The island has become a fundamental part of the modern kitchen, but size limitations mean some kitchens cannot accommodate one. When an island isn’t feasible, a peninsula can be a great alternative.

While peninsulas limit access to a kitchen as compared to islands that have circular flow, peninsulas can be attractive and functional. Floorplan variations are many, but here are few especially helpful layouts.

Parallel counters. This small kitchen has a peninsula directly across from and parallel to a wall full of cabinets, coming from one of the perpendicular walls. Across the peninsula counter from the sink are bar stools pulled up to the counter-bar.

The U-shaped kitchen. This kitchen has a long counter, cabinets and stove top along one wall, and another counter, sink and dishwasher on the opposite wall. The peninsula comes off of one end of either counter, creating a third side to the kitchen, partially enclosing it, but with an opening for access.

Seating at a peninsula. Peninsulas are a great place to serve food from the kitchen to satellite eating areas via the counter. Opposite the kitchen side of the peninsula counter is a common place to have bar stools for eating. You might even have a two-tiered counter and bar.

A big no-no. Resist the urge to add “floating” cabinets above a peninsula to solve storage problems in a small kitchen. While gaining cabinet space, you also create a closed-in feel to the kitchen.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

BY STACY GENOVESE AND BRIGITT EARLEY

Does your space feel a little... drab? Switching up your wall color in a trendy shade is the one of the quickest ways to rehab a tired space. And since it's a project most homeowners can tackle themselves, it's one of the most affordable, too.

But as easy as painting sounds, there are some tricks to the trade. Take prep work, for example. If you skip this important step, you could end up with a real problem on your hands — an undercoat that shows through or peeling paint. If you’re painting latex over oil, for example, you’ll likely get cracking, says Rachel Rothman, chief technologist and director of engineering at the Good Housekeeping Institute. These types of mistakes not only take time to remedy, but can also cost a significant amount of money if you have to hire a professional to fix your errors.

Don't fret, though: As long as you're using the right supplies and have a handle on the basics, you'll be painting like a pro in no time at all. Here, we'll break it all down for you, covering everything from supplies, to necessary prep, to rolling evenly, and even cleaning your brushes so you can move on to the next project on your list. Follow these tips for professional-looking results:

1. Make a plan.

Before you ever pick up a paint brush, you need a plan of attack. Think of it sort of like cooking: You want to read the recipe all the way through before you start blindly throwing ingredients into the pot, otherwise, you might get halfway through and realize you're missing an important component.

Look up: Does the ceiling need a refresh, too? What about the trim? Consider your options on the walls as well. Will you be using one color — or do you want to try painting with two colors (an accent wall, perhaps)?

2. Select the perfect color.

When it comes to paint shades, the options are boundless. It's a fortunate problem: While you'll inevitably find just what your'e looking for, landing on the right hue can be quite the process. To guide your search, start by thinking about what you ultimately want. Do you envision a warm or a cool shade? Does your space warrant a bold color, or would a neutral be more appropriate? Once you have a general idea of the direction you want to go in, you can begin sifting through paint chips.

But don't rely on the little square to make a final decision: Once on the wall, paint can look very different than it does on the sample card! Colors often look brighter once on the wall, and the light in your room can have a dramatic impact on the way the color reads. Pick a few finalists, then purchase sample cans.

3. Paint a sample swatch.

Once you have sample cans in hand, paint swatches on the wall. To give you a good idea of how the color will look in your space, paint two coats of color in a 12-inch-by-12-inch square. If your room has both sunny and shady spots, it's smart to put swatches in both areas, as this can affect the final look.

Alternatively, you can paint two coats onto a foam board (available at any craft or office supply store) and tape it to the wall. This is a great option for those who don't intend to get started right away, as you won't have to live with random color streaks on your walls.

Pro tip: Use an inexpensive foam brush for this type of sample painting. This way, you won't dirty a ton of brushes or waste money.

