Tag: home improvement
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At Home: 10 spots to spiff before holiday guests come
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The busiest days of the year for Ryan Knoll is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, followed by the day before Christmas Eve. On those days, business for TidyCasa, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based house cleaning service he started…
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At Home: 10 spots to spiff before holiday guests come
The busiest days of the year for Ryan Knoll is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, followed by the day before Christmas Eve. On those days, business for TidyCasa, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based house cleaning service he started almost 10 years ago, doubles. “The pre-holiday cleaning overdrive is real,” said Knoll, whose company services about 600 homes a…
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At Home: Down bedding is a shifty business
My friend Bud, who lives in Florida half the year and in his North Carolina cabin the other half, recently texted me with a baffling problem. Literally, he was baffled by the lousy baffling in several down comforters he’d purchased. Bud knows inferior bedding is a topic I do not take lying down, so he…
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At Home: Quietly accessible furniture aids aging in place with safety and style
Knees get cranky, backs get stiff, balance isn’t what it used to be. Age isn’t easy on us. But the right furniture can make it easier. And, finally, one major furniture retailer is leaning into that with a line of “quietly accessible” furniture that looks like it belongs in a home, not a rehab center.…
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At Home: Wedding drives M.O.B. to become ‘unhinged’ over door hardware
There comes a time when good homeowners need to replace their outdoor hardware. The week before your daughter’s wedding is not the time. As if I didn’t have enough to do planning a wedding celebration for family and friends coming from all over, I suddenly had an irrepressible need to replace the handles and hinges…
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At Home: Make your home romantic — within limits, says new book
”There is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites.” — psychiatrist Carl Jung I like spare interiors, and I like beautifully adorned rooms. I like crystal chandeliers and rustic tables. I like carved gilded mirrors and industrial light fixtures. I like modern furniture alongside antiques. And I like it all at the same…
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At Home: 12 ways to add graciousness to your gatherings
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou As I write this, my daughter’s wedding is just days away. Soon, dozens of guests will be arriving from out of town. Being the host, I feel…
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Get your home ready for fall but don’t rush
As a girl, whenever I was impatiently looking forward to a special day, such as the end of school, the start of vacation or my birthday, my mom would always say, “Don’t wish your life away.” Decades later, I’ve finally figured out what she meant. She wasn’t trying to dampen my excitement; rather, she was…
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At Home: And the 2025 color of the year is … uncertain
COTY season is here — that time of year when paint companies, after months of tea-leaf and tarot-card reading, announce their respective color of the year. Those divining the new hues consider the social mood, political climate, economy, world events, travel trends, and the color of the inside of their eyelids, before extracting from their…
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At Home: ‘Starfish’ couple solves housing problem one family at a time
For seven years, Leticia and Maynor Aldana and their two children lived in a rundown apartment in Northfield, Minn. Raw sewage from the apartment above dripped into their kitchen. The basement had standing water and mold. Their landlord was not helpful. For this, they paid $1,200 a month in rent. The Aldanas, who immigrated here…