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Lowering the cost of cabinets means more money to spend on flooring, appliances, countertops, and wall treatments. An important way to do this is by foregoing custom-built cabinets in favor of factory-made cabinets. Both ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets, as well as preassembled factory cabinets, are available. Both types of cabinets are substantially more affordable than custom-built cabinetry. Basic Kitchen Cabinet Prices On the low end, expect to pay between $1,600 and $4,500 on a basic 10-by-10-foot kitchen for RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets or preassembled cabinets, shipped and delivered to your door or to the nearest shipping and receiving facility....

If your home has two living spaces and you’re trying to figure out the best way to use them, understanding what defines a living room and a family room can definitely help. Here is a breakdown of each space and what they are traditionally used for. What Is a Family Room? When you think “family room,” you typically think of a casual space where you spend the majority of your time....

Grow weigela in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 to 8, in a location with well-drained soil and full sun. Suited to zones 3 to 7, ninebark adapts to a variety of conditions. It performs best in full sun (in the north) and in soil with good drainage. Another fall-foliage standout and late-spring bloomer, this 4-by-4-foot shrub is suited to zones 5 to 9. Like ninebark, it tolerates an array of growing conditions, but, to be on the safe side, improve its soil’s drainage with soil amendments....

Unless your home is custom built, stairs fall within general size standards. Keep in mind that building codes vary from region to region, so you may encounter sizes slightly different than those mentioned below. Be sure to measure carefully! Stairs come in different shapes, sizes, and configurations. Here are the different types of stairs typically found in a home: Box Stair A box stair is straight, has no railing posts, and is closed in on all sides....

Just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland, there’s a place called East Lothian. Along with castle ruins and lush green hills, you’ll also find a small but mighty woodworking and furniture-making community. This is largely thanks to the locally based Chippendale International School of Furniture, which is where our latest Against the Grain woodworker, Fiona Gilfillan, got her start. We recently connected with the founder of Feemade to discuss everything she loves about woodworking and her chosen path to create....

In This Episode The first plant we get a close look at is the Dracaena trifasciata ‘Bantel’s Sensation’ which has stunning foliage—some patterned and some stripey. Next up MissLeidy tells us that the plant she looks like the most is the Calathea Makoyana (and it’s one of the lushest calathea we’ve seen). She’s lays out all the ways they are similar: “Because one, she’s gorgeous. Two, she’s perfect. Three, she’s impeccable....

But, if there’s one thing that Ikea is known for, it’s confusing building instructions, lots of steps, and hours upon hours spent trying to build one piece. So, while you might save money purchasing the pieces, factor in your sweat equity, and, if your DIY skills are not up to snuff, you’ll need to hire someone to build and install it for you. Ikea cabinets are solid and function well—they fit the bill if budget is your primary consideration....

DIY Painting Furniture To paint furniture yourself, find a well-ventilated space. Depending on your level of experience, you may find that this can be easy and fun or you might realize that the money you pay for a professional to do the job is worth the investment. First, you will need to remove old paint or finishes. This can require a heat gun, scrapers, paint stripper, and sandpaper. You will need safety equipment including thick rubber gloves, safety glasses, and a breathing respirator....

Basic Information for All Invitations There are some things that all invitations should include. You’ll want to let your guests know the purpose of the event (if there is one), the time (start and end), the place, special instructions (for example, costume party), and style (formal or casual). You should also ask your guests to RSVP so you are better able to plan. Here are some other things you may want to include in your invitation:...

Growers use an exacting process of light and darkness control to trigger bracts to color up, so what you see at the garden center is what you get. The flower clusters in the center of the bracts should have little or no pollen showing to guarantee the longest lasting flowers. If you aren’t sure which poinsettia varieties to buy to fill up your rack, consult the National Poinsettia Cultivar Trials....

Propagating a Bromeliad Pup After a bract is dead, the mother plant will send out a series of offsets, or bromeliad pups, from the base of the plant. They’ll look like tiny versions of the mother plant emerging from between the mother plant’s bigger leaves. Use these pups to propagate your bromeliad once they’ve reached 6 inches in height. To uproot a pup, use your hands and firmly grip both the mother and the pup and gently pull them apart to separate them or use a sharp shovel, long knife, or small saw....

These tiles can come in virtually any size and are available in standard as small as 1/2 by 1/2 inch. Squares and rectangles are the most common shapes, but specialty tiles come in a variety of forms. Some installations will combine glass mosaics with other types of tiles, such as metal or stone, using the glass as accent pieces. Advantages Elegant design: Probably the biggest benefit of using mosaic glass in a flooring application is the beauty that can be achieved with a proper installation....

Purple coneflower, or Echinacea purpurea, is by far the most popular variety of coneflower. It has a fibrous root system, rather than the long taproot and woody crown found in other native species, making it more adaptable to garden conditions, and more forgiving of dividing and transplanting. Coneflower’s daisy-like booms are actually made up of several small flowers, with petals that are sterile to lure insects toward the many fertile flowers in the central disk or cone....

Fast Facts Scientific Name: Loxia curvirostraCommon Name: Red Crossbill, Common Crossbill, CrossbillLifespan: 8-10 yearsSize: 5.5-7.5 inchesWeight: 1.4 ouncesWingspan: 10-11 inchesConservation Status: Least concern Red Crossbill Identification These large finches have a stocky build and a proportionally large head with a thick neck. Males are brick red or red-orange with a gray wash on the lores and auriculars, and some gray may show on the flanks. The wings are black and the notched tail is black-brown....

Several dogwood species have cultivars with the “red-twig” label as part of the common name. Depending on the variety, these shrubs bear either dark green or variegated leaves (greenish-gray with a white edge) and small white flowers that form in flat clusters. The flowers are succeeded by white berries with hints of blue and green. The fall foliage can pick up hints of rose or gold, but you will be glad that the foliage is deciduous, as the attractive red bark isn’t fully visible until the leaves fall....