VT (for all of my design-obsessed peeps)

imagecourtesyhabituallychic Peeps, There is no denying that fall is now upon us, and at the garden center ornamental kale and pansies have never looked so enticing.  This weekend I plan to remove the last of this year's annuals (whose color(s) now seem a little sad) and start tucking little accents such as kale, pansies, rosemary, and ornamental peppers into container-pots. Once the tree-lot sales start, I will bring home branches and bits of evergreens which can be used to add height and mass.  I tend to cheat a little, by using artificial berries and poinsettia flowers for arrangements viewed from a distance, or in hard-to-reach places where maintenance and watering is difficult.  Sheet-moss (purchased at the craft store) is quite effective at hiding bare soil, and provides a nice backdrop for natural balls, clusters of fruit or nuts, and baubles (inexpensive and widely available at the dollar stores where bags of glistening charms are all less than two dol...

Peeps Not too long ago, only in the pages of the glossy magazines devoted to the triumphs of architecture, would a house such as this (pictured above and source unknown) be seen.  We somehow knew that design professionals (and some homeowners) in Europe and Asia had grasped the idea of an almost pure modernity paired with traditionalism, yet this philosophy was long resisted in most American cities where neighborhood advisory committees and historic preservation boards wielded considerable influence, and the proliferation of 'appropriateness' continued without much opposition, to the sometimes chagrin of the more enlightened.  Yet, new ideas are accepted -- if sometimes painfully slow; recent additions to many city landmarks (such as museums in New York City, Houston, Chicago, and St Paul), and various boroughs around the nation's metropolitan areas -- where the scarcity of urban real-estate has made a total demolition costly, prohibitive, or unwanted, offer ampl...

sourceofphotounknown Peeps, What could have been so-so unexpectedly turns wow, once the eye follows the stairway ahead, and the gaze drifts upward to the exposed roof truss above.  The truss, as well as the hanging light fixture (and desk) are open constructions and show clearly the process involved in fabrication.  The hanging fixture reminds me so much of craft projects I attempted as a boy.  Sadly, the distance between start and finish was too much for my over-active imagination, restless disposition, and excitable temperament.  Model airplanes and battle-ships usually proved frustrating, as detailed instructions were a formidable obstacle to completing assemblage, and the end product never quite matched the vivid picture on the box-cover.  Those wore the days well before the diagnosis of ADHD or ADD, and the kind, if misdirected nuns preferred memorization as the favored mode of learning; at the public school, discipline would be administered through...

imagecourtesydesiretoinspireblog Peeps Within a week or two, the shops once again will be be filled with Christmas tree ornaments, wreaths and so forth; gifts and gadgets, as well as goodies and gourmet foods that are best enjoyed in company lest we become solitary gluts. TV ads and shows will be devoted to the joys of sharing and loving (during the season), and radio DJ's will invariably play 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,' and a too-long list of insipid and icky-sweet covers of Christmas classics by contemporary artists who wisely should have keep quiet.  The design magazines will attempt to outdo each other in offering up the finest/coziest/grandest/most thematic/most eco-friendly/color-coordinated and so forth articles on decorating one's home for the holidays, and before the second reading of the third issue, we will all realize that irrespective of one's belief/religion/creed, there is always a little something that can be done to dress up the home...