Jay Johnson

I promise that this won't be a doom-and-gloom column, however. D2S has always taken the editorial position that a house, condo, or co-op is more than an investment. It is the place where families live, memories are made, and the American dream realized. We have not been fans of the buy-and-flip approach to homes, fueled by attractive mortgage packages and soaring real estate values. We've seen too many popular TV shows glorifying the flip. The only thing we like about the new downturn (and downturn is too gentle a word to describe our new global economy), is that it's forcing us to see our homes as safe havens, the heart of our personal lives, and much more than financial investments.

If you're fortunate enough to keep your home and mortgage -- unlike many, many Americans who have recently and increasingly lost theirs -- then you might be facing the prospect of holding onto your home for a lot longer than you originally anticipated. You may not be so keen to know what you could sell your house for, knowing that this is not a wonderful time to sell. There are high-end, luxury homes that will always sell well and there is good activity (or so we've heard) at that higher end of the market. We toast the high end and pray that its good fortune expands to all segments of the housing market and to all family income brackets.

In June of this year, the American Psychological Association released a report showing that the top cause of anxiety for Americans is money fears. With recent events, this anxiety is red hot, fueled by fear and concern over the world's current state of economic insecurity. I want to say, however, as simple as this may sound, that "this too shall pass." Bad cycles and bear markets always alternate with good cycles and bull markets. If families can tough this out, there is room for hope and optimism. We strongly believe that it's important to stay focused and get busy around the house to keep your mind free of worry. Projects help you achieve some great new results around the house. Improving your living space, whether it's tackling an inexpensive weekend do-it-yourself project or hiring a decorator to freshen up the kitchen, will pay off in immediate gratification and good energy, the perfect antidote to anxiety.

Homeowners in Action

Country House Indoor Vignettes shows off a great do-it-yourself kitchen floor refinishing idea that looks fantastic. You can follow this technique with the wood floors in any room or hallway in your home. The video is one of my favorites because it shows off the Connecticut homeowners' display of their own artwork, some antiques that they've had in the family, and sprucing up their fireplace mantel using found objects like nests, rocks, and pine cones.

Bathroom Remodeling is a short video tour of a Minnesota homeowner's work on her bathroom. She took a dismal 1970s mess and took some of her favorite slate tiles and brought them into the floor (in small-scale size tiles) and the shower area (larger-scale tiles), and freshened up the vanity area with a new vessel sink and an original cabinet design. I like the freshness of the new vanity and encourage you to get inspired to add something handmade and creative into your next remodeling job. Don't think that you're restricted to using only showroom or catalog items. Use local craftspeople to fashion something special to fit your space and needs.

Kitchen & Bedroom Renovation in MA is a look at a homeowners' Victorian house remodeling job. They demolished an outdated kitchen on the first floor level, a mudroom that wasn't working, a small back stoop, and a second-floor screened sleeping porch with a sagging floor. They replaced it with a great new eat-in kitchen design and a center-island cooking/eating area that will allow for conversations during meal prep and serving. There's also a dedicated mudroom, an efficient laundry area, a butler's pantry and wet bar, and a downstairs powder room. A small bedroom and the upstairs sleeping porch is being turned into a master suite with a bath, walk-in closet, and a spacious new bedroom. It's still a work in process, but this is a more ambitious undertaking. The homeowners' goal is to add the essentials they felt they needed in order to make them happy about staying put in their current home. We celebrate this spirit.

Autumn View from Victorian Porch is a little extra to help us all celebrate the lovely fall weather in many parts of the country. I shot the changing leaves from the porch of the house featured in the previous video. Enjoy!

Photo credits: AMC Construction, Knowsey Neighbors

Jay Johnson

Philosophers tell us that the best life is one lived in reflection, so I wanted to look back at a few highlights of Summer and summarize some lessons learned that have relevance to our home design audience.

How Did Your Garden Grow?

This was a big success story. With moderate rain and mild weather, even a temperate August, our perennials jumped for joy and added feet to their height and width. We're enjoying the jungle in our yard, but I know I have to do some quick research on how and when to prune so things don't get completely out of hand. I'm talking 8-foot-tall butterfly bushes!

The weeds also thrived. Like most gardeners, I have been weeding the entire month of August and will continue to do so during Labor Day weekend. I've gotten poison ivy this year, but my partner suffered severe outbreaks on the arms and legs. Lessons learned? Aveeno makes a soothing oatmeal bath treatment that helps. Tecnu makes a nifty spray that helps wash away the oils and take the itch out of the ivy blisters; and they make a cream that helps keep the rash under control. See a doctor if your outbreaks are severe or if you need quick relief; physicians can give you a complete arsenal of products, both internal and topical, to take the sting of gardening away. You've got to love your yard to continue to expose yourself to all the weeds, insects (love those ground bees!), and irritants. But nothing is better than sitting down and looking out over your green and growing yard, watching the birds at the feeders, and thinking you helped add beauty to your family's life.

Did Anything Shocking Happen This Summer?

