Reader Question: How do I decorate my Tuscany dining room?

Help! I am in the process of gutting my first floor and I'm going to get a Tuscany dining room. I want to decorate the room with bunches of dried roses but I'm worried that they're not right for a Tuscany theme.

Oh man, there is so much wrong here I don't know where to start. Before you spend a dime, stop what you're doing. Stop and then take $1500 out of your budget and fly to Florence for a couple of days. Well, maybe $2000. Whatever it costs, it will have a value that transcends its price. You see, while you're there you'll gaze at what the real Tuscany looks like and hopefully you'll forget all about this dining room you have in mind. Oh, and as a point of order, Tuscany is a noun and Tuscan is an adjective. What you have in mind is a Tuscan dining room, not a Tuscany dining room. If I have anything to say about it you won't have either, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

This Tuscan thing that you see in your mind is an entirely American invention. It's not even an homage, it's a cartoon. Here's what a dining room in the real Tuscany looks like. 

Note the lack of bunches of dried roses. There are no fake sunflowers or clots of plastic grapes either. There aren't any framed posters with nonsensical Italian phrases hanging on the wall, nor is there any faux painted brick. It's a basic, small table jammed into the space not already taken up by a tiny kitchen. It's neat as a pin, it's simple and it's orderly. But real Tuscan style isn't about decor or themed dining rooms. It's about views like this.

Or views like this.

Views like that beget a worldview that's entirely Tuscan and how things look over there are a product of that worldview. The real Tuscany is about making the best use of a small space. The real Tuscany is about embracing life, it's about authenticity, it's about quality over quantity in everything. There's no theme here, there's no attempt to recreate a magazine spread or a dream house from some Developer's unimaginative mind. The truth of the matter is that unless you can see the Arno river pass under your dining room window, no amount of clutter will give you a "Tuscany dining room."

Man! That room up there burns my eyes. Please don't do something like that in your home. Sorry to be so brutal but what you're asking is for some kind of permission to turn your home into a miniature Las Vegas and that's something I refuse to go along with.

Listen, your dining room and indeed your whole home should tell your story, not somebody else's. The things you decorate with should be your things and if you're going to buy a dining table, buy one that's classic enough and made well enough that you can pass it on to your kids. Then in 50 years when it's in your daughter's home that same table will tell your story as it passes into her story. I suspect that's the feeling you're after. A feeling of permanence and a feeling of knowing you belong somewhere. That sort of thing isn't a theme, it's a way of life.

So if you want to bring some Tuscan sensibilities to your dining room, by all means do so. But study the real place, not The Venetian or the Bellagio. While you're enjoying the quick jaunt over to Florence I so strongly recommend, have your photo taken with the Duomo in the background then get it blown up and framed. Hang it in your dining room. I don't think it's possible to get more Tuscan than Florence, and it'll be yours. Authentically.

If you like bunches of dried roses, go for it. Just be sure that you like them and that you're not just adding them to advance some kind of ill-advised theme. So instead of asking me if they're appropriate, the person to ask is you. What do bunches of dried roses say about you? If you're happy with the answer than hang them by the bushel. If you're not happy with the answer then don't. If you're not sure then don't do anything. It's pretty simple really.

Fix that leaking faucet already

March 16-20 has been designated National Fix a Leak Week by the United States' Environmental Protection Agency. They're onto something. Check it:

Leaks account for, on average, 11,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.

The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year. That’s equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.

Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.

Common types of leaks found in the home include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. All are easily correctable.

Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills.

Keep your home leak-free by repairing dripping faucets, toilet valves, and showerheads. In most cases, fixture replacement parts don’t require a major investment and can be installed by do-it-yourselfers.

The vast majority of leaks can be eliminated after retrofitting a household with new WaterSense labeled fixtures and other high-efficiency appliances.

Now if they were serious they call for a National Tear Out Your Lawn Week. But more on that topic later.

Cooking through the Depression

Clara Cannucciari is a 94-year-old force of nature. She's also a presence on the Internet thanks to her website, her blog and her series of cooking videos on YouTube.

