Post by Kyle St. Romain.

For better or worse, not all of us are blessed with enough space to make a palatial bedroom sanctuary. In fact, most of us residing in urban environments have little more than a small, stuffy one-bedroom or studio apartment to work with. I’ve even heard of people in New York subletting their closets. Fact or fiction? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Creating a bedroom sanctuary in a small apartment can be a real challenge, but with a little creativity and some careful planning, you can make your cozy retreat from the daily grind as good or better than any of its larger counterparts. So today, I’m going to discuss three easy design tips to allow you to get the most out of what you have.

Storage Space

Small spaces bring unique challenges and nothing can make your place feel cluttered and uncomfortable than a bunch of brick-a-brac strewn about. If your apartment doesn’t have as much built in storage as you need, then you’re going to either need to get rid of some of your things, put them in storage, or find new ways to store your things while they aren’t in use.

Space saver bags can minimize the area needed to store your offseason clothes. Simply pack them in, suck the air out with your vacuum and you instantly have nearly three times more space to store your things. Also, look to store vertically to get more out of your available floor area. For example, there are many organization solutions that hang on the back of your door.

Define Your Space

If you don’t have enough room to fully separate each area of your apartment, whether that be the kitchen, bedroom, office, or living room, creative design techniques can create the impression of distinct areas no matter how big the room. A paneled divider, curtain, or double-sided bookshelf can be cleverly used to section off your bedroom from the main living and dining rooms. Viola! Instant bedroom privacy.

Once you have your living areas defined, you can then incorporate different types of lighting to create different moods, depending on the occasion. High levels of lighting tend to produce a more stimulating, cheerful mood, while low level lights such as table lamps help you relax and creates a more intimate setting.

Choose Suitable Furniture

Whether you already have some or are in the market for some new pieces, finding furniture that fits your space is easier said than done. In tight spaces, look for multifunctional furniture to maximize your space allowance. For example, you can use a wooden trunk as a coffee table. Just make sure it doesn’t overwhelm the room.

A quick way to make your sleeping area feel bigger is by using a low profile box spring, or platform bedframe. However, if you do opt for a regular size bed, you can use the space below for storage. In a studio apartment, you may also consider a murphy bed that frees up living space by folding up into the wall when not in use.

Do you have any design tips for a tight space? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.

Tags: bed, bedroom, Charles P. Rogers, Design, Maximizing Bedroom Space

Post by Mark T. Locker.

I have recently come across some news that will be very exciting for about a dozen of you: Eric Kripke, creator of the Supernatural television series, is going to create a movie of The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs. You haven’t read it? Shame on you! This is a classic of children’s gothic horror novels! I have discussed John Bellairs in the past, as he is my favorite children’s author of all time.

Young, awkward, dumpy Lewis Barnavelt has just lost his parents in an accident and he is being sent to live with his uncle Jonathan in New Zebedee, Michigan. He is a wealthy, cheerful, big-bellied eccentric who is also, it so happens, a magician. And not the sleight of hand type; he is an actual wizard, though not terribly powerful. His neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman is a much more powerful mage. After a few days in the house, Lewis discovers that a mysterious ticking is emanating from somewhere within the walls of the house. What he, Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman discover is that an evil warlock hid an enchanted clock which is counting down to end the world. Yikes!

So go out and read this book now before the “Soon to be a Motion Picture” edition is the only one you can find. You heard it here first, folks.

Tags: bed, bedroom, bedtime stories, Charles P. Rogers, Children's book reviews, John Bellairs

by Mark T. Locker.

Did anyone else reading the Tintin comics? Tintin and Asterix are intertwined in my mind. But if I had to choose one to bring to a desert island, I’d choose Tintin in a heartbeat. Needless to say I had trepidations about the new American production of my favorite eager Belgian reporter. And although the weird sort of CGI used in the movie takes some getting used to, overall I think the movie turned out to be quite good. My only issue: the noses. So many characters have weird looking noses. What’s that about??

Tintin and his faithful and brave dog Snowy get caught up in international intrigue when he learns that a model ship he bought contains a hidden document which contains clues to a lost treasure. Full of family-friendly action, drunken captains and harrowing escapes, this is a fun way to wrap up a long week.

Tags: Adventures of Tintin, bed, bedroom, Charles P. Rogers, Movie Reviews, Movies

Post by Alison Hein.

For the Gourmet is a chef-operated company that sells global specialty food and cooking products online. I learned about the site when my friend Lisa presented me with one of their products – yuzu marmalade. All sorts of recipe ideas began to buzz through my head – yuzu crème, yuzu marmalade-filled puff pancakes, yuzu berry toast, yuzu mini-bouchées… But first, better investigate, as the only yuzu I had used until then was found in my rich, fragrant shower gel.

