Italian furniture's leading edges

Followers of Italian design are familiar with the big manufacturing names such as B&B Italia, Cassina, and Kartell, but many believe it is the many small and medium-sized furniture companies that form the backbone of the Italian sector due to those companies' particular attention to materials and new product development. As design legend Gaetano Pesce has noted, "The owners of (smaller) companies fuel the progress of design through research, experimentation, and the use of new materials." Read More

A manly office for a manly man

New Jefferson County Commissioner Bobby Humphryes is spending $15,000 on new office furniture because former Commissioner Mary Buckelew's office needed a more "masculine lean" to it. This, coming from someone who claimed he wanted to cut spending and reduce debt.

Bobby Humphryes, manly man.

None of that girly girl furniture for the new Jefferson County commissioner. No siree, Bobby.

Humphryes, elected last month, assumed the office of Mary Buckelew, who retired after four terms on the commission.

"I took over an office that had been occupied by a female for 16 years and it just had to have something done to it," Humphryes said. Read More

Find out Chris Madden's vision of the perfect Florida interior

Chris Madden is often dubbed "the next Martha Stewart" because, like Martha, she has made the home her business. Unlike Martha, who sees home as a place of endless activity, Madden views home as haven -- a place of retreat, a private cocoon, a nurturing world of one's own.

She is the author of 10 lifestyle and decorating books, former host of an HGTV show and a syndicated columnist. In November 2006, Madden and Good Housekeeping magazine joined forces to create Your Good Home, a supplement sent to 1 million subscribers. Two more issues will follow during 2007. Read More

Designer on the Move Puts His Life on Wheels

THE phrase “bachelor pad” may evoke shag rugs, an oversize bed and an overwrought and conspicuous sound system — or perhaps for the contemporary bachelor, coolly minimalist modular seating, an oversize bed and an overwrought and inconspicuous sound system.

But two young New York bachelors, one in real estate, one a designer, have found new ways to mark their territories. Read More

A loft of their own

Columbus couple transforms gutted building into stunning loft apartment downtown

As Jim and Patti Thorsen were deciding where to create a home for their new life together just before their marriage in 1999, they kept feeling the lure of downtown, where they both enjoyed attending shows at the River Center for the Performing Arts and the Springer Opera House on an almost weekly basis.

Patti's children were grown, and their options were wide open.

"We knew we didn't need a traditional three-bedroom house... " Jim said. "We knew we wanted to be downtown." Read more...