4. Calculate how much paint you need.

When determining how much paint to buy, many retailers have helpful calculators you can use. Always double check packaging, but in general, a gallon is roughly good for 250 to 400 square feet, says Rothman. And don't forget: You'll need a little extra for touch-ups and mistakes.

5. Gather the right materials.

Though the surface and size of what your painting will directly influence the exact list of supplies you need, it's a good idea to stock your toolkit with some combination of the following items:

• Painter's tape
• Drop cloths
• Paint brushes (both angled and straight)
• Paint roller
• Paint tray
• Stir stick
• Paint

Other worthy investments: An extension pole, so you can stash away the ladder after the edging step; a paint-can opener; and a pour spout to lessen mess.

6. Prep the room for painting.

• First, dry-dust the walls floor to ceiling and scrub any extra-grimy parts with a wet sponge or cloth; paint won't adhere as well to a dirty surface (think fingerprints, soot, dust, cobwebs). Let dry before you paint.

• Protect the floor and any furniture you can't (or don't want to) move, from paint splatters and spills. For the floor, choose fabric drop cloths instead of plastic ones, as plastic can be slick under your feet or, worse, the ladder.

• Remove outlet and light switch plates and tape around any areas you don't want painted (such as moldings, baseboards, or window frames) with painter's masking tape or Frog Tape. The Good Housekeeping Institute tried the latter on a smooth wall and found that it makes a crisp line and doesn't let paint bleed through.

7. Prime the wall (or don't with our handy trick).

A bit of a hinderance when you're trying to paint a room in one day: Painting over a dark wall with a light color (or covering stains) requires a coat of primer and two coats of paint — and at least six hours of drying time. (If you’re in a super humid room or painting the exterior on a humid day it will take a much longer, notes Rothman.)

That's why GHI recommends Benjamin Moore Aura, a self-priming paint (it's a cost-effective option if you were planning on buying primer). Going from light to light? You can get away with two coats of good-quality regular paint.

8. Mix the paint.

Though the store generally shakes the paint for you, a decent stir will ensure your paint is properly mixed. This is particularly important if the can has been sitting on a shelf for any length of time. Though an optional step, you can also strain the paint, says Rothman. "It’s easier to get rid of impurities from the paint can, rather than having them on your wall and having to fix it later."

9. Get rolling!

Now you're ready for the main event. If you're painting a room with two colors — stripes, for example — start with the lighter color first, says Rothman. Once it’s dry, run painter’s tape over the divider, then paint the darker color.

If you're painting a room one color, here's how with a roller and a brush, according to the pros:

• Use an angled brush or a sponge tool to "cut in," or paint a two-inch swath around the edges of woodwork and the ceiling. (Don't forget: These areas should be taped off, as explained in step five.)
• Grab your paint tray and a roller. Use 1/4-inch nap for smooth surfaces, 3/8-inch nap for semi-smooth, or 5/8-inch nap for rough — the wrong tool will apply too much or too little paint. If using a latex paint, pre-wet the roller first, says Rothman.
• Fill the well of the paint tray about ¼ of the way. Then, when loading the paint, roll the roller back and forth in the well until it is uniformly covered. Finally, move the roller back and forth in the upper portion to remove any excess.
• Fill in the central unpainted space using the roller. Paint the wall in overlapping W- or M-shaped strokes for the most even paint distribution.
• Let the first coat dry at least a couple of hours, then coat again. Between coats, cover the tray and brush with plastic wrap touching the paint surface, and refrigerate.

10. Finish and clean up.

• Rinse your paintbrush and roller (if you don't toss it) under a faucet until the water runs clear.
• Decant the tray's leftover paint back into the can; seal the can tightly by placing a paper towel over the lid and tapping the lid edges with a hammer. Rinse the tray.
• Once the brush's bristles are totally dry, slip the brush back into its original paper wrapper to keep the bristles from fanning out, or try this DIY fix: Fold a thick piece of paper around the bristles; tape to secure.
• Remove masking tape before you call it a night, pulling it off at a 45-degree angle to avoid tearing the finish.

