SINGAPORE – Last Wednesday, Harvey Norman unveiled its latest range of Italian-made sofas, marble tables and high-gloss cabinets in an event organised with the Italian Chamber of Commerce.

The event was held at the Harvey Norman Superstore in Millenia Walk and graced by his Excellency, Anacleto Felicani, the ambassador of Italy.

During the launch, guests admired some of Italy’s finest furniture collections brought right from the Milan Furniture Fair. There were sumptuous sofas from Saporini with its exquisite finishes and innovative design, marble dining sets from Valdera for which founders Luciano and Silvano Lenzi collaborated with Italy ‘s award-winning designer Giorgio Soressi, and luxurious cabinets and dining pieces from Alf Uno.

Guests also mingled with the experts from Italy, who shared with guests about their artisanal masterpieces and their rich Italian heritage and others took part in the wine appreciation and fabric selection workshops.

The highlight of the launch was the Harvey Norman lucky draw (to be held on Sept 29), with customers purchasing any Italian furniture standing to win a full leather Saporini sofa set worth S$10,000.

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Q. The woodwork in our house is almost 30 years old and has a lot of nicks. I’d like to repair the nicks without having to sand each piece. Any suggestions?

A. You can fix nicks in wood without a lot of sanding – sometimes with no sanding – but a lot depends on the color of the wood finish and the number of defects.

If the wood has a stained, wood-tone finish, there is a good chance you can fill nicks and some scratches with Minwax Blend-Fil pencils. These ready-to-use color sticks are made of putty in a variety of wood-tone colors.

If your wood is finished with a Minwax stain and you know the color, you can find putty sticks to match that color by consulting a chart at the Minwax Internet site (visit www.minwax.com, then click on Maintenance and Repair, then on Blend-Fil pencils; click on Colors to find the chart).

Even if you haven’t used a Minwax stain, there is likely to be a Blend-Fil color that will be a reasonable match.

To use a putty stick, simply rub it on the nick until the cavity is filled; smooth it by rubbing with a soft cloth. Smears or excess putty can be removed with mineral spirits (paint thinner).

If your woodwork is painted instead of wood-toned, you’ll need a different approach, but you can still minimize sanding. I’d use vinyl spackling compound, which can be bought at any home center in small plastic tubs.

Use a clean putty knife to apply a little of the compound to each nick. Wipe the knife blade frequently to avoid applying too much compound. Let dry thoroughly, then sand smooth with fine sandpaper.

Vinyl spackling compound is easy to sand, but makes a lot of dust, so put newspapers or a plastic sheet under the work area. When you have smoothed the surface, you will have to prime and repaint it.

Q. I plan to do some indoor and outdoor painting this fall, and have decided on the colors. But I’m confused about the various sheens I see in paint stores. How should I select the best sheens for different surfaces?

A. You are right to give the sheen the importance it deserves. There are some basic patterns, although your personal taste should be the deciding factor.

The typical paint sheens available, in descending order of their gloss, are: gloss, semi-gloss, satin, eggshell and flat.

One rule of thumb is that the more gloss paint has, the easier it will be to clean, although some manufacturers have made easy-to-clean paints with less glossy finishes. Glossier sheens are also generally considered more durable than flatter ones.

Another rule of thumb is that the less sheen a paint has, the better it will be at concealing defects such as rough surfaces. The latter is because flatter paints reflect less light to highlight defects.

Gloss paint is often used on trim, some furniture including cabinets, doors and so forth.

Semi-gloss has many of the same uses as gloss, and is sometimes used for walls in rooms that might need regular cleaning, such as kitchens, bathrooms and children’s rooms.

Siding is often painted with satin or flat paint, because of the ability of these lower sheens to help hide defects.

Eggshell, which has a very low luster, is usually used indoors and is a good choice for walls.

Flat is frequently used on ceilings and many walls where a muted effect is wanted.

Q. We collected a number of bumper stickers in our travels referring to various places we have visited. We like to attach them to the inside of our garage door. Some won’t stick well. What kind of adhesive do you suggest that will hold them up but not harm the stickers?

A. It’s hard to predict how an adhesive will perform on top of the adhesive that is already on the stickers. Maybe you should use thumbtacks or tape to attach the stickers. If you think adhesive is needed, you might try one of the 3M spray-on adhesives. There are several varieties; check home centers or the Internet for details.

