http://www.post-gazette.com/homes Home and garden news and features, garden columns by Susan Banks, Doug Oster en-us Copyright 2012, post-gazette.com. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:09:55 -0500 15 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209332-30-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml NAPLES -- When Gino Di Mare and Alberto Billeri bought a small apartment in the dilapidated Quartieri Spagnoli district of Naples six years ago, they were betting on improvements to a neighborhood notorious for dirty streets and petty crime. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209333-30-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml NORTH ELMHAM, ENGLAND -- When the current owners first saw the Chapel, a former church in a secluded setting in the eastern county of Norfolk, it was filled with pigs. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209334-47.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml When the French designer Christophe Pillet created the interiors for Hotel Sezz, in St.-Tropez, which opened in 2010, he focused on simple pleasures. "What are the best, strongest emotions when you talk about vacation?" Mr. Pillet asked. "You have, for example, the smell of your skin when you're sunburned, the noise of the waves and the shadows of the trees that come inside your room." Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209335-47-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml DURHAM, N.C. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209336-47-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml The home renovator is well served on the iPad and iPhone, with apps that do everything from measure square footage to provide information on more than 150 kinds of wood. But what about the architecture geek, who longs to spend hours scrolling through the blueprints of a Case Study House? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209337-47-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml Q. How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209102-30-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml PITTSBURGH Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209103-30-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml DALLAS Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209104-30-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml FOUR-STORY STONE VILLA NEAR DUBROVNIK WITH VIEWS OF THE ADRIATIC SEA Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209105-47.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml ANDREA PANICO, a jewelry designer, often finds that small-scale treasures grow out of studying larger things. Her company, Pico Design, in Montclair, N.J., makes what she calls "little architecture": earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings and cuff links inspired by notable buildings and bridges. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209106-47-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml HAMDEN, Conn. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209107-47-0.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml AS the national unemployment rate starts to fall, signaling a strengthening economy, some bullish Americans may buy something especially sweet for their sweethearts this Valentine's Day. Others who are feeling the economic thaw may spend money on something notoriously expensive, if less romantic, which they have been putting off: a divorce. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209108-47.stm?cmpid=homegarden.xml Bed and table linens, pillows and an assortment of decorative accessories will be up to 75 percent off at Ann Gish, Feb. 11 to 18 (the queen-size quilted coverlet in Irongate, regularly $750, will be $195); 4 West 20th Street (Fifth Avenue), (212) 727-2122, anngish.com. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500