Almost 80 years after Anthony Di Petta's plane was shot down by enemy fire in World War II and over 70 years after he was declared "non-recoverable," he's finally home.The remains of the sailor arrived back in the U.S. on Friday afternoon, according to an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. Di Petta, from Nutley, New Jersey, served as a U.S. Navy Aviation Ordnanceman during World War II, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The sailor, 24 at the time of his death, was born in Italy but immigrated to the U.S. around 1921, according to a nonprofit called Project Recover, which took part in the recovery effort. He had enlisted in the U.S. Navy by 1940.In September 1944, Di Petta and two other crew members were on a mission to conduct air strikes against Japanese forces in the Palau Islands, DPAA says.The aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed into the water of Malakal Harbor. Di Petta's remains were unable to be found at the time, DPAA says.Several more searches for the downed aircraft were unsuccessful and Di Petta was declared "non-recoverable" in July 1949, according to the DPAA.But from 2003 to 2018, Project Recover (originally called the Bentprop Project) and the DPAA conducted joint investigations that eventually identified the crash site. Project Recover executed a total of 14 dives up to 112 feet deep to identify the aircraft. In August 2021, the nonprofit recovered the remains of multiple missing service members from the site, including those of Di Petta.The remains were then sent for testing at the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and identified by dental analysis as Di Petta in January, according to the DPAA. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.Di Petta's remains arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday afternoon. A coffin draped with an American flag was seen arriving on the tarmac as people approached, bowing their heads.Di Petta will be buried in Wrightstown, New Jersey, on July 11, according to the DPAA.

Mortgage rates dropped for the second week in a row, notching the largest decline since December 2008.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.30% in the week ending July 7, down from 5.70% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. That is still significantly higher than this time last year when it was 2.90%

Rates rose sharply at the start of the year, hitting a high of 5.81% in mid-June. But since then, economic concerns have pushed them lower. The 40 basis point fall offset some of the significant rate increases of May and June.

"Over the last two weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped by half a percent, as concerns about a potential recession continue to rise," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

But affording a home still remains a challenge. Mortgage rates are at their highest levels since the late 2000's and listing prices have grown by more than 8.5% year-over-year for 24 consecutive months, said Joel Berner, Realtor.com's senior economic research analyst.

If there's any silver lining for homebuyers, it's that more homes are hitting the market, he said. In June, active listings increased by the largest annual growth in the history of Realtor.com's data.

"With more homes on the market, sellers are being forced to compete on prices," he said. "Though the cost of financing a home remains high relative to recent years, buyers will have more chances to find homes in their price range as the undersupplied and overheated housing market starts to cool."

Higher rates are also tamping down demand among prospective buyers. Mortgage applications dropped 5.4% in the week ending July 1 from the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"Rates are still significantly higher than they were a year ago, which is why applications for home purchases and refinances remain depressed," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. "Purchase activity is hamstrung by ongoing affordability challenges and low inventory, and homeowners still have reduced incentive to apply for a refinance."

Buyers are finding it harder to buy homes as inflation takes a larger chunk of their income and the cost of borrowing has reduced their purchasing power.

A year ago, a buyer who put 20% down on a median-priced $390,000 home and financed the rest with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at an average rate of 2.90% had a monthly mortgage payment of $1,299, according to calculations from Freddie Mac.

Today, a homeowner buying the same priced house with an average rate of 5.30% would pay $1,733 a month in principal and interest. That's $434 more each month.

The decline in mortgage rates this week follows recent volatility in the 10-year Treasury yield, which dropped below 2.8% in the first week of July after spending most of June above 3%.

While the Federal Reserve does not set the interest rates borrowers pay on mortgages directly, its actions influence them. Mortgage rates tend to track 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds. As investors see or anticipate rate hikes, they often sell government bonds, which sends yields higher and with it, mortgage rates.

In addition, continued fears that we are heading into a bear market have driven investors into safer, longer-term bonds, said Berner.

"This inversion might sound ominous, especially in the midst of sustained inflation that both markets and the Fed agree will likely require more fed funds rate hikes to tame, but it remains to be seen whether these market conditions will lead to increases in the unemployment rate or decreases in production that characterize a recession," he said.

With the official start of summer approaching, plenty of people have their windows open to let in some fresh air.And when leaving the windows open, you might expect the occasional breeze, raindrop or insect to make its way into the house.A house in Colorado got an unexpected visitor when a bear recently saw an open window as an invitation to pay a visit.Heidi Hannah captured a video of the bear hanging by its claws from a second-floor window in Steamboat Springs, which is in Northern Colorado.Eventually, the bear made it inside the house and then made its way out of the home via another window on the ground floor.See the video of the bear climbing through the window in the video player above

Brittney Griner is happy to be home.

“It feels so good to be home!” Griner posted to Instagram, ABC News and The Associated Press reported. "The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help."

Griner's statement on Friday marks the first comment since she was released from a Russian prison earlier this month after being arrested in February on drug-related charges.

For months the Biden administration worked on bringing home the 32-year-old and another American detainee Paul Whelan, the Associated Press reported.

On Dec. 8, President Joe Biden announced that Griner was being released in a prisoner swap in the United Arab Emirates for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the news outlets reported.

"President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner said in her statement, the news outlets reported. “I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”

As she continued in her statement, the WNBA star expressed how "grateful" she was to those who helped her make it home, including thanking the staff and medical team at the military facility in Texas where she was recuperating since arriving in the U.S., the news outlets reported.

Griner also said she is already looking forward to playing professional basketball again with the Phoenix Mercury, saying she intends "to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon," the Associated Press reported.

Griner said in her statement that she'll “transition home to enjoy the holidays with my family” but didn't say exactly where.

WASHINGTON —

The Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark lending rate this week for the seventh time this year, capping a year of intense pressure on the housing market that pushed mortgage rates above 7% for the first time since 2002.

But now that the Fed has signaled a softer approach to cooling the economy instead of rolling out bumper rate hikes, potential home buyers are left to wonder: Will mortgage rates come back down? Or have buyers missed their chance?

No one knows exactly where mortgage rates will go in the months ahead. But most experts agree that we have seen the end of 3% mortgages for some time.

Mortgage rates have run up so far and so fast this year that many would-be homebuyers can no longer afford to buy a home. At the end of 2022, when rates were at 3%, few predicted that just a year later rates around this week’s 6.33% would come as a relief, having dropped from over 7%.

After starting the year at an average 3.22%, according to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took off last spring as the Federal Reserve embarked on a historic campaign to battle decades-high inflation by raising interest rates. By fall, mortgage rates had more than doubled, eventually topping 7% in October. Rates have receded slightly in recent weeks, but loans are still expensive — especially compared to the historically low rates buyers were getting during the pandemic.

Home shoppers have watched their buying power evaporate, with higher rates adding hundreds of dollars onto what they would pay each month.

High mortgage rates remain the primary impediment to home buying, according to a recent buyer and seller sentiment survey conducted by Fannie Mae. Homebuying and home-selling sentiment are both significantly lower than they were last year.

Based on the survey, people in the real estate market continue to expect mortgage rates to rise but home prices to decline, said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist.

He said he expects mortgage demand to be dampened by affordability challenges, while “homeowners with significantly lower-than-current mortgage rates may be discouraged from listing their property and potentially taking on a new, much higher mortgage rate.”

