C
    Country Living

    Country Living

  • Do You Recognize This House?

    If you've ever seen the 1986 comedy The Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, this house may look familiar to you: The 1890s Long Island mansion starred as the hopelessly dilapidated house that Hanks and Long struggle to repair. The current homeowners, Rich and Christina Makowsky, bought the 5.4-acre estate in 2002, and they told the Times that their experience was similar to the one depicted in the movie.

  • President Obama Declared Today America's First Ever Official Day of Making

    Follow along with others like you today at the White House during its first Maker Faire. President Obama has proclaimed today as National Making Day! For the first time, the White House is hosting a Maker Faire that celebrates innovators and entrepreneurs across the country who are creating and selling local products that drive the Maker Movement. Americans have fueled the economy with handmade, local products for decades, but with more and more people gaining access to state-of-the-art technology that allows them to create products in their own homes, almost anything is possible. As a proponent of a generation of people who are "makers of things, not just consumers of things," President Obama says he's committed to making people's ideas a reality.

  • How to Make a Backyard Tire Swing

    The enchanted light surrounding this tire swing first beckoned photographer, designer, and maker Amy Tremper of Stitch & Hammer. This image makes us want to jump on and act like a kid again.

  • Why Does This Man Live in a Boeing 727 Hidden in the Oregon Woods? the Answer Will Surprise You

    This might be the ultimate upcycling project: Engineer Bruce Campbell bought a retired Boeing 727 aircraft for $220,000, and turned it into his home. "We would want them to be recovered and be re-used in an environmentally sustainable fashion."

  • 5 Smart Tips for an Organized Kitchen

    These clear acrylic containers let you display what's inside, which is great for easy access and an extra pop of color!" says Julie. Contain the Clutter: "Use baskets and wire bins to organize food storage containers and lids as well measuring cups and spoons," says food blogger Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen. Julie found this wire bin at HomeGoods for only $17 - it's sturdy, durable and has a classic touch.

  • The Prettiest Way to Celebrate National Doughnut Day

    Use this DIY doughnut decorating trick to make the day even sweeter.

  • 6 Facts You Didn't Know About the History of Memorial Day

    Amid the barbecuing, beach-going, blockbuster movie releases, and other unofficial-start-of-summer hoopla, it can be easy to forget what Memorial Day is actually all about. Here, we've rounded up a few Memorial Day facts that you might not have known: The observance, which began in the years following the Civil War, was originally known as Decoration Day. It gradually came to be known as Memorial Day over the years.

  • Feeling Blue? Remodeling Your Home Might Help

    Feeling blue? You may want to consider renovating your home-or at least redecorating your living room. A recent study conducted by home design site Houzz indicates that a well-designed home could be the key to your happiness.

  • What This Texas Woman Found in Her Bathroom Will Terrify You

    A College Station, Texas mother, Veronica Rodriguez, recently discovered a 12-foot-long African python snake in her bathroom. A few hours after coming back inside, she started to hear strange noises that sounded like someone knocking things over, and went to investigate... which is when she turned on the light in her bathroom, and discovered the massive and potentially deadly snake. While the odds that you'll find a 12-foot-long African python in your home are certainly not high, after hearing this story, we'd say it's certainly not a bad idea to check out the National Pesticide Information Center's top 11 tips for controlling snakes in and around your home.

  • Before and After: How to Turn an Old Coffee Table into a Tufted Ottoman

    She loved the gorgeous detail in the wood and decided to create a tufted ottoman that wouldn't hide the amazing carvings in the wood. Chalk paint (Nancy used Annie Sloan chalk paint in a mix of Old White and Pure White, heavier on the Pure White) Clear furniture wax (Nancy used Annie Sloan clear furniture wax)

  • Make Mom a Super-Chic Pouch for Mother's Day

    Stitch together a handful of zippers to form one seriously cool case.

  • 3 Need-to-Know Secrets for Your Next Summer Party

    Abby Larson, editor of Style Me Pretty Living, shares her top tips for throwing a no-sweat alfresco fete:

  • How to Create a Gorgeous Vertical Garden in 5 Easy Steps

    Do you have a blank outdoor wall or a bare fence you want to spruce up this summer? A vertical garden is the perfect-and easiest-way to add color to your backyard. And just in time for spring, Home Depot shared these five steps to creating this easy-to-assemble design with us.

  • 10 Tricks to Help You Arrange Flowers like a Pro

    Here's how florist Michael George gets roses to absorb more water and live longer: Wrap the flowers in brown packaging paper to protect them, then snip a quarter inch off the stems and place them in one inch of boiling water. "The shock of it forces the air out," says George.

  • 10 Top Gardening Trends for 2014

    Our friends at Pinterest shared the season's most in-demand outdoor garden trends and the boards you should start following now.

  • We Have the Dirt on One of Actress Busy Philipps' Favorite Appetizers

    Cougar Town star Busy Philipps attended the Hollygrove Norma Jean Gala in Beverly Hills recently, and this crudité display caught her eye. She declared the rows of fresh veggies in edible soil the "cutest crudité display."

  • How to Grow and Use Lavender This Spring

    What's not to love about lavender? It's low maintenance and drought-tolerant, once established. It attracts bees and butterflies but is deer- and rabbit-resistant. It can be used in cosmetics, medicine, and cuisine. And the beloved fragrance, prized for millennia, is refreshing, clean, and very soothing. David Salman of High Country Gardens grows this Mediterranean herb at his nursery in Santa Fe. Here, he offers TK tips for using this easy-to-grow herb.

  • The Prettiest Way to Decorate Your Easter Eggs is Also Super Easy

    Go beyond food coloring! Try this beautiful way to decorate your Easter eggs this year.

  • 17 Signs You're Obsessed with Your Dog

    This is one problem we're totally okay with having.1. You throw your dog a birthday party every year. Because it's the most important day of the year.

  • Is Joan Rivers' House Out of Control or Out of This World?

    Rivers, who reportedly has a net worth of $150 million, is auctioning off items from her former country home in Connecticut on April 1 and 2. Overseen by Christie's New York Interiors, the auction will include over 150 items from what Rivers calls "the ultimate country house," such as a modern tester bed upholstered in pink linen, a collection of animal horn trophies, and a pair of white-painted tole palm trees. "The items offered in Christie's Interiors auction range from very personal pieces designed by friends and renowned furniture makers such as Thomas Messel to keepsakes that I discovered on the road while travelling for concerts," said Rivers. Tell us: What do you think of Joan Rivers's country decorating style?