home improvement
Living Color: On-trend hues reflect comforting lifestyle design
Upgrading your home design is an opportunity to tap into new color schemes. Knowing what shades are trendy and how different hues can work together for a cohesive design is an important step in creating an attractive design aesthetic.
Last Updated on May 4, 2025 by Daily News Staff
(Family Features) Upgrading your home design is an opportunity to tap into new color schemes. Knowing what shades are trendy and how different hues can work together for a cohesive design is an important step in creating an attractive design aesthetic.
While you might turn to family or friends for inspiration for your next DIY project, another resource for collecting concepts and options to upgrade your space is the internet. Consider the Valspar Color-verse, which allows visitors to explore colors in a unique way and offers paint color inspiration and decor trends they can envision within their own homes.
The interactive virtual home showcases the latest paint and design trends so you can get creative for your next project. After experiencing the Valspar 2023 Colors of the Year firsthand by painting walls and art from the collection to see the 3D virtual house come to life, you can find the perfect paint shade for your space.
“Through the Color-verse, visitors can experience the 12 Colors of the Year in a realistic virtual home,” said Gus Morales, vice president of brand marketing for CBG Sherwin-Williams. “Aside from exploring the Colors of the Year, the home is an engaging space for visitors to create art, play games, and order paint chips to see how their top color picks look and feel in their homes.”
Color Trends to Consider
Many of this year’s popular nature-inspired designs are all about finding comfort, embracing a flexible lifestyle, rediscovering joy and leaning into the growing DIY movement. The most trend-worthy, forward-thinking and livable colors reflect specific facets or emotions of life so you can update your well-used spaces with thoughtful colors that evoke positive energy and lasting change.
Comfort and Contentment: If your goal is to create a space that envelopes you in a sense of comfort, consider a white with a yellow undertone that makes a space cozy like a soft blanket, like Cozy White from Valspar. Complement the softness with a muted clay that brings in brown undertones that suggest gentle contentment.
Calming Restoration: Tap into the calming tones of nature with a hazy green that has duality, which brings in both the calm and liveliness of the great outdoors. Another option is a deep midnight blue used as an elegant calming shade to restore mind, body and home.
Healthful, Mindful Living: Create an uplifting space where your wellness is a priority. Evoke a greater sense of health consciousness with a light blue that has a dose of softness used as a fresh neutral with uplifting qualities of a modern pastel, like Valspar’s Rising Tide. Reinforce the benefits of mindful living with a cool gray that is balanced by the warmth of the yellow undertone, a natural hue like a cotton muslin cloth.
Connections and Joy: Establish spaces where you can celebrate relationships with others, the world around you and happiness in your being. Consider hues like a white softened by a violet undertone, a harmonious shade promoted by digital connectivity. Evoke joy with a dependable classic tan that features a yellow undertone suggesting new life with uplifting qualities.
Natural Balance: Bringing hints of the outdoors into a well-loved living space creates a soothing ambiance. Consider a warm neutral brown tone inspired by the shades found in nature or a cooled down blue that strikes a beautiful balance between cool and warm shades in your design.
Inspirational Thought: A work-from-home or crafting space needs color to inspire great thinking. Try a faded natural terracotta that sparks individuality and warmth or a deep blackened olive, an on-trend neutral that embodies charm and sophistication.
Explore the tool and find more colorful ideas at Valspar.com.
Navigate New Colors
Exploring color options before you apply them to a home improvement or design project gives you the chance to experience and visualize different styles before you fully commit. Using a tool like Valspar’s Color-verse, a 3D virtual home, you can experience on-trend color palettes that inspire your next big project through resources like:
- An interactive feature that allows you to repaint walls of a living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, walls and cabinets using the 12 Colors of the Year then takes you directly to the site to order free paint chips to try at home
- An artisticelement where you can create a 3D panorama nature scene, explore others’ artwork and share creations on social media
A light-hearted game that inspires you to get on the road to gather your home improvement essentials
SOURCE:
Valspar
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Health
5 Babyproofing Tips for Baby Safety Month
Babyproofing is about anticipating those discoveries before little ones make them. In honor of National Baby Safety Month, consider these tips you can use to make your home safer all year round.
5 Babyproofing Tips for Baby Safety Month
(Feature Impact) Outsmarting a baby can be harder than it sounds – especially when it comes to transforming your home into a safe place for them to explore. Through their eyes, a coffee table becomes a climbing opportunity, a dangling phone charger looks like a teething toy and a cabinet of cleaning supplies could be an exciting travel destination.
Babyproofing is about anticipating those discoveries before little ones make them. In honor of National Baby Safety Month, consider these tips to make your home safer all year round.
