Gone are the days when your only choices for calendars are plain black and white or the kitten ones found at mall kiosks. Now talented artists and designers are creating calendars that are mini masterpieces worthy of framing. Here are six that I've been dazzled by this year starting with this colorful illustrated one from Erin Jang. I love how much character it adds to the wall.

We all know what it's like to get lost in a good book, but today, let's get lost in gorgeous bookshelves instead. I've long admired stunning built-ins (especially when they include a rolling ladder!) and hope to have a library filled to the brim one day.

So enjoy a little breather and admire these beautiful built-in bookshelves I've rounded up for your viewing pleasure.

These lucky triplets got a bedroom makeover!Celebrity designers and parents to seven kids Cortney and Robert Novogratz are back this weekend when Home by Novogratz premieres Saturday, July 16th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV. In the new season, Bob and Cortney will take on new design projects and create more totally unique spaces, using their smart, funky, downtown-chic aesthetic.

Here's a peek at one of the Novogratz's recent room makeover projects -- a stylish and well-organized bedroom for the four-year-old Sternick triplets, who live in Hell's Kitchen, New York with their parents. Keep reading for more shots of the bedroom makeover, storage tips from Cortney, and a sneak peek at the season premiere of Home by Novogratz.

Ever since Julia Child and her famous kitchen became a fixture of American TV, I think everyone has not only looked at cooking differently, but the use of pegboard too. Before it was maybe just something used to hang tools in the garage, but once Julia's husband Paul lined their kitchen with it and used it to display all those gorgeous copper pots, there was a bingo! moment where people realized they could use it in other parts of their home as well.

Although some may still think it looks too industrial or cheap (it is happily inexpensive!), take a look at these following uses. I think you'll be surprised to see its functionality and visual interest.

Are you a stamp geek? I don’t mean a collector -- come on, that’s just weird. I mean, when you get to the post office, do you find yourself drifting over to the board of new stamps and going, “ooh ... Simpsons! I need those!” even though, in this age of online billing and Evites, you almost never actually get through a page of stamps?

I am. And the latest stamp-fest is made for me: it celebrates pretty, pretty industrial design -- pretty appliances, fancy furniture, and classic tchotchkes. Do you think these designs are stamp-worthy? What would you nominate for the next round, if you could?

My husband knows that before we make any major home purchase, there are two things I’m going to need: My drawer full of Bed, Bath & Beyond 20 percent off coupons, and my back-issues of Consumer Reports. My mom may not have taught me to keep the house clean or separate my laundry -- she’d rather be writing ... and who can blame her? -- but she did teach me to stretch my pennies 'til Abraham Lincoln looks like Gumby.
 
Consumer Reports is a non-profit organization that tests household products and rates them by durability and whether they’re worth the money you pay for them. They don't take ads, and they don’t care if companies get mad at them. So when it’s time to buy a vacuum cleaner and you want to know if Dyson really never loses suction, Consumer Reports is your impartial third-party, removing the hype from the infomercials.
 
And today (July 5, until 3 a.m. EST on July 6), they’re free.

Cortney & Robert NovogratzCelebrity designers Cortney and Robert Novogratz of HGTV’s Home by Novogratz took part in some designing from the heart recently when they headed up a $50,000 classroom makeover at Winegard Elementary School in Orlando, Florida. 

You'll love the colorful, creative, and inspiring space that Cortney and Bob designed for the kids and teachers at Winegard Elementary. Such a great gift of hope when times are so tough in our country's public schools.

Keep reading to check out the Before & After photos of the project.

Take that recession! Some companies are saying forget you, and hearkening back to the glory days of the 1950s or even the hey-hey '90s where a cocktail at work was just a way to say "good meeting!" Instead of slamming the coffee and burning the midnight oil, employees are stocking the fridge with their favorite alcoholic beverages, and one company has even installed a keg.

Of course, this being modern times, there's a catch.