These 12 front yard landscaping ideas can elevate your home’s curb appeal and value, plus your enjoyment.

If you’re like most homeowners, you’re squeezing more out of your outdoor space but overlooking a key area: the front yard. We’ve packed our backyards with outdoor kitchens, play and lounging areas, firepits, and gardens. In the process, we’ve unintentionally missed out on front yard landscaping improvements. Both the numbers and the experts support the value of upgrading your front yard landscaping.

For starters, those improvements can add curb appeal and value to your home. More than half of homeowners — 57% — believe that beautiful landscaping and exteriors can increase a home’s resale value by at least $20,000, and 16% say the increase can be more than $50,000, according to a 2023 survey by Thumbtack and Nextdoor.

An outdoor landscape upgrade provides an estimated return of 100% wheoutdoorn you sell, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2023 outdoor “Remodeling Impact Report.” The survey defined an upgrade as adding a natural flagstone walkway, two stone planters, several flowering shrubs, a deciduous tree, and mulch.

“The front yard creates the first impression of your home,” says Janet Loughrey, a contributor to “Garden Design” and a garden photographer. “There are many ways to repurpose a front yard into a beautiful and functional space for relaxing, entertaining, or recreation.”

12 Ways to Upgrade Your Front Yard Landscaping

Here are ideas to inspire a new and improved view of your front yard:

#1 Spotlight the Front Porch

Potential home buyers rank the front porch as one of the top home features they want in their next home, according to a 2024 survey from the National Association of Home Builders. Showcase it as a place to relax or connect with neighbors by providing seating areas, such as Adirondack chairs, a bistro set, a lounger, or a porch swing, Loughrey suggests.

Embellish the porch with flowery hanging baskets and use potted flowers in bursts of color next to the front door to “guide people’s eyes to the core of the home and in providing a welcoming look,” says Jackie Mosher, co-founder of Dzinly, a Royal Oak, Mich.-based company that helps homeowners and real estate professionals digitally design exteriors.

#2 Play Up Pathways With ‘Entangled Design’

An on-trend front yard idea is to channel “entangled design” with grass in-between pavers. “Whether driven by aesthetic requests or as a byproduct of maintaining onsite drainage, we’re seeing increased interest” in this, according to the “2024 U.S. Houzz Home Design Predictions” report from the home remodeling site Houzz. The design offers a more natural look that softens up pathways by breaking up large expanses of a hardscape.

#3 Move the Firepit to the Front

Firepits aren’t just for the backyard. Homeowners are moving them to the front. Carve out an area that can be surrounded by a group of low shrubs or a stone wall feature. “Anytime you add height around a space of at least 24 inches tall, it provides a sense of containment and natural coziness,” Mosher says.

#4 Light Up Walkways

Add lighting along walkways for safety and nighttime ambience. Accent both sides of the porch, for instance with boxed lanterns in a black or antique bronze, Mosher suggests. Use spotlights pointed up at the house to highlight the architecture and up-lights on your favorite plants or trees. (Tip: Use solar-powered spotlights to bypass extra wiring costs.) Also, hang an oversized hanging pendant or chandelier above the front door. Pick a fixture about one-third or one-fourth the size of the front door, including the trim, Mosher recommends.

#5 Decorate Window Boxes

Dress up your home’s colors and architecture year-round with boxes filled with seasonal flowers, fitted along the bottom ledge of outside windows. Use three different types of flowers: greenery, a taller plant in the center, and a colorful accent flower, Mosher says. Not every window needs a flower box. Maybe it’s just the large picture window or the windows on a second story, she notes.

#6 Consider Waterwise Landscapes

With water shortages growing, particularly in drier climates, more homeowners are ditching all-grass lawns. “We’ve seen many homeowners incorporate a mix of paving stones and artificial turf to create a clean, polished look that’s modern and easy to maintain,” says Aaron Brundage, landscaping expert and director of operations at System Pavers in Syracuse, N.Y.

There has been an uptick in xeriscaping, which is designed to reduce or eliminate water needs — for example, by using rocks, gravel, and native plants, reports The Plan Collection, a home and floor plan company. They are also seeing more wildscaping, which focuses on native landscaping that creates a habitat for bees, birds, and small animals.

