August 31, 2010

Tips on Enhancing Your Life with Feng Shui

Projects & Tips

I’ve been gradually shifting gears with my career over the past few months, and my husband is considering doing the same, so it’s a good thing we’ve decided to renovate our kitchen. At least that’s true if you take the Chinese art of feng shui into account. You see, our kitchen is located in what’s known as the “career area” of our home and according to Katherine Lewis, an L.A.-based feng shui master I consulted a couple of weeks ago, making positive changes to this area will positively affect the career opportunities that come into our lives. Trained in several schools … Read Post

August 26, 2010

Tips from a Pro on the Psychology of Getting Organized

Projects & Tips

While I was working as the editor in chief of the Woman’s Day special interest magazines, the advice most often requested from our readers was information on getting organized. A couple of months ago, my fellow editors helped me record a conversation I had with Fran Harris, a life coach, former professional basketball player, and the host of a new HGTV show called Home Rules. The premise of her show is to get the participants to clear up their “inner house,” meaning their psychological and emotional issues, before they earn the right to embark on their “outer house,” or home … Read Post

August 24, 2010

Using Feng Shui to Create Harmony in the Home

Projects & Tips

It’s not everyday that a person undertakes a renovation project, so naturally it pays to do some due diligence before starting one. Among the things I promised myself I’d do before reconfiguring any spaces or painting any walls was to research feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement and design, and apply some of its principles to the home I share with my husband, Anil. I have reservations about the efficacy of the system, since aspects of the practice are mystical and hard to measure by scientific standards. But one of my goals with our improvement projects is to … Read Post

August 19, 2010

Great Go-To Design Guide

Homes

Davis & Warshow, the venerable kitchen and bath supply house in New York, is celebrating 85 years in business this year. And to commemorate the occasion, the company produced “Guide 85: Resources for the Resourceful,” which includes information on many of the talented architects and designers the owners have worked with over the years, including Alexa Hampton, Emmanuela Frattini Magnusson, Thom Filicia, and Eric Cohler, among others. It also includes some of the architects’ and designers’ favorite resources, such as the Center 44 antiques resource, L’Olivier floral artists, and Plateau Painting, professional painters who, says Alexa Hampton, take the stress … Read Post

August 17, 2010

Chic and Affordable Organizing Systems

Interiors

So far, the most challenging of my home improvement projects has been the process of sifting through our closets and drawers and de-accessioning the things we no longer need. On the other hand, exploring the range of systems for better stowing the things we intend to keep has been fascinating. After looking into the organizing and storage options from several different companies, I’ve been amazed to see how many nooks and cubbies and hooks and drawers and built-in hangers and shelves there are in the world to choose from. And the range in prices for these storage elements is astounding, … Read Post

August 13, 2010

Super-Simple Centerpiece Idea

Projects & Tips

Sometimes, the simplest projects are the best. Take this easy idea, for example, generated by my stylist friend and colleague Donna Talley for Better Homes & Gardens’ Garden Shed magazine. All you need is an urn or two—hauled in from the backyard or a tag sale—some ferns, moss, and potting soil and you’ve got a instant pick-me-up for a console or an outdoor table. Place the plant in a small terra-cotta pot to allow for drainage before setting it inside the urn.

August 11, 2010

Win a Free Residence in Manhattan

Market Watch

Along with all the other new building that’s going on in my neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, I’ve been watching the construction of the new W Hotel and Residences. Designed by the New York architecture firm Gwathmey Siegel, the building is due to be completed soon, and one of the residences in the swank new high-rise is being given away with the launch of the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway, the latest of HGTV’s popular annual Dream Home and Green Home giveaway events. Last week, I was given a personal tour of the 900-square-foot apartment by designer and host of HGTV’s Design … Read Post

August 9, 2010

Living with Art

Interiors

My husband, Anil, and I are great art lovers—not so much from an academic perspective, it’s more of a visceral thing for us. In other words, we know what we like when we see it. Still, it’s always interesting to learn about the ideas behind good art, so we’re lucky to have Sundaram Tagore as our friend. Sundaram represents some of the most talented contemporary artists in the world and enriches us with a generous dose of culture whenever we see him. I don’t think I’d be happy without art in my home, so we’ve acquired some of our favorite … Read Post

August 6, 2010

Improving Sleep with the Right Mattress

Interiors

What a difference a mattress makes! Overnight, I went from tossing and turning on a mattress that was hard as a rock to slumbering like a baby on one that is soft as a cloud. I’m also pleased to report that Wish #1 on my Wish List has now been fulfilled thanks to Anthony Page, the creative owner of a mattress company in Massapequa Park called SleepWorks. My husband and I stopped there to test a NaturaWorld mattress we were interested in that was priced within our budget. The mattress we tried was made with layers of plant-based foam along … Read Post

August 4, 2010

Estimating the Return on Your Home Improvement Investment

Market Watch

Eager to triple check what kind of return on investment my husband and I could expect on the home improvements we hope to make, I talked to two other real estate professionals recently to get their views on how best to prioritize my Wish List from a resale value perspective (see my June 15 post for what a host of A&E’s Flip This House had to say). Both agreed that all of the renovations plans we planned would be worth our while, should we ever decide to sell our home in the future—but not without some caveats. Gary Seiden, a … Read Post