How To Gardening Guide

Letters to a Young Contrarian: a book review

Margaret Cesar — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:52:05 +0000

I am currently just about finished Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring) by Christopher Hitchens and I want to recommend it to you if youre at all interested in looking at your writing in a slightly different way (as in making a difference with it).

Hitchens died recently and I may be one of the few writer in the known universe who never met him, didnt know anybody who knew him or even met him, and certainly doesnt have a story to tell about his life-to-the-metal approach to breathing.

Hitchens has been described as one of the great literary critics of the past 50 years.

Read full post…

Luxury home furnishings flash sales website LuxeYard launches

Corey Broyles — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:38:54 +0000

LOS ANGELES — LuxeYard, a luxury home furnishings and décor flash sale website, announced its formal company launch on Tuesday, made possible by $3.5 million in financing from private investors.

According to the company, LuxeYard updates the flash sale model by introducing two new e-commerce processes: Concierge Buying and Group Buy. The flash sales website at claims that these concepts shift the pricing and sourcing power from retailers to consumers, by allowing consumers to influence featured products and final prices.

With Concierge Buying, LuxeYard members can request items they would like to purchase at discounted price by posting photos to one of LuxeYard’s social media platforms, which includes Facebook and Twitter. Lu

Read full post…

Timing (Your Seeds) is Everything! (Seed Sowing 101)

Thomas Pierre — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:33:05 +0000

We’ve talked about how to pick your seeds and we’ve talked a little about the soil to use, but when should you start your seeds? This is when good planning comes into play. You want your seeds ready to go when it’s safe to plant but you don’t want to start them too early, so how do you figure that? It’s actually pretty easy.

The easiest thing I can tell you is to look at the back of the seed starting package and see what it says! Post done right? Nope, I need to do better than that!

Should I Start My Seeds Indoors or In-ground?

There are two ways to start seeds: ahead of time in a pot or directly in the ground. Plants that like an early start are plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Early starting plants are generally summer plants that need to start out of the cold but need a long growing season. There are some summer plants you can get an early start on but don’t like root disturbance. Cucumbers, melons, squash, and other cucurbits fit this description but are often best sowed directly in the soil. For these plants use biodegradable pots to avoid disturbing the roots when you plant them in the ground.
Read full post…

Roadster Fittings from Waterworks Studio

Corey Broyles — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:43:57 +0000

Inspired by a vintage sports car, Waterworks Studio Roadster fittings and hardware for shower, sink, tub, and accessories are sure to drive you crazy.

Like a fast car, this collection is high energy, with geometric shapes intermingled with clean lines and high shine. The mechanical influence gives a whole new attitude to your household hardware. A gear-heads dream, from the shower handles and tub fixtures, all the way to the long sleek towel bar. Roadster is effortlessly classic. There are a wide range of options and hardware, so I will talk about a few of my favorites.

The Roadster Shower Arm and Flange shower spout looks as if it were made from car parts. T

Read full post…

Milwaukee Art Museum

Margaret Cesar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:40:18 +0000

If you haven’t visited the breathtaking Milwaukee Art Museum, which was created by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, I highly recommend that you check it out. Although I’ve lived in Illinois for most of my life, I’d never actually visited Milwaukee proper. Prior to my recent visit, I couldn’t understand why one would bother to make the trip. What would be the point? With plenty of culture, shopping and lots of action, Chicago has it all, right? Well, not really. Not if you like hills, of which Milwaukee has plenty. Not to mention the historic architecture, new downtown loft developments and the friendly populace. On the w

Read full post…

WEEKEND PHOTO: WHY A PEACOCK ON A MANTEL ACTUALLY WORKS!

Thomas Pierre — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:20:02 +0000

I don’t see anything wrong in this space. Not a thing. I even like the peacock on the fireplace mantel. I have never thought I would want a peacock on a mantel…but huh who knew…a white peacock at that…!?!? Love the art – a black and white flower print by artist Donald Baechler I think. Let’s see, what else do I like…the color palette of greys, off whites and black, the dark grey tight back sofa, the cute little crescent moon shaped small side table, the valance covering the top of the drapery, oh and did I mention that white peacock? LOL!

What do you think of this room? Like or dislike? Am I overdoing it by saying there is nothing wrong with the space? Is it perfect or are there flaws? Please weigh in.

Happy Saturday!

P.S. Am in Atlanta again today! Woohooo…am running late. Am headed over to the Christian Mosso Associates Showroom where I show the COZY textiles collection year around. I am here for the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market. Buyers are liking the new COZY offerings and we just sold to another major home furnishings retailer…so it is quite exciting!

P.P.S. I ran into so many great people yesterday and met some wonderful others for the first time…including a wonderful COZY reader and now new friend named Kari O. from Tennessee who stopped by my area in the showroom to say hi! Kari was so sweet, she is a designer and a lover of interior design blogs…she says her husband is constantly getting after her for reading blogs and calls it her “design porn”! She was so nice. Made my day! Oh also met the very impressive Wendy Estes, one of the owners of the popular online furniture boutique Layla Grace and their new online store Zinc Door. Wendy and I talked “shop” for a good 1/2 hour. It was so interesting to chat with someone who has done so well. Then I had a fun dinner with the whole Pom Pom Interiors team who sell their ever so successful bedding and linens line at my same showroom – the group included Pom Pom owner Hilde Leighat, her nice son Sam and adorable Jackie – we went to some Atlanta brewery that serves EVERYTHING deep fried including deep friend cheesecake! Gotta love the South! :-)

P.P.P.S. Am super duper late to the show room today…gotta run! I’ll try to take some photos of all of the amazing products and furniture on sale throughout the show. Here I come!

