HOME AND GARDEN

Advice on Home Improvement and Gardening Projects

These biting, aromatic invaders are multi-colored Asian lady beetles. And they’ll be back.  Full story »

“It’s probably the best job I could have ever hoped for in my life,” knitting book author Susan B. Anderson says. Full story »

Tax incentives for energy-efficient heating products stoke homeowners' savings. Full story »

A list of local craft shows running through December. Full story »

Nature has a way of taking care of herself. The vast canopy of brilliant fall foliage soon will disappear onto the forest floor, enriching soil and sustaining beneficial microbes.  Full story »

“Why don’t you do something stupid?” I asked my younger son. I was serious. I figured if he broke something, I could repair it and then write about it in my next column. My son was smarter than that. There were plenty of projects to tackle without turning him into an enabler. But he was happy to help anyway. He... Full story »

What makes a car a home? I’ll soon find out. For at least the next several weeks, I’ll be making daily trips to Grand Rapids. That will mean spending a lot more time in my vehicle than usual. To make things comfy, automakers already have thought of the main stuff: heat, air conditioning, a radio, a CD player and cup... Full story »

Old technology dies hard. At least it does at our house. And judging from reader response, I’m not alone. Don’t get me wrong. I love today’s technology. A flash drive — that tiny device that plugs into computers to store and transport data — can be useful anywhere you go. I also enjoy playing on our computer, as well as... Full story »

Some days, you just can’t get ahead. The lawn needed mowing, but some short, simple tasks were demanding my immediate attention. In the basement, the dehumidifer was busy emptying all of its liquid contents onto the floor.  Full story »

This year's Heritage Hill Homes tour includes four public buildings and nine homes, seven of which never have been on the tour. They include an 1867 saltbox built on a former Civil War Cavalry camp, an 1890s shingle-style mansion, an 1896 Eastlake-adorned house built by a prominent area businessman with ties to the former Pantlind Hotel, a 1905 prairie-influenced home built by Keeler Brass owner George Keeler and a pair of Craftsman-stlye homes. Full story »

The first semester of the school year is in full swing and many college students might be feeling a bit cramped in their new campus digs. While college living arrangements are often uncomfortable, they don’t have to be. As an alternative to living in disorganized and self-induced collegiate squalor, three interior design majors from Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University have outlined plans for functional and appealing dorm and apartment living spaces without spending a fortune. Full story »

It's a woodchuck -- or a groundhog. Same thing. That's the consensus of readers who responded regarding the mystery of the "beaver with the fluffy tail," the fast-moving creature that has been busy eating leaves off the violets -- but nothing else -- in our yard and garden. Full story »

GRAND RAPIDS -- Prospective buyers' pent-up curiosity will find release when a slimmed-down Fall Parade of Homes unfolds this week. With 23 fewer homes than last year's parade, touring the homes will not be as frantic, said Dale Shugars, executive vice president of the Home and Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids. "Before, people felt rushed," Shugars said. "This... Full story »

Enter to win a free vaccum and check out Press readers' strategies to avoid cleaning. Full story »

Imagine La Grande Vitesse sitting not on cement in the middle of Calder Plaza but on a bed of moss in a woodland near Nunica, constructed not out of painted steel and bolts, but from pieces of trees. As twilight descends, 2,000 candles illuminate this and other master-inspired floral designs, and you see "Nature's Creative Edge 2009 Floral Art-Museum... Full story »