At this show, you should never say, `Don't be koi'
Mark Hughes traveled to Japan to select the koi now swimming in his backyard. One normally would say ''in his backyard pond'' but at 28,000 gallons, the pond is his back yard. And furthermore, there is not a single pond, but several levels of catchments, a lily pond and the koi pond.
( BY GEORGIA TASKER, gtasker@herald.com, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

JULIE GARTON-GOOD, Frugal Homeowner
Personalize loan prepayment plan
Q: We appreciated reading your recent article on how to decide if prepaying your mortgage makes sense. What's the best way to get started, especially so we'll stick to it?
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Dollhouse foreshadowed her career
After designing her own houses, Diane Sepler went into business; her work juxtaposes the contemporary with antique accents.
Hiring interior designer Diane Sepler is an indulgence in unabashed luxury. She lives as she decorates, in a New York-chic Brickell Avenue penthouse and is widely considered one of the most elegant women in Miami society.
( BY DAISY OLIVERA, dolivera@herald.com, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

CHILDPROOFING
Prep kitchen to keep kids from danger
Childproofing a home can be overwhelming. This is especially true in the kitchen, where water, heat and cleaners or other toxic agents are among the potential dangers. Here are some ways to make the kitchen a safer place for small children:
( Knight Ridder News Service, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

ELLEN JAMES MARTIN, Smart Moves
Turn negative house comments into a positive
Home buyers today take a much more ''investigative'' approach to property selection than they did just a few years ago, voicing their complaints and demands more assertively than ever, says veteran broker Gail Flagel.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

IN BRIEF
Television show appraiser will visit Burdines
Antiques Roadshow appraiser Jeanenne Bell, featured regularly on the popular PBS-TV program, will appear at Burdines Dadeland from 4 to 8 p.m. Jan. 29 to provide free jewelry appraisals for customers.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

RICHARD WHITE, Condo Line
Titles are at stake if an association opts to dissolve
Q: Our master association of our multiplex has opted to dissolve the legal recorded condominium master association. In the place of the condominium, they formed an owners' council. If there is a dispute, they must first go to the American Arbitration Association. Does the Bureau of Condominiums recognize the council joint agreement?
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

REAL ESTATE TAX
Moving expenses are tax deductible in many instances
Second of a series on real estate tax issues Are you one of the more than 20 million renters and homeowners who changed residences in 2003? If you did, your moving costs may be tax deductible. To qualify, you also must have changed your job location. However, it doesn't matter if you changed employers, stayed with the same employer or became self-employed.
( BY ROBERT J. BRUSS, Special to The Herald, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

ADRIAN HUNSBERGER, Plant Clinic
Ixora's yellow leaves indicate deficiency
Q: I have a shrub with clusters of burnt-orange colored flowers. It always seems to have yellow leaves. What is this plant and how do I make it green?
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

WATCH IT GROW
Below 45 degrees, plant goes dormant
Common name: Alocasia `Polly.' Botanical name: Alocasia x amazonica `Polly.' Description: A dwarf form of Alocasia x amazonica that was selected by South Miami-Dade grower Dennis Rotolante in 1993. The plant is hardier and stronger than the namesake from which it was developed. The plant has been put into tissue culture and mass produced. When temperatures drop below 45 degrees, Polly will go dormant, according to information from Agristarts, the company in Central Florida that grows it.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

ORCHIDS
Homestead breeder's vanda wins big prize
An enormous red vanda bred by R.F. Orchids in Homestead has been named the best vanda of 2002 by the Trustees of the American Orchid Society. The AOS annually gives the Roy T. Fukumura Vandaceous Award for the previous calendar year, and at its last board meeting, Vanda Robert's Delight 'Crownfox Big Red' FCC/AOS received the prize.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Garden Notes
Enrollment is now open for classes at Fairchild Tropical Garden. Day and evening classes are scheduled in January, February and March. Call 305-667-1651, ext. 3322, for more information or to enroll. A complete schedule is at www.fairchildgarden.org.
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

COLOR
Brown, they say, isn't boring
The design world has been tossing a lot of intense colors at us lately. And there is one school of thought that all that hot pink, lime green, sizzling orange and shimmering blue can stand a little sobering up.
( By PATRICIA DANE ROGERS, Washington Post Service, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

'Boys vs. Girls' a kid's spin on `Trading Spaces'
Decorators help childhood friends create fantasy bedrooms for each other while TV cameras roll.
Jennifer Schofield looked around her bedroom and gasped. The 13-year-old's face reddened and tears welled in her eyes. In a room next door, adults clustered around a television monitor and watched Jennifer's reaction in stunned silence.
( BY FERN SHEN, Washington Post Service, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

Putting pizazz into organizing our stuff
A popular trend is higher-visibility storage, which itself becomes a key design feature with containers that are colorful and decorative.
Having trouble finding your keys? Your cell phone? The remote? Don't fret. It's not another senior moment. Clutter is the culprit. That inevitable result of accumulating too much stuff -- paper, magazines, books, CDs, sports gear, crafts, whatever -- is downright depressing when it's piled, stacked and thrown in an uncool, unaesthetic way.
( BY ELAINE MARKOUTSAS, Universal Press Syndicate, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

HOT PROPERTY
Actor rents house for $10,000 a month
Actor Val Kilmer has leased a Hollywood Hills home for a year at its full asking price of $10,000 a month while he is in town working on a film.
( By RUTH RYON, Los Angeles Times Service, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

REALTY MAILBAG
Avoid foreclosure, even if you don't have equity
Q: I have owned my home about two years. I have no equity in it. I will need to sell it in a few months, but the home needs several repairs to make it more marketable so I can at least break even. However, I don't want to put any money into repairs. What are the penalties if I allow the house to go into foreclosure? Would I be able to buy another house in a few years if I keep my credit clean after that?
( By ROBERT J. BRUSS, Special to The Herald, 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)

KENNETH HARNEY, Washington Report
Three major credit bureaus to get a competitor
Should millions of American renters' on-time payments to landlords be ignored as key elements of their credit files when they want to buy a first home? Should their credit scores routinely be depressed as a result?
( 01/11/2004 03:01 AM EST)