Read the latest articles from Bob Vila (Page 410)

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with our lawns. Although we enjoy the cool carpet of green grass to lie on and play on in summer, no one wants to spend hours every weekend mowing and trimming—not to mention battling weeds, insects, and fungus, and aerating, feeding, watering, and seeding. Turf lawns take a lot of time and money to maintain. They require the use of precious water resources to keep them alive, and the pesticides and herbicides we apply to them can damage the environment. More and more, people are turning to low-maintenance, no-mow lawn alternatives like meadows, rock gardens, and ground covers. These fresh options prove that you can have a beautiful yard without growing a single blade of grass. If that sounds right up your alley, check out these 10 no-mow alternatives to a grass lawn.

You may think you keep a clean kitchen, but all of those nooks, crannies, and corners are perfect hiding places for bacteria and other nasty bugs. Even some seemingly innocuous items—dish towels, table linens, and doorknobs—may be harboring dangerous viruses that could make you and your family sick. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 Americans gets sick every year after consuming contaminated food or beverages. With more than 250 varieties, food-borne illnesses are a common and costly public health problem that can cause everything from mild stomach upset to potentially fatal disorders. Keep your family safe by developing good kitchen habits, including these 9 smart food prep, cleaning, and cooking practices, and be grateful that your kitchen isn't in line for a visit from the Board of Health.

Faucets, towel bars, shower heads, hinges—chrome shows up all over the house, especially in the bathroom. Try some of these cleaning methods to keep your chrome gleaming and blemish-free.

Lugging around a heavy toolbox gets old after a while, but you often need half a dozen tools just to complete even a simple do-it-yourself repair. Make it easier on yourself! You can reduce the number of tools you need to carry (and buy) if you select hardworking tools that have multiple functions. Take the humble pry bar, for example. Its L-shaped ends can apply leverage, lift, scrape, and even spackle. Haven't given any thought to a pry bar's versatility before? That’s probably because you haven’t met HYDE’s 9-1/2" Bent Pry Bar. Made from electro-coated, high-carbon steel, this pint-size multi-use bar (available at HydeStore.com) is lightweight but as strong as they come. Keep reading for the many ways in which you can put this under-$10 tool to use around the house. This post has been brought to you by Hyde Tools. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.

A little know-how goes a long way when it comes to painting. These simple tips will save you headaches and help you achieve professional results.

Manufactured housing has always been an affordable alternative to site-built homes. Older models especially can be scooped up at a reasonable price, providing prospective buyers a relatively low-stress pathway to homeownership. Some lucky, resourceful owners of modestly priced manufactured homes opt for remodeling their new-to-them residences on their own. They rebuild and restyle their factory-assembled interiors from the chassis up, often chronicling their remodeling recipes—a blend of aesthetics, power tool prowess, ingenuity, and secondhand shopping savvy—on their blogs, while loyal readers eagerly await each new reveal. Crystal Adkins, editor at Mobile Home Living, covers lots of DIY mobile home remodeling projects on her site. She often concludes that had she not told her readers that these are manufactured homes, they never would have known. Is she right? Take a look at a few choice mobile home makeovers and judge for yourself.

Learn about a faster, easier, and more flexible solution for old, poorly performing windows.

While the thought of destroying a hardcover tome might make some book lovers squirm, there does come a time when an old, musty, or damaged book may have outlived its usefulness. While there's no sense in destroying truly rare and valuable books, for the run-of-the-mill old book, there are many ways to repurpose it. Here are just a handful of ideas.

Learn how to join copper pipe with a soldered sweat fitting.

Without disturbing the surrounding wall or floor installation, you can easily replace one or a few tiles that have chipped, cracked, or broken.

Saying “goodbye” to your old backsplash won’t be difficult if you install one of these temporary yet timeless wall treatments in your kitchen.

Get the 411 on this sturdy, stately siding to decide if it’s right for your home-to-be or exterior remodel.

A gallon of gas? It won't get you too far. A gallon of milk? If you have a big family, it can be gone in a day. But a gallon of paint? It can go a long way, meaning leftover paint is a common occurrence. If you share our quest to make everything old new again, consider using the leftover paint to renew or revamp your home. Here are 19 cool projects you can do with 128 ounces or less.

An exposed tree base is a dead giveaway that your fir is fake. Upgrade yours with a wooden stand that hides its metal legs and even makes your tree appear taller!

Thanks to marketing and advertising, consumers often associate colors with a particular brand—think Tiffany Blue or Post-it canary yellow. Some companies trademark their signature hues to ensure that competitors can’t steal their recognizable shades (and their business). Here are 8 bold and beautiful colors that are officially registered to familiar brands.

You begin with an empty room, then you fill it with your belongings. Does the end result welcome and delight you, or does something seem not quite right? You may own an enviable house and lovely furnishings, but the whole thing can be undermined by awkward arranging. If your living spaces aren’t all they could be, perhaps you’re committing one of these common furniture faux pas. Read on, and mend your ways!

Houseplants bring natural vitality to any interior space, and thanks to modern technology, uncommon varieties from around the world are available to anyone willing to flex their green thumb. If you’re looking to add impact to your indoor garden, check out these 8 exceptionally exotic houseplants you’ve probably never heard of.

Create better-tasting meals with an always available array of fresh herbs right at your fingertips!

Brew your way to a hardier, healthier garden using this guide to compost tea.

Besides the right soil, sufficient sunlight, and neither too much nor too little water, there's one more thing that any thriving houseplant requires—protection from invasive pests.