Is this the new normal?

While the Fed’s rate hikes are expected to continue, many analysts anticipate they will be smaller than the recent bout of three-quarter-point hikes and will start to taper off as inflation starts to cool, which should mean mortgage rates will likely come down too.

The Fed does not set the interest rates borrowers pay on mortgages directly. But its actions influence them. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds, which move based on a combination of anticipation about the Fed’s actions, what the Fed actually does and investors’ reactions. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow.

If rates do drop, just how low will they go?

“If inflation continues to decelerate over the next several months, mortgage rates will likely stabilize below 7%,” said Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of Realtors. “That’s still double the previous year’s rate, but it’s better than an 8% rate, which is the historical average for the 30-year fixed mortgage.”

Looking ahead, Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage, said buyers should expect rates to level off in 2023 around where they were in the years before the pandemic — around 4% or 5%.

“We had an active and healthy real estate market then,” she said.

But Cohn said she does not expect a “meaningful” decline in mortgage rates until the third or fourth quarter of 2023. “Mortgage rates will drop a bit in December, we’ll see a brief flurry of activity, but there are likely to be more increases in the new year.”

And don’t expect to see rates drop at the same speed at which they rose this year, she said.

“We have to remember mortgage rates come down much slower than they go up,” said Cohn. “Banks will want to see proof that rates are meaningfully coming down and not a one-shot wonder.”

The weekly swings in mortgage rates this year have been about three times the size of those seen in a typical year, said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. The Fed’s extra-large rate hikes aren’t the only thing causing that.

Economic uncertainty is creating a larger gap or “spread” between the 10-year Treasury yield and mortgage rates. Typically, mortgage rates are about two percentage points above the 10-year Treasury yield, but recently the gap has been wider.

The main driver of the widening spread is greater interest rate risk, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute.

“The uncertainty about the effects of Fed policy to date and about the trajectory of future policy has resulted in large movements in interest rates,” wrote Laurie Goodman and Michael Neal, the report’s authors.

Consumer mortgages are packaged and sold off to investors. The higher myeortgage rates are, the more money investors can make. But as rates fall, more homeowners will choose to prepay their mortgages or refinance, making the loans less attractive to investors.

“Volatility increases the level of mortgage rates, compared to Treasury rates, because of the prepayment option,” said Chester Spatt, professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. “If you’re in a new loan at 7% and rates go to 6%, you may choose to prepay and refinance into a lower rate.”

It is abnormal to have such a large spread, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, adding that other times when the spread was wider were during the 2008 financial crisis and the early days of the pandemic.

“Hopefully this large spread will dissipate by the spring home buying season,” he said. “If so, maybe buyers will face mortgage rates in the 5’s.”

What buyers can expect

Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, a multiple listing service in the mid-Atlantic region, also expects mortgage rates to fall further in 2023, but she doesn’t expect them to drop quickly.

“We were in unprecedented territory with rates under 3%,” she said. “There is no reason to suggest we will be back there. But they will be down from where we’ve been.”

“Housing market activity will continue to be relatively sluggish — even if mortgage rates do begin to come down — since so many existing homeowners are locked into sub-3% loans and will still not be eager to move into a higher rate,” she said.

As a result, the inventory of available homes for sale will remain tight into 2023. In many markets this could guard against prices dropping by a significant amount.

“Prospective buyers may be tempted to try to ‘time’ rates to jump into the market when rates dip,” she said. “But timing rates is difficult.”

Instead, would-be buyers should shop around, getting quotes from multiple lenders, including different types like a large national bank, an online lender or a community bank or credit union.

“There is a lot of variability in rates, terms, and mortgage products in this changing market,” Sturtevant said. “It is more important than ever that buyers compare offers from different lenders to find the financing that works best for them.”

Imagine if when you got sick, you knew exactly what you were sick with, and therefore had an idea of how it spreads and how to treat it. That could be a reality in the future with the prevalence of at-home testing for other viruses beyond COVID.

Dr. Lisa Maragakis is a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She says the convenient and easy-to-use at-home tests for COVID-19 were a game changer during the pandemic.

"And this really raises the question of why we don't have more widespread at-home testing for other respiratory viruses like influenza or respiratory syncytial virus RSV," Dr. Maragakis said.

The so-called 'tripeldemic' of COVID-19, influenza and RSV last year brought to light the need for at-home testing for other viruses.

"One new challenge in respiratory virus season is having co-circulation of influenza, RSV and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," Dr. Maragakis said. "And since we do have treatments that are different for the different viruses, we do need to know and cannot make the kind of empiric decisions or diagnoses that we used to be able to make in past flu seasons."

Dr. Maragakis says the science is there to create these types of tests, but they aren't widely available yet. Global life sciences company Labcorp announced last year emergency-use authorization from the FDA for an at-home collection kit that simultaneously detects COVID-19, influenza, or RSV.

You can order one online that will be shipped to your house free of charge if you have insurance. Without insurance, it's $169 dollars.

However, it's not a rapid test. It's a PCR test that you send to a lab, so it takes several days to get results. As at-home testing becomes more prevalent, Dr. Maragakis says public health leaders will need to take new challenges into consideration.

"We know, right now, that the publicly reported numbers for COVID-19 are just the tip of the iceberg because so many people are being diagnosed by these at-home tests and those data don't flow into the reported numbers," Dr. Maragakis said.

Dr. Maragakis says one solution could be developing a way for people to self report data from at-home tests. The other limitation is that not everyone may use the test correctly, and results could be inaccurate. Until health companies can provide convenient at-home tests for other viruses, Dr. Maragakis says your health care provider still offers the most precise test results.

 

There were numerous attacks on a New Hampshire family's pet on St. Patrick’s Day.

Video shows an owl trying to attack Buddy the parrot.

While celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with her family, Cynthia Auger of Merrimack, New Hampshire, heard a large bang.

"So I came in and I looked out the windows, and all of a sudden in the tree, I could see this big, huge owl," Auger said.

The owl was looking to make Buddy the parrot a snack.

"The owl started to move a little bit. Then flew, and bang." Auger said. "We were all just 'Oh my gosh, what's happening?'"

After numerous tries of breaking through Buddy's window, the owl finally flew away.

Buddy was safe, or so the family thought.

"We hear Buddy freaking out," Auger said. "Squawking, screeching, and flapping around."

The owl came back.

"I looked down and there's the owl in the snow below the window staring at the bird cage," Auger said.

Auger said she was worried that the owl would break through the window.

The next night the owl came back, just staring at Buddy for hours.

Sister station WMUR spoke to Maria Colby, owner of the nonprofit Wings Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Henniker, New Hampshire, about the situation.

"This happens usually a couple of times a year," Colby said.

She said the culprit is a barred owl, which can be found all over New Hampshire. They can go after smaller birds, but it's not their favorite.

Her advice to make sure this doesn't happen again was short and simple.

"Move the bird so the owl doesn't see the bird, or pull down the shades," Colby said.

Buddy the parrot remains safe.

Auger said she's never seen an owl in her neighborhood until the night of the incident.

This week the National Association of Realtors reported that median existing-home sales went up at a pace of 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. The median home price for a home in January was $350,300. It was the highest median price on record for the month of January, as CNN reported.

