Latest Articles

I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics. 

Dear Dwell, I pride myself on recycling each week, but I'm unhappy with the unorganized mess of bottles and cans in my kitchen. Are there any attractive options for trash bins that integrate re...

Dear Dwell, My junk drawer is out of control. Can you help me find a way to get it closed? —Lisa Scofield, Palo Alto, California

Skip Sedona and forget the Grand Canyon? Architect Will Bruder leads us on a journey through slow food and rapid development in Phoenix, Arizona.

Brian Keaney of TonfiskDesign may be Irish, but his Finnish is flawless; he guides us through icecold Helsinki’s hot spots.

Tired of carting supplies back and forth from Ukiah to the commune where he lived in Northern California, John Schaeffer decided to start selling environmentally friendly wares himself.

The tiny staff at the San Francisco affiliate of Rebuilding Together coordinates and works on the rehabilitation of more than 20 homes and roughly the same number of nonprofit facilities on one...

Remember how the Predator had skin that made him invisible? That was cool. But these high-tech materials might be even cooler.

Bees have always been admired for their industrious nature and intricate honeycomb architecture; Charles Darwin called the honeycomb “absolutely perfect” as a feat of engineering, symmetry, and...

Product design that takes cues from nature, known as biomimicry, has produced a num-
ber of ingenious and popular products we use every day.

The right lighting can bring warmth and atmosphere to any room.

As more and more Americans are quickly discovering, the land beneath our feet is not quite as solid as we thought. Houses slip down hillsides, trees float down rivers, and whole cities disappear...

Silver has been used for centuries as an antimicrobial agent.

Every hour, enough sunlight hits the earth to power the entire planet for a year. But since they’re pricey—and, let’s face it, generally unattractive—solar cells are still woefully underutilized...

With our airwaves packed with celebrity chefs, Americans are proving to have a solid appetite for what Julia Child would call cuisine—at least on television.

Dear Dwell, There's nothing better than settling in to read the Sunday paper, but it's becoming difficult to enjoy with the ever-present clutter of publications getting in our way. Could you steer...

Dear Dwell, I've been hearing a lot about air purifiers lately. Are they really helpful, and are there any that won't stick out like a sore thumb in my living room? Dee Koufax, Minnetonka, M...

Dear Dwell: I'm tired of my old generic broom. Are there any specialized products on the market that are both hip and functional? —Edward Charles, Austin, Texas

Dear Dwell: Our dog is spending more time in bed than my husband; I think its time to get her one of her own. Can you recommend designs that a pampered pup will enjoy? —Ella Zupen, San ...

Dear Dwell: We'd like to get a modern-looking birdhouse. Which ones will look best in our backyard? —Erik Edwards, St. Louis, Missouri

If there’s one thing that’s clear about the movement, it’s that green is manifesting itself in interesting, odd, and diverse ways.

There’s no questioning the validity and worthiness of the growing popularity of green, but the relentless reliance on the term—rivaled perhaps only by the slew of i-prefixed electronic...

The sustainability movement has gone through a series of evolutions and iterations over the past several years—from nascent niche groups to mainstream, greenwashing, and back again&mdash...

This just in: After countless hours of tense deliberation, labored hand-wringing, and heated debate, the Google SketchUp and Dwell.com Design Your Dwelling contest grand prize winner has been...