One of the latest trends in not only residential construction but commercial construction as well is the sliding door, a.k.a. the Barn Door. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be adapted to any situation. You can even take a antique door and add a bit of hardware to give your space an historic feeling. Not only can you get doors of various shapes and sizes but the tracks and rollers are available in different styles as well.

Many moons ago my mother and grandmother lived in a four-plex house which had a stoop with marble steps. Whenever it started to look worn and dingy, Grandma would grab a box of Tide laundry detergent. On her hands and knees, she'd use a stiff scrub brush (not steel) with the Tide granules and would soon have the stoop gleaming white again. If you try this on your marble I wouldn't recommend rinsing it off (for obvious reasons), but instead wipe it off with a broom or a dry

If you have a refrigerator with a ice/water despensor in the front you may see that there's a build-up of hard water residue in the spill tray. I don't know what causes it, but it looks terrible. We tried using CLR on the tray but that didn't work. I'm not sure what made me think of doing this but one day I mixed about 1/2 cup of white vinegar with a whole can of Coke in a tall cup and sat the spill tray in it for about 20 minutes. When I took it out and rinsed it with wa

If you've recently purchased an old home with a claw foot tub chances are that it's original to the house. A lot of times people have these removed because over the years the tub starts to look a bit dingy, but 30 minutes and some elbow grease with a good abrasive cleaner should whiten it back up. If the finish has been worn off you can have it easily reglazed. It will look brand new and keep your original tub in your house - and you won't have to worry about throwing your

It's nearly spring and time to do some spring cleaning. Don't forget to check your dryer vent where it exits the house-and don't be surprised if you find that a bird has decided to build a nest there! Not only does this block exiting moisture but it can also be a fire hazzard. I wouldn't recommend installing a wire mesh at the outer opening as this can just collect lint and cause the same problem as a bird's nest. Just check it as frequently as you would your smoke detect

Everybody loves a large front porch - or a large rear porch for that matter. People often think, however, that just because it's a porch it's inexpensive space to build onto a house. In fact it costs nearly as much to build as the interior finished space in a house. The reason for this is because you still have to have an engineered foundation as well as incur the cost of the roof to cover the porch. All you're missing in the end is some walls and flooring.

Lately I have had several clients who chose not only to forgo the formal living room but the formal dining room as well. Most people recognize today that the dining room is used two (maybe three) times a year and they don't want to dedicate 150 s.f. to a space that's never used. When designing your new home consider incorporating a large eating area instead of a small breakfast room.

Are you renovating an old house and have a lot hinges and latches that are gunked-up with 100 years of paint, oil, and general nastiness? Don't get rid of them only to buy replacements from a salvage store. Put the lot of them in a crock pot filled with water on high and let them soak for an hour or two. This will loosten up the grime and make it easier to scrape, sand, or wire brush the pieces clean. You'll save money and retain your home's original hardware.