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Gov. J.B. Pritzker held off filling top vacancies at Illinois unemployment office because he was planning to merge it with another state department.

Then COVID-19 upended the nation.

Starting in March, as authorities shut down businesses and schools and 2 million Illinois workers flooded the state for jobless benefits, the state Department of Employment Security was already at one of its weakest moments in recent history, records and interviews show.

At that moment, agency staffing was at an all-time low, according to its then-acting director. Veteran employees were retiring in droves to be replaced by rookies. And when key jobs were filled it was sometimes with political aides who had little or no agency experience.

Before the national health crisis, Illinois had been ranked among national leaders for speedy delivery of unemployment benefits. Suddenly, IDES plunged to being among the worst in the nation on several key performance measures.

In the months since, as problems have persisted, the administration has offered a range of explanations for its inability to handle the surge of claims.

Pritzker has blamed his Republican predecessor for hollowing out IDES and leaving the agency with inadequate staff and outdated technology. He has also criticized President Trump for unfair and chaotic rollouts of federal unemployment benefits.

But government records and interviews offer a more complex portrait, and reveal the frenzy inside an agency diminished by staff vacancies at every level in the 18 months Pritzker was in charge even before the crisis.

State-by-state data from the U.S. Labor Department, hundreds of agency emails and internal agency documents obtained by the Better Government Association show:

Pritzker administration officials acknowledged to the BGA the agency had problems, but Hynessaid unfilled leadership positions at IDES had little impact.

There was not instability at the top, hesaid. I think what was lacking was everything underneath there.

There was great attrition in the rank-and-file employees who were at the front lines of services. There was outdated technology, a lack of investment in technology that had occurred over the last 10 years. Thats really what was lacking.

Hynes said IDES worked hard under incredible stress to pay out a staggering $14.2 billion in benefits to an unprecedented 2.1 million Illinois claimants from March through August.

The volume and surge of claims that overtook the agency was really unprecedented and unsolvable until we figured out how to allocate the resources in the right way, Hynes said. It was heart-wrenching among all of us to urge patience among peoplewho were desperate to get help, but knowing that we were unable to deal with everybody all at once.

Pritzker this summer named Kristin Richards, a former chief of staff to state senate presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon, the new acting director at IDES.

More so than anything, I feel a responsibility to try and bring some stability for claimants, find some stability for people that are attempting to reach us, Richards said. Its a really big problem-solving exercise but its the right time to throw every bit of muscle we can to try to do it, and thats what were going to do.

Experts say reforms are welcome and sorely needed.

These problems at IDES came at a cost to people. Some applicants had desperate financial problems, said Jeremy Rosen, Director of Economic Justice at Chicagos Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The governor was right that no state was properly prepared. But given the crisis every state faced, why did Illinois not respond as effectively as other states?

Before the pandemic, Illinois had been paying about 80% of initial unemployment claims within seven days.

That quick payout rate plummeted to around 1% and held there through September, putting Illinois last among states on this timeliness measure, according to newly released data from the federal labor department.

IDES told the BGA these quick payments slowed because Illinois like many states waited one week before starting the clock prior to the pandemic.After the crisis, Illinois and 36 other states cut out the waiting week in an effort to get more money out quickly.

Agency officials offered no explanation why it performed so much worse than all other states, including those that waived the waiting week. Only nine other states fell to less than 10% on this 7-day measure, the federal records show.

Federal rules do not require a 7-day turn around. Instead, the guidelines require states to pay out nearly 90% of all initial unemployment checks within 21 days.

On that 21-day measure Illinois also fell short by distributing only 61%. However, Illinois stillperformed better than most states. By comparison, the national average for meeting the three-week window is nearly 55%.

Still, every day matters to laid-off Illinois workers borrowing from relatives to pay their rent or mortgage bills, selling personal belongings and using food banks to get groceries to their families, according to emails pleading for help that reached the governors cabinet.

There is no standard for seven days, said Richards, the IDES acting director. I agree with you it is important to claimants. Every day is important to claimants.

