By the Numbers: Paint sales defy the downturn, says Home Improvement Research Institute

$12.5 billion

Amount of paint that Americans will be buy in 2010, according to a report
commissioned by the Home Improvement Research Institute and covered in
Home Channel News. The figure represents a 12.9 percent gain from 2008, when
sales of paints and preservatives totaled $11 billion. Sales in 2009 sales are pegged to rise by 2.9 percent, says HIRI. Based on these numbers, paint is showing signs of bucking the recession trend.

Retailers are reporting a shift from neutral off-white colors and earth tones that won't put off prospective home buyers to more active, vibrant colors for homeowners who want to personalize their living spaces. Perhaps that's why Pantone, the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based company that provides color standards for design industries, named Mimosa (swatch shown) its color of the year for 2009, succeeding Blue Iris and Chili Pepper.

Essential information: See our March 2009 report on interior paints.

With new budget, Obama urges focus on the foundation. Decorators ask, Where's the love?

"There are times when you can afford to redecorate your house, and there are times when you have to focus on rebuilding its foundation," said President Obama on Thursday before proposing his 10-year budget, "A New Era of Responsibility."

You could have almost heard a pushpin drop.

The president is known for his oratorical flourishes, but this one must have come as a punch in the gut to the nation's decorators. If Hilary Sopata, president of the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, was disappointed, she didn't let on. "People might be putting their major decorating projects on hold," she said, "but they can still take a simplified approach by changing paint colors, accessorizing, adding a few small furnishings, and updating the lighting." Sopata adds that consumers who want to make their homes more beautiful and help the economy should buy American-made products.

The folks who rebuild foundations must be feeling pretty good. But then, "it's always a good time to fix your foundation," says Andrew Rehner, general manager of The Basement Guys, in Toledo, Ohio. Rehner is vice president of the National Association of Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors, whose professionals nationwide perform free inspections. "They might find something small that can be corrected fairly inexpensively before it gets bad," explains Rehner.

Early spring is the ideal time for an inspection, especially in cold-winter climates, because snow melt often leads to water being trapped against the foundation walls. "That's when a lot of foundation problems rear their head."

If only solving the nation's economic problems were as obvious.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Read our spring maintenance checklist to identify common trouble spots and use our interactive Home Improvement Guide to target the most cost-effective projects.

10 Questions for . . . Libby Langdon, Interior Designer

In this installment of 10 Questions for . . . , Senior Editor Daniel DiClerico speaks with Libby Langdon, a New York City-based interior designer who appears on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style; her new book, Small Space Solutions, is due out in March 2009. Here, Langdon reveals her favorite paint colors, shares several space-expanding tricks, and talks about the latest in lightbulbs.

What's your attraction to small spaces?
While traveling the country for my first show, Design Invasion, I saw that people have space constraints everywhere you go. I realized that I have a lot of tips for people who are intent on making their tight quarters feel larger and function better.

What are a few of your favorite tricks of the trade?
• Use full-scale shelves and cabinets. Pieces that go all the way up to the ceiling visually draw the eye upward making the ceiling seem higher and your space feel larger.
• Put your walls to work by mounting shelving to display collections and store items that would otherwise waste precious table space and create clutter.
• When hanging drapes, mount the rod where the ceiling meets the walls. This will also expand the space visually.
• Avoid using all wood furniture, which gives a room a clunky feel. Mix in glass-topped tables to give the room a lighter, airier and more open appearance.
• Position a large mirror on the wall directly opposite a window or a door with panes in it. This will amplify the available natural light.

Can color be used to expand a space?
People are often petrified to paint a small space a color because they think it's going to make it look smaller. That can be the case if you paint all four walls a bold hue. Instead, choose an accent wall, maybe the wall that your headboard is on in the bedroom (see picture) or that your sofa is on in the living room. Paint that accent wall a rich, wonderful color and keep the other three walls a neutral, mellow color, like a soft tan. What happens visually is that the dark wall recedes and it tricks the eye into thinking the space is bigger than it is. (Learn more about specialty paints.)

What advice do you have for choosing paint colors?
Flip through a few design magazines to find colors you like. Nine times out of 10 they'll list the names of the colors in the resource guide at the back of the magazine.

