House Beautiful articles from April 2006

House Beautiful archives from April 2006

The best! You mean this isn't jewelry?(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... No, they're shower curtain rings, but they're glamorous enough to tempt you into wearing them. You can dress up your bathroom with these bamboo, chrome, rope knot, or basket weave rings at only $18 for a pack of 13. LIZ VICTORY DESIGNS:...

Stationery.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Send out a thank-you note on paper that lives up to the party. Brookfield stationery, $58 for a set of notes, folded cards, envelopes, and correspondence paper.ORANGEART: www.orangeart.com. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Prepared foods.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Our very own Ina Garten (see page 50) has just launched 33 products--her first--with those tasty folks at Stonewall Kitchen. Mango chutney, $5, Coconut Cupcake and Cream Cheese Frosting mix, $11, and Tequila Lime marinade, $7. BAREFOOT...

Flowers.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... These sequined bendable flowers by Anokha can be shaped into kicky napkin rings or curled together in a vintage vase for an even kickier bouquet. $14-$24 each. Through SOOLIP: 310-360-0545. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Rug.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Would you ever have guessed this rug was actually cowhide? The floral patchwork is whipstitched, but it's as sophisticated as it is yee-hah! Cowhide flower rug, $45 per square foot. THE RUG COMPANY: 212-274-0444. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Vanity.(THE BEST!)
April 1, 2006... It's based on an 18th-century English design, but with its straightforward lines this mahogany vanity looks just as good in the 21st, $6,960. WATERWORKS: 800-899-6757. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Umbrella.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... This bright green umbrella is as lovely as a tree in springtime, and even better at shielding you. Its polyester leaves are embedded in clear vinyl, so light falls through, but rain doesn't. Shady Lace Parasol, $695, from the CONRAN SHOP:...

Hangers.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Open your closet and you'll swear you're in Provence, thanks to these hanger covers with lavender sachets sewn right in. Choose cool violet linen or flesh-looking ticking, $35 each. By ELIZABETHW: 800-781-6126. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Dining chairs.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... With their sleek, stylish fretwork, these dining chairs are a contemporary take on Chinese Chippendale. The best part? They're totally affordable; $189 (with arms), and $159 (without) from WEST ELM: 866-937-8356. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Coasters.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Shiny polished slices of Brazilian agate in candy colors are one of the prettiest ways we've seen to keep rings off the coffee table; $60 for set of 4. From VIVRE: 800-411-6515.

Bar.(THE BEST!)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... One: It's great-looking. Two: It's on wheels. So when the sun's shining and the party moves outdoors, the drinks can, too. In cane with a tortoise finish. Indochine wet bar, $1,200, by RED EGG: www.redegg.com. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Color flowers.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... If you've ever dreamed of lying in a poppy field, here's your chance: our favorite flowers, and the off-the-shelf paints that match them best WARM SHADES A little of these colors goes a long way, so we suggest that you use them as accents...

Instant room paisley.
April 1, 2006... What could be more fresh than these paisleys--as light and airy as a spring breeze. And they're so much fun to play with YOU DO THE MATCH We love this pink-and-white one on linen: it's so casual and relaxed, you can almost feel the sand and...

Collecting posters/Carol Prisant.
April 1, 2006... Hawaii by Clipper... New York by steamship... A night on the Riviera in the Roaring Twenties... The only way to go is a vintage travel poster. What should you look for? A LITTLE BACKSTORY With a single picture and a few choice words,...

Ask the dog shrink: toys for tough dogs, clever dogs, foodie dogs ... housebreaking a puppy ...
April 1, 2006... Q A MY DOG GETS EXCITED BY HER NEW TOYS, BUT THEN SHE DESTROYS THEM. WHY DOES SHE DO THIS? MY HUSBAND LOVES reading and listening to music, but dislikes golf. If I were to give him a set of clubs as a gift, I know the clubs would never see...

Maintenance: whatever quaint widget you're missing for your light fixtures, Grand Brass Lamp Parts is bound to have it. Just e-mail Joe Trerotola.
April 1, 2006... Can customers browse in your warehouse? [Laughs] I don't know that they'd really want to. We have 7,000 items, in bins and boxes to the ceilings. Whatever you can think of is here, from a two-cent lock washer on up to the hundred-dollar...