The difficulties Illinois was facing amid the pandemic were reflected in federal labor department score cards required by the federal government, which rank states for the promptness of payments, the effectiveness of audits and eight other agency functions.

States submit reports every three months to indicate adequate performance or something less by labeling each of the 10 categories with either a green or red mark. IDES veterans call this chart the Christmas tree.

While IDES had been slowly improving since 2015 on the core labor department metrics, by March of this year Illinois was the only state failing all three categories labeled integrity measures, which includes detection of overpayments, improper payments, and the recovery of those mistaken payouts.

Asked for the states scorecard data through June, Pritzker administration officials declined to provide the records.

The Christmas tree is a document put together for internal purposes only and is not available for public consumption, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco told the BGA in an email.

The BGA, however, obtained a copy of that report, which shows erosion as Illinois failed five of 10 performance measures.

Amid the chaos, IDES was so far behind in processing claims that it triaged cases by prioritizing people referred by local politicians, the BGA found.

In a June 5 report to the bipartisan Senate oversight panel, IDES responded to questions about the lack of uniformity in how unemployment claims are submitted.

Claimants continue to call IDES in addition to their elected officials, the report said. Therefore, often, even though we move an elected officials constituent to the front of the line, the constituent has often already been able to get through to the call center.

We will continue to pull our staff out of the call center to call claimants sent to us by an elected official, that report added, but with hundreds of elected officials submitting issues to IDES, we cannot ensure the claimant will receive a response prior to their being able to get through to the call center.

Later that month, more than 50 House Democrats wrote to the agency that each of them was fielding 60 to 90 complaints from constituents on any given day. The lawmakers asked for additional IDES staff to handle their claims. In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rich Miller reported on the lawmakersletter.

In a recent email to the BGA, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh called the IDES practice of responding to claims referred by elected officials an attempt for the Department and its employees to help as many people as possible at a time when there was no structure in place.

The BGA has filed a pending public records request for details on the number of claims referred by each elected official since March.

Illinois began the pandemic era in a proud position, first among states to begin paying out the initial $600-per-week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments on April 6, records show.

That early success quickly became a footnote as IDES was overwhelmed with 519,269 new claims for regular unemployment benefits that month more than 10 previous Aprils combined and federal authorities poured $500 billion in crisis relief into an alphabet soup of new and existing programs for laid-off workers.

Records show how Illinois struggled to implement those federal programs.

It was the 44th state to apply for the $300-per-week Lost Wage Assistance benefit: While most states deployed that program in August, Illinois did not start making payments until September 4, records show.

It was among 23 states that did not offer workers partial benefits when their employers reduced hours instead of laying them off. IDES told the Senate oversight panel in August it decided against offering the benefit because its staff was stretched thin.

Illinois also trailed all but seven states in processing the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA benefit, to independent contractors and gig workers. Illinois did not begin processing PUA payments until May 11, and didnt starting paying until a week later.

Emails between Hynes and then-IDES Acting Director Thomas Chan obtained by the BGA through a public records request detail the pressure inside IDES as Illinois PUA program was rolled out.

Folks I am counting on you to launch the independent contractor unemployment system ASAP and no later than May 11, Pritzker wrote to Chan and Hynes at 7:43 a.m. on May 4. Can you confirm that will happen? JB.

IDES hustled to update its policies and computer code, and minutes before midnight on May 10 Chan emailed Hynes that he and aides did a test run by filing a small sample of claims.

Minor hiccups but no show stoppers, Chan wrote.

Within 10 minutes of Illinois PUA system going live the next morning, on May 11, more than 1,500 people applied for benefits through the state portal, records show. Hynes conducted his own test minutes later.

I called the 800 number. Hit the correct prompts for PUA, Hynes wrote in an email to Chan at 8:01 a.m.

An automated voice told Hynes there was a high volume of calls. Then it hung up on him, Hynes emailed.

Its not even 830, Hynes wrote. This is not good.

Illinoisstruggle to roll out the new federal benefits came amid staffing shortfalls at every level of IDES.

Acting Director Chan was a placeholder pending the governors merger plans. Pritzker had named a replacement for Chan in 2019 then withdrew that appointment days later without explanation. And there were months-long vacancies in the deputy director and audit positions.