Questions and comments should be emailed to Gene Austin at gaus17@aol.com. Send regular mail for Gene Austin to 1730 Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, Pa. 19422.

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FURNITURE maker and restorer Stewart Henderson has the ability to see beauty in things that have lost their gloss. This was certainly the case when he came across an early Victorian steading in Dumfries and Galloway three years ago.

And, as a former energy engineer, Stewart wanted to create a home that paid tribute to the old building, but embraced modern energy-efficient technology. He has done this in abundance at Larch House, which nestles near the village of Clarebrand, just three miles from Castle Douglas.

As well as being super-insulated, Scandinavian-style windows with energy-efficient glass flood the two-storey building with light while retaining heat. A heat-recovery ventilation system creates a healthy environment, thermal solar panels provide all the hot water and a boiler stove fires the underfloor heating.

A mix of polished concrete and engineered oak flooring was used on the ground floor, with wooden beams creating a vast, double-height, open-plan living, cooking and dining space. Retro styling coupled with white-washed walls, plum sofas, fuchsia lamp shades and citrus table covers has created a chic, contemporary four-bedroom home within the walls of a 160-year-old building that sits on a half-acre plot with a stream running through the garden.

It is a far cry from the rundown building Stewart bought in March 2009. A milking parlour up to the early 1980s, the place had virtually no roof when he discovered it. “Before I bought it, I got in touch with my friend Sam Booth, who is a designer with LWD Design. We went through a few designs until he came up with one that we thought would make best use of the space.”

As he was based within five miles of the steading, with his wife Chrissie and their children Polly, 11, Loulou, eight, and Tilda, five, Stewart was able to project-manage the renovation and build himself.

“At the start I got a digger to pick the stone away to create the five-metre glass opening at the front of the house. We then cleared the inside and dug around the outside for the drainage and groundworks. Work then started on the stonework. We built a frame on-site, which went inside the building, effectively building a new house inside the old stone walls. I also decided to put a slate roof on, and we clad some of the exterior with larch, which is where we got the name Larch House from.”

You enter into the big, open-plan living space. A staircase leads up to a galleried hallway, two bedrooms and a family bathroom. The remaining two bedrooms, two shower rooms and utility room are downstairs, with a covered patio to the rear.

The kitchen features white handleless gloss units sitting beneath solid oak worktops and white brick-style tiles. A landscape window was cut into the wall to give an ever-changing view.

All of the lighting is low-energy LED to ensure that running costs are kept to a minimum. “With all of our energy-efficient additions, the house costs virtually nothing to run,” Stewart says. “As a family, we like minimalist and retro styling, which works well here.”

He adds, “I love how we can use the spaces in different ways. It really is a lifestyle property.”

• Larch House, by Clarebrand, Castle Douglas, is for sale 
at a guide price of £360,000 through Williamson Henry 
(01557 331 049, www.williamsonandhenry.com)

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ATLANTA, GA — Finishing guru and Woodworking Network bloggist Bernie Bottens took a tour of finishing systems manufacturer Miltec UV’s booth during the International Woodworking Machinery Furniture Supply Fair (IWF).

Miltec UV’s new HPI Gloss Control UV Curing System won a 2012 Challengers award. According to the company, the system eliminates the need for downtime by allowing the use of only one UV final topcoat for all gloss ranges from 30 to 80 gloss units, depending on the UV coating formulation, allowing the user to see a return on investment in one to two years.

Having trouble coordinaing the wall colours of your apartment, condo or home with your furniture?

Benjamin Moore colour and design specialist Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault and Rob Whitfield of CasaLife furniture and accessories will provide advice on tackling the décor dilemma and others at Design Equations at the Fall Home Show, Sept. 20-23.

Design Equations will include six “concept spaces for everyday living,” according to Allaire Perrault. These will showcase advice on how to mix colour with the latest furniture styles and accessories, in various settings.

“It’s about how to take the two most important ingredients in a space (colour and furniture) and make them work in unison,” says Allaire Perrault.

The Boutique Chic space or “vignette” will reflect refined luxury living in a functional entertaining/living space, incorporating black-and-white hues, soft fabrics and upholstery in velvets and silks, married with high-gloss and mirrored finishes.