P.P.P.P.S. The New York Gift show is in about two weeks and I all of sudden I decided yesterday that I need to add a day bed to our booth in New York because the new COZY pillows look so awesome on the day bed here in Atlanta. Hmmm….what to do? Must find daybed…hee hee…oh yet another thing to add to the to do list…just a little old day bed…

Photo: Joe Schmelzer

Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling

Corey Broyles — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:57:55 +0000

As for the bathroom tubs, the usual materials utilized are ceramic, granite and marble. Your old bathroom cabinets are some thing that youll wish to take a take a look at. Also, you will want to select bathroom cabinets which will match the rest of your bathroom. Remodelling your bathroom can take a great deal of time and cash; as a result, you will want to make certain that your choice is the correct one for you. The only thing I had not done was the cabinets and I truly wanted to do some thing that would make the counters stand out much more than they did.

Read full post…

Hidden Doors Photos Gallery

Thomas Pierre — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:36:41 +0000

Secret rooms, secret locations, secret passages and accompanying mankind throughout its history. All the castles of Europe have a lot of secret passages due to the time of the persecution of Catholics. Even today you can find the secret doors in many homes. Usually the doors are made as part of booksellers, but not always true. There are also doors that seem to clean the walls, but also lead to hidden rooms.

Read full post…

Young America website offers incentive to ‘buy local’

Corey Broyles — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:26:31 +0000

STANLEYTOWN, Va. — Youth and infant furniture manufacturer Young America is taking an unconventional approach to driving traffic to local retailers that sell its line.

Young America’s website prominently displays a “Buy Local and Save” logo, part of a plan to drive consumers to local retailers for discounts.
Starting this week, the company is posting prices of its products on its website at www.youngamerica.com. Consumers can buy direct online, but the site encourages them to purchase at their local dealer, where they can receive a discount.

A “Buy Local and Save” logo is prominently displayed on the site, which also features a dealer locator. Young Am

Read full post…

Federal tax credits for New Year improvements

Margaret Cesar — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:32:16 +0000

Now that 2011 has passed, many of the Federal tax credits offered by the government for new windows, insulation, doors, and other products for home energy efficiency remodeling have also drawn to an end. Even with these incentives gone, you should still consider evaluating energy efficient materials before making a purchase, or choose other green home improvement projects that bring long-term returns on your investment.
For example, compare replacement windows ratings before settling on your purchase and installation choice. You may also want to evaluate on-demand, tankless water heaters that consume less power throughout your days and nights.

Looking ahead, tax credits will still be available for some ENERGY STAR-qualified products and installation costs through 2016 for your existing home and second property.

Read full post…

Chelsea Market Expansion: Take 2

Thomas Pierre — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:33:56 +0000

The latest Chelsea Market expansion proposal as seen from the West Side Highway.

After a tumultuous first round, Jamestown Properties presented new plans for Chelsea Market by STUDIOS Architecture. Initial proposals took a beating in the local press and at community board meetings, sending the developer and architect back to regroup and redesign. Jamestown exec Michael Phillips told Chelsea Now that the team went on something of a listening tour with interested parties before finalizing the latest proposal. Read full post…

Earthen Buildings & Jon Jandai

Corey Broyles — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:28:08 +0000

I have this sort of funny potential opportunity. I has to do with a piece of land, a generous architect, and a farmers market – but that is all I will say about it for now. But this opportunity has me thinking about buildings that communities or even individuals can build for little in the way of time and physical resources.

Coincidentally, a friend posted a link on Facebook about Jon Jandai. This is his thing:

“Before I thought that stupid people like me … cannot have a house… because people who are cleverer than me and get a job need to work for 30 years to have a house. But for me,

Read full post…

Planting bulbs

Margaret Cesar — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:55:01 +0000

Have you planted your bulbs yet? Or are they still sitting in boxes in the shed?

I have to admit that a lot of my bulbs remain decidedly above ground, and the time has come to get things sorted. Admittedly I have to deal with a huge number of bulbs (many, many thousands) for clients. Although thankfully, I no longer have to plant them all myself. But that is probably not a very good excuse, is it?

I planted some last weekend in the semi-darkness, which was jolly. There is no great skill in bulb planting, just a lot of rather tedious labour and bending down.

The general rule is to plant the bulb about twice its own depth and a good two bulb widths apart.

Read full post…

You’ll Toast Your Bread in the Blood of Owls

Margaret Cesar — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:53:54 +0000

A long time ago, in a universe far, far away I confess I was the President of a local Liberal Party Provincial Association in the Province of Ontario. I was also on the provincial board of directors for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. This made me a minor bit player on the stage, but I was young, with enthusiasm and a growing contact-list. A person of potential as the line goes.

Agriculture was in a state of flux and the family farm was under heavy siege. It was the time of the serious decline of the small family farm to be replaced by the family mega-farm with one farm absorbing its neighbors in order to survive.

As a backroom person-in-training, I set out with a few other farm types in the party to walk a simply policy up the political agenda.

Read full post…