It’s easy to go overboard when decorating kids’ rooms. It’s so tempting to go all-in with a theme of trucks or unicorns or a much-loved superhero. But what happens when the child moves on to a new favorite? Here’s how to indulge your child’s intense, but changing, interests without breaking the budget.

Color Schemes

Start with a neutral color scheme with one or two accent colors that you and your child agree on. Neutral colors also work best when selling, meaning one less room to repaint for staging purposes.

Form a Base

With your color scheme settled and walls painted, shop with your child to choose a comforter and window treatments. This will form a solid foundation for your kid’s room. If chosen in a neutral palette, these items can work with many different accent colors or themes. Investing in the larger, more costly items – instead of changing them every time – will save you money in the long run.

How to Personalize a Kids’ Rooms

Use sheets, bed skirt, throw blankets, and pillows in bright, contrasting colors — or favorite characters — to coordinate with the comforter and curtains. Bedside tables and desks can be painted to match the accent colors.

Artwork

Framing and hanging your child’s artwork is a great way to show off his or her personality and achieve a customized look. For the frames, choose one style or finish for consistency, allowing the artwork to take center stage.

Splurges

For larger ticket items, such as lighting and rugs, shop around to get the best prices, and try to balance style with practicality. Choose a lighting fixture that will coordinate with different décor styles. For rugs, keep to your neutral theme but perhaps add a pattern for interest.

Helping with Organization

Children need systems to keep their toys, games, books, and other belongings neat and organized. Bookcases with colorful baskets or bins help with easy clean-up and provide another place for your child to have a say in color, pattern, and style. Replacing baskets with a different look is inexpensive.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

Does your otherwise attractive home have an unsightly foundation wall that spoils its curb appeal? Here are five ways to make that ugly wall disappear.

1. Paint it. Typically, the foundation wall has a thin veneer of concrete mortar spread over it similar to stucco, for a smoother cosmetic look. Choose a masonry paint that works with the color of your home’s siding and paint that concrete veneer. No one will be able to tell where the siding stops and the foundation begins.

2. Stucco it. If the foundation wall doesn’t have a cosmetic veneer, add a stucco concrete coating and then paint it to go with the color of the masonry or plank siding. 

3. Stone and brick veneer. This is perhaps the most handsome option of all. There are stone or brick veneer panels that attach with mortar to the foundation sides. You may not be able to precisely match your home’s existing stone siding, but you can come close. Once again, it will be difficult to tell where the siding ends and the foundation begins.

4. Lay down a rock or mulch bed.  If the foundation to be covered is no more than a couple of feet, consider turning over the soil in front, laying down a weed barrier, then placing a bedding of river rock or mulch. It is important that the ground and bedding slope down and away from the house so that water does not puddle against the foundation during heavy rain. Water should always flow away from the foundation.

5. Plantscaping. The simplest solution is to design and install a flowerbed containing gorgeous bushes and bedding plants. Choose bushes that will have thick foliage and grow to a height sufficient to cover the foundation. Place them the recommended distance apart so they will grow together for uniform coverage. Place blooming ground cover plants in front, adding color while filling in gaps at the bottom of the bushes.

If you’re a homeowner, the more you know about your house and its components, the better you can care for your investment. A roof provides one of humanity’s most basic needs: shelter. Here’s a quick primer on roof structure, styles, and materials.

Basic roof structure

The framing boards that form the pitch of a roof are called rafters. The base ends of those boards rest on 2” x 8” or 2”x 10” boards called joists, which in turn rest on top of exterior and interior walls. Sheets of thermal board, plywood or another type of sheet lumber called OSB are nailed on top of these boards to form a covering. This layer is called roof decking. A waterproof fabric material called a vapor barrier, which repels water that may leak through the shingles is laid atop the decking. The final layer, visible from the exterior, is shingles, tiles or metal.