Weekend shopper: Where: Caravati's in Richmond, Virginia ... What's there: Architectural salvage ... What Eddie found: Corbels he used for canopies above twins beds.
April 1, 2006... The first thing I saw when I drove up to Caravati's was half a clawfoot tub above the front door. I knew I was going to love it there. A friend of mine in Richmond kept telling me, "Caravati's, Caravati's, you've gotta go there." It's in a huge...

Technophobia technotrash: how do you throw out your old PC and cell phones without the world learning everything about you? You won't believe how easy it.(GreenDisk Inc.)
April 1, 2006... We know it sounds too good to be true, but David Beschen of GreenDisk will pick up your obsolete technology and recycle it for you--safely and securely. Christine Pittel gets the story on how this service works. What exactly is...

Cookbook: do restaurant chefs know what women really want? Our reviewer opens Geoffrey Zakarian's Town/Country and discovers some excellent recipes.(Recipe)
April 1, 2006... I AM PREDISPOSED to dislike cookbooks written by restaurant chefs. Restaurant recipes rarely translate into anything you are likely to be able to serve your family for dinner on a regular basis. But snooping around in Geoffrey Zakarian's...

This month's House Beautiful asks What is taste? and I can guess what you're expecting.
April 1, 2006... This month's House Beautiful asks What is taste? and I can guess what you're expecting: We're going to tell you what good taste is and what bad taste is. Actually, we're going to do jUSt the opposite. Good taste, another editor of this magazine...

Where is taste headed?(Interview)
April 1, 2006... In this dazzling Manhattan Maisonette, interior designer Ray Booth mixed grandeur with practicality, added a lot of heart, a little bit of humor, and a touch of spirituality. Could this be the future of design? CAROL PRISANT: This apartment...

Does taste have to mean safe?(Interview)
April 1, 2006... FRANCES SCHULTZ: Normally when I think of the term "irrational exuberance," I think not of Alan Greenspan or the Internet bubble, but of you two. And yet this project is almost on the calm side. Almost, mind you... WILLIAM DIAMOND: We do...

"What is good taste?(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900) I don't believe in the good taste/bad taste thing. It's like being in or out, and I think it s all stupid and snobby. I don't believe in...

What is bad taste?(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The discovery of the good taste of bad taste can be very liberating. SUSAN SONTAG, "NOTES ON 'CAMP'," NOTE 54, AGAINST INTERPRETATION (1966) Cheap ugliness is bad enough, but costly ugliness is a crime. HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, 1904 ("THE POOR...

Chippy Irvine asks interior designer (and her husband) Keith Irvine: is English taste the best?(Interview)
April 1, 2006... CHIPPY IRVINE: Your career is the modern history of English style. You started out in the 1950s at Colefax and Fowler in London. What did "taste" mean then? KEITH B. IRVINE: Taste at Colefax and Fowler was strongly Francophile. We were in...

What is taste in art? Live with what you love--that's all that counts. Here, the owner of a cottage who knows her taste and knows it well: "Mine is a passionate collection. It's all about passion.".(Judi Roaman)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... Since the first paper doll she pinned to her bulletin board at age eight, Judi Roaman has been collecting art--drawings, sculptures, and objects made by emerging and outsider artists--with her heart, not her head. Here's how she found her own...

Is taste connected to place?(Interview)
April 1, 2006... MIMI READ: This house is so clearly a product of the California desert. What's the story behind it? MARY LYNN TURNER: The clients were newlyweds. Shortly after the wedding, they bought this weekend place in Indian Wells, where she had been...

Kitchen of the month/Maine: you can't go wrong with black and white, even in the most unlikely place: a rustic, windswept house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.(Interview)
April 1, 2006... WE'D NEVER SEEN mahogany and stainless steel used quite like this before. HB editor Christine Pittel wanted to know how interior designer Mallory Marshall gave her stark, pure kitchen such a glow. CHRISTINE PITTEL: Where did the idea of...

The look kitchen of the month.
April 1, 2006... We picked out a few of our favorite details in this kitchen and hunted down the closest match for your home. Here's how to get your own little piece of the look 1. Earthy and graceful, this SHINTO COUNTER STOOL, $279, made of Chinese...

The last words.(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Is anything tasteproof? Some things just always look good, the HB staff says My Dansk Variation V flatware. It's as fresh today as it was new 40 years ago. JEFFREY SCHAPER A white house with black or hunter-green shutters and a...