Summer vacation season will be here sooner than you think, making this a good time to start planning that trip and figuring out how to get the most fun and value for your dollar.

The good news for U.S. travelers is that airfares are around their lowest levels since the federal government started keeping track in 1995. The average domestic ticket price is down more than one-fourth over that time, although some of the price drop is offset by fees on everything from checked bags to aisle seats.

Last week, airlines including American, Delta and United were showing round-trip fares between the New York City area and Paris for under $300 for several dates in February and March. Part of the last week in April was available for just a few bucks more. There were deals between the West Coast and Asia for around $400.

"It's a great time to be a traveler now," said Matthew Ma, a co-founder of The Flight Deal. "The seats are tighter, the pitch (between rows) is much tighter, but overall it's a lot cheaper to fly now than say 10 years ago. How long can the airlines sustain that and still make money, who knows?"

Experts like Ma have lots of strategies for saving on flights, lodging, rental cars, dining and sight-seeing.

They all seem to have a theory and data pinpointing the best time to buy an airline ticket before the supply dwindles and prices rise. Most say it's about six to eight weeks before a domestic trip and farther ahead for an international one. CheapAir.com says the ideal is 76 days. Tracy Stewart, content editor at travel site airfarewatchdog.com, said there is no magic time.

"A really cheap fare can pop up anytime, and if you stick to the 6-week rule you may miss out on something," he said. "The best thing to do is set a fare alert and monitor fares along your route."

Sites including Stewart's and Google Flights make it easy to set alerts that will tell you when prices rise or fall. Google-owned ITA is a less visually appealing site for flight searches, but it has an easy-to-use "calendar of lowest fares" and other tools.

Calendars are useful in quickly spotting the days when prices are lowest. Experts advise being flexible in flight dates and length of stay, airlines and airports to get the best price.

Before you click, understand what you are buying. Seats labeled "basic economy" are cheaper but come with restrictions you'll board last, you can't upgrade, and you should count on a middle seat unless you pay an extra fee.

Airlines say they try to keep families together even if they don't pay pay extra for seat assignments, but Consumer Reports says this continues to be a frequent complaint among travelers.

People who haven't flown in a while might be shocked at the explosion of extra fees. Discount carriers such as Spirit Airlines sometimes charge the lowest fares but add many fees even a $10 charge for printing your boarding pass at the airport; do it at home.

"The airlines are constantly finding new fees, and they're constantly upping the existing fees," said Bill McGee of Consumer Reports.

Once you get to your destination, your hotel might charge a "resort fee." While plenty of non-resorts charge resort fees, they are more common and more expensive in tourist-destination cities.

"It's a bogus fee because you're not given a choice it's mandatory," McGee said. "The hotel industry has learned some tricks from the airlines."

The only way to avoid a resort fee may be to avoid the hotel altogether.

Other tips:

Cheap(ish) destinations

The British pound is still looking anything but sterling when compared to the U.S. dollar, making the United Kingdom more affordable for American Anglophiles. Stewart, the Air fare watchdog editor, said flights to and from Canada are coming down they are priced like U.S.-only itineraries as discount carriers such as Swoop add more flights north of the border. Smarter Travel listed countries where the dollar now goes farther.

Breaks on fees

Southwest remains the only major U.S. airline that still lets passengers check one or two bags for free. Potentially more importantly, it doesn't charge to change a ticket than can cost up to $200 on the other biggest U.S. carriers.

Airline credit cards

If your plans include major spending early in the year maybe you're remodeling a bathroom or kitchen check out the airline-branded credit card offerings, some of which come with big enough points bonuses to pay for a couple round-trip tickets.

To get the bonus, however, you generally have to spend at least $2,000 to $5,000 in the first three months. Make sure you can pay the full balance each month or you will get hit with interest charges.

Card holders generally avoid fees on checked bags, and the card's annual fee is usually waived in the first year. Besides airline cards, there are plenty of general travel-rewards cards offered by major banks including pricey ones annual fees of up to $450 with great benefits that are best left to very frequent travelers.

Who knows, the sign-up bonus and the money you charge to your card for this year's vacation might earn enough points to help pay for your dream trip in 2021.

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On the Money: Start planning to save money on travel in 2020 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Who would you go to for toothbrush recommendations? A dentist, of course. What about a great file cabinet? A professional organizer. At least, that's what we would do, if we wanted to spend our hard-earned money on a household product that works well, looks good and lasts. During 2019, experts pointed us to dozens of great products worth your coin. Here are our favorites.

1. The best doormats

For a multiseason mat that can handle whatever winter throws at it, try a lobster-rope mat, says Lisa Myers, owner of home-goods store Capers in Seattle. "They work to shed the water and they have a little bit of coarseness to the rope that takes the dirt off," Myers says. She highlights the Rope Co.'s doormats, handmade in Maine by fifth-generation lobstermen ($65-$129, theropeco.com). "They're super durable. I had a similar one for many years and I just hosed it down and it keeps looking great."

2. The best toothbrushes

When people really like their toothbrush, they're more likely to brush regularly, says Mountain View, California, periodontist Daniel Nelson. An expert on the buildup of bacteria and plaque, Nelson uses a manual brush called the Nimbus ($11.99 for five, nimbusdental.com). It's also the one he recommends to his patients. "It has soft bristles that clean under the gum line," he says.

