Many of us are likely already mulching our gardens and landscaping with wood chips, grass clippings and leaves, spreading them on top of the soil for insulation and to save water, reduce weeds and prevent erosion. While a huge help above ground, mulching doesn’t address the nutritional needs of the soil underneath the surface.

Milagros Figuero has long been the heart of her family. As a young woman in the 1960s, she was at her husband’s side helping to run the family farm on a plateau along Spain’s Duero River in the now-famous Ribera del Duero region, where the main crop is the Tempranillo grape.   

Novus International, St. Charles, MO. 
Photography by SWT Design and Jim Diaz, Suite D Studio

Whatever you do, don’t call Tom and Tricia Reay’s inspiring post-and-beam river residence a log cabin – “It’s a house,” says Tom of the 45-by-50-foot barn he and his wife deconstructed, then rebuilt on a vacant three-acre plot just 200 feet from a meandering bend in the mighty Missouri River.

A simple wood pallet can be upcycled into a creative and inventive design. Salvaging these often tossed-away pallets makes for fun and free materials to experiment with. Check out these innovative ideas.

one: Headboard, by Bonnie Forkner, Going Home to Roost.

two: Wall planter, by Stacy Ercan, Stacy K Floral.

three: Wine rack, by Robin Victor Goetz, RVGP Photo+Graphics.

When architect Nathan Dirnberger purchased a home in the city in 2003 for just $37,000, it was in desperate need of repair. The roof had leaks. The basement was half full of water because pipes had not been winterized. “It was pretty beat up,” Nathan says.

Over a span of seven years, Dirnberger took the neglected home and transformed it into a cool, contemporary urban dwelling. One of the biggest renovations was the rebuilding of the three-story home’s multilevel staircase.