#7 Add a Get-Together Space

No front porch? No problem. You can still create a porch feel. Pave a stone courtyard to accommodate patio furniture and for entertaining, Brundage says. “A walkway with a small pergola creates an instantly inviting feel that will make guests feel welcome.”

#8 Balance Privacy and Curb Appeal

With a front yard, “there’s a desire for privacy, yet an opposing desire to allow some of the home’s architectural elements to remain visible from the street,” says Jeremy Martin, CEO at Willow Gates Landscaping in Mohnton, Pa. Decide on any areas you want to shield. To block car traffic, consider placing trees in the corner of the front yard. “This allows the home to remain visible, but the viewing window is so short that passersby really can’t observe many details,” he says. “If the primary need is privacy from foot traffic, a more continuous hedge may be needed. A fence may work, but in the front yard is often limited to three feet or four feet high by local codes and ordinances.”

#9 Get Creative With Front Yard Garden Ideas

Don’t just tuck everything into a front yard flower bed. Use vertical planters, especially for a vegetable or herb garden. Lush greenery can comprise a living wall, dressing up an otherwise ordinary wall and adding privacy. Metal trellises and arbors can add height to a landscape. Consider a trellis or arbor covered with plant climbers like roses, clematis, or fragrant honeysuckle, for a welcoming front entrance, Loughrey says.

Spruce up a front yard garden by adding seating areas, like a bench. “These seating areas add dimension to a home and provide a charming look,” Mosher says.

#10 Incorporate Rocks (but Not Too Many)

River rocks or crushed gravel are lower maintenance alternatives to mulch. However, they’re pricier to install, don’t enrich the soil, and create a “hard” surface look, Martin says. Avoid using too much river rock and consider using plants with soft, flowing foliage, he adds. Also, boulders nestled within a landscape can “complement the home. “Boulders also work well to ease grade issues without using a block retaining wall.”

 

 

Now’s the time to stock up on paint.

When it’s hot outside, smart homeowners focus their energies inside on these four tasks. You know, like taking advantage of your nice, cool basement.

#1 Organize the Basement

The two most common types of clutter? Old clothes and seasonal items. Just the kind of stuff that winds up in the basement. So this month, face your messy basement head on. Not only will you regain space, but you’ll also save time and could even knock back clutter-related depression. (Yeah, that’s a thing.)

Now that you’ve got it organized, maybe it’s a good time to consider this next project:

#2 Finish the Basement

The solution to a cramped house could be right under your feet. Transforming an unfinished basement into a media room, home office — or even a rentable space — builds equity, upping your home’s resale value. Start this project now, and you can kick back and enjoy your new space all winter long.

#3 Buy Paint on Sale

Although paint savings can be the steepest during the off-peak painting seasons of fall and winter, you can still find savings in July. Experts disagree over the best time of year to paint. Some recommend painting in the summer as long as the weather is warm, not hot, and the humidity is low. A bonus: You can work indoors and stay comfortable. You can always stock up now and be ready for that painting project later. (P.S. Latex and acrylic paint can last up to 10 years; oil-based, up to 15.)

#4 Hit Up Recycling Centers

Summer is home improvement season. That also makes it the savvy buyer’s time to seek out deals at recycling centers and home improvement resale stores. Since this is project time — not to mention moving season — lots of folks are ditching their old stuff. Take advantage and grab it up at super-low prices.

A super-easy plan for getting organized without adding to your home-is-school, home-is-work, home-is-everything time burden.

Did you ever notice that your self-improvement pacts with yourself are action oriented? Walk 10,000 steps a day. Fix that leaky faucet. Register for VolunteerMatch.

But “get organized”? It’s a goal so broad that just trying to figure out what action to take makes you wonder what you were thinking in the first place. It’s like you need an organizing plan for your organizing.

Ta-da!

Here it is. Follow these steps, spending less than an hour day (sometimes just a few minutes), to a better organized home:

1. Do That Project

“What about your space is making you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed?” asks Amy Trager, a professional organizer in Chicago. Is it the paperwork disaster in your office? The pile of clothes teetering on your dresser? Or that mess that surrounds your doorway? Start with what’s annoying you, she says. One hour on that task will rev up your organizing engine.

2. Create a Go-Away Box

Put in it anything you’re planning to donate (or give to a friend or take to recycle). And keep it by the door so you can easily grab it when you’re leaving.