3. The best space heaters

At True Value, the top-performing space heaters meet consumers' three most-important requests, says Tory Tesdal, senior product merchant: They have tip-over switches, overheat protection and a dial to easily adjust temperature. "Ease of use" is what matters, Tesdal says. True Value sells products to more than 4,000 of its individually owned stores across the country, and the top seller is the 81/2-inch-tall Pelonis Compact Ceramic Heater ($33.99, truevalue.com). "It's also energy-efficient, because everyone cares about saving money."

4. The best garden hose

Kelly Smith Trimble, editorial director of HGTV.com and author of "Vegetable Gardening Wisdom: Daily Advice and Inspiration for Getting the Most from Your Garden," has found both basic hoses that kink and special "kinkless" hoses maddening, she says. Last year, she finally settled on her hose of choice: the Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose ($50.99 to $60.35, walmart.com). It resists kinking and coils up nicely, she says, plus it comes in "really bright, fun colors like purple, yellow and red" that match the colors of Dramm's watering wands, hose adapters and sprayers. "Quality watering tools can make the difference between watering feeling like a chore and watering feeling a bit like meditation," she says.

5. The best file cabinets

Poppin's 3-Drawer File Cabinet comes in several colors, so you can choose a neutral to blend in or a colorful one that stands out ($249, poppin.com). "I don't think anyone could go wrong with this gray-and-white combo, but I also love the beautiful aqua color it comes in," says Rachel Rosenthal, owner of organizing firm Rachel and Co. in Washington, D.C. "We've put these in tons of different spaces."

6. The best shower heads

Moen's Magnetix has "the appeal of a fixed shower head, but it rests there on a magnet," says Melissa Haas, project designer at Case Design Remodeling in Charlotte ($69.99, bedbathandbeyond.com). "You can pull off the shower head and use it as a hand shower, whether you're cleaning the tile, rinsing your feet off or cleaning the dog." She adds that "it's really popular in a hall bathroom or a kids' bath setup, where you don't need this luxury-spa setup - you just need an all-in-one sort of thing." It comes in chrome and brushed nickel.

7. The best coolers

If you think you can't bring ice cream camping, think again. Tyler Malek, head ice cream maker and co-founder of scoop shop Salt & Straw in Portland, Ore., and author of an ice cream cookbook, likes to pack it up in the Coleman Steel-Belted Portable Cooler ($79.30-$166.66 for 54-quart cooler, amazon.com). The retro-looking steel is rust-resistant and the handles have comfort grips.

8. The best beach accessories

Frequent road-tripper and author of the book "The Best Coast: A Road Trip Atlas: Illustrated Adventures Along the West Coast's Historic Highways," Chandler O'Leary of Tacoma, Wash., is often sketching at the beach. She keeps her sketchbooks in a Matador Droplet Wet Bag ($14.99, matadorup.com). "It's super handy and stuffs down into a teeny tiny case that can hang on my key ring when I'm not using it," she says. She also keeps her phone, camera and anything else she wants dry in the bag.

9. The best phones for kids

Sascha Segan, the lead analyst for mobile at PCMag.com in New York, believes the Sonim XP3 flip phone ($189.99, att.com) "is the best choice for kids who aren't ready for a smartphone yet: It has a loud speaker, is super tough and has a three-year warranty."

10. The best dining tables

"People have this romantic idea of hosting a 12-person dinner," says Kaitlyn Payne, founding principal of Basicspace in Brooklyn. But her clients in New York City, especially those without a dining room, generally end up with a table that seats "six to eight people, max." A fan of Ikea, Payne likes the Ekedalen extendable table for seating six ($299, ikea.com). Storing the leaf inside the table means it doesn't have to be squeezed into a coat closet.

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The 10 best household products we saw in 2019 - Cape Cod Times

For a fresh approach to bathroom decor for 2020, we delved into the top posts on Instagram.

Larissa Runkle, provided by

Photo: IStock/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

New Year, New Bathroom: 5 Fun Trends on Instagram That Will Make It Your New Favorite Room

Bathroom trends go round and roundkind of like water circling the drainbut this weeks bright and light decor ideas will have you thinking they should stick around for a while. As we head into 2020, there's a ton of fresh inspiration for new bathroom looks surfacing on social media.

As we do every week, we dug deep into trending decor ideas on Instagram, scouring hundreds (if not more) top design posts. So what did we find? Five fun trends that might just make your bathroom the new favorite room. Keep scrolling to find out what they areand as always, how you can steal the look.

A small bathroom that's big on style! And those tiles?! So dreamy. If you are working with a small space, head to the link in bio for loads more inspiration... . . Photo: @snookphotographHomeowner: @lunaslittlehouse . . #bathroom#interiors#bathroominspo#rolltopbath#bathroomvibes#styleithappy#colourmyhome#myhomevibe#rustichomedecor#diy#renovation#potd#bathroomremodel#bathroommakeover#bathroomdesign#remodelista#inmydomaine#apartmenttherapy#bathroomdecor#bathroominspo#bathroomideas#interiormilk#interior_and_living#houserenovation#styleithappy#ihavethisthingwithhome#sorealhomes#apartmenttherapy

A post shared by Real Homes (@real_homes) on Dec 14, 2019 at 1:10am PST

Theres something to be said for the recent comeback of pastels into just about every room of the houseand the bathroom is no exception. Dont believe us? Just check out this gorgeous peachy-pink tile in the home of @lunaslittlehouse, reposted by @real_homes.