Funny you should ask. Our neighborhood power transformer was struck by lightning early in August and a power surge went through everyone's homes. It happened during the few short hours that it took us to run some errands in a nearby town. The meter that gets read outside the house was blackened and smoke-filled. Power charged into the house wiring and killed many appliances that contained transformers to modify electricity to handle digital circuitry. We didn't suffer as much as the house down the road that had black marks all over its walls, singed records of the in-wall wiring that was burned away; their whole house will rewiring, so we were lucky.

We did, however, lose a dehumidifer, a new washer and drier, our pool pump, two flat-screen TVs, a DVD player, and a coffeemaker. Worse yet, our thermostats for central air and heating were knocked out and the hot water heater needed a major repair as much of its circuitry was fried. Our old microwave made it through unscathed, which was a shame. We spent hours replacing things and arranging service visits and repair estimates so we could file an insurance claim.

Lessons learned? Lightning can wreak havoc in even the best wired of homes. Go to an offline or online electronics or office supply store and invest in surge protectors. A cheap surge protector saved the lives of everything plugged into our home office: my laptop computer, desk lamps, and our copier/fax/scanning machine. The surge protector was fried, but it saved everything that was plugged into it. It was a great investment of less than $20 that saved thousands of dollars of electronics, not to mention all the work on my computer. After the lightning hit, we bought one of the special home entertainment surge protector systems, the Monster Cable PowerProtect, that handles heavy electrical surges for our new flatscreen, amp, and DVD player. We bought smaller surge protectors for other appliances, from the dining room and bedrooms to the kitchen and laundry room. They come in small and large sizes and are very versatile. I now know that they are a cheap alternative to having to replace everything that gets zapped by lightning or other power surges.

How About a Fun Summer Highlight, Jay?

Well, not all of us had the best time, but we decided to try hot air ballooning. It was actually an amazing experience to be able to look down on houses and whole towns from over 4,000 feet in the air. We just wish the basket that held the five of us had much higher sides; they were only coming up to a bit above our waists and we easily imagined accidentally pitching over the edge. I've never held on to a railing tighter in my life while my other hand held a video camera to record our adventure.

I encourage you to check out our Design2Share YouTube Design2Share video channel and our new Blinkx Design2Share video channel and 5min Design2Share Studio. We showcase over 600 videos about architecture, design, and everyday life in both of those channels. Click on the links and watch these Design2Share videos to see our ballooning trip:

Hot Air Balloon: Blowing It Up will show you how our adventure began. It was amazing to see a bunch of flat nylon puff up into a huge balloon that was buoyant enough to life us high into the sky! The photo above shows the balloon we rode in.

Hot Air Balloon: Up, Up & Away takes you from our starting point, ever higher into the air, where we stalled a bit midway during our ascent. Tim, our captain, was wonderful and in retrospect I'm glad we had someone like him to pilot us. He had that great combo of experience and humor that made it a fun ride.

Hot Air Balloon: Going Down documents everyone's favorite part of the trip. We lowered to just-above-treetop level from our former height in the clouds. It was fun waving to cars that honked at us on the highway. Look for the footage of our balloon passing over a still stream; it was beautiful!

Hot Air Balloon: Champagne Landing takes you through our landing in a deer-filled field and our celebration at the conclusion of our adventure.

And here's a great photo gallery of our trip (thanks, Michele and Dave, for the excellent shots)!

Lessons learned? Check off those things you want to do before you die. I think I can tackle just about anything since I have been deathly afraid of heights. I'll never go sky diving, but I must say that it was truly enjoyable floating effortlessly in the air with good friends, my family, and Captain Tim in our hot air balloon. What a way to end the summer!

Photo credits: Remove the Labels, Hunterdon Ballooning

Jay Johnson

Go to the "Articles" tab on Antiques and the Arts Online for the latest news on "Stolen Items." Once you've gone to the Articles section, scroll down the page until you get to the section on stolen goods. It's a real eye opener.

What's behind the thefts? Real estate in the U.S. used to be the darling of investors and speculators; but now the market has made in much more difficult to flip that house. I've often said that this isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's good to return our focus to a house as a place where we can live, put down roots, create a strong family history, make great memories, become active community participants, and feather a nest to express personal interests and creativity.

Decorative and fine arts, despite their up-again, down-again cycle of popularity at auction, are great investments overall. The caveat there is that bad antiquities are still bad, no matter what their age. Good investments are good pieces, well made and well designed, no matter what period they're from. With objects taking on greater investment cache in this down-market for real estate, it's little wonder that thefts of these portable assets is on the rise.

Interpol says that art theft is the world's fourth largest organized crime, just after drugs, people trafficking, and arms. In 1977, the International Foundation on Art (IFAR) set up the Art Loss Register, a computerized database of stolen art, antiques, and valuables; it's one-stop shopping for information on stolen objects. From 1991-96, there were over 80,000 objects reported to the database, and 55% were stolen from private homes (the rest: 12% from galleries, 11% from museums, 10% from churches, and almost 2% from public institutions, commercial premises, warehouses, or while the goods were in transit).

