A clever (and pretty!) way to keep cats away from breakables
My cats like jumping up onto high shelves. Unfortunately, that’s where I prefer to keep my delicate collectables and assorted breakable things. Figurines, souvenirs, glassware, picture frames — all things a cat might knock off a shelf. But after finding some left-over perfume bottles, I came up with a way to stop the “Catzilla” moments that I dreaded.
How to use ribbons to keep your snake pit of electronic wires in check
I can’t be the only one who’s taken a look in the electronics drawer and thought “what belongs to what?” Wires tangle easily and all look much the same. The wire that recharges my cell phone looks awfully similar to the wire that recharges my mp3 player… and so on. Fortunately I have come up with a system for keeping the snake pit of wires in my drawer and under my desk in check.
Buy YOURSELF flowers to make a good impression on your new neighbors
In the midst of moving, and un-packing and re-organizing our lives, I didn’t think much of the flower boxes. I hung the them from the balcony rails and tried to remember to water them. Without my knowing, those straggly flowers paved the way to good neighbor relations…
Watch this 160 kilometers bike ride across six islands in Japan
The route that I took is called Shimanami Kaido. It connects the Honshu and Shikoku islands through six smaller islands. I decided to take this route because I heard it was one of the most interesting things to do in Japan, so I simply could not resist not doing it…
7 tricks to save that dying houseplant in your living room
Are you a notorious plant killer? Have you ever bought a beautiful, exotic looking houseplant and displayed it proudly in your home only to realize two weeks later that the leaves are turning brown and it has completely wilted? Before you throw that dying houseplant into the compost pile there are some things you can do to try to save it.
I’m plotzing over the untouched 1955 period details in this house
Do you know what my three favorite words are when it comes to real estate? “Untouched period details.” Ungggggggg. Fellow lovers of the mid-century modern aesthetic are going to absolutely plotz when they see this 1955 time capsule home that I found in Glendale, California…
How can you repurpose an old suitcase?
My parents flew over to visit for Christmas and left behind a scruffy old suitcase. The thing is, the suitcase is actually pretty cool, and I’d love to find a way to repurpose it and use it in the house somehow. Any ideas on how to repurpose a cool old suitcase in your home?
Geeky, science-themed nursery for the child of a librarian
Thanks to Offbeat Home reader Stephanie who uploaded pics to our Flickr pool of her most charmingly geeky nursery! There are unexpected science-themed touches in every part of this room — feminist scientist artwork, a lamp made of lab materials, and a chair upholstered with a double helix pattern… just to name a few things.