A kitten plays with a feathery toy hanging from a cat tree.
Care & Cleaning Q&A Style, Decor & Design

When Pets Scratch Furniture and Floors

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Q: My cat and dog are wrecking my home! My dog gets the zoomies every evening and tears across my wood floors like he’s on fire. In just three months, he’s scratched the floors up where he makes hairpin turns around the stairwell and in front of the doors. My cat is well on her […]

A large canopy bed with a simple dark wood frame coordinates with other similarly stained wooden elements around the room: a low fluted credenza, walnut paneling above the window at back and behind the bed, and framed paintings. A large wooden bench at the foot of the bed with taupe and cream upholstery and pillows matches the bedding. A large creamy textured rug sits on a wooden floor.
Feature Style, Decor & Design

2024 Interior Design Trends

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Looking to freshen up your home with something new and intriguing? Despite the recent “mob wife” design trend that features bolder, blingier attire and decor, the bigger overall trend this year is for subtler, classic, low-key luxury. Here’s a round-up of top 2024 interior design trends in furnishings, colors, materials, and decor from major designers […]

Many fabrics are draped all over walls in a bazaar in Central or South Asia
Q&A Style, Decor & Design

Decorate Your Home with Fabric

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Q: I love the idea of using more patterned fabrics as decor, but so far all I can think to make with them is curtains, pillows, or quilts. How else can I decorate with fabric around my home? I’d like to try something more interesting and unusual. A: There are many ways to add variety […]

Wooden lounge chairs and dining tables on patio with many palms and a cat drinking from the in-ground spa
Outdoor Living Q&A

Caring for Outdoor Furniture

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Q: I’m planning to buy some good-quality wooden outdoor furniture for my deck. My neighbor’s outdoor table and chairs are looking pretty sad already, and they’re only a couple of years old. How should I go about caring for outdoor furniture so that it looks good over the long haul? A: Having a lovely outdoor […]

A view of the contents of a dishwasher as seen from above. At left is the top utensil drawer filled with an antique silver-plated serving fork, a modern Oneida Michelangelo pattern dinner fork, an a cut crystal knife rest. At right is the lower rack of the dishwasher which holds two Mikasa Chatsworth vintage cut crystal wine glasses.
Care & Cleaning Collecting Q&A

Is It Safe to Put Crystal and Silver in the Dishwasher?

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Q: I’ve always heard that you should never put silver, crystal, or china in an automatic dishwasher. Now I’m reading that newer dishwashers and modern detergents are safer for sterling silver, silverplate, crystal, and delicate china. Is it really okay to wash these things in a dishwasher?  A: Modern dishwasher technologies and designs, and today’s detergent formulations, make […]

Antique dining and serving dishes in cream porcelain decorated with purple swags of garlands are placed over a white tablecloth on a long table. Delicate white carved chairs with gilded details are along one side of the table. The wall behind is painted a soft robin's egg blue surrounded by lavish white wainscoting.
Care & Cleaning Collecting Q&A

How Dangerous Is Lead in Dishes and Crystal?

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Q: I often buy vintage dishes, glasses, and serving ware from thrift shops and estate sales, and I inherited a good bit of it from my family, too. I’d love to use it, but I understand older dishes and crystal were often made with lead. Is it safe to use my antique crystal glasses, decanters, […]

A shadowy dining room with very high ceilings features dramatic dark colors and lighting. Gold caged metal light fixtures give an industrial touch as they hang from the high white ceiling over a gunmetal grey round table with a thick, ridged matching round base. Around the table are low lounge chairs in soft grey velvet on dark wood legs. At the back is a wall of tall grey flat-front kitchen cabinets against a black wall. Below those is another bank of cabinets in white. A grey island stands in front of the countertops. Flanking the tall entrance to the kitchen behind the dining area are a pair of wooden wall treatments, each featuring about a dozen very high, thin, matching vertical planks of darkly stained wood affixed to the wall, like a small area of dramatic paneling.
Q&A Style, Decor & Design

Kitchen and Dining Room Furniture

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Q: I need new dining furniture, and I’m getting overwhelmed by all the seating options. I thought I knew what I wanted, but then I noticed some great benches and banquettes, and now my fiancé wants to have a concrete-topped eat-in kitchen. What should we know before we choose our kitchen and dining room furniture? […]

A detail of a room with a white painted chair rail papered with a busy large floral featuring passionflowers, ivy, yellow poppies, and various other flowers on a medium teal background. The flowers are dark blue, yellow, pink, and soft pinky white, and the leaves are mostly olive green. A modern geometric floor lamp with gold cylinders and a white disc is at left; a touch of a curved navy chair can be seen at lower left. A green plant is at lower right.
Q&A Style, Decor & Design

Bold Floral Wallpaper

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Q: I’ve been looking for a wallpaper pattern for my entryway. Now that bold floral wallpaper is trending, I’m tempted to go with one—I think an oversized floral could look amazing. But is it just too loud a statement to greet people with as soon as they walk through the door? And is it likely […]

A low, wide teak armchair with a caned back sits on a tiled verandah surrounded by a white painted rail on spindle posts supported by a tall white column. Blue and grey pillows sit on a grey rug on the tile floor. An Indian-style hexagonal side table topped with books and a coffee cup sits net to the teak chair, which is topped with a white pillow. White planters filled with tall green palms sit behind the chair on the verandah. Tall green trees surround the porch.
Feature Outdoor Living

Can Teak Wood Be Sustainably, Ethically Sourced?

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Teak is a long-wearing hardwood that resists water and rot. It has long been the wood of choice for top-quality outdoor furniture and yacht decking. However, much of the teak wood on the US furniture market is illicitly sourced from Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country once known as Burma. In 2021, Myanmar’s democratically elected government […]

A bent-wood chair sits on a hardscaped patio surrounded by planting areas, shrubs, trees, and potted plants but with no lawn.
Outdoor Living Q&A

Sustainable Landscaping and Garden Design

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Q: I want to live in a way that benefits my family, the animals and pollinators around us, and the planet. I’d like to know more about sustainable landscaping. What are some simple things I can do in my garden to live in harmony with my surroundings? A: You can make significant and lasting improvements […]