HGTV Magazine September 2014

Birdhouse Air Balloon 10¾"-tall ceramic birdhouse in lime, $38, anthropologie.com Door Smooth-Star fiberglass entry door, $370, thermatru.com for stores; paint: Granny Smith Apple by Glidden; Kwikset Arlington #801ANLIP exterior handleset in Venetian bronze, $97.50, build.com; 4"-tall custom street number door decal in black, $10, leenthegraphicsqueen.com Outdoor pillow Fresh American Mingled 22" x 22" polypropylene pillow in tangerine, $58, dashandalbert.com Chair Montclair Deluxe acacia armchair, $180, pier1.com Outdoor clock Compass 16"-diameter cast-aluminum clock, $99, frontgate.com Mailbox Modern 12" x 14" metal mailbox, $30, HomeGoods stores We added pieces of wood molding to make a chevron pattern on this door! For the how-to, see page 155. Welcome mat Classic Home Zuri coir doormat, $35, wayfair.com Planter Taper 16"W x 10"D x 14"H polyethylene planter in blue, $149, roomandboard.com. We planted coleus in…

• TILES: EliteTile 12 ¼" x 12" glazed porcelain mosaic penny tiles in vintage yellow, wayfair.com • COUNTERTOP: Pulsar Nebula Code natural quartz, silestone.com for buying info • WALL PAINT: Canary Song by Glidden • ART Red Apple 8" x 10" unframed watercolor print, elfshoppe.etsy.com; Studio Décor Home Collection 8" x 10" flat frame in white, michaels.com • PULLS: 4 ¼" milk glass pulls in sunshine yellow, lookintheattic.com Plates Lattice 10½"-diameter porcelain dinner plate in tangerine, $14, cwonder.com Iittala Kastehelmi 6 ¾"-diameter glass dessert plate in blue, $20, macys.com Seventies California Gold Dots and Trinidad Orange Squares 10"-diameter melamine dinner plate, $28, zazzle.com Lina 8½"-diameter porcelain salad plate in aqua, $19, villeroy-boch.com Bowls 5½"-diameter porcelain latte bowls in seafoam, $20 for a set of 4, anthropologie.com Ikat 5½"-diameter porcelain cereal…

I'm going to try to calculate how many kitchen photo shoots I've worked on as a magazine editor. I'd say 30 to 35 a year times a dozen years, plus the five in this issue (including the cover), carry the one, and—wow!—I'm already up to at least 365 kitchens. That's a lot of countertops, cabinets, and canisters. And I look forward to many more. I often see people getting more creative in the kitchen than in any other space—from switching out drawer pulls to finding a new cookie jar. (Heads up—there's an adorable striped one on page 119.) Over the years, I've fine-tuned a strategy for quickly sizing up a kitchen's style in order to get great photos and pinpoint the best ideas. First take in the main elements: the…

Your June issue was fantastic—especially the double covers. I love how you repainted everything on the second version. The paint shades in "Spill Your Paint Color" and the tips in "Can This Thing Be Painted?" were all great too. Thanks for another super issue. —Regan Lee, Florence, SC I was overjoyed to see "You Can Never Have Too Many Bowls" in the June issue. My opinion exactly! I've lived in Berlin for more than 20 years and my favorite pastime is looking for treasures, mainly bowls, at secondhand shops. Thanks for the ideas. —Tammie Matlack, Berlin, Germany "Non-Tools in My Toolbox" from your June issue mentioned using baby oil to remove latex paint from your skin. What a great tip! It required no excess scrubbing—the color came off in seconds—and…

$2,500+ worth of giveaways! French press, page 120 5 winners French Bull Multi Dots 1-quart porcelainFrench press, gibsonusa.com for stores Blue planter, page 5 5 winners Taper 16"W x 10"D x 14"H polyethylene planter in blue, roomandboard.com Red pillow, page 87 20 winners Premier Prints Fynn 16" x 16" cotton pillow in rojo, landofpillows.com Minty lamp, page 42 5 winners Happy Chic by Jonathan Adler Nina Geo 11½"-tall ceramic lamp with cotton and polyester shade, jcp.com Lunch bag, page 43 10 winners Freezable polyester canvas lunch cooler in bounce, packit.com Chair, page 46 2 winners Swoop linen armchair in French yellow, gilt.com Chevron corkboard, page 54 20 winners Zig-Zag 15¾" x 15¾" corkboard, containerstore.com 4 demitasse cups and saucers, page 10 5 winners China demitasse cups and saucers in turquoise,…

THE HABIT: yanking the cord to unplug the vacuum WHY IT'S BAD: Repeatedly tugging the vacuum cord instead of bending down and pulling the plug out of the socket could cause a whole host of damage. The cord could split open, a wire inside could break, the plug could bend out of whack, or you could even crack the outlet itself—all of which could lead to pricey repairs. THE HABIT: ALWAYS WASHING CLOTHES IN HOT WATER WHY IT'S BAD: Only whites, on occasion, and your dirtiest loads, like oil-splattered clothes, require a high-temp setting. For all others, including bloodstained items, cold water will do the trick. And because most of the electricity your washer uses goes toward heating the water, you can save up to 50 cents a load if…