“Boutique Chic is really Rob’s vision, very much where he sees the trends,” says Allaire Perrault. “There will be lots of white lacquer and chrome, oversized mirrors, mid-century pieces and wildwood stump-side tables for an organic feel. There are so many textures and finishes, but they all seem to work in unison.”

Allaire Perrault says grey is one of the most popular new neutral colours and she will use charcoal grey paint on the walls to “meet in the middle” between the white and black elements of the Boutique Chic space. She’ll demonstrate how to create a pinstripe effect on the walls, using two sheens of the same paint colour to create a simple, sophisticated look to compliment Whitfield’s furniture picks.

The master bedroom vignette will be a relaxing retreat, combining the psychologically calming influence of blue-grey walls with furniture that is comfortable and practical, such as the bed with storage underneath.

Choose furniture first, then decorate around it, as the furniture dictates a room’s style, advises Allaire Perrault. Furniture should also come before you choose paint colours.

“We’ll also talk about how to live smart when living small,” she says. “With multi-functional furniture, you can utilize one piece to serve multiple purposes, such as a table that can be used as a desk or a dining space.”

In small spaces, Allaire Perrault says “neutrals are your best friend, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of colour. Neutrals are being infused with hue, such as grey with a bit of a blue undertone or a beige that is more to the soft yellow side.”

“You want to avoid too much saturated colored and high-contrast colours in a small space,” she says. “You can also bring the same colour right down over the baseboards to extend the walls. Use a matte finish on the walls and a semi-gloss on the trimwork. People tend to think you always have to paint trim white.”

Design Equations will dispel other common décor myths, such as that ceilings always have to be white or that dark colours make small spaces seem smaller.

She says she constantly gets asked about how to deal with open-concept spaces and how to define different spaces that meet, such as the demarcation between what is the living room and the dining room.

“Colour is really an easy way to define space,” she says. “You’re dabbling with the concept of colour blocking. Using painter’s tape, you mask out a band or rectangle on the wall — think of it as jewellery in space — and introduce a large colour block that you can set a mirror or piece of artwork on. Introducing a large colour block on a dining room wall will visually define the stop-and-start of the space.”

When it comes to furniture, pieces such as those Whitfield will have at the show, featuring simple lines and classic looks that will not go out of style, are good investment pieces and can be kept on trend by adding new cushions every year, she says.

Choosing colours based on your furniture choices is an opportunity for individual expression, she adds.

“If you have a brown couch, you might want to go for beiges or shades of brown, or, if you want to be more invigorating or bold, maybe’ll you’ll want to choose a blue sofa and paint your walls orange,” she notes. “Even if you live on a street where the houses look cookie-cutter, the inside of your home doesn’t have to be cookie-cutter.”

The
guests were shown the ground floor design and
sales centre, and the upstairs section which
is devoted to interior building materials
including medium density fiber board (MDF),
particle board, kitchen worktops and sinks,
formica, laminate flooring and furniture
fittings.

The
display also highlights PG Bison’s recently
launched range of PVC films which are
available in a wide range of colours and wood
grain decors for lamination on MDF panels.

MDF
panels can be moulded and routered into 3
dimensional designs for kitchen and wardrobe
door frontals and then laminated with films.

There
is a choice of films available with a variety
of finishes such as high gloss, or embossed
with a real wood feel, or with a pearl essence
finish to give the look of genuine wood.

The

Mombasa
branch has an internet link with the design
centre at the PG Bison hi-tech wood panel
processing production facility in

.

Staffs
in both centres produce designs for furniture,
kitchens, offices and shops using particle
board and medium density fiber board (MDF)
panels.

This
service is provided free of charge for
customers who buy materials from PG Bison.

In
consultation with customers, the staff quickly
create drawings which show three dimensional
pictures of their projects depicting
elevations, bird’s eye views and different
angles.

The
designers can also demonstrate the effects of
selecting a choice of colours.

The
staff have been trained to use Cabinet Vision
Furniture Design Software which breaks down
the finalized design into the components to be
manufactured, making the optimum use of each
panel.

All
the machining requirements for finishing,
drilling, grooving and edging are produced by
the software.

The
bulk of the components ordered by the
customers of the
Mombasa
branch are manufactured at the Lumumba road
facility.