We recommend you go to the Fine Art Registry for their excellent in the article When It Comes to Buying Art and Antiques Caveat Emptor -- Let the Buyer Beware. You can't go wrong with their great suggestions, including using their registry service whenever you purchase something of value for your home, and going to the Art Loss Register whenever you have something stolen, heaven forbid. (Devil's Advocate: We spoke recently with a high-profile antiques collector, and she said that she would never use a registry for her valuables; she would not want to alert anyone to what she owned and thinks that databases could be hacked into by thieves looking for new targets to burgle. So use your best judgment when it comes to using a registry or not. Our collector friend would prefer to live in a high-security building, and if she experienced a theft, report it to the police and collect the insured value of the taken items from her insurance company.)

I encourage you to check out our Design2Share YouTube Design2Share video channel and our new Blinkx Design2Share video channel. We showcase over 600 videos about architecture, design, and everyday life in both of those channels. Click on the links and watch these Design2Share videos to see some art and antiques that you will NEVER find at risk for theft (yet they caught our eye nonetheless; enjoy this summer video diversion!):

• Urban 8 -- ready to steal and in plain sight on a city street, this object caught my video eye
• Stop & Go City Coke Sign -- this would be hard to steal, unless you took the entire bodega
• Fruit & Vegetable Alphabet Art -- who would dare steal from helpless elementary school kids?
• Caged Mattress -- an object of admittedly dubious value, behind iron bars
• Lost at Sea: Straus Memorial -- Art and Antiques Online reports the theft of a public fountain, so perhaps even large bronzes are at risk for theft; even so, this lady has to be HEAVY
• Fade Away -- I wonder how many fantastic sculptures are stolen each year from graveyards; I'm a freak when it comes to being fascinated by graves, mausoleums, and grave sculpture

Photo credit: OverstockArt 

Jay Johnson

Collections are ideal ways to fill the void in any room. They add interest, spark conversation, allow homeowners to relay the story surrounding each purchase, and bring the personality of the collector into what could otherwise be a sterile decorating scheme.

Here are some decorating tips pertaining to collections. Give these ideas a whirl, and put collectibles to good use in your home.

1. We think it's a shame to keep collections hidden away in storage spaces or drawers. Display them and place them carefully in your rooms. You don't need to put everything out at once. In fact, it's wise to hold back and keep some items in storage; when you want to freshen up the collection, rotate the items by bringing some out of storage and tucking some display items away.
2. If you get completely tired of any item in your collection, sell it or give it away. Don't keep something you don't love. Don't hold onto the old simply because you have it.
3. Displays are versatile and they can be arranged anywhere. Here are a few inspirations -- (a) You can display a collection of items on a coffee or side table in a classic "tablescape." (b) Use a vitrine (see photo), a beautiful piece of furniture that displays collections behind glass, or a biblioteque to show off your more valuable treasures and keep them safe from dust and handling. (c) For most collections, you can be less formal. Old corner cabinets, funky hutches, antique pie safes, desks and secretaries, and fireplace mantels make excellent display areas for your treasures. Try shadow boxes for showing off your miniatures or small collectibles like thimbles.
4. Use unusual and fun collections to add zip to your rooms. There's a steak house in Manhattan with a collection of old Dutch clay pipes hanging down from the ceiling. I've seen a home where antique musical instruments are suspended from tall ceilings. An artist friend displays zillions of different rubber duckies in his bathroom. Model trains can run in suspended tracks around a family room. Use those large antique apothecary jars to display rocks, shells, marbles, and lots of other small objects that you want to consolidate into a single dust-free display.
5. Do you travel? Are your souvenirs piling up? You really should be displaying them. It's lovely to add exotic items into your everyday living situation. Bring back those great trip memories by proudly decorating with your travel pottery, decorative tiles, artwork, and other memorabilia.
6. Hobbies can lead to displays that inject your interests squarely into your living space. Frame and display your photographs along a hallway wall, and use ceiling spots and/or art lights to showcase your subjects. You might be a rockhound or seashell fan; if you are, purchase mounting stands and use small display cases to highlight your finds. In my old neighborhood, a nearby family set into concrete the beautiful rocks they had collected on their world travels along their front porch stairs and surrounding their indoor fireplace. I remember one rock that looked like a strip of bacon. Do I remember anything else about their house? Not a chance! Their rock collection, however, will always stay with me as a fond childhood memory.

I encourage you to check out our YouTube Design2Share video channel and our exciting new Blinkx Design2Share video channel. We showcase over 600 videos about architecture, design, and everyday life in both of those channels. Click on the links and watch these Design2Share videos to get some great ideas about displaying collections in your home:

• Hallmark Silver Collection -- a South African homeowner proudly shows off her fancy silver
• Trinket Box -- tiny toys are displayed in the compartments of an old typesetter's box
• Alan Olswing's Clay Chia Heads -- an antique dealer has a great hutch-top display space for his unusual collection
• Carnival Canes & Walking Sticks -- this diverse collection is neatly displayed in an umbrella stand
• Turquoise Jewelry Display -- here's an old home video showing a vintage display of jewelry and related Native American goods
• Dining Room Trash & Treasures -- this dining room is jazzed up by collectibles in a variety of displays

Photo credits: Stephen Bennett Auctions, Facets Gem & Mineral Gallery

Jay Johnson --

He said, "We're surrounded by great art galleries, lots of artists working in every possible medium, and auctions and estate sales recycling beautiful works of art at fractions of their original price. Why should anyone suffer from this so-called art anxiety?"

