It seems when house shopping comes around, the bigger the better. But how do you make massive rooms into cozy spaces you can call home? AOL's resident decor expert Kelly Edwards gives us the inside scoop on turning big rooms into cozy hideouts:



One of Kelly's great tips is to divide the rooms with a touch of color. Different colors used on walls (either patterned or solid) will create the illusion of separate rooms. Not a fan of too much color? Try molding! Because you can also use furniture or architectural detail to delineate space and split the rooms, molding works well.

To put molding on the walls, first measure the area and purchase your trim accordingly. It's a good idea to get a little more than your measurements to cover your mistakes and trimmings. And yes, there will be mistakes, as every good homeowner knows.

Good luck!

Save your garden from the winter blahs! The further north you live, the more important it is to landscape with winter in mind. When plants go dormant or leafless for months and the lawn turns brown or is covered with snow, you need something else to create visual interest.

Hardscapes are what you need. These are permanent, solid objects that complement the planted landscape. We're talking garden benches, pergolas, stepping stones, boulders and picket fences. All of these things define and beautify your garden through the barren months of winter ... and they are effective in hot, drought-prone zones also.

Click on my slideshow to get hardscape ideas for your own yard!

Planning a yummy, carbo-filled dinner for tonight? Save that boiled water from pasta, boiled eggs or potatoes and feed them to your plants. They'll love the nutrient-enhanced water from your culinary creation (but make sure you cool it first!) and you'll have a built-in reminder to water the plants for the evening! Always a plus, especially for someone [read: me] who routinely forgets to water her green friends.

Of course, there's much, much more you can do with boiled water -- including the age-old survival tip of boiling dirty water to purify it into drinking water. Yes, it can be done! Don't believe me? Check out the article, along with a few other great water tips from the fine folks at DIY Life:
-Wildnerness Survival Tip: Purify Dirty Water
-DIY and Save: Mix Your Own Sports Drinks
-Homemade Water Sprinkler

Swine flu is top of mind at the moment, but very few of us are willing to give up our wine and spirits over a measly cold. Here's how to enjoy your holiday party (flu-free!) while staying safe, straight from the experts at Holidash:

Common Sense
If you're feeling under the weather, do not host or attend a party. It doesn't matter if you were supposed to bring the Jell-o mold -- everyone will forgive you if you keep your germs to yourself.

Food
Think individual portions rather than large, communal bowls of chips and dips (oh, will somebody think of the double dippers?). This is an opportunity to get creative! Use shot glasses, little glass votive holders, paper sno-cone holders, Chinese takeout containers, small espresso cups and ramekins to serve small snacks and dishes. And, if you're serving dinner, make the plates for your guests rather than doing a buffet. If possible, keep the food covered before serving.

Drinks
Again, personal servings are best, so forget the punch bowl (and definitely forget the beer pong). Help your guests hang on to their glasses by offering wine glass charms or colored rubber bands to go around beer bottles. If you're using plastic cups, offer markers and stickers so people can personalize their own, even if it's just with their initials.

Meeting and Greeting
Some experts recommend greeting guests with an elbow bump rather than a handshake, but I think that if you're that concerned about germs, a party isn't a great idea for you (unless that's just normal for you, in which case, carry on!). Maybe avoid the kissing and long, lingering hugs, and skip the mistletoe this year.

Facebook: It gobbles up tons of your time ... but you just can't quit it. It's also gotten so complicated in terms of what and how to share info. Phew. Do you even know how private your FB account is anymore? Could personal information be leaking out without your knowledge? Here are three top strategies for safeguarding your privacy:

1. Create Friends lists and use them to customize access to your profile. Go to your Friends page then, under Lists, click on Friends and start sorting. Lists keep co-workers and casual acquaintances from hearing all about your wild spring break party or close-friends-only baby shower -- without hurting anyone's feelings. Good to know, right?

2. Restrict access by other FB users. Your default settings probably allow other users (people you have not "friended") to view parts or all of your profile, photos and status updates. A quick tweak of your privacy settings fixes that, however. Go to Settings, then Privacy Profile, then alter all the drop-down boxes to "Only Friends."

Sure, bananas grow in bunches, but should they stay in bunches? Never! Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer, so separate those bananas and place each in a different location.

Of course, if you have a few less-than-desirable bananas laying around, you could always put them to good use, even if they're not the freshest fruit in your home. Turns out that bananas contain potassium, which is also a key ingredient in shoe polish. To polish your shoes, all you need to do is rub a banana peeling on your shoes, buff with a soft cloth, and then sit back and admire your shoe polishing job.

