Gutting a House in New Orleans

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As Home’s senior decorating editor, I spend many hours looking at furnishings, thinking about what goes well together, and selecting the best of the best for the magazine. So it was a disturbing but moving experience for me to walk into the house of a stranger, whom I will call Melissa, and throw out all the things that made her dwelling a home.

This happened two months ago, when I was in New Orleans to assist with the post-Katrina cleanup. Even though it had been a year and a half since the hurricane had caused the city’s levees to breach, much remained to be done. Our 50-person group of volunteers was there working with the national non-profit Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); during our five-day stay we tackled a variety of projects. I chose to help gut houses that had been damaged by the flood.

Gutting houses doesn’t provide the satisfaction that building them does, but it is a necessary first step for those who hope to return and rebuild; it also must be done in order to avoid having a home and property deemed abandoned by city officials. In the hardest-hit zones, such as Melissa’s Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, many of the former residents—having relocated to far-flung places—cannot afford to make the trip back to do the work themselves. And while water, electricity, and gas services have been restored to numerous areas, few stores and businesses have reopened, making it difficult for those without cars to access groceries and other staples.

Options for Green Furniture Grow

Think Green. That was the biggest trend at this week's semiannual home furnishings fair in High Point , North Carolina. In this case, green is not a color trend, but a large-scale effort on the part of several furniture makers to incorporate eco-friendly practices, including the use of soy-based foam, recycled materials, and renewable species of wood.

“It's an ongoing green journey,” says Reyna Moore, director of marketing and sales, Norwalk Furniture. Currently, the company's numerous eco-conscious efforts include creating a new recycled-wire-and-steel coil system for sofas and chairs; using recycled materials in the cotton batting, fiber wrap, cardboard, and deckpad of its upholstered products; and switching from petroleum- to soy-based foam. All of this comes at no extra charge to the consumer, according to Moore, who hopes that eventually these practices could even yield savings. “Petroleum prices keep increasing, but the cost of soy should remain stable,” she says.

Stylish Mosquito Curtains Make Porches a Pleasure Again

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Few things peeve me more than a perfectly lovely evening on the veranda cut short by an invasion of bloodsucking 'skeeters. Fortunately, I've found a solution that alleviates the problem without offending my sense of aesthetics: mosquito curtains. Made of knitted, heat-cured polyester fabric, these machine-washable, mildew-resistant scrims are about 20% heavier than standard mosquito netting; they offer all the advantages of permanent screens, but with more flexibility and less cost. (A 40' x 10' panel is about $320.) Attached to the rafters with Velcro or hung from a rod with curtain hooks, they are easily removed or, in the latter case, slid aside when not in use. Available in white, ivory, or black, and in standard or custom sizes. Mosquitocurtains.com. —The Style Provacateur

Cynthia Rowley + Sherwin-Williams = One Colorful Fashion Show

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When Cynthia Rowley presented her fall 2007 ready-to-wear collection during New York City's Fashion Week, the show's lead sponsor was not a watchmaker or an electronics firm: it was paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams. The company, which plans an ongoing association with Rowley, used the event to kick off its new Concepts of Color collection. The palette of 250 shades, divided into 10 color families, was integrated throughout the show's set; attendees received a gift bag with a color fan and an M&M-filled mini paint can with a label designed by Rowley. Although Rowley didn't collaborate with Sherwin-Williams on the collection, the company was attracted to her for her exuberant use of color.

The partnership is not as unlikely as it first may seem. Rowley is no stranger to the domestic arena, having coauthored living guide Home Swell Home (Atria) with Ilene Rosenzweig and codesigned a subsequent Swell housewares and bedding collection with her at Target. I spoke with Rowley after the show to find out more about the relationship between fashion and home, what hues are hot for fall, and which colors she chose for her new town house.
—Style Provocateur