It's a good point, yet we know many decorators who claim that art is the bane of their clients' existence. They work with designers to whip together decisions to purchase a dining room table, chairs, and fabrics in a jiffy, but the blank walls of a room fill them with dread.

I asked our resident design expert, Irwin Weiner ASID, about this phenomenon. "Art is a very personal thing. It's emotional to most people. Clients usually react very positively or negatively to any work of art. That love it/hate it reaction oftentimes paralyzes the client from making any art decisions, either with me holding their hand and giving my professional opinion or them trying to act on their own."

I asked Irwin if art anxiety plagues any of his clients. "Absolutely," he said, "and it makes a big difference in how a room turns out. To me if there is no art on the walls, I can't professionally photograph and include that room in my design portfolio or submit it to a shelter magazine. It's just not finished without artwork or some other elements that would take the place of traditional paintings on a wall -- things like tapestries, wallhangings, decorative panels, murals, sculptures, screens, or decorative wallcoverings."

When pressed further, Irwin observed that "art should be no different from any other part of the interior design of a home." A dining room table, going back to that earlier example, will have a practical purpose to fit a room, seat so many people, and be made of a certain type of material. It has utility, but it also has decorative value. There is a sculptural form with the best tables and chairs, and that puts it in the "art category," fairly and squarely. The stain on wood, the lacquer on a painted surface, and the fabric patterns and colors on the seat cushions and backs all add to the "art" of the room -- the texture, the palette, the mood, and all those other attributes we have a tendency to assign solely to works of art hanging on a wall.

So why is it that when we can't sit in it, eat on it, or otherwise use it, we get anxiety over making decorating decisions regarding art?

Here's my solution: I say let's look at art as if we were picking out a sofa, a throw pillow, or an area rug. Work with your art dealer, interior designer, or home staging professional and see works of art as teammates with your furnishings and accessories. Lighten up and toss away your art anxiety! Try fingerpainting and hang up your creation on the refrigerator with magnets. That's a good start. Now try appreciating someone else's artwork and hang it up on the wall. That didn't hurt much, did it?

I'm obviously being facetious here, but the point harkens back to Irwin's biggest observation about home decorating. "I see so many people with design emergencies," he told me. "They are in absolute Crisis Mode when it comes to decorating. My reply is usually to give them calming words, talk them down from the ledge, and tell them there is no such thing as a decorating emergency. Repeat this mantra: It's only decorating. Mistakes happen, but they can be undone. You won't be stuck with anything forever. Colors, fabrics, furniture, and artwork can all be moved around, freshened up, recycled, stored away, then brought back out again after you've had a rest."

Irwin's funniest observation, however, is this gem. "Art is not like a toilet or a bathtub. Thank heavens a picture is not permanently installed as part of the plumbing. You can easily slide it up or down, hang it more to the left or to the right, or move it to another room. You can swap it for something else that fits your mood, the seasons, or your changing taste. But again, if it were a toilet, you'd be stuck with it on your wall and it would be hell to change. But it's not, so take a deep breath and start to have some fun with it."

Here are a few tips to help reduce art anxiety:

• Try cramming loads of pictures floor to ceiling to create a richly interesting art gallery feel. That's a great decorating tip for an entry hall or second-floor hallway.
• Hang photos or artwork on the back of passage and closet doors. Use Velcro tabs on the bottoms of the frames to hold them fast to the doors and keep them from moving around when the door is opened or closed.
• Auctions and estate sales usually have great art buys. For a few hundred dollars you can pick up large canvases that would look smashing in your rooms. You can't go wrong when so little money is at risk. Friends of ours recently went to a NJ auction house and spent up to $15 for large works of modern art, far less than what the frames alone cost. Look for bargains. 
• If you live in a large city or a community with a lot of galleries, jump into one of the regular "gallery crawls," usually on a Friday or weekend night. (There's even a great Gallery Crawl podcast series that features northern CA galleries.) Crawls are open houses where many galleries in a neighborhood open their doors to the public, serve wine and cheese, and encourage casual browsing. Go from gallery to gallery, make notes of what strikes your fancy, and take showroom cards and other information home with you. Revisit favorite works of art online or at the gallery sometime after the crawl. Do you still like them? Then swoop in for the purchase!
• Sit down with your art rep or design professional and make an Art Plan for your rooms. Discuss beforehand what might look great in your space. Art reps can show you online or offline artist portfolios or slides and you can get some great ideas of what might work on different walls.
• If you don't see 100% of what you want from an artist, but you're drawn to their style or media, you might want to commission your own work of art with a theme or color scheme that's right for you.
• Get a professional's second opinion on works of art. Trust the professional's judgment to help you coordinate works of art with the other elements of your decor. Oftentimes a designer has been schooled to know the best elements of different art styles and periods. Let a pro help you can feel better about your art purchases.
• Establish an art budget when you're professionally decorating your home. Then spend that art budget. It will make all the difference in whether your home looks finished or not.
• Remember, you can always sell a painting or other work of art. It's not a permanent fixture in your home unless you want it to be. Approach any art purchase with the attitude that you can't make a mistake.
• Are you buying art for an investment? That's another story, and you should do your homework. Here's an article from The Boston Globe called Buying Art as an Investment. It's a good place to start.

