But solid hardwood does have its downsides. One notable drawback is that it transmits sound vibration. Hardwood is dense but often it is not quite dense enough to absorb all of the vibration found in a typical home. In a multi-story house, it is common to hear the footfall of people walking overhead on hardwood floors, especially when those people are wearing heels. (Softwoods may be better choices for upstairs levels of homes....

My kids and I are gamers. Not the kind who put on headsets and sit in front of a glowing screen. Instead, we prefer the ones in cardboard boxes. We have a solid stack of reliable games, but we recently wanted to try something new and turned to Catan. Released in 1995 by Klaus Teuber in Germany, Catan is the name of the fictional island on which the whole game is played....

Game night is one of my family’s most treasured traditions, but with five kids and endless distractions, it’s not always easy to set aside the time. This makes it especially important to choose a board game that’s entertaining enough to keep everyone engaged. Enter Codenames, a spy-themed word game. Read on to see if the family-friendly activity was able to successfully infiltrate our game night rotation. Design: Sleek, sturdy cards The cards used in Codenames are simple but elegantly designed....

In their native habitat, coffee plants grow into medium-sized trees. But growers regularly prune the plants to be a more manageable size, especially when the plants are grown indoors. (Note that you can’t grow coffee plants from the beans you buy in a store; those have been treated and roasted and will not sprout.) Even though coffee plants are vigorous growers, it will typically take a few years before your plant produces flowers and subsequent fruits....

With vessel sinks, personal preferences do vary and opinions can be divided. Some like the sleek, modern, and highly unusual look, while others may prefer the traditional look of an embedded sink. Some may like vessel sinks for their easy maintenance and cleaning, while others may find them inconvenient because they require the use of a separate faucet and because the countertop is more difficult to clean. What a Vessel Sink Is A vessel sink is a basin that sits on top of a bathroom vanity or counter, rather than being inset like traditional drop-in or under-mount sinks....

Use Your Fireplace Correctly Nothing says warm and cozy like snuggling next to a roaring fire. A traditional open box, wood-burning fireplace draws air from inside the home and can make the room with the fireplace feel drafty. You can prevent this draft by closing off surrounding doors. Before you use your wood-burning fireplace for the winter it’s a smart idea to have a professional chimney sweeper clean the inside and inspect the exterior of the chimney for cracks or damage....

Everyone’s idea of a romantic space is different, but the most common goal is creating a gorgeous bedroom that feels like a retreat. ​Creating a romantic bedroom doesn’t require a lot of money or time. You can create a special space with as little or as much effort as you’re comfortable with. A totally over-the-top romantic bedroom will require more work, but these basic bedroom color decorating tips are all you’ll need to get started....

We recently connected with designers Sarah Stacey and Killy Scheer who told us which shades they see dominating in the coming year—and why moody hues will be majorly trending. “We’ve found that smaller spaces, such as a closet or long hallway, can be a great place to test your moody palette without taking on too much,” she says. “I love a mix of deep blues and grays with a pop of red, green, and black....

IGUs: What You Need to Know Forget the notion of glaziers setting individual panes of glass in a window frame. That model no longer applies. You might be surprised to learn that what we call “window glass” is an assembly of several parts called the IGU. Parts are assembled in a factory—the idea was patented in 1865—as a single unit. Large manufacturers such as Cardinal, Saint-Gobain, or Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries supply IGUs to window manufacturers such as Pella, Andersen, and Marvin....

One problem: they tend to be fairly unattractive. Little thought is given to aesthetics when manufacturing these powder-coated steel tubes; function is the only thing in mind. Are there alternatives that look better and maybe even work better? Downspout alternatives such as rain chains, inverted bells, and cups direct water in a more or less straight line to the ground or collection container. Some are literally chains. Others are a series of linked vertical cups, performing the same function as the chain-style ones....

The fact is that many homeowners new to the constraints of small-yard design make the mistake of planting a specimen that is too big for their landscapes. The result of their poor selection is that the plant quickly outgrows its space, necessitating its removal after only a short period of time in the ground. A wiser choice is to purchase a more appropriately sized specimen. The popular ‘Gnom’ cultivar (Pinus mugo ‘Gnom’) reaches only 2 feet in height and about 4 feet in width and has a low, mounding habit....

If you don’t know how to get rid of that thirsty patch of lawn or aren’t sure what to replace it with, now may be the time to make a change, before water restrictions are imposed. Even if the region receives rainfall to get it out of its current drought, the area still needs to be landscaped with drought-tolerant plants. Consider our suggestions for lawn alternatives—all with low maintenance and conserving water in mind....

Engineered wood flooring looks very similar on the surface, but it is made from a relatively thin layer of hardwood bonded over a substrate of high-quality plywood. Engineered flooring is somewhat less expensive than solid hardwood, but most types can be sanded and refinished only once or twice since the surface hardwood layer is relatively thin. If you’re looking for the disadvantages of engineered wood flooring or determining which is better, there is no clear advantage to one form of wood flooring over the other....

Most Epimedium plants have heart-shaped or arrow-shaped leaves with red markings. They produce dainty flowers in the spring, each with four petals. The flowers grow on arching leafless stems and appear to hover above the plant, mimicking butterfly wings. They can be seen in red, pink, purple, white, yellow, and orange and may bear a resemblance to orchid blossoms at first glance. Some herb species within the Epimedum genus have been used in Chinese traditional medicine, but research into the medicinal properties of this plant is limited....

Whether you attend the funeral or not, you may still want to give someone a condolence gift to let someone know you are thinking of them. It doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, sometimes the smaller, more thought-out gifts or gifts of service are the most appropriate. Think about the occasion and sensibilities to avoid appearing thoughtless about a loved one’s grief. Whether or not you decide to send a gift, a sympathy card is a great option as well to show you care....

For all of the frustration experienced in February, gardeners can take solace in the fact that the first signs that spring are on the way. Study these regional tips for gardening in February, but do take any tip with a grain of salt, considering how unpredictable the weather is likely to be.​ All Regions If you have been storing bulbs, corms, or tubers, continue to check them to make sure that they are neither rotting nor totally drying out....

As an incentive to purchase a home, builders would give out free books of home plans to prospective buyers. These books were lavishly illustrated, extensive, and had both attractive exterior views of the houses and correlating detailed floor layouts. Another avenue for free house plans: house plans publishers. Companies in this niche industry would hire architects and artists to mock up dream homes and sell the plans by mail order....

Rabbit Repellents It would be nice if we could just figure out what rabbits avoid and place that throughout our yards. Repellents only work part of the time. If an animal is hungry or even too young to know better, it will munch on anything. However rabbits are somewhat picky, especially about a scent, and repellents can be quite effective. Repellents will need to be applied repeatedly throughout the growing season, especially after a rain or following significant new plant growth....