What I learned: yuzu is imprecisely called Japanese grapefruit. First, it originated in China. Second, it is believed to be a hybrid of sour mandarin and Ichang papeda (an ancient cold-resistant citrus fruit). Yuzu does, however, resemble a small grapefruit in appearance, so I guess that part is okay. Sometime during the Tang Dynasty (617 to 907) yuzu was introduced to Japan and Korea where the fruits’ juice, zest and rind are still commonly used in local cuisine.

Whew – what to do with that information? Better taste it. So, I cautiously opened my jar of exotic, amber marmalade, dipped in a tiny spoon, and tentatively tested. Wow! What was that? Intense concentrated citrus flavor packed into a tiny, tiny bite. Orange, grapefruit, sweetness, kick… Lovely and tingly – flavors that could really wake you up in the morning. Maybe too strong to spread on toast, but how about in a pastry? With a rich, sweet cream filling to harmonize with the bright yuzu tang? The pastries had to be beautiful and exotic, just like yuzu. Something like filled pinwheels, maybe? Ironically, when finished, they resembled edible Chinese stars (which would make a great name for this recipe if it didn’t further confuse matters).

I may have cheated a little, using packaged puff pastry, but I wanted you to enjoy your exotic, orangey, grapefruity, breakfast in bed while the day was still young.

Ingredients
1 puff pastry sheet (generally sold as 2 in a package)
1 egg, separated
4 ounces whipped cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup yuzu marmalade
Sugar for pinwheel tops

Preparation
Thaw puff pastry sheets, per package instructions. Lightly grease a baking sheet and preheat oven to 350°. Lightly beat egg white and set aside. Whip together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and flour to the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

Carefully unfold a pastry sheet onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll and trim the pastry sheet into a 16×8-inch rectangle. Cut into 8 equal 4 inch-squares.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center of each pastry square, and top with one teaspoon of yuzu marmalade. Cut 1-inch diagonal lines from the corners of the pastry toward the center filling. Fold every other corner up over the filling to the center. Pinch ends lightly to seal. Place the pastries on the prepared baking sheet. Brush top center of pastries with beaten egg white, and dust with sugar.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the pinwheels are golden brown. Transfer the pinwheels to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 pinwheels.

NOTE: Yuzu marmalade can be purchased in many Asian groceries, or online at For the Gourmet.

Tags: bed, Breakfast in Bed, Breakfast Recipes, Charles P. Rogers, Recipes, Yuzu Cream Pinwheels

Post by Laura Cheng.

I am totally looking forward to the daylight savings ritual this weekend. My commute home yesterday was brightened by the sheer fact that there was still sunlight out as I left the office. The coming of spring means that it’s time for spring cleaning and an opportunity for a fresh look in the bedroom. One of the keys pieces I am excited about incorporating this season is are garden stools. Although its connotation elicits outdoor use, I have found the perfect place for it in my bedroom.
Garden stools can be such practical pieces of furniture in the bedroom. They can be used as an ottoman, a stool, a side table, plant stand, or just act as eye-candy. Garden stools are extremely versatile due to their small and squat stature. They can easily be tucked under a vanity or in between the space of larger pieces of furniture.

Source: http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=79327

Although a traditional blue and white Asian inspired print stool comes to mind first, garden stools can provide a welcome pop of color in any shade. I’m totally digging the metallic fashion trend right now. In fear of looking like an industrial robot, I’ll stick with outfitting my bedroom in metallics instead of myself. That’s why I really like this garden stool. It’s a mix of trend and tradition. It’s dramatic. It reminds me of an exquisite Faberge egg, sure to brighten up my bedroom.

Source: http://www.orientalfurniture.com/oriental-furniture/LCQ-18GS-Gold.html

Garden stools can serve as a singular nightstand or complement a currently existing one. I often forget that my nightstand should not be treated like my office desk and over clutter it with my laptop, blackberry, alarm clock, lamp, books and newspaper. My glass of water is shunned from joining his comrades on the nightstand. The garden stool alleviates my real estate predicament.

Source: http://inspirationseva.blogspot.com/2010/11/lattice-ceramic-garden-stool.html

If I ever get tired of the garden stool in the bedroom, I could transition it in the living room next to the sofa or recliner or in the bathroom as a resting spot for my towel or bathrobe. I’ve even seen stools add a touch of functional elegance inside a shower. The possibilities are endless so have fun finding the perfect little spot for yours!

Tags: bed, bedroom, Charles P. Rogers, Design, Garden Stools