3. Deal With the Decorations

Hallelujah — the holidays are over! When you’re putting away your décor, donate anything you didn’t bring out last season and separate decorations by holiday. No need to dig through your St. Paddy’s clovers when you’re searching for a menorah.

4. Create a System for Your Entryway

Set up a “command center” so your front door doesn’t become a lawless accessories arena, especially during winter months. Add hooks for coats, bins for shoes, and a mail sorter if you need it. (Remember to keep a place for your go-away box.)

5. Wrangle Your Pet Supplies

Minimize the time spent scrambling when your pup is desperate for a walk or eager for a meal. Hang hooks and cubbies near the door and keep leashes, kibble, bowls, and toys in one convenient spot.

6. Organize Your Spices

Arrange your herbs and spices alphabetically, by cuisine, or by brand — whatever makes them easier to find when you’re in the middle of your noodle stir fry.

7. Pare Down Your Utensils

You’ve accumulated several dozen kitchen utensils in your culinary career: can openers, microplanes, four wine openers (what?!). Cut back the collection and use drawer dividers to keep the rest in order.

8. Reconfigure Your Pots and Pans

Stop digging around in your shelves for the oversized, cast-iron skillet. Donate the pots and pans you hardly use and install cupboard organizers to help manage the rest.

9. Throw Away Expired Foods

You’ve never used Worcestershire sauce after that one time. Go through your refrigerator and pantry, and ditch or donate anything past its prime or that you won’t use.

10. Stack Your Pantry Staples

Make better use of your pantry by sorting through your staple dry goods — think flour, sugar, pasta, oatmeal, dry beans — and put them in airtight, stackable containers. You’ll free up a ton of space, too.

11. Downsize Your Kitchen Gadgets

You had noble intentions when you purchased that spiralizer. (Zucchini noodles every night, right?) Give those space hogs to someone else with lofty dreams.

12. Say No to Coffee Mug Overload

Every time you lose a sock, a new coffee mug appears. Keep one or two mugs for every coffee or tea drinker, and donate the rest.

13. Sort Your Food Storage Containers

No singles allowed. Toss any tops or bottoms that have no mates.

14. Reassess Your Display Shelves

Shelves crammed with knickknacks, books you’ll never read, and stuff you somehow accumulated are just a waste of space. Donate books to the library, discard the junk, and arrange what’s left in a way that pleases you.

15. Deal With Your Cables

With a Roku, PlayStation, DVD player, and cable box, it’s no surprise your entertainment center is a mess. Use bread tags or cable ties to create ID tags for each plug and bundle the clutter with Velcro strips.

16. Put Clothes on New Hangers

Switch your clothes over to the slimmer, grabbier hangers. They use less space and keep your clothes from sliding down to your closet floor. As you do this, discard the clothes you never wear.

17. Corral Your Accessories

Belts, scarves, purses, hats — all the accessories that don’t have a drawer or spot in the closet can end up everywhere. Buy an accessories hanger or install a simple series of hooks to give your wardrobe’s smallest members a home.

18. Purge Under the Bed

Under-bed storage is ideal for out-of-season clothing. But when out-of-season becomes out-of-sight and out-of-mind, clear out those clothes you’ll never wear again from this precious storage space.

19. Declutter Your Desk

When your workspace is swimming with collectibles, staplers, Post-its, and more, paring down can keep you focused when it’s time to hunker down.

20. Shred Old Paperwork

Not every form, statement, and tax record needs to stay in your filing cabinet forever. Check out this list to make sure you’re not wasting space. Shred the rest to ward off identity thieves.

21. Tidy Your Files

Now that you’ve shredded unnecessary paperwork, tidy up your files by organizing them and labeling them clearly. Colorful folders can help organize by theme (home stuff, tax stuff, work stuff, etc.).

22. Get Rid of Mystery Electronics

Admit it. You’ve got a drawer where black mystery cords, chargers, and oddball electronic bits go to die. Free up that drawer for better uses or at least get rid of the items you know for sure are “dead.”

23. Pare Down Your Personal Care Stuff

Your intentions were honorable when you bought that curl-enhancing shampoo — but it expired two years ago, and you haven’t used it since. Throw away any expired potions, salves, hair products, and medicines.