Peachy pink tiles have been on peoples radar for the past few years, says Jim Kabel, president of Case Design/Remodeling San Jose. Many modern bathroom designs have incorporated a splash of this vintage color by pairing it with other light-colored tiles and dark-colored grout. Adding this design element will offer your bathroom a clean-lined, luxurious appeal.

Get the look: Add some peachy tile to your bathroom by shopping the stunning geometric Sol Pink Tile from Riad Tile.

Excuse me human, Im having a Me Day. (via @jaxandgin)

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New Year, New Bathroom: 5 Fun Trends on Instagram That Will Make It Your New Favorite Room - SFGate

After the hectic years of child-rearing end and grown children move out, many empty nesters find themselves in a state of adjustment.Brian Stauffer/The New York Times

After the hectic years of child-rearing end and grown children move out, many empty-nesters find themselves in a state of adjustment.

While some rejoice in their leaner schedules and newfound quiet, others deal with loneliness and depression, often referred to as empty-nest syndrome. In either case, most empty-nesters eventually reach a point where they ask themselves: Is it time to downsize, upsize, or just renovate and configure their current home?

A recent report from Freddie Mac found that baby boomers have stayed in their homes much longer than previous generations. A 2019 report from Houzz, a home-remodeling website, found that 60% of baby boomers defined as people ages 55 to 74 planned to stay in their homes for the next 11 or more years. Older Americans tend to move into residential care communities in their mid-80s, according to data available from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those who opt to stay in their empty nests, many decide it is a good time to do the renovations they put off in previous years. These home makeovers tend to fall into three broad categories: fixing a space to make room for a new lifestyle or hobby, sprucing up a now unused space so it can be rented out to create a new revenue stream, or renovating to make a home more comfortable for visits from adult children and their expanding families.

Taking the time to figure out how you want your empty nest to affect your lifestyle will help you figure out how to reconfigure a home, said Robin Baron, an interior designer with her own firm in Manhattan. Many of her empty-nest clients have approached her after deciding they want to entertain more, but shes had to pick apart what that means.

Do you want to have more dinner or cocktail parties? Do you want to host fund-raisers or just have several friends over for a movie night? Will you do the cooking or hire caterers? The word entertain is too broad, so you must narrow that down, then come up with the design, Baron said.

Mary Ann Gioeli, a publishing executive, said she knew immediately what she wanted to do when her son moved out. About two weeks after Ryan, now 30, left their Upper West Side apartment for the Air Force in 2014, she threw out the gross black leather couch that was in his room and repainted the formerly bright blue space a neutral white. To turn the room into a den, she bought new furniture, including a pullout couch, and moved the television from the living room.

For Gioeli, 67, this was the first step in transforming her three-bedroom apartment into a more adult space. Although she was thrilled her home had been the go-to hangout for her son and daughter, Francesca, now 32, and their friends during their adolescence, she longed to turn the large, bright apartment into a quieter space. Somewhere you can have a conversation, she said.

When her daughter left to rent her own apartment in 2016, Gioeli turned her bedroom into a proper guest room. Out went the dated furniture, in came a queen-size bed. These renovations cost a few thousand dollars and were paid for from savings, said Gioeli, who is separated from her husband.

In late 2016, she finally tackled what the family had longed to do: a complete revamp of the dated bathrooms. A tub in the master bath was removed, and a walk-in shower was installed. Double sinks and new storage spaces were added, as well as a new marble floor. The guest bathroom was also thoroughly updated, with a glass-encased shower replacing a former closet space. A home-equity loan covered the $65,000 price tag to renovate both bathrooms.

I told my kids they will always have a home to return to, said Gioeli, whose daughter boomeranged back home this year. But its been great to be able to open up my home and have friends stay over.

Brad and Karen Hacker of Cooper City, Fla., who live about 15 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale, slowly transformed their home after their two sons, Lane and Drew, now 29 and 25, moved out for good in 2014 and 2018.

Karen Hacker said their four-bedroom home needed a lot of upgrades, as renovations to their home of 26 years had largely been held off to save money for their childrens college education. But as different parts of the home started to wear down, the couple saw it as their chance to revamp it for themselves.

A citation from their homeowners association requiring them to pressure-clean the outside of the house prompted them to repaint both the exterior and interior. A broken washing machine resulted in the decluttering and reorganization of the laundry room. In 2017, when the pavers in the backyard started to sink and needed repair, the couple took a moment to reflect on whether they should tackle yet another home improvement project or just sell the house. But with most of their friends still nearby (only one close couple had moved away), they decided to stay.

Their most fun upgrade, they said, was to turn a childs bedroom into an exercise space. They first repainted the room and brought in a TV, treadmill, and free weights. Karen Hacker, 54, who formerly worked in human resources, carved out a space for her yoga mat.

Last year, the Hackers, who blog about their empty-nest life, bought a Peloton bike to replace the treadmill. Professing his competitiveness, Brad Hacker, 60, an accountant, said that he exerted himself more because he likes seeing how his performance ranks with others during his workouts but that he enjoys competing against his sons the most. The couple also installed a small infrared sauna in the room this year, so far spending about $5,000 of their savings.

Building the exercise room also turned out to be a real time saver for us, Karen Hacker said, as it eliminated having to drive to and from the gym.

