Want to feel home wowed? The Portland Spring Home & Garden Show on now at the Portland Expo Center offers plenty of opportunity.

My stairs are pretty cool. People like the risers, as they are colorful, broken tile mosaics. I did not create these mosaics myself. I can’t even cut paper. I can, however, come up with lots of ideas. Read on for a few variations on this effect for those of you who would like to jazz up an area of your home.

Downton Abbey is all pretty and precious. And we love it. Still, there are times when a homebody needs to Smash through the prim Victoriana to indulge in the steamy sensuality that was Marilyn Monroe.

The old standard of updating your walls is to hit the paint store for an endless amount of paint chips, torment yourself over exactly which shade and sheen of red you like best, then slap on that much debated new paint color and call it good. I would just like to propose a few additional options that don’t seem to get as much mileage as the good old paint can.

Decorating with Disney? Sounds like a home invasion of Mickey Mouse lamps, Goofy tables and princess pink something or the others. I’ve got nothing against adorable animation,  but buying Disney décor for a home in which no small children reside strikes me as sad and, possibly, creepy.