Even less work is to take a plastic basket/punt of the type you get cherry tomatoes in at the market and turn that upside down in your water-filled opaque vase -- the grid of the basket serves to h...

I'll chime in with those who suggest that knowing what your couch upholstery fabric will be will give you a better idea of what you want on the walls. For that matter, if you mean to add window tr...

Lovely style sense. I find both the laundry room and the dining room exceptionally engaging and charming. I love the idea of a laundry room that has so much style and warmth -- makes the idea of ...

I am really digging on the plantation shutters idea -- I had shutters in my room growing up and they're incredibly versatile. And they would go well with the clean-cut, tailored look of the room.

I would start with one other thing that you love and definitely want in that room, and then start building your palette and approach from that. In our living room, I started with a fabric for the ...

Yeah, given that you can't get away from the floor or the tiled counter in terms of colors, I would definitely stick with the same palette they establish. Dark chocolate walls might be a bit heavy...

We've had an Ikea gateleg table for years -- a pine predecessor of the Norden -- and it was our apartment dining table much of that time. Now that we have another dining table it's my sewing table...

'Famous' modernist 'scholars' claiming we're still in Modernism? Nothing self-serving in that, is there?

I learned about shirred eggs from an issue of Sunset a while back. I particularly like to add a shredded basil on top, but I hadn't tried experimenting with tomato or mushrooms.

In cold weather if you're having guests over, make mulled wine or mulled cider. The house smells nice, and you have a warming drink to offer your friends. If you're decorating for fal...

Jesus wept. The term Modern is certainly not limited to mid-century designs. The middle of the 20th century was pretty well the end of the Modernism: by then it had been bubbling along as ...

Yes, try the Howards route first by all means. Painting the outside of that piece would be a great shame. If you must, I would limit it to a gloss black on the raised molding, but really, best not.

I think bepsf has the right idea -- paint is easy to change later, so if you slightly shift the paint scheme to suit the chair you can wait until you can afford to reupholster. Or you may find you...

For that matter, French toast and bread pudding are other combination uses for a custard base.

Well, it is arguably just another way of saying 'custard' but how about making quiche?

Lovely chandelier, lovely room. If you really want to create separated areas in the room, your best bet will be to swag the chandelier over the dining table, and then use multiple other lamps to c...

Okay, I've not tried to do this, but I don't think you'll really be able show off the shape of the couch under a shapeless mass-produced slipcover intended for a very different shape of couch. My ...

Shawn- Yes, drafts may move from where it is cold to where it is warmer, but the reason the air moves is because heat moves from the warmer body to the cooler. That is, ...

The way to prevent leakage with an upside down paint can is to use a rubber mallet to set the lid -- tap around the rim of the lid so that it seats solidly.

On how wall curtains and tapestries exclude drafts and make spaces warmer: basic physics suggests that heat moves from a warmer body to a cooler, by the fastest means available. Heat transfer hap...