Author: By Marni Jameson
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At Home: Seven steps to styling your bed like a pro
Some things I will never understand. One of them is minimal bedding. I see these modern and contemporary homes that parade their restraint like a badge of pride. Why, oh why would anyone want a spare, streamlined minimalist bed, with their lean lines, trim pillows and stingy covers? Whenever I see beds like these in…
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At Home: 10 spots to spiff before holiday guests come
The busiest days of the year for Ryan Knoll is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, followed by the day before Christmas Eve. On those days, business for TidyCasa, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based house cleaning service he started almost 10 years ago, doubles. “The pre-holiday cleaning overdrive is real,” said Knoll, whose company services about 600 homes a…
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At Home: Wedding drives M.O.B. to become ‘unhinged’ over door hardware
There comes a time when good homeowners need to replace their outdoor hardware. The week before your daughter’s wedding is not the time. As if I didn’t have enough to do planning a wedding celebration for family and friends coming from all over, I suddenly had an irrepressible need to replace the handles and hinges…
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At Home: 12 ways to add graciousness to your gatherings
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou As I write this, my daughter’s wedding is just days away. Soon, dozens of guests will be arriving from out of town. Being the host, I feel…
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Get your home ready for fall but don’t rush
As a girl, whenever I was impatiently looking forward to a special day, such as the end of school, the start of vacation or my birthday, my mom would always say, “Don’t wish your life away.” Decades later, I’ve finally figured out what she meant. She wasn’t trying to dampen my excitement; rather, she was…
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At Home: And the 2025 color of the year is … uncertain
COTY season is here — that time of year when paint companies, after months of tea-leaf and tarot-card reading, announce their respective color of the year. Those divining the new hues consider the social mood, political climate, economy, world events, travel trends, and the color of the inside of their eyelids, before extracting from their…
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At Home: ‘Starfish’ couple solves housing problem one family at a time
For seven years, Leticia and Maynor Aldana and their two children lived in a rundown apartment in Northfield, Minn. Raw sewage from the apartment above dripped into their kitchen. The basement had standing water and mold. Their landlord was not helpful. For this, they paid $1,200 a month in rent. The Aldanas, who immigrated here…
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At Home: Hold onto the past — selectively
I get a bad rap for being the Stuff Police, the one who gets between you and the things you love. While it’s true that I harp on those who have too much (including myself) and urge them to purge, edit, donate, toss, sell, clear out, hand down and throw away, occasionally, as you’ll see…
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At Home: When love is in the air, so is money
Love comes at a price. How well I know. This October, I will host my third wedding in eight years. Not all mine, thank goodness. The first was mine, a lovely, curated affair for 50 guests. Two years ago, my older daughter got married in Jackson Hole, Wyo., at the groom’s parents’ home. Coordinating a…
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At Home: Stuck in neutral? New colorful book can help
Tell me if you’ve ever had this conversation with yourself: Self: “I don’t know what color to paint my walls.” “I’ll go with a neutral white or beige to play it safe,” you decide. Self: “Then what color sofa should I get?” “Better be safe and get off white,” you reason. Self: “And the area…