Carpet

Festival of lightsLight the holidays with a menorah from ZYZYX!, the craft and jewelry store in Pikesville, where an annual menorah show is under way. More than 35 artists are represented, offering menorahs in cut class, polymer clay, enameled metal, painted porcelain and other materials.Among them are fused-glass works by Tamara Baskin; polymer clay and gold-leaf designs from Urban Tribe (right), and glass and stone pieces combining traditional motifs with modern technology. Prices range from $60 to $2,000.

Among the usual multitude of new and improved varieties of flowers, shrubs, vegetables and trees being touted with frenetic enthusiasm, I would like to introduce one of the oldest plants on earth: moss.If you are one of those frustrated lawn keepers who have been fighting the incursions of moss into a beloved but heavily shaded grassy sward, you had best quit reading this now. What I have to say is in praise of moss.Perhaps it is time that we discovered mosses. They have been readily appreciated in China and Japan for centuries.

Celebrate summer by showing your stars and stripes -- in a whimsical, light-up flag from the Improvements catalog. Perfect for that Fourth of July cookout, the nylon-framed flag can sit atop a table or be hung in a window. It's 14-1/2 inches by 16-1/2 inches, with a 3-foot cord. It costs $19.99. To order, or for a copy of the catalog, call 800-642-2112.EVENTS:* Stroll in the footsteps of Albert Finney and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the 1997 movie "Washington Square," (left) when the Union Square Association offers its sixth annual "Secret Gardens" tour from noon until 5 p.m. today.

My apartment is done up in contemporary style, with large, plush sofas and glass tables. The place has a bright and cheerful atmosphere, but I want to recarpet it and add some traditional seating pieces. What do you suggest in regard to the apartment's color and the styling of the furniture?Color is such a personal choice that I can make only a general suggestion.To maintain a bright and cheerful look, color the surround (the floors, walls and curtains) in some combination of white, peach and pale yellow, You might also consider adding a few hot touches -- bright corals, maybe, or leaf greens -- in the form of chair seats, pillows and accessories.

The dirt at Baltimore City Hall isn't much of a secret.It's all there in plain view.The carpet is stained and held together with tape.The couches are frayed and splotched with spilled coffee.The window ledges are covered with bird droppings.The paint is chipping in the ornate City Council chamber."I wish I had the concession on duct tape," quipped Wilbur E. "Bill" Cunningham, the mayor's business liaison, as he strode across the taped center of a threadbare lobby.Twenty years have passed since the city spent $9.8 million to refurbish and restore the imposing domed building that opened in 1875.

First, Officer James Lytton felt the feet. Then his partner felt the head. Within seconds yesterday, routine questioning of two men throwing away a rolled-up carpet became a homicide investigation.The officers quickly arrested two men at gunpoint after finding a body inside the carpet, which they said the two men were trying to dump into a trash bin at the Claremont Homes public housing complex shortly before 2 a.m.Police said the 25-year-old victim died of an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

"Yard sale" is a misnomer: This is an upscale event involving a quarter of a million dollars of merchandise. Each year the Maryland Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers holds a glorified yard sale with bargains on new and antique furniture, rugs, fabrics, wall coverings, decorative accessories and art. New this year at the sale is bargain design advice from professionals at a cost of $25 for half an hour.It's all being held at the David Edward Co., 1407 Parker Road, Saturday and April 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The $3 door charge will go to the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge.

On the field: Orioles rookie Curtis Goodwin, attempting to make a sliding catch on a blooper by Twins catcher Matt Walbeck in the fourth inning, caught his left shoe in the carpet and rolled over his left ankle. Goodwin slowly rose to his feet, pained as well by a rug burn on his right knee during his tumble, which left a ragged hole in his pants. But he stayed in the game.In the dugout: Although the Orioles bullpen has been busy of late, all six were available for last night's game. They've been aided by the fact that many of their appearances have been extremely brief.

Bode Flooring Corp., a Columbia-based carpet and flooring retailer, yesterday became the latest company to be snatched up by acquisition-hungry Shaw Industries Inc., one of the nation's largest carpet designers and manufacturers.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approvals from shareholders and regulatory agencies.Privately held Bode employs about 400. Shaw officials declined to comment yesterday on what effect the deal would have on Bode's operations.The Bode deal is the fourth merger Shaw has announced this month, as it moves ahead to become a major force in the $8.5 billion-a-year industry.

Q: How can I furnish an apartment living room that is standard in just about every way? The walls are white, the carpet is cream-colored, and there's a large picture window that looks somewhat off balance due to the duct column alongside it. I don't have a big budget, but I'm hoping to produce something out of the ordinary.A: The trick is to introduce a few unexpected elements without making the space appear bizarre. Properly proportioned, well-made pieces are essential in achieving that goal.

