Old-school chalkboards making a return in modern home decor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Chalkboards may be old-school, but they're the newest accent in home decor.

Research, take time before buying furnishings from mid-20th century

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -

Today's coffee tables reflect changing tastes, tech habits

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Coffee tables with two levels have been popular for a while. Because people want places to set their laptops, tablet computers and smartphones, you're starting to see coffee tables designed with three levels.

Better, not bigger, pool trend

Move over, large lap pools. Smaller swimming holes are making a big splash.

A few steps can make cabinets much more user-friendly

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's easy to get kitchen-cabinet envy when you see the latest models with their shiny car-lacquer exteriors and hidden hinges. It's no wonder painting cabinets or replacing the fronts is all the rage.

Psst! Up here! If ceilings could talk

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Things are finally looking up for ceilings. As we're staying put in our homes, the fifth wall is getting attention.

Mix of modern, tradition stays trendy

Gordon Guld and Katy Herl work at a new furniture and accessories store, the Design Boutique, in downtown Overland Park, Kan. In their jobs as design consultants and store managers they've got the inside line on the latest home trends.

Your golfer dad is certain to get a kick out of these

Present Dad with a bunch of golf-themed cupcakes, complete with putting greens and sand traps, on his special day. The mini greens are adorned with colored sanding sugar, a candy golf ball and a ribbon flag; graham-cracker crumbs stand in for sand. You could create an entire course by decora…

Aprons, scorned for decades, have made a huge comeback

Aprons are suddenly back.

Cute catchall on sale

If these candy-colored trays don't send the message that this is where the snail mail and keys go, nothing will. The embossed faux-leather container is a 9-inch square, available in red, pink, green, blue, yellow and black.

Buying these two pillows will get you one happy hot dog

This pillow is a wiener. The front of the pooch is on one side and the tail is on the reverse. That's why it's twice as cute when you get two. The cotton canvas Happy Hot Dog pillow, by Naked Decor, is 16 by 16 inches and is available in brown and orange (shown) or black and white, $50 each,…

You can sip bubbly in style on New Year's

Let them eat cake. Perfect as a hostess gift, this New Year's you could be sipping bubbly from Marie Antoinette champagne stems, on sale for $12.

Take it from the 'it' girl

Celerie Kemble is quickly becoming the "it" girl of interior decorating; fashion designers Tory Burch and Lela Rose have turned to her for their homes. The New York designer's debut book, "Celerie Kemble: To Your Taste" (Clarkson Potter, $45), is fun (there's a photo series of room décor evo…