The KOHLER Spa Tower features a 14-foot-high minaret-like shower space that's bathed in natural light.

So, you’re ready to remodel your bathroom just in time for spring. Could you use some inspiration?

If your bathroom has space to spare, welcome to the redefinition of luxury: the KOHLER Spa Tower.

The Spa Tower redefines the very concept of luxury, and is the brainchild of designer Eric Cohler. Designed specifically for the KOHLER Design Center in Kohler, Wisc., the KOHLER Spa Tower combines Old World design elements with KOHLER’s most popular luxury shower items in a single extraordinary setting.

A waterproof shower curtain provides privacy.

Cohler looked to European architecture for inspiration and found it in some of Italy’s most popular and stirring architecture: The towers of Siena, the Pantheon in Rome, and Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library in Florence. The result is arguably the most aesthetically pleasing bathroom environment ever assembled.

Cohler lined the inside of this oval-shaped shower space with Ann Sacks linen and limestone tiles, punctuating the Italian-inspired architecture and colors. The earth tones are extremely easy on the eyes and endorse relaxation.

The Spa Tower’s focal point is easy to find. A soaring 14-foot-high minaret-like shower area creates a unique environment rarely seen or experienced in a shower. And the combination of lights, skylight, and windows bathe this area in a mostly natural and thoroughly relaxing brightness.

The bathroom and shower fixtures Cohler chose for the Spa Tower are some of KOHLER’s most popular. The bathroom area includes a comfort-height toilet and self-rimming bathroom sink from the Leighton collection (note the towel storage beneath), as well as the double handle widespread bathroom faucet from KOHLER’s Memoirs collection.

The KOHLER Spa Tower also features a comfort-height toilet and bathroom faucet, sink and exclusive lighting.

Above the sink is a framed and mirrored medicine cabinet bookended by wall sconces designed by Cohler himself. In the interest of privacy, waterproof curtains can be drawn to separate the bathroom from the shower.

The Spa Tower’s innovative shower area features two shower stations. Each station has its own KOHLER MasterShower three-way bodyspray, and is complemented by a multi-function handshower from the Forte collection and a multi-function showerhead from the Memoirs collection. KOHLER’s DTV digital interface is the Spa Tower’s final element, elevating the user’s shower experience with six presets for one-touch access to saved settings, and provides hydro-massage and temperature treatment programs.

Now, what would you like your bathroom to feature?

Thank you for reading our home improvement blog!

Add door hardware to your front door to increase security and create an unforgettable first impression.

Today’s front door hardware is more than just handles, latches, and locks. From fashionable finishes and ultra-durable door hardware parts to electronic door locks that are as good-looking as they are effective, it’s time to find out what’s offered today for:

• Handlesets
• Deadbolts
• Electronic door hardware
• Accessories

Handlesets
What is your guests’ first focus when they approach your front door? Odds are it’s your handleset. As the front door’s centerpiece, it gives you the opportunity to express your creativity, allow entry and ensure safety.

Deadbolts
Deadbolts are the perfect combination of added protection and complementary good looks. Manufacturers often provide perfectly matched handlesets and deadbolts in a set to give your front door a coordinated look.

Electronic door hardware
Ready for the future? Here it is. Electronic door hardware removes the house keys from your pocket while elevating the security level in front of your home. Electronic door hardware provides a universal contemporary look to complement virtually any theme, and is super easy to install.

You’ll never need to hide a key under the mat or behind that weird ceramic goose in front of your home again. And if you need to give the handyman or neighbor quick access to your home, you can easily change the key code once they’re finished.

Accessories
We all know little things can make a huge impact when it comes to design and functionality—the front door is no different. Hinges round out any theme at your front door, kick plates are functional complements and address numbers extend the motif onto the front of your house. And, of course, outdoor lighting can brighten your front door, increase visibility and boost curb appeal.

Door hardware gives your front door the look you want while increasing the security level for your greatest investment.

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!

Firing up a chimney is the perfect way to heat the home. Make sure to take the proper cleaning precautions first. Image source: jackarnoldblog.com

One thing to remember about your chimney is that it can act as entrance to your home for a number of unwanted things—from living or dead creatures to random debris and frigid air.

Proper home improvement chimney maintenance is critical to ensuring all three keep their distance. But another thing to remember is that a failure to perform chimney upkeep can also prevent certain things from getting out of our home—like the carbon monoxide produced when you light a fire. Here are some essential chimney maintenance tips for the well being of your home and family.