In December, Zillow predicted that the 12-month rate of home price growth would drop by 11%, but then revised that forecast saying that 2022 would finish up 16.4%. Now the company is predicting that the year-over-year rate for growth of home prices could peak at 21.6% by May.

According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2021 around 25% of homes, that sold, had one offer, but 75% had more than one offer.

And even with the price hikes, buying a home may still be a smart move in 2022 for some. The trade publication Mortgage Reports said that buying a home could work for investors, given "how inflation will push rent prices higher."

Jess Kennedy, a co-founder and COO at Beeline said, "When you look at where the housing market is right now, you still see big gaps between available supply and demand. Until that demand is lowered due to rising rates, housing prices won’t go down."

Kennedy said, “As supply and demand come into line with one another, we will see a normalization of the market but I don’t anticipate that housing prices will come down – they just won’t continue to grow exponentially as they have in the past year. In the short term as buyers look to find a property before higher rates impact them, we could actually see home prices driven higher.”

By the end of January, for sale home inventory fell to an all-time low of 860,000, CNN reported. Which was down by 16.5% from last year.

As NAR reported, the current environment has become even tougher on first-time home buyers. These new buyers accounted for a smaller share of the market than before, at around 27% according to the REALTORS Confidence Index Survey.

The survey found that homebuying demand outpaced supply, and that caused properties to stay on the market for a shorter amount of days compared to a year ago. Last month houses averaged days on the market, compared with 21 days a year before that. The group said that 79% of property listings stayed on the market for less than a month.

CINCINNATI —

The Bengals team flew a charter plane back to Cincinnati as fans headed toward the airport for their post-Super Bowl travel back home.

“We didn’t win, but at least it was a good game,” said Bengals fan Tricia Stuart as she arrived at CVG after being at the Super Bowl.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so, I’m just glad I got a chance to see it,” said Von Craddock, who was also at the game and arrived at CVG on Monday.

Mark Householder was also at the game. Even though the Bengals didn’t win, he said the trip was not a loss.

“It was absolutely worth it,” Householder said.

Many fans had traveled from out of state to be in Cincinnati to watch the game.

“I live in Durham, North Carolina. I’m born and raised in Cincinnati,” said Morgan Andres. “There were plenty of Super Bowl parties and plenty of bars in Durham, but it just wasn’t the same as being home.”

Some fans leaving CVG were not originally from Cincinnati, but are serious Bengals fans.

Jason Stewart took four planes and traveled thousands of miles from Canada. It would have been closer to go to Los Angeles.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if it was in my own backyard. I wouldn’t have gone to the Super Bowl. I just wanted to be here with the people,” Stewart said.

STANTON, Iowa — Small towns are often known for their charm and community spirit.

Jenna Ramsey is the community development director of Stanton. It's a small town located in southwest Iowa.

“Stanton is a small but mighty community with Swedish heritage," Ramsey said. "Our population is 689. Wherever you go, you know people. There’s no stoplights. You can run in and get a cup of coffee.”

While she says Stanton is a very affordable place to live compared to a larger city, it still lacks affordable housing for young families.

“We just know that all the costs of everything seem to be going up right now, so that is what makes the affordable housing challenging,” Ramsey said.

Small towns all over rural Iowa are facing the same issue. To keep the communities growing and thriving, they’re turning to innovative solutions like 3D-printed homes.

“We are building the first prototype 3D-printed home here in Hamburg, Iowa,” said Tamara Brunow, founder and president of Brunow Contracting.

Brunow is a key partner in the 3D Affordable Housing Project.

“I'm very passionate about affordable housing because I needed affordable housing at one point in my life," Brunow said. "I was a single mom for 13 years and I had the luxury of having a house that was fairly affordable to me. What we're seeing right now in the housing industry, the starting point, the entry point is so cost-prohibitive to young families and a lot of areas, they're just not going there.”

On an empty patch of land in Hamburg, the hope is to build 25 to 35 residential units that will be for sale to future homeowners. The 3D Affordable Housing Project is a collaboration between Brunow Contracting, Iowa Economic Development Authority, and Iowa State University.

Julie Robison works in the college of design at Iowa State University. She says it will be a learning process to find out whether 3D-printed homes will actually save money.

“Part of our work is going to be to actually answer that question, what are the benefits of 3D printing?" Robison said. "We think that you can reduce the amount of time that it takes to actually construct homes, that you can seriously reduce the amount of time and labor hours to put up walls.”

Brunow says they will be testing materials, design, and energy efficiency to confirm if using 3D-printing technology will be a sustainable solution for affordable housing in rural Iowa.

“The places 3D-printed homes have been implemented right now, are in the South," Brunow said. "They don't have the swing and temperature difference that we do up here in the Midwest. So we deal with a lot of freeze-thaw. We have wind loads, snow loads. So all of that engineering has to kind of go back to the basics.”

If it does work out, they hope to expand into other small towns around Iowa, potentially serving as a national model for the entire Midwest. Robison says the project will also allow the university to develop a curriculum for workforce training to help educate the next generation.

“Our mission is transformation and research and technology-driven outcomes that can then change the economy and change lives,” Robison said.

Even though technology will be what draws people to the small towns, it’s the human connection that will keep them there.

“Especially since the pandemic, people want that sense of community, they want to know who their neighbors are," Brunow said. "They want to be a part of something.”

 

Christmas is right around the corner, and if you're bringing a tree into your home, there are some fire safety tips that you should know. Along with holiday celebrations come holiday decorations, but those decorations can be dangerous in the home.

"There's not a single firehouse where we don't hear the stories of the Christmas fire, the holiday season fires," said Mark McConnell, a fire marshal in New Mexico.

Christmas trees are the main danger during the winter months. McConnell said the tree we choose for our home is vital.

"We're bringing these trees into the homes. They're beautiful and they're great, but they dry out, and we have a lot of electrical around them," McConnell said.

That's the difference: a dry tree and a watered tree.

"If that dry tree catches, there's a chance that it'll go out of control to a point where there'll be horrible damage by the time we get there," McConnell said.

So how can we be sure to pick the right tree? McConnell said when you buy the tree, you want to make sure that the pines don't just fall apart as you touch it.

He also said that when you leave the house for holiday travel, unplug the electrical hazards next to it. Make sure that your tree is 3 feet away from any type of heating source.

What if you're not bringing in a tree for the holidays? McConnell said we still have to be careful making those sweet holiday desserts.

"A lot of our fires are gonna be when the oven is really dirty inside, hasn't been cleaned for years," McConnell said. "And some of that particulate that's been left in there is gonna catch fire."

Watch the full story in the video above.

CLEVELAND — Barbara Fulker and James Gavin of Cleveland feel lucky to be alive. After a suspect van plowed into their home during a Cleveland police chase in July 2019, the couple is now left with $30,000 in repairs.

The senior couple told News 5 they live on a fixed income and couldn't afford homeowners insurance.

So far, the City of Cleveland has told them it's not responsible for helping with repair costs due to "sovereign immunity," which absolves the city of liability in situations involving emergency services like police, fire, or EMS.

To make matters worse, the couple said four months after the accident, the city issued them a citation, fine, and court hearing for the unfinished repairs.

Anthony Garcia

The couple said too often they're forced to use a narrow wooden ramp to get into their home.

