Dark paint or light paint in a small room? It's a designer's ultimate debate. But these five pros prove that picking a paint color is like choosing a type of chocolate: You can't go wrong as long as you pick what you like.

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Our Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Decorating »

40 Amazing Before-and-After Home Makeovers »

10 Ways to Design a Colorful Bedroom »

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I've gone through several phases of soap dispensers in the bathroom and kitchen. I want my dispenser to look cute, be something my kids will enjoy using, and not cost a fortune. Enter Pinterest - where you can find dozens of DIY projects for everything in your home! Here are several unique and fun ways to turn items you already own into cute soap pumps. - By Heather Sokol

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The Sun Enters Virgo: Follow Your Bliss!
Clarity of purpose is a Virgo hallmark. As the Sun moves into the sign of the Virgin from August 22 through September 22, you'll receive cosmic encouragement to become clear about what you want out of life. And while it's clearly time to follow your bliss, how do you discover what your bliss truly is?

Begin by making a list of your favorite activities. What do you like to do for fun? What do you enjoy reading about -- or daydreaming about? Don't censor yourself! No matter how big or small the experience, write it down. And keep adding to it as you come up with new ideas!

Take as much time as you need to make your list, and have fun with the process. Don't forget to consider new things, as pleasure can sometimes come from unexpected places. After all, if you don't experience something for yourself, you'll never know if you might like it!

Learn how to improve your performance and enhance your relationships with a free sample Balancing Act Tarot Reading!

While you're at it, listen to

This is the MacCallum House, a popular tourist destination in Mendocino, CA, where the author resides.
By s.e. smith, Networx

Visitors to towns that rely heavily on tourism often express a desire to move there, imagining a lifestyle where they get to be on vacation all the time, instead of just for a few precious days or weeks. Some of them realize that goal in retirement or through making a major life shift that allows them to relocate to the place they always dreamed of. What they find often isn't what they experienced on vacation, because living somewhere is different from visiting, and people who have relocated to a community or established second homes there are going to be viewed as outsiders by locals.

So, how do you live in a tourist community, whether full or part time, without antagonizing the locals?

Start by recognizing that your new home is not just a tourist town. It's also a place where people live and work, and have done so for years. Even if much of the economy is tourist-based, the town still needs sources for supplies ranging from toilet paper to bedding, and

InstagramI love snappin' pics. I really adore my iPhone. It was only a matter of time until I got way-too hooked Instagram. You know, that photo-sharing app where you can make your photos look 8,000 times cooler by adding some "filter" with a cool name like "Walden" or "1977." OH the simple things.

More from The Stir: 'Rich Kids of Instagram' Who Post Pics of All Their Wealth Need a Time-Out

Well the app just did a pretty cool update that includes a photo maps feature that lets users plot their Instagram pics on an interactive world map. Seems that the smarties behind Instagram are really listening to what their users want, and I can appreciate that. Now more than ever, the app is totally worth the splurge. And by splurge, I mean FREE download.

Check out our 6 reasons to jump on the Instagram bandwagon:

1. It's more visually appealing than Twitter. OK, granted you can take Twitpics and upload all different sorts of media to your Twitter posts. However, I like Instagram

Tips for Buying VacuumsVirtually all the visitors that tour our Home Appliances department in the Good Housekeeping Research Institute ask us about vacuum cleaners. They usually want to know which brands tests best, which pick up pet hair best, and what features they should look for when shopping for a new one. Here are the top tips I share with every GHRI visitor that asks me these questions:

Related: 4 Dirt-Sucking Vacuums

1. Determine whether you need an upright or a canister Both will be able to clean carpets and bare floors, so which configuration to choose is ultimately up to you. But keep in mind that uprights have a slight advantage if you have large areas of carpeting and your home is basically one floor. If you have bare floors and still want an upright, choose one with a switch to turn off the brush roll to keep debris from scattering as you vacuum. Canisters make quick work of vacuuming stairs, are easier to tote around if your home has multiple levels, and usually come with a long

By Colleen Kane, CNBC.com

Projects geared toward the homeowner's particular tastes, like the addition of a home music studio, have the least positive effect on asking price. Some home renovations pay off at a much better rate than others, according to a report from ISoldMyHouse.com, a for-sale-by-owner website.

"Projects geared toward the homeowner's particular tastes, like the addition of a home music studio, have the least positive effect on asking price," says Owen Gilman, President of ISoldMyHouse.com. "Projects that most anyone can appreciate, such as a revamped bathroom, tend to boost sales price the most."

Bryan Laing, director of brand strategy at the marketing firm Crack, invested $100,000 revamping his 1928 bungalow in Portland, Ore. last year. "The sexy stuff," says Laing, was the new kitchen, bathroom, refinished hardwood floors, repainted interior, new patio and landscaping.

The upgrades also covered some "not as sexy, functional stuff," like new siding and exterior paint, a new roof, and updated windows, insulation, plumbing and furnace.

Laing purchased the house for $270,000 in 2009, and he reports it was