October 27, 2010

Tell Your Ghost Story and Win a Prize

Projects & Tips

Ever been in a haunted house with a ghost story to tell? If so, you might want to share it with OldHouseWeb.com, a how-to site for old house enthusiasts, which recently launched a contest inviting DIYers and home renovators to share their ghost stories for the chance to win a $100 gift card to Lowe’s Home Improvement. OldHouseWeb.com is giving one $100 gift card away each week to the person who shares the best ghosty tale until November 11. If you have photos to share, all the better. For anyone who misses out on winning a weekly prize, you’ll have … Read Post

October 25, 2010

How to Make Yard Work Easy and Fun

Projects & Tips

It’s a thrill to watch leaves call attention to themselves in autumn by turning rich red, fiery orange or glowing gold and gently fluttering down to earth to blanket the ground? But clearing them off the lawn once they land isn’t so exciting. To make the job easier consider the Leaf Rake from Fiskars, which transforms a raking project into a fast, efficient and satisfying effort. It’s got flexible, durable, extra-wide resin tines that transport leaves without trapping them, a 24-inch rake head sized for moving a high volume of leaves with minimal effort, a sturdy light-weight, easy-to-maneuver aluminum handle, … Read Post

October 21, 2010

Window Treatments That Can Help You Sleep

Products

If you or a family member are light sleepers, consider installing a shade with a premium blackout liner, which can help a person get an extra 45 minutes to an hour of sleep each night. This shade is from Budget Blinds (don’t let the name of the franchise fool you—the window treatments the company offers are high quality—it makes curtains, shades, shutters and blinds for every budget—low to high—and provides top-notch custom service, too). And according to Budget Blinds expert Suzi Carragher sleeping problems aren’t uncommon. In fact, she notes that 65 percent of respondents to a 2008 Sleep Foundation … Read Post

October 19, 2010

Wholesome Halloween Treats

Epicure

No Halloween celebration is complete without the treats. But there’s no rule that says they have to be packed with sugar and artificial ingredients. Don and Susie Morris, the founders of Donseumor, a European-inspired bakery in Alameda, California, take a less-is-more approach to making cookies, using wholesome preservative- and additive-free, all-natural ingredients to produce buttery, light, artistic cookies and cupcakes. And for anyone interested in making some unique, wholesome Halloween treats this year, here’s a recipe they sent us for delightful Witch’s Hat Cute Cakes, which are soft and moist, and made with the finest quality all-natural ingredients. Inspired by … Read Post

October 14, 2010

An Eco-Friendly Way to Dispose of Old Appliances

Design, Products

Whether you’re simply replacing an appliance or two or starting from scratch on a kitchen renovation, consider recycling products in reasonable shape rather than sending them to the landfill. DiggersList.com offers ways to donate old appliances along with elements like countertops or shelves to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. DiggersList.com is a free online classified site, where you can buy and sell affordable remodeling products, such as flooring, fixtures, appliances and other used and new excess supplies left over from remodeling projects. The site also lets you search for service providers, such as contractors, floor refinishers, painters and the like. And … Read Post

October 12, 2010

Maximizing Storage Space with Affordable Organizing Systems

Products

Ready to organize your hall closet? Then consider Ikea’s Pax organizing system, which can help you maximize the “vertical real estate” (see our post on Clearing Clutter with organizing expert Lisa Zaslow). You can use the store’s handy online tool to pick out the components you want to create a super-efficient utility or coat closet in the hall. These units are tall and meant to be standalone storage systems in a room, but if your closet is deep enough they can work as internal closet organizers, too. They arrive flat-packed, so you’ll need to be prepared to put them together … Read Post

October 8, 2010

Easy Ways to Get Organized and Change Your Life

Projects & Tips

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a charming little book that helped me fulfill a third wish on my home improvement Wish List—coming up with a comprehensive organization and speed-cleaning plan. It’s called 27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home (Trade Paper Press) by Tisha Morris, a feng shui consultant, life coach and interior designer, and its helpful tips on getting organized are so pleasantly written that I actually had fun clearing out some excess stuff in anticipation of the arrival of a few new organizing systems that I’d ordered from Ikea. The book opens with a Chinese … Read Post

October 6, 2010

Free Kitchen & Bath Remodeling Advice

Projects & Tips

The National Kitchen & Bath Association is offering free downloadable NKBA Kitchen and Bath Planners throughout the month of October, which it has designated Kitchen and Bath month. For anyone interested in enhancing the value of their homes by remodeling a kitchen or bath, the Planners guide homeowners through every step of the process with advice from NKBA professionals, who clarify the necessary decisions and offer in-depth industry knowledge. Key features of the Planners include: A step-by-step guide of the remodel from start to finish Guidelines of details and components to consider while planning Comprehensive design options to choose your personal … Read Post

October 4, 2010

Behind the Scenes at Christie’s New York

About Town, Events

Thanks to an invitation from the Jesters Club, an international squash organization that was celebrating its 75th annual jubilee last week, we had the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Christie’s New York location in Rockefeller Plaza with Becky MacGuire, a specialist in Chinese Export porcelain. After visiting the interiors rooms and sitting in on a live auction, we learned that you can actually get some good-quality estate furniture and accents—as well as an incredibly wide range of art and artifacts—for fairly reasonable prices (one woman told us she furnished her entire summerhouse with furniture she purchased at a … Read Post

September 30, 2010

Italian Ceramic Tile Trends Report

Inspiration, Products

The Cersaie show of ceramic tiles, which is going on now in Bologna, Italy, showcases the most beautiful tiles from more than 500 international companies—and many of them become available in the U.S. Danielle De Vita, the senior account executive from NovitaPR, which represents the Ceramic Tile of Italy association, offered to write up a trends roundup for us. A thorough and inspiring report it is. Here’s her summary:   Don’t you just love sneak previews, especially when they involve designer trends? Here’s a great one for you: Cersaie, the international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings, is a … Read Post