How old is your toilet? It’s not the sort of question that comes up too often because toilets can last forever. But if your toilet was installed before 1992, it’s probably an old water-guzzler and a big eco no-no.

Flushing the toilet accounts for 30 percent of your home’s daily water use, far more than the next big user, your washing machine. There are many ways to reduce your home’s water consumption and installing a new, low-flush toilet is a good way to start.

In 1992 Federal legislation was passed requiring all U.S. plumbing manufacturers and importers to

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Paul Einstman isn’t a gardener but he’s picked up on the excitement coming from some of his shoppers. I was in Norwalk’s Home Depot this past weekend looking for a grow light and Paul, a sales associate in the lighting department, couldn't have been more helpful. 

The average date for a last frost in our area is May 24, so gardeners are starting to rev up for spring. If you want to start your seeds indoors you're going to need a grow light -- unless you have a bright sunny spot for your seedlings.You can buy grow lights in gardening catalogs but I wanted to see if

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Turning his ship around is something that comes naturally to Jeremi Jablonski, who describes himself first and foremost as a sailor and a skier. But to the cognoscenti, the name Jablonski is synonymous with luxury custom homes.

Jeremi arrived in New Canaan from his native Poland almost 30 years ago, looking for the American dream. The fact that his girlfriend (now his wife), Bozena, was in New Canaan doubtless had something to do with it, too. “I’m a third generation builder,” says Jeremi, explaining that his father and grandfather were both engineers back in Poland.

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The problem with the majority of recliners is that they’re just plain ugly. Plus these clunky chairs take up half the room and make it next to impossible to decorate a room with style. “Well, who cares what it looks like?” I hear hubby dearest saying. “It’s where I watch the game!”

He’s got a point, of course. Nothing beats a recliner when it comes to lounging and napping. And furniture designers know it, too. Recently they've been busy sketching and tweaking to come up with new styles that pass muster with even the most anti-recliner among us.

Take a look

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If you’d like your home to have that eclectic European style where everything looks interesting and nothing matches, plan a trip to Stamford’s Le Barn.

“I’d always wanted to have a little antiques business,” says Kathy Sachs who has a busy practice as an interior designer with her partner, Nana Smith. When her three children outgrew their horses, Kathy knew exactly what she was going to do with the old horse barn. She took out the stalls, installed old barn boards for a new floor, cleaned up the windows and – Le Barn Antiques was born.

Kathy has an keen eye

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Are you wondering what the new black is this year? Here’s a hint. It’s not white and it’s not beige, but it is a neutral. Any guesses?

If you said “gray” you got it right. Gray in a whole range of different tones is the new must-have color, both in your home and in your wardrobe. During a recent trip to the Decoration & Design Building in New York, I found that several showrooms have thrown out last year’s rustic beige fabrics and reu-covered their furniture in soft, elegant grays.

Gray is a classic for business suits but how, you might ask, is it going

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A great sale is the perfect pick-me-up at any time of year. And here’s a really great one. It’s Juliska’s annual retired product sale and it’s happening at the flagship store on Canal Street in Stamford.

Juliska is one of my favorite stores for beautiful place settings and unusual gifts. David and Capucine Gooding, the owners, head a team of talented designers who create high-end glassware, plates and cutlery, as well as lighting and table linens.

The sale starts on Thursday March 3 and ends on Sunday March 6. It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You’ll find a huge

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Steve Geruso had been in a flower shop only once before he decided this was going to be his life. One day a friend needed help in his florist shop in Stamford -- and Steve fell in love with flowers. “I had an instant passion,” he says, smiling at the memory. “I knew I wanted to start a business,” says Steve, “but I didn’t know what it was going to be. Then I found flowers.”

Today, Steve operates out of a 10,000 square foot warehouse in Norwalk packed to its chilly rafters with fresh flowers from all over the world. But it didn’t happen overnight. With $2,500

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It’s all the rage this spring. If you don’t have any Ikat (pronounced ee-kaht) in your home, you’re going to love these pretty patterns. Try switching out your winter pillows for some bright Ikats. Do you have a window that needs dressing up? Ikat patterns are both stylish and cheery and lend themselves to formal panels or casual Roman shades. Pottery Barn even has a line of pretty Ikat bed linens in their new collection.

Ikat is an ancient style of weaving in which the yarn is dyed before it’s woven into geometric patterns. It often has a slightly “fuzzy” look to

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Paul Haller is passionate about pianos. And out-of-tune pianos are among his pet peeves. “Keeping your piano tuned is the single most important thing you can do for it,” says Haller, owner of Haller Pianos in Stamford. “They should be tuned at least twice a year. Pianos also like to be cool and damp. “The ideal humidity for a piano is between 45 and 55 percent,” he adds. And that’s a lot more humid than the average home in our area in the winter.

Paul is hard pressed to remember what exactly made him fall in love with the piano. “I was 18 and I think I heard someone

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