Sometimes it just takes a professional.

• Hire a professional to come out and inspect your chimney at least once per year. If you tend to put your chimney through the paces during the cold season, you might consider calling out a professional more often than that. You can only take your DIY efforts so far when it comes to proper chimney maintenance, but there’s no replacement for professional care.
• Ensure your chimney flue is clear of debris prior to each use. This doesn’t require you to do anything more than sticking your head into your unlit fireplace, opening the flue, and taking a quick peek to ensure the coast is clear before lighting a fire. Look for foreign obstructions that might have made their way in and that could prevent smoke from exiting your home. If you spy anything of the sort, don’t use your chimney until you’ve called out a pro for an official inspection.
• Clean your chimney at least once per year by removing all of the ashes with a hand shovel and scrubbing the interior of your fireplace with soap and water. You can also pick up slightly more powerful cleaners made specifically for removing soot stains.
• If you’re not averse to heights, you can clear your chimney cap of leaves, bird nests, and other debris by extending a ladder or climbing onto your roof. While you’re up there, it’s always a good idea to ensure the flashing between your chimney and roof is intact—if you spy any cracks, patch them up yourself using a caulk gun.

This blog post was provided by MyMove.com, an online resource where you can find the information, products and moving deals you need to streamline and save during a move.

Painting your front door adds instant curb appeal, makes your home stand out and can uplift the mood every time you enter your home.

One of the things the New Year represents is new beginnings. And a way to rejuvenate your home for the New Year is to paint the front door.

A freshly painted front door adds instant curb appeal, and helps it stand out from the rest of the doors in the neighborhood. It says you care about your home, and can help make it easy to find for guests: “It’s the one with the red front door, you can’t miss it!”

A newly painted front door can also uplift the mood if you live in an area that’s prone to a lot of rain or gets clobbered with fog. Coming home from work, the grocery store or picking the kids up from school (or all three!), you probably have a lot on your mind even before you open the front door. What better way to greet you and change the mood than to have an entry with a color that belies the dreary weather or your troubled mind?

Whether you’re in the bustling big city, landlocked in the suburbs or just a few steps from the ocean, each color has a purpose and can work wonders for your front door and, as a result, your entire home.

• Blue represents the sky, water and abundance.
• Red is a bold choice. In Feng Shui, as well as for weary travelers in early America, red means “welcome.”
• Yellow evokes mental clarity, humor and wisdom.
• Green expresses balance, peace, compassion and harmony.
• Orange is bright, upbeat and popular with contemporary and modern architecture.

A quick update to the front door can preview what’s happening inside the home. Even a fresh coat of paint can help your front door stand out like new again.

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!

Moving during any time of year can be challenging enough, but what if you are moving during winter? There are a few things you can do to simplify this endeavor.

You can’t always pick your moment. Sometimes, circumstance dictates that what you’d much rather put off for spring or summer must happen now—regardless of how cold it is outside or what a pain in the derriere moving in winter can be. But you don’t have to go it alone and you don’t have to bumble your way through it. Here are a few tips to help make your winter move a success.

• Stay updated. Regardless of whether you’re just in the packing stages or getting ready to drive across town to pick up your rented moving truck, staying on top of weather updates is critical. The last thing you want to do is find yourself in the thick of the worst blizzard in history with half your boxes in the moving truck and the other half still inside your soon-to-be ex home.
• Come bundled. Sure, it’d be splendid to be able to carry out the tough task of lugging boxes up and down flights of stairs in shorts and a tank top, but how practical is that in winter? Dress the part and always bring an extra layer of clothing. Moving’s a big enough pain without having to worry about frostbite, too.
• Anticipate slick conditions. Sure, you might have a few hoodies lying around to help you deal with the icy temperatures as you shuttle boxes back and forth from your home to truck and truck to home again—but how’s your footwear? Furthermore, are you equipped with rubber mats to prevent from slipping and potentially injuring yourself? Even if it’s dry when you go to rent your moving truck, consider all possibilities and go prepared.
• Plan on having to dig out. If you live in a snowy state but Frosty hasn’t visited you yet, don’t expect him not to make a grand appearance just because you’re in the middle of a time-sensitive move. Bring snow shovels, ice scrapers and anything else you might need to deal with a sudden shift in wintry weather.
• Keep your plants warm. If you’re moving with plants, the cold temperatures could kill them. Take extra measures to keep your foliage fine by wrapping them in plastic bags or delivering them separately from everything else you’re tossing into the back of your moving truck.
• Take your time. One of the biggest risks to your personal safety when moving in winter is rushing. Understand ahead of time that moving is going to take much longer than it would in summer, and plan accordingly by starting earlier or giving yourself an extra day. Slow and steady wins the race, but hustling to and fro in winter can cause a bruised and swollen bum.