If
there are requirements for PVC laminated
kitchen and wardrobe door frontals, shaped
desk tops and any furniture parts with
recesses and patterns, instructions from the
design centre in
Mombasa
are emailed to the PCs of the automated
equipment in the manufacturing facility in
Nairobi
.

This
produces the finished panel components to the
exact specifications of the approved designs
of customers.

A
giant nine tonne Orma press is used for
placing decorative PVC films on routed, curved
and engraved MDF panels.

The
Orma has given PG Bison the capability of
making kitchen and wardrobe door frontals,
shaped desk tops and any furniture parts with
recesses and patterns.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Ikea hackers, the folks who turn budget buys from the Swedish superstore into pieces of custom furniture? Well, how about some Target tweaking? Los Angeles designer Kyle Schuneman found these basic blue chairs that sell for $67.99 for a set of two — free shipping, no less — from Target.com. He felt they needed a little something though, so he added racing stripes with leftover semi-gloss paint.

“Remember, customizing isn’t just for old or expensive pieces of furniture,” he writes in his forthcoming book, “The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces.”

“There’s always the possibility of making something brand new feel special and unique.”

The chairs are budget knockoffs of Danish designer Arne Jacobsen’s famous Series 7 chairs, authentic versions of which sell for $500 and up apiece. With the addition of the stripe, the chairs avoid looking like copycats and instead have their own spirit, one that reads young and fun.

Check out Debra Prinzing’s profile of Schuneman as well as two other DIY projects from his book that the designer shared with L.A. at Home readers.

Send your story leads to home@latimes.com. You also can track our scene via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

White with wood furniture is easy on the eyes, and for many, that’s a relief. For the uninitiated, the mash up suggests a sort of split personality. There’s definitely a bit of retro going on, whether it’s Art Deco, mid-century modern or Scandinavian style that’s informing the latest designs. Wood in all shades from blond to the darkest brunette is cohabiting with white surfaces, drawing new admirers.

White can add a fresh feel to decor, one reason that snowy slipcovers are perennial favorites, as classic as crisp white bed linens and shirts.

But when it comes to case goods (tables, consoles, everything not upholstered), white isn’t the usual go-to choice – unless it’s in a beachy or country cottage setting or for more drama and edge, ultra glossy white, which is especially in sync with mirrored pieces in Hollywood glam interiors.

For some, whiteis too stark, too casual or too over the top. Wood is preferred for the visual strength or even elegance that it lends. Some are diehard enthusiasts for a particular species, such as cherry, particularly in period styles, while Arts and Crafts aficionados can’t get enough oak. Wood hue preferences, both natural and stained, also go through cycles of popularity.

Most recently, there was a spate of espresso, partly launched by the French designer Christian Liaigre, whose fondness for nearly black wenge wood has trickled down to big-box stores. Then there were the limed or whitewashed woods, a look hugely embraced by Restoration Hardware, where it even translates to outdoor furniture.

Now comes this hybrid: a dramatic teaming of wood offset with white or ivory frames generally expressed in contrasting doors, drawers or tabletops. The white may be painted, lacquered, stained. Or it may be applied to the surface with leather, fabric or some other material.

Wood plus white has been a staple of mid-century modern style, but it seems to be showing up in a wider selection of designs. At the Maison et Objet show in Paris, the look even spread to outdoor furniture, where white teamed with teak seems sooo chic.

“White gives the eye relief in a sea of brown,” said New York-based designer Jena Hall. “It lightens up a room.”

White can ring a casual or luxurious note, with a range in materials that includes laminate, painted metal, fine wood and even exotic covers like shagreen (stingray or sharkskin) or vellum (fine parchment made from the skin of lamb, calf or kid). London-based designer Julian Chichester for some time has manufactured cabinets clad in faux shagreen or vellum.

The newest designs are simple in form: mostly boxy, distinguished by either the legs or base used (pedestal, square, tapered or even a hint of cabriole) and the materialsoffer matte, a slight sheen, glossy or textured finishes. And these mixed media pieces are designed to be used eclectically, which is the trend for most furnishings today.

