Mary Daniels

We're back this week with more gift ideas for the home (and one gift that's actually a home away from home). In our fourth of six installments, the Home section...

DILEMMA "I am determined to have a small, two-bedroom townhouse that is fabulously Victorian. Any ideas for window treatments to put over vertical blinds to give a Victorian look? Also,...

Searching for a gift that will not only be an immediate hit but also will have the potential of increasing in value? Limited-edition collectibles are the perfect answer. Though limited-edition...

Interest in the decorative arts of faraway lands is nothing new, says John Himmel, Chicago furniture and interior designer. To give some historical perspective, in the 16th and 17th Centuries...

DILEMMA "I have a 16-by-24-foot living/family room with a working fireplace, architectural columns, wall-to-wall sisal carpeting, a neutral herringbone cotton tuxedo sofa, two black wing chairs, a 19th Century, solid...

a. A spicy dish of exotic vegetables. b. A game of chance involving tiles. c. Seeing the shape of a building as an omen of what might befall residents. d....

DILEMMA "I want a Country French feeling in my kitchen and dining room, which flow into one another. What type of floor would you recommend? My current floor covering is...

DILEMMA Our home, built in 1925, is situated in a very quaint, historic neighborhood. The coach house is aluminum-sided in white, attached by a breezeway. Is it important to keep...

DILEMMA How can I make my bedroom more than simply the room in which I sleep? I want it to be casual and relaxed-not too done or decorated. --Mary Ann...

DILEMMA How do you open up a long, narrow room? SOLUTION "Keep the walls light to open up a room-even if you have the right scale, the wrong colors will...