Editorial policy

The rules these guides are written under, so you can judge them against something.

Sourcing

Figures, standards and conventions are linked to the source they came from at the point they are used, not gathered into a bibliography nobody reads. Where a number cannot be traced to a source we can link, the number does not appear. Manufacturer specification sheets are treated as authoritative for that manufacturer's own product and as marketing for anything else.

Naming products

When a guide names a product, a paint line or a specific paint color, that name has been checked against the manufacturer's own listing. If a name cannot be confirmed as real and currently sold, the guide describes the thing generically instead. We would rather write "a water-based polyacrylic topcoat" than invent a product that sounds convincing.

Claims we will not make

• No first-hand testing claims. Home Craft Blog does not have a lab, a workshop or a test house, so no guide will tell you we lived with a sofa for six months.
• No invented experience, clients, projects or credentials, and no author persona standing in for a person who does not exist.
• No uncited psychological, medical or scientific claims. Color psychology in particular is full of confident assertions with nothing behind them, and we leave it out rather than repeat it.
• No guarantees about outcomes in your specific home. Materials, climate and construction vary, and guides say where that matters.

Use of AI tools

We use AI writing and research assistants in producing these guides, in the same way a publication might use a researcher and a copy editor. Drafts are generated and checked with those tools, sources are verified, product names are confirmed, and a person reviews the guide before it is published. We think readers are entitled to know that, so we are saying it here rather than leaving it to be guessed at.

The room images on this site are generated illustrative imagery, not photographs of real homes. They are there to illustrate a subject. Diagrams are drawn to match the measurements printed in the text.

Prices

Prices are typical United States ranges at the time a guide was written or last updated, given so you can size a decision rather than quote a contractor. They move. Where a price range is unusually wide, the guide explains what drives the spread instead of picking a comfortable middle number.

Advertising and independence

This site is supported by display advertising. Advertising is bought programmatically through an ad network, which means we do not choose which advertisers appear and no advertiser has any influence over what is published. We do not run sponsored guides, paid placements, gifted-product reviews or affiliate links, and no brand has paid for a mention on this site.

Corrections

Errors are fixed in the guide itself, promptly and without argument. A correction that changes the substance of a guide updates its modified date. If you have found one, write to maya@homecraftblog.com or use the contact form, and please point at the sentence.

Reader safety

Some guides describe work involving ladders, power tools, solvents, finishes with real fumes, and fixings that carry weight. Guides give the manufacturer's stated safety requirements where they apply, and they say when a job belongs with an electrician or a licensed trade. Follow the instructions on the actual product you buy over anything written here, and when in doubt hire the trade.