• Dwell tells you how to help out with the cyclone aftermath in Myanmar.
• Design*Sponge looks at patterned rugs.
• This Old House shows you how to animal proof your porch.
• The Style Files has some home inspiration.
• Ikea Hacker gets rasty.
• Shelterrific finds some yummy goat soap.
• Decor8 reports on a few good Etsy men.

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If you read my How-To on organizing your desk, you may remember that I wrote, "If everything has a place, you won't need to search for it. . . . That means, an inbox, an outbox, an on-hold box . . ." Something tells me that maybe not all of you have spent the time since then to get your desk into shipshape, so now is the time. You can get started by picking up the Room Service Home Etc. Wire Trays ($39 for two) to serve as your inbox, outbox, or on-hold box. At 13-x-11 and 12-x -10 inches, they're the perfect fit to glam up your boring paperwork. If it bothers you that they read "Etc.," get some decorative paper and a calligraphy pen, and switch them to more appropriate names. You like?

If you're planning a bridal shower, you're probably scouring your local shops looking for cute, inexpensive party gifts for your guests. These Cherry Blossom Gift Tins (10 for $22.50) are a great find. I don't know a lady out there who doesn't love pretty, small tins and boxes that can be used for stashing everything from earrings to sewing pins or change. There's just so many uses for little, pretty containers. These Japanese chiyogami (old-paper) gift tins would be a gorgeous, colorful, and unique keepsake tin for your party favors. You could fill them with something small and heartfelt, such as flower seeds, decorative small soaps, or chocolates. It's definitely a unique party favor that everyone will appreciate.

In the New York Times' Great Homes and Destinations, the feature "In England, at Home in a Railroad Station" caught my eye. The piece describes the remodeling process taken on by an American/British dual citizen, who purchased a former railroad station in dilapidated form and made it family-ready. Steve Sokalsky tried to maintain the sense of history in Lenwade Station, which dates back to before 1882, when transforming it into his two-bedroom, one-bath home. But he also integrated high technology, such as "its own computer server so the family can use an online system to access the heating, lighting, TV, broadband, and closed-circuit television service," and a wireless keyboard controlling a built-in TV, DVD player, or computer monitor screen that can float in the bathtub. Despite these modernizations, looking at the exterior, you can almost still hear the conductor's whistle and the chug of a train passing through. Sokalsky explained, "Our plan now is to extend the house, but all the work we do will be very much in keeping with the old building. It is very important to us that from the outside at least this property still looks very much like a station.”
Jonathan Player for the New York Times