What role does lighting play in opening up a space?
Layers of light add depth and dimension and make a small space seem visually much larger. This might mean a combination of overhead fixtures, undercabinet lighting, wall sconces, and table lamps. Always try to light all four corners of a room. If you can't see a corner, it's as if it isn't even there. I can't tell you how many times I go into small rooms that are lighted by a single lamp. Even in a small room, four or five lights are not too many. You also want to think in terms of tall, large-scale lamps. People tend to fall into the "small space, small accessories" trap. But a tall lamp will spread a lot of light, while again tricking the eye by creating a sense of scale and height.

You use a lot of lights. Are you a fan of compact fluorescent lightbulbs?
I do like CFLs for efficiency but not always for the quality of their light. I prefer LED lights, which manufacturers say last up to 60,000 hours. I find the quality of LEDs to be brighter and truer. I've found some that are around $40, so they're starting to come down in price.

(The quality of light from CFLs has improved. CFLs labeled "soft" or "warm" white will more closely resemble incandescent lightbulbs, while those tagged "bright white," "natural," or "daylight" will give off a whiter, crisper light.)

Assembly—and patience—required

It probably won't surprise you, but when they assemble Ikea bookshelves, cabinets, bedroom furniture, and the like, men tend to plunge headlong into the project and end up having more problems putting together the Swedish retailer's products than women do, according to a company official.

"Men never look at the directions and have the most problems with construction because they always think they can do that," said Petra Hesser, the head of Ikea's German unit, in a December 8 report from news agency DPA. Hesser added that women are also more likely to carefully sort the parts and read the directions.

Our past reviews of ready-to-assemble (RTA) home furnishings have found
them generally to be easy to assemble and durable. Ease of assembly, instructions and fit and finish are key to our evaluations of RTA furniture and similar products like kitchen-cabinet and closet and garage organizers.

I spent most of the evening this past Sunday assembling an Ikea table and two chairs. Perhaps because my wife and our 4-year-old-daughter were involved, I read all the instructions—pictorial diagrams intended to be universally decipherable—but the process was still not as easy as it looked. After you read my story, post a comment below detailing your experiences, good or bad, putting together RTA products.

I've had mixed results with RTA from different companies. One time, a cabinet included shelf fasteners with burrs of metal sticking out from the edges. I had to file them smooth before reinserting them into their slots. (Note that my recent Ikea experience does not reflect Consumer Reports' testing or analysis.)

• The instructions (shown above) indicated that we needed two screwdrivers and an adjustable wrench.  My adjustable wrench could not fit in the table's tight corners, so I had to get my box-end wrench set. While I was gone, my daughter was able to tighten the nuts nearly all the way since her fingers are so small. Tools like box-end wrenches or deep sockets can make the assembly process easier in some cases.

• The front and rear legs of the chair had to be fastened with a hex-head bolt. The directions didn't indicate if the crosspieces had to be installed facing in any particular direction (shown right), and the predrilled holes on them didn't line up with the holes in the chair seat. I lost a few minutes taking apart the chair legs and reinstalling them so the holes lined up.

I'll admit that male stubbornness could "en-gender" mistakes or delays, but unclear instructions can also make the simplest jobs a challenge for anyone.

My daughter loves her new table and chairs, and they cost less than assembled furniture. Still, RTA-furniture makers should try to simplify assembly wherever possible.—Gian Trotta

Essential information: Read "Tools: 10 Essentials for Every Household" so you've got all the gear you need to assemble holiday gifts. Also check out our coverage of household glues and cordless drills, tool kits, and screwdrivers.

10 Questions for . . . Michael Thomas, Aging in Place Expert

In this installment of 10 Questions for . . . , Senior Editor Daniel DiClerico speaks with Michael Thomas, FASID, CAPS, an interior designer and a coauthor of Residential Design for Aging In Place. Here, Thomas (shown below) talks about the past and future of the aging-in-place movement and offers tips for making your home more accessible in only a weekend.

How do you define aging-in-place design?
Aging in place is about creating homes that are safe and secure but, more important, it's about creating homes that will allow someone to remain as independent as they possibly can regardless of their abilities.

What's the history behind the aging-in-place movement?
It goes all the way back to Franklin Roosevelt, who most people today know had polio. But at the time very few people realized he had the crippling disease. Around 1938, Roosevelt desired a retreat he could escape to from the spotlight of the White House, a smaller home where he could, in his own words, become the independent person he longed to be. As the recorded architect on the building, which he would call Top Cottage, FDR was able to specify things like zero thresholds between the doorways and lower windows, which allowed him to gaze outdoors from his wheelchair. FDR might not have invented aging in place, but he was among the first to apply its principles.

