L.A. Times - Home & Garden

Are store-bought soils safe for growing vegetables?

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

We put them to the lab test to get the real dirt on dirt.

In September I wrote about an unsettling incident in which I'd found high levels of lead in the chard I'd grown in a backyard planter box filled with store-bought soil. According to the head of the lab that did the testing, I shouldn't have eaten more than one-quarter pound of the leaves a day or I'd risk lead poisoning.

Newlywed Laker selling Manhattan Beach digs

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom has listed his Manhattan Beach home for $2,399,000.

Say goodbye to rattle and hum

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Sunda family and their Orange County Speaker repair business have been making beautiful music together since 1968.

The way we listen to music has changed dramatically in the last 15 years -- earbuds instead of headphones, digital tracks instead of cuts on vinyl. But the basic design of an audio speaker, says Eric Sunda of Orange County Speaker, is the same as it was a century ago.

San Francisco leads L.A. in scrappy composting race

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The City by the Bay has an acclaimed citywide program ahead of efforts in the City of Angels.

Jorge Santiesteban estimates that food scraps constitute roughly 15% to 25% of what goes into black garbage bins in Los Angeles. The solid resources manager for the city has been struck by the seasonal changes in how much food we throw away ever since 1997, when a week after Thanksgiving, he had a garbage truck empty its contents for him. Santiesteban picked through the trash, putting like objects with like, until a clear picture emerged. This is what is known in recycling circles as a "waste characterization."

Small-space living by design

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

An Echo Park couple shares 380 square feet with their toddler, making every inch count.

Though he is still crawling, 9-month-old Thurston Conder takes about 10 seconds to have the run of the house. It's not that he's exceptionally fast; he just doesn't have that far to roam. Thurston shares 380 square feet with his mom and dad, Kelly Breslin and Ryan Conder, and a medium-sized mutt named Charlie.

An Octomom costume provides a falsie sense of security

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Our Halloween was so good we would almost like to do it again a week later. The night was crisp and smelled of apples. We hit a couple of wonderful parties, raucous affairs, as befits the day.

City recycling guides

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Most cities maintain an online list of items that can be recycled, but sometimes those lists are hard to find in labyrinthian government websites, and they don't always show up in Google searches. Here are directions on how to find the lists for some major Southern California communities, plus notes giving some idea of how the definition of recyclable can differ from city to city.

Experts give the scoop on potting mix

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

When it's time to start planting, peat moss, compost blends, even store-bought soils, make the top of the list.

You've built a raised bed or set out some pots. Before you plant, you've got empty space to fill. Here are three experts' suggestions for the best potting mix:

La Casa del Camino hotel in Laguna Beach gets a skater's touch

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Etnies founder Pierre André Senizergues helps redecorate.

Former pro skateboarder Pierre André Senizergues, founder of the footwear and apparel company Etnies, has teamed with other sports firms and interior designers to redecorate 10 suites at La Casa del Camino hotel in Laguna Beach. Senizergues collaborated with interior designer Eve Lowey of Studio Chameleon on Room 207, which features a lounge chair made from skateboard decks and a headboard made from salvaged scraps of shoe fabric. "We incorporated materials, shapes and concepts inspired by a skateboarder's daily life and blended them with green elements," Senizergues says. The bathroom's cast concrete sink, produced by Hart Concrete Design in Costa Mesa, is inspired by the kidney-shaped pools where skaters love to practice. The redesigned rooms, a project spearheaded by Riviera magazine, are open; nightly rates are $269 to $369, and a portion of proceeds go to charities chosen by the participating surf and skate firms. www.casacamino.com .

Master wood crafter Alma Allen

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Alma Allen wasn't the first to transform tree trunks into side tables and stools, but during the last decade, the Joshua Tree woodworker certainly refined the concept. His work has shaped the rustic modern style you see in stores (think the stump table at West Elm). The L.A. interiors firm Commune Design commissioned him to create tables for the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and stools for the Oliver Peoples store in Malibu. Allen's latest venture: a Heath Ceramics collection of pottery with lids that Allen crafted from solid walnut ($125 to $325). Through year's end, Heath's L.A. store will have that and other Allen works, including polished ironwood bowls, architectural tables made from slabs of wood and sculptures in marble and bronze. 7525 Beverly Blvd.; (323) 965-0800; www.heathceramics.com .