The Last Column

The first Design Dilemma column published on August 29, 2008; it was about outdoor fabric. Today is column number 224 and it’s the last one in the Lakeshore News. I’m sad.

The Lakeshore News is being absorbed by the Market News and they don’t want my column to continue there, so this is it. It’s been a lot of fun, sometimes a lot of work, but very rewarding, very successful and a wonderful experience for me — and I hear from you that you, too, have enjoyed it over the eight and a half years.

I won’t quit writing the column; I’ll keep writing and publish on my website, Designsewlutions.ca. The new publish schedule will be on the 15th and last day of each month.  And there are some real advantages to this new arrangement. I’ve always been careful not to mention brands, or business names, or links to other news outlets — out of deference to the Lakeshore News. By self-publishing, I can branch out a bit and give you expanded news, more sources, and a wider variety of topics. 

I’ve learned a lot.  Here are some of my favorites; I’ll put links on the website. When I got asked about bamboo, for example, I had to go to some research and what I learned surprised a whole bunch of us. — Bamboo has a natural anti-microbial property which will CURE (not just fix) athlete’s foot in three days. 

Like most of us of a certain age, I knew what felting was, but not fulling. I didn’t really understand thread count, or down fill power. The grading system for foam cushions baffled me and I had no real idea what R-value was all about.  

I got to share some of my finds with you — like the wonderful silks of Little India in Vancouver; the most versatile (IMHO) window covering on the market, and where to find good summer sun protection for your furniture and floors.

I got to share with you how to hang pictures without extra holes in the walls, why you should use a designer, and even how to hem pants. 

I taught you how to make a floor plan —perhaps one of the most critical parts of arranging a room. And I taught you how to choose paint color, an area rug, what to put in your tool box and how to choose a space heater or air conditioner. 

And — the most popular column of them all: “You Have Permission To Do Nothing.”

So, thanks for your continued readership, thanks for all the comments and questions, thanks for recognizing me in a store or on the street; thanks to Lakeshore News for this wonderful opportunity through all these years.  

If you give me your name and email address, I’ll send you the link to each new column as I write them. No spammy stuff. I promise. And thanks again.

Linda