I encourage you to check out our YouTube Design2Share video channel and our exciting new Blinkx Design2Share video channel. We showcase my art, the art of videos, in both of those channels. I am not a professional video photographer, but I have a great time shooting things that catch my wandering eye.

Watch these three Design2Share videos that pertain to art, and you'll be inspired to reduce your art anxiety and enjoy adding works of art to your home and being more open and creative with your designer:

• Painting Girl is a new favorite. I added the music of an English folk singer to shots I took in February at a friend's new gallery show. Check out Alexandra Avlonitis and her colorful landscapes. We bought a piece at her show, and we suffered absolutely zero art anxiety!
• Manhattan Graffiti Wall blew my mind. Walking down the street one day, I came upon this elaborate wall of community art and graffiti that completely impressed me. I'm not a fan of vandalism, but even the Brooklyn Museum and other institutions recognize the beauty of urban street art with special exhibitions. Enjoy, and try to take some of that freedom of artistic expression and energy with you when you decorate your home.
• One Foot Square Art Show captures the fun and energy around an art gallery crawl. Shot in a gallery complex in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, you'll see that art can be wildly diverse and interesting. This exhibit showcased one-foot square canvases only, and artists came up with amazing variations using this creative requirement.

Good luck to you as you conquer art anxiety. It's time to stop being paralyzed and understand that when it comes to decorating your home, art matters.

Photo and art credits: Brian Stauffer for the New York Times, Juliette Borda for The Boston Globe, Domino

Jay Johnson

Too often I am at an art gallery or a retail store and I hear someone criticizing something on display or for sale. The words are always a variation on, "That looks like something I could have made in an afternoon." or "Anyone could make that!" That's why I love people who actually roll up their sleeves, take the plunge, and make something decorative.

I encourage you to check out our YouTube Design2Share video channel and our exciting new Blinkx Design2Share video channel. We showcase my craft projects in both of those channels. I am not a professional video photographer, but I am diligent and intrepid and I keep shooting away. So I can relate to crafters and lovers of home projects everywhere. Let's keep on keeping on together as we try to make something wonderful that people will enjoy.

Watch these three Design2Share videos that pertain to crafts -- and we think you'll be inspired by them to make something of your own:

• Campaign Chest & Baskets takes you to Cape Town, South Africa to see some beautiful baskets made from wire, a local craft that is known for its colorful beauty; our D2S decorating expert Irwin Weiner ASID is your narrator on this video
• Magic Mosaics shows one Philadelphian's mind-blowing dedication to making mosaic sculptures and architectural decoration
• Woolworth's Christmas Craft Story highlights a Des Moines, IA woman who relives a childhood crafts memory -- parents, get your kids crafting right away and start making some special memories!

The silhouette above is really me, and it was cut out in a jiffy by a crafter we met several years ago on a trip to China. I hadn't thought about this craft souvenir until we went to The Designer Craftsmen Show of Philadelphia in January. We got to see many fine artists and their traditional folk art and crafts on display. Truly fascinating.

Several craft exhibitors were masters of scherenschnitte, which is not a dish you would order in a German restaurant! It's a traditional craft, cutting paper in the 1700s style of the Pennsylvania Germans. The word literally means "scissor cuts," and the results can be spectacular. The beautiful lettering and scene above was done by crafter Cindy Ferguson, a 32-year-old graphic designer from Salt Lake City whose Papercutting Blogspot is very entertaining and a great inspiration for crafters.

Here are the three master papercutters we saw at The Designer Craftsmen Show.

Pamela Dalton, Scherenschnitte blew us away with her beautifully framed work. Here is a sample this Ghent, NY artist calls Parade:

Sandra Gilpin specializes in original, hand-cut, painted scherenschnitte designs in cutom-made grained frames. While she does not have a website, you can email her at sgilpin@suscom.com. Here is an untitled sample of her work from summer 2007:

Marie-Helene Grabman specializes in traditional European style scherenschnitte with themes from the United States. She stands beside one of her creations in this photo:

  Kicking around the idea of papercutting as a crafting pursuit, perhaps even a career?

Look into papercutting as a craft or home project hobby by picking up a book like  Scherenschnitte: Designs and Techniques for the Traditional Craft of Papercutting or Sandra Gilpin's Folk Art Favorites.

If you are interested in taking a deeper dive into the world of papercutting, then look into the Guild of American Papercutters and their seasonal publication First Cut.

Enjoy crafting, and get those scissors sharpened!

Photo Credits: Cindy Ferguson, Pamela Dalton Papercutting, The Scissor-Cutting Art of Marie-Helene L. Grabman, Guild of American Papercutters, First Cut Magazine

Jay Johnson

Anaheim, CA -- This year's ready-to-wear lines and home fashion are in step and taking inspiration from the same sources. Models on the runways swirl in metalics, geometrics, and dueling textures. Others donned minimalistic get-ups with color flowing out in gradients everywhere! According to trend scouts at the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), this year's Surfaces -- one of the home market's premier international trade shows -- will reveal that the fashions underfoot are showing many of the same characteristics. 

