Music to putter, clean, build, and decorate by

You may be a serial renovator, a habitual organizer, and an obsessive cleaner, but I'll bet you could still use a bit of a boost when it comes time to clean out the pantry or rearrange the furniture. So how about some rousing tunes to ease those household chores? Below is a music list carefully crafted to get you off the couch and sweeping, scrubbing, hammering, and mowing. These inspirational and energizing tunes—part of my home music series—should be played whenever something needs doing. But, fair warning—your feet might get a bit happy. —Room Whisperer

1. “Hold On, Hold On”—Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

2.”Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)”—Stephane Grappelli, Timeless Stephane Grappelli

3. “Chan Chan”—Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club

4. “Feeling Good”—Michael Buble, It's Time

5. “Four Winds”—Bright Eyes, Cassadaga

6. “Better Way”—Ben Harper (single)

7. “When Love Comes to Town”—Herbie Hancock (featuring Jonny Lang and Joss Stone), Possibilities

8. “All Over Now”—Eric Hutchinson, Before I Sold Out

9. “La Riunione”—Giovanna Salviucci Marini, Award Winning Titles 4: La Notte Di San Lorenzo e Il Cinema Civile

10. “Time to Confess”—Gov't Mule, Austin City Limits 2005 Music Festival

11. “The Sweet Escape”—Gwen Stefani, The Sweet Escape

12. “Hallucinations”—Bobby McFerrin, Bobby McFerrin

13. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”—Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Facing Future

14. “No Hay Problema”—Pink Martini, Sympathique

15. “Wild Horses”—The Rolling Stones, Rarities 1971–2003

16. “Roll On”—The Little Willies, The Little Willies

17.” Mystery”—Live, Songs From Black Mountain

18. “One”—Mary J. Blige (featuring U2), The Breakthrough

19. “Bermuda Highway”—My Morning Jacket, Acoustic Citsuoca: Live at the Startime Pavilion

20. “Things Behind the Sun”—Nick Drake, Pink Moon

21. “Mustt Mustt (Lost in His Work)”—Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mustt Mustt

22. Handel Violin Sonata in D Major, Opus 1—Nathan Milstein, violin, Handel, Mozart, Prokofiev

Drawing on the Past

View the House of Pastels slide show

A small cardboard box rests on the shelves next to my easel at home. The austere container belies the treasures that lie within its drab confines. Only the mysterious black-winged dragon and the singular message "depuis [since] 1720," that emblazon the top hint at the potent contents: spectacularly colored pastels produced by the Paris-based company, H. Roché.

These perfect little sticks wield as much enchantment in my world of art and design as any magic wand. In tandem with water colors, acrylics, and inks, they turn white sheets of paper into riots of pattern, color, and narrative. Not only do they allow me to dress up my home with my own artworks, they connect me to generations of acclaimed artists who depended on the unique pastel hues to create their masterpieces—icons such as  Edgar Degas, Edouard Vuillard, Alphonse Legros, Jules Cheret, and Alfred Sisley, to name but a few of the long-departed artists; and Sam Szafran, Pierre Skira, and Irving Petlin to cite some of those among the living. The pastels, which are sold in kits of varying sizes, are still handmade in accordance with the original formulas. In 1999, the trade secrets were passed down to Isabelle Roché, the great-grandniece of Dr. Henri Roché, a chemistry student of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur and a pharmacist, who in 1878 left the profession to purchase a then-158-year-old art-supply shop.

Like Roché, Pasteur was passionate about pastels and worked with him to perfect his production methods. The company, renamed H. Roché, then devoted itself exclusively to making pastels that satisfied the exacting standards of its clientele.