Find home décor advice online

Gather decorating tips from experts and fellow homeowners

By Heather Camlot

Ready to redo the kitchen but can't figure out what paint colour would complement the maple cabinetry? Perhaps you've just noticed the moisture buildup between your double-pane windows or the need for a new toilet in your bathroom. Whatever your home repair or decorating dilemma, expert help is just a click away.

Take advantage of professional advice

Karl Lohnes, style editor for Style at Home magazine, receives about 80 to 125 questions each week for the magazine's Ask Us column, most via the Internet. Of those e-mails, only 50 to 60 questions get answered and published in the magazine each year, with the occasional e-mail directly replied to if the question is unique and unlikely to be printed. "I choose the most common décor questions as I feel they will relate to a majority of the readers," he says. "The advice I give tends to be general rules that everyone can follow."

To increase your chances of having your letter answered, Lohnes suggests keeping the questions to one paragraph and including a name, address and telephone number. A scanned photo of the room can help, too.

For more home décor ideas from the experts, visit the following sites:

Canadian building centre TIM-BR Mart has an easy-to-use form to send along your renovation questions and problems.
At Canadian House & Home magazine, you fill out a lengthy questionnaire on everything from type of home to budget to ensure you get the best advice. Like Style at Home, your question could appear in a future issue.
At RONA, the home building centre, you can access the Ask a RONA expert directly, which makes tackling a tough job even easier. Best of all, you'll hear back within 48 hours.
For personalized help with all your gardening needs, head to GardenPlace.com. The site has teamed with the National Gardening Association in the United States to troubleshoot your concerns on everything from annuals to tropical plants. E-mails are answered within 48 hours.

Seek friendly support from other do-it-yourselfers

For five years, Nancy Holmes, a single mom in Oshawa, Ont., had been looking for plans to build a cedar swing like the one owned by her grandmother. "I don't normally go in chat rooms or on message boards, but I'd been searching for a long time, so I gave it a try." A subscriber to Better Homes and Gardens, Holmes went to the magazine's message boards and posted her question. "Someone came back with two sites for me within two days. It was wonderful."

Message boards offer a community of help, with advice and suggestions coming from fellow do-it-yourselfers who may have experienced similar frustrations. Specific questions are best and multiple responses are the norm.

For helpful hints by other home renovators, check out the following newsgroups and forums:

Mike Holmes, master contractor and host of HGTV Canada's Holmes on Homes, has a loyal following of forum community dwellers who are ready to advise on everything from building an entertainment centre to replacing fuses with breakers.
At the very popular misc.consumers.house, the community for general home problems is ready to answer your queries, be they putting in a central vac or wanting advice on air purifiers.
A community Bob Vila would be proud of, alt.home.repair gets into the nitty gritty of doing it yourself, from squirrels chewing on wires in the attic to discoloured dishwasher interiors.
Head to HGTV, the American home and garden channel, for remodelling info, tips on what's hot and live hosted chats.

Find specialized information at manufacturer sites

Who knows more about products than the people who make them? If you need help in purchasing — or fixing — a dishwasher, DVD player or power drill, head to the manufacturer's site. At Kenmore, for example, you can view product videos, understand energy consumption and get exact specifications and features of various models.