favorite grays: 1. Ben Moore's titanium (but at 125%) 2. Miller Paint's shadow orchid a pale cement gray with touch of purple/mauve. I've never seen an equivalent - it's a one of a kind...

Really insane wallpaper. Like the Teal and Gold Brocade currently offered at Flavorpaper. The rest of the room needs a redo too while you are at it. Or colored grasscloth paper in a modern finish a...

I love mine, which I bought 10 years ago at a Laoation grocery here in Portland. Sadly, it seems plastic ones are rapidly replacing the enamel ones in all the Asian stores here. I use mine (I own t...

Stainless appliances are quickly becoming the avocado, gold harvest, and mauve of our generation. The fingerprint maintenance factor alone is enough to turn me off...Digressing... As t...

I've tried my whole life to have, and use a "desk". Even as a kid we just did our homework on the sofa or on the floor with pillows or at our big dining room table. Personally, I've gi...

I have some Ikea things, but was dearly afraid of my house becoming the Ikea catalog so I developed some guidelines: 1. Use Ikea for basics, and only basics such as Billy Shelves, shoe racks,...

I'm EXTREMELY sensitive to scents, I hate most of the products out there. That said, these are my stable-ables Dr Bronner's Sals Suds White Vinegar Bon Ami Baking Sod...

Check out the 180 plus food carts in Portland, Oregon. From Sicilian, to Bosnian, Korean, Artisan pizza, waffles, Soups, Vegan Indian - you name it. www.foodcartsportland.com

Oh, I had no idea the magnitude and proliferation of slugs in the northwest until I moved to Seattle in 1989... To a basement apartment, no less. One morning I woke up to ...

You rearrange so that there is the feel of an entry area. For me, this meant moving the sofa to a different wall and turning the wall where the door opens onto into a long landing strip with a coat...

The main problem is flow there's too much of it! The stove and sink are not placed in an area that makes sense so you have all this cluster of "busy active" area at the end with all this open and d...

I'm lucky enough to live in Portland, OR where Schoolhouse is based. I walk by their showroom sometimes and just sigh. Really well made stuff and classic.

You know, I've been looking for a distressed leather chair like that for a couple of years after sitting in one similar owned by my friend. I wouldn't recover it if you can get away wi...

I was lucky enough to meet Jon Sherman last summer in New Orleans. Super nice guy, and a visionary. The fact that he has been able to take over what was a fairly old school and somewha...

"It's a great concept... especially for dysfunctional families." That wins comment of the day!

This looks right out of my parents early 1960 Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking series when ethnic cuisines were just starting to catch on with "high design" minded folks in the US. The wok, the ...

Corvallis, Oregon - gateway to the Oregon coast, wonderful pastoral beauty and the towns around their rival those around McMinville. As a college town, it's not all hick-ville either, and is fairly...

"This is so disgusting." What, exactly is disgusting about practicing good hygiene? Many older apartments in Europe and places like SF have separate toilet rooms from bat...

I just don't see much originality, art or interesting style here. The late great photographer Helmut Newton did this genre much better. As for Madonna. I don't care about ...

Contractor account is the way to go. Also, local or regional brands like Dunn Edwards (California) or Miller Paint (here in Portland) are usually BM quality but much cheaper. And yes, they will mat...