Those of you who followed along with my liveblogging of the January Cure may be surprised to learn I have a three-season porch. Nowhere in any of my posts was it mentioned, because it's sadder than even my corner kitchen cabinet. It's always been a clutter magnet, and now I'm ready to reclaim it as a functional and pretty space for growing herbs and entertaining.

Sifting through apartment listings in any big city can be a daunting task. One frustrating factor in the search for a new home are the often misleading descriptive adjectives used in the classifieds to lure you in. If the stress of searching for a new home is getting the best of you, take a look at this lighthearted top ten list of frequently used phrases and their sometimes closer-to-reality meanings...

Molding, trim and paneling used to be standard finishing touches featured in any home, but these days it's often eschewed for clean lines and minimal detailing. When designed well this style can be successful, but the flip-side can be bland and lacking in character. Fortunately, adding detail is always possible and there's a bevy of options.

While breaking a lease is something to avoid, as with any binding contract, sometimes circumstances intervene and it becomes unavoidable. I found myself in this very position last year: about three months into a 18-month lease, an opportunity came up across country and we needed out. 

Many renters (and equally, non-renters) face the all-too-common problem of having to cram a whole lot of living into, well, not a whole lot of space. We have dual and sometimes multi-purpose rooms: living, eating, working, and maybe even sleeping within one open-plan space. And since our homes are becoming more and more open-plan, most of us are likely to have to deal with this issue at some point, even if  we're not currently living in lofts or studios. 

Whether you're not allowed to paint your walls or you just prefer a white backdrop, houseplants are a happy, portable, and landlord-friendly way to inject life and color into your home. 

White walls — people either love 'em or hate 'em. Our house tours are a great example of how to make the best of white walls; they embrace sometimes decades-old trim and molding, use walls as a backdrop for amazing art collections and furniture, and incorporate pops of color through accents.

Compared to an email, an old-fashioned, sent-through-the-mail letter always makes my day and reminds me that sometimes, slower is more satisfying. Although the internet has revolutionized how we search for apartments, it doesn't hurt to remember some search strategies from the pre-Craigslist era. Read on for some high tech and low tech tips.

For the last month my washer/dryer combo hasn’t had the dryer functionality, and I've had to come up with some creative solutions for drying my clothes. I thought about only wearing quick-dry athletic wear, but that's proved to be unfashionable. So, in the end, an over-the-door drying rack is the best solution for me and my apartment.