On March 14, 2020 as Pritzker was closing Illinois schools and dine-in restaurants and limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people Chan sent Hynes an urgent email that revealed the staffing shortfalls within IDES.

I need permission to fill IDES Chief Operating Officer position as soon as possible, Chan wrote. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed. But I need some help.

The Pritzker administration granted that request, and Chan rode out the harrowing next months at the helm of IDES. Chan declined to comment for this report.

Beyond leadership vacancies, rank-and-file numbers also were dropping.

In 2010, the year after Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn took office, the agency headcount stood at almost 2,000. That number declined to around 1,300 when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took over in 2015. When Pritzker assumed office in 2019, there were 1,100, records show.

By April, the IDES staff level had slipped to 1,041, according to state records.

Illinois had been struggling to onboard new employees faster than the rate of attrition, Chan told the states Employment Security Advisory Board.

In other words, heading into this downturn, our baseline staffing numbers, the employees hired to operate our programs and meet minimum federal performance standards, were, despite our best efforts, at an all-time low.

Whats more, experience had been drained from the agency.

In 2014, Chan told the panel, about 86% of IDES workforce had more than five years experience with the agency. By June it had dropped to 67%. Managers are serving in multiple roles and performing the work of multiple employees, Chan said, according to the boards meeting minutes.

Amid the pandemic, on April 29, IDES contracted with a private accounting firm to bolsterthe force of 100-plus IDES staffers answering phones. But those new agents often did not have adequate training to answer even the simplest questions, instead transferring claimants to the better-trained IDES employees, records show.

Pritzker wants to add 226 IDES employees next year. Illinois also is planning to issue bonds to borrow more than $5 billion to bail out the IDES Trust Fund, which uses taxes levied from employers to pay out worker benefits claims, records and interviews show.

What were going to do ourselves over the coming months and years is to figure out what weve learned from this experience, Hynes said. And that applies to what technology systems we have and need, what sort of human resources we need to devote to this agency, what type of best practices we should be borrowing from other states.

On hold for now: the governors plan to merge IDES with the state labor department.

It would not be a prudent thing to try to move pieces around and make changes in an agency that is really struggling just to meet its basic operations, Hynes said.

See the article here:
Illinois Poorly Prepared for Flood of Unemployment Claims - Better Government Association (BGA)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker held off filling top vacancies at Illinois unemployment office because he was planning to merge it with another state department.

Then COVID-19 upended the nation.

Starting in March, as authorities shut down businesses and schools and 2 million Illinois workers flooded the state for jobless benefits, the state Department of Employment Security was already at one of its weakest moments in recent history, records and interviews show.

At that moment, agency staffing was at an all-time low, according to its then-acting director. Veteran employees were retiring in droves to be replaced by rookies. And when key jobs were filled it was sometimes with political aides who had little or no agency experience.

Before the national health crisis, Illinois had been ranked among national leaders for speedy delivery of unemployment benefits. Suddenly, IDES plunged to being among the worst in the nation on several key performance measures.

In the months since, as problems have persisted, the administration has offered a range of explanations for its inability to handle the surge of claims.

Pritzker has blamed his Republican predecessor for hollowing out IDES and leaving the agency with inadequate staff and outdated technology. He has also criticized President Trump for unfair and chaotic rollouts of federal unemployment benefits.

But government records and interviews offer a more complex portrait, and reveal the frenzy inside an agency diminished by staff vacancies at every level in the 18 months Pritzker was in charge even before the crisis.

State-by-state data from the U.S. Labor Department, hundreds of agency emails and internal agency documents obtained by the Better Government Association show:

In recent months, IDES has issued around 1 percent of its unemployment checks within seven days of the initial applications, making it the slowest state in the nation by that measure. Before the pandemic, it was among the fastest. On some key federal measurements for processing unemployment claims, IDES performed better during the pandemic than other big states or than the nation as a whole. Still, Illinois failed to meet standards in five of 10 performance measures collected by federal authorities, ranging from timely benefits distribution to the soundness of internal audits that detect fraud and underpayments. The Pritzker administration denied a request for these scorecards, but the BGA obtained them anyway. In June, the overwhelmed and understaffed agency told a senate oversight panel, in writing, that it moved jobless claims that came through elected officials to the front of the line over applications that came directly from taxpayers, the BGA found. In emails and internal presentations, the acting head of the agency sounded the alarm repeatedly and urgently. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed, he wrote in a March 14 email to his boss, Deputy Governor Dan Hynes. But I need some help.

