If you don't have an air conditioner, or even if you do but are looking to cut back on your electricity bills, consider a good old fashioned fan for keeping yourself cool in the summer heat. They don't cost much to buy or use, and are a more eco-friendly alternative to boot. Here's how to make sure you're using yours right.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, it's actually best to position your fan in a window, facing out. This helps air flow through the room-which keeps it cool in the process. Since hot air rises, you want to put the fan as high as possible (preferably in the top of the window). Close the window around the fan (it helps to invest in a rectangular window-specific fan for this reason) to avoid reverse air circulation (which is what happens when the air sucked through the fan goes back around the fan and is sucked back in). You can use paper or cardboard, or even drapes or slats of wood to cover any gaps between the windowsill and the device.

To maximize air

It's the iconic home that put Miami's South Beach on the map. Designer Gianni Versace owned four homes around the globe including a palazzo in Milan Italy, a villa on Lake Como and the infamous South Beach mansion where he met his untimely death. (Versace was shot on the steps of the mansion on July 15, 1997, by Andrew Cunanan.) Now, a rare glimpse inside his lavish estate's latest incarnation.



After a nearly six month, two million-dollar renovation, the one-of-a-kind property on Ocean Drive offers top tier service and accommodations as the new luxury hotel called Villa by Barton G. There are 10 custom suites that range in price from about $1200 a night to about five thousand a night.

The hotel is named after Barton G Weiss, the president, owner and founder. He tells me that this property is about taking luxury to the next level. One big stand out is how he recruited butlers from around the globe to pamper the guests. Barton G says 'The butlers are an important experience, they

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Choosing the right shade of white paint isn't actually that straightforward. There's a ton of nuance involved: some skew yellow or even pink, adding warmth to a room, while some have cool undertones that give walls a feeling of crispness. Overwhelmed by the breadth of choices at my local paint store, I assembled a panel of top interior decorators from coast to coast to clue the rest of us in on their favorite ivory shades-and why.

Schuyler Samperton:

"Benjamin Moore's "Ivory White" goes with everything. It's beautiful creamy tone."

Jesse Carrier:

"Benjamin Moore "White Dove" is the perfect shade of white….not too yellow, not too blue. If we had a "signature trim color" this would be it!"

Chloe Warner:

"Benjamin Moore's "Atrium White." It is the perfect balance between creamy and chilly, and looks amazing on woodwork and trim."

Miles Redd:

"I love Benjamin Moore "Super White," in high gloss because it is bright and happy."

Grant K. Gibson:

"My

The Chateau de Guedelon, as seen on BBC NewsIf you've ever been to a medieval castle or church, you too have marveled at their grandeur and also wondered how the heck people were able to construct these things centuries ago, without the aid of the bulldozers, cranes, and power tools.

As BBC News reports, there's a French guy who's been mulling over this very issue, and as a result, decided to conduct a somewhat insane, over-the-top elaborate architectural experiment deep in the forests of central France. Local landowner Michel Guyot is in the process of erecting a real-deal castle, called Chateau de Guedelon, staying true to the building methodologies and materials of the 13th century.

The project began in 1998, and a dozen years later, it's still far from finished (completion isn't due until around 2023!). But considering that workmen are fashioning walls out of red Burgundy clay, blacksmiths are forging nails by hand, and even ropes, baskets, and roof tiles are all made on site, it's not at all surprising.

The

I've always been a sucker for an infomercial. Yesterday, a friend mentioned something about The Flip Fold, a contraption that sounds kind of asinine, too good to be true, and totally tempting at the same time, as all infomercial products do.

I looked it up just now and it's basically a template/board you use to fold t-shirts and sweaters into neat, uniform stacks. While there's certainly a part of me that feels this is somewhat of a useless gadget for obsessive types (and is totally suspicious about the company's claim that the ventilated panels somehow help reduce static cling), I'm actually intrigued from a space-efficiency perspective.

I'm constantly battling with my husband for more room in our shared closet, and I wonder if this would help maximize what I've got. The skinny flocked hangers I sprang for were totally worth every penny (seriously life-changing: it's amazing how much more stuff I've able to fit on the clothing rack with these), and I wonder if The Flip

* Post-makeover, with painted tiles, new fixtures, and pretty fluffy towels I'm hoping my bathroom will look something like this.I'm moving at the end of next month, to a 100 year-old house that, while charming in an old, pretty moldings kind of way, is also starting to show its age-and not in a good way. There are endless home improvement projects to tackle, and though I wish I had the wherewithal and the budget to deal with it all at once, I'm trying to take things one step at a time to avoid getting completely overwhelmed emotionally, financially, or otherwise.

The first order of business is dealing with the bathroom, which in its current state is covered with tiles in a clashing jamboree of aqua, pink, and beige-y yellow (at one point the latter may have actually been white, though it's hard to say for certain). They're tired, cracked, and really quite dingy (and don't even get me started on the grout, which is a whole other mildew-y horror show in and of itself) and though I'd like nothing more than to start from scratch with new tiles, I've gotten a few bids and this would cost well into the