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An Open-and-Shut Case For Dressing Doors Differently
Q: Our sun porch has six windows plus a French door that leads out to the patio. My furniture is mostly traditional, so I'm thinking of using pleated draperies on the windows. But what should I do with the door? It opens into the room, so more …Read more.
Ask Michelangelo: To Wallpaper a Ceiling, it Helps to be an Artist
Q: We have a quirky room, a sun porch with six, large arched windows and a cove ceiling — lots of different angles. I would like to wallpaper the ceiling, too, but I don't know how to handle the curves. Any helpful hints?
A: Wallpapering …Read more.
Wood You Believe? Yesterday's Timber Leads a Second Life
Q: Our son and his two young children are moving in with us after his divorce. We had planned to move ourselves, but now we'll stay put and add a great room for the kids. Our house is Tudor-style, so we want the new room to blend with the old things,…Read more.
Treat Windows with Accordion Shades to Gain Privacy
Q: I don't have a clue about what to do with the six windows in our dining room alcove. We are right on the street corner, so we need something for privacy, but I refuse to keep the windows covered all the time. Suggestions, please!
A: You have a …Read more.
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Gleam Equals GlamQ: We saw a really unusual floor in a designer show house we visited this spring. In the living/dining room, the wood was painted dark and it was totally slick, almost like a mirror. The docent didn't know how it was done. What would you guess? A: Sounds like epoxy paint to me. At least, that's how architect Charles "Chip" Bohl achieved the slicker-than-slick floors in his own Baltimore apartment, shown here. As reflective as mirrors underfoot, the floors fulfill the definition of pure glamour, as quoted in the pages of a luminous new book by the senior editors of Metropolitan Home magazine, entitled — no surprise — "Glamour." Written by Michael Lassell (and published by Filipacchi), the book features a wealth of slick, scintillating surfaces — think mirrored furniture, crystal chandeliers, silks, satins, and shiny, shiny floors, like those that flow all through Bohl's apartment. In the words of designer Jamie Drake, "Surfaces that reflect light and sparkle at the same time define glamour. Midas had the right touch." So does the professional painter who painstakingly stroked the finish on Bohl's floors. Epoxy is a two-step chemical-reaction process. And although new water-based epoxies are available today, conventional wisdom says don't try this at home on your own. Q: Speaking of glamour, which of our country's presidents had it in spades? A: Would you believe, the very first, old George Washington himself! Forget all that about his wooden teeth; you would get a smile out of the tour guide at Mount Vernon, Va., describing the Washingtons' homestead as "the latest in decorating chic." She was explaining the brilliant colors George himself picked for the dining room and a couple of other rooms on the mansion's first floor — deep teal, verdigris, Persian blue with green trim, vibrant pink! Color was expensive in the 18th century, so most homeowners simply whitewashed their walls. Go see for yourself. Carefully maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the sprawling estate lies at the end of a lovely riverside drive down the Potomac from Washington's namesake city. For a preview, click on www.mountvernon.org. Q: What's round and green and all but guarantees an old-fashioned good-night's sleep? A: Great news for the sensory-deprived generation who grew up without bed sheets dried out in the fresh air and sunshine: a new circular drying rack that fits into your patio umbrella stand, holds four loads of wet laundry, then folds obediently away into the garage or closet. Decorative it's not, but, hey! Home also means good smells and good living, which includes saving the planet (not to mention money: Buy the rack — under $55 — and Tom Russo of the manufacturer, SecureLine products company, says you can save a couple hundred bucks a year when Mother Nature does the drying: www.lehighgroup.com/lehigh.asp).
Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Hampton Style" and associate editor of Country Decorating Ideas. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC. 
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