Pritzker administration officials acknowledged to the BGA the agency had problems, but Hynes said unfilled leadership positions at IDES had little impact.

There was not instability at the top, he said. I think what was lacking was everything underneath there.

There was great attrition in the rank-and-file employees who were at the front lines of services. There was outdated technology, a lack of investment in technology that had occurred over the last 10 years. Thats really what was lacking.

Hynes said IDES worked hard under incredible stress to pay out a staggering $14.2 billion in benefits to an unprecedented 2.1 million Illinois claimants from March through August.

The volume and surge of claims that overtook the agency was really unprecedented and unsolvable until we figured out how to allocate the resources in the right way, Hynes said. It was heart-wrenching among all of us to urge patience among people who were desperate to get help, but knowing that we were unable to deal with everybody all at once.

Pritzker this summer named Kristin Richards, a former chief of staff to state Senate Presidents John Cullerton and Don Harmon, the new acting director at IDES.

More so than anything, I feel a responsibility to try and bring some stability for claimants, find some stability for people that are attempting to reach us, Richards said. Its a really big problem-solving exercise but its the right time to throw every bit of muscle we can to try to do it, and thats what were going to do.

Experts say reforms are welcome and sorely needed.

These problems at IDES came at a cost to people. Some applicants had desperate financial problems, said Jeremy Rosen, director of economic justice at Chicagos Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The governor was right that no state was properly prepared. But given the crisis every state faced, why did Illinois not respond as effectively as other states?

From best to worst

Before the pandemic, Illinois had been paying about 80 percent of initial unemployment claims within seven days.

That quick payout rate plummeted to around 1 percent and held there through September, putting Illinois last among states on this timeliness measure, according to newly released data from the federal labor department.

IDES told the BGA these quick payments slowed because Illinois like many states waited one week before starting the clock prior to the pandemic. After the crisis, Illinois and 36 other states cut out the waiting week in an effort to get more money out quickly.

Agency officials offered no explanation why it performed so much worse than all other states, including those that waived the waiting week. Only nine other states fell to less than 10 percent on this seven-day measure, the federal records show.

Federal rules do not require a seven-day turn around. Instead, the guidelines require states to pay out nearly 90 percent of all initial unemployment checks within 21 days.

On that 21-day measure, Illinois also fell short by distributing only 61 percent. However, Illinois still performed better than most states. By comparison, the national average for meeting the three-week window is nearly 55 percent.

Still, every day matters to laid-off Illinois workers borrowing from relatives to pay their rent or mortgage bills, selling personal belongings and using food banks to get groceries to their families, according to emails pleading for help that reached the governors cabinet.

There is no standard for seven days, said Richards, the IDES acting director. I agree with you it is important to claimants. Every day is important to claimants.

A Christmas tree on fire

The difficulties Illinois was facing amid the pandemic were reflected in federal labor department score cards required by the federal government, which rank states for the promptness of payments, the effectiveness of audits and eight other agency functions.

States submit reports every three months to indicate adequate performance or something less by labeling each of the 10 categories with either a green or red mark. IDES veterans call this chart the Christmas tree.

While IDES had been slowly improving since 2015 on the core labor department metrics, by March of this year Illinois was the only state failing all three categories labeled integrity measures, which includes detection of overpayments, improper payments, and the recovery of those mistaken payouts.

Asked for the states scorecard data through June, Pritzker administration officials declined to provide the records.

The Christmas tree is a document put together for internal purposes only and is not available for public consumption, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco told the BGA in an email.

The BGA, however, obtained a copy of that report, which shows erosion as Illinois failed five of 10 performance measures.