Surfaces opened on January 20th, and the WFCA co-sponsored the show "New Product Preview and Trend Guide" to showcase some of the latest design statements for the home. Early signs show that the biggest floor covering trends include:

• bronze and metal tiles intermixed with porcelain, ceramic and stone
• transparent glass tiles
• glossy vinyls
• eight-sided rugs
• rich textures
• lots of bold colors inspired by a tropical palette
• eco-friendly

To no one's surprise, products from and easy on Mother Nature are a huge focus for the industry again this year. There are surfaces for every room in eco-friendly designs available in subtle and bold style, depending on taste.

Hardwood is being shown in a wide variety of colors and textures. This year it is also presented in new formats, such as planks affixed with neoprene rubber cushion on the backside, allowing for a more comfortable, insulated, and quiet sounding wood floor.

In line with 2007, engineered planks that offer a soft and worn appearance are widely available in hand-scraped designs and alternating sizes.

One new eco-friendly presentation is thicker solid planks with enhanced wearability and longer life, as well as hardwood with edges and ends that are pillowed and enhanced with a bleed stain effect that gives an age-old look.

Some companies are debuting more distressed, fumed, hand-scraped, hand-sewn, wire worn, stained, lacquered and oiled wood varieties.

Almost every manufacturer stresses products that come from carefully managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and a commitment to replanting and replenishing harvested trees.

Natural materials are also a big focus in the tile category. Ceramic tiles designed to mimic real leather and suede in look and texture offer warmth and depth to any room.

Stone and ceramic tiles are also being cut and designed to resemble the character and texture of hand-scarped and exotic wood planks.

Ceramic and stone tiles are reappearing as customized mosaics of family portraits, famous paintings or ornate designs.

Some manufacturers are showcasing ceramic tiles in differing heights applied to bathroom walls and kitchen backsplashes for interesting dimension.

For the first time in the United States, black stainless steel tiles are glossing up surfaces in wet rooms -- and a popular look is the subway tile pattern.

Highly durable leather tiles are warming up the scene in new and recycled looks.

Intricately carved, deep-relief metal tiles and contemporary solid bronze and white bronze tiles are used to complement spaces and add new dimension.

Handmade glass tiles with glittering metal flakes incorporated within are showing up on bathroom surfaces, as are stacked pebble tiles reminiscent of a Zen retreat.

Environmentally-friendly carpets and rugs are donning the floors in every color shade, texture, and material imaginable, including bamboo and leather. Like the runways, the color palette ranges from vibrant glittery metallics to warm golds and rich reds. Textures are across the spectrum, from lush felted shags made from the softest materials on the planet to natural and eco-friendly jute fibers.

Geometrics are big this year, not just in carpet patterns but also in area rug shapes.

The World Floor Covering Association offers a website to learn more about these flooring categories. In addition, the site provides answers to the most common floor covering questions. You can also find detailed information and practical tips on every flooring category available, including carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic, porcelain, resilient, vinyl, cork, stone, and area rugs. An overview of each category provides the pros and cons, a product catalog, manufacturing details, varieties and styles available, things to consider before you buy, and how to prepare for installation.

In addition, for help navigating all of the new designs and styles on the market, WFCA's website offers questionnaires that help identify the home decor and looks that are most appealing to you. Once you have identified your tastes, you can use the site's Virtual Room Designer feature to view hundreds of different types of floors in rooms that resemble your own. When you find looks that you like, you can save them in your own personal portfolio that can be accessed from any location, including flooring retailers.

When it's time for you to buy floors, WFCA's site offers a searchable database of reputable WFCA retail members across the country. All you need to do is enter your zip code and you will receive a list of suppliers in your area.

"Consumers are looking for fashionable, high-quality products that suit their tastes and budgets. It's clear from the 2008 product lineup that the manufacturers are listening," said Chris David, Chief Executive Officer of the WFCA. "With all the new and existing products on the market, our goal is to facilitate the research and buying process for the consumer. The WFCA website provides all the information necessary to make informed purchasing decisions." The WFCA, official sponsor of Surfaces, is the floor covering industry's largest advocacy organization, representing floor covering retailers, contractors, and allied service providers throughout North America.

Photo Credits: National Floor Trends, Luxury Housing Trends, HGTV Kitchen Design, Coochicoos

Jay Johnson

Quick profits from flipping are giving way to looking at houses as homes once again.

Your home is, after all, where you and your family have chosen to live (not "flip"). It's the place where you return after work, raise children, entertain, prepare and serve meals, and live life fully.

I was delighted to attend The Greater Philadelphia Historic Home Show and the concurrent Designer Craftsmen Show of Philadelphia on January 20 in King of Prussia, PA. The high-quality exhibits were dazzling, with companies and individuals pouring love and attention into restoring, sprucing up, decorating, and furnishing the proverbial This Old House.

