Here’s an improvement in home improvement. Say you need a washer for the faucet, some penny nails for the porch, or solid hinges so the backdoor swings open when you're welcoming friends and slams with gusto when you're not.  You can pick up all that – and a beer – at the Cannon Beach Hardware and Public House.

When it comes to home-repair projects or tackling a weekend “honey-do” list, most homeowners fall into one of four distinct personality types. Which type are you?

When I arrived, I found dirty dishes piled in a precarious heap in the sink. This wasn’t just a few cereal bowls left to soak before a busy day at the office. Evidence of many meals consumed lay buried in the strata of plates, glasses and cutlery.

I once was a fearless decorator. In high school, I painted a friend’s bedroom walls with an elaborate mural of strange creatures and visual inside jokes that only two teenage girls slightly obsessed with David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days could find even remotely appealing.