Designed as standout, stand-alone pieces, some offer even more bang for the buck with concealed storage, for example. One of the pieces designed by Hall for the HGTV Home collection manufactured by Bassett Furniture is a simple cabinet in an ivory case with walnut marquetry doors. It’s a compelling piece, as the form is clean-lined, and the Middle Eastern inspired motif, an ogee pattern very much on trend today. Even more impressive is the functionality: Its creamy interior is outfitted as a bar, with refrigerator-like storage on the doors, shelves and a pair of drawers (matching the walnut) as well as storage for 16 bottles. Still, it’s priced affordably, under $1,000.

Another cabinet that’s also a bit more dressed up is a chest from Hooker Furniture. As with most pieces in the Melange collection, the dark cherry cabinet blends a mix of design influences. Its off-white doors, set into a case that combines poplar solids and cherry veneers, are embellished with a soft, hand-painted swirl that splashes asymmetrically across in soft gray.

“It’s a merger with modern,” said Hooker spokeswoman Kim Shaver, “pretty and soft, not hard-edged.”

Equally subtle are the upholstered cabinets and chests that are part of the Remy collection from Hickory Chair. The dark wood cabinets are clad in natural linen and trimmed in bronzey nailheads, to match the simple hardware.

In addition to a formidable choice of styles, there’s a considerable range in prices, up to several thousand dollars, depending on materials and craftsmanship. But some modular pieces start at less than $30.

An updated version of a customizable cube system from Yube consists of interlocking frame and outer panels. The outer panels are made from sugarcane. Aluminum in black, silver or white is another option. These are set into frames made from Woodlite, a proprietary compound of non-toxic moldable plastic made with bamboo. The Yube Cube in white starts at $29.50 , and doors, shelves, drawers and feet range from $10 to $28.75. There also is an online customization that even allows stenciling or painting for a personal touch.

Sustainability is combined with fetching design in a table from Regina Andrew, which teams recycled lumber in a rough-sawn tripod base with a marble top, underscoring a striking dichotomy between the earthy wood and smooth stone. The Gus Design Group’s Root table sits on four hand- turned, tapered, FSC-certified ash legs. A high-contrast circular tabletop is both witty and cool: high gloss white lacquer, grooved in a faux bois pattern to mimic the organic lines of a sawn tree trunk, including a teeny slice removed.

Ultimately, it’s the design tension between the warmth of wood versus cool white and the play on contrast that sells. Even if the graphic punch is one that’s more than a little familiar.

“What’s old is new again,” said Jena Hall about the newest crop of white-with-wood furniture. “There’s certainly renewed interest in anything 20th-century: Art Deco, mid-century modern, Scandinavian. And the white is so appealing against darker pieces. Today, people like eclectic decorating. A good designer is looking at multiple influences – from movies, TV, books, constantly absorbing the culture around us. This (trend) is just another way to stay fresh.”

The new designs feature gloss cream using minimo, which creates a stylish, smooth and impactful design. The integrated appliances use the latest Integra handle complementing the aesthetic of the design.

Worksurfaces feature a combination of copperstone solid composite worktops and a statement island in solid walnut, resulting in a warm, bright kitchen. Minimo is designed to look great and works well with contemporary as well as traditional kitchen designs.

It is designed to create an attractive sleek and seamless finish to any kitchen. Minimo is available across almost the entire Ellis Furniture range of traditional and contemporary kitchens.

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  Greg and Kara Olsen stand for a portrait with their son, Tate.

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  The master bathroom in the home of Greg and Kara Olsen.

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  Greg and Kara Olsen with Louise Leeke of Kingswood Homes and Layton Campbell, of J. Layton Interiors.

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  The “before” master bath.

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  The “before” foyer.

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  The “before” kitchen.

By Emily Hedrick | Photography by John W. Adkisson

Posted: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012

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Let it not be said the Olsen family does anything halfway. And they’ll likely look back on 2012 as a milestone year.

In May, Greg and Kara Olsen bought a 6,500-square-foot house in The Club at Longview, a golf and country club community in Weddington. Having moved to Charlotte a year ago when Greg was traded from the Chicago Bears to the Carolina Panthers, they had been living with their 1-year-old son, Tate, in a rental home in Ballantyne. With Greg’s NFL career on solid ground, now seemed a good time to put down Carolina roots.

In the meantime, they also discovered that Kara was pregnant with twins, due in October. So the need to establish a permanent, comfortable nest became a bit more urgent.