“It was a van speeding, and they lost control of the van and ran into the house and the steps," Fulker said. “I was very scared and very shocked. I really couldn’t believe it.”

“I called several times, and I left so many messages, never got a callback, they won't help us."

“I told them we couldn’t afford to have this fixed, especially not in 30 days. We don’t have that kind of money. We still don’t have it.”

Fulker has now challenged the candidates for the vacant Ward 4 Cleveland city council seat to help them find a solution.

Candidate Deborah Gray told WEWS if she's elected, she'll propose legislation that could grant repair assistance to homeowners dealing with police chase-related property damage by amending what can be covered by the Cleveland Moral Claims Commission.

While candidate Erick Walker told WEWS if he is elected in November, he'll explore a city-based homeowners insurance assistance program for qualifying low-income families and seniors on a fixed income, which could help with these types of damage claims.

News 5 also reached out to the Cleveland Mayor's office about this case, and it responded immediately. The city said it'd contacted several city departments to see if anything could be done to help the couple repair their home.

Joe Pagonakis at WEWS first reported this story.

The RV industry has seen a significant increase in rentals and sales over the summer. One company, RVshare, reported more than a 1,000% increase in rentals.

Now, the trend seems to be moving beyond just a summer vacation alternative. Some are turning to it as a new way to home-school and work during this pandemic.

Some families are turning these RVs into their primary or secondary homes.

"I think it is difficult for families to be cooped up," said Julie Partridge.

Partridge was already considering making the switch to RV life before the pandemic, but after five months of social distancing and quarantining in her home, she decided to finally do it.

She sold the family home and hit the road to live, home-school her kids and work from an RV.

"Obviously our camper is much smaller than our house,” said Partridge. “Substantially smaller, but you have this vast open world available to you. You feel less cooped up in this camper than you do in this 3,000 square foot house."

She also feels the move to full-time RV life this fall will also give her kids a unique educational opportunity.

"We really want to see the national parks,” said Partridge. “I want my kids to do the park ranger program. I want to use that as their science and social studies curriculum from the road. So, we are really excited about those parts."

The Partridge family is just one of many either committing to or newly considering RV life in the fall, according to a survey done by the RV rental company RVshare.

"We have, from our survey, seen that over 30% of people are considering homeschooling from the road and over 40% of people are considering working from the road and that is something that is new to the industry," RVshare Jon Gray.

"You have school not opening on time, you have a lot of employers turning to work from anywhere models for the extended future and those things have made it to where RVs are appealing deep into the fall," said Gray.

The pandemic has changed so much in our lives. Many people are looking to get away from the uncertainty and continued concern with it. This seems to be one way for some to do that.

"It is saving us money, it is teaching them lessons, it has really been kind of refreshing," said Partridge.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Protesters dressed in salon gear took to the street outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home Thursday.

In video of the protest, some demonstrators are seen with curlers in their hair, plastic is draped over them and hair dryers hang from trees.

The rally came two days after video of Pelosi getting her hair cut inside a California salon surfaced.

California Governor Gavin Newsom lifted restrictions on hair salons serving customers indoors at the end of last month. However, the city of San Francisco still requires such services to only be provided outside.

Pelosi says the salon told her it would be OK to come inside, because they are only accommodating one person at a time.

She also claims the whole thing was a set-up, since the video was released to the media by the salon's owner, KGO reports.

A photo of Pelosi on the same visit shows her wearing a mask around her neck instead of on her face. She says that's because she had just had her hair washed.

Watch the video above for more on this story.

A woman in British Columbia, Canada, is thanking her lucky stars.

Earlier this month, a meteorite hurtling toward Earth crashed into Ruth Hamilton's home.

Moments before the impact, she was awoken by her dog barking. The next thing she knew, there was a loud crash.

"And all of a sudden there was an explosion," Hamilton told CTV News Vancouver. Hamilton then jumped out of bed, turned on the lights and went to inspect the commotion.

That's when she noticed a fist-sized hole in her ceiling, right above where she had been fast asleep.

After calling 911, she looked around her bed, flipping over her pillow. Then she saw it; a smooth, angular chunk of black rock.

"I didn’t feel it," Hamilton said. "It never touched me. I had debris on my face from the drywall, but not a single scratch."

Police arrived on the scene, questioning Hamilton and a nearby construction crew, the latter of which told authorities they had seen a "bright ball in the sky," before the impact.

A group of researchers from the University of Calgary and Western University inspected Hamilton's home to look for more details about the space rock.

Later in the week, they opened their investigation to the rest of Golden, the town in British Columbia where Hamilton lives. The team eventually found a second rock weighing a little more than a pound in the northeast part of town.

"We’re trying to reconstruct what the path was through the sky as it arrived," Phil McCausland, a geophysicist at Western University, said. "Because it’s scientifically even more valuable if we can reconstruct what the orbit was before it hit the Earth. It gives us an idea of where it came from."

The research team is pleading with people in the area to come forward with any other pieces of evidence of a meteorite impact.

Hamilton loaned the meteorite that almost killed her to Western University to photograph, weigh, measure, and to potentially take a sample of it. She expects to get it back by Nov. 30.

Officials say that hundreds of meteorites strike the Earth's surface every year. However, it's rare for the space rocks to land in areas that are easily recoverable.

"The number one misconception is that they’re hot when they land," Herd said, adding that they begin cooling some 10 to 15 miles up in the atmosphere. "Mrs. Hamilton’s bed didn’t catch fire."

Experts say that the chances of a meteorite landing in your home are astronomical. Specifically, about 1 in 4 trillion.

When asked if she plans to buy a lottery ticket, she laughed, then replied:

"I won the lottery. I won it, I’m alive. I’m laughing about it. I feel pretty blessed."

CTV News Vancouver contributed to this report.

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa homeowner says it's a story he'll one day tell his children.

For Tom Brady it was, at the most, an embarrassing moment. But for David Kramer it was much more than that. In fact, it even helped him sell his house.

Kramer will never forget one April day in 2020 when Tom Brady — new to Tampa having just signed to a new team for the first time in his 20-year career — broke into his house.

“Who can say that?" Kramer asked. "Who can say Tom Brady accidentally walked into their house."

Kramer was confused as a tall, shadowy figure opened his front door.

“He didn’t scare me because he just looked so nice and he walked in with such confidence that it was just like he belonged there," Kramer said.

It doesn’t hit either of them at first.

“And he goes, ‘What's up man?’ he just looked at me and I just go, ‘I don't know man, you tell me,'" Kramer recounted.

It turns out Brady was looking for the home of Byron Leftwich, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator. Kramer happened to be Leftwich's neighbor.

Brady quickly realized he was in the wrong house.

“He had this look on his face like terror, like, ‘Oh my god I did it again,'" Kramer said.

"Did it again," because Brady had recently been booted from a closed Tampa park. The internet joked the former Boston-resident was now officially a "Florida Man."

It then clicked in Kramer's head why the stranger's face seems so familiar.

“I want(ed) to yell his name and be like Tom, Tom, Tom! I couldn't get it out," said Kramer.

The homeowner says none of his family or friends even believed him until the story blew up. The strange and brief encounter even helped him sell his house.

“[The realtor] said, 'this is the house Tom Brady walked in on,' and she did use that and it did sell," he said.

