Bath Shower Home Design

Make It a Party: Summer Solstice Longer days and a return to warm weather provide the perfect excuse to host an outdoor cocktail party . Why not take it a step further and celebrate the summer solstice with a fun nod to tradition? A millennia-old, pagan-originated custom, “Midsommar Eve,” marks the start of summer and the longest day of the year — as well as one of the biggest holidays of the year in Scandinavia. The day is traditionally celebrated with copious amounts of herring, vodka, aquavit shots, raucous singing, and a dance around a maypole. Channel your own inner Swede and host a gathering with our inspired, upscale take on the tradition: A Warm Welcome When —  Host on a weekend evening as close to June 21 as possible. It’s a good idea to schedule a rain date or consider renting a tent in case of summer showers. Guests —  Invite friends to join you in their summer cocktail best to celebrate the start of the season. Just for fun, explain the significance of the holiday in you...

The privacy, comfort, luxury and extreme sanitary conditions that we associate with our bathrooms today are the result of thousands of years of civil engineering and social change. Indoor plumbing, flushing toilets , heated water, water pressure , electricity and ventilation may be features we take for granted in our modern bathroom. But all of our bathroom’s high tech gadgets had a long history in the making. Although humans have always had the need to use toilet facilities and have used bathing as a way to cleanse themselves, it took centuries for our culture to bring these two important functions together into one convenient room. Let’s explore the fascinating history of the bathroom and see how much, or how little, has changed. Ancient Societies and Public Bathing When we talk about the activities we perform in our bathrooms today, we tend to speak of everything that relates to taking care of our bodies: washing, bathing, cleaning, relieving ourselves, manicuring our outer appear...

Natives know where to go for a real San Francisco experience : the city's neighborhoods. What better way to make family and friends comfortable than to have them stay close by in one of Noe Valley's guesthouses. While many local guesthouses and bed-and-breakfasts have been hit by the current economic slump --and by the competition from a drop in downtown hotel prices --the good news is guests no longer have to book six months in advance and can sometimes negotiate a lower room rate . Still, most guesthouses report business is steady, at least on the weekends. In Noe Valley we are fortunate to have a mix of lodgings that serve a wide range of needs. You can find a cottage with handicapped access for grandparents, several places that welcome children, or a quiet room in a house, for a friend. In this survey, which updates our B&B roundups in the June 1997 and May 1999 issues, the Voice uncovered a variety of hospitality styles: a European- style tourist home , a fully furn...

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. The program is called NEWSNIGHT, though tonight it may seem a little more like lifestyles of the celebrities and the sub-lebrities, the famous and the infamous. When we looked at what we are covering tonight, we realized we are dealing with a pretty eclectic group of characters. We'll talk about the threat of cyber-terrorism, a big story today , with the man once known as America's most wanted computer outlaw , former hacker, convicted hacker , Kevin Mitnick. We'll look back at someone more famous than infamous, John Entwistle , bassist for The Who, the quiet one -- not hard when you're playing next to Pete Townshend. He was found dead today in Las Vegas, a day before The Who was to start touring. We'll also meet someone who's not exactly ...