24. Tackle Under-the-Sink Storage

Clean everything out. You’ll be amazed at what you find (like those Magic Erasers you could never find). Then put everything you’re keeping back into bins you can easily pull out so that nothing gets lost again.

25. Hang a Shelf

Wall storage is so often overlooked. Find a spot in your home where a shelf would solve a problem and hang it. Maybe it’s for some toiletries in the bathroom, laundry supplies, or your kid’s stuffed toys.

Related: Yep, You Can Put Shelves There: 5 Inspired Storage Ideas

26. Reduce Your Towels and Linens

There are the towels you use — and the stack of towels you never use. Donate them to the animal shelter. Those torn pillowcases? Convert to rags or toss. Same for napkins, dishtowels, potholders, etc.

27. Hang a Shoe Organizer

Hanging shoe organizers can solve a ton of storage problems beyond the obvious. They can store scarves, mittens, cleaning supplies, craft supplies. You can even cut them to custom-fit inside a cabinet door.

Related: Ideas for Using Shoe Organizers

28. Organize Your Junk Drawer for Good

There’s no shame in a junk drawer, but why not organize it? Dump the whole thing on one surface and sort everything into piles. Use drawer dividers to keep each pile in its own space.

29. Store Your Tools the Right Way

Finding the right Phillips-head screwdriver to put together that cute IKEA bookshelf shouldn’t be so hard. Track down your hammers and screwdrivers, and arrange them in one easy-to-access spot, like a pegboard.

30. Plan for the Future

See how much you’ve accomplished! Take a look around your newly organized home, noting any spaces you missed. Then dream a bit about your next home project. Maybe paint that dining room, finally?

 

Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning.

There’s so much to love about air conditioning. First and foremost, it keeps you cool on sweltering summer days. But AC does have downsides. It drives up your utility bills and can cause AC wars with family members, each of whom has a different perception of the ideal temperature. Even AC advocates admit that inside spaces can get a little too frosty with AC.

So, here are tips to stay cool during warm weather — at least some of the time — without AC:

How to Cool a Room Without AC

When sunlight enters your house, it turns into heat. You’ll keep your house cooler if you reduce solar heat gain by blocking sunlight.

Close the drapes: Line them with light-colored fabric that reflects the sun, and close them during the hottest part of the day. Let them pillow onto the floor to block air movement.

Add awnings: Install them on south-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain by 65% and west-facing windows for a 77% solar heat gain reduction, says the U.S. Department of Energy.

Install shutters: Interior and exterior shutters not only reduce heat gain and loss, but they also add security and protect against bad weather. Interior shutters with adjustable slats let you control how much sun you let in.

Apply high-reflectivity window film: Install energy-saving window films on east- and west-facing windows, which will keep you cool in summer, and let in warming sun in the winter. Mirror-like films are more effective than colored transparent films.

 

Open Those Windows

Be sure to open windows when the outside temperature is lower than the inside. Cool air helps lower the temps of everything — walls, floors, furniture — that will absorb heat as temps rise, helping inside air stay cooler longer.

To create cross-ventilation, open windows on opposite sides of the house. Good ventilation helps reduce volatile organic compounds and can prevent mold.

Turn Up Fans

Portable fans: At night, place fans in open windows to move cool air. In the day, put fans where you feel their cooling breezes (moving air evaporates perspiration and lowers your body temperature). To get extra cool, place glasses or bowls of ice water in front of fans, which will chill the moving air.

Ceiling fans: For maximum cooling effect, make sure ceiling fans spin in the direction that pushes air down, rather than sucks it up. Be sure to turn off fans when you’re not in the room, because fan motors give off heat, too.

Whole house fans: A whole-house fan ($600 to $2,300, including installation) exhausts hot inside air out through roof vents. Make sure your windows are open when you run a whole-house fan.

Power Down Appliances

You’ll save money and reduce heat output by turning off appliances you’re not using, particularly your computer and television. Powering down multiple appliances is easier if you connect them to the same power strip.

Don’t use heat- and steam-generating appliances — ranges, ovens, washers, dryers — during the hottest part of the day. In fact, take advantage of the heat by drying clothes outside on a line, unless doing to will violate homeowners association rules.

Plant Trees and Vines

These green house-coolers shade your home’s exterior and keep sunlight out of windows. Plant them by west-facing walls, where the sun is strongest.

