Everyone’s looking to make their home a little more inviting and comfortable, right? Here are some tips to help make your dining room, that ever-popular gathering spot, a bit more people-friendly.

The Calfinder blog sets the stage by suggesting a few tips for creating “the perfect gathering spot” in your home:

• warm and chic: blend the style with the comfortable, stylish living room or family room that neighbors your dining room
• eccentric and colorful: with a simpler, modern furniture style, spice up the room with some bold, even funky decor to surround the understated furniture
• boxy-modern: ultra-modern style choice can, in and of themselves, be a conversation piece and can add a nice bit of sophisticated fashion to the dining room

Of course, dining rooms and kitchens so often work hand-in-hand, so it doesn’t do much good to design with one without concern for the other. A recent post from Re-Nest should provide all sorts of design and remodeling inspiration, as they show off photo (and links to more information) from 20 “amazing bright, light” kitchens (and some bathrooms, too).

If all of these photos and ideas have inspired you to give some redesign or remodeling a go, the aptly named Remodeling Guy has 10 great kitchen remodeling ideas, including “bold colors on bottom,” solid black countertops, glass cabinet doors and more.

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Choosing a Vessel Sink Design For Your Bathroom
Charles and Hudson
“Vessel sinks are the hottest new trend in bathroom design. In many ways, vessel sinks are a throwback to a time before plumbing when people washed up each morning in elaborate china basins that sat atop their bedroom vanities. …
To choose the perfect vessel sink for your decorating style, start by matching material to design.” This post offers a great overview of the considerations you should make when shopping for a vessel sink.

Design Dilemma: Help for Hallways
Home Design Find
“We lavish lots of attention on perfecting our kitchens, living rooms, and even our bedrooms. But there’s one space that ironically is the most used AND the most neglected: the hallway. Many of us simply forget to spend any time at all making it a more pleasant passage. Just a few touches, however, can make a dramatic difference that will have even more impact if a hallway begins at your front door.”

The Scoop on Radiant Floor Heat
Re-Nest
A run-down of the pros and cons (mostly pros) of radiant floor heating. All sorts of advantages — relative efficiency, invisible, silent — seem as though they outweigh the big drawback: the system is far from quick to kick in when you need it.

Fabulous and Fire Resistant
Curbly
“Located in Malibu, CA, this weekend get-away was designed with an emphasis on sustainability and fire resistance. Owners and architects Nick Roberts and Cory Buckner incorporated a ‘noncombustible shell’ and ‘deep-set fire-resistant windows’ into its construction. The couple’s interest in fire resistance comes from personal experience. In 1993, a wild fire consumed the 4000 sf they were living in at they time. They escaped the fire with 3 carloads of belongings and moved into Cory’s parent’s house 30 minutes away. A week later, fire destroyed that house too.”

You could say they’re a little obsessed: Theme houses and replica rooms
Shelterrific
“There are people who love a good theme room, and then there are people who really love a good theme room. For whatever reason, sometimes obsession sets in, and quite suddenly you’re knee-deep in a replica room.” This post introduces you to a few of these gung-go shelter geeks, with photos, of course.

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Remember the big New Year’s Eve rollover from 1999 to 2000? Some people thought the world was going to end, and others just looked forward to a fresh start in a new century (and a new millennium).

Looking back, the worrying was pretty much unwarranted. As we prepare to start yet another year and yet another decade, bring some optimism and happiness with you into 2010.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from all of us here at MLuxe! We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled posting on Monday. Until then, enjoy some Christmas cheer via It’s A Wonderful Life.

Christmas traditions are numerous and varied: trimming the tree, singing carols and waiting for Santa to come. For many people, one of the most treasured and passed-down traditions are Christmas cookies. Christmas is only a few days away, but it is easy to whip up a few batches of your favorite seasonal treats.

Epicurious offers 25 recipes for Christmas cookies–plenty to choose from!

If you want to swap your delicious Christmas cookies, consider a cookie exchange. Better Home and Gardens has some helpful hints for a successful party:

• Don’t invite too many people — 8 to 12 is the right amount. Although you want to make sure there are lots of cookies to exchange, you don’t want your guests to have to make massive amounts of cookies.
• Make sure you know what sort of cookies everyone is bringing. You don’t want everyone to show up with peanut butter blossoms!
• As the host, you will need to provide beverages and maybe a few snacks–not too many, since you’ll be filling up on cookies!
• A cookie exchange is a great time to bring out all your fun holiday decorations and dishes.

Happy baking!

Image courtesy of  Key Lime Yummies Bakery on Flickr.

Architect Sarah Susanka, author of the best-selling “Not So Big House” series, visited Marvin’s headquarter’s and manufacturing facility in Warroad, Minn., to see the window she designed as it took shape.