Seventy years later, why is aging in place just reaching the mainstream?
From FDR, fast-forward to the end of World War II, when returning soldiers started having families. Baby boomers were the largest group of Americans born in a particular time, 76 million between 1946 and 1964. Younger boomers are now starting to turn 50, and older ones are into theirs sixties. This generation is living healthier lives and is beginning to contemplate where they're going to be for the rest of their years and decades. On top of that many of them are taking care of an aging parent themselves and don't necessarily want to think about alternatives such as assisted-living centers and nursing homes. So between the baby boomers and their elders, we have somewhere in the order of 100 million people in need of aging-in-place-environments. The tipping point is still four or five years out, but it's coming on fast.

Is it a challenge getting clients to think about getting old?
Yes, but the way we get them to accept it is by making aging in place as transparent as possible. It's often just a matter of perspective. For example, level thresholds (or a "curbless shower," like the one shown) facilitate access and they also just plain look good. So emphasizing the aesthetic value is very persuasive. Or take wider doorways: They enhance accessibility, also make a space look larger, and make it easier to get in and out with a suitcase, a baby carriage, or a wheelchair.

What other key principles can be applied throughout a home?
It starts with nonslip floors. Whether the surface is tile or stone, it needs a nonslip finish, because as we age, the potential to do real damage when we fall goes way up. In the kitchen, having multiple counter heights creates the ability to stand or sit. Raising the dishwasher up off the floor about 12 or 18 inches means someone with back problems or arthritis doesn't have to bend over to load the dishes. In the bathroom, lowering the counter and cabinets will allow someone to shave or apply make-up while in a seated position.

Taller toilets are another key. Low-rise toilets, whose seats are 15 to 16 inches above the floor, became popular in the mid-90s, especially at the higher end. But using them puts more stress on the body, because your rear actually ends up lower than your knees. So-called comfort-height toilets, which are 17 to 19 inches off the ground, are much more preferable. If you're stuck with low-rise toilets, there are aftermarket products—basically little blocks that raise the toilet seat—but they compromise the transparency I spoke of earlier because they're so conspicuous.

What are some quick projects that can be done in a weekend?
It's a good long list—anything that creates the sense that we're still in control of our lives.
* Change doorknobs to lever-style handles and swap out knobs for handles on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
* Add more light in a space, not only the general room illumination but also task lighting.
* Remove nonessential doors, such as those in hallways. If you have doors that have to stay but you want to create a wider accessibility, you can buy offset hinges that will allow the door to move into room and create better accessibility.
* Take up area rugs from the floors, like the welcome mat at the entryway. Unless they're perfectly flat, these rugs create a stumbling hazard.
* Eliminate one or two pieces of furniture. If someone in the home is getting to point where they need a walker, having more open space will permit them to move more comfortably.
* Choose chairs with arms that extend to the edge of the seat are easier to lift yourself up out of.
* Use remote controls for more than TVs. They can also operate blinds and window coverings and turn on and off lights.

Shopping for a mattress remains business as usual

Many ads for innerspring mattresses are appropriately dreamy. Attractive people are shown sleeping or lounging in their beds—and, of course, smiling. The advertising come-ons tell shoppers to “Have a good night’s sleep on us” or promise that when it comes to mattress shopping, “It’s all about You!”

So buying a mattress should be a pleasant experience, right? (Watch our video report, right.)

But it isn’t, say many of our readers, who find buying a mattress frustrating and tell us that they are not sure they’re getting a fair deal. A big contributing factor to these problems, as we noted in “Why Consumer Reports Doesn't Rate Specific Models of Mattresses,” is that the model names of the top mattress brands differ from one store to the next, so there’s no way to truly compare models. What’s more, even for mattresses that retailers claim are similar, significant differences exist in quilting, padding, and springs, according to our experts.

We thought some of the nightmares would end when the spokesman for a major U.S. mattress manufacturer—let’s call it Brand S—told us in January that his company was going to revolutionize mattress shopping. “We recognize that there’s confusion. We’re changing that. Retailers now require that they be able to name their own mattress,” said the spokesman of the change, which was slated to go into effect this spring.