Kramer cheered on Brady and the Buccaneers Sunday as the quarterback won his seventh Super Bowl.

“Tampa's fired up...I've never seen the town like this," he said.

Kramer wants Brady to know there are no hard feelings. If the "GOAT" ever has the time Kramer, says he’d love to know what Brady thought in that awkward moment.

This story was originally published by Isabel Rosales on WFTS in Tampa, Florida.

Everyone is safe after a fire destroyed a home in Liberty Township on Sunday night.

The home on Tilbury Trail went up in flames around 6:30 p.m. Fire officials say the owners were home and everyone got out safely.

It's unclear what started the fire and an investigation is underway.

Fire officials say they hope video caught on a neighbor's doorbell camera will help in the investigation.

HAMILTON, Ohio — Following the sale of the historic fire house in the East End neighborhood, Hamilton-based Primo Property Services LLC has begun design work needed to transform the 110-year-old building into a community outreach and arts center on the first floor, with short-term rental spaces upstairs, according to the Journal-News.

Meanwhile, a 7-year-old Cincinnati arts organization called Wave Pool has begun meeting with Hamilton arts organizations and others to learn how programs it can offer would fit with the needs of the community. Wave Pool in Cincinnati’s Camp Washington neighborhood offers art and cooking classes, community dinners and other entertainment opportunities to people.

Wave Pool and its service, called The Welcome Project, empower “Cincinnati’s refugee and immigrant population while connecting, assisting, and inspiring all through art and food,” according to Wave Pool’s website.

Following the sale for $500 of the property at 1224 Shuler Ave., a fire house that went into service 110 years ago this month and was taken out of service in 2013, Kate Yerigan and Heather Bernal of Primo Property Services are readying plans to restore the fire station with the help of family. They plan to invest $60,000 in the rehabilitation, plus $100,000 in sweat equity, over two years from themselves and talented family members in construction fields.

“We’ve had everybody there,” Bernal said. “The building inspectors, plumbers, electricians, HVAC people. We had the bug guy out to make sure there were no bugs. Just everything.”

An engineer is working building on drawings for the project, which may include three upstairs bedrooms plus a large main area with built-in bunk beds, so if three families with athletes playing in a tournament at the under-construction Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill indoor sports complex came to visit, there could be perhaps nine bunks in a living area, and the parents could have relative peace among themselves, Bernal said.

Meanwhile, they and Wave Pool recently met with representatives of such organizations as the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Miami University, city government and Artspace Hamilton Lofts.

Wave Pool also plans to meet with people in the surrounding neighborhood to discuss what they would like to see there, Bernal said. They plan to have the project complete in two years, as required by the city, if not sooner.

“I have asked several of the inspectors if we’re doomed, and they say we’re not doomed, and they’re jealous,” Bernal said.

“What people should know is it’s going to be awesome, and we’re going to be an active part of the community.”

Also, artist Calcagno “Cal” Cullen, a founder of Wave Pool, “is one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life,” Bernal said. “Everything she touches is for the good of the world and the community, and I’ve always been in awe of her, so I’m very excited to work with her. She’s just always up to something new, and something that’s going to help people, and sort of quirky and fun.”

NEW ORLEANS —

What a post-championship whirlwind it's been for the spelling bee champ!

Two weeks ago, Zaila Avant-garde claimed the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship, making history in the process as the first African American winner.

"I just generally remember being super happy, I was just really elated. I couldn't quite believe it," Avant-garde said.

Avant-garde's historic win generated a wave of worldwide support, and it's certainly been a busy two-week victory lap.

"A really hectic flying around to different places, and there's been so many people asking for interviews, it's been so overwhelming but it's been pretty fun," she said.

From network appearances on the "Today" show, and the ESPYs, this impressive 14-year-old now has a global following.

"Like walking around and so many people recognizing me, and their happiness to see me," she said. "Also getting to talk to Malala, if I didn't mention that, was super cool to me."

A festive homecoming parade in Harvey also drew hundreds of supporters.

"The parade was really fun. It was a bit awkward as I was asked to dance a second line. Because I'm a bit awkward about dancing and stuff. But it was really fun and stuff, just being there and seeing the Zulus, and their big costumes and stuff. I did not expect it to be such a big affair."

And with the championship now in the bag, Avant-garde can focus once again on her basketball skills, something that helped her prepare for the Scripps competition.

"The mental ability it kinda takes to be able to control all those different balls and stuff, like really helped with like the mind part of spelling and stuff. Which I guess is the whole part of spelling, like the whole part of spelling is the mind. But I definitely think that played a big part in it."

Avant-garde will also resume basketball practice with her New Orleans AAU team this week.

If you're looking for a new place to call home and something a little more eccentric, look no further than this medieval property in southern Indiana.

Yes, you read that right. Medieval. This castle, with a price tag of $400,000, is on the market and you can find it in Charlestown, Indiana.

The castle was actually built in 1997, so there isn't any significant history associated with it. It's also a bit of a fixer-upper if you're looking for some projects to get into while calling this medieval abode your new home.

According to the Zillow listing, the castle only has two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It does have a 10-car garage and the property itself is just under 8 acres. The castle is spread out over 1 acre.

"In the kitchen, you will have access to the stairs that lead downstairs to the office and extra half bath and a large room for storage, or could be made into additional living area," the Zillow listing reads.

The large room also has two hidden entrances that lead to a bar area and a garage. Outside the garage, there is a concrete courtyard that is secured by the walls of the castle and a cat walk that goes around the top.

The castle is listed by Schuler Bauer Real Estate Services and also recently has been making the rounds on social media after being featured on the Instagram account "Zillow Gone Wild."

The castle still appears to be up for grabs and tours can be done in-person or by video chat. Click here for more information on Zillow.

The Supreme Court is telling California that it can't enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.

The order from the court late Friday is the latest in a recent string of cases in which the high court has barred officials from enforcing some coronavirus-related restrictions applying to religious gatherings.

Five conservative justices agreed that California restrictions that apply to in-home religious gatherings should be lifted for now, while the court's three liberals and Chief Justice John Roberts would not have done so.

California has already, however, announced significant changes loosening restrictions on gatherings that go into effect April 15. The changes come after infection rates have gone down in the state.

The case before the justices involved California rules that in most of the state limit indoor social gatherings to no more than three households. Attendees are required to wear masks and physically distance from one another. Different restrictions apply to places including schools, grocery stores and churches.

"California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise," allowing hair salons, retail stores, and movie theaters, among other places, "to bring together more than three households at a time," the unsigned order from the court said. A lower court "did not conclude that those activities pose a lesser risk of transmission than applicants' proposed religious exercise at home," it said.

The court acknowledged that California's policy on gatherings will change next week but said the restrictions remain in place until then and that "officials with a track record of 'moving the goalposts' retain authority to reinstate those heightened restrictions at any time."

Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent for herself and her liberal colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, that the court's majority was hurting state officials' ability to address a public health emergency.

"California limits religious gatherings in homes to three households. If the State also limits all secular gatherings in homes to three households, it has complied with the First Amendment. And the State does exactly that: It has adopted a blanket restriction on at-home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike. California need not ... treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons," she wrote. She added that "the law does not require that the State equally treat apples and watermelons."

