Construction is not a nice sound early in the morning -- or at any time. (Photo: iStockphoto)

There’s nothing like waking up to a noise so loud that your house actually shakes. That happened to me this morning, and it has happened, on and off, for the past three months.

My neighbors across the street, you see, are renovating their house. Scratch that: They aren’t just renovating, they’re tearing it down to the studs and starting over …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

Design disasters can wreck a room. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Recently, I wrote about the design lessons to take from the putative design stars. This week? It’s all about the red flags, warnings and downright mess-ups.

Without further ado: The Design Stars’ mistakes and how you can avoid them. …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

Could the Chinese drywall in so many American homes be toxic? (Photo: iStockphoto)

I spend a lot of time scanning news related to home building, so I’d seen plenty of stories about Chinese drywall in the last several months. I didn’t pay much attention to them, though. I figured it was another tariff dispute, a shortage here because the Chinese had bought up all the drywall, or U.S. suppliers complaining about the Chinese flooding the market with cheap product …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

The banal yard makeover on Design Star. (Photo: www.hgtv.com/designstar)

Have you ever set out to improve your home and ended up messing up your relationship?

Sure you have. The snits, the accusations, the cowardly passing off of blame, the cost overruns…

Yep, this week Design Star had it all, as the four remaining designers set out to transform a giant and empty back yard into a Zen modern escape …Full Story

Team Lang's Bad News Bears garage. (Photo: www.hgtv.com/designstar)

This week’s Design Star had all the hallmarks of really good—or really horrible—reality TV. People were throwing their teammates under the bus left and right. There was the confused, the tacky, the possibly homophobic and some great calls by the judges …Full Story

Ah, home improvement reality TV. How you lull me in with the promise of home makeover magic, and hold my attention with an hour of snarky remarks, terrible designs and cat fights. Right now, HGTV is my favorite on this front. I made sure to catch HGTV’s Showdown, Sunday nights, for the side-by-side comparisons of what second-rung design show stars could do to bonus rooms and yards in four hours. I cheered when on-the-brink homeowners Fabian and Lisa were able to save their home from foreclosure by out-designing their neighbors on HGTV’s $250,000 Challenge. And don’t even get me started on the fun of Rate My Space. …Full Story