Refurbishing drawer pulls

Q: "My husband and I are moving into a very ugly house - rent free. We are strapped for cash because we are putting down linoleum, painting, etc. Do you have any ideas on how to refurbish drawer pulls on a shoestring budget? The current ones are ugly brass."

A: I have one idea that came up quickly for the drawer pulls. Have you ever worked with Fimo or Sculptey modeling clay? It is a mold-able, bake-able clay that you could cover your existing brass drawer pulls with and bake in the oven according to the directions, it bakes at a very low temperature and will not harm the drawer pulls. It is available in so many colors and there are so many designs and ways to print into it too that you can really make it match your kitchen very easily.

Changing Addresses

I am going to London for a year and have a house full of stuff to put in storage while I'm gone. I'm afraid that when I get back I won't be able to find anything!

Since you can only bring a couple of bags and need to survive on those things for a whole year my suggestion is minimal packing, and very organized storage boxes. I can imagine that you have a ton of stuff- decorative pillows, ceramic bowls, framed photos, duvets, CDs, millions of books and tons of jewelry.The key here is that you pack really well and itemizes your belongings in storage boxes. You might need something sent so having it organized will make it easier for the sender. I've gone twice to live in Europe and learned very quickly that the cool things that you pack thinking you will wear them to the hottest club when you get there don't ever turn out to be cool upon arrival (baggy pumpkin jeans that my friend Sasha told me were all the rage). But if you make a special box for the cool club clothes and roll instead of layering, they should be easy to extract and ship if you miss them. The way to do it is to use boxes medium to small. There will be more of them, but easier to carry, and sift through for the keeper. Label well, and sort by season, sandals in one box, winter boots in another, 18th century novels in one, and coffee table art books in yet another. Label all boxes with an 3"x5" note card with the contents listed on the outside, both on the top and both sides. Keep an electronic copy on a CD of all your lists and take it with you on your trip so that you can remember what you've got for when you need it sent.

Hiding the TV remotes

My husband leaves the TV remote control everywhere but on the coffee table and I can never find it. How can I get him to put it in the same place?

Establishing organizational habits around the house is important and will contribute to a healthy relationship between the two of you as well as a tranquil living space. You should have a designated place for the remotes, a basket, or tray where they should be relaced when not in use. After he gets into the habit he will appreciate being able to find the remotes easily too.

How do I know which clothes to throw out?

I am moving from an apartment with a walk in closet to a house with barely any closet space and need to get rid of most of my clothes. Help!

First of all, you should enlist a friend with good taste to help you sift through and purge those pieces that you just shouldn't be wearing. I just did this with a close friend who is a super-pack-rat. I actually went through her closet and put everything that was a relic of the nineties or just plain hideous (she had about 10 mock turtlenecks-I don't think you can even buy those anymore) in a garbage bag and removed it from her space. I told her that she couldn't see anything that I had removed for a week but at the end of the week she could open the bag and take out anything she missed. The extra closet space and room to see all her clothes made it well worth it for her not to interject even one mock-turtleneck to her nice, neat closet. Sometimes we just need to be saved from ourselves.

Baby Shower

I need your help in regards to my baby shower. I would like to have a middle eastern theme; pillows, blankets atmosphere, do you know where can I get them cheap or make them cheap?

The best place to get floor pillows is Urban Outfitters or Pier One. My favorites are the plush square pillows with button dimples. They are very comfortable to sit on and there is such a great selection of colors and fabrics-from satins to velvets to cottons. You could also make them yourself (I've got directions on the decorate section of the website) by getting a few yards of fabric and buying pillow inserts. Swagging fabrics across the ceiling and hanging tapestries and lanterns us another way to get a Bedouin tent like affect. For fabrics, downtown L.A. is the best place to go if you are in Southern California. If there are only your usual craft stores, stick with inexpensive fabrics that drape well like crinkled cotton gauze.

Matching Dinnerware

I just graduated from college and have some plates from my mom and a few from a thrift store. I don't mind but I want a coordinated look for when people come over. Should my dishes match? Does anyone notice anyway?

Part of everyday life, dishes are often ignored as an outlet for style and design. They don't have to match, but coordination is important, after all, they are the first thing you see when you sit down to a meal and I assume you eat everyday!
There are so many fun and exciting combinations to create with stoneware- you'll wonder why you didn't pull your act together sooner. The key here is to buy complementing pieces to what you already have. There are many options for finding inexpensive matching partial sets. For instance, clear dinner plates, red salad plates and gold bowls. It's not that hard to find 8 red salad plates that are of good quality, say Wartrecht brand from Germany , but to buy the whole set with bowls and salad plates would get expensive. Plus, who could stand seeing that much red?! Clear glass plates are nice as part of an ensemble setting as well. It is complementive to any other colors you may choose for your place setting. Add a natural fibered placemat and voila, a designer table setting.

Charge it!

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