Deciduous trees, which leaf out in spring and drop leaves in fall, are best because they provide shade in summer, then let in sun when temperatures drop in autumn. Select trees that are native to your area, which have a better chance of surviving. When planting, determine the height, canopy width, and root spread of the mature tree and plant accordingly.

Climbing vines, such as ivy and Virginia creeper, also are good outside insulators. To prevent vine rootlets or tendrils from compromising your siding, grow them on trellises or wires about six inches away from the house.

Mix don’t match and 4 other savvy ways to design your dream home.

Exposed brick, black and white, French doors. If you asked me what classic aspects of design I’d like in my dream home, I’d probably check every box. It’s that eclectic mix of old and new, home and travel, fun and sophisticated that can make buying a home and decorating it such an exciting challenge. But surely, at one point or another, many classic features were once a trend — the new thing on the market that everyone had to have.

However, unlike the way shoulder pads and babydoll dresses stuck around for what seemed like decades, the advent of the internet and Pinterest seems to speed us more quickly through the things that are new, and then now, and then passé. “Trend” has become a dirty word — almost synonymous with stuff that’s so of-this-minute that we’ll blink and it’ll already be outdated.

But does it really have to be this way? In my opinion, no.

As much as I might like bohemian and French, industrial and mid-century, and even coastal, I have a limited budget. I can’t afford to constantly replace the stuff that goes out of style. After all, I specifically decided to buy instead of rent to avoid wasting money on things that aren’t a return on my investment!

So, I chose to find a house with good bones — the kind of home with the right space, the right light, and a layout I can invest in for a few years. And after DIYing for the better part of a decade, I’ve learned a few good rules for making sure the home decor I choose lives up to those same investment expectations.

#1 Mix Instead of Match

I suppose you could call my style “global eclectic.” But really, that’s just a fancy way of saying, “I often don’t like any one particular style, and matchy-matchy just isn’t my thing.” I have a Moroccan-inspired peacock mirror in the hallway, modern blue dining room walls, industrial bar stools in the kitchen, sheepskin draping over my chairs in the living room, and antique items sprinkled everywhere. Not any one style really reigns!

In my mind, decorating where it looks like a single store threw up all over a single room is a quick way to Outdatedsville. Collecting pieces from different trendy styles keeps things fresh and unique. Take, for example, Beth from “Home Stories A to Z.” Her gorgeous bathroom mixes subway tile, global-inspired cement tile on the floor, modern urban fixtures, and farmhouse features like shiplap walls and vanity. Stunning!

#2 Give Trendy Features a Limit

Large items like couches, beds, and architectural details (like French doors) can still be fun and interesting, but I tend to play it safe by picking one feature on that item that’s somewhat trendy, such as exposed legs (often seen in mid-century furniture), but with a fabric that’s neutral. Rather than going with a piece of mid-century furniture (trend) in the color of the moment (trend), you choose one or the other. It translates well from one style choice to the next. It also lets all of the other, more permanent, features stand out, such as a cool archway (or in my case, the big bow windows!).

#3 Edit, Edit, Edit

Trends that you wind up loathing over time are the ones that you see everywhere. They’re like that boyfriend you fell hard and fast for, and then woke up one day and can’t stand his laugh. Some things are simply never meant to stick around, and that’s OK. Just make sure these aren’t the pieces you invest in. For trendy items, look to bring them in through accents. When you tire of them and want to try out something new, you can then switch them out without making your wallet wince in pain.

Clutter is also what makes a trend look dated. It steals attention away from cool architectural features that should get more of a spotlight (like my big windows, which again, I LOVE). Too much of a good thing is never wise (except breakfast food). So when you like something, go ahead and try it out, but layer it in rather than buying every item of a single collection. Edit out the pieces that don’t fit, and you’re set.

Stacy Risenmay knows this more than most. With her tiny 1938 home filled with four boys, she’s an expert at getting rid of what isn’t needed while still making her house look gorgeous and full of style.

#4 Remember That Styles Are Cyclical (So You Can’t Really Go Wrong)

These days, a lot of trends are about nostalgia (subway tiles, open shelves, old-school kitchen faucets, reclaimed wood, etc.), so it should come as no surprise that plenty of what we call trends are cyclical. They’ll come into fashion, they’ll be overdone to the point we’re tired of seeing them, we’ll move on, and then when it comes back in style, we’ll find it refreshing again.

