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Festive no-fuss feathers

Briefs and news of note

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 13, 2004

Deck your halls with something different this year: feather wreaths from Angel Wreaths. They're 17 inches in diameter and weather resistant (avoid direct sun). Besides holiday colors, the feather wreaths come in pastel pink and blue to welcome a new baby; red, white and blue for patriotic occasions; and purple, red and green for Mardi Gras, among many other colors. They're $39. We found this one at Being at BayWalk in St. Petersburg, or call toll-free 1-877-221-8464.

Twelve days until Thanksgiving, time to do some preholiday spruce-ups. If your front door took a beating from the hurricanes last summer, this may be a good time to give it a fresh coat of paint or varnish. Replace a worn-out door mat. Dump the potted plants on the deck that have grown scraggly. Inside, in this calm before the holiday hoopla, what needs doing? Replace an overhead lighting fixture or update the hardware on kitchen cabinets for a fresh look before visitors arrive, suggests Danny Lipford, a spokesman for Ace Hardware and home improvement TV show host.

Doug Wilson, the edgy designer from Trading Spaces, offers these suggestions for creating a media room in the December issue of House Beautiful, but they're good advice for a family room, which is as much of a media room as most of us have: Make sure there's plenty of comfortable seating for long periods of time. Use spill-resistant fabrics that can stand up to overturned drinks or food stains. Provide plenty of surfaces for viewers to set down drinks and snacks.

[Last modified November 12, 2004, 10:42:08]