Some empty-nesters decide to turn their now unused space into extra income. Hollis Giammatteo, a writer, used about $180,000 from savings to gut-renovate her daughters old basement bedroom and turn it into an Airbnb rental. Inspired by a friend who had done something similar, Giammatteo, who lives in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, said she preferred to lease the space short term because the city is a high-demand tourist and business destination and she is able to keep the unit regularly booked. She said that using an online portal had made it easy to block out specific days when friends and family planned to stay with her. She estimated she had grossed around $125,000 since her first rental in 2015.

That said, she advises those interested in turning unused space into a short-term rental to investigate local laws. You have to be willing to take on bureaucracy, Giammatteo, 71, said. Depending on the area, you may need insurance, a business license, and to pay taxes on income, she said.

Others, like Peggy Griffin of Wellesley prefer renting out an unused bedroom to long-term boarders. Griffin, an employee of the Federal Transit Administration, said she didnt want to be a hotelier and liked that she could help keep rents more affordable in the Boston area.

After two of her triplets permanently moved out in 2013, she found tenants through Nesterly, an online home-share service that vets potential renters. Griffin, 61, said she simply cleaned out the bedroom before her first boarder moved in. She charges $1,100 a month for a bedroom with a private bath, and she plans to use the extra income to fix the roof on her 1868 four-bedroom home.

I already know repairing the roof will lead to fixing the siding and the windows, she said.

Updating a homes look, not preparing it for sale, was the goal of 71% of consumers age 50 and older who either had completed a home renovation in the past two years or were in the middle of or planning to begin a remodel in the next six months, according to a survey taken by the Schlesinger Group for Sweeten, an online renovation platform.

We see renovations ranging from updating a bathroom to include a two-person soaking tub to gut remodels that convert bedrooms into hobby rooms from art to yoga, said Jean Brownhill, Sweetens founder.

That said, experts suggest that homeowners check with a local broker before starting a large-scale renovation to see if their design will have resale value.

Mary Dell Harrington, a homeowner in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and the cofounder of the parenting website Grown & Flown, is working with an architect to update her kitchen so it can accommodate her grown children, who visit often and love to cook. Her two children, Walker Berning, 29, and Annie Berning, 24, both live in Manhattan but often come home on the weekends, cooking elaborate meals with lots of ingredients I typically dont keep on hand, she said.

But the old kitchen is too cramped. Harrington wants to knock down a wall between the kitchen and dining room and install a larger kitchen island to accommodate the crowd, which also includes her husband, Melvin Berning, 65, their two large Labrador retrievers, and a nephew who attends a nearby college. Although plans are not final, shes hoping theres room for a proper pantry.

Mary Harrington, 64, a former television marketing executive and coauthor of the book Grown & Flown: How to Support Your Teen, Stay Close as a Family, and Raise Independent Adults, said previous renovations were stressful and daunting when she worked full time and the children were younger and still living at home.

Now Im home to deal with contractors or any emergency, so it should be easier, she said. What we aspire to is not to push our kids away as they grow older but to enter the next phase and be able to hang out with them as they become more independent.

For some empty-nesters, however, this is not an easy transition to make. Some parents have complicated emotions about watching their children move on, according to Jane Benjamin, a psychologist and clinical director at the Counseling Center in Bronxville, N.Y. Pride and joy can be also mixed with envy or regret, Benjamin said. It can also be a reckoning of aging, that things are beyond them, and that can be a vulnerable feeling.

For empty-nesters who have kept their kids bedroom as a shrine to their past (read: trophies, primary- or bright-colored walls), Benjamin suggests working in stages. Make your children take what theyd like to keep, retain a few mementos for yourself, and get rid of the rest.

Replacing the single bed with a larger one would be ideal for returning adult children with partners. Personalizing the newfound space might be a fun project and help you accept that youre in a next stage in life, she said.

Subscribe to the Globes free real estate newsletter our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design atpages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter@globehomes.

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What are you going to do with that empty nest? - Boston.com

Shower kit is a shower cubicle. Shower kits consist of all required parts and equipment which can be built and installed immediately. It comes with either one piece construction or in multiple pieces to be fitted and sealed together. A typical shower kit often comes with three pieces: the front frame and door, the wall set, and the shower base. This different pieces offer flexibility to consumers to install it as per their requirement. Shower kits are mostly made of acrylic and fiberglass material. Demand for shower kits is increasing due to its advantages. They are easy to clean, quick to install, cost effective, light in weight, have less chance of cracking, and have stylish designs and durable quality. In the coming years, Asia Pacific is anticipated to garner major share of the shower kits market.

Increasing hygiene concerns, energy conservation, and smart technologies are expected to be primary factors responsible for expansion of the shower kits market. Moreover, home remodeling is a growing trend among consumers, leading to demand for trendy & smart bathroom accessories. Also, a wide range of innovative products such as sensor based bathroom kits, and kits with sliding doors are expected to boost the shower kits market. Key drivers that have enhanced the popularity of shower kits include infrastructure construction projects and rise in spending power of the population. These scenarios are expected to result in growing adoption of smart bathrooms, thereby driving the growth of the global shower kits market during the forecast period. Increase in lifestyle standards is expected to propel the market. However, alternate options to shower kits such as open shower bathroom due to its easy access is expected to be a major factor restraining the growth of the shower kits market. Moreover, product availability from regional players is another factor which could affect the global shower kits market during the forecast period. Rise in demand for open shower bathroom is due to its quick access for everyone including a person on a wheel chair. Nevertheless, new product designs with water innovative technology such as glass drying up automatically after every shower, minimum working pressure, and better and bigger size of shower kits at cheap rates is expected to create significant opportunities for the global shower kits market.