Install Gates and Doorknob Covers
Crawling babies and stairs are a bad combination. Make sure the two never have the chance to meet by securely installing safety gates at the top and bottom of staircases to thwart young explorers. Gates or doorknob covers can also block access to other rooms and areas you’d prefer to keep off limits, like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas.
Use Safety Latches Wisely
Cabinets and drawers can contain a myriad of dangerous items, from cleaning products to sharp objects and medications. Even if you have rooms gated off, treat safety latches and locked storage receptacles as a second line of defense to make sure babies and toddlers can’t rummage where they shouldn’t.
Stress-Test Furniture
As babies and toddlers transition from crawling to walking, they often try using furniture to pull themselves up. Tall or unstable objects like TV stands, small tables and bookshelves can tip over if they aren’t properly secured. Try giving these objects a shake to see whether they’re easily moveable or wobbly; if so, anchor them to the floor or wall when possible. While you’re at it, check for sharp corners at the right height to bonk little heads and cover them with softer edge protectors.
Cover Outlets and Stow Cords
Electrical outlets can be tempting targets for curious fingers. Outfit them with covers or plastic safety caps, especially if you don’t already have tamper-resistant receptacles with built-in mechanisms to block foreign objects from entering the slots. As you’re going about your outlet audit, pay attention to cords as well. When possible, tuck them away or secure them with cord organizing systems, and block access to objects like lamps where cords can be used for tugging and toppling.
See the World at Their Level
Although it might feel silly, one of the best ways to spot hazards around your home is to scout for them from a baby’s perspective. Try getting as close to the floor as you can then look around each room for anything that could interest a young child and pose potential danger. In particular, keep an eye out for small objects that could become choking hazards, like dropped coins, batteries or loose toy pieces.
As children grow, so do the needs of your space. Visit eLivingtoday.com for more ideas on designing your home to fit your family.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
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home improvement
The New Rules of Remodeling: How to Balance Style, Durability and Cost
New Rules of Remodeling: Homeowners are approaching exterior remodeling with a sharper focus than ever before. Higher material costs, longer project timelines and a growing emphasis on long-term value are reshaping how they make decisions. The most effective projects begin with thoughtful planning and product selection while keeping an eye on long-term outcomes. To get a better understanding of these updated guidelines, consider this guidance.
The New Rules of Remodeling: How to Balance Style, Durability and Cost
(Feature Impact) Homeowners are approaching exterior remodeling with a sharper focus than ever before. Higher material costs, longer project timelines and a growing emphasis on long-term value are reshaping how they make decisions.
The “new rules of remodeling” are clear: Success depends on striking the right balance between style, durability and overall cost of ownership.
Curb appeal still matters, but not at the expense of performance or maintenance demands. Likewise, upfront savings mean little if materials require frequent repair or replacement. The most effective projects begin with thoughtful planning and product selection while keeping an eye on long-term outcomes.
To get a better understanding of these updated guidelines, consider this guidance from the home remodeling experts at Westlake Royal Building Products, a leader in the manufacturing of siding and accessories, trim and moulding, roofing, stone, windows and outdoor living.
Planning Takes Precedence
Digital tools are playing a larger role in helping homeowners make informed decisions earlier in the remodeling process. In fact, nearly 30% of homeowners plan to invest more than 10 hours researching before hiring a contractor, highlighting a shift toward more deliberate, front-loaded planning, according to Modernize’s 2025 Homeowner Insights survey. Platforms like Design Canvas reflect this change. The tool allows users to visualize exterior renovations using realistic previews, experiment with materials and color palettes and generate product lists, all before beginning construction.
This kind of planning reduces uncertainty and helps avoid costly mid-project changes, which is part of a broader trend: More homeowners are investing significant time toward researching projects upfront to ensure smarter, more efficient execution. Homeowners can now test design choices, align expectations with budgets and move forward with greater confidence.
“With the launch of our new website and Design Canvas, our goal was to create a seamless and inspiring experience that reflects the innovation and breadth of our product offerings,” said Steve Booz, vice president of marketing at Westlake Royal Building Products. “This is a launch pad where customers can explore everything Westlake Royal has to offer, discover the right products for their next project and bring their visions to life through creativity, education and interactive design.”
Durability is as Important as Style
Once the homeowner establishes a clear vision, material selection becomes the next critical step. That is particularly true for siding, which plays a central role in both aesthetics and protection.
Products like TruExterior Lap Siding demonstrate how manufacturers are responding to modern homeowner priorities. Designed to replicate the look of traditional cedar, it delivers the depth and shadow lines associated with classic wood siding, without the vulnerabilities that often come with it.