But what is it that keeps these things coming back again and again? It may sound cheesy, but I think it’s all about the way we feel in a space — a happiness and simplicity. That’s why I like the concept of “classic with a twist.” Sure, it could be out of date as far as what’s popular in stores over the next 10 years, but the “classics” I see trending lately are just a recycling of a period that already came and went. That’s really kind of great, because it takes the pressure off. Finding a twist on an older design rather than reinventing the wheel is a simpler goal and something I’m less likely to mess up.

Take, for example, my kitchen’s two-tone cabinets. It’s a vintage look that was made popular again over the last 10 years, and although it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I get compliments on how retro and modern it looks at the same time.

#5 Focus on Your Faves

I hate burlap. HATE it. But you know what? Some folks love the look of it so much, they make that scratchy fabric into pillows that they lean against in their bedrooms every night. But I’ll admit, as I’ve seen the use of burlap grow in popularity or used in a beautiful room, I question whether or not to buy some for a table runner. The key of knowing when you’re liking something versus being influenced by outside forces? Your gut.

Some homes just have that “it” factor. And you walk away from that house wondering if you too should buy all of the same stuff they did. But it’s not really the couch that’s making the house feel that way; it was that the person who picked it out did so because they freaking love the item.

Take Charlotte’s sofa, for example (below). She knew she was dropping a lot of money on it, she knew it was green, and she new it was velvet. But she dove right in. It makes the space, but if you knew her in person, you’d also realize that no other sofa really quite captures her the way this styling does!

I doubt any reader who has checked out my blog could accuse me of being trendy. In fact, I never really set out to be the kind of DIYer who put a clever spin on everything I touched. And that’s OK, because all I’ve ever really wanted to do is give myself a house that I enjoy living in. So, I pick out pieces that truly speak to me and forget the rest.

Mixing antiques with modern pieces makes the whole house look like it was collected over time (because it was), but also adds personality unique to me and how I express my style — one that can’t be repeated as easily as shopping through a catalog.

At the end of the day, it’s my home, and the important thing is to make sure that I’m buying it, installing it, etc., because I enjoy seeing it every day — not because someone has once again done something really spectacular with plywood. (I’ll still pin the heck out of it, though!) I truly believe that’s what makes a home both trendy and timeless simultaneously. Loving the home you live in never goes out of style.

The best home renovations are the ones you love years after the new smell has worn off.

You love browsing remodeling ideas on Pinterest, but you also live in the real world. So how do you figure out what project will ultimately be worth the cost and effort? It’s not a whole lot different than choosing a life partner — will you still love them once the passion’s worn off? Will you still love your remodel after you’ve had to clean and maintain it year after year?

These three homeowners are still in love with projects they finished years ago. We give you permission to steal their strategies.

1. Expanding Living Space — Outside

Florida’s called the Sunshine State for a reason, but what’s the point of all that vitamin D without a proper spot to enjoy it? When Jane Watkins purchased her Miami home 13 years ago, it offered a pool and plenty of yardage — but little outdoor living space.

Watkins is no stranger to DIY projects, so she decided to build an outdoor space herself. Armed with hammers, nails, and a few good friends, she framed and built a simple, low-to-the-ground deck.

The spacious outdoor room bridged the gap between the wild outdoors of her tropical backyard and livable space with cutouts for existing trees, providing enough square footage for a full set of patio furniture — and lots of play space for the kids.

And it’s not just good for grand gestures and major events. It’s the “preferred sitting spot” for supervising swimming kids, Watkins says. “I sip my coffee out there, check out the yard, and hang.”

Lasting Love Lesson #1: Take on a project that physically expands the livable area of your home, even if it doesn’t require walls or a ceiling.

2. Creating a Family Fun Hub

Georgia Harris and her husband Tim purchased their Los Gatos, Calif., home for its view of the Santa Clara Valley — definitely not for its design. “It looked like a brown, tiny little house, like the ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ It was very basic,” says Harris.

The unassuming home became a blank canvas for the family’s dreams. Their biggest renovation success: turning the downstairs into an all-in-one entertainment center to complement their brand new pool.

Adding an enormous bonus room downstairs provided room for games and hanging out — a much-needed addition with two growing kids — and a 400-bottle wine cellar provides plenty of entertainment for the adults. The renovated basement helps the family stay in shape, too. An exercise room and direct pool access mean a well-rounded workout is only a flight of stairs away.

