Home Improvement
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Inside a ’70s-Style River Island Home Outside Portland, Oregon
Sauvie Island—a river island 10 miles northwest of downtown Portland, Oregon—is a gem of a place to live. Cradled by the Columbia River to the east and the Multnomah Channel to the west, the island is a nature lover’s paradise, replete with farms full of berry patches, roughly 11,500 acres of wildlife reserve, and several stretches of white sandy beaches. Its charming scenery is the reason a family of four chose it as the location for their second home, finding a 1979 fixer-upper to make their own. “You got to one bedroom through the garage,” designer Jessica Helgerson notes of the preexisting structure’s flaws. (Other absurdities included a toilet bowl…
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A Beginner’s Guide to Home Renovation Loans
Our experts answer readers’ home-buying questions and write unbiased product reviews (here’s how we assess mortgages). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own. “Home renovation loan” is a catch-all term referring to a loan that pays for upgrades or repairs to a home. Personal loans are a popular type of home renovation loan, but you can also use a mortgage to cover renovations. These loans can help you buy a fixer upper or rehab your current home. But it’s important to understand the pros and cons. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on…
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Shea McGee’s Home: Take an Exclusive First Look at Her Own Remodel
When interior designer Shea McGee and her husband, Syd, built their home outside of Salt Lake City in 2018, they deliberately skipped some features due to budget restraints and to accommodate the timing of their hit Netflix show, Dream Home Makeover. But the celebrity design duo also insisted on living in the house and experiencing it before making final decisions on some of the more expensive design elements. It’s the kind of practical approach the couple often suggests for their own clients. “You can plan and draw up all the ideas you want, but you’ll have a better understanding of what you need after you live in your home for…
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A crippled housing market has left Americans stranded in 40-year-old properties and unable to afford most home improvements. Now they are turning to ‘home harde…
A home should be a sanctuary, a safe place to feel sheltered against the chaos and threats of the outside world. But with the recent onslaught of record-breaking natural disasters, many Americans are feeling increasingly vulnerable. In the past year alone, we’ve endured the hottest summer on record, devastating wildfires in Canada and Hawaii, flooding in Vermont and New York City, and hurricanes in both Los Angeles and Maine. The situation is especially problematic considering American homes aren’t getting any younger. In fact, 38% of homes in the U.S. were built before 1970–and the median age of homes in America is 40 years. With aging roofs, insufficient drainage, and outdated systems, many homes are in…
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How to make an entryway when your home doesn’t have one |
Whether your front door opens up onto a grand foyer with sweeping stairs, directly into your living room, or down a narrow corridor, the entryway is the first impression of your home. ‘The minute you walk in the door, it has to add up to who you are and tell the story of your home and who lives there,’ says Anne-Marie Barton of AMB Design. The significance of an entryway is often overlooked. Not just a transitional space that takes you from outdoors to indoors, the entryway, hallway, or foyer implies the decor and mood of your home of the entire home. If your home doesn’t have a natural drop zone,…
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Downturn in Home Remodeling May Bottom Out in 2024
Spending for residential improvements and repairs is expected to shrink this year for the first time since 2010, but signs point to some easing of declines by year’s end, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA projects that declines in annual homeowner renovation and maintenance expenditure will worsen through the third quarter of this year before moderating slightly to -6.5 percent by the end of 2024. “Home remodeling will continue to suffer this year from a perfect storm of high prices, elevated interest rates, and weak home sales,” says…
