Rose society sets pruning event
Home and Garden
Table lamps come in all sizes and shapes. The question often arises as to the ideal height of a lamp. The most direct and accurate answer is “It depends.”
There is a familiar quote, “Home is where the heart is,” and that statement is especially true today as people are spending more time at home. Furniture, wall coverings, flooring and accessories are all important aspects to creating an environment that is both inviting and comforting for interior living spaces.
DEAR DESIGNER: I am confused by the various letters after a designer’s name. What do they mean? And, is there a difference between a decorator and a designer? — Nancy
Mimosa, a warm, engaging yellow, has been selected as the color of the year for 2009 by Pantone, a global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries. In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow.
A fan has always been a fan no matter its color, its size or if it hangs from a ceiling or sits on a table. When you switch it on, it blows and circulates air.
DEAR HELOISE: We realize that remembering your frequently used Web sites, log-on names and passwords can be a difficult task. If you must write them down, please put the information in a locked drawer or box so that no one else can access the information. You also can put this information in a password-controlled file on your computer.
When you come home and take a nice deep breath to relax, are you getting more than you bargained for? It may come as a surprise to learn that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air in our homes is often two to five times more polluted than the outdoor air — even in the largest and most industrialized cities.
: I planted a row of red tip photinia between a walkway and the side of my garage to try to grow a formal hedge to break up the mass of the garage wall. In front of the photinia I have a row of lantana that I prune low to the ground. Some of the photinia, especially the ones that get the most afternoon sun, have leaves that appear to be burnt during the summer. They are a brownish or blackish color. The plant is not dead as there are new leaves growing on it, even on the same stems that have the burnt leaves. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do? Does it need more or less water?
As with the beginning of any new year, or any time frame for that matter, we usually have lists of things we want to accomplish in that new time — in our lives, our work or in our homes. Given the less-than-favorable economic situation we are currently experiencing, those new ideas and starts may be smaller or not occur at all.
: I recently moved into a new house and would like to get the locks changed, as I don’t know how many people have keys to my home. Anyway, rather than pay a locksmith, I saw a do-it-yourself kit that I would like to try. Are these kits any good?
Christmas trees are one of the recognized traditions of the holiday season. They make our homes smell lovely, we can decorate them and they provide a beautiful focal point for gifts.
Window treatments can be as diversified as your imagination. All you need to know are some basic designs, then you can add personal touches as your creative energy starts feeding you ideas. Let’s begin by learning the fundamentals.
Interior designers often talk about centering a room, even bringing a kind of narrative to the space, by finding and accentuating its focal point. In a living room it could be a fireplace, a window with a beautiful view, even a beloved piece of antique furniture that’s been in the family for years. But when it comes to the bedroom, it’s usually, well, the bed.
Five years ago, Henry Levine, a furniture designer and craftsman, wanted to do something meaningful for his upcoming wedding so he went to his studio and gathered up scraps of beautiful wood. He joined the pieces of wood together, turning them into four poles to hold up the canvas of his chuppah, the traditional tentlike structure under which Jewish couples are married and which serves as their symbolic “first home.”