They even added an arched hallway to highlight that amazing view. “You can look from one end to another and see out the back,” Harris says. “We made everything really open.”

With one big project 11 years ago, the new Harris home went from an OK house with a great view to a house that’s as fun as it is functional.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever gone through a renovation like this,” Harris says. “I’ve done small projects, like bathrooms, but because we were involved in picking out everything, it feels like we built our dream home.”

Lasting Love Lesson #2: Give underused space a function that addresses the needs of everyone in the family.

3. Upgrading Entertainment Capacity

When both halves of a couple come from enormous families, finding room for everyone at Thanksgiving can be quite the challenge. For Cindy Carey, she met the challenge with a remodel that combined her kitchen, dining, and living room into one ginormous great room — long before the Property Brothers made open floor plans de rigueur. (See the photo at the top of this article.)

And more than 20 years later, she’s still in love.

“I love the big open room,” she says. “Everyone loves it. We’re able to entertain a lot of people.”

Carey often plays host for the holidays, and keeping the dining room as-is would have meant stuffing 26 people into one small room — or assigning everyone to different tables in separate rooms. Now, they’ve got elbow room to spare.

“Everyone may not be seated in a straight row, but we can all sit down and eat dinner,” Carey says.

A consummate entertainer, Carey regularly hosts employee holiday parties for her construction company. For this year’s party, she fit about 40 guests and a strolling magician into the room, no squishing required.

Carey says visitors are often astounded by the room’s size, considering its location — a tract home in the Bay Area.

“People don’t know how big it is until we get inside,” Carey says. “We get a lot of people that never knew this room could be back here.”

Lasting Love Lesson #3: What’s your lifestyle? Pick a project that enhances it.

Start by controlling light, sound, and temperature.

When it comes to redecorating, our energy and budget often get funneled into “public” parts of the home, such as the kitchen and bathrooms. Private spaces like the master bedroom rarely get as much love or money. After all, it’s better to spend on rooms guests will actually see, right?

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than one-third of adults in the U.S. aren’t getting enough sleep, which can impact our moods, mental clarity, and overall health. With our days so full of demands and external stressors, it’s time we turn our attention to the room where we rejuvenate and recover.

Here are five simple ways to add charm and comfort to the coziest room of the house — and improve your chances for a restful start to the day.

#1 Choose a Soothing Paint Color

While it may seem like a good idea to paint the bedroom your favorite sunny yellow, color experts don’t agree. Warmer tones such as yellow, orange, and red are said to be energizing and may even irritate the eye. That doesn’t exactly bode well for those of us trying to keep our eyes closed. 

Consider colors with a cooler tone, such as whites, taupes, grays, blues, and soft greens. Remember to use a low-VOC paint to reduce toxins in your indoor environment. VOCs — or volatile organic compounds — are in vapors emitted from many everyday household products, like paint and cleaning chemicals.

#2 Hang Blackout Curtains or Layered Window Treatments

Having a bright and airy bedroom is often the picture we have in our minds, but the reality of light pouring into our windows is less than ideal for actually getting rest (or getting up in the morning without being blinded by sunlight).

Blackout curtains not only help block light when you hit the snooze button, but many also offer a thermal panel on the back, which helps prevent temperature fluctuations in the middle of the night.

If blackout curtains aren’t your thing, you can also add multiple forms of window treatments, such as shades and curtains, to help control the amount of light.

#3 Eliminate Clutter and Electronics

Have you ever decluttered a space and felt instantly lighter, as though a weight had been lifted off your shoulders? If you’ve never felt the peace that comes along with a tidy and organized room, focus on having only the essentials you need in your bedroom for a good night’s sleep.

Remove distractions, including electronics (their blue light is known to ward off sleep), and anything that’s simply taking up space in the room.

#4 Install a Stylish Ceiling Fan

When designing a stylish master bedroom, your first instinct might be to splurge on a luxe-looking light fixture. However, unlike a light, a ceiling fan (with or without a light) enhances restfulness.

They boast a soft white noise and help control your body temperature during sleep, both by cooling you in the summer and helping push down warm air in the winter. (Just be sure to switch the fan’s direction between seasons.)

Plus, there are more stylish designs on the market than ever before!