To get glimpse of what our report offers,ask for a report brochure

The global shower kits market can be classified based on type, application, distribution channel, and region. Based on type, the market can be segmented into ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) engineering plastic, copper, and zinc alloy. In terms of application, the market can be categorized into commercial, and household. In terms of distribution channel, the market can be classified into e-commerce websites, specialty stores, and independent stores. Based on region, the global shower kits market can be divided into North America (The U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, U.K., and Italy), Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, and others), Middle East & Africa, and South America.

Major players operating in the shower kits market include DreamLine, Swan, STERLING, Durastall, Ella, Dreamwerks, Aston, Steam Planet, Vigo, American Standard, MAAX, KOHLER, Aquatic, OVE Decors, Pittsburgh Corning, Lyons Industries, Delta, and Bootz Industries. All these players compete with each other with respect to their product portfolio in order to survive in the market. Top companies are therefore focusing on the concept of smart bathrooms with smart accessories. Additionally, key players are introducing innovative technologies and providing a variety of shower kits with digital and electronic taps within an economical range. Furthermore, companies are increasing their research activities to strengthen their product portfolio and presence in the global shower kits market.

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.

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Shower Kits Market Competitive Insight, Key Drivers and Forecast 2018-2026 - Filmi Baba

Bathroom

Photo Courtesy of National Association of the Remodeling Industry

Family Features

MISSION, Kan., Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (Family Features) Adding additional bathroom space to your home or renovating an outdated lavatory can improve your homes usability and increase its value, too. To get the most practical benefits and value out of your new space, there are several factors to consider.

Before you get started, take into account these considerations about the design and function of your new bathroom from the remodeling experts at the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

SpaceA primary consideration is the available footprint to create your new bath. This is often a concern as children reach their teen years and also with expanding families. If there arent enough bathrooms in the house, you may want to add another, or it may be that you simply need to improve the layout and features to make better use of the existing space. For example, if the bath will be shared by multiple members of the family, a separation of the sinks from the rest of the room may be helpful.

FeaturesDetermining how you will use your bathroom dictates the features youll want to include. A guest or hall bath is likely to have far fewer features than a master bath but may share some similarities with a kids bathroom. First, youll need to make decisions about basics like lighting, the number of sinks and amount of counter space youll need.

If you like baths, youll need to decide between a tub and shower combination unit or separate facilities. With a separate tub, the style you prefer may guide your overall design. The aesthetic for a bathroom with a focal point like a claw-foot tub is likely different from a jetted tub.

StorageStorage is one of the biggest concerns in any design, particularly in rooms as small as typical bathrooms. Carefully consider this aspect of the room during your pre-planning phase. To help determine how much space you need, make a list of all the items you need to store in the bathroom, including cleaning agents, toiletries, linens, first aid items and medications.

Its a good idea to also think about where in the room you would like to store each of these items. You may want some of the toiletries in the shower area, while others will be used near the sink or dressing area.

SustainabilityMany contemporary bathroom fixtures are designed with sustainability in mind, so you can manage your water usage while still enjoying a water-rich environment. You can find water-saving features on everything from toilets to shower heads to even sink faucets.

AccessibilityApplying universal design principles to your project can promote safety and increase your homes appeal to a wider range of buyers in the future. In the bathroom, you can improve safety by incorporating non-slip flooring surfaces and ensuring the space is well-lit.

Other ideas include adjusting counter and toilet heights to make bathrooms more accessible (wall-hung toilets should be approximately two inches higher). You could incorporate structural bracing around the tub, shower and toilet for grab bars. You might also consider a walk-in tub or stand-up shower with no threshold, levered handles for faucets and an adjustable showerhead.

Find more ideas and inspiration for your bathroom design at remodelingdoneright.com.

Michael Frenchmfrench@familyfeatures.com 1-888-824-3337editors.familyfeatures.com

About Family Features Editorial SyndicateA leading source for high-quality food, lifestyle and home and garden content, Family Features provides readers with topically and seasonally relevant tips, takeaways, information, recipes, videos, infographics and more. Find additional articles and information at Culinary.net and eLivingToday.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9f118ec1-6d4a-480d-aca7-8ca23e7e7572

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Make the Most of Your Bathroom Renovation - GlobeNewswire

Professional Handyman and Home Improvement Business Expands from Washington, D.C. to Southern Maryland

WASHINGTON House Doctors, the trusted source for handyman services, home repair, and home improvement, announced today the expansion of the trusted territory in Washington, D.C. to now also serve Southern Maryland.

Under the leadership of local owner Kevin Logan, House Doctors is expanding its home improvement and repair services to residents from Washington D.C., to Annapolis, Chesapeake Beach, Lusby, St. Charles County, St. Marys County, Waldorf, Lexington Park and everywhere in between including most of Southern Maryland.

House Doctors hires only experienced technicians who are scheduled online at the time most convenient for the home or commercial property owner. The company also makes house calls to offer estimates for larger repair and remodeling projects.

Twenty years ago, there was a large construction boom for housing. But now people need to take care of all of their houses, said Logan. With the increased need for home renovation services, we dont want to leave the residents in Southern Maryland out to dry.