The case before the justices involved two residents of Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area, who want to host small, in-person Bible study sessions in their homes. California had defended its policy of restricting social gatherings as "entirely neutral."

The court has dealt with a string of cases in which religious groups have challenged coronavirus restrictions impacting worship services. While early in the pandemic the court sided with state officials over the objection of religious groups, that changed following the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last September and her replacement by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

In November, the high court barred New York from enforcing certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. And in February, the high court told California that it can't bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, though it let stand for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors.

File video: Religious leaders react to Supreme Court decision on indoor services

On Memorial Day we take time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The freedoms we enjoy come at a cost, and for one South Louisiana family, that message is a daily reminder of their loss."The insignia on that is for the 5th Marine and amphibious corps, and it's got an alligator," Kaanan Fugler says to her son, Aiden, while touring the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.Fugler's family knows firsthand the true meaning of Memorial Day."My first memory of the blur after he passed away was telling my children in a small room in the hospital that their daddy wasn't coming home," Fugler said.Fugler's husband, Staff Sgt. Matthew Mackey, served our country in both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army for nearly two decades. Around the Fourth of July in 2010, Matthew was in a serious motor vehicle wreck while on active duty. He spent weeks in the hospital, but ultimately lost his life, leaving behind his wife and five children. "It's painful and frustrating to know that I won't grow up with him in my life," son Aiden said. Fugler added, "For us, Memorial Day is every day. And on Memorial Day, we like to make sure that we're remembering everybody else, his brothers and sisters. It was important to Matt, the brotherhood he had through his service."In New Orleans, the National World War II Museum preserves the history of that brotherhood. "Almost half a million American men and women lost their lives in World War II, and many of them left behind wives and children, brothers and sisters, and those individuals were affected for the rest of their lives," Tom Czekanski, senior curator and restoration manager of the National World War II Museum said.To keep Matthew's legacy alive, the family started visiting his gravesite annually, and also found a way to pay tribute to others we've lost. "Went and bought all the flags we had in the area, and took my kids out there, and we walked around to veterans' headstones, and we placed flags, and then from that teaching moment, we went and did that the next year and the next year," Fugler said.That tradition continues this Memorial Day. As a Gold Star matriarch, Fugler keeps her family's focus on gratitude and honor."We are some of the most resilient people, and have been through and know the cost of freedom, and know that everything that we take for granted every day, they made sure that we could."

