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11/29/2009

Heritage adds more to decor
CHICAGO — We are a nation of nomads, traveling from house to apartment to condo to townhouse, searching for that comfort we call home.

Rakes and ladders could be your downfall
Take extra care when cleaning up leaves and cleaning out gutters

Welcome home to that cozy feeling
Melanie Taylor loves small houses.

11/22/2009

How much should you put into a property you plan to sell?
Better to handle certain problems sooner than to risk losing a deal later on

It’s a dream for Airstreams
HILLSBORO, Texas — When your home has wheels, you can go anywhere. And when your home is an Airstream, you’re part of a special club, your smooth silver box of a home attracting attention and affection wherever you go.

Japan gets back to nature on city roofs
Until recently most rooftop cultivation was done by restaurants

11/15/2009

How to put works of art to work in your home
CHICAGO — Chris Robb traces her love of art to a course she and her future husband, Bill, took as seniors at Northwestern University. It was, she says, the start of a commitment they have made to art.

11/08/2009

Hip hearths not the same old flame
Modern fireplaces have minimal surrounds, simple mantels, sculptural inserts

Composting begins with a container in the kitchen
• The paper milk carton: Simply open up the top of a paper milk carton and toss in your potato peelings, coffee grounds and that leftover arugula salad you never got around to eating. The carton won’t leak — it’s waxed –– so it’s OK to keep on the kitchen counter but will break down at the compost facility. Do not use this method if the milk carton has a non-compostable plastic screw-top spout.

11/01/2009

Reporter confronts a scary thought: Designing the nursery
WASHINGTON — When family and friends found out I was pregnant, one of the first things they said after offering hearty congratulations was, “You must be so excited to do the nursery.”

10/22/2009

The furnishings are fine
The number of exhibitors at the annual Fine Furnishings show is down this year, thanks to the struggling economy. But the range of designs is as broad as ever, says the show’s owner, Karla Little.

10/25/2009

There is life after downsizing
CHICAGO — Downsizing from a three-story town house to a high-rise rental, Southern California natives Bob and Kelly Berkus sold most of their furniture and their car before they moved to Chicago this summer for Bob to begin a master’s program at the Kellogg School of Management.

Home and Garden Notes
www.towerhillbg.org.

Jessica A. Baldwin Corey S. Martin
Jessica Ann Baldwin of Narragansett and Corey Stephen Martin of Narragansett were married Aug. 22 in St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Narragansett by the Rev. Francis P. Kayatta. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James R. Baldwin of Narragansett. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Sullivan of Saunderstown and Bruce Martin of Uxbridge, Mass.

10/18/2009

Rug makers express themselves in their craft
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Originally a pastime for sailors on long voyages in the 1800s, rug hooking was brought into popular culture around the 1940s by Pearl McGown. Her floral-centered medallions and scroll-edged patterns were printed on burlap and sold across the country in five-and-dime stores.

10/11/2009

Samsung’s new LCD TV is next step in high tech
LCD has become the default HDTV the way Kleenex is the default tissue, Bose the default table radio and Jonas Brothers the default boy band.

Spirituality in the gardens of R.I. history
PROVIDENCE — The Antram-Gray House separates the Native-American garden from the Colonial kitchen garden at the Roger Williams National Memorial. The horticulture practices and the plants of the two 17th-century gardens are very different from each other, but the two plots share a common spiritual seed.

10/04/2009

SOCIAL CALENDAR
October

Décor gone wild
We’ve all come home from a trip with a “found” treasure — an unusual bit of nature’s detritus, or some oddity from a quirky shop. Souvenirs remind us of our experiences, and it’s fun to display them. Even an assembly of common shells or stones from walks on the beach can look interesting if presented the right way.

Gently welcome your houseplants back to the great indoors
I don’t know about you, but come summer, I move a major number of my houseplants outdoors. Today’s column is all about the challenges and solutions of re-acclimating our plants to the great indoors.

09/27/2009

Watergate update: New look at a classic Washington apartment complex
WASHINGTON — Before there was a break-in and a national scandal, the Watergate was known solely as one of Washington’s most luxurious and modern apartment complexes.