Her website, Depression Cooking with Clara, is the project of her grandson but the screen presence and the wisdom she imparts is all Clara. I am grateful to be old enough to have been raised by two people who came of age during the Great Depression and more grateful still to have had grandmothers who were young adults when the bottom fell out in 1929. I was raised with a sense that everything we had could well be temporary, but beyond that I learned first hand how resourceful my parents and grandparents were. My Grandmother Stewart in particular was always after us to be grateful for how good we had it, always quick to illustrate her point with a story about re-using wax paper or having a single pair of shoes.

Due to her indominable spirit and great sense of humor, I could listen to her stories for hours on end. I was fascinated by a time where people seemed to have nothing, yet instead of being broken by it, people seemed to grow stronger. My grandmother could whip out a meal from a handful of potatoes, a can of green beans, a bit of cabbage and a sliver of ham that was both basic and filling, and all the while she'd tell stories about how it used to be.

I still make that potato and cabbage thing for myself and I think of her every time. I don't need to feed myself for a week on a dollar thankfully and I hope I never have to. Recreating one of my grandmother's recipes makes me think that I could if I had to though. And it's funny, when I sit down to a bowl of that cabbage and green bean soup(Depression Stew she called it), I remember her fondly but the food doesn't taste the same as it did when it was prepared by good old Gram. Something goes missing because she's not around to tell me stories of resilience and self-reliance, all delivered with her crackling wit and genuine love of life.

So enter Clara Cannucciari. Clara not only cooks with simple and inexpensive ingredients, she does it with humor and some really great stories. It's almost as good as having a grandmother around to talk to me as she cooks.

So as this generation stares into what could well be the abyss, it's valuable to know that people have lived through worse and come out of it stronger and happier than they would have been otherwise. So thanks Clara, you make me feel like I have a grandmother again.

New inset door styles from Medallion

My dear friends at Medallion Cabinetry have added to their collection of door styles in their Platinum line of inset cabinetry. Inset doors are a traditional form of cabinet making that staging a bit of a comeback. Notice how the doors in these photos sit inside the face frame, rather than attaching to the outside of the frame. Pretty slick.

Medallion rolled out its Platinum line about two years ago after spending years developing it. This is a high quality cabinet, clearly the best value in its class. These Platium door styles are available in Medallion's full range of wood species and can be stained or painted in any of Medallion's many, many colors. If that weren't enough, each of these doors is available as a beaded inset or a plain inset, and with visible or invisible hinges. Confused? Don't be.

You can find a Medallion showroom that's local to you through Medallion's website or you can just ask me any questions you have about these new offerings.

Bayside Cherry inset with exposed finial hinge, Gingersnap stain

Devonshire Cherry inset with hidden hinge, Vinyard glazed finish

Hudson Falls Cherry inset with exposed finial hinge, Pecan Burnish glaze

Newcastle Cherry inset with hidden hinge, Chestnut stain

Picadilly Cherry beaded inset with exposed finial hinge, Brandywine stain

Stockton Maple inset with hidden hinge, Seagrass opaque stain and dry brush finish

Venice Maple beaded inset with hidden hinge, Vinyard glazed finish

Take a look at comet Lulin

I spend a fair amount of time looking up at the night skies, nothing gives me that kind of an instant break. I went to a seminar once and the seminar leader encouraged all of us who were participating to tell our problems to the stars and watch them not do anything in response. It sounds callous, but I can't think of a better way to put my own trials and tribulations into perspective. What's a big deal to me is in the big scheme of things, not a big deal.

Anyhow, if you look up and find Saturn tonight there will be a fuzzy ball right below it. That fuzzy ball is the comet Lulin and Lulin is currently making its one and only pass through our solar system. After Friday you probably won't be able to see it again. It will leave our solar system and continue on its trajectory into the far reaches of space, never to be seen by anyone again. At least not anyone on earth.

Got a secret? Tell Lulin. It won't react to it either and maybe that's not such a bad thing.