The manufacturer was planning to introduce the same branding from store to store: A queen-size Brand S ExtraDreamy firm mattress you’d test out at store A would be exactly the same (except, perhaps, for price) at store B and store C. “When consumers walk into the store, they’ll see a [Brand S] mattress at one retailer and the same at another—it will have the same [Brand S] branding,” promised the spokesman.

The manufacturer would recommend that all its retailers use the Brand S mattress name on their store signs but, according to the spokesman, retailers could still call the mattresses whatever they wanted on in-store signage.

This move could shake up the industry, so we called several major mattress retailers for comment. Two didn’t call back after repeated tries, and the spokesman for a third wouldn’t allow his comments to be published.

But our phone did ring just a day later. It was the spokesman who’d informed us of his company’s radical plan. “[The company] is trying to change this, but if a retailer says they won’t take the mattress—they don’t want it—then that’s their decision,” he said. The manufacturer wouldn’t be changing its branding policy.

We asked him what the company’s decision would mean for mattress shoppers. “For the consumer, nothing has changed,” he explained.

That’s unfortunate. But we’re working on ways to help you shop for mattresses, so stay tuned. In the meantime, read “How to Buy a Mattress Without Losing Sleep” (available to Consumer Reports subscribers) for expert advice on selecting the mattress that’s right for you and analyzing prices.—Kimberly Janeway

Americans working more, sleeping less

Psssssst. You there? Good. You haven’t nodded off yet, so keep reading.

Over the last several decades, Americans have sleeping less and less. Late-night movies, the Web, pastimes, and romance aren’t keeping you awake until all hours. What’s getting in the way of a healthy dose of Zs is a four-letter word: W-O-R-K.

A new nationwide telephone poll of 1,000 working adult Americans by the National Sleep Foundation found that each day Americans work on average 9½ hours at their job and—courtesy of the 24/7/365 connectedness that technology provides—nearly another hour from home. Something’s got to go, and for many, it’s sleep.

You need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each day, say the experts, but on average you’re getting only six hours, 40 minutes each weekday. That lack of sleep can take its toll on the job:
• About one-third of poll respondents said they’ve become very sleepy or fallen asleep at work.
• Not surprisingly, some said that their productivity was lower than expected.
• Forty percent of those polled said they’ve been impatient with coworkers at least a few times a month. (Beware of your sleepyhead colleagues.)

Outside the office, not getting enough sleep can be dangerous. More than one-third polled said they’ve nodded off or fallen asleep while driving. Yet the majority surveyed said they’re very likely to ignore their sleepiness and push themselves to keep going. That’s a bad combination: Each year in the United States, drowsy drivers cause an estimated 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

With National Sleep Awareness Week (March 3-9) in full swing, now’s the time to remedy your bad sleeping ways. You and your children (especially teenagers) should use the following expert strategies to establish healthy sleep patterns:

1. Be consistent. Try to go to sleep and wake up at about the same time every day, including weekends.

2. Log your sleep. Keep track of how much sleep you need to feel refreshed. Adults need 7 to 9 hours every day. Most adolescents require about 9 hours of sleep, some a little more or less.

3. See the light on light. Light triggers waking and sleeping signals to the brain. Avoid light exposure at night, but turn on the lights or get outdoors as soon as possible when you wake up in the morning.

4. Avoid those nasty habits. Stay away from caffeine and nicotine after lunch. These stimulants can disrupt sleep later that evening.

5. Relax. Do soothing activities before bed and minimize or avoid activities that stimulate you within an hour of hitting the sack, such as heavy reading, working or studying, and computer games.

6. Skip the all-nighters. Staying up all night working on a presentation or cramming for an exam can drain brainpower and throw sleep patterns into chaos.

For more information on getting a good night’s sleep, check out the National Sleep Foundation’s Healthy Sleep Tips. If your teenage children aren’t sleeping enough, read what our experts have said about why teens fall asleep in class.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Remember, daylight-saving time returns this Sunday morning, March 9. And if it’s your mattress that’s keeping you up at night, use our expert advice to buy a mattress without losing sleep (available to subscribers).

Why Consumer Reports doesn't rate specific models of mattresses

Among people who bought a mattress in the last two years, one-third can't recall the brand they purchased, according to Synovate, a market-research company.

