Around The House

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QUICK HELP FOR GARDENERS

Gardeners have no time for nonsense, so they need tools that work. The Web site www.motherearthnews.com/gardenresources offers two tools that help gardeners find the products they need — quickly. The Seed and Plant Finder searches through more than 500 mail-order seed and plant companies using a custom search engine to locate sources for vegetable, flower and herb varieties, and organic gardening products. Browsing the crop or flower categories tells you more about available options.

Once you've planted your seeds, the Organic Pest Control and Garden Products Finder searches a select group of university Web sites to diagnose pest problems and find treatment advice. You also can shop for recommended items from more than 30 mail-order companies selling organic insecticides, tools and related products.

GO WITH WHAT YOU'VE GOT

Stop decorating and start undecorating. That's the advice Mark and Sally Bailey give in "Recycled Home" (Ryland Peters & Small; $29.95; hardcover).

Based on the couple's philosophy — work with what you've got, be true to the structure of your house and the materials it is made from — the book helps readers tap into the potential of items that would otherwise be considered garbage. If you love simplicity, you'll dig the repurposed furniture in this book — a mixture of clean, modern items and rough, unfinished ones showing layers of chipped paint.

Old apple crates double as bookshelves, and an old baker's table serves as a kitchen workbench in this book.

From "Tones & Textures" to "Furniture & Storage" and from "Walls & Floors" to "Lighting," "Display" and "Textiles," the chapters in this book teach you to rock the recycled look in every room in the house.

REAL-LIFE SOLUTIONS

Interior designer Debbie Wiener likens the homes pictured in magazines to the wrong man. You love him, you want him, but you can't live with him. That's why she's written "Slob Proof! Real-Life Design Solutions." Wiener is an interior decorator from Maryland who specializes in family-friendly interiors. Her book is all about decorating a house so it's livable, right down to eating popcorn on the couch and letting the dog nap in the easy chair.

She advises readers on choosing flooring, seating, window treatments, lighting and colors that will hold up to wear and disguise those inevitable spots and scratches, but that will result in a home that's beautiful and comfortable.

"Slob Proof!" is published by Alpha Books and sells for $19.95 in paperback.

PET BED GETS ELEVATED

Furniture designer Akemi Tanaka has elevated the pet bed, literally and figuratively.

Tanaka has designed the Curve, a sleek pet bed made to be mounted on a wall. The fashionable bed is made from a single piece of bent, laminated wood, with a snap-on cushion that's easy to remove for laundering.

The Curve is designed for cats and small dogs up to 45 pounds. It's available in maple or walnut veneer, with three cushion fabric options. The product sells for $199.99 at http://supermarkethq.com/product/curve.

QUICK TIP

Want to seal your plastic-laminate countertop to help prevent staining? Wax the counter with a thin coat of high-quality furniture or automotive wax. You can also get an excellent sealer-polish, Gel-Gloss. This product leaves a thin coat of tough carnauba wax that will resist stains.