Hollywood married couple Emily Blunt, 29, and John Krasinski, 33 this month, recently bought a four-bedroom, 4,200-square-foot house in Ojai, California, according to the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets.

Ojai is a mellow town about 30 miles east of Santa Barbara and about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles -- not far, but not exactly commuting distance from Hollywood, which is what makes it so popular as a celebrity retreat.

Krasinski's old West Hollywood home. Click image to go to slideshow.The home was listed at $2,495,000, but Krasinski and Blunt picked it up for just $2,150,000, Zillow sales records indicate. Maybe that helps take some of the sting out of a $170,000 loss that Krasinski had to take last year on a house in West Hollywood. (He bought the two-bedroom place in 2006 for $1,050,000, Zillow reported, and listed it last year for $945,000. It eventually sold for $880,000.)

The U.K. Daily Mail calls the home an "eco-mansion," and TMZ declares the couple "environmental warriors" for buying "a $2 million house way out in the country --

Read More »from Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s new home on 5 acres in Ojai

I've painted -- and repainted -- many rooms in my various homes over time. My record is painting my daughter's room three times in one year, from bland-beige to beet-red to baby-blue (a teenager's room, however did you guess?). I've painted in every condition from easy-on brushwork for bedroom walls to angled applications for bathroom corners.

If you're like me, you may have become semi-efficient at completing a room-painting gig (at least to the point of not stepping in the paint pan). But if you're new to the home painting game, you can always use advice from one who's been there, done that.

Here are some tips to handle the challenge of "cutting-in" paint around decorative wood trim.

If you've already begun planning your room painting, it may have been obvious to you from the first that you'll need to protect the white wood trim from your bright green wall paint. (Unless you've already copped out and decided to paint the walls white.)

And there's a lot of wood trim to manage when

Read More »from Learn better brushstrokes for a prettier paint job

If you don't have the time to make every furnishing in your home a snowflake-grade expression of your individuality but still want a little cool factor, there's one emerging way to stay IKEA but go indie: limited-edition gig posters.

The Feist gig poster available at strawberrylunaWith MTV-sized budgets out and DIY whimsy in, bands are hiring independent designers to promote themselves. This is true with music videos — I have a friend who works at a small laser-etching shop that directed a video for OK Go — and with posters that are screen-printed in small batches by some renowned designers.

If you like The Pixies, you don't have to opt for an album cover on your wall. You can choose a fanciful four-color print, of which only 200 copies can be bought, for their 2010 concert in Kansas City. Chances are you'll be the only person in your ZIP code with it. And it costs just $30.

Boom! Plus-10 hipster experience points!

Sites abound with such posters, and they include Valhalla Studios, Poster Cabaret and

Read More »from 2012 gig posters worthy of your walls

Today, Spanish "fast fashion" line Zara, known for its inexpensive but of-the-moment clothing, finally made the Zara Home and Zara Home Kids lines available in the United States. Shipping is free through October.

At the moment, the site's stock is heavy on pale snow colors as well as silver and gold -- lovely for the upcoming holiday season. Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite, along with some prices. Are you surprised that the prices aren't a little lower? I am, but maybe I just don't know Zara well enough.

Above: The Gilboa frame at front is $25.90. The Leod jars are $49.90 and $59.90.

Above: Eddy dessert plate and dinner plate, $14.90 and $16.90; Pearl flatware, $2.90 and $3.90.

Above: Nearly monochromatic gray doesn't have to be boring if you play with sheer, fuzzy, shaggy and silky textures. See all of Zara Home's bedding.

Above: Vincent tablecloth, draped here to sumptuous effect, $189.

Above: Colorful Lawrence dinnerware, $14.90 to $16.90; Marta flatware $9.90;

Read More »from Zara Home online goes live in the U.S.

(Photo: Rebecca Lonergan/Modwalls)
Glass tile has been a hot trend for a while, and we generally see it in kitchen backsplashes and bathroom showers.

The medium has been around for years, but homeowners everywhere are starting to incorporate glass tile in fun, new ways in every room of the house.

Don't be afraid to get creative with color and placement, and remember that nothing is off limits if you really love the way it looks.

"From fireplace surrounds to entire media walls, customers are using either single pops of color or blends of glass tile to add glossy light to living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, bar areas, shelves, and swimming pools," says Rebecca Lonergan, founder and creative director of Modwalls.  "We've even seen our glass tile framed and hung as artwork in a hallway and used to cover a soffit in a kitchen."(Photo: Rebecca Lonergan/Modwalls)

As it has become more popular, the medium has evolved. There are now unlimited options in glass tile designs, from rectangular subway tiles to round tiles in a variety of sizes.

In the living

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We love this smart, gorgeous infographic from Painters of Louisville and NowSourcing. Did you know that yellow makes babies cry?

Read even more on the subject in "20 ways to use color psychology in your home" (with plenty of photos, of course).

If you're a down-with-it-diyer like me, I'm sure you've come across about every home improvement tool you can imagine. Or have you? Check out some unfamiliar but very cool tools here.

We'll describe the first set of three, so you'll know what may be missing from your tool set and what to get for your next home renovation project.

Just for fun, we'll also show you another three tools that seem like they come from another planet and ask what you think they do!

Tools for special projects

Electric caulk gun.  This cordless caulk and adhesive gun includes a clear barrel so you can easily see remaining material as you work. The powerful applicator delivers great pushing force for tough applications and the highest level of bead control. It even stops excess material from oozing with the release of the trigger (saves me some messy work!).

 

 

Multi-material cutting tool. The so-called EZ Shear cuts many different materials, including laminate flooring, engineered hardwood flooring, vinyl

Read More »from DIY tool school

(Photo: Whirlpool)

For the past two decades, stainless steel has absolutely dominated the appliance market. Almost every new home or kitchen rebuild features the popular finish. But could the era of stainless steel finally be coming to an end?

Twenty years ago, when stainless steel was first breaking the black and white appliance mold, the surface was featured on high-end designer appliances and quickly became the aspirational finish for anyone looking for a kitchen that says, "I made it."

Since then, stainless steel has littered the market and some designers feel it's a tired and overused material, while consumers complain that stains are hard to clean and scratches are hard to remove. The smudgy fingerprints that decorate many such appliances are so difficult to remove that they make the name "stainless" steel seem a little ironic.

"I'm seeing more and more black appliances these days," Kit Hale, a broker in Roanoke, Va. told Consumer Reports. "Like stainless steel, it goes with a lot of things, but

Read More »from Have we seen that last of stainless steel appliances?