Designer overcomes obstacles in book

April 14, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

Candice Olson knows all about the challenges that can come with decorating a room: ceilings that are too high or too low, spaces that are too big or too small, couples who have different tastes, families who have different needs.

Those are the kinds of obstacles she overcame in decorating the rooms in her newest book, “Candice Olson Favorite Design Challenges.”

Olson, who rose to fame as host of an HGTV show, shares the process of restyling 24 rooms, from a basement suite to an attic guest room. She includes swatches and samples, floor plans, photos of the rooms before her makeovers and plenty of “after” pictures. Olson also explains how she solved the various challenges presented by each project and describes the style elements used in the room.

“Candice Olson Favorite Design Challenges” is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and sells for $19.99 in softcover.

Glasses made from recycled bottles

Wine bottles are getting a second life as Glacier Glass glassware.

Glacier Glass was created by Paula Sansone-Johnson, a designer with Rolf Glass in Mount Pleasant, Pa., who called on her knowledge of glass cutting and manufacturing to turn the bottoms of used wine bottles into glassware. The glasses are etched with designs created with diamond-wheel engraving technology.

A set of four 12-ounce tumblers in antique blue costs $57.50 at www.ClassicHostess.com. Shipping is extra.

McClatchy Newspapers