Home Improvement Partner

Recently I find that I’ve been reverting to my roots of traditional decor.  Having been raised in a traditionally decorated home and being daughter of a traditional style designer, most of my life I thought it was the ONLY way to design.  After working for a polar opposite, super modern urban designer I found myself settling into a place where I most enjoy a combination of the two.  Then I swung a little more heavily towards the modern sensibility, but as of late I find myself drawn back to classic shapes, textures and fabrics.  It’s so calming to me.  Which is why I am very much admiring the work of Birmingham designer Mary Evelyn McKee right now.  What a master of classic looks! While lucite is delightful, sometimes there’s nothing like some ornate antique brass to make you feel at home.

This kitchen/living room is the stuff my dreams are made of. Add a libra

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The second edition of GLASSTRESS, a collateral event of the Venice Biennale, is a showcase for the use of glass in contemporary art. Above, a work by designer Jaime Hayon.

(Click the images below for full sized images)

Atelier Van Lieshout

GLASSTRESS is the evocative and provocative title of an exhibition featuring the work of 60 renowned artists, architects and designers – an affirmation of glass as the stuff of modernity – as well as antiquity.

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Road trippers may be looking to save money on chow to offset high gas prices, but a new Consumer Reports survey shows that not all fast food restaurants deliver the quality and value diners crave.

The stand-out fast food joints:

• In-N-Out Burger rated highest of all 53 rated chains with high scores for food, service, value and speed.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill was among the best of eight Mexican food chains, and it earned high scores for food, politeness of staff, and speed of service.
• Chick-fil-A earned outstanding scores for polite staff, and high marks for food, value, and service speed.
• Jason’s Deli or Firehouse Subs received the highest marks for food and favorable scores for polite staff and service speed among 11 sandwich and sub chains.

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Remodeling your bathroom needs a lot of consideration and what you decide now will affect how your bathroom will look in the future. Therefore, you would need to go through a few things carefully before you remodel your bathroom.

The first thing you need to consider is the design of the bathroom. A few factors to be considered are the paint color, tile, vanity, shower, tub and faucet. Do not rush into decisions and do some research. Browse bathroom design idea websites or visit your local bookstore and home improvement store. Then, start piecing together the elements that you like. You will also need to consider the users of your bathroom. If you’re planning to sell the house, you have to use neutral colors and fixtures to appeal to a larger amount of people. Do not neglect how the bathroom design will suit the house.
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Johanna Lowe’s 150 year old Buchanan, Michigan home is one of the many country cool spaces featured in the latest issue of Chicago Home + Garden. Like many before her, Johanna, was charmed by Buchanan’s excellent, relatively inexpensive housing stock and charming downtown, which includes amazing home design and antique shops like Front, Thomas Jolly Home & Garden and Alan Robandt Antiques. In fact, it was Alan who first introduced me to Johanna not long after she bought the place two years ago (Gracias Alan!). Although Johanna, a food photo stylist, was in the middle of expanding and modernizing her kitchen at the time, I finally had the pleasure to photograph her amazing home last year, and I thought you might enjoy my scouting shots. Pleas

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