An enormous indoor swimming pool that reflects the millions of blue and gold mosaics on the walls and ceiling above the pool. Also reflected are tall pedestal lamps surrounding the pool, and white roman statues.

Want to Live Like Royalty? Maybe You Already Do!

Modern technologies, techniques, and materials make homes more functional and comfier than palaces of the past. Today’s commoners live better than most royals throughout history.

A kitten plays with a feathery toy hanging from a cat tree.

When Pets Scratch Furniture and Floors

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 […]

Four dogs sit on a living room floor in furry dog beds.

Best Upholstery and Flooring for Homes with Pets

Here are tips on choosing upholstery, flooring, pet doors, and other furnishings for homes with dogs or cats.

A detail of a garden with boxwood trimmed in to precise, long, rectangular hedges. At rear are several fine brick houses with steep roofs, probably from the 18th century.

Great Alternatives to Boxwood in Your Garden

Q: I like the look of boxwood hedges, but mine have gotten pretty ratty. What’s worse, they have a powerful cat-pee like odor during the summer months. It’s gross, and it keeps me from wanting to have friends over in my back yard. I’m thinking of trying some other trimmable shrubs. Can you point me […]