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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Designers find common cause with international artisans

In Africa, Asia and Latin America, gifted craftspeople who can express age-old traditions in beautiful ways often lack access to raw materials and distribution venues. And they may have no expertise in getting their goods to a wider marketplace.

Dishing the dirt with Mrs. Meyer

The inspiration behind Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products is a real person. Thelma Meyer, whose Minneapolis daughter founded the company, talks about her new book and her allegiance to dish rags.

How to design a timeless, clean, classic kitchen

Kitchens are expensive. It cost about $56,611 for each major kitchen remodel in 2008-09, according to Remodeling magazine’s annual “Cost vs. Value Report.” Which means if you’re remodeling yours, you’re left with this to chew on: Spending that kind of money on a home improvement means it had better have a nice long lifespan. Ideally, it should look as sharp and attractive in a couple of decades as it does the day the renovation crew clocks out. So, how to get a kitchen that doesn’t rely on flash-in-the-pan trends or stodgy cliches? What exactly goes into a timeless kitchen? We asked Oprah’s resident decorating genius, designer Nate Berkus, to give us his ingredient list and a few style pointers.

COOL DIGS

The views afforded through the windows of Plan LS-97264 by Home Plans LLC make this home a delight to live in. Its floor plan totals 1,648 square feet of living space.

Tea for two — or more — for just a few pennies

In the sweltering summer, a glass of freshly brewed iced tea can quench and cool anyone in no time. But bottled teas can cost as much as $1 or more. That can drain your grocery budget and add mountains of plastic bottles to landfills. Making tea from scratch costs just pennies.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

A cut above the rest

The tomatoes would contribute some tang, the arugula would offer some bite, and the bleu cheese would add creamy smoothness. Still, the star of the entr�e executive chef Kevin Klinetop was about to plate would be a finely marbled, 14-ounce Kansas City strip steak.