In the over 500 YouTube video shorts I have shot for our Design2Share Video Channel, I created a new one on this great show. Designer Irwin Weiner ASID, accompanied me at the show and is featured on my Visiting the Historic Home Show video. Enjoy the many highlights that caught our eye as we toured the show and focused on textiles that recreated historic patterns, great custom millwork, clever roofing and elegant copper exterior detailing, and a host of other innovations to help restore and maintain older homes.

And for regular readers of this column, please note that my little Radio Shack $99 camtastic video recorder has been officially retired. I am now using the SONY HandyCam DCR-HC28. I think you'll see the difference in the quality of the video. It was time to upgrade in the new year!

Here are some of the vendors that we saw at the concurrent shows, resources that we thought are worth looking at for your home:

Old House Interiors Magazine is a print and online resource devoted to interiors from homes built between 1700 and 1840, including romantic 20th century colonial revivals. Good inspiration for First Period homes through Georgian, Federal, early Greek Revival, and regionally flavored residences.

Antique Homes Magazine focuses on historic homes for sale throughout New England.

We met a delightful woman named Rabbit Goody at the show. Her studio, Thistle Hill Weavers (see photo montage), creates custom period fabrics and trims. We loved her Venetian carpets, which would be stunning for whole-room flooring as well as stair runners.

Steve Smithers is a master of finer silversmithing and design. We were amazed by his beautiful tea sets and lighting. His handcrafted brass lighting is extraordinary and a rarity.

The custom crafted lighting and hardware from Heritage Metalworks is incredible. We loved their Winterthur Reproduction pieces, including the Lebanon Bedroom Chandelier (see photo above). This group is also wonderful with restoring and repairing metal antiques and creating custom metalwork.

Mox Nix Textiles creates beautiful historically accurate hand-woven textiles and quilts, and our featured video shows some looming work being done right in their booth. The woman who graciously allowed me to videotape her at work told me about how she hand-wove one poncho a day for 18 straight days to deliver Universal Studios ponchos for Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds. She makes a poncho from a textile sofa throw, and they needed to show the poncho getting more and more ruined as the movie progressed.

If you love that smooth and sensual soapstone feel, then you'll appreciate Bucks County Soapstone Company and their custom sinks, countertops, and fireplace surrounds (see photo below).

Ball and Ball has extraordinary antique hardware reproductions covering the 18th Century through Victorian times. Chandeliers, sconces, lanterns, hand-forged iron house hardware, locks, fireplace accessories, knobs and drops, door knockers, and Chippendale pulls are their specialties.

We died and went to Heaven when we saw the collection of custom-made, beautifully crafted doors from Historic Doors. They make custom-crafted doors, entryways, and porticos that add beauty to interior and exterior doorways. Look at the beautiful rustic cottage-style door in this photo!

The Beresford Gallery specialized in lovely custom wrought iron work, from gates and railings to lighting and fireplace tools. They feature the work of a third-generation blacksmith from France who does all the hand forging.

The extraordinary millwork and customized, authentic colonial joynery from Maurer & Shepherd is worth exploring further. They can really bring cabinetry, entryways, windows and sashes, and woodwork to life again.

The Real Milk Paint Company offers timeless products that have added vibrant color to homes for centuries. The paint is environmentally safe, non-toxic, weather resistant, non-fading, and remains usable for years. Check out their tung oil, waxes, brushes, and other products, too.

We can't rave enough about Timeless Kitchen Design! These folks really understand cabinetry and how to blend today's appliances in with yesterday's custom woodwork -- and creating a flawless, elegant end product.

Photo Credits: Goodrich & Company, Thistle Hill Weavers, Historic Doors, Bucks County Soapstone

I would like to adopt a building. The building on this old postcard, to be precise.

I'm not sure if that's possible, or even remotely feasible, but it's a goal and I'm sticking with it for now.

In the 500 video shorts contained in my Design2Share Video Library on YouTube, you will see examples where I have taken my video camera -- a sturdy palm-sized Radio Shack $99 camtastic Sanyo special -- and shot many an interesting building, from both the outside and inside.

But I went back to the town where I graduated from high school (Clinton, IA) the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I saw old, familiar buildings through new eyes.

The old main post office building on Fifth Avenue, for one, caught my eye. I was given an update on this building, a childhood favorite, from Barbara, my friend and fellow Clinton High School River King grad (Class of '70). Click on this link to view Fifth Avenue Is Our Memory Lane, a video of part of our downtown. Ignore the lame jokes, please, as well as my obsession with trying to find the water spout on a new fountain. But note the post office!

I also drove alone through the Lyons neighborhood of Clinton and took another video. Click on this link to view Abandoned Buildings Dilemma, and you'll see that I'm starting to get into a groove of despair about some of the buildings that really were important to the town where I grew up.

As much as I would like to save the post office on Clinton's Fifth Avenue, there are many other buildings that need attention, like the ones I shot in Lyons. Think about it:

• Old buildings deteriorate. It's costly to fix them up, and you know how steep the price tag can get just by using the upkeep costs of your own home as an example.
• Towns and cities flow and ebb. Proud emigrants at one time built a beautiful church in their new town, and generations of families grew up worshipping. The local enclave died out and/or moved away, and suddenly a once-magnificent building was abandoned, closed, and endangered.
• Laws, statutes, codes, and ordinances change. A wonderful old building may have to close if it can't be upgraded to meet changes in handicap accessibility or other improvements. It's sometimes easier and cheaper to build something new than make costly fixes to landmarked structures.