As part of the myMarvin campaign, Sarah was asked to design her dream window — then we built it. The video above shows the behind-the-scenes work involved in bringing Sarah’s inspiration to life, and she discusses her inspiration and design philosophy as well as the importance of windows and good lighting. You can see the design drawings, and more unique windows from other myMarvin designers, at myMarvin.com.

This classic San Francisco row house was transformed from an old, drab house into a light-filled modern home by Jonathan Feldman of Feldman Architecture in San Francisco. The goal was to transform the confined feeling of the house into an airy, spacious place to live.

In order to do this, Feldman had to make some changes, including moving the living spaces to the top floor, where the light is best. Almost all walls that could be removed were, to create a more open floor plan. Windows were added along the length of the house to let daylight flood in.

The owners of the house wanted to take advantage of the renovation to make the house as green as possible. A solar-powered radiant heat system, a large photo-volatic roof array and recycled materials for insulation, flooring, cabinets and countertops were added. Marvin’s double-paned clad casements and Ultimate Double Hungs with Low E II coatings also help Pierce House be energy-efficient. To add even more “green-ness” Feldman used a portion of the upper floor for a roof top garden.

Pierce House is now a true San Francisco treat! For more information, visit the myMarvin Architect’s Challenge page.

Down in the Low Country of South Carolina, there’s a beautiful house that looks as if it has seen a lot of Low Country days. However, it is actually a new house, built by Helga Lilley of Gorgeous Green Home Design in Okatie, S.C.

The house is called Oldfield, and it is also Lilley’s home. The house’s traditional look hides its very modern credentials. It was designed to make maximum efficient use of daylight and fit the lifestyle of the occupants. Oldfield also is a green house and achieved EarthCraft House™ Platinum Certification.

One unusual aspect of this house is that it is located in a hurricane zone and therefore must use windows and doors that can help protect it against the storms. Oldfield uses StormPlus products from Marvin to create a beautiful, energy-efficient look that will still meet building code requirements.

Oldfield combines the best of the past and present for a home with Low Country style and green sensibilities.

Today’s Link Love celebrates the bounty of summer!

Find Local Food
Local Harvest
Love buying from local food producers? Find a nearby farmer market or CSA on this site.  Full of reviews and advice, this is a great way to search so you can find the best places to get for juicy tomatoes, mouth-watering melons and more!

Garden Heritage
Seed Savers Exchange
So maybe a visit to the Farmers Market has inspired you to grow your own fruits, veggies and herbs.  A great resource is the Seed Savers Exchange.  It’s a nonprofit committed to biodiversity and preserving and sharing heirloom seeds.  If you want to grow a black tomato, a white watermelon or just some beautiful flowers, Seed Savers Exchange is the place to go.

Outdoor: Fire Pit Roundup
Remodelista
Remodelista took a look at hottest fire pits out there.  It’s a great way to add a focal point to the yard and express your personal outdoor style.  It will serve you well past summer, and even on warm summer nights, fire pits are the perfect place to relax with a tropical drink…

Island Life
Tropical Drinks Blog
Mix up one of these refreshing cocktails on a hot day!  Featuring margaritas, daiquiris and more, this blog contains a wealth of information on the best drinks of summer.

10 Ways to Beat the Heat
This Old House
If you find yourself longing for autumn’s cooler days, don’t despair! They’re right around the corner.  In the meantime, check out This Old House and their ideas for staying cool.  These basic, commonsense suggestions will help keep you comfortable and maybe even save money.

Vacations should be full of relaxation, a chance to get away from the demands of everyday life and let the weight of the world fall from your shoulders. Ideally, a vacation residence should facilitate that sort of mood – as this Swedish house, featured on Home Design Find, does.

It’s not large, and it’s not fancy, but it is well-designed and achieves its purpose: to blend in with its surroundings and offer a calming, water-centered retreat.  The “Swedish Mill House,” designed by Wingardhs, combines the warmth of Scandinavian design with the cool aesthetic of Japanese Zen.

The main feature is an outdoor pool that looks like a pond, with rocks and greenery surrounding it.  It is right off the deck of the house, so it’s easy to jump in after a sauna.  The pool and sauna are the focal point of the Swedish Mill House.  Of course, you can’t spend all your time sweating and swimming, so this vacation home also has facilities for cooking and sleeping.  But in keeping with the philosophy behind the design, the space devoted to these functions is minimal.

Blonde wood, stone and a wall made of glass emphasize the site’s natural beauty and look modern, yet warm.  Cool water surrounding the house relaxes the senses and lets life’s worries slip away.

Photos are courtesy of James Silverman.