Q: What are your thoughts on painting the front door?
It’s certainly an easy and effective way to liven up your exterior, but we have all seen painfully unsuccessful attempts at this. Sticking with rich reds, grey-based blues, deep purples, heritage greens, charcoal and black tends to work best for most houses.

Q: The in-laws gave us some garden creatures. Can we actually use them?
As long as they aren’t painted bright colours and named Dopey or Doc, you can keep them—and your dignity. Strategically place them so that they are a subtle addition to your garden. You can just have them poking out from between shrubs, for example.

Q: We plan to rip out carpet (to expose old hardwood) and tile the kitchen and front foyer. Are there any rules to stopping and starting flooring in our small house?
Keeping the flooring somewhat consistent makes a small space seem less “choppy.” To provide better flow, choose a tile with a similar tone to the hardwood stain and stop the flooring at some transition point (i.e., doorway, end of hall or railing). Be sure to allow for a couple of people to enter your home and close the door without having to do gymnastics to stay on the tile.

Q: What do you think of an upper-level laundry?
Although a basement laundry has its obvious drawbacks, so does an upper- or “bedroom”-level laundry. Noise and vibration are sometimes an issue (even with the so-called quiet models), and most units are stored behind sliding doors, so the laundry tends to pile up in and around the area. A main-floor laundry seems to be a great solution for people who can spare the space.

Q: Is it tacky to put hard plastic over our front hall mats in the midst of spring muck?
Clear plastic meant for hallway runners is fine as a temporary fix, but consider an alternative, such as getting some rugs just for spring or changing hall mats to a woven vinyl that both looks great and can be hosed down if necessary.