This blog post was provided by MyMove.com, an online resource where you can find the information, products and moving deals you need to streamline and save during a move.

Build.com will take part in corporate giving through July 2012, choosing from five different charities each month to be voted on by its Facebook fans.

Northern California-based home improvement company uses light-hearted sales contest as springboard for philanthropy

What began as a friendly battle for sales supremacy soon evolved into monthly donations to charity. Build.com is gearing up for some fun corporate giving.

In Aug. 2011, Christian Friedland, President of online home improvement company Build.com, challenged Pro salesman Gary Clark to a four-hour sales contest, with the winner’s total to be given to charity. Clark rang up $8,000 in sales, which Build.com (No. 80 on Internet Retailer Magazine’s Top 500 List) will split evenly over an eight-month period.

The first beneficiary was Thanks-A-Bunch, which transforms $10 donations into $50 restaurant gift cards for American veterans.

“The donations are important to help show that Build.com has personality and compassion, which can sometimes get lost today,” Clark said. “We also feel that philanthropy is just one significant aspect of our overall company culture.”

For the second donation, Build.com has asked its Facebook fans to choose from five different charities: Habitat For Humanity, The American Red Cross; Rebuilding Together; LIVESTRONG; and Charity: Water. In addition, according to Social Media manager Mario Magliozzi, “with each monthly poll, we’re encouraging voters to submit their ideas for charities worthy of our attention and donation through July 2012.”

While Friedland originally challenged Clark to the sales duel, it was Clark who envisioned the donations—a collaboration that truly defines the culture at Build.com.

“As a company, we’ve been highly successful in our space, and as a result have the opportunity to be generous and philanthropic,” Magliozzi said. “It’s also part of our company culture to be creative and willing to try out new ideas. So when an employee suggests that we consider an idea like this, we listen.”

Build.com offers the most efficient online home improvement shopping experience. The Northern California-based company also has a zeal for helping meaningful causes. In July 2010, Build.com responded to the record-setting floods in Nasvhille, Tenn., and donated $5,000 to the charity Hands On Nashville via Facebook campaign. Build.com has also volunteered at two different building sites for the local Habitat For Humanity chapter in 2010 and 2011.

About Build.com
Based in Chico, Calif., Build.com is innovating the online home improvement retail space. Build.com creates a unique shopping experience by encouraging customers to visit a diverse range of niche stores within its network. Build.com, the second-largest online home improvement company, is among the online category leaders in plumbing, lighting, door hardware and ventilation. For more information on Build.com, visit the company’s corporate site or its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BuildDotCom.

Contact: Sean Murphy, Public Relations, Build.com, smurphy(at)build(dot)com and (800) 375-3403, x476.

Through July 2012, Build.com will be donating $1,000 a month to one of five select charities, and we're asking our Facebook fans to choose which charity receives our donation.

On Aug. 25, 2011, the president of Build.com, Christian Friedland, bet our top salesman, Gary Clark, that he could outsell him in a four-hour competition.

It was billed as “The President vs. The Pro.”

But it evolved into something bigger than just the contest.

From there, Build.com committed to donate the sum of both salesmen to various charities. The result of the contest was $8,000 in total revenue, to be broken into eight monthly $1,000 donations.

Our first $1,000 donation went to Thanksabunch.org, an organization helping to acknowledge the hard work and sacrifice of American soldiers. And instead of choosing the remaining charities ourselves, we’re asking our Facebook fans and blog readers to decide whom to donate to. So, we’ve created separate polls for each of remaining the $1,000 monthly donations.

Each poll will open on the first Monday of every month, from January 2012 to July 2012, and will be announced on our Facebook page. The charities battling for this month’s donation are:

• Charity: Water
• LIVESTRONG
• Rebuilding Together
• American Red Cross
• Habitat For Humanity

To vote for one of these charities to receive this month’s donation, go ahead and tell us in the comments section below, or visit our Facebook page and do the same.

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!

Clean air outside is natural. A home humidifier can help clear the air inside your home.

Love it or hate it, winter is a reality we’ve all got to deal with. One of the certainties of winter is increased exposure to colds and flus, either of which can make suffering through bitter cold all the more intolerable. But what if you could buy an appliance that would help keep you healthy and warmer at the same time? If this sounds too good to be true, it’s not. It’s just the way a home humidifier works.