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- Hi everyone. I'm Monique Valeris, the Senior Home Editor at Good Housekeeping. Thanks so much for joining us and thanks to Pergo for sponsoring our conversation on design trends. I'm so excited to have three awesome design experts with me Stacey-Ann Blake, Young Huh, and Nicole Gibbons. So let me begin by having you introduce yourself to our audience. Stacey, I'll start with you. - Hi, I'm Stacey of Design Addict Mom, I'm known online as the Lover of Color, and fearless person who embraces color in her designs. I have three children. When I'm not designing, I'm busy being mom. - I'm a mom too, so I'm excited to hear that. Young, tell us a bit about yourself before we start chatting. - So, my name is Young Huh, I'm an interior designer in New York. We do projects across the country and around the world. Our work spans from hospitality projects to residential projects. We are known for use of color, for using pattern on pattern, and bringing sort of a classical feel to really modern interiors. - Excellent. And Nicole, tell us a bit about yourself. - Hi, I'm Nicole Gibbons. I am also an interior designer. I started out, though, as a design blogger, then pivoted into becoming a full-time interior designer, working with private clients in and around New York City. And now I've sort of pivoted again, still a designer at heart, but I'm now I'm the founder and CEO of a direct to consumer paint startup called Clare. And we make the whole process of buying paint for your home super easy. - That's so great change is good, so I'm all for it Nicole. Let's jump in. So, you know, design trends can be really hard to navigate as a design editor, it's something that I'm always paying attention to. It informs our editorial content, both for the magazine and our website. But I think for the average design enthusiasts it can be really overwhelming to figure out how to make these trends your own. So what do you all recommend? Young, I'll start with you. Any advice on how to navigate design trends? - I think for me, if there's a trend best to try to avoid it because that means you're going to be falling in with a million other people and then your house might look like everyone else's. Like modern farmhouse, cottagecore, those two things like, make me a little concerned because, you know, that means it's become, this design trend has become canned. However, there's certain things about it that are really great. I love the idea of taking an old farm house and bringing it to the modern age, adding modern elements to something that's really old and classic. It's a way of cherishing our history. Cottagecore for instance, I adore cottages, anything romantic, pretty, sweet, I am all over it. But do you really want to be sort of in that niche, you know, maybe think of ways that you could bring your own personality to any design trend and make it yours. - That's great advice. How about you, Stacey? What do you recommend as far as experimenting with design trends and not feeling intimidated by them? - Yes. I'm probably going to echo a bit of what Young said, about avoiding trends. I avoid trends. I always recommend when you design that you embrace who you are. I think your space should, you might end up incorporating some trend or trends but that's because that's what you like. Your home should be an expression of you. So if you like Chevrons, because I know chevrons are under that category of being antiquated right now, but if you like chevrons by all means, embrace them. So again, if you, basically whatever you like in your home, whatever your taste is, that's what you should embrace and how you should decorate. - And I know Nicole, you agree a lot. You know, your design philosophy is all about making sure that your home reflects your personal style. So what's your take on trends and really making it feel more accessible to you? - Yeah, I definitely echo all of the same things that Young and Stacey said. I think your home should absolutely reflect who you are. And when you think about it just from a practical standpoint, your home is the biggest, one of the biggest investments you'll ever make. And so, especially as it relates to the more permanent decisions, things like tile and flooring and your furniture, the things, the big ticket items, and even some of your foundational elements, like your paint color, that you're probably not gonna want to change up every six months, you know, you want to choose things that you can live with for a very long time. And so I'm a big fan of timeless over trendy. However, I do think that there are certain areas where it is okay to experiment. And it just depends on, how the type of person you are. If you are the type of person that does like to change up your home a lot or do little seasonal decor swaps, I think that's when it's okay to maybe lean into something that's popular. So if there's a certain color and you want to refresh your tabletop for spring maybe you get the millennial pink plates. But I think when it comes to the real kind of permanent decisions and the foundation of your home I'd say keep it timeless because I can ensure you'll love it for a lot longer than you will whatever is the trend of the moment. - That's great. Those small upgrades that feels manageable to me. I think that's great advice. - You spend 30 bucks on a trendy vase, and you don't like it six months later, it's less of a loss or a, you know, kind of a money pit. then, you know, if you designed your entire home because you fell in love with the cottagecore trend. - So, so true. It's so true. So the pandemic is not over but we're close to being on the other side, fingers crossed. How has the concept of home changed for people? I mean, there's been a lot of talk about these multipurpose rooms that do triple duty. I mean, for me, I mean our living room functions in so many different ways, I've exercised in here, my daughter tackles school in here, we watch movies in here. It does so much for us. So just talk about what you've noticed considering the pandemic. Young, I'd love to hear your thoughts there. - Yeah, I think that for the first time families are really spending a lot of time together and you know using homes for work school, play, entertainment, exercise, we've all been exercising at home, not going to gyms. So, homes have had to be really multi-use, multifunctional, and yeah, I do yoga in my living room. And then I time it so no one's there, when I'm doing that. - Nothing wrong with that, Young, at all. - So, you know, we all, I think are changing in the ways that we think of our homes. People used to eat out all the time. We used to look outside for entertainment and now that's not happening as much. So homes are now just not one use. You might bring in a game table into your living room. You might make sure there's extra floor space where you might've had a chair. You might need desks in every bedroom, that's like a new one. I think in this time period, everyone has been like, I need a Zoom corner. How do I do that in my bedroom, so I can shut the door and I don't hear other Zooms going on. All of these-- - You've nailed that, by the way, Young, I have to say. Your Zooming corner is a plus for me. - This is my zoom corner in my office. - It's awesome. - Thank you. Those are all things that we now have to consider. And you know, a lot of adult children are coming back home to live with their families, like mine. And so they have work. They have school. How do you all fit together, and make it livable and harmonious? - Yeah. It's a lot to consider. Stacey, I'm curious to hear what you think about how, you know, the concept of home has changed for people considering the pandemic and everything that's going on right now. - Yes, as Young spoke I was smiling a lot, because if I were to move my camera to my left, I'm sitting at the Dorma of my, well, it might be antiquated to refer to it as the man-cave, but that is what it is. However, this is where I teach from and work. But in addition to that, I also have a three-year-old. Basically, I'm a prime example of re-imagining your spaces and navigating the pandemic. To the left of me, I have what you would probably categorize as a daycare because my daughter, she comes into the space but, in order to distract her, I have one of those mini trampolines. I also have a slide for her. - Wow, design for your daughter for your home, Stacey. Wow. Perfect setup. - Yes. So, to answer that question we've had to reimagine our spaces and how we live, and we all have to function within that space. So I had to figure out a way that I could teach and also be a mother. And that is what many people have had to do because they were stuck and still are at home. So reimagining your spaces, getting creative, thinking outside of the box to navigate this pandemic. - That's interesting. And Nicole, I mean, from your experience, have you found that people are focusing on one room in their home or are they kind of trying to spruce up everything at one time? What have you noticed? - Yeah, I mean, I definitely think people are tackling their whole homes. You know, the average DIYer is doing it little by little and, you know, Stacey and Young, touched on how our homes are serving all of these multi-functions these days. But I think like for the average person, you know, all of us on this call, are probably the exceptions, because we all work in design and live and breathe it. And so we're constantly thinking about how our homes should look and function. But I think for the average person who's busy with their lives and their children and their jobs, they're not thinking about those things, but the pandemic forced them to, it forced them to evaluate how they feel in their home, how content or not they are with their homes' decor, and, you know, really understanding how important it is have a home that makes you feel good when you walk through the door. So I think what we're seeing, especially at Clare, you know we work with them, we have a wide variety of customers, we serve the masses. And so people are looking around at their white walls that they never bothered to paint and being like I really need to change this color because I'm so tired of white walls and I want to feel invigorated or I want to feel calm. You know, it's been a hectic year. I think people are kind of room by room tackling those paint projects and turning their houses into homes that they love, and I think the pandemic really made everyone reevaluate just the overall role that home plays in our lives. And, you know, I think even after the pandemic is over, hopefully that will be soon, I still think people are gonna take a while to kind of assimilate back into the real world as it used to be. And so I still, I believe we're still going to see people doing a lot more entertaining at home you know, kind of, and wanting their home to reflect who they are so that when they do hosts and gather and start to kind of invite people back in again they're really proud of the space that they have and that it's conducive to, you know, kind of that new lifestyle that centered around the home. - That's so true. Decorating and renovating it's a never ending project. So I wanna switch gears a bit. You know, flooring really sets the foundation for your home, the Pergo Extreme collection, it has great flooring solutions that look like authentic wood or tile, but they're much more durable for high traffic areas of the home, like kitchens, playrooms, pool houses, I wanna open up this question to the entire panel. Where would you suggest using luxury vinyl flooring instead of real wood or tile? You know, they're ideal for these high traffic areas, as I mentioned. So I'm curious to hear your take. Stacey, let's start with you. - I love that those kinds of floorings are very durable and tend to be waterproof. The laundry room typically may not be a high traffic area but I think that would be a great space, even a basement that is possibly serving as a media space. I think that would be a great place to, for, you know those luxury type flooring but more on the affordable option. - Great ideas. How about you, Young, what's your take on luxury vinyl flooring and where, where does it work best? - We have projects where, especially in a ski house, when you're coming in with your boots and equipment, you know, tile will crack and wood will, you know, pit. So you have to use synthetic flooring, so vinyl is a really good option areas where you're doing sports, for sure need vinyl flooring. And, you know, it had been in the past hard to find things that looked really luxurious. So the trends that we're seeing there, things that are stone look, wood look more, even, you know, off the charts like blue wacky patterns, you know, it could be just about anything but there's definitely a use for luxury vinyl because it's a necessity. - I agree, Nicole, any thoughts on luxury vinyl flooring? - Yeah. I mean I think in addition to just the practical applications in spaces that like get a lot of traffic and moisture and whatever, I think it's also a good budget friendly alternative to hardwoods. If you are, you know, constrained and you still want to get that look, it's a really nice way to bring in the look of wood flooring, with an easier labor install, as well as like, probably a little lower overall costs. So it's a good budget friendly option for someone who you know, maybe doesn't have the budget for something else. - I agree. And we can't talk about trends without considering sustainability. I think it's fair to say that people are really being more thoughtful about what they're bringing into their home. As far as some of the sustainable home design trends that you know are popping up right now, What can you share, Stacey? I'm curious to hear your thoughts there. - I tend to gravitate towards natural made pieces, I'm now, I am finding I've always loved wooden pieces, but especially now natural pieces that embrace nature and bring a bit of that in. I think that's great. People since they've been at home, they're concerned with what they're breathing in, the toxicity in materials. And I think they have actually taken a conscious effort to choose eco-friendly pieces to create that space that is green eco-friendly and healthy. - I agree. And I feel like that plays into global inspired interiors. You know, we're seeing a lot of reten pieces right now. Nicole, any thoughts on global design in general? I know you love to mix and match and, you know pair modern with vintage. So I'm just curious to hear your take there. - Yeah, I mean, I love global design. I love pattern, I love ethnic inspired in patterns. I'm a big fan of, you know, the teeth prints and, you know eat cats and all of those like amazing things. And they're so rich in color and I think that's why I'm drawn to them, generally. So I think like, you know, mixing up those elements in your home makes it so much more interesting and layering in those sort of global pieces can really lend more personality to your space. - I agree. And Young, any thoughts on global design? I mean, people are eager to get back on planes. You know, they're really thinking about how to weave some of those cultural influences into their space. So what's your take there? - I think global design has always been with us. At the moment people traveled they wanted to bring things that were beautiful and amazing that they saw on their travels. You know, the silk road, you saw a mix of Arabic, Chinese, Roman, cultures mixing together, and you've got these fantastic patterns, fantastic artworks. And the more we can mix and collide and borrow from each other, the more rich culture will be more rich, our interior decorative arts will be. And I think people really love, as you say, traveling and bringing these things back, it shows a kind of understanding, openness and the layering and richness in your design. So, I think that's very important going forward. - Excellent. Okay, so we're winding down and I have a loaded question for you guys. I want to hear the one design trend that you really want to go away. And one trend that we can expect to see in the year ahead. So Stacey, let's start with you. I can't wait to hear your response. - I might be biased, but goodness, I just want more color. - Yeah. - More color please. - I understand. - And I do have white walls in my home. This is not about banning white walls, at all, but I would just love to see a little bit more vibrancy. I know people are hesitant and tend to be hesitant when it comes to embracing color, but it could just be in your accessories. You could start there, start small, but color. And being at home, I'm sure people have realized that the impact, the existence of color has on one's mood. Behind me, this was a conscious effort to add some joy in this small space of mine. So don't be afraid of color at all. I want more color. - Yeah, it changes the feel of a room, you're so right about that. Nicole, one trend that you really just can't stand right now, and one that you think we'll see more of next year. - Yeah, I mean, honestly, Stacey took all the words out of my mouth because that's the first thing that came to mind even before she gave her answer. You know, I think that there is this look that I think is lovely, and it's that California casual, all white, you know, you guys are, y'all all know the look, right. Popularized by a handful of really big influencers on Instagram and just overall it's I think it's kind of a preferred aesthetic in California. And I think it's a really beautiful look, but I am kind of tired of seeing that, and I would love to see more color. And it's not, it's not about the decor, but it's just, you could, so many of those spaces that I see that, that have that California vibe, with all white walls would look so much more stunning with bold color. And, you know, I think color, while it can be trendy is sort of timeless. It's almost like, you know it's the color that speaks to you, the color that creates the mood that you want to feel. So like, for example, it's not that white isn't passe trend but it's just this idea that people are and have embraced this, like all white look that at times when especially when not done well and not layered well, just feel sterile and void of personality, so I would love to see people embrace more color as well and yeah. - I completely agree. Young, I'm so curious to hear about the one trend that you want to disappear and one that you think we can expect to see more of in the year ahead. - So, I hate to hate on design trends but I am going to share this one with you. - Please do. - It really bothers me how we're seeing a lot of these new McMansions that are kind of modern farmhouse, they're white, they have black metal doors, they have metal roofs. They all look the same. And I think, you know, it's, they're building a lot of them upstate where a lot of homes are older and instead of refurbishing what's existing, and I know it takes a lot of effort to add modern amenities to an old house, but I just feel like these houses are gonna be like the houses from the eighties that no one wants today. You know, it's like, it becomes this canned mock, you know, mass product. And, you know, I think there could be a way to build a house like that, they can be really, really attractive once you add personality to it, you know, just changing a little bit, being maybe thoughtful about the windows, maybe adding some molding detail. So yeah, I predict that that's to be like ah, the trend that you hate soon. - Great, I agree. So, you know, any final thoughts as we wrap up, as people are considering trends, and trying to pinpoint exactly what to incorporate into their spaces. Stacey final thoughts before we close. - I think I started with these thoughts and I'm going to end with the same thing. Be yourself. Your home should be an expression of who you are. Not necessarily, an exhibition of trends, express yourself. - I love that. How about you, Nicole, last words for our audience? - Yeah, I think create a home that makes you happy, a home that you'll love every single time you're in any room in your home. You know, so many people will just have their space be good enough, and then boom, there's a pandemic. And you realize how much you just dislike, so really invest in creating a home you love, and embrace color. - Love that. Young, last thoughts on embracing design trends. - Don't fill your rooms with too many Instagram ideas. You know. - So true. - It will be tragic. - I totally agree. - Choose who you are and be true to it. - I love that. Well thank you for joining us, you know, thanks to our panelists. You all had some great ideas that I'm personally going to incorporate into my own home. And thanks to our sponsor Pergo who will now be hosting a breakout session where you can talk directly to Pergo's experts in luxury flooring, to get inspiration, and answers to all of your burning flooring questions. All you have to do is click the link below your screen to join now. Thank you so much for watching.

