Eureka, the vacuum cleaner maker, has been running a contest in which pet owners share their cleaning tips, at www.acleanpethome.com. Here are a few gems from the winners on living clean with "messy, smelly, dirty, hairy best friends," as the Eureka folks...

Q:We live in Southern California and have a very large red ant bed near our house. My wife wants me to try to eliminate the bed, but I can't see that they are causing any harm. When I work around the area, they are not aggressive and even avoid my feet. Is...

A house that sits atop Point Dume in Malibu, Calif., goes to great lengths to both hide and hint at its payoff.

Q. I have a lot of leaves in my yard, and I’ve waited till the end of the season to rake. What is the best way to deal with them if I don’t have a compost bin?

An interior designer and his sister, the creative director of his company, find some holiday ornaments that shout, and others that wink.