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Right at home: Ceilings with something to say

By Kim Cook Associated Press The ceiling — sometimes referred to as a room’s fifth wall — often gets short shrift in decorating schemes. Walls and furnishings take center stage while the acreage overhead receives a coat of neutral white paint, with perhaps a snazzy ceiling fixture. That wasn’t the case historically. Plaster ornamentation and murals were used centuries ago, and the Victorians really went to town on the ceiling, with elaborate moldings and stamped tin sheeting. Ceiling medallions graced more formal spaces like dining rooms and parlors, while timber beams and ...

Candles a decor favorite this winter for light, scent

By Kim Cook Associated Press If a candle is burning in a dark room, we don’t see the darkness, we see the light. Perhaps that’s why candles have become such a popular decor element over the course of the pandemic. Little lights you can place anywhere, candles can make a room feel cozy and welcoming. DECORATING WITH CANDLES New York designer Glenn Gissler says candles have been in his personal and professional styling wheelhouse for years. He’s got dozens of votive holders and a stockpile of candle refills, and sets out the diminutive flames for quiet evenings at home ...

The ‘good enough’ home may be just perfect

By Barbara Marquand NerdWallet Constructed from aspirational Instagram feeds and reality TV, the dream home floats in the imagination like a castle in the sky but dissolves in the rain of hard numbers. Chasing the dream can lure buyers to overextend themselves financially. Or the high prices can lead first-time homebuyers to delay a home purchase — and the opportunity to start building home equity. For many homebuyers, buying a “good enough” home can be a sounder strategy, particularly for those most eager to become homeowners. “I’d rather see people buy a good enough ...

Ask a Designer: Closet organization that lasts

By Melissa Rayworth Associated Press Most people don’t start out with a messy closet. Even when a closet is carefully organized at the beginning, however, it might not take long for order to turn to chaos. “It’s common for clients to struggle with keeping the momentum going,” says interior designer Caitlin Murray. But there are planning and design strategies to help closets stay as organized as they were on day one. We’ve asked Murray, founder of the Los Angeles-based Black Lacquer Design, and two other experts — Delaware-based home designer and builder Marnie ...

Small home living: not `downsizing’ but `right-sizing’

By Katherine Roth Associated Press With the current trend toward de-cluttering and downsizing, there are plenty of books about how to winnow down possessions to the few that are truly necessary and loved. This book shows how you can live well once that’s done. In “Downsize: Living Large in a Small House” (2019, The Taunton Press), author Sheri Koones focuses on practical ways to live well at home once you’ve streamlined your belongings and are living more compactly. “It scares people to think of moving into a smaller space, but every single person I interviewed who has ...

US construction spending up 1% in December led by housing

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending rose a moderate 1% in December as the number of new homes offset a sustained weakness in nonresidential construction. The increase followed a 1.1% gain in November, the Commerce Department reported. Last month’s strength came from a 3.1% jump in spending on residential projects with money going to single-family homes surging by 5.8%. While home construction is gaining, there was a 1.7% decline in nonresidential construction, which had declines in hotel and motel construction and in the category that includes shopping ...