Home and Garden

New strategies, materials make it easier to be green.

Millions of people are making the switch to a greener lifestyle. From replacing plastic grocery bags with canvas totes to designing homes with environmentally friendly materials, consumers are completely aware of the benefits of going green inside and outside the home.

A GREEN INTERIOR — FROM ROOM TO ROOM

Making the switch to a greener home lifestyle can be as easy as throwing out old toxic cleaners or replacing regular light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs.

But if you’re looking to remodel major aspects of the home, think about using recycled materials throughout every room starting with the kitchen.

Hot hues and cool tools to enhance your home.

Many of us have at least one sad looking room in our home that is in need of updating and some fresh new colors. If you would like to make this change over a weekend, preparation will include getting organized and making a few preliminary decisions. The first decision to tackle is what items will stay, and what items could be transformed to a new look. Certainly the most cost-effective changes will be painting the walls to create a new color scheme and adding new accessories for the finishing touches.

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is proud to announce that the 2009 NKBA Design Competition. Art of the Industry will be the largest ever for this internationally acclaimed competition, which showcases the finest kitchen and bath projects of the past year. Recognizing the importance of the competition in our industry, the NKBA has decided to more than double the cash prizes in 2009 to over $100,000. Of that amount, $25,000 will be presented to the winner of the Pinnacle of Design Award, which honors the year’s top design, representing the peak of form and function. Tw o new categories have also been added to the NKBA Design Competition for 2009: Best Sustainable Kitchen, sponsored by GE Monogram®, and Best Sustainable Bath, sponsored by Rheem®.

In addition, the NKBA welcomes This Old House® as sponsor of the Best Before & After category and American Woodmark as sponsor for all of the competitions 3D modeling. The NKBA is also pleased to have Sub-Zero®/Wolf®, Miele™, and Dal-Tile® continue as sponsors for the Pinnacle of Design, Best Overall Kitchen, and Best Overall Bathroom awards, respectively.

A Cappella show on October 6, 2008.

To celebrate World Habitat Day on October 6, 2008, the a capella concert, Harmony for Habitat, will take place and will feature barbershop-style harmony and other a cappella singing from around the Coastal Empire to benefit Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity and commemorate World Habitat Day 2008.

The Hilton Head Lighthouse Chorus has a well-deserved reputation for supporting local charities via their community support program. In the past year, they’ve produced a benefit for Deep Well, donated $1,000 to the Bluffton High School Music Program, performed, and made a donation at the Hearts for Henry benefit concert. So, when Sing-Out Chairperson Paul Jacobson presented the idea for the Habitat for Humanity benefit to the chorus board of directors, it didn’t take much to persuade them.

An elegant & well-appointed residence in Rose Hill Plantation

A veritable tribute to fine and historic masterpieces, this elegant and well-appointe home, in step Monthly’s October “arts-infused” issue, features numerous stunning paintings by 19th century English and French artists, which are as grand as the space in which they are displayed. Note the beautiful heart pine flooring throughout). In the magnificent living room, pictured this page: The painting over the fireplace is entitled, “Japanese Wedding Cart” by Heublant (French school). Over the door, visitors will find “A View of Dordrect - the Grote Kerk” by James Webb (English school). The two paintings on the right, by Vogel, include “A View of a Cathedral” and “An Interior of a Church” (Rembrandt’s mother is buried there).

Who invited them?

The title does not refer to weeds. Weeds are easily recognized for what they are and are not trying to fool you into believing otherwise. The barbarians, on the contrary, appear opulently cloaked and disguised to gain entrance into your garden. And the worst of it is that you invited them, providing space and opportunity to thrive! Thenceforth they are harder to be rid of than the legendary man who came to dinner. For the most part they are introduced through the pages of glossy catalogues emanating from everywhere except the South. Or maybe a garden tour of Europe raised expectations of what is possible in the Lowcountry. It is not news that, in the garden anyway, hope springs eternal.

At the top of this villainous list is the oft-touted Virginia creeper, praised for its stunning fall color adorning walls in England. If you fall for this blandishment, you will never be totally rid of it, as it pops up everywhere but never develops the promised fall color. Every excursion through your grounds will give you an opportunity to pluck out some of it. Well, you say, this is not England after all, but the Lowcountry of South Carolina, so how could one be so foolish?

The many reasons that a property management professional is a must for your rental.

There are those among us for whom the American dream isn’t just about owning their home. It’s also about owning a vacation property with a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, a large deck, a hot tub and a pool. It’s about having a vacation retreat that’s meticulously maintained and always awaiting their arrival. Such homes can stretch nearly everyone’s budget, especially budgets for those unable to pry themselves away from their jobs for only a few days out of the year. After a quick cost/benefit analysis, some may believe that the dream of owning a vacation home might forever remain solely a dream.

Imagination & creative design transform dreams into reality.

Sometimes you have to be able to look beyond the old and outdated to imagine that the house you have purchased can become the home of your dreams. Such was the case for Dennis Egan and Kim Godfrey, who bought their classic home in The Sea Pines Resort as a second home. “Initially, we fell in love with Sea Pines, Twin Pines Road in particular, and when we found this house, with its beautiful view and spacious floorplan, we knew this was the house for us,” said Dennis.

Although the house had much of what Dennis and Kim envisioned for their home, there were areas that were tired and in need of updating. The couple enlisted the aid of architect Mark Paszek to execute the reinvention of the house. “Kim and I had a vision and ideas that we had collected together over time. Mark was wonderful at translating those ideas into reality, and as it happens many times with a renovation, the project took a life of its own, and our second home became the focus of our time, passion and energy.”

Hilton Head’s TidePointe offers luxury living at its finest.

TidePointe, A Classic Residence by Hyatt, offers luxury living at its finest. A continuing care retirement community, TidePointe gives its residents and their families peace of mind. Surrounded by a beautiful landscape and situated on Hilton Head Island’s south end, TidePointe is safely tucked away in a gated community with 24-hour security. Approximately 10 years ago, residents of The Sea Pines Resort sought luxury retirement living inspiring the creation of TidePointe. Then, about two years later, TidePointe became a TidePointe, A Classic Residence by Hyatt when Hyatt assumed management.

TidePointe offers a variety of well-planned villas, verandas and cottages, which are attractive, spacious and comfortable. Residents enjoy weekly housekeeping services, as well as delicious fare courtesy top chefs, plus a plethora of cultural events, social activities, health services and other amenities.