House Doctors experienced, insured, background-checked and uniformed handymen technicians specialize in projects that take two hours to two days to complete, such as repairing decks, doors, and drywall; putting a fresh coat of paint on a fence or wall; fixing or replacing a leaky faucet; installing a new fan; or cleaning out and fixing your gutters.

Theres never been a more optimal time to get into the home repair and home improvement business in Southern Maryland, said Jim Hunter, CEO of House Doctors. Home improvements are booming in Maryland. Thanks to the increasing popularity of platforms such as HGTV, the demand for repair and maintenance projects, and even larger-scale upgrades and remodels continue to be indicative of the changing demographics influence from millennials, baby boomers and aging in placers.

For more information on House Doctors of DC, visithttps://housedoctors.com/handyman-dc/services/or call 202-499-3748.

To learn more about franchising opportunities with House Doctors, visithttps://www.housedoctorshandymanfranchise.com.

About House Doctors

Known as the trusted handyman service for home repair and home improvement, House Doctors offers a myriad of services from drywall and gutter repair to kitchen and bathroom remodeling. The House Doctors team of insured, bonded and uniformed handymen have a wide array of skillsets to tackle even the longest list of to-dos. With a one-year guarantee, prompt and precise service and a team of qualified craftsmen and technicians, House Doctors is not only a handyman service but a trusted home advisor among the customers it serves. Founded in 1995, House Doctors is located across the countryand has targeted several growth markets for the next few years.

To learn more about house Doctors franchise opportunities, visithttps://www.housedoctorshandymanfranchise.comand for more information about the brand, visit the company website athttps://www.housedoctors.com.

The Southern Maryland Chronicle is a local, small business entrusted to provide factual, unbiased reporting to the Southern Maryland Community.While we look to local businesses for advertising, we hope to keep that cost as low as possible in order to attract even the smallest of local businesses and help them get out to the public. We must also be able to pay employees(part-time and full-time), along with equipment, and website related things. We never want to make the Chronicle a pay-wall style news site.

To that end, we are looking to the community to offer donations. Whether its a one-time donation or you set up a reoccurring monthly donation. It is all appreciated. All donations at this time will be going to furthering the Chronicle through hiring individuals that have the same goals of providing fair, and unbiased news to the community. For now, donations will be going to a business PayPal account I have set-up for the Southern Maryland Chronicle, KDC Designs. All business transactions currently occur within this PayPal account. If you have any questions regarding this you can email me at davidhiggins@southernmarylandchronicle.com

Thank you for all of your support and I hope to continue bringing Southern Maryland the best news possible for a very long time. David M. Higgins II

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House Doctors of DC Increases to Meet Greater Demand - The Southern Maryland Chronicle

If youve ever been owned by a cat, you know about cats and doors. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Anyone who has a cat at home realizes it is the cat who does the owning and not vice versa.

Cats simply cannot abide closed doors, and our cat Puddin is a perfect example of that phenomenon. The last few months have been quite trying for the little princess because I began closing the bedroom door at night to keep the dog in.

Ive written before about Banjos doggie dementia and his new habit of going downstairs several times a night to bark at his water bowl in the kitchen until someone that would be me goes downstairs and escorts him back to the bedroom. I solved that problem by locking him in the bedroom at night, but the door being shut was an issue for Puddin.

Its not that she wants to be in the bedroom all night. Its that she wants the ability to come and go as she pleases. It was entertaining to see her little white paws appear under the door as she tried to open the darned thing. Id hear the door rattle and look up from my book to see those adorable paws. Once I turned out the light, I assumed she gave up, but no!

One night, I was awakened from a sound sleep when the door banged against the wall in the wee hours. I hadnt latched it well enough, and Puddin pushed and pushed until it opened. I sat up in bed, and she leaped onto my legs meowing indignantly. I think she said, What were you thinking? or something to that effect.

I tried shutting the door more firmly, but Puddin broke in another time or two. Finally, I left the door cracked open with a shoe in front of it to keep it from opening wide. That was fine by Puddin because she can squeeze through tiny spaces.

Puddins trials and tribulations began anew when we finished remodeling the guest bathroom on the main floor. Looking ahead to aging in place and the possibility of one of us needing a walker, we enlarged the shower and put in a pocket door to provide a wider entrance.

The construction didnt bother the princess, but she had an issue with the new sliding door to the shower being closed. I was blissfully unaware of her distress until I was drinking coffee in my easy chair early one morning and heard a strange persistent noise. It sounded like something or someone was falling. Thankfully, it was only Puddin trying to get in the shower. Another problem easily solved by sliding the door slightly open.

Next, it was the pocket door that irritated her. When we crank up the wood-burning stove during cold spells, we close the doors to the bedroom, dining room and bathroom on the main level. The dining room doors are small French doors Puddin has learned to push open an inch or two, but the bathroom door was something new.

Again, I heard a loud noise. I headed to the guest bath, and sure enough, the princess was rattling the pocket door by pushing it with her paws and nose. I took pity on her and cracked it open a few inches.

With the door issues handled, Puddin has shifted her attention to the new television and chest in the living room; and dogs, doors, and cats are living in harmony at least for now.

Kathy is a Sandy Springs resident. Find her books, Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch and The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday, at the Enchanted Forest and on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com.

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Solving the problem of dogs, doors and cats - Dunwoody Crier

After the hectic years of child-rearing end and grown children move out, many empty nesters find themselves in a state of adjustment.

