Author: MARNI JAMESON Special to The Gazette
-
At Home: Eight items to discard during a move
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Moving is the ultimate truth test. As I pack up the house my husband and I have lived in for eight years, box towers line the halls, packed and stacked like big-city skylines. Each room…
-
At home: Keeping the past present — but not too much of It
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Over the years, I have earned the reputation as the stuff police. I am forever nagging you to purge, declutter, toss, donate, edit, dump, oust, clear, lighten up and let go. But today, sit down:…
-
At Home: An ending, a beginning, a few parting thoughts
Dear reader, A new year is not only a time to recommit to exercise more, lose weight and, yes, declutter our homes, but it is also a time of personal reflection, which I have been doing a lot lately. After nearly 21 years of writing this weekly column, and much soul searching, I have decided…
-
At Home: How to let go of what we cherish
Today I am going to try to lead by example. That’s pretty funny as I am neither a leader nor a good example setter, but as the hero of this story, I believe I am both. The lesson deals with getting rid of a cherished home furnishing, one that you have a great fondness for,…
-
At Home: 20 years, 10 homes, 1,040 columns later, a writer reflects
Warning: I might get a little sentimental today. This is the 20th anniversary of my, well, really our, weekly column. In addition to feeling old, I also feel grateful. The milestone marks the first week of March 2004 when the New Orleans Times-Picayune became the first newspaper to run my syndicated column and continues to…
-
At Home: Seven ways to end porch pollution
Today’s column is a public service for all those who live near neighbors who treat their porches and patios like storage units, sheds or way stations. (Warning: You might be that neighbor.) It is a plea on behalf of those sick of looking at porches and patios cluttered with rusty tricycles, dilapidated dog houses, step…
-
At Home: Don’t let oriental rug sellers pull wool over your eyes
The more I learn about Oriental rugs, the more baffled I get. In my experience, choosing one is the single most difficult home design decision one can make. That’s because so many factors need to click: material, pattern, scale, quality, motif, size, colors, and wiliest of all, cost. How do you know if the seller…
-
At Home: Is that home renovation your idea or the media’s?
Although it’s too late for me to turn back now, maybe it’s not for you. I had bought the new creamy quartzite stone slabs for my kitchen counters, had part of the old counters torn out, and had installers scheduled for next week. Then I saw the article “Do You Really Want a New Kitchen…
-
At Home: Beware the four most expensive words in home remodeling
Once again, even though I know better, those four little words, often uttered in the throes of a home remodel, got me: As long as we’re remodeling the kitchen, let’s update the guest bathroom! Yeep! That innocuous little phrase, “as long as we’re,” and its falsely implied convenience, also masquerades as the equally dangerous (and…