America Online Launches House & Home Channel Featuring New Tools, Colorful Content, and Expert Advice for House Hunting, Decorating, Cooking, Gardening, and More

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2000

Business Editors

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2000

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America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today unveiled its new House & Home Channel (AOL Keyword: House & Home) -- a comprehensive online resource that provides a full range of innovative tools, colorful content, and e-commerce solutions to help homeowners of all skill levels get practical information on home management.

"In today's fast-paced world, more and more home owners and managers are turning to the Web to get advice and to make purchasing decisions," said Regina Lewis, AOL's Online Advisor. "From buying or renting a new home to remodeling, decorating, gardening, and even cooking, AOL's new House & Home Channel provides consumers with a one-stop resource that will help them save time and money."

The new House & Home Channel also includes a wealth of online content from Homestore.com(TM) in a number of areas throughout the channel, including Home Decorating, Home Security, Hardware, and Lawn & Garden, as part of AOL's multifaceted agreement with Homestore.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOMS) announced last May.

With the holidays on the horizon, the House & Home Channel is revved up and ready to make the season a little saner and a lot more fun and festive. During the fall/holiday season, the channel will have special programming areas featuring holiday crafts and party food ideas, and even a fun spot for festive holiday pets. Don't want another turkey trauma this year? Check out basting basics at AOL Keyword: Turkey Time. Before all those guests pack your house with good cheer, find AOL's fall cleaning tips to get your house prepped for those big parties ahead.

AOL's New House & Home Channel Offers Something for Everyone

Whether consumers consider their domain in the house, outside, or a bit of both, AOL's new House & Home Channel can get them plugged into user-friendly sites, packed with information and guides in the following categories:

Real Estate

Quaint country cottages, rambling estates, beachfront bungalows. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Through a major alliance with Homestore.com, the Web's most popular home and real estate network, AOL members now have access to more than 1.4 million home listings on its Realtor.com(R) site. Gotta buy new? Peruse the 130,000-plus new home listings on Homestore.com's HomeBuilder.com(TM) site. Apartment seekers can check out over 45,000 apartment properties in more than 6,000 cities on Homestore.com's apartments section. Consumers also have a one-click connection to a full range of moving and relocation services.

Home Improvement

By being connected to the Internet, AOL can help you get the hang of wiring, cabinet-refacing, bath beautifying, and more. Whatever your project, AOL can lend some advice. Search hundreds of projects for step-by-step instructions, planning, design and shopping advice. Or check out the new projects area for do-it-yourselfers. From simple projects like patching walls and maintaining floors to bigger jobs like kitchen remodeling, you'll get the help you need to become the true household handyperson. Plus, the Home Improvement area provides the bonus of having expert tips and advice provided by Bob Vila and BobVila.com.

Decorating

If you can dream it, you can decorate it. From a bedroom brimming with little girl frills to an understated study, the Decorating site [AOL Keyword: Decorating] has ideas for every room in your house. You can even plan your room online with the help of Homestore.com's New Room Designer. Not sure how much wallpaper or paint you need for your project? The site removes the guesswork by providing handy estimators.

Gardening

Whether your thumb is green or not, this ultimate destination shares tips on gardening basics, shows lush landscaping ideas, and even offers a searchable database of 3,000 plants, trees and shrubs on the new "Plant Finder" [AOL Keyword: Gardening]. Other new features allow members to save information on their favorite plants, as well as rate them, read the latest regional gardening news specific to 14 regions across the U.S., and get green-thumb tips and advice from Rebecca Kolls, gardening advisor to Homestore.com and NBC's "Today" show.

Food & Recipes

Delicious, nutritious, fast, and frugal - that's how many consumers want their meals today. AOL delivers by serving up some tasty tips and recipes designed to get time-strapped cooks in and out of the kitchen in a flash. Want to get personal in the kitchen? AOL's House & Home Channel allows members to store food preferences and have recipes tailored to their needs. You can even save recipes from Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light and Good Housekeeping in your very own cookbook at My Cookbook [AOL Keyword: My Cookbook], which then can be shared with family and friends. Visit Quick Meals [AOL Keyword: Quick Meals] for a smorgasbord of savory meal options.