Forget Bing Crosby's classic "White Christmas." For me, Christmastime will forever be evoked by David Cassidy crooning "My Christmas Card to You," and I still have the 1972 Partridge Family holiday record album to prove it.

A few weeks ago I took my monthly trip to the local flea market, where I went on a vintage-wallpaper-buying spree. I also found some beautiful old maps, shelf-edging paper and wall borders.

Summer travel leaves many of us with memories of ocean sunsets or foreign street scenes or other only-on-vacation sights. Once we've returned home, how can we hold onto some of that beauty and bring it into our living spaces?

Stacks of books turned into tables? Volumes made into shelves? Pages turned into sculpture?

Stacks of books turned into tables? Volumes made into shelves? Pages turned into sculpture?

For many homeowners, spring has brought the itch for change but not the money to do much about it.

For many homeowners, spring has brought the itch for change but not the money to do much about it.

Texan collector and decorator Andrea Reed grew up in a home filled with Pop Art, but it was the film "Tommy" that really made a lasting impression. In particular, a scene where Tommy's mother (played by Ann-Margret) sings "in an all-white room with a white ball chair. I was forever hooked," says Reed.

Maps are beautiful: the typography, the pastel colors, the highways connecting cities and towns like a detailed dot-to-dot. So why relegate them to the glove compartment, when they can be used as home decor? Plus, crafting with maps is a great way to save money on vacation souvenirs, allowing you to create your own personalized mementos.

John Derian is known in the world of home design for making decoupage cool. He has mastered the art of cutting and gluing paper images to surfaces and each year comes out with a line of decorative plates and platters with interesting images.

In an age of in-yourface advertising and rapid-fire TV images, there’s something comforting about toile.