While some rejoice in their leaner schedules and newfound quiet, others deal with loneliness and depression, often referred to as empty-nest syndrome. In either case, most empty nesters eventually reach a point where they ask themselves :Is it time to downsize, upsize or just renovate and configure their current home?

A recent report from Freddie Mac found that baby boomers have stayed in their homes much longer than previous generations. A 2019 report from Houzz, a home-remodeling website, found that 60% of baby boomers defined as people ages 55 to 74 planned to stay in their homes for the next 11 or more years. Older Americans tend to move into residential care communities in their mid-80s, according to data available from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those who opt to stay in their empty nests, many decide it is a good time to finally do the renovations they might have put off in previous years. These home makeovers tend to fall into three broad categories: fixing a space to make room for a new lifestyle or hobby; sprucing up a now unused space so it can be rented out to create a new revenue stream; or renovating to make a home more comfortable for visits from adult children and their expanding families.

Taking the time to figure out how you want your empty nest to affect your lifestyle will help you figure out how to reconfigure a home, said Robin Baron, an interior designer with her own firm in Manhattan. Many of her empty-nest clients have approached her after deciding they want to entertain more, but shes had to pick apart what that means.

Do you want to have more dinner or cocktail parties? Do you want to host fundraisers or just have several friends over for a movie night? Will you do the cooking or hire caterers? The word entertain is too broad, so you must narrow that down, then come up with the design, she said.

Mary Ann Gioeli, a publishing executive, said she knew immediately what she wanted to do when her son moved out. About two weeks after Ryan, now 30, left their Upper West Side apartment for the Air Force in 2014, she threw out the gross black leather couch that was in his room and repainted the formerly bright blue space a neutral white. To turn the room into a den, she bought new furniture, including a pullout couch, and moved the television from the living room.

Even if you have no plans to sell the home for another 10 years, it's a wise thing to do

For Gioeli, 67, this was the first step in transforming her three-bedroom apartment into a more adult space. Although she was thrilled her home had been the go-to hangout for her son and daughter, Francesca, now 32, and their friends during their adolescence, she longed to turn the large, bright apartment into a quieter space. Somewhere you can have a conversation, she said.

When her daughter left to rent her own apartment in 2016, Gioeli turned her bedroom into a proper guest room. Out went the dated furniture, in came a queen-size bed. These renovations cost a few thousand dollars and were paid for from savings, said Gioeli, who is separated from her husband.

In late 2016, she finally tackled what the family had longed to do: a complete revamp of the dated bathrooms. A tub in the master bath was removed, and a walk-in shower was installed. Double sinks and new storage spaces were added, as well as a new marble floor. The guest bathroom was also thoroughly updated, with a glass-encased shower replacing a former closet space. A home-equity loan covered the $65,000 price tag to renovate both bathrooms.

I told my kids they will always have a home to return to, said Gioeli, whose daughter boomeranged back home this year. But its been great to be able to open up my home and have friends stay over.

Brad and Karen Hacker of Cooper City, Florida, who live about 15 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale, slowly transformed their home after their two sons, Lane and Drew, now 29 and 25, moved out for good in 2014 and 2018.

Karen Hacker said their four-bedroom home needed a lot of upgrades, as renovations to their home of 26 years had largely been held off to save money for their childrens college education. But as different parts of the home started to wear down, the couple saw it as their chance to revamp it for themselves.

A citation from their homeowners association requiring them to pressure-clean the outside of the house prompted them to repaint both the exterior and interior. A broken washing machine resulted in the decluttering and reorganization of the laundry room. In 2017, when the pavers in the backyard started to sink and needed repair, the couple took a moment to reflect whether they should tackle yet another home improvement project or just sell the house. But with most of their friends still nearby (only one close couple had moved away), they decided to stay.

I told my kids they will always have a home to return to ... But it's been great to be able to open up my home and have friends stay over

Their most fun upgrade, they said, was to turn a childs bedroom into an exercise space. They first repainted the room and brought in a TV, treadmill and free weights. Karen Hacker, 54, who formerly worked in human resources, carved out a space for her yoga mat.

Last year, the Hackers, who blog about their empty-nest life, bought a Peloton bike to replace the treadmill. Professing his competitiveness, Brad Hacker, 60, an accountant, said that he exerted himself more because he likes seeing how his performance ranks with others during his workouts but that he enjoys competing against his sons the most. The couple also installed a small infrared sauna in the room this year, so far spending about $5,000 of their savings.

Building the exercise room also turned out to be a real time saver for us, Karen Hacker said, as it eliminated having to drive to and from the gym.

Some empty nesters decide to turn their now unused space into extra income. Hollis Giammatteo, a writer, used about $180,000 from savings to gut-renovate her daughters old basement bedroom and turn it into an Airbnb rental. Inspired by a friend who had done something similar, Giammatteo, who lives in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, said she preferred to lease the space short term because the city is a high-demand tourist and business destination and she is able to keep the unit regularly booked. She said that using an online portal had made it easy to block out specific days when friends and family planned to stay with her. She estimated she had grossed around $125,000 since her first rental in 2015.

That said, she advises those interested in turning unused space into a short-term rental to investigate local laws. You have to be willing to take on bureaucracy, Giammatteo, 71, said. Depending on the area, you may need insurance, a business license and to pay taxes on income, she said.

Others, like Peggy Griffin of Wellesley, Massachusetts, prefer renting out an unused bedroom to long-term boarders. Griffin, an employee of the Federal Transit Administration, said she didnt want to be a hotelier and liked that she could help keep rents more affordable in the Boston area.

