No one wants to think about it, but everyone should be prepared. An emergency hits and you have to get out of the house ... from the second or third story. Give yourself a better chance of survival with the Permanent Escape and Rescue Ladder.   IN AND OUT IN A FLASH - PEARL is a revolutionary escape solution permanently installed beneath your windows. Time is of the essence in an emergency. With PEARL, just toss ... [full story]

  Hanging artwork gives the eye a place to focus and helps to complete the look of a room.  With the right tools and a little know-how, you can create an amazing wall display.  [full story]

It's the end of a long day. You're stressed. Noise. Dirt. Stale air. Traffic. Tension. Stress.   LET THE GOOD LIGHT SHINE IN - Silhouette window shadings from Hunter Douglas can transform the light in a room from harsh to soft while still providing UV protection and a view. CNS Photo courtesy of Hunter Douglas.    CUSTOM FIT - The new 'Octavia' from La-Z-Boy allows consumers a total of eight custom recliner designs along with hundreds of fabrics ... [full story]

  Installing new countertops is a quick and affordable way to give your kitchen a makeover. With hundreds of options for countertops, it’s best to narrow the choices by considering these factors: durability, ability to handle hot cookware, ease of cleaning and cost.  Concrete, engineered stone, stainless steel, stone, solid surface, laminate.  [full story]

Beautiful, yet functional. Once relegated to floors and countertops, ceramic tile has evolved into a fresh way to decorate a home and give it panache, say tile experts.   ZINNIA KITCHEN - Handcrafted tiles by Meredith Collection, featuring zinnias, accent the stove area in this kitchen. CNS Photo courtesy of Royalty-Free/Corbis. "I think more and more people are using handcrafted tiles because they are finally seeing how you can mix design and function together," said Bridget O'Connor, ... [full story]

The shelves of specialty cooking stores are filled with pepper, pepper mills, salt shakers and salts ... Flavorbank's Brittany Celtic Sea Salts, "harvested from the North Atlantic coast of Europe."   SPECIALTY SALT - The tables are being turned when it comes to salt. The taste buds of many are turning away from the old box of Morton table salt, and now are craving the taste for specialty salts like rock salt, sea salt and kosher ... [full story]

Picture a Bible no larger than a thumbnail, or a 2-inch-high volume of nursery rhymes, and you'll have some idea of the awesome fascination inspired by miniature books. Made for more than 4,000 years, this category of book collecting is the very definition of the phrase, "Good things come in small packages." Not surprisingly, the very first examples were painstakingly hand-lettered by monks and scribes on vellum, in particular books of hours for use by ... [full story]

Q: We inherited the pottery vase seen in this photo around 10 to 15 years ago. It originally belonged to my husband's grandmother. The swirled colors are cream, blue-gray and brown. It stands 18 inches tall and is in perfect condition. Impressed into clay on the bottom of the vase is the word "Niloak." We plan to keep it in the family and pass it down to our son. What can you tell us about ... [full story]

 Q: Last year my tomatoes would ripen and mature but the entire bottom was black. This did not happen the previous two years. A: Blossom-end rot is an environmental disease that affects tomatoes, peppers, squash and watermelon. It is caused by lack of calcium in the fruit because the roots of the plant are having problems taking calcium from the soil. A small area at the bottom of the fruit can be affected or most ... [full story]

Q: Our loft is tall, but really, we only have one room with the bed in a sleeping alcove and the galley kitchen across one wall. I work at home and am desperate for a place to keep my records. I work occasionally on the computer. My husband thinks we should have one of those temporary rooms built in that looks permanent but can be taken out if we should sell. Is that really a ... [full story]

All wood siding is subject to termites, wood rot and moisture problems. Wood siding needs to be treated or stained as often as every three to five years. Extra care may be needed in harsh climates. [full story]

From the time of the ancient Egyptians, animal, bird and insect forms have been favorite jewelry motifs, as can be seen in the eye-catching new paperback edition of "The Jeweled Menagerie: The World of Animals in Gems" by Suzanne Tennenbaum and Janet Zapata (Thames & Hudson). Virtually every denizen of the zoological world is represented in a wide variety of styles and materials - bejeweled French 19th century turtles, Victorian pins featuring painted dog heads, ... [full story]

Q: We have owned the oak office chair in this photo since 1962. Originally it was in the office of an Indiana co-op grain elevator business where my husband worked after he graduated from high school. At some time after it was given to him, someone painted it green. Eventually since we liked the chair and used it, we decided to refinish it ourselves. Although we had to replace one of the castors, it is ... [full story]