Its poly-ash composition provides resistance to warping, cracking and splitting while maintaining dimensional stability in varying climates. The material can be installed with standard tools, painted in a wide range of colors and even used in ground-contact applications. These attributes translate to lower maintenance requirements and fewer long-term repair costs.
This combination of aesthetic flexibility and durability directly supports the new remodeling framework. Homeowners no longer need to choose between appearance and performance. They can achieve both while staying within budget.
Cost and Timing are Still Deciding Factors
Timing and cost efficiency also factor into the equation. Projects that begin with clear planning and reliable materials tend to move more smoothly, avoiding delays tied to redesigns, product substitutions or unexpected maintenance considerations, which can also help keep the project on budget.
Ultimately, the new rules of remodeling are less about tradeoffs and more about alignment. Style, durability and cost are no longer competing priorities. Rather, they are interconnected elements of a successful project.
As the remodeling landscape continues to change, those who approach projects with this balanced mindset will be best positioned to achieve results that look better, last longer and cost less over the long haul. Explore products and design tools to assist with your next project at westlakeroyalbuildingproducts.com.
SOURCE:
Westlake Royal Building Products
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Consumer Corner
Fall Home Maintenance Checklist: 8 Steps to Prepare Your Home for Cold Weather
As temperatures cool, now is an ideal time to prepare your home for cold weather. Taking care of seasonal maintenance before winter arrives can help protect you and your wallet from unexpected and costly repairs.
Fall Home Maintenance Checklist: 8 Steps to Prepare Your Home for Cold Weather
(Feature Impact) As temperatures cool, now is an ideal time to prepare your home for winter. Taking care of seasonal maintenance before the cold weather arrives can help protect you and your wallet from unexpected and costly repairs.
From clearing gutters to scheduling an HVAC tune-up, tackling a few projects now can help set your home up for a safe and comfortable winter. Consider this your ultimate fall home maintenance checklist from the experts at Carrier.
1. Clean Gutters
Leaves and debris collect quickly in home gutters and downspouts. Make sure they are clear so water can drain properly and away from your home’s foundation. If you wait until after temperatures drop, you run the risk of ice dams and water damage.
2. Inspect Your Outdoor HVAC Equipment
Remove leaves, grass clippings and debris that may have accumulated around your outdoor unit. Maintaining proper clearance can help support airflow and system performance throughout the season.
3. Replace HVAC Filters
A dirty filter can restrict airflow and force your system to work harder, potentially increasing energy use and reducing comfort. A simple filter check can also help prepare your heating system for increased use. Check your HVAC filter before turning on your heating system and continue inspecting it throughout the winter. To help maintain proper airflow, Carrier typically recommends replacing air filters every 1-3 months.
4. Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
When changing clocks, test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace batteries as needed. Working carbon monoxide alarms are especially important as temperatures fall and home heating systems begin running more frequently.
5. Schedule Your HVAC Tune-Up Before Winter Arrives
Don’t wait until the first cold day of the season to find out your heating system isn’t ready for winter. Annual maintenance can help improve efficiency, extend equipment life and identify potential issues before the heating season begins. Experts often recommend having an HVAC professional perform annual furnace maintenance in the fall before heating season begins. Routine maintenance can help keep a system operating in tip-top shape and allow a technician to identify smaller issues before they become costly repairs.
However, if replacement is recommended, the upfront price doesn’t necessarily have to stand between you and a more comfortable home. Consider options from Carrier, which offers flexible financing options through participating dealers. Depending on the financing plan you qualify for and your home’s heating and cooling needs, a new system could cost less than you think. Homeowners can also explore utility rebates on qualifying equipment.
6. Test Your Thermostat
Testing your thermostat early helps ensure your heating system is communicating properly before temperatures drop. Switch to heating mode early to make sure your system responds properly (just don’t forget to turn it back off). Replace batteries, if necessary, and consider whether a smart thermostat could provide additional comfort and control over your home’s heating schedule.
7. Seal Air Leaks Around Doors and Windows
Drafts can make a home feel colder and allow warm air inside your house to escape. Inspect weatherstripping around doors and windows and replace it where needed. Caulk visible gaps to help keep conditioned air inside and improve your family’s comfort.
8. Check Your Home’s Insulation
Finally, look at insulation in areas such as the attic, crawl spaces and basement. Doing so can help keep heated air where it belongs and reduce the workload on your heating system all winter long.
To learn more about preparing your heating or cooling system for the season, exploring financing and rebates or finding a local expert, visit Carrier.com.
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