For Americans, British designer Johnny Grey’s unconventional kitchens are a radical departure from convention. They feature jazzy colors, original artwork, playful, custom cabinetry best described as “sculptural” and work areas that are carefully tailored to a client’s body measurements. He developed his signature style after becoming seriously ill early in his career.

Though British designer Johnny Grey isn’t well known by the American public, his ideas have influenced kitchen design in this country for more than 20 years. He introduced the "unfitted" kitchen, featuring an assortment of unusually shaped, non-matching, custom-built cabinets, emphasizing what he calls "soft geometry.”

Reduce stress for a special someone with a carefully selected gift. Suggestions include a KitchenAid Instant Hot Water Dispenser; a quiet-running Broan High Performance Range Hood; and a quiet-running Insinkerator Evolution Excel Disposal.

Those fabulous-looking kitchens in most builders’ models can be impossible to work in. Before you fall for one, check for function. The most critical element is the layout. The counters, appliances and sink should be arranged so you can prepare a meal with a minimum of steps. You’ll also need an adequate food-prep area near the sink and stove, good lighting and plenty of storage.

When Los Angeles architect Murray Milne designed a house for his growing family, a key concept was flexibility. Recalling his own childhood, he knew that the way his family used the space would change over time.

In many cases, the desire to move to a bigger house is driven by the need to “get my life under control.” The thinking goes like this: In a bigger house I’ll have bigger closets and my house won’t be awash in clutter anymore. But bigger closets can be both a blessing and a curse, said Messies Anonymous founder Sandra Felton, who struggled with chaos in her own house for more than 23 years before devising strategies for neatness that work.

Corrugated fiberboard boxes are cheap, green and miracles of engineering. A box that weighs less than two pounds can hold 65 pounds, contain 60 percent post-consumer recycled content — and cost only 67 cents!

Norwegian designer Peter Opsvik’s chairs don’t look like anything you have in your house or have ever tried out in a furniture store. Their novel shapes let you move, squirm, fidget, turn, rock, twist and tilt. Opsvik says he allows for such a wide range of movements because even though most adults spend most of their days sitting, “no one stands or sits like a statue.”

Our memories tell us who we are. When we display things like posters or photos that evoke a personal connection – say an exhibition we saw, a daughter’s art project or a family vacation — we feel more secure and therefore more comfortable. Unpacking and hanging these things is the final step in any move, but it’s the one that makes any house or apartment finally feel like home.

Heirs today often turn down family heirlooms, including pieces that have been treasured by many generations. Changing lifestyles and tastes are among reasons cited, as is the time and effort required for maintenance tasks such as polishing silver.

Introduced in 1956, the Eames lounge chair may be the most comfortable chair in the world. Curved and playful in profile, it incorporated principles of ergonomics before the word came into common use. Katherine had yearned to own an Eames since she graduated from architecture school 30 years ago—and now she’s scored one in the secondhand market.

Every green-building expert touts the wonders of compact fluorescents — they produce the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs with about 75 percent less energy, and they last eight to ten times as long. This sounds fantastic, except that the color of the light given off by compact fluorescents can look horrible. With a brief science lesson and a few tips, however, it’s possible to find bulbs that are aesthetically acceptable.

The variety of televisions on the market today is mind-boggling. There are different types, an enormous range in screen size, and nuances in picture quality and resolution to satisfy the most persnickety movie buff or the sports nut who wants to watch instant replay with minimal blurring. And there’s a price to fit almost every homeowner’s budget.

Over the last 40 years Bill Stumpf has transformed the office environment with ergonomically designed chairs that are comfortable and help you to perform your job more effectively. In a recent interview, he said most people have yet to apply the lessons learned about chair comfort at work to their furniture choices at home. There is plenty of comfortable, ergonomically sound furniture available, but most people put looks first.