Pantone has announced its Color of the Year for 2011: Honeysuckle, a vibrant reddish-pink hue. According to Pantone’s press materials, Honeysuckle is intended to do more than offer a visual escape. Where the 2010 Color of the Year, Turquoise (PANTONE 15-5519), provided a sense of respite, Honeysuckle is chosen to embolden and uplift. This lively … Read more

This comprehensive guide compares top knife brands—SOG, Benchmade, Spyderco, Gerber, Kershaw, Buck, CRKT, Emerson, The James Brand, Opinel, Boker, and Chris Reeve—so you can choose the right maker for your needs. I’ve included concise historical context and practical details about materials, design features, and typical use cases to help you make an informed decision. I’ve … Read more

We’ve lived with a small kitchen for 15 years, and I genuinely love it. Everything is within arm’s reach, which makes daily cooking and cleanup quicker and more efficient. I’m done using the oven to store pots and pans or stacking items on top of the refrigerator, but beyond those compromises, a compact kitchen has … Read more

Forget what you think you know about vinyl flooring. The latest generation of luxury vinyl offers outstanding performance, a wide range of textures and colors, and strong value both for the material and installation. Our standalone studio is a compact 100-square-foot space with old, worn square plastic floor tiles. Years of wear and heavy staining … Read more

Yesterday, Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the Eastern Seaboard, producing widespread disruption. Airports, subways, buses and schools were closed, and millions of residents experienced power outages. For those in the storm’s path, conditions were worsened by an accompanying winter snowstorm and higher-than-usual tides driven by a full moon. Flooding from the storm has caused billions … Read more

Cutting our own Christmas tree has become a cherished family tradition. Every year we make the drive to Fillmore, CA, where local tree farms offer a pleasant outing and a wide selection of trees. Many farms grow Monterey pine and Leland cypress, and some will also bring in Noble firs from Oregon and Washington for … Read more

Gentrification. The word often evokes images of empty nesters and young professionals sipping lattes in newly renovated brownstones, and also of local residents and activists protesting the loss of longtime businesses and affordable housing as new developments replace older structures. If you’ve ever considered renovating a neglected property, you’ve likely played a part in the … Read more

I knew very little about grass seed before my visit to NexGen Turf Research last week. I had recently laid sod and tried my best to keep it alive and green, but some areas turned patchy and brown despite my efforts. When Pennington Seed invited me to learn how grass seed is developed, tested, packaged … Read more

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rachio. All opinions are my own. Did you know that about half of the average household’s water use occurs outdoors, and up to 50% of that can be wasted? That means many families are spending hundreds of dollars each month watering their lawn and … Read more

Keeping your electronic devices powered is a daily necessity. The Greenworks 300-watt battery-powered inverter offers a practical, compact, and affordable way to extend the usefulness of a 60V battery system beyond yard work. Power banks come in many forms: pocket-sized chargers for phones, larger portable battery packs, and full-size power stations. Greenworks takes a different … Read more