Thomas J. Story

More and more people in the U.S. have begun to celebrate Halloween by decorating their home with a Halloween theme in the month of October. Whether you put a carved pumpkin in the window or go all out and create your own haunted house, we think you’ll agree that Halloween decorations are a great way to get into the “spirit” of the holiday.

Sunset Magazine has some great ideas for Halloween yard decorations. You can also find some spooky and fun ideas in this YouTube video.

Over the past few decades, wooden floors have again become popular.  A well-maintained wooden floor is easier to take care of than carpet and can be the focal point of a room or entranceway.  Many owners of older homes have been surprised to find a beautiful wooden floor underneath the carpeting.  In this case, the floor may look well worn but can look as good as new after refinishing.

Refinishing an older wooden floor is a challenging task, but the results are worth the effort. 

These are the steps required to refinish a wooden floor:

To find out more about refinishing wooden floors, see this video on the Better Homes and Gardens website.

During the fall, orange seems to be everywhere.  If you love the warmth of orange, you may want to consider it for home décor.  Not everyone thinks of orange as an ideal color for home decorating, but using touches of orange is a great way to add energy to a living space.  Besides brightening a room that has limited natural light, it can make smaller rooms look larger. 

If you’re not sure whether you’ll like orange in your home, begin with a few accent pieces like pillows.  Or you can combine it with a complementary shade of blue to create a balance of cool and warm colors.

Visit the HGTV website to see some inspiring rooms that have been decorated with orange.

It’s been called a man cave, man space or mantuary. It’s the room every guy needs — a private space where he can hang out with friends and indulge his passions. Whether it’s a home theater perfect for watching football, a private pub or a soundproofed room where he can blast his favorite rock n roll, a well-designed man cave will become a man’s favorite room.

Man caves are becoming so popular that the DIY Network has dedicated an entire series to designing and building Man Caves. Find out more about the Man Caves show on the DIY Network website.