Here are just a few of the benefits of running a humidifier in your home during winter:

• Humidifiers can’t cure the common cold, but they can make it a bit more bearable by adding moisture to the air you breathe. Breathing in dry air when you’re sick causes your throat and nose to dry up as you sleep, which can greatly exacerbate cold symptoms.
• Using a humidifier when you’re sick can also help you breathe easier if you’re congested, eliminating the need for cough medicine and helping you get a more natural, sound rest through the night.
• The moisture a humidifier creates can even decrease the chances of your getting sick in the first place, since viruses tend to thrive and grow faster in dry environments.
• Running your humidifier in winter can actually help keep your home warmer while letting you ease up on the heating bill. As everyone knows, humidity produces a much warmer environment that may be unwelcome in summer, but can be a lifesaver in the midst of winter.

Humidifiers can make the icy cold winter months bearable by keeping you more comfortable when you’re sick and making your home warmer by expending less energy—but it’s important to clean your humidifier regularly to avoid creating and stirring up mold and other bacteria that can make your health problems worse.

This blog post was provided by MyMove.com, an online resource where you can find the information, products and moving deals you need to streamline and save during a move.

Inspiration can come in all shapes and forms. Most often, though, it comes in the form of imagery. Here are few pictures of areas in the home that recently caught our eye on Pinterest.

Just the sight of this in-ground soaking tub drops my blood pressure. This Zen-inspired bathroom features bold angles, gentle curves, and natural elements to create harmony and calmness.

 *****

Contemporary, streamlined, bright, spacious, and, above all, comfortable. Larger kitchens that benefit from kitchen islands are free to apply a few more helpful and stylish design elements. The series of pendants brighten this space, the bar faucet and sink augment their main counterparts, and the modern-themed range hood is out of the way, yet flawlessly functional.

 *****

This imaginative way to carve in a little reading nook is practical, functional, and integrates the bookshelves. With a pair of wall-mounted reading lights above your head, you could literally spend all day here—or night.

*****

The backyard living space has always been a favorite of mine. And I’ve dreamt of having some sort of outdoor kitchen blend with an outdoor fireplace where get-togethers can extend deep into the night. Looks like someone else felt the same way I did.

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!

Going all out decorating the front yard is on its way out this Christmas. Folks are downsizing and moving toward traditional scenes instead.

Build.com is introducing a new guest blogger. Carolyn McKibbin comes to us from MyMove.com, an online resource for everything you need to simplify a move into a new home. This is the first of many guest posts to come from Carolyn, and we’re excited to feature her first post today.

*****

You don’t have to pull a Clark W. Griswold and run up a $5,000 light bill to show your neighbors you’ve got holiday spirit. In fact, there are far less time-consuming and much more inexpensive methods of doing so that won’t get you labeled the neighborhood nut job. Here are 5 of the coolest trends in outdoor holiday décor to try out.

1. For starters, buck the typical, boring color trend of reds and greens by lighting the exterior of your home with green and purple lights. Standard soft white lights that give off a bluish hue are also hip, giving your home frontage a more subdued, classy look.
2. If you’re not into the idea of risking life and limb to string lights from the eaves of your roof, the addition of a few colored floodlights pointing the way to the entrance of your home can be a much simpler way of gracing it with a cool, elegant and uniquely modern feel. They’re also much easier to “take down” when the season’s over.
3. Why hide your home’s entrance behind a dazzling wall of holiday-themed yard statues when you can instead focus your efforts into creating a warm and welcoming entryway? The best part is you don’t have to overdo it. Try framing your front door with a string of soft white lights and cap it off with a simple wreath. Adorning your exterior lights with colorful ribbons and bows is also a simple, stylish way of expressing your holiday spirit without coming off tacky.
4. Gargantuan, inflatable Santa figures are out—and simple nostalgia is in with a bang, as you can see by the growing number of “old school” yard placings like decorative sleds and wagons.
5. Not thrilled about the idea of lights and yard statues but love plants? You can bring the foliage around your home into the spirit of the season through the prominent placing of a few poinsettias by your front door, or a row of dwarf evergreens lining your exterior walkways. These are also perfectly conducive to some minimalistic decorations, like battery-operated LED lights you won’t have to worry about plugging in.

This blog post was provided by MyMove.com, an online resource where you can find the information, products and moving deals you need to streamline and save during a move.