So back to the old main post office. The postcard above shows the original structure. It's a Beaux Arts beauty, now considered to be one of the most endangered historic buildings in the state of Iowa.

Here's another postcard showing the updated structure from around the 1930s, with a new addition in back.

Buildings like this one went hand in hand with Clinton's designation in the 1880s and 1890s as having more millionaires per capita than any other community in the United States. This was during the Midwestern lumber boom. 

And then there was Lillian Russell, the first great lady of the American stage -- and she was born in little Clinton, Iowa (see photo).

I grew up in the town not thinking of millionaires or famous Clintonians at all. Little details about things like this post office captured my imagination. I remember there was a black sidewalk with glittery sparkles around the front and side of the post office. It was hard to slip and fall on its gritty surface, and if I'm not mistaken, it was heated to melt the snow as it fell. I wonder if it still works -- and more basic than that, is my heated sidewalk memory legitimate or an overactive kid's imagination at work?

This building is something I would like to lease or buy, love, fix up, and restore to its former glory. It probably wouldn't be a very good post office any more. I'm sure there's a new facility that does a better, faster, more automated job. So it would be fun to turn it into something else, something that would serve the town well.

When I returned to New York after my Midwest weekend, I loaded my Clinton videos into the YouTube Design2Share site. Then I realized that there was another video I had taken a month or two earlier about an abandoned barn near our Bucks County weekend home. Click on this link to view Landmark Canal Barn, and you'll see yet another historic building in disrepair.

It all got me thinking:

1. You can never go back home again. This old chestnut is true. It's not the same place you remembered growing up. Things shrink. They age. They weather.

2. Small towns need some TLC. That's Tender Loving Care, as opposed to The Learning Channel. Small towns need aggressive civic restoration projects to preserve the past, landmark key buildings, and find new uses for old structures.

3. We should all fall in love with the past. Being "new" doesn't necessarily make a house or a public building beautiful or more desirable. I've done several past entries on the importance of loving old buildings and settling down in something with history and character. One example: In New Hope, PA, Marsha Brown is an amazing restaurant built inside a former church.

So I would like to adopt the old main post office building in Clinton, Iowa in 2008. The small glitch is that I don't have the money to take any action -- yet!

Michael Moore adopted an old movie theater in Traverse City, MI and turned it into a chic film festival experience. It helped revitalize their downtown. Maybe Michael will give me a call and help me fix up the old building of my dreams. Maybe we can set up a Design2Share office in there . . . and show art films and classic movies at night!

Happy New Year to you and yours -- and here's to achieving all your 2008 resolutions.

Photo Credits: The 2 Buds, Clintonia, Lambertville House, Answers.com

Jay Johnson --

I'm going to be making Martha Stewart's recipe for Boeuf Bouguignon for a Christmas Day gathering of neighbors, and we'll serve a ham and many side dishes from some gourmet stores in the area.

We'll have a Buche de Noel for dessert, which will bring on some ooh's and aah's. In the center of the table will be a large jardiniere centerpiece filled with small wrapped presents. This was my partner's idea, and it shows his great generosity of spirit.

These "stocking stuffers" will be specially selected for each of our 15 or so luncheon guests. They will be festively wrapped, each sporting a gift tag. When the lunch is over and the guests put on their coats, each will receive a stocking stuffer on their way out.

I think that will probably be the nicest part of the entire holiday. Okay, everyone will feel happy and full from Martha's Beouf Bourguignon, and the rest of the edibles will go down nicely. But it's important to make a gift-giving connection with family and friends.

Giving and receiving gifts has been a tradition for centuries. The native potlatch ceremony (see photo above)  celebrates "extreme giving," with status conferred on the family or clan who gave away the most possessions.

You could be bankrupt by the end of the ceremony, but you were huge in the prestige department!

Our exercise in gift giving helps us concentrate on each one of our guests and think about things they might like and/or use. Hopefully the small gift will bring some degree of joy. We know the giving part feels mighty good.

Our new stocking stuffer tradition, having our Christmas luncheon guests leave with a little present, will hopefully help everyone focus on the good feelings and appreciation we feel around this special time of year.

Four out of five surveyed Americans feel the holidays are too materialistic (Center for a New American Dream), and that's probably true. I wholeheartedly embrace the Center's vision of developing an Alternative Gift Registry within your network of family and friends. Check out their website, and consider it for your network.

In the 500 video shorts contained in my Design2Share Video Library on YouTube, you will see examples where I have taken my video camera -- a sturdy palm-sized Radio Shack $99 camtastic Sanyo special -- and I shot a video of Holiday Time at Lincoln Center, Holiday Lights!, and Santa Wreath,  my little holiday gifts to you and your family.

For 2008, my resolution is to give the Alternative Gift Registry a try for next year's Christmas lunch! I'll feel even better about giving homemade, recycled, second-hand, and environmentally-friendly gifts that are thoughtfully chosen for each guest.

Photo Credits: Milky Way Jewels, Center for a New American Dream, The Bridal Wishlist