Freshen Up Your Dining Room to Savor Drinks More

One of the wonderful advantages of living in an older home is that many have a formal dining area. In some houses this is also to a eat-in kitchen or a breakfast nook, and in others it is the sole area in the house to dine. There’s something wonderful about having an entire room dedicated …


Soak in the Good Life Using Swim-Up Pool Counters

As I sit here in humid 90-degree Atlanta summer heat (actually, hiding inside the air conditioning, frettting over Vitamin D deficiency), I am dreaming about enjoying a frozen beverage while submerged in a cool body of water. Counters involving pools and outdoor kitchens, pavilions with televisions, and even a cottage using a swim-up deck create …


5 Cabins Right and Creative Studios from the Backyard

Sometimes once you would like to get creative, you need to leave the home. This can be mighty inconvenient, as crowds of angry latte swillers don’t take too kindly to you along with your notebook hogging a four-top table at Starbucks for eight hours every day. See how homeowners have discovered unique ways to add …


Tabby Wall

Tabby walls were originally constructed in coastal regions with a concretelike slurry of equal parts lime, shells, sand and water. The mixture is poured into a timber framework and left to harden, and then the planks are removed and place above the prior pour and the method starts again. The wall slowly grows taller using …


ICFF 2012 Report: the Lighting of Rich Brilliant Willing

A name like Rich Brilliant Willing is bound to attract some attention. Named Best New Designer in the 2011 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), Rich Brilliant Willing arrived to the 2012 ICFF using a Multitude of new furniture and lighting pieces. The firm’s name is a clever moniker according to the 3 founders’ last names …


Concrete Driveways: Poring Over the Pros and Cons

We have already discussed gravel driveways, along with their advantages and disadvantages. I am quite impressed with all of the superb feedback you guys have provided! Hearing about firsthand encounters is always so useful for those that are thinking about a similar project. Next up on the driveway substance listing is concrete. My expectation is …


Long Mantels Go the Distance

Extra-long mantels add thickness to a room for aesthetic value and may offer an advantageous display surface. However, you might not know how to decorate these long pieces. Seasonal decor keeps them full and festive over the holidays, but you may also make a chic appeal that is appropriate year-round by balancing the proper items. …


Hollywood Haven for Loved Ones and a Celeb

Meeting a star may be an intimidating experience — of working with one, the idea can be downright scary. However, while designer Elizabeth Gordon first met with actor and comic Joel McHale (of The Soup and Community) along with his wife, Sarah, she felt immediately at ease. “Despite his star, he was down to earth …


Create Buzz as a Beekeeper

If it’s possible to backyard, then you can be a garden beekeeper, states Bee Thinking proprietor Matt Reed. Based on his experience with clients in Portland, Oregon, he’s found that chickens have become the gateway animals to bees. “If you already have a chicken coop,” he states, “there is a high chance that you are …


Design an Easy-Clean Toilet

I hate cleaning baths. There. I have said it. I’m not proud, but I’m not really ashamed either. I’ve got better things to do with my time … well, definitely more fun things to do with my time. Do not you? Not everybody has a housekeeper, so when you are the person who has to …