Kick Back, Log On, Tune In
Settle into your “e-cliner.” It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Last week in the High Point furniture market, La-Z-Boy, the maker of cushy, accessory-laden lounge chairs, and WebTV Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., introduced a chair to make surfing the Web more comfy.
The Explorer is outfitted with a tray table that folds out of the left arm and holds a Sony infrared keyboard. This way, you can watch the ballgame while you connect to the Web and watch your tech stocks rebound. Cost, when it hits the stores this summer, including a Web receiver that sits beneath your TV set: $1,049 to $1,299. Yes, it also has a cup holder.
Beyond books
Amazon.com, the online bookstore that branched into music and videos, launched a Lawn & Patio store on its Web site last week.
The site offers everything from ladybug houses to birdbaths to cedar log rocking chairs. Point your browser to www.amazon.com and click on the Lawn & Patio heading.
Puget Sound-bound?
Gardeners willing to travel to feed their passion should head for Seattle in late May. The annual Pacific Northwest Art Council’s Artist Garden Tour is May 21 at various Seattle gardens.
Tickets to the self-guided tour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., are $12, $10 for Seattle Art Museum members. The tour benefits the museum. A map accompanies each ticket. For tickets and information, call the Seattle Art Museum Box Office, (206) 654-3121.
It happens all the time
A customer picks out a lovely piece of distressed, antique-looking furniture. When the piece is delivered, however, it doesn’t look at all like the showroom model — it looks battered, gouged.
The circumstance was what Century Furniture in Hickory, N.C., calls “distressed distress,” and they’ve invented a process to bring consistency to the finishes of their distressed and antique-reproduction furniture.
Borrowing from the auto industry, Century has developed robots that not only ensure finishes won’t vary, they also cut manufacturing costs and open the door for other finish-design ideas. The pieces include the Town & Country Hunt Board ($1,750), and the Town & Country apothecary chest ($2,000). Call (800) 852-5552 for the dealer nearest you.
Turn the soil
Your soil needs some work before you can plant new flowers and vegetables later this month.
First, pull the weeds. Spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of compost over the planting area, then dig it in to the depth of one shovel. If you use the Rototiller to do this, remember there is no need to pulverize the soil. Chunky soil is better than soil tilled to the consistency of fine sand.
The April issue of Fine Gardening magazine features a number of articles that should make you want to get your hands dirty. Chief among the articles is one on “How Design Ideas Originate.” It’s the second in a series on the landscape design process but stands well on its own if you didn’t see the first.
This article takes the reader behind the scenes of a professional landscape designer and shows how the whole process is approached. Along with the enlightening article is a pull-out poster with 20 design tips.