Architecture

For an almost instant decorative touch to a room that you won’t live with forever, an adhesive wall art kit is an easy way to kickstart your DIY skills. The peel-and-stick artwork stickers are simple to apply and easy to remove with no danger of damaging the walls. Think dorm room, nursery, anywhere a permanent wallpaper won’t work.

One of the first do-it-yourself projects we attempted was installing ceiling tiles over a less-than-lovely drywall ceiling pockmarked with small cracks. We were amazed at how that improvement added warmth and style to an otherwise ordinary room. It’s no surprise that the ceiling is often considered the fifth wall of a room by designers because today there are so many patterns that can create eye-popping appeal.

Perhaps you have a large bedroom and dream of an elaborate window seat. Maybe a well-placed breakfast nook could breathe new life into your kitchen.

Q: Yo, Tim. I have this load-bearing post right in front of my laundry room door. What can a person do to remove or relocate it to a more convenient location? Is this something that a reasonably handy homeowner with a decent array of tools can do by himself? Can you share all that’s involved? Do you have a clue how this column ended up in such an inconvenient location? Is there a way to have fewer support columns in basements and crawlspaces? —Andrew V., Spokane, Wash.

The air-quality industry uses a rating system called MERV — minimum efficiency reporting value. To capture viruses, guides from the industry and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health both recommend air filters with a rating of at least MERV-13.

Where there's fire, there's not always smoke.