Patio Planning 101

Design Tips for the Front Porch

Whether your porch is a small entry or a roomy wrap-around, we'll show you how to create style, curb appeal, and comfort in your home's welcome center. This article published on HGTV.com. Full text.

Healthy Home Office Makeover

Six steps to transforming a dreary home office into a place that inspires creativity and productivity. This article published on Oct. 20, 2009, on Lime.com. Full text.

History Lessons

Doug and Faith McDaniel's diligent research into the history of their 1915 bungalow paid off with a surprising discovery. This article published in the October 2009 issue of Old-House Journal. Full text.

Outdoor Revival

A soggy lawn gets a makeover to match an early 20th-century Georgian Revival home. This article published in the October 2009 issue of Old-House Journal. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

8 Steps to Perfect Compost

Help your garden thrive with (free!) scraps from your own kitchen and yard. This article published in the May/June 2009 issue of Gardening How-To. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Foliage Formality

Before the Civil War, Southern plantation gardens were much like the houses themselves: majestic and geometric, with a twist on European design. This article published in the February 2009 issue of Old-House Journal. Full text

Into the Woods

Rustic landscaping and natural building materials connect a hillside home with its surroundings, encouraging a Georgia family to put down roots. This article published in the Fall 2008 issue of Garden, Deck & Landscape (a BHG special interest publication). Contact me for full text.

Star Treatment

Donald Weggeman and Odel Childress have a unique approach to earning the funds to restore their 1906 California Craftsman. They put the house to work in Hollywood. This article published in the October 2008 issue of Old-House Journal. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Getting Started with Fruit Trees

Looking for a tree that brings beauty and bounty to your garden? Follow these simple steps to get your fruit tree off to the right start. This article published in the September/October 2008 issue of Gardening How-To. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Cool Your Home Naturally

16 ways to use your air conditioner less (or not at all) this summer. This article published in the July/August 2008 issue of Natural Health. Full text.

Build Home Value on a Budget

Your home is likely your biggest investment. How can you make the most of it? Use these ideas for equity-building projects to get the greatest return on your dollar. This article published in the Summer 2008 issue of Navy Federal Credit Union's Homeport. Contact me for full text.

10 Cool Ways to Save Energy

Utility bills making you sweat? Pug into these strategies to cut both your energy consuption and your cooling costs. This article published in the July 2008 issue of GreenWise. Full text

Double Recovery

Stricken by a rare, paralyzing illness, Sean Bolen engineered a house move and the beginnings of a restoration from his hospital bed, then salvaged his health along with a house. This article published in the April 2008 issue of Old-House Journal. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Make the Most of Compost

How does your garden grow? With kitchen scraps and grass clippings, naturally. Successful gardening starts with feeding the soil, and the very best materials for nourishing your garden beds come from an unlikely source: your own home and yard. This article published in the March 2008 issue of GreenWise. Full text

Winterize Your Home

Just as you may now be preparing to stash summer shorts and break out warm, cozy sweaters, performing basic maintenance around your home helps prepare it for winter weather. This article published in the October 2007 issue of Cooking Light. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Wine Storage Basics

Many of us know the pleasure wine brings to a meal. If you enjoy it often, you likely have more than a couple of bottles on hand. What kind of storage you need depends on the type of wines you typically consume and how often you drink them. Here we offer the basics on proper storage conditions with well-designed options for every budget. This article published in the September 2007 issue of Cooking Light. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Be Water Wiser

No matter where you live, your garden can benefit from using water more wisely. These 12 tips will keep your garden--and your wallet--green. This article published in the June 2007 issue of Cooking Light. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Going Native

Ann Krohn's front yard started as a square patch of lawn bordered by standard suburban California landscaping--azaleas, camellias, agapanthus--and it was home to thousands of snails. "I was just itching to do something about that fast-food style of landscaping," Ann says. One by one, Ann pulled out plants, replacing them with natives. This article published in the May/June 2007 issue of Natural Home. Full text

Furniture Face-Lift

Years of abuse may take their toll on even the sturdiest furniture, but consider a face-lift before trading an old piece in for something new. Preservation is often a thrifty option, plus you'll save family favorites for the next generation--as well as space at the local landfill. This article published in the March 2007 issue of Cooking Light. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Year-Round Abundance (Cover story)

Designing and maintaining 1 1/2 acres of gardens means thinking big from the outset. When landscape designer David Emery began developing plans for his clients in coastal southern Maine. The garden was off to a good start, but it needed more and bigger plants for good proportions. This article published in the Early Spring 2007 issue of Garden, Deck & Landscape (a BHG special interest publication). Contact me for full text.

Old-House Love is Blind

When my future husband, Derek, gave me a ring, we'd only been dating four months. Less than a year later we married, reveling in the dizziness of falling in love and committing to a relationship we knew would survive the long haul. Buying our first home, a circa 1900 bungalow, was a repeat of that whirlwind romance. On New Year's weekend we began looking for a house; we closed on a place before the end of January. This article published in the June 2006 issue of Old-House Journal. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Big Ideas, Small Space

Narrow lots bursting with big homes are par for the course in Palo Alto, California, and Rob and Julie Reis's place is no exception. Also common are long, constricted side yards that don't often get the same attention as larger front and back yards. When Rob and Julie renovated the long interior hallway, the adjacent side yard betted for a matching overhaul. This article published in the September 2005 issue of Better Homes & Gardens. Contact me for full text.

Sweet Corn

Grow your own--even a small plot--and this summer you'll enjoy the freshest, sweetest corn on the cob you've ever tasted. This article published in the June/July 2005 issue of Organic Gardening. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Green Piece

Growing a great lawn and solving its problems is easy the organic way. Though weeds, diseases, and insect infestations are certainly problems, they're also indicative of trouble within the lawn's natural ecosystem. Short- and long-term organic solutions are the safest way to keep your lawn--and yourself--healthy. This article published in the April/May 2005 issue of Organic Gardening. Contact me for full text or reprint inquiries.

Room to Grow

Your children will outgrow their clothes, toys and books, but that doesn't mean you'll need to replace their bedroom furniture every year, too. Just think long-term when it comes to furniture and short-term when it comes to frills. This article published in the January 2008 issue of The Costco Connection. Full text

Kitchen colors that stand the test of time

From ruby-red refrigerators to hand-painted tile murals, colors in the kitchen can range fro kitschy to classic. How do you know which colors will outlast trends? Here are classic color ideas for five areas of your kitchen. This article published on HGTV.com. Full text