Charles and Hudson

There are some axioms related to home improvement that are just plain false but have been perpetuated by real estate agents, contractors, or homeowners who want to believe in some hard rules when it comes remodeling or renovating their home.

Here are some home improvement myth busters.

Top 4 Home Improvement Myths [HGTV]
Dean Johnson Debunks Some Common Myths About Home Improvement [Hometime]
5 Homeownership Tax Myths [MSN]
Debunking the Myths of Bathroom Design [Doityourself.com]
Five Mold Myths And Facts For Homeowners [Home Improvement Time]

Courtesy of the Manhattan Users Guide, we've got a new bookmark that I'm sure many non-New Yorkers may find interesting. The City Cook is focused on urbanites who are otherwise too busy or counter space impaired to cook a meal at home.

We understand this plight and realize that as much as we'd love to have Susan Serra remodel our kitchen, alas we are renters and she wouldn't really have much to work with. We look forward to the day that our oven range can stand alone and not be used for storage or be covered with a woodblock to add precious counter space. But I envision The City Cook may have us reaching for a Mauviel instead of a menu very soon.

Here are some great suggestions for planning a child safe garden that maximizes outdoor fun but protects both your children and your foliage.

Extreme-HowTo has a DIY solution for building backyard planters. These planters are built using pressure-treated landscape timber and are great as vegetable gardens or flower beds.

This family in Portland, Oregon decided to take advantage of their abundant rainfall and they began collecting rainwater for household use. They built this system themselves and have a great how-to accompanied by photos.