House Design

This is normally a column about my life’s work: garden design. I am never short of finding ways to help my readers be better designers, and I remain grateful for the opportunity these past three and a half years.

I am occasionally, though, given leave by a tolerant editor to veer off the garden path. During the holidays, especially, I will sometimes test her patience. This week, the issue of turkeys and Thanksgiving is very much on my mind.

As always, my column is my own point of view. I encourage those who disagree — most of you — to post comments either below the online version of this column, or on my own website (), which is at long last back up and running. And

Full Article…

Seven years ago, Jenne Giles was a San Francisco painter and sculptor who didn’t know felting existed. Now she works almost exclusively in the medium, stretching the possibilities of felt in fashion.

There’s a soft-sculpture aspect to wet felting that is attractive to Giles, who sells her ruffled scarves in museum gift shops and online at the Artful Home. It’s tactile and hands-on, like working in clay, she says.

“It incorporates all the things that I love,” says Giles, author of “Felt Fashion: Couture Projects from Garments to Accessories” .

“It’s an ancient medium,” she adds.

Full Article…

Aromatic candles not only give your house a nice fragrance and light, it also helps you to reduce your stress levels. They are cost friendly if you can make them yourself. The pleasant aroma that the candles have is a result of certain real essential oils. These smells can improve your mood and reduce your stress levels.

Also known as aroma therapy, these candles lift up your mood. You can choose citrus scents like orange, lemon and grapefruit. These smells make you more energetic, positive and excited.

Full Article…

Weve written several articles about basement insulation and a cost effective approach to basement insulation using foam board and fiberglass insulation. Since writing those articles weve received quite a few questions about when to use a basement vapor barrier and when not to. So we thought it might be a good idea to clear up some of the confusion.

Before we explain where to use vapor barriers its a good idea to talk about where the vapor comes from which ultimately makes the discussion easier to understand.

First off you need to think of your concrete (or block) walls as a huge sponge for moisture (water vapor).

Full Article…

I own a home that was built in the late 1800’s, and I have started updating the bathroom and the kitchen. As contractors, do you have any thoughts on how I might be able to plan and execute all of my home improvement projects on my own? I would like to try and save money by doing most the work by myself. Any help you can give me would be great!

Laura, tackling a home remodeling project yourself can be a challenging adventure, but the rewards of successfully completing a DIY home improvement are many. Of course, one reason why many homeowners choose to remodel their homes themselves is the possibility of saving money on the project’s overall labor cost.

Full Article…