Sharon Stangenes

First Lady Barbara Bush did some shopping during two recent trips to North Carolina, the mecca of American furniture manufacturing. Bush was looking to redo her storm-damaged summer home in...

Women of America, take heart this Valentine`s Day. Romance is alive and well among the country`s men. That`s the conclusion of the Gallup Organization and Self magazine, which commissioned a...

An eclectic collection of vintage furnishings and decorative accessories has moved in with the sculptural terra cotta, fireplace mantels and decorative moldings at Architectural Artifacts, 3759 N. Ravenswood Ave. Daniels...

The notion that women are more concerned about their appearance than men are is a myth. At least that`s the word from Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pa., where a study...

You`ve checked out the new shopping mall at Chicago`s Merchandise Mart, but what you`re really hankering to see are some of the wholesale showrooms upstairs, normally open only to designers...

Moms shopping with their toddler sons no longer have to decide whether to drag them into the women`s room or find someone to escort them into the men`s room. At...

More than 8,000 people who design interiors professionally in Illinois are rushing to apply for a new license that goes into effect at mid-year. Those who haven`t qualified for the...

Rising consumer concern for saving the environment has been accompanied by a crescendo of claims that products are environmentally friendly. The resulting advertising and public-relations barrage makes it difficult to...

Christmas is over. You didn`t get what you wanted, but that`s OK; give yourself a present. Here`s the one addition to the home that some would like to make in...

You might want to add weaning yourself from ''dry cleaning only'' clothes to your list of New Year`s resolutions. Faced with complying with proposed federal standards under the 1990 Clean...