Front of the line

Amid the chaos, IDES was so far behind in processing claims that it triaged cases by prioritizing people referred by local politicians, the BGA found.

In a June 5 report to the bipartisan Senate oversight panel, IDES responded to questions about the lack of uniformity in how unemployment claims are submitted.

Claimants continue to call IDES in addition to their elected officials, the report said. Therefore, often, even though we move an elected officials constituent to the front of the line, the constituent has often already been able to get through to the call center.

We will continue to pull our staff out of the call center to call claimants sent to us by an elected official, that report added, but with hundreds of elected officials submitting issues to IDES, we cannot ensure the claimant will receive a response prior to their being able to get through to the call center.

Later that month, more than 50 House Democrats wrote to the agency that each of them was fielding 60 to 90 complaints from constituents on any given day. The lawmakers asked for additional IDES staff to handle their claims. In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rich Miller reported on the lawmakers letter.

In a recent email to the BGA, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh called the IDES practice of responding to claims referred by elected officials an attempt for the Department and its employees to help as many people as possible at a time when there was no structure in place.

The BGA has filed a pending public records request for details on the number of claims referred by each elected official since March.

This is not good

Illinois began the pandemic era in a proud position, first among states to begin paying out the initial $600-per-week Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments on April 6, records show.

That early success quickly became a footnote as IDES was overwhelmed with 519,269 new claims for regular unemployment benefits that month more than 10 previous Aprils combined and federal authorities poured $500 billion in crisis relief into an alphabet soup of new and existing programs for laid-off workers.

Records show how Illinois struggled to implement those federal programs.

It was the 44th state to apply for the $300-per-week Lost Wage Assistance benefit: While most states deployed that program in August, Illinois did not start making payments until September 4, records show.

It was among 23 states that did not offer workers partial benefits when their employers reduced hours instead of laying them off. IDES told the Senate oversight panel in August it decided against offering the benefit because its staff was stretched thin.

Illinois also trailed all but seven states in processing the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA benefit, to independent contractors and gig workers. Illinois did not begin processing PUA payments until May 11, and didnt starting paying until a week later.

Emails between Hynes and then-IDES Acting Director Thomas Chan obtained by the BGA through a public records request detail the pressure inside IDES as Illinois PUA program was rolled out.

Folks I am counting on you to launch the independent contractor unemployment system ASAP and no later than May 11, Pritzker wrote to Chan and Hynes at 7:43 a.m. on May 4. Can you confirm that will happen? JB.

IDES hustled to update its policies and computer code, and minutes before midnight on May 10 Chan emailed Hynes that he and aides did a test run by filing a small sample of claims.

Minor hiccups but no show stoppers, Chan wrote.

Within 10 minutes of Illinois PUA system going live the next morning, on May 11, more than 1,500 people applied for benefits through the state portal, records show. Hynes conducted his own test minutes later.

I called the 800 number. Hit the correct prompts for PUA, Hynes wrote in an email to Chan at 8:01 a.m.

An automated voice told Hynes there was a high volume of calls. Then it hung up on him, Hynes emailed.

Its not even 830, Hynes wrote. This is not good.

Staffing levels hit all-time low'

Illinois struggle to roll out the new federal benefits came amid staffing shortfalls at every level of IDES.

Acting Director Chan was a placeholder pending the governors merger plans. Pritzker had named a replacement for Chan in 2019 then withdrew that appointment days later without explanation. And there were months-long vacancies in the deputy director and audit positions.

On March 14, 2020 as Pritzker was closing Illinois schools and dine-in restaurants and limiting gatherings to no more than 50 people Chan sent Hynes an urgent email that revealed the staffing shortfalls within IDES.

I need permission to fill IDES Chief Operating Officer position as soon as possible, Chan wrote. Please know that Im doing everything in my power to get you what is needed. But I need some help.

The Pritzker administration granted that request, and Chan rode out the harrowing next months at the helm of IDES. Chan declined to comment for this report.

Beyond leadership vacancies, rank-and-file numbers also were dropping.

