Home & Garden

Home & Garden

Build a Way Station for Monarch Butterflies

Plant a few host flowers that provide nectar for migrating monarchs and revel in their beauty when they visit your garden en route to their southern venue. ...
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Cleveland GardenWalk Dates, Neighborhoods Set

Summer weekends tend to fill up; and before you know it, the season is over. That's why we're giving you plenty of notice for one of our favorite free events of the summer: the Cleveland GardenWalk  ...
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(Nearly) Pain-Free Gardening

Gardening shouldn't hurt, but when you're over 55, it almost always leaves us with sore muscles, aches and pains. We've got a few tips and tricks to make an almost pain-free transition to garden season. ...
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Road Trip: Oberlin Art & Architecture

We're starting road trip season, and here's a suggestion for a place to kick off your springtime ramblings: Oberlin. Less than an hour west of Cleveland, the picturesque college town has a lot to see. ...
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Retire in Style with Luxury Home Upgrades

Each of us has an idea of what a home oasis means. I was thrilled when we did a modest kitchen upgrade last year and installed a sink faucet tall enough to accommodate a pasta pot. ...
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Good Deal vs. Bad Deal? Choose the Best Plants for Your Garden

Springtime means it’s finally time to shop for garden plants. Selecting the best plant from those that are grouped together is often a puzzle. Read on for suggestions on what to look for. ...
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The Mood-Boosting Value of Spring Cleaning

The return of sunshine has many of us ready to check off the to-do lists we’ve put off all winter. If cleaning is one of those projects, a Cleveland Clinic psychologist says the benefits of decluttering go beyond just making your space look nice. ...
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Tips to Help You Build Your Forever Home

Becoming a homeowner is a dream for many people. One of the biggest benefits of owning your home is that you get to do what you want with it. You can decorate it how you want and even do major renovations without having to worry about what a landlord might think. It’s your home and you have the right to make it perfect for you. 

Another good reason people want to own their home is cost. Mortgage payments are often cheaper than rent, and you get a physical asset at the end of the day that you can pass on to your children. 

But what about building your dream home? This has even more freedom than buying a house, because you get to design it from the ground up. Depending on where you live and the house you build, it can also work out cheaper. If this is tempting for you, consider the following tips to help you design and build your dream home. 

Setting a Budget

The first step is to set a budget. The nice thing about building a home is that you can spread the cost over time and make it more affordable, especially if you want to avoid going into debt. 

But in any case, you need to know how much you’re going to spend and how much you can afford before you sign any contracts or buy anything. Most home builder companies will provide a quote for certain designs, and you can always tweak the design of your home to make it cheaper. 

If you do want to save money, try to do so in a way that allows you to improve the property later down the line. So design a house that’s easy to expand or improve from the getgo, then your house can grow with your family and your budget. 

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