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Every autumn, the major paint brands name colors they think will dominate decorating trends the following year. So far, 2017 looks fancy. There's Dunn-Edwards's Honey Glow, Benjamin Moore's Shadow and Pratt & Lambert's Leafy Bower - confident, saturated jewel tones designed to make a bold statement or evoke a sense of glamour. After a five-year fixation with gray, these are certainly exciting choices.Of course, [...]

Every autumn, the major paint brands name colors they think will dominate decorating trends the following year. So far, 2017 looks fancy. There's Dunn-Edwards's Honey Glow, Benjamin Moore's Shadow and Pratt & Lambert's Leafy Bower - confident, saturated jewel tones designed to make a bold statement or evoke a sense of glamour. After a five-year fixation with gray, these are certainly exciting choices.Of course, [...]

Bathroom remodeling is one of America’s favorite home improvement projects. And no wonder. The bathroom is a small space with a big impact … and perhaps a price tag to match. If you’ve taken at the cost to remodel a bathroom lately, you know it runs the gamut from modest all the way to the-sky’s-the-limit. What contributes to this cost? Well, obviously, an-over-the-top luxurious home spa rain shower and soaker tub or a marble-topped, hand-carved cherry wood vanity [...]

Walking around the garden I was astonished by the beauty of grass that was so picturesque backlit by the sun. It was a muhly grass but not the pink cotton candy looking one you admire in the fall. This was bamboo muhly native to Arizona. You don't normally think about plants native to Arizona being so adaptable to the hot humid southeast but bamboo muhly is like having a fine piece of art in the garden.Botanically speaking it is Muhlenbergia dumosa, though several references claim [...]

I recently discovered that the reason some ginkgo trees failed to produce their nauseating fruit in 2016 was the same reason apple production was way down: Two nights of successive frost in early April damaged the flowers at a critical moment.In Washington, as winters became generally milder in the past two decades, we grew used to the last frost date occurring in early March, so the return to damaging April frosts [...]

Washingtonians started getting inundated with texts months ago as family, friends and friends of friends began inquiring about places to crash the weekend of Jan. 20.Whether headed this way for inaugural activities or the Women's March, many are planning to descend on local guest rooms, sofas and floors - preferably carpeted - next week.Because many close-in apartments, townhouses and condos can be tight [...]

Say goodbye to the dad chair. Today's recliners are slimmer, smarter and more stylish than ever.Even La-Z-Boy, the 90-year-old brand whose name is as synonymous with classic recliners as Kleenex is with tissues, has updated its product line over the years. In 2010, the company hired actress Brooke Shields as its celebrity spokeswoman to target women ages 35 to 54 and to distance itself from a decades-long association with grandpas, couch potatoes and frat boys who love the lever- [...]

Say goodbye to the dad chair. Today's recliners are slimmer, smarter and more stylish than ever.Even La-Z-Boy, the 90-year-old brand whose name is as synonymous with classic recliners as Kleenex is with tissues, has updated its product line over the years. In 2010, the company hired actress Brooke Shields as its celebrity spokeswoman to target women ages 35 to 54 and to distance itself from a decades-long association with grandpas, couch potatoes and frat boys who love the lever- [...]

Painting is the easiest, least expensive and single most transformative tool in all of interior design. Paint can change the mood of a room and your perception of its size. It can spotlight overlooked details in your home's architecture, and it can make blah furnishings spring to life.That said, painting can also be an overwhelming process. You have to gather the tools, do the prep work and, most challenging of all, [...]

Phew! It’s taken months of planning and mountains of paperwork, but you’re finally moving into a home of your very own. Home improvement experts often advise that you save major remodels till after you’ve lived in your new house for a while, so you’ll have time to notice all the things you’d like to change — for instance, awkward traffic patterns or scanty cupboard space. However, the following seven improvements should be tackled as soon as you move in. [...]