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Choosing a Faucet ... The Hardest Worker Bee in Your Kitchen
As the saying goes, “What have you done for me lately?” If you’re talking to your kitchen faucet, the response would be lengthy. Faucets was
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3 min read
Color Wheels and Paint Strips
Even the great masters were stumped by color choices. “Color is my day-long obsession,” said Claude Monet. The next time you’re fanning thro
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5 min read
Guidelines to Hiring General Contractors
The Napa Valley just witnessed the destructive side of Mother Nature. While some are at home, slowly decompressing from this experience, oth
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4 min read
What is Feng Shui and Does it Work?
Feng Shui, pronounced “Fung Shway”, is one of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics and is influenced by Chinese astronomy. The practice, whi
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2 min read
Question: We have a two-story house with open stairs. Should we close them? What can we do with ...
the wasted space beneath them? Your open stairs lead me to a few open-ended questions. What is the style of your house? Is your staircase...
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4 min read
Carneros’s Donum Estate ... An Interplay of Wine, Art and Rejuvenation
A visit to the Donum Estate, tucked in the heart of Carneros, may be the healthiest of prescriptions for destressing and rejuvenation. At le
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2 min read
When Couple’s Styles Clash
It’s not often that couples tell me, “We have the same taste, the same ideas, and the same goals.” So, a few years ago, I created an exercis
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3 min read
Design, Draperies, and Math
Math was on overdrive recently while designing draperies. I’ll describe the situation but don’t worry about following it precisely. The idea
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3 min read
Question: Our house has three bathrooms. The master has a tub. The other two do not. We’re ...
Some homeowners are opting for luxurious and user-friendly showers such as curbless entries where you can walk (or wheel) right in without
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Question: We’re renting a house while deciding whether to rebuild our home or live elsewhere in ...
the future. We lost it in the Napa fires. In the meantime, we’re renting furniture which is expensive to do (and uncomfortable). Can you...
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Question: The inside of my house does not get much sunlight and it’s difficult to grow plants ...
It’s true that many artificial plants look fake. Even the silk ones can look like plastic or paper. But there are companies whose potted pla
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3 min read
Allure of Craquelure ... The Inspiration for a New Accessory
There is an age-old phenomenon, a fine pattern of dense cracking called “craquelure”, that sometimes occurs on the surface of oil paintings
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4 min read
Eclectic Style from Different Continents and a Pop of Orange
An eclectic style is hard to describe and even harder to create. It’s a careful mix of treasures, travels and memories reflected in furnishi
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3 min read
Question: I have a rug under my dining table and am looking for another for my family room...
These rooms are actually one big room. I know the rugs should not match, but what do I look for so that the two coordinate? Also, are...
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3 min read
Design Like Einstein
(Originally published in the Napa Valley Register) Did you happen to catch the recent 10-part series, “Genius”, on the National...
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5 min read
C2 Paint ... Artisan Pigments, Exclusive Technology, and Eco-Friendly
The most durable paint has historically been oil-based. However, it is increasingly difficult to find, especially in California due to its r
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3 min read
Question: We lost our home in the Napa fires and are now working on new plans on the same lot ...
We belong to an HOA so much of the design is predetermined. But the interior style is completely up to us. Our last style was very mixed...
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3 min read
Coco Chanel Whispered in my Ear
At the end of a recent meeting with a client, I said, “I’m going to write about this”. Not only had Coco Chanel’s words come to mind (which
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Buyer Beware. Interpreting Online Reviews
A few weeks ago, a reader contacted me. He was interested in purchasing a Blanco Silgranit sink after reading one of my previous columns. I
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2 min read
Question: We want to replace our kitchen counter top. At first we thought we’d use granite but ...
now my wife is looking at quartz. There are so many quartz options and now we are confused. Do you recommend granite or quartz and could...
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3 min read
Question: Can you shed some light on buying leather chairs?
Let’s start with the basics. The strongest and most durable part of a cow hide is just below the hair. Leather made from this area is called
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1 min read
Question: How can we paint different rooms in our house different colors without making...
Let’s say your house has 10 rooms on a single floor and that you have three distinct paint colors in mind (not including trim and door color
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Question: We're getting ready to paint the inside of our house. You can see the kitchen, dining ...
room, family room and staircase at the same time. There are a lot of angles. My favorite color is purple but of course that won't work....
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Question: I just moved into my new home and will be painting, getting new furniture and doing ...
some things to update. I’ll be keeping a few of my current things but I need enough new ones that would allow me to create a new style. I...
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