Lucy Cohen Blatter

Co-op board meetings are a breeding ground for in-fighting and tedium—but they're essential to running a building smoothly and efficiently. Below, tips on how to do them right, from the folks at Habitat Magazine:

Keep meetings short. If you need more than an hour or an hour and a half, schedule a second get together.  

We could probably describe your rental kitchen without even seeing it: vinyl tile on the floors, laminate countertops in an inoffensive (if drab) pattern, those honey-colored wood cabinets that must be on special at the landlord supply store (if such a thing exists). But your cookie-cutter kitchen can be saved with a few affordable and easy upgrades, which Apartment Therapy recently rounded up:

1. Get a (new) handle on the cabinets