Home Improvement

Home-decorating TV shows and glossy shelter magazines have many homeowners embracing the bold, unexpected use of color that cutting-edge designers love.

Audiences, male and female, now lap up hours of TV programming about renovating, decorating and DIY-ing.

The sun-drenched colors and inviting textures of summer provide plenty of decorating ideas. The trick is doing it right.

There’s art in cartography: Street grids, the curve of a shoreline and topographic details lend themselves to wall art, rugs and textiles.

We’re told a well-designed master bedroom should be an oasis of romantic calm. It may also be where you watch television, pay bills and even set up a home office.

Other “faux” features to consider include ceiling decals that look like parts of elaborate chandeliers, cabinetry embellishments and painted wainscoting.

Whisper-soft, ultra-pale shades of pink — described by designers as “blush tones” — are back. But the ’80s haven’t returned, at least not entirely, said designer Brian Patrick Flynn.

Often the need to get more use out of a space arises when an elderly parent joins the household or a grown child returns home.

Koehl, a master gardener from Waller, Texas, bought secondhand windows and doors to construct the building that houses his roses and vegetables. Using old materials saved him money, and added interest to the structure.

Reading in a cozy chair is still desirable for a lot of people. Though you may be sitting with your Kindle instead of a bound text, the expression "curled up with a book" sounds so much more appealing than proclaiming that you are getting comfortable with your iPad. Right?