A slow economy is making it easier to nail down a contractor for home improvement jobs these days. (Photo: iStockphoto)

If you haven’t done any remodeling yet this year, now may be the time. The Wall Street Journal reports that thanks to the economic downturn and slow housing market, homeowners are paying as much as 20 percent less for home improvement projects, compared to what the same projects would have cost them a few years ago …Full Story

With a simple handshake and an agreement to exchange services, you can improve your home without spending cash. (Photo: iStockphoto)

My fellow blogger, Heather Boerner, recently wrote a story for Cyberhomes about how in today's slow economy, some people are bartering for home services …Full Story

Sunets and beaches invoke some of my most favorite memories. (Photo: iStockphoto.com)

It wasn’t what she thought she’d come up with, but a kitchen with a skylight and a couch under it to stare up at the passing clouds and daydream was exactly what Toby Israel ended up with in her New Jersey home …Full Story

My home office before and after I redecorated.

 Throughout this week, the Cyberhomes bloggers will turn our attention to some recent home improvement projects we've accomplished. Read on and let us know what you think!

Once the ceiling and the walls were finished in my home office renovation, it was time to tackle the part of the job I looked forward to and dreaded the most -- ripping out the disgusting carpet …Full Story

Throughout this week, the Cyberhomes bloggers will turn our attention to some recent home improvement projects we've accomplished. Read on and let us know what you think!

My home office before and after remodeling.

As my younger daughter headed off to college, my response to my impending empty nest was to re-feather it. After redecorating the master bedroom and all the bathrooms, I was ready to tackle my office …Full Story

The infamous pink geese. (Photo: www.hgtv.com/designstar)

Design Star may be over, but some of the design choices live on as shining examples of beautiful, translatable design. Here are our favorites. Feel free to chime in with your own in the comments …Full Story

Lonni's room and Tiffani Thiessen's reaction. (Photo: hgtv.com/designstar)

Saved By the Bell. Beverly Hills, 90210. The D List. It's not exactly Hollywood royalty, but for this week's episode of Design Star, it'll do. The remaining three designers get a shot at designing a room for (minor) celebrity clients. But will their designs be decidedly D list, too? We’ll see …Full Story

Jason's Pretty Princess room, such as it is. (Photo: hgtv.com/designstar)

Craft store explosions, pretty pretty princess dreck and a Technicolor eco-abode: Just three questionable rooms created by the nervous last five designers standing on Design Star …Full Story

Having window treatments installed by pros can get expensive. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Upgrading a home can be difficult -- and expensive -- if you have absolutely no do-it-yourself skills. I fall into that category.

Recently, while vacuuming, I accidentally caught our window treatments in the vacuum, causing the drapes and the curtain rod to come crashing down. (A testament to my klutziness, I'd say.) So now, I am hoping to put in new window treatments, but am thinking about replacing the long draperies that I had with faux wood blinds, with the hope that they will let in more light. (When the draperies came down, I noticed that the room is now a lot brighter than it once was.) …Full Story

Team Olson's beige-free room. (Photo: www.hgtv.com/designstar)

It’s the battle of hubris this week on Design Star. No, technically, the six remaining designers haven’t been asked to design a room on the theme of "pride comes before a fall." (Though wouldn’t that have been fun?) But that shortcoming did cause two designers to make a donkey’s behind of themselves, and led the judges to send one of the competition’s brightest stars home this week …Full Story