THE NICE LIST: When we build, we can be very very good

Colorado Students Build Affordable Homes: Inside a bustling 32,000-square-foot modular home factory in Boulder, the rhythmic sounds of drills, saws and hammers now mark the school day for dozens of high school students learning trade skills by building real homes for local families. More here: (Source)

This Startup is Building a Network of Home Batteries: Haven Energy works with homeowners to install batteries and solar in homes that qualify for state incentives around areas where the grid is particularly overloaded. More here: (Source)

Home Depot Launches New Product to Fix Alarming Customer Problems: Home Depot has launched its new Creator portal, a platform to help digital creators monetize their home improvement content and collaborate with the brand. More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

Fans of The Drill Down know we’ve been beating the drum for young folks to enter the trades, so THANK YOU Colorado. 

And extra eggnog to you, California, for taking on our overburdened electrical grid with a sensible idea.

And now for you, Home Depot. You get to hang your stocking because you’re marketing smart. You’re hitting those rising homeowners where they hang out: on social media, watching the creators create. While not a fully original initiative (hello Lowe’s, we saw you there first), it still made us jolly.

THE NAUGHTY LIST: See? This is why we can’t have nice things

Per DA, NYC Crew Ripped Off $2.2M Worth of Merch from Home Depot in Ocean’s 11-Style: A well-organized Queens retail crew ripped off Home Depot outlets in nine states for $2.2 million in merchandise, then sold the goods to “fences” who peddled them on the black market, authorities said. More here: (Source)

Fed Rate Cut & What It Really Means for Homebuyers and the Housing Market: The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate once again, but even Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns that the move will not be a panacea for the housing market. More here: (Source)

These 5 Home Features Look Like Upgrades — But Designers Say They Just Look Bad: When homeowners try to enhance their homes with trendy updates, interior designers caution that some trends can actually make homes look worse. More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

Tsk tsk, fellas. Mess with the orange apron, you’re gonna get the orange jumpsuit. 

And you, Mr. Powell, really plugged up our chimney with all that honesty about the frailty of last week’s rate cut. We’re not mad, we just want more home sales – and we know the psychological benefit of getting mortgage rates below 6%.

But there’s extra coal to go around, so we’re sending one lump to the designers who moon for a trend one year, then skewer it the next. Can we please be a little more gentle on our beloved homeowners?

Naughty or nice, you still deserve a little something

No matter what level of DIYer you're shopping for, they likely need other stuff besides tools, from safety gear (which too many DIYers neglect), to cold-weather accessories, to the little extras that can make around-the-house projects a little easier, and maybe even more fun. More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

Let’s be clear: The Drill Down does NOT earn a commission if you use this list. But some of this stuff was just cool enough to make our cut, so if we happen to save your Christmas, how about donating some underwear down below?