Timeless, colorful, and alive: such is a room designed by James T. Farmer III, interior designer, gardener, and all-around Southern gentleman. Farmer embraces the warmth of spirit and classically beautiful, seasonal lifestyle of the South, from generations of his close-knit family and his hometown of Perry, Georgia, and he brings it into his clients’ homes…

William Randolph Hearst’s cinematic castle straddles a craggy crest, shimmering in the sun or floating above the fog. Begun in 1919 and never completed, it is as enigmatic as him. A magnet for Hollywood headliners during the 1920s and 1930s, today about 750,000 visitors are attracted annually to the opulent extravagance of the extraordinary estate….

NR | 1h 25 min | Drama | 1948 Novelist Ruth Moore often wrote of families whose fates were tied to Maine’s shores: its waters, its boats, its horizons, distant yet beckoning. Fittingly, Henry King’s screen adaptation of Moore’s novel “Spoonhandle” opens with text that reassures audiences that all outdoor shots were filmed in Maine….

The lychee (Litchi chinensis), an exotic tropical fruit, is a strange round globe with red bumpy skin. The rough rind is easily peeled with the fingers, revealing an opaque white, sweet, and juicy pulp surrounding a dark seed. Also known as “alligator strawberry,” it has been cultivated in China for thousands of years and used in…

The Rev. Philip Lindsley came to Nashville in 1824 to rescue the struggling Cumberland College (now University of Nashville). What he brought with him was a great vision: to create “a center of learning and civilization in the midst of the Old Southwest.” He pictured a group of academics, similar to those depicted in Raphael’s…

Many people have reported having profound near-death experiences (NDEs) where they seem to leave the body and experience a state of bliss—but David and Scarlet Schwartz report the unusual experience of a joint NDE. David was on his deathbed. His mother had made funeral arrangements. When Scarlet first laid eyes on David, he was in…

When Ulysses S. Grant entered the president’s office in 1869, echoes of the Civil War tensions that he helped to resolve still reverberated in his mind—and in the nation at large. In response, he commissioned a set of paintings to represent the Union’s indivisibility and to symbolize the nation’s post-war recovery. “Liberty” by Constantino Brumidi is mounted…

By Katie Laughridge From Tribune News Service We believe the bed is the centerpiece of a beautiful sanctuary. Today, we bring you three exquisite beds, each a reflection of the unique styles and visions of their respective designers, from classic elegance to modern chic. Join us as we delve into the stories behind the designs,…

By Aviva Bechky The Seattle Times Seattle—Tens of thousands baseball fans flooded into Seattle for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and surrounding festivities from July 7-11. If we had the chance, we might have told each of those visitors: “Welcome! We’re new here, too. Seattle Times producer Sarah-Mae McCullough just moved to the city,…

After strolling along a lovely stretch of Atlantic Ocean beach that fronts Cape May, New Jersey, my wife, Fyllis, and I decided to check out some of the town’s other attractions. We dropped by the towering lighthouse, which has beamed warnings to ships since 1859. The Cape May Lighthouse in Cape May, New Jersey, has…