Gardening    

Finding it difficult to maintain the putting-green presentable yard? Tired of that scorning eye from your next-door neighbor? New eco-friendly grass varieties of old favorites are shown to significantly reduce mowing, require less water and are actually good for the environment. Who wouldn’t want to save time while saving the earth? Centipede, “Bella” bluegrass, Tifway Hybrid Bermuda, “Empire Turf” Zoysia and “Palmetto” St. Augustine are just a few of the varieties that are shown to rebound after brief droughts, are shade tolerant, require less work and see fewer weeds. Know your plant zone to determine warm- or cool-season grasses.

Source: Rebecca Bull Reed, “Picture a Greener Lawn,” Southern Living, April 2009, 62–64.

Home Design

During these anxious economic times, consider a return to the classics. One of the most popular rooms in larger new homes has become the library—so popular, even Oprah Winfrey featured her Santa Barbara, Calif., home library (hers contains first editions collected by a rare-book dealer) on a recent Oprah magazine cover. Not always about books, the appeal is more often about creating a particular ambience, connoting elegance and quality. A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders found that 63 percent of homebuyers said they wanted a library or considered one essential, an increase over the past few years.

The newfound popularity of libraries is part of a general movement towards traditional design and décor, coziness and comfort. When stacking your shelves, you want your bookshelves to look as interesting as the books you’ve so carefully collected. Proper lighting, furniture placed against a bookcase, painting or papering the backs of bookcases, variety of book heights—consider all of these for creating decorative and literary appeal. Also, bring new life into your old built-ins by painting the inside and back of your bookcases a subtle yet contrasting color. Your books, art, ceramics, clocks and other collectibles will “pop” off the shelves.

Sources: June Fletcher, “Why Libraries Are Back in Style,” Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2008. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122117550854125707.html.

Charlie Birdsong, “Stack Your Bookshelves,” Southern Accents, March/April 2009. http://www.southernaccents.com/decorating/style-design/stack-your-bookshelves-00400000043297.

Pop Culture     

If you’re going to survive in pop culture, you’ve got to make it quick. The trend is for faster and faster, shorter and shorter, ever more concise communications. For those who are verbose, stories are written in 100 words. For those getting to the point, the story is written in one sentence. For those pressed for time, the story will be told in six words! Even established publishers are getting on board by issuing e-books that come out within weeks of an event, opposed to months or years. Publishers face the challenge of balancing peoples’ insatiable appetite for immediate news and information with producing lasting works. Anyone telling a story, including a publisher, should use a vehicle tailored to the target audience and the desired outcome. Less may be more in the right circumstances.

Sources: Jeremy Caplan, “Haiku Nation,” Time, September 1, 2008, 57–59.
“Six-Word Memoirs: The Valentine’s Day Edition.” National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100510986.

Name Your Tale: 100-Word Stories. http://www.nameyourtale.com.

Nanoism. http://nanoism.net/about.

One Sentence: True Stories, Told in One Sentence. http://onesentence.org.

Motoko Rich, “You’ve Read the Headlines. Now, Quick, Read the Book,” New York Times, March 29, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/books/30quic.html.

Interior Design      

Bamboo Flooring
Hardwood floors, typically oak or maple, have always been appealing because of their beauty and durability, but bamboo should be added to the list of flooring options because of its versatility. Bamboo is beautiful and comes in appealing colors—blonde or amber—and offers the same design appeal as traditional hardwood flooring. It’s harder than oak and rock maple, making it more durable, and installed the same as hardwood floors. (Not to mention easy to maintain and environmentally friendly.) Because bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on earth, can be harvested and replenished without impact to the environment and offers 25 times the yield of hardwood, it is highly sustainable, renewable and “green.” Bamboo flooring has been used for centuries in Asia because of all of these attributes, and is now becoming recognized and appreciated in the West.

Source: Flooring Trends. http://www.flooring-trends.com/bamboo.html.

Scandinavian Design, popular in the 1950s, is finding a place with those who appreciate mid-century modern style. With it’s natural look, clean and simple lines, graphic patterns and pale colors, Scandinavian design fits into a contemporary environment and appeals to people who consider themselves “green” and are sensitive to nature and the environment. Designers past (Arne Jacobsen) and present (Front Design) utilize classic design elements with a modern flare to create functional, relatively inexpensive, mass-produced furniture and home accessories.

Source: Street Directory. “Incorporating Scandinavian Design In Your Home.” http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/32185/home_improvement/"
incorporating_scandinavian_design_in_your_home.html.

Architecture

Travel     

This summer, forget the exotic European summer vacation, and rediscover America by visiting two of the hottest U.S. tourist destinations: Charleston, S.C., and Austin, Texas.

Known for its rich history as well as ethnic and racial diversity, Charleston is one of those well-preserved gems that combines gracious living and history galore in the heart and soul of the South. Charleston was lauded “America’s Friendliest City” in last year’s America’s Favorite Cities survey (TravelAndLeisure.com and CNN Headline News), and Fortune magazine has ranked it among the 100 best places to live. Visit Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired; walk the cobblestone streets and tour an antebellum mansion; shop the number of stylish boutiques—Charleston’s sites are many. And with so many blossoming gardens, photo opportunities abound.

Austin was selected as the No. 2 “Best Big City” in Best Places to Live by Money magazine, and the "Greenest City in America" by MSN. Home to cowboys, hipsters, musicians (Austin’s official slogan is “The Live Music Capital of the World”) and metro transplants looking for a laid-back way of life, this college town is the melting pot of offbeat style and urban sophistication. Austin is like no other place in Texas. Sure, you’ll find the occasional honky-tonk, and plenty of barbecue, but you’ll also find a thriving art community, filmmakers, sports fanatics, 200 live music venues and world-renowned festivals. With its unique culture, there's always something playing in Austin.

Sources:
Wikipedia contributors, “Austin, Texas,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_texas.

Wikipedia contributors, “Charlotte, North Carolina,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte,_N.C..

Mary Beth Heaton, “Charleston,” Southern Accents, March/April 2009, 73–74.

Chris Dixon, “Charleston,” Elle Decor, May 2009, 86–88. Rita Konig, “Austin,” Domino, March 2009, 15–17.