Home Care

12 Simple Steps to Creating a Space That's Truly Yours

As part of our comprehensive HomeSkills DIY series, HomeSkills: Ceramic Tile turns each of your bland surfaces into a blank canvas. To many homeowners, laying tile sounds like a recipe for stress, physical injury, artistic embarrassment, or all of the above. But we'll let you in on a secret: with some basic knowledge and a little persistence, anyone can do it--and you'll feel especially proud when you tally up the money you just saved by doing it yourself. With HomeSkills: Ceramic Tile, you'll receive expert instruction in the fundamentals of tiling your living space. Through user-friendly project descriptions and vivid how-to photography, you'll learn all the necessary tiling skills in a concise, accessible way: designing your layout and selecting the perfect tiles, handling and cutting them properly, working with grouts and adhesives, and putting the finishing touches on a confident installation. You'll be able to tackle any surface, from floors and walls to countertops and backsplashes, and at any pace you prefer--take it easy and get it just right over time or blast away and transform an entire room in an afternoon. So set your hesitations aside. HomeSkills: Ceramic Tile is your one-stop DIY guide to the custom tile job you never thought you could pull off. Check out our five other HomeSkills guides on carpentry, deck building, landscaping, plumbing, and wiring.

In one imaginative and beautifully presented volume, the genius of House Beautiful unfolds - in a class that teaches the eye to see and understand decor in an inspiring new way. Take a class with House Beautiful's teachers! All the design know-how anyone needs to decorate a new home or redo an old house is right in this one-stop, all encompassing, lushly photographed, and brilliantly conceived volume. Everything from wonderful home basics and working with space to the art of colour and perfect patterns to the absolute essentials for floors, windows, walls, and lighting is here. In addition to presenting fundamental decorating principles, this unequalled reference looks at different styles, such as Country, Modern, and Seaside; suggests ways of adding drama to a space or period grandeur; and leads you on an inspirational idea-filled walk through the house, analysing options for every room.