They loved certain elements of the luxurious new house from the start. Kara, who worked in real estate in Miami and Chicago, appreciated the “bones” of the house. They both liked the family-friendly floor plan, the Old-World style of the surrounding properties and SouthPark-area amenities. Greg, who plays golf when he’s not on the football field, liked having a golf course in his backyard.

The next step was to put their own stamp on the new house. “We found the house and thought it was great. But we wanted a custom house without building from scratch,” Greg explains.

To bring their vision for their dream house to life, the Olsens hired custom builders Peter and Louise Leeke of Kingswood Homes to take care of construction and design. Toward the end of the process, the Leekes brought in designer Layton Campbell of J. Layton Interiors to supply furnishings such as furniture and drapery. Louise Leeke made structural changes to the first floor of the two-story house as well as giving the second floor a cosmetic makeover.

The five-bedroom house, built in 2005-6, has generously proportioned rooms, including a home theater, playroom, nursery and space for a nanny. “It was dated,” says Peter Leeke of the property. “We needed to enhance the level of sophistication and give it some more age-appropriate details” for the twenty-something Olsens, who love to entertain and often have family visiting from out of town.

Scale was a factor throughout the decision-making process. Campbell points out that Greg, at 6 feet 5 inches and 255 pounds, “couldn’t put up with a lot of flimsy furniture, so there were some physical constraints where he was concerned. And with three active little ones soon to be bouncing around the place, we needed to keep their needs in mind as well.”

From a carpentry standpoint, the remodel by Kingswood concentrated on four main projects: redesigning the master bathroom; rebuilding and refinishing all the wooden surfaces, including floors, ceilings and cabinets; opening up the dining area with a wider entry and reconfiguring the butler’s pantry to wine storage; and reconstructing architectural elements throughout the ground level to bring a “wow factor” to areas like the fireplaces and kitchen.

All the light fixtures on the ground level were also replaced to match the contemporary style, color and scale of the new furnishings.

The master bathroom got perhaps the biggest facelift. Stripping the room down to the studs, the Kingswood crew enclosed what was a powder room, opening up and bringing more symmetry to the entire space, enabling the Olsens to have a steam room as well as a shower and free-standing, 6-foot tub. Other strategic rearrangement of the space earned them some additional storage, including new, taller-than-average matching vanities (Kara herself is 5 feet 9 inches) and built-in shelves with sliding mirror doors to lighten up the room. Dark, ceramic tiles were replaced by white marble tile floors and a wall of contemporary taupe glass.

In the gathering room beyond the foyer, a new ceiling with silver metallic wallpaper inlaid in the coffers pattern now complements the new espresso-stained flooring. A custom-made Mirano chandelier with glass leaves added the finishing touch.

The heart of the house, the kitchen, flows into the keeping room at one end and the gathering room at the other. Dramatic fireplaces anchor both spaces. The Olsens retained the original copper farmhouse sinks, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, but a new, larger island was built to improve efficiency and storage. Kingswood acid-washed the countertops to achieve a leathered look, replacing the original high-gloss shine not only with a textured surface but also changing the deep gold color to a coppery tone at a fraction of the cost of replacing them. The cabinets were given a fresh, sophisticated finish, the beverage center got new cabinets with glass doors and backsplash, and the range received a precast hood and backsplash of stone and mosaic tile. The result would not look out of place in an English manor.

Because nearly all of the spacious living areas on the first floor are viewable from one to another, it was important that the color scheme, furnishings and design details work together. “I felt it was important to recreate the entire feel of the house to suit (the couple’s) personalities,” says Louise Leeke. “By introducing a cool palette of taupes and grays and adding clean lines to the architectural details, the style of the house changed from traditional to an elegant contemporary style. Rich, dark low-sheen hardwood floors and crisp honed white marble made the house feel like new construction – which was exactly what the Olsens were looking for.”

And how did Team Olsen work together? “It has been really smooth and easy,” says Kara. Peter Leeke adds that, unlike many husbands, Greg was an active participant from the start. “Oftentimes, the husband will tell me, ‘Give the wife whatever she wants.’ But Greg and Kara were both very involved in the selections all along.”

“I wanted his opinion,” Kara says.

“It’s my home, too,” Greg chimes in. “It’s our home.”