Inside a home’s attic, on the underside of the deck, there may be an insulating thermal coating called a radiant barrier. If your home is older, this may have been added later, but today thermal decking used in new construction has radiant insulating material on its underside.

The roofline you love

The look of the roof contributes a lot to the appeal of a house. There are styles of roofs for everyone’s taste, both for the entire house and for any dormers on the roof. Here are some of the most popular.

• A gable roof is peaked with two sides that are of equal height and upward slope.
• A hip roof has pitch on each side and on the ends of the house. All four sides slope upward. A house can have a main roof that is not hipped but dormers that are.
• Gambrel roofs evoke the shape of a barn. These roofs slope down from the peak on two sides, then slope again at a steeper pitch.
• Flat roofs need no explanation but are popular with some architectural styles.

Dormers can add interest to long expanses of roof. Perhaps the most popular dormer is the classic gable dormer, which rises directly from the main roof at a right angle, with a peaked roof of its own of equal height and slope on each side. An arched or eyebrow dormer has a long, gently arched roof.

Roofing materials

There are many types of roofing materials and many new innovations introduced in recent years.

• Asphalt shingles have been almost ubiquitous for decades because they are durable, come in many color choices, and are effective in climate conditions everywhere. Asphalt shingle roofs last about 20 years.
• Slate and ceramic tile roofs are beautiful, last many decades, and are suitable for warm climates. You often see them in homes in the southwestern U.S. and California. They are heavy, and the roof framing that supports them must be stronger than most of the other roof structure.
• The classic metal roof is laid in large, overlapping sheets, although In recent years metal has been fashioned to mimic slate and ceramic tiles. Metal roofs can last more than 50 years. Two downsides to metal roofs are that hail may dent them and they are noisy during heavy rain (although some people like this feature).
• You don’t have to settle for the stereotypical large solar panels if you want to be environmentally friendly and save on electricity costs. Solar panels can now be made to look like tile that can be used as roofing.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

Whether you are single, a couple or a family with kids, living in a small space means adapting to tight quarters. Now add a dog, a cat or both, and the space seems even smaller. How can you live harmoniously with pets in small spaces?

Be very practical

Focus on having just enough furnishings. Save the statuary or other accessories that take floor space for a future, more spacious setting. For now, make life with pets in a limited area easier by focusing only on seating, dining, sleeping and storage that use the minimum floor space necessary. Look for furniture that can do double duty, such as cabinets that can house dog beds or litter boxes.

Go up, not out

Make use of shelving to take items off the floor. Use baskets in shelving spaces to store pet toys, supplies and even pet beds. Your cat might like to sleep up high on a shelf. Hanging baskets can also be used for the same purposes and require no floor space.

Creative use of small spaces

Look for clever places to keep bowls, litter boxes and bedding if you live with pets in small spaces. How about a television cabinet fitted with a doggie door and his bed inside? Or the same space under a stairway or inside a bedroom nightstand?

A low drawer can house food and water bowls and be tucked out of sight afterward. A cabinet with a pet door can open to the litter box. Laundry spaces often provide the best opportunities to keep pet accommodations away from actual living areas. Just make sure your pets always have access to drinking water, their beds and, if you have cats, a litter box.

If you have more than one pet, keep in mind that you may need two feeding spots to prevent rival hostilities.

The great outdoors

Install a pet door on the back door to a patio, deck or balcony so that your fur baby can spend time enjoying fresh air while you have time to yourself. Once again, be practical in your furnishings if the outdoor space is as tight as indoors. Limit yourself to seating, a grill and a table. Provide a water bowl, but not a feeding bowl, as food outside invites unwanted visitors like raccoons.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.

It makes sense that temperatures might affect outdoor appliances, but did you know that extreme temperatures can affect appliances inside your basement, garage or house as well? Here’s what you need to know about temperature’s effect on appliances and what you can do to prevent damage.

Refrigerators and freezers

A refrigerator can shut down in freezing weather if located outside or on a poorly insulated exterior wall in a cold garage or basement. Conversely, extremely hot exterior temps make refrigerators and freezers in these areas work extra hard to maintain temperatures, increasing energy costs.

If you must keep an extra freezer or refrigerator in an unheated garage or basement during the winter, use a space heater to warm the area. Be sure to place the heater safely away from anything combustible and use it only as long as needed to raise temps above the -34 degrees celsius / mid -30 degrees fahrenheit. If there’s an ice maker, insulate its water supply line and, in the bitter cold, turn it off and drain the line.

For home owners in warmer climates, if you have that extra refrigerator or freezer because you need more space for food, calculate the cost savings of buying a new, larger unit for inside the house and eliminating the outside one.

Washing Machines

Icy winter temperatures can cause problems with your washing machine. To prevent damage from ice, keep the washer’s water supply line insulated in winter. When temperatures are expected to drop dangerously low, turn off the water at the wall valve, disconnect it from the washing machine, and drain it.

Water heater

Water heaters are usually located in a garage, attic or basement, all of which are areas subject to freezing temps. To prevent damage when the mercury drops, insulate the water supply line to the heater. Each year, hire a plumber to drain and flush the tank to remove sediment.

Heating and air conditioning

The HVAC component most at risk in winter is the outside condenser. If you live in an area of the country that gets a lot of snow, place a protective hedge, screen or cover around the unit to block snowdrifts or ice from covering it.

When you’re away

If you’re planning to be away from your home for an extended period in the winter, you’ll likely turn down the thermostat to save energy costs. To avoid frozen pipes and other potential damage, though, it’s best not to go below around 12 degrees celsius / 55 degrees fahrenheit.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA'S original article.

  

If you turn up the thermostat and don't feel the heat, there's a problem. Old windows, worn doors, and poorly installed outlet covers are basically an open invitation for the frigid winter air to make its way indoors. To avoid feeling the draft — and cut down on your heating bill — follow these tips from the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Similar to smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors are an essential warning device in every home — perhaps even more so. While sleeping residents might be awakened by the smell of smoke and take action, carbon monoxide is odorless and can disable and kill without warning.

Odorless and invisible. Carbon monoxide is produced whenever a fuel is being burned. It is odorless and invisible. Car exhaust produces carbon monoxide. So can a charcoal fire, a gas- or oil-burning heater, or even a wood-burning stove. All of these must be vented to the outside to not only remove smoke, but also carbon monoxide.

Here are some of the most common sources of home carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Home heating system. A home with a gas heater produces carbon monoxide, which normally is vented out of the house. With age, a part called the heat exchanger can crack and allow the gas to leak into the home. Other home heating dangers can occur with any sort of portable, fuel-burning device that is not vented. Gas log fireplaces must be properly vented as well.

• Appliances.  Gas-burning stoves, ovens, dryers and water heaters all produce carbon monoxide and must be properly vented.

• Generators. During a power outage, generators should only be operated outside to vent exhaust. Never run a generator inside a house or garage.

• Automobiles.  Never have a car, motorcycle or any gasoline-powered vehicle running inside a closed garage. An unhealthy buildup of carbon monoxide gas can occur even if the garage door is open.

Symptoms of poisoning.  Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be mistaken for the flu minus a fever. Headache, dramatic tiredness, dizziness and confusion are all indicative of carbon monoxide poisoning. Final stages of carbon monoxide poisoning are lack of muscular control, and unconsciousness leading to death.

Prevention. Have fuel-burning appliances installed by trained, licensed professionals. Have the appliances inspected annually and repaired, if necessary.

Install carbon monoxide detectors. Some smoke detectors now have dual capability. Place one in each bedroom or just outside the bedroom door so that anyone sleeping in the house will be awakened in an emergency.

If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, leave the dwelling immediately and call 911. Seek medical evaluation and let the fire department examine the property for a leak. Do not return to the house until the source has been identified and repaired.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.