If there is one element of college life that has not changed, it is the always utilitarian, ever-dependable dorm room, where students have been dropping milk crates onto the linoleum floor and unpacking their shower caddies for what seems like a millennium.
For college kids who move off-campus, learning to accommodate the styles and needs of housemates is good practice for life after school.
Every day I troll through Pinterest to catch the latest and greatest gardening ideas. I gather the best in my Small Budget Gardening board, which has exceeded 6,000 vetted ideas I know will work well over time. It’s becoming a real crowd pleaser this summer.
I love to eat, and I love to laugh and talk with friends. So having people over to my home for meals is at the top of my fun chart.
Not all game boards are for checkers or chess. Our ancestors played Parcheesi, backgammon and cribbage on boards that could be made at home.
Q: We have had these trees in our backyard for 15 years. I don’t know what they are. All of a sudden, one has a bare spot. What might this be? I enclosed a picture.
A century ago, every woman in rural America had a hope chest and a Mason jar collection. These coveted jars were brought into use over the August and September harvest season when the farm yielded its bounty. Early on she worked over a wood cook stove, but now a gas or electric range with air conditioning makes this job more fun in these dog days of summer.
I have a teeny tiny room in my home that needed a big, bold touch. Instead of covering the walls in wallpaper, which we know is such a pain to remove, I opted for lovely blue and white watercolor print from my home décor fabric collection, California Dreaming. It has a great linen texture and makes the room feel so rich and cozy.
Trying to maneuver through the rules of the design world can sometimes feel like walking across a mine field. We want to categorize every product as traditional, contemporary, rustic, lodge, industrial, modern or French country. We are so concerned about those labels that we often second-guess our design decisions.
