Copenhagen gallery owner Tina Seidenfaden Busck is a master at the unexpected mix: in her world, stripes collide with florals, Noguchi lanterns mix with grandmotherly table lamps, Aalto stools are paired with Victorian fainting couches—and it all manages to look extraordinary. Back in 2011, Tina opened The Apartment, her influential design showcase set in a restored early 18th century apartment styled as living quarters, all of it for sale. The setup changes frequently—in 2014, we featured Ilse Crawford’s Residency at The Apartment. What remains a constant is Tina’s penchant for pairing pattern with pattern and the rarefied with the homey.…

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread across the globe, hand washing has become an essential part of combatting the highly infectious disease. To effectively get rid of the germs associated with the virus, the CDC recommends washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. Washing your hands is one of the best ways of protecting and preparing your home for coronavirus, prompting the question — what goes into an effective hand soap? The main ingredients of soap are base oils, lye, and water. However, for companies that wish to better preserve their hand…

For quality, well-designed light fixtures, there’s Claxy, a lighting outfit with a wide array of fixtures available online. Each fixture has Claxy’s small team of four designers and eight engineers behind it, plus the company’s ethos of quality at an approachable price point. (It’s no coincidence, they say, that “Claxy” sounds like “classy.”) We particularly like the offerings in the company’s new lighting collection, launched just a few months ago, with fixtures in brass finishes. While a well-chosen light fixture always adds intriguing detail to a room, a pendant or flush-mount in shimmery brass adds a certain extra glimmer. Want…

Maybe lead off the post with something about how you never took to the Instapot? You could tell the anecdote about how you left it on a Brooklyn Heights stoop swap shop. And then something about how I raved about the Vermicular, an induction-powered, cast-iron multicooker, to you; how perfect it is for a small kitchen since we can stow it away in a small, deep drawer. And how good looking it is (which is all true!). And how it can go from stove to table…the ease of single pot cooking. … Julie, below is what I wrote, feel free…

Express yourself during this time of social distancing by adding some This Old House fun to your Zoom meeting background. Wouldn’t you rather be working from the Ask This Old House workshop, anyway? Choose from our six background options below. To download: Click on the image to expand the view Right click to save the image as a .jpeg to your computer desktop Now get to work! OPTION 1: The Ask This Old House Trailer OPTION 2: Ask This Old House Gardening OPTION 3: Ask This Old House General OPTION 4: Ask This Old House Plumbing OPTION 5: Ask This…