That weak brand identity might be a result of the confusing nature of mattress shopping. Unlike refrigerators, cars, or other big-ticket items with specific models that you can easily compare at different stores and dealers, mattress are sold in a way that might give you nightmares.

The model names from the top mattress brands such as Sealy, Serta, Simmons, and others change from store to store, so there's no way to truly compare models. What's more, our research has revealed that even for mattresses that retailers claim are similar, significant differences exist in important characteristics, including quilting, padding, and springs, all of which affect comfort and firmness.

Given this lack of consistency—Brand A's ultra-premium firm queen-size mattress sold at one national retail chain will have a model name and composition that are different from Brand A's ultra-premium firm queen-size mattress sold at another retailer—it's impossible for us to be able to make an apple-to-apples comparison that will be useful to you. And that's why we don't publish Ratings of specific models of mattresses, as we do for the hundreds of products we test each year.

Despite that, we have a lot of useful information about mattresses. Read "How to Buy a Mattress Without Losing Sleep" for expert advice on choosing the right mattress, analyzing prices, understanding how mattresses are made, and for tips on getting the ever-elusive good night's sleep. Be on the lookout for more in-depth coverage of mattresses in the next year.

"It's difficult to compare mattresses unless you cut them open," says Eugene Schayer, who worked in the mattress industry for 46 years, including stints in the marketing department of two major mattress makers. "The retailers demand exclusivity of the cover and label. They don't want their product shopped." Even the Better Sleep Council, which is paid for by the mattress industry, says that buying a bed can be confusing because "it's not easy to see what's inside."

Our testers do delve inside to analyze mattresses. For one mattress report, we dissected mattresses to compare the construction, including in-depth analysis of padding, quilting, and springs of mattresses that retailers told us were similar. We found that when retailers claimed they were selling mattresses similar to those found in other stores, the mattresses often differed. We've also found in past mattress studies that except for the cheapest models, all mattresses are likely to be sturdy.

In our most recent study, we looked at alternatives to conventional innerspring mattress from Duxiana, Select Comfort, and Tempur-Pedic. Couples slept at home on the three different mattresses for a month at a time, while about five dozen panelists tried them out in our lab as they would when shopping.

Based on the findings of our panel tests, we concluded there's no best mattress for everyone—sleep comfort is very personal. So take time to find the mattress that's the most comfortable to you.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Learn how to shop for a new bed and make your mattress last.

Safety alert for air mattresses

Air mattresses come in handy for a kids' sleepover and especially during the holidays when you have guests staying with you. But as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported this week, air mattresses can pose a safety risk for infants.

Read this alert from the Consumer Reports Safety blog for more information.

Q&A: How often should I buy a new mattress?

My mattress is getting on in years. In fact, Bill Clinton was in his first term as president when I last bought a new one. Is it time for me to replace my mattress?

You’ve probably logged more than 30,000 hours in your bed, and your mattress has likely  become less comfortable and less supportive. But there’s no set formula for determining when you need to replace a mattress. It might be time to buy one if:
• You regularly wake up tired or achy—you make Oscar the Grouch seem as cheerful as Mr. Rogers.
• You tend to sleep better away from home, than in your own bed. Are you planning unnecessary business trips or looking for any reason to go on a weekend getaway?
• Your mattress looks or feels saggy or lumpy—it needs go on the Abs Diet.
• You’re over age 40 and your mattress is five to seven years old. Remember, your body tolerates less pressure as it ages. As if getting older weren’t tough enough . . .

A mattress can be an expensive investment—we’ve tested models that cost in excess of $4,000—but if you treat your new one properly, it could easily last 10 years. Our advice:
• Don’t let your kids use your bed as a trampoline.
• Rotate your mattress. If you have a single-sided mattress (you sleep on only one side), rotate the mattress from end to end—that is, move the mattress 180 degrees. The foot of the mattress is now at the head, and vice versa.
    If you have a double-sided mattress, rotate it as above, then turn it over so the bottom is now on top.
    Perform these steps every two weeks for the first three months you have your new mattress, then once every two months thereafter. You’ll find illustrated instructions on a number of different Web sites.
• Use a bed frame that has a center support.

Essential information: See “How to buy a mattress without losing sleep” for detailed advice on finding the perfect bed. And watch our video buying guide.