Related video above: The Makeover Takeover Renovation Summit discusses home design trends for 2021Gap and Walmart have teamed up to launch Gap Home, a Gap-branded home decor, bedding, tabletop and bath collection set to debut next month.The collection of more than 400 items, including products made with organic cotton and recycled materials, will be sold exclusively on Walmart.com beginning June 24.Gap has been trying to turn itself around under its CEO Sonia Syngal, who took over last year and has focused on reviving Gap's namesake brand. Part of that effort involves expanding into new areas for sales growth.Last May, Gap announced a deal with global licensing company IMG to help expand its brand beyond apparel to other categories such as home decor, baby equipment and furniture as a way to grow its market and attract new customers.Gap Brand CEO Mark Breitbard said Gap Home was the "first foray" into those new areas. "It's breaking new ground for us. We want to learn fast and think big," Breitbard said during an interview with CNNBusiness.He said Gap Home will be a multiyear partnership with Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States. "When you look at the scale that Walmart has, a key part of this is that it's a way to bring new customers to the Gap brand. So scaling through Walmart, which already has expertise in home, is a slam dunk."The collection features items like a pillow made from light chambray material for $16 and a King size reversible comforter set made from soft jersey material for $65.For Walmart, the deal allows it to become more competitive in the home category through exclusive offerings at accessible prices, said Anthony Soohoo, executive vice president of Walmart's home division.It's not the only one expanding in the category through partnerships. In late February, Target launched a limited-edition exclusive collection of home decor and pet accessories with denim brand Levi's."Home has been an area where the customer has spent more time ," Soohoo told CNNBusiness. "As we get out of the pandemic, we have a new appreciation for home."

Related video above: The Makeover Takeover Renovation Summit discusses home design trends for 2021

Gap and Walmart have teamed up to launch Gap Home, a Gap-branded home decor, bedding, tabletop and bath collection set to debut next month.

The collection of more than 400 items, including products made with organic cotton and recycled materials, will be sold exclusively on Walmart.com beginning June 24.

Gap has been trying to turn itself around under its CEO Sonia Syngal, who took over last year and has focused on reviving Gap's namesake brand. Part of that effort involves expanding into new areas for sales growth.

Last May, Gap announced a deal with global licensing company IMG to help expand its brand beyond apparel to other categories such as home decor, baby equipment and furniture as a way to grow its market and attract new customers.

Gap Brand CEO Mark Breitbard said Gap Home was the "first foray" into those new areas. "It's breaking new ground for us. We want to learn fast and think big," Breitbard said during an interview with CNNBusiness.

He said Gap Home will be a multiyear partnership with Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States. "When you look at the scale that Walmart has, a key part of this [deal] is that it's a way to bring new customers to the Gap brand. So scaling through Walmart, which already has expertise in home, is a slam dunk."

The collection features items like a pillow made from light chambray material for $16 and a King size reversible comforter set made from soft jersey material for $65.

Gap Inc. via CNN

For Walmart, the deal allows it to become more competitive in the home category through exclusive offerings at accessible prices, said Anthony Soohoo, executive vice president of Walmart's home division.

It's not the only one expanding in the category through partnerships. In late February, Target launched a limited-edition exclusive collection of home decor and pet accessories with denim brand Levi's.

"Home has been an area where the customer has spent more time [in the last year]," Soohoo told CNNBusiness. "As we get out of the pandemic, we have a new appreciation for home."