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Untangle Cords And Cables With Bluelounge

January 18, 2013/2 Comments/in Goods & Services, HOME, Organizing, View All Home Stories /by Editor

If you have a tangle of power bars and cords threatening to overtake your work area, Bluelounge could solve your problem.

PROBLEM SOLVED | I don’t make New Year’s resolutions unless they’re the Babylonian variety (CLICK HERE for our story on this). That said, this year on J 01 I did make a plan to put an end to the chaos of cords, surge-protected power bars and mutant dust bunnies that reigns under my desk. I wanted this task completed by J 31, and I’m happy to report I’ve put the issue to bed and it’s only mid-January. Read more

Sheffield Heirloom Silver-Plated Flatware - Pottery Barn

Now Is The Time To Replate Silver Flatware

January 11, 2013/4 Comments/in Cleaning & Maintenance, HOME, Home & Garden, View All Home Stories /by Editor

To replate, or not to replate your worn out silver-plated flatware: that is the question. Acme Electro-Plating & Silversmiths’ semiannual resurfacing sale may help you address this conundrum. (SALE ALERT)

DARE TO REPAIR | As interesting as it looks and as cool as they make it sound, Pottery Barn’s Sheffield heirloom mixed-pattern silver-plated flatware (pictured here) feels like a waste of money to me. But then, buying any new silver-plated flatware doesn’t seem like a good investment unless it’s from a rarified manufacturer like Christofle or one of the few ornate patterns that for whatever fickle reason retains its collectability. Read more

How To Get Rid Of Old Stuff Quick—For Free

January 2, 2013/0 Comments/in GARDEN, Goods & Services, HOME, Organizing, SAVE EFFORT, SAVE ENERGY, Tools & Shortcuts, View All Garden Stories, View All Home Stories /by Felicity Stone

Here’s how to give away unwanted things at lightening speed to save the planet and avoid a dumping fee.

OUT WITH THE OLD | As a murder mystery aficionado, I generally identify with the forces of law and order. Lately, however, I’ve felt a certain sympathy for murderers with awkward corpses to dispose of.

In the bad old days, getting rid of unwanted items was so much easier, cheaper and less guilt-ridden. Recently I found myself with a number of awkward corpses of my own to dispose of: dead trees I had felled before the winter winds did the job less carefully. Read more

How To Make Flower Bulb Arrangements

December 5, 2012/0 Comments/in DECOR & DESIGN, Design, GARDEN, HOME, Home & Garden, View All Garden Stories, View All Home Stories /by Editor

All we want in winter are early signs of spring—and forced flower bulbs are a way to make it happen.

EASY & AWESOME | If you’ve been casting around for the perfect mid-winter gift for someone who loves flowers but may not be a gardener, we recommend this beautiful low-maintenance no-brainer: flower bulbs in clear glass containers (so you can appreciate their roots) ready to burst into midwinter bloom. Read more

How To Make Designer Votive Holders (VIDEO)

December 3, 2012/0 Comments/in Chic & Easy Projects, D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

These designer votive candle holders are surprisingly simple to make. Brendan Power shows you how. (VIDEO)

THE CREATIVE SOLUTION | These decorative votive candleholders are an easy-to-make, inexpensive Christmas gift that is both beautiful and useful. Brendan Power, our D.I.Y. columnist, got the idea after he saw something similar in a high-end gift shop. “The patterns on the votive holders I saw were probably either applied as decals or printed directly onto the glass,” he says. “My adaptation is made with photocopy paper, but the look and the translucence is no different from the original.” Read more

Go With What You Know—And Other Rules For Shopping Cyber Monday Week

December 2, 2012/1 Comment/in FASHION, Goods & Services, HOME, Shops & Shopping, View All Fashion Stories, View All Home Stories /by Editor

Shopping online for extreme deals during Cyber Monday Week is not without pitfalls. Here’s what you need to know before going in deep for cheap goods.

BUYER BEWARE | What seems sweet on the surface, can be bitter underneath. The internet is at all times crawling with scammers, but they’re out in full force during Cyber Monday Week (like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is no longer a 24-hour blowout) when online shoppers are apt to let their guard down. Here’s what we know about cyber shopping this week. Read more

How To Light Snowy Pathways With Candles

November 19, 2012/0 Comments/in Chic & Easy Projects, D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, Design, DIY, Entertaining, GARDEN, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Garden Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Make light outdoors on a winter’s night by planting candles in the snow.

CREATIVE SOLUTION | Sometimes the most stunningly beautiful solution to a problem is also the most elementary one—like using candlelight rather than electricity to illuminate a snowy walkway.

How To Make Marmoleum Placemats And Coasters

November 5, 2012/4 Comments/in Chic & Easy Projects, DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, Home & Garden, View All DIY Stories /by Editor

This tough, classic linoleum that resists grease, acid and heat takes its place at the table.

CREATIVE SOLUTION | Eco-friendly Marmoleum is a fashionable finishing material that doesn’t end up only on the floor. I’ve seen innovative applications on kitchen countertops and work surfaces such as desks and coffee tables. It’s extremely durable, non allergenic and comes in every colour imaginable. Here I’ve used it for placemats in simple patterns. Read more

How To Make An Easy Herb & Spice File

November 2, 2012/2 Comments/in DIY, FOOD, Food & Drink, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, Organizing, View All DIY Stories, View All Food Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

How to devise a storage system for herbs and spices and forever do away with novelty spice racks and their special containers—or purchasing extra spice packets you don’t really need.

PROBLEM SOLVED | Has this ever happened to you? You’re ready to whip up a dish from scratch when you realize your recipe calls for a dried herb that, after rummaging among your cache of spice bottles and bags, you appear to be out of. So you rush out and pick some up only to discover later that you already had a bottle on hand—three, actually, stashed away in the dark recesses of the various places you store this stuff. Read more

Chinese Lanterns On Mini'lights - Martin Tessler

Make A Lantern Plant & Mini-Light Display

October 24, 2012/0 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Harvest Chinese lantern plant pods to create the perfect, illuminated holiday display.

CREATIVE SOLUTION | I first spotted brilliant orange Chinese lanterns fitted over mini-lights on an organically decorated Christmas tree. This is one way to use them for sure, though I like them better when they are used to create an original Thanksgiving or Halloween display. I love them threaded through a tangle of branches on the front porch or on top of the mantel or on a dinner table. I also love mini-lanterns strung around doorways for a punch of spot-on seasonal colour. Read more