Bold patterns, interesting textures and, yes, even shag are making their way into the marketplace as homeowners turn to carpet as an option for transforming a room or as an accent to the hard-surface flooring that has dominated the marketplace. "The carpet world has become quite new and exciting. There's a lot of innovation and interesting products out there," said Laura Kimball, owner of LCK Interiors and the incoming president of the Maryland chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.

The Harford County superintendent of schools, accompanied by the county executive and a state senator, made her annual bus ride with students to celebrate the opening of the school year. Several schools rolled out a red carpet to welcome students. The faculty at Roye-Williams Elementary in Aberdeen went formal, wearing top hats and white gloves for the morning arrival. And Harford Technical High School added black and yellow balloon arches to its doors. "It is all about making students feel welcome, excited and motivated on the first day of school," said Teri D. Kranefeld, schools spokeswoman.

It was one thing when the striking writers interrupted our late-night viewing routine. And another as, seemingly overnight, they put the kibosh on our favorite primetime series. But, by depriving us of our globes of gold, now they're really kicking us where it counts. That six-to-seven-hour Sunday time block has been reserved on our calendar for months now - and the snacks, the wine and the witty asides on stand-by. Oh, Golden Globes, what will we ever do without your: Carpeted Gauntlet Walk --Any awards-show connoisseur knows that the red carpet pre-game show is by far the choicest viewing - certainly more important than the part where awards are handed out. Back in the day, we were left to like it or lump it with Joan Rivers and her sniffy commentary on the arriving stars' outfits and resumes.

Ryan Pinkston's life is just like that of any 19-year-old's - except that on any given day, he may read a screenplay, stop by a few auditions or call up his buddy Ashton Kutcher. A really good day might include kissing Carmen Electra. Pinkston may not yet have achieved the fame of his friend Kutcher, but his face is instantly recognizable to anyone who has watched the hidden-camera hit Punk'd. These days, the Columbia native is living in Los Angeles while searching for his next step toward stardom.

DAILYCELEB.COM What's the point? -- Oh, how hard it must be to be a celebrity, having to attend red-carpet events practically daily. This site contains photos of just about all these Hollywood events, from film premieres to award shows large and small to book-signings to birthday parties. Any time there are celebrities on carpets, their photos end up here. What to look for --Unless you qualify for a commercial account (probably not that likely), you will have to content yourself to seeing the thumbnail photos, but they are decent-enough size to get a sense of a bad outfit or a strange premiere.

Armed with pictures of mold, stories of rats and descriptions of pungent odors permeating their workplace, Baltimore Circuit Court employees unloaded a long list of complaints last night to City Council members at a hearing on conditions in the two courthouse buildings on Calvert Street. Angel Thomas, one of about 35 employees who turned out for the hearing, said she had developed asthma during her eight years working in the 73-year-old Courthouse East building -- the old main post office and federal court.

One of the home improvement industry's hottest growth markets these days is right underfoot. Flooring products have exploded into a dizzying array of textures, colors, sizes and price ranges, encompassing everything from do-it-yourself laminates to high-end Travertine tiles. Carpet makers, whose sales suffered amid the rise of laminates and ceramic tile, now offer glueless, modular carpet tiles that can be used to cover a small area or an entire room. "Flooring products have taken a quantum leap forward," said Al Stewart, editor of National Floor Trends magazine, which tracks the industry.

On a recent sunny afternoon, Chris Madden frowned at a sisal carpet in her living room where, the day before, a dog had an "accident." Madden, a syndicated columnist to 400 newspapers, host for eight years of HGTV's Interiors by Design, and decorator for such celebrities as Katie Couric and Oprah Winfrey has, of course, styled her rambling house in West-chester County, N.Y., to a fare-thee-well. Yet one of her West Highland terriers, Lola or Winnie, was not showing her mistress the respect she deserves.

Prompted by air quality concerns and complaints from parents, Hampstead Elementary School has closed four portable classrooms until Monday while cleaning crews scrub walls, floors, ceilings and desks. The school has shifted the fifth-graders into other spaces in the main school building. An indoor air study was conducted last month by an independent research company after a problem with portables at Mount Airy Middle School last fall prompted a countywide inspection of that type of classroom.

Prompted by air quality concerns and complaints from parents, Hampstead Elementary School has closed four portable classrooms until Monday while cleaning crews scrub walls, floors, ceilings and desks. The school has shifted fifth-graders into other spaces in the main school building. An indoor air study was conducted last month by an independent research company after a problem with portables at Mount Airy Middle School last fall prompted a countywide inspection of that type of classroom.