Not in love with a dated, brown dresser? Why not make it more brown? That's the tack Ama Ryllis took to liven up this piece for her daughter's bedroom. 

Q: My friend needs your help. She's a newly divorced mom and has just bought a mostly great house in upcountry Hawaii with an awful, dated peachy-gold splotchy master bedroom. The good news is that it is a blank page - she has no furniture yet so whatever color she chooses can set the tone for the room (the furniture in the picture belonged to the previous owners). 

Sometimes good ideas strike at the oddest of times. This early morning craving for chocolate and bread inspired my most recent party idea: a gathering where everyone builds their own dessert!

• Dessert Bar Crostini
  The Kitchn

Soon we'll spend our weekends enjoying cookouts and beach parties. Until then, let's take the time to get our homes in shape for summer entertaining. To help, here are the week's best design-centric sales and events. Check them all out in the Weekend Guide, pass it on and be sure to send us your own sale or event.

Q: Do tell! Is this couch totally ugly or totally RAD? Do tell ASAP because I may be buying it tomorrow! $100 off Craigslist and from a smoke- and pet-free home. Yikes! ...Too perfect?

I guess it's not a coincidence that the two Modernist works of architecture that I chose to study in depth while in graduate school were both built in France and created by designers whose skills and works were undervalued for the first 40-50 years of their careers. 

In preparing for my upcoming move to Illinois, I was faced with a decision: live in a town of 9,500 on a quarter acre of land surrounded by neighbors, or live in the country surrounded by 2,000 acres of prairie. For me, the choice was clear.