In 2010, the year after Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn took office, the agency headcount stood at almost 2,000. That number declined to around 1,300 when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner took over in 2015. When Pritzker assumed office in 2019, there were 1,100, records show.

By April, the IDES staff level had slipped to 1,041, according to state records.

Illinois had been struggling to onboard new employees faster than the rate of attrition, Chan told the states Employment Security Advisory Board.

In other words, heading into this downturn, our baseline staffing numbers, the employees hired to operate our programs and meet minimum federal performance standards, were, despite our best efforts, at an all-time low.

Whats more, experience had been drained from the agency.

In 2014, Chan told the panel, about 86 percent of IDES workforce had more than five years experience with the agency. By June it had dropped to 67 percent. Managers are serving in multiple roles and performing the work of multiple employees, Chan said, according to the boards meeting minutes.

Amid the pandemic, on April 29, IDES contracted with a private accounting firm to bolster the force of 100-plus IDES staffers answering phones. But those new agents often did not have adequate training to answer even the simplest questions, instead transferring claimants to the better-trained IDES employees, records show.

Best practices to borrow

Pritzker wants to add 226 IDES employees next year. Illinois also is planning to issue bonds to borrow more than $5 billion to bail out the IDES Trust Fund, which uses taxes levied from employers to pay out worker benefits claims, records and interviews show.

What were going to do ourselves over the coming months and years is to figure out what weve learned from this experience, Hynes said. And that applies to what technology systems we have and need, what sort of human resources we need to devote to this agency, what type of best practices we should be borrowing from other states.

On hold for now: the governors plan to merge IDES with the state labor department.

It would not be a prudent thing to try to move pieces around and make changes in an agency that is really struggling just to meet its basic operations, Hynes said.

This story was produced by the Better Government Association, a nonprofit news organization based in Chicago.

Read more here:
Better Government Association: Illinois poorly prepared for flood of unemployment claims - The Herald-News

(Adobe Max image courtesy of Adobe)

Adobe ADBE is weaving its artificial intelligence capabilities into even more of its biggest creative applications, including Premiere Pro and Photoshop, it announced today. The company also launched an iPad version of its Illustrator vector-drawing program, and an iPhone version of its Fresco drawing software.

Those were just some of the many product announcements from the software giant, all timed to the start of its three-day Adobe MAX creativity conference this morning.

Thanks to the pandemic, the conference is virtual only, and free. Max features dozens of panels on using Adobe software, as well as appearances by creative notables such as photographer Annie Leibowitz, film directors Ava DuVernay and Taika Waititi, actors Zendaya and David Tennant, talk-show host Conan OBrien, writer Roxane Gaye and electronic musician Marshmello.

The biggest news, though, may be the ways Adobes AI and machine learning tools, which it calls Sensei, are being woven even more deeply into its programs, typically to simplify or speed complex, often repetitive parts of the business of creating images.

The company calls Photoshop, its flagship image-editing program, the worlds most advanced AI application for creatives as it released new versions for desktop computers and Apples iPad.

Our goal is to systematically replace time-intensive steps with smart, automated technology wherever possible, the company said in a blog post. With the addition of these five major new breakthroughs, you can free yourself from the mundane, non-creative tasks and focus on what matters most your creativity.

Photoshop gets five major new AI features, including Sky Replacement, with 25 replacement sky presets, and two Refine Edge Selections, to simplify the painstaking process of selecting hair and complex objects.

Adobe touted another new AI-based function, Neural Filters, as a reimagining of the ways Photoshop uses filters and image-manipulation tools. Neural Filters ships with a large group of new, non-destructive filters to modify images, though Adobe cautioned that many are still in beta stage, and will need further refinement.

The Neural Filters dashboard suggests groups of actions, such as Skin Smoothing or Smart Portrait, to improve an image with a single click or manipulation of a slider. Smart Portrait can tweak details such as where a subject is gazing, or the tilt of their head.

A new Sensei-based Discover panel adds better context-aware search, help and other tools and tips to help creators work faster within the program, which has long been known for both its power and brain-melting complexity.

