedroom community is characterized by shady, sidewalk-lined streets that allow pet lovers, exercise enthusiasts, and pedestrians to enjoy getting around the old-fashioned way....

From the painted ladies to the gingerbread trim, here are our picks for the towns with the most amazing Victorian-era homes. Yankton, South Dakota Quiet streets, fine schools, super-low crime, and the 90,000-acre Lewis & Clark Lake make this former capitol of the Dakota Territory a popular homestead for young families, retirees, and anyone else seeking old-fashioned small-town charm and inspiring natural landscapes. While the Missouri River town (population 14,000) on the Nebraska border seems sleepy, you’ll find lots of life among the pint crowd at Ben’s Brewing Company on Saturday nights and the jet-skiing constituency on the lake, which also offers swimming, camping, and hiking, and has a marina....

TIP 1: For latex, rinse the brush in hot water, using your hand to work the paint through the bristles. Push the brush against the base of the sink and run water through it until the water runs clear. To clean oil-based paint, dip the brush in a small container of solvent, swishing it from side to side and using the edges of the bucket to push the paint out of the bristles....

Spattering really is something your kid could do, but that shouldn’t trivialize its impact. “Spattering is an easy way to revive a blah piece of furniture and give it a custom touch,” says decorative painter Ingrid Leess. This child’s desk set started out as plain plywood, so Leess first primed and painted with latex in a satin finish. If you’re working with a painted piece, you can go directly to spatter....

Take a Sneak Peek at the new season of This Old House, premiering on PBS on October 7. Check out the webcams to follow the project in real time. Fixing a Featureless Façade The main problem with Raveen and Allison Sharma’s 1940s Colonial Revival (with Georgian influences) is a jutting garage and its flat roofline, which is incongruous with the main house’s hipped roof. Working with architect Christina Chu, Tom and the rest of the TOH team will add character and curb appeal using a few different strategies, including a projecting entry hall addition, a new front window, and a fresh paint job....

Senco Fusion FN55AX Price: About $350 Highlight: Shoots nails instantly; no wait for the motor to ramp up. Needs no fuel cells. Tester: Anthony Sheffer, Traverse City, Mich. Skill level: Pro (“I’m a trim carpenter.”) Used tool for: Installing cherry casing around a window. My two cents: “This one fires nails just as fast as the pneumatic nailers I’ve been using for years.” Tool stats: 6 pounds, 18-volt lithium-ion battery with 45-minute charger; holds 110 nails ⅝ to 2⅛ inches long; drives 600 2-inch nails per charge, two to three per second....

Shown: The designer cleverly incorporated the footings as the bases for mahogany bookcases and a raised reading nook. Desk: Crate and Barrel. Chair: Design Within Reach. Before the Renovation Unfortunately, the only spot available was a dreary storage area off the garage. The space, which had once held a gas furnace, was small, with uneven floors and large concrete footings designed to anchor the house in an earthquake or a landslide....

Today a select group of mirrors is bringing eye-catching adornment into homes in a unique way: by borrowing shapes and details from architectural features, such as windows, doors, crown moldings, and ceiling medallions. Framed with materials from metal to salvaged wood, the 13 we’ve gathered here are so alluring they’re sure to invite everyone’s gaze. TOH Pro Advice: “To hang a mirror heavier than 30 pounds, fasten a piece of ¼-inch plywood an inch shorter than the mirror’s width to the wall, catching at least two studs....

David Grudzinski Advantage Home Inspections Cranston, R.I. Courtesy of www.ASHIReporter.org Roof-Top Grill This is from a recent inspection. Spark arrestor or BBQ? Greg Bertaux, P.E. IMHomeInspector.com Vero Beach, Fla. Courtesy of www.ASHIReporter.org Batty Normally you mount the two black boxes of a garage door safety sensor a few inches up from the floor on the sides of the door so you know if something is in the way as the door is closing....

Don’t worry about it. You can make your yard beautiful again. Here are 8 common problems, along with symptoms and remedies for each one. Problem: White Grubs Symptoms: Irregular dead spots caused by beetle larvae feeding on grass roots. Damage is worst in the fall. Dead turf pulls up easily, like a rug, revealing c-shaped larvae. Animals such as armadillos, skunks, and gophers dig up lawn to feed on grubs....

—Sam Aleksy, Chicago Lance Marques, HVAC contractor, Swezey Fuel Co., replies: Sure you can. Upgrading to a thermostat that automatically changes the indoor temperature setting is fairly easy, and it can trim about $180 off your annual heating and cooling costs, according to the EPA. Simple models that only control heat are sold at home centers for around $25. More expensive products, such as the Honeywell Prestige that I installed here, handle many more functions, including cooling and humidifying....

1. Hire a Chimney Sweep The National Fire Protection Association recommends that chimneys be swept at least once a year at the beginning of the winter to remove soot and debris. Find a certified sweep in your area via the Chimney Safety Institute of America. 2. Check for Damage In addition to cleaning, a chimney sweep should inspect the chimney structure for cracks, loose bricks, or missing mortar. Chimney liners should also be checked for cracking or deterioration....

To start, put down a latex base coat with a satin sheen (it makes working with the top coat easier). Once it’s dry, mix equal parts clear acrylic glaze and latex paint at least two shades lighter or darker than the base coat. Cut in with a brush, then use a roller to apply a generous coat in an area no bigger than 4 by 4 feet so that you’ll have time to rag-roll before it dries....

Steps: Use a garden hose to spray water onto the garage floor, then check the porosity of the concrete surface. Scrub biodegradable degreaser into the floor, then rinse with a garden hose. Don chemical-resistant rubber boots, rubber gloves and eye goggles, then use plastic sprinkling can to apply acid to damp floor. Scrub acid into floor with scrub brush. Rinse the floor clean with a garden hose. Use wet/dry vacuum to clean floor of all grit; allow floor to dry....

Increasingly, though, homeowners are creating laundry rooms that are as integrated as a bath or the kitchen. They can even be in a bath or kitchen. Chalk it up to busier lives and a need to multitask, says designer Dana Jones of Long Beach, California. A first-floor laundry room can serve as a command center—a nook near the family room, where parents can keep an eye on the kids while folding, or off the back door, where it can double as a mudroom, home office, or hobby area....

But if your windows were letting in a little too much air last winter, leaving you chilled and stuck with high fuel bills, consider this: New high-performance insulating units can cut your energy costs by almost 25 percent. So with the arrival of spring, and a fresh round of federal tax credits for installing more-efficient windows, it’s a great time to say sayonara to those drafty old units. If you’re not sure which kind of windows to get, let us offer a suggestion: wood....