Fantastic, right? Check out a few other fun, banana-related posts here on DIY Life:
-Fix a CD or DVD scratch with a banana
-A banana amigurami? Yes, please!

Yep, it's time to start counting down the days until turkey time! ShelterPop shows us how, step by step:

Your three-week checklist:
• Set a rough budget for everything: food, drinks, and decorations.
• Invite your guests, if you haven't already.
• Plan your menu, including snacks, the main meal, dessert, and drinks. Be aware of various dietary restrictions your guests may have, and try to be accommodating (but also realize that people are grownups and don't have to eat everything in front of them).
• Decide how you will be cooking your turkey, and what kind of turkey you'll buy (fresh, frozen, organic, etc.). Thinking of ordering a fresh turkey? Check out organizations like Local Harvest to find a turkey farm near you.
• Assess the decorations you have and decide if you're going to buy more, or go DIY (all part of your budget breakdown).
• Begin putting up outdoor décor; if you did a Halloween display, repurpose as much as possible (such as pumpkins).

Your two-week checklist:
• Get a firm commitment from guests if they're coming or not.
• If children are coming, think about what kinds of simple kids' activities you could offer (go old school: a table with crayons and coloring books/other crafts, or board games)
• Plan your table settings and centerpiece. Pull out linens and make sure they're clean.
• Polish your silverware.
• Assess your serving pieces: do you have enough plates, cups, bowls, and platters? What can you borrow from friends?
• If you're buying a frozen turkey, you can buy it now (if you haven't already). Not sure how big your turkey needs to be? The USDA offers this guide for buying and preparing turkey.
• Begin to buy drinks (and if you're serving wine, make sure you've got enough wine glasses)
• Assess your coffee situation. Will your coffeepot suffice, or do you need a larger one (which hopefully you can borrow)?

One week before:
Now, your attention really turns to the food. "You're going to need to go to the grocery at least twice," Coelho says-once for dry ingredients/non-perishables and again a day or so before for your fresh things. Plan your time.

Weekend before Thanksgiving:
• Before you shop, take the opportunity to clean out your fridge and freezer so that you have space for groceries.
• Make your shopping list, and buy as many non-perishable items as you can.
• Begin making what you can ahead of time (relishes, for example).
• Do a thorough cleaning-all the places you don't hit up regularly (behind the couch, your crown molding, and that forgotten, filthy space between the dishwasher and the wall).

Monday
• Make your pies: pumpkin pie will easily keep (and maybe even taste better).
• Depending on its size, you may need to start defrosting a frozen turkey. Refer to the USDA guidelines again.
• Make a list of each dish, how far ahead it can be prepared, and set a schedule for the week. Remember that things like broth for stuffing and gravy can be made ahead (even frozen if necessary).

Tuesday
• Buy your perishables, like fresh fruits and fresh veggies, and lettuce for salad, at the market.
• Now is a great time to buy any fresh flowers, or create fresh flower arrangements, or arrangements with pinecones from your yard.
• Finish up any last minute décor projects (such as writing names on place cards).

Wednesday
• Time for spot cleaning: tidy up things like books/magazines, kids' rooms (get them involved in as much as possible), dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning the toilets and sinks.
• Put clean guest towels in the bathroom.
• Chill beverages.
• Give your table linens a good pressing.
• Set the table (so that you can focus on cooking tomorrow).
• Set a cooking schedule for Thanksgiving day: know the timing of when everything is going in and out of the oven.

Morning of Thanksgiving
• Follow the cooking schedule you've laid out for yourself.
• Don't forget to pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy your guests and the delicious meal!

Here's an easy way to live a little greener and save a little money: install low-flow faucet aerators in your home. Now, don't worry. "Low-flow" does not mean you'll be washing your hands under a puny trickle of water. Nope. That's because the aerator is like a tiny sieve that mixes air into the water stream. You won't even notice you're using less!

Was your home built prior to 1989? Do the fixtures date to that era or earlier? Then chances are high your faucets need the addition of aerators. Turn on the cold water and observe: does the water gush out fast and unrestricted as, say, water from your garden hose might? Or does it flow fast, yet feel somewhat lighter and fizzier in your hands?

If it's the former, you probably need aerators. Unscrew the faucet spigot (the nozzle where the water comes out) to double check. The latter means you probably have them already.