Sherman Oaks mansion goes for US$8.7-M

LOS ANGELES — From his top hat to his leather pants, Slash commands attention both on and off the stage. But when it came to the sale of his Sherman Oaks mansion, the rock star kept things surprisingly low-key. The guitarist . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Amazon's Echo chamber grew by 'tens of millions' this holiday season

Amazon enjoyed its "biggest" Christmas yet, powered by a holiday sales surge of its Amazon Echo products, the company said Tuesday. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant sold "tens of millions" of Echo devices worldwide, and its Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Keep your poinsettia looking its best

Did you get a poinsettia? You’re not alone. Poinsettias are the bestselling potted plant in the United States and Canada, totalling more than US$250 million in sales each holiday season. How do you keep these festive plants looking their best? Here . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Talking 'bout a reno-lution

Everyone has a household project they've put off for too long

Today we’re talking New Year’s RENO-LUTIONS! The time to start and complete — or more likely just complete — that renovation has come. Be it known that 2018 is the time to finally put that reno behind you, or fall into . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

The biggest home design trends of 2017

What's here to stay and what we should say goodbye to in the New Year

If January is a time for projection and setting goals, December is often a time of introspection. We re-evaluate our relationships, we reassess our careers and we think about what we’ve achieved and what we could have done better. Here, we take . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Finding adequate maple syrup substitutes

Question: I would like to bake some carrot cake breakfast cookies and the recipe calls for a half-cup of maple syrup. My husband has diabetes and cannot have maple syrup, so I was wondering what I can use as a . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

How to bring Pantone's colour of the year into your home

If colour forecasters are correct, the year ahead will be filled with a purple haze. From housewares to fashion to flowers, expect a heavy dose of bright, eye-popping purple. That’s the prediction of the experts at Pantone Colour Institute, which recently . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Help kids grow through gardening

Gardens have always been vitally important during times of great change. They fed Southerners during the Civil War, sustained Britain during the First World War, became essential during the Great Depression and some were finally labelled victory gardens in the . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

No stones to throw in this open, glass house

Seattle architect, clients craft a new and modern look for their town home

SEATTLE — Architect Jim Romano covered just about every contingency when he devised a dramatic open stairway — and sparkling glass bridges — to link and lighten all three floors of Rick and Joan’s Capitol Hill town house. "It took a . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30

Colour's supporting role in flower beds

Consider adding Pantone's pick for 2018 into your garden

The Pantone Institute has named ultra violet as colour of the year for 2018. It isn’t only fashion designers who are influenced by colour trends. The choice of greenery, the 2017 colour of the year, conveyed an environmental message — one . . .

Posted: 2017-12-30