After two of her triplets permanently moved out in 2013, she found tenants through Nesterly, an online home-share service that vets potential renters. Griffin, 61, said she simply cleaned out the bedroom before her first boarder moved in. She charges $1,100 a month for a bedroom with a private bath, and she plans to use the extra income to fix the roof on her 1868 four-bedroom home.

Building the exercise room also turned out to be a real time saver for us

I already know repairing the roof will lead to fixing the siding and the windows, she said.

Updating a homes look, not preparing it for sale, was the goal of 71% of consumers age 50 and older who either had completed a home renovation in the past two years or were in the middle of or planning to begin a remodel in the next six months, according to a survey taken by the Schlesinger Group for Sweeten, an online renovation platform.

We see renovations ranging from updating a bathroom to include a two-person soaking tub to gut remodels that convert bedrooms into hobby rooms from art to yoga, said Jean Brownhill, Sweetens founder.

That said, experts suggest that homeowners check with a local broker before starting a large-scale renovation to see if their design will have resale value.

Even if you have no plans to sell the home for another 10 years, its a wise thing to do, said Dave Goscinski, the owner of JJED Remodeling in Dumont, New Jersey. Youre doing the renovation for yourselves, but can you recoup the investment later?

Goscinski finished working on a kitchen renovation for Maria and Edward Matera of Hackensack, New Jersey, at the beginning of 2017. The couple wanted an updated kitchen and a larger space to host their immediate family, which includes two grown children and their spouses and four grandchildren, as well as relatives from Italy and California, and friends and neighbors.

They reconfigured and rebuilt the addition to the back of the house, providing them with a spacious new dining area and a new deck that allows them to grill year-round. And a pass-through window that was installed between the kitchen and living room has come in handy during her book club gatherings, said Maria Matera, 71.

To pay for the $125,000 job, the Materas refinanced their mortgage.

In previous years, they also turned an unfinished basement into a den and guest room, while an unused bedroom was turned into a guest room and office. I feel like I have so much more space, said Maria Matera, a retired teacher.

Her children say they are happy with the spruced-up house. Our family has always loved food and gatherings around the table, said Damian Matera, 44. My sister, Adriana, and I are thrilled that our parents dream kitchen has become a reality and that the new addition will further our love for good food and time together.

Mary Dell Harrington, a homeowner in Mamaroneck, New York, and the co-founder of the parenting website Grown & Flown, is working with an architect to update her kitchen so it can accommodate her grown children, who visit often and love to cook. Her two children, Walker Berning, 29, and Annie Berning, 24, both live in Manhattan but often come home on the weekends, cooking elaborate meals with lots of ingredients I typically dont keep on hand, she said.

But the old kitchen is too cramped. Harrington wants to knock down a wall between the kitchen and dining room and install a larger kitchen island to accommodate the crowd, which also includes her husband, Melvin Berning, 65, their two large Labrador retrievers and a nephew who attends a nearby college. Although plans are not final, shes hoping theres room for a proper pantry.

Mary Harrington, 64, a former television marketing executive and the co-author of the book Grown & Flown: How to Support Your Teen, Stay Close as a Family, and Raise Independent Adults, said previous renovations were stressful and daunting when she worked full time and the children were younger and still living at home.

Now Im home to deal with contractors or any emergency, so it should be easier, she said. What we aspire to is not to push our kids away as they grow older but to enter the next phase and be able to hang out with them as they become more independent.

For some empty nesters, however, this is not an easy transition to make. Some parents have complicated emotions about watching their children move on, according to Jane Benjamin, a psychologist and clinical director at the Counseling Center in Bronxville, New York. Pride and joy can be also mixed with envy or regret, Benjamin said. It can also be a reckoning of aging, that things are beyond them, and that can be a vulnerable feeling.

For empty nesters who have kept their kids bedroom as a shrine to their past (read: trophies, primary- or bright-colored walls), Benjamin suggests working in stages. Make your children take what theyd like to keep, retain a few mementos for yourself and get rid of the rest.

Replacing the single bed with a larger bed would be ideal for returning adult children with partners. Personalizing the newfound space might be a fun project and help you accept that youre in a next stage in life, she said.

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Once the kids grow up and leave, what are parents to do with their empty nest? - National Post

No bathroom remodeling project is as satisfying as making over a clunky old shower by installing new shower heads, tearing out plastic and tiling the walls, and increasing your water pressure. The cost for a shower remodel really depends on your overall bathroom remodeling project. Nationally, the average cost of a total bathroom remodeling project is $14,000, including the cost of the shower remodel. For a standard bathroom renovation including taking out the shower and shower pan and installing new shower pan and shower, new shower door, new vanity, new mirror, new bathroom fan, and all new fixtures the average price might range from $6,500 to $10,000 for labor.

If you dont need foundational work (like a new shower pan) but want a tile makeover in your shower, the average national cost for tiling a shower is $3,875. The average cost for bathroom tile is $25 per square foot for installation; at that rate, a standard tub and shower combo tile job with walls that are roughly 6 feet to 8 feet high may have tile installation costs that average $2,000. If all your bathroom really needs is a new shower door, door installation averages $250-$510.

For more on how to remodel a bathroom and what it costs for a shower remodel check out The Complete Thumbtack Bathroom Remodel Guide.

Excerpt from:
The 10 Best Bathroom Remodelers in Secaucus, NJ 2019