Elsewhere, the Roto Brush 2 tool uses Sensei to greatly simplify the time-consuming task of rotoscoping. It smartly automates much of the process of closely outlining a moving figure in video, extracting the movement from the rest of the video and dropping it into another one. Roto Brush is in both the film-editing app Premiere Pro and the 3D and visual-effects tool After Effects.

Premiere Pro also gets a Sensei-based automated captioning tool that captures speech in a video scene, converts it to text, then uses machine learning to properly place the text in cadence with the speech on screen. The launch version works with 11 languages and multiple speakers. The company is also taking applications from people who want to beta test the new Captions Track, which allows a creator to modify the look, color, font, placement and other aspects of captions on screen.

Another app, Character Animator, is also adding AI smarts, with speech-aware animation and more accurate lip synching to allow creators to essentially puppeteer and capture a digital image so that its mouth and body parts move in concert with the live humans movements and speech.

The ability to capture arm movements, through what was previously called Arm IK, now extends to other body parts, such as knees, in Limb IK.

Other announcements on the day include:

See original here:
Photoshop, Premiere Pro And Other Adobe Programs Get More AI Smarts - Forbes

Countertops Market report offers detailed perceptions on the market dynamic forces to enable informed business decision making and development strategy formulation supported on the opportunities present in the market.

The pandemic impact and recovery measures in Countertops Industry and new policies and plans are covered. The complete historic, present Countertops market monitoring and performance check is conducted with the help of reliable data sources and paid sources.

Some of the Important and Key Players of the Global Countertops Market:

Arborite, ARISTECH SURFACES LLC, Cambria, Wilsonart LLC, Caesarstone, Formica, Cosentino S.A., and Masco Corporation.

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There are 10 Chapters to deeply display the Countertops market: Chapter 1, is executive summary of Countertops Market; Chapter 2, is definition and segment of Countertops; Chapter 3, to show info and data comparison of Countertops Players; Chapter 4, to explain the industry chain of Countertops; Chapter 5, to show comparison of regions and courtiers(or sub-regions); Chapter 6, to show competition and trade situation of Countertops Market; Chapter 7, to show comparison of applications; Chapter 8, to show comparison of types; Chapter 9, to show investment of Countertops Market; Chapter 10, to forecast Countertops market in the next years.

Global Countertops Market: Competitive Analysis

This section of the report identifies various key manufacturers of the market. It helps the reader understand the strategies and collaborations that players are focusing on combat competition in the market. The comprehensive report provides a significant microscopic look at the market. The reader can identify the footprints of the manufacturers by knowing about the Global revenue of manufacturers, the Global price of manufacturers, and sales by manufacturers during the forecast period of 2015 to 2019.

Global Countertops Market: Regional Analysis

The Countertops market is analysed and market size information is provided by regions (countries). The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and by Application segment in terms of sales and revenue for the period 2015-2026.

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Countertops Market Segmentation

Type Analysis of Countertops Market:

by Material (Granite, Solid Surface, Quartz, Laminate, Marble, Others)

Applications Analysis of Countertops Market:

by Application (Residential and Non-residential)

The scope of the Countertops Market Research extends from the market scenarios for comparative pricing between the major players, services, costs and profits of the specified market regions. Countertops Market report examines the factors influencing market growth and product development along with technological up gradations that can boost the Countertops Market. The Countertops Industry report cites the various opportunities to favor market growth over the 2018-2026 forecast period. It also highlights the significant market trends shaping the market.

The key questions answered in this report:

1. What will be the Market Size and Growth Rate in the forecast year?2. What are the Key Factors driving Countertops Market?3. What are the Risks and Challenges in front of the market?4. Who are the Key Vendors in Countertops Market?5. What are the Trending Factors influencing the market shares?6. What are the Key Outcomes of Porters five forces model?7. Which are the Global Opportunities for Expanding the Countertops Market?

Table of Contents

Report Overview: It includes major players of the Global Countertops Market covered in the research study, research scope, and Market segments by type, market segments by application, years considered for the research study, and objectives of the report.

Global Growth Trends: This section focuses on industry trends where market drivers and top market trends are shed light upon. It also provides growth rates of key producers operating in the Global Countertops Market. Furthermore, it offers production and capacity analysis where marketing pricing trends, capacity, production, and production value of the Global Countertops Market are discussed.

Market Share by Manufacturers: Here, the report provides details about revenue by manufacturers, production and capacity by manufacturers, price by manufacturers, expansion plans, mergers and acquisitions, and products, market entry dates, distribution, and market areas of key manufacturers.

Market Size by Type: This section concentrates on product type segments where production value market share, price, and production market share by product type are discussed.

Market Size by Application: Besides an overview of the Global Countertops Market by application, it gives a study on the consumption in the Global Countertops Market by application.

Production by Region: Here, the production value growth rate, production growth rate, import and export, and key players of each regional market are provided.

Consumption by Region: This section provides information on the consumption in each regional market studied in the report. The consumption is discussed on the basis of country, application, and product type.

Company Profiles: Almost all leading players of the Global Countertops Market are profiled in this section. The analysts have provided information about their recent developments in the Global Countertops Market, products, revenue, production, business, and company.

Market Forecast by Production: The production and production value forecasts included in this section are for the Global Countertops Market as well as for key regional markets.

Market Forecast by Consumption: The consumption and consumption value forecasts included in this section are for the Global Countertops Market as well as for key regional markets.

Value Chain and Sales Analysis: It deeply analyzes customers, distributors, sales channels, and value chain of the Global Countertops Market.

Key Findings: This section gives a quick look at important findings of the research study.

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Countertops Market 2020 Size, Growth And Status, Analysis and Forecast 2026 By Segmentation And Geography Overview - Eurowire

With the UK property market well on the way to recovery and activity heating up amongst buyers, sellers are being advised to go the extra mile to make their homes stand out from the crowd.

According to new research from self-storage experts, Space Station, 46% of new-build homes now come fitted with a utility room and extra storage space, making these features the must-haves for homes in 2020/21.

With utility rooms and additional storage space reported to increase a propertys value and make it more attractive to buyers, homeowners looking to sell in the near-future should certainly consider increasing the amount of storage space in their home.

Vlatka Lake, storage expert, has provided tips and advice on affordable ways sellers can create additional storage space around their home, without breaking the bank.

Create a mini utility area

Utility rooms are a coveted house feature at the moment, thanks to Stacey Solomans recent revamp of her utility room and the popular The Home Edit organisation programme. However, homeowners dont have to fork out thousands to create their own utility room. Unused space under the stairs is a great option to create a small utility space to help maximise selling prospects. Shelving could be added to help store cleaning and laundry supplies, as well as a worktop for additional storage.

Make use of unused space

Without realising it, our homes are full of unused space that could be a storage goldmine with a little bit of DIY. Space under a bay window, or an empty corner of the room, for example, could be transformed into useful built-in storage that will be appealing to buyers.

Sellers could easily add some under-window storage in the form of a storage bench, which not only creates a cosy seating area, but also inconspicuous storage space. Plinth drawers are also a great option for additional storage in the kitchen. Drawers can be fitted underneath cabinets and are an affordable way of making the most of unused space, especially in smaller kitchens.

Think vertically

When it comes to storage space, most homeowners use the floor space around them, however, theres plenty of space unused above us. Think of adding shelving or storage cupboards higher up, especially in smaller bathrooms where space can be limited. Try adding hooks or pegs to spaces next to doors or a bookcase above a window frame to create a quirky, but useful storage space.

Utilise outdoor space

Homebuyers are always on the lookout for what storage solutions a home can offer both inside the home and outside.

Garages and sheds are great spaces for storage, so consider adding in built-in shelving units or hooks to store gardening tools, DIY equipment and gadgets. Equipment and tools could be hung up on the wall or on the ceiling to really maximise the floor space.

Give the pantry some TLC

A built-in pantry is great for storing surplus food and can also be a really attractive asset to buyers if they are used properly. Most pantries come with one or two built-in shelves, which results in a cluttered space. Sellers could consider adding additional shelving to maximise the space they have, as well as a door organiser to really make use of every square inch of space.

Vlatka concludes: Spaