In This Issue

  • December 2010 Issue No. 144

  • Holiday Ready

    idea file
    Before + After: Kitchen
    A roomier layout and period-style touches change a cramped space into a family's just-right cooking place
    Shopping
    Wall-mount mailboxes
    Get This Look
    Craftsman-style holiday entry
    Price Wise
    Bow-back Windsor side chairs
    Front and Center
    At the TOH job site, more space, a double window, and bright paint lighten up a once-foreboding entryway. Learn the why and how behind three other entry makeovers too
    Making a Vintage Cottage Her Own
    An Arkansas doctor gives her third remodeling patient a Craftsman-style makeover
    money savers
    Budget Redo
    A copper sink and other bargain-buy fixtures bring a dated powder room up to date
    30 Down-and-Dirty Tricks for Big DIY Savings
    At the fall 2010 project house, the revised version of the owners' dream kitchen turns out to be what they really wanted
    upgrades
    Best New Home Products 2010
    We saw a ton of stuff this year. Check out our first annual insider's list of standout goods
    All About
    Crown molding
    home solutions
    Home Solutions
    Build a Christmas tree box; 10 uses for candle stubs; cheer up old chairs by painting their legs; stop four holiday mishaps from happening; nine low-priced stocking stuffers; and more
    how-to projects
    Paint Ideas
    Use paper templates to hand paint a Moroccan-star design on your walls
    Salvage Style
    Turn a vintage iron window guard into a storage-expanding wall-mount pot rack
    Home Center Project
    Fashion corbels and staircase parts into a trestle table fit for a holiday feast. TOH general contractor Tom Silva shows you how
    ask this old house
    Q + A
    Track down new knobs for old door hardware; fix a leak caused by a tilted tub; use shrubs to help hide blue-spruce brownout; replace a cracked Corian kitchen sink; and more
    Step-by-Step
    Install a wood floor medallion
    Norm's Tricks of the Trade
    Find out what's causing your loose miter joints
    TOH Tool Test
    12-volt lithium-ion drill/drivers
    in every issue
    Letter From This Old House
    A cautionary tale of one too many Santa Clauses
    Checklist
    Easy ways to improve your home right now
    Save This Old House
    A castle-like brick Gothic Revival in Selma, Ala.