Breathing New Life into Your Child’s Old Bedrooms

When the oldest of Shelley Arenson’s three children stopped living at home during summer college breaks, the East Lyme resident kept the bed in his room for occasional visits, but eventually repurposed the rest of the unused space.

With more homeowners looking for ways to pamper themselves at home, here are nine ways bathroom makeovers are mimicking aspects of hotels and resorts.

There’s a chill in the air and leaves are turning brilliant colors — but you don’t need to give up outdoor living just yet. With a few easy changes you can transform your patio from a summer hangout into an inviting fall retreat.

“People put a lot of time, effort and expense into outfitting their outdoor spaces and they don’t want to close everything down at the end of the summer,” says Hartford interior designer Sharon McCormick. “New products on the market are encouraging New Englanders to think about extending the time they can be outside.”

As more people work from home who are either self-employed or have flexible hours and can work remotely, the home office has become an important, practical and prominent residential feature.

For Optimal Sports Viewing, You Need a Winning Plan

Creating a home theater or media viewing room should be easy, right? Big screen, comfy chairs, and you’re done? Depending on the scale of your ambitions (and your TV of movie screen), creating a relaxing space that’s designed to accommodate a multitude of viewers may require a bit more than that.

Your favorite kitchen lighting?

“Everything is in the mix when I design a kitchen lighting plan. LED ribbon lights are my favorite for lighting glass cabinets. The ribbon is so thin it can even be used in frameless cabinets. Run vertically, all of the shelves are lit equally without the need for glass shelving. Undercabinet lights, like AFX’s Xenon direct-wire system, are a task lighting must. They should be uniform, such as Xenon, rather than rope or ribbon lighting, if you are using a metal or polished stone top. If the island is a kitchen focal point, either pendants or one large island fixture, like the Double Sloane Street Shop Light, keeps the drama going. One trick I use in traditional kitchens is to build a soffit from moldings to corral the fixtures, as well as break up a massive ceiling. I prefer to use decorative flush or semi-flush mount lighting for the rest of the kitchen if possible rather than recessed lighting. All lights should be on dimmers!”

Patrick Ganinno began his decorative painting career ten years ago withhis company, Creative Evolution. In addition to his contracting business, he also runs a school an on-line forum for decorative painters and the Faux Warehouse which supplies instructional DVDs by top artists. Featuring Chapters by Sharon McCormick & Matthew Grimm