Just last year, Americans spent some $125 billion on home remodeling projects, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies - a collaborative effort between Harvard University's Design School and the Kennedy School of Government. That…
Every decade or era has its own design "˜look.' Remember the shag carpeting and wood paneling of the 1970s or the chrome-and-glass overkill of the 1980s and early "˜90s? Thankfully, those trends had their moment and have since been put out…
Walk by 502 Park Avenue and you'll find a vision in progress. There stands a classic example of a gracious Park Avenue building with one remarkable, eye-catching addition: an ultra-modern glass tower on the roof that is home to the kind of…
There's nothing worse than bad lighting. Take an otherwise beautiful room and illuminate it with the wrong kind of light - whether too dim, too bright, too hot, too cold, too pale, or too bleak - and the mood, feeling, and livability of th…
The "loo." The "WC." The "john." Or - for the more civilized folks - the "powder room" or the "lavatory." Whatever you choose to name that room in your house that comprises a toilet, shower/bath, sink and a mirror, you use it - a lot.…
With new technology often comes new terminology - and lists of parts and functions that seem lifted directly off the pages of a sci-fi novella. When many of us were kids, terms like "retinal scanner" and "biometrics" were strictly Sta…
These days the simple door-buzzer and intercom building security systems that were the industry standard not so long ago are going the way of the dinosaur. Like it or not, soon the stuff of science fiction films will become reality. Today,…
The following phone numbers, Web sites, and mailing addresses can serve as your first line of defense against identity theft and fraud. To opt out of pre-approved credit card offers, call 1-888-5-OPTOUT. This is a secure line run joint…
This year it is estimated that more than 10 million of us will lose an average of $5,000 apiece, but not on the stock market's swinging pendulum or because of a racetrack gamble. You'll lose it simply because someone else pretended to be y…
We've all heard the litany: "Management wasn't told about this." "The board wasn't informed about that." The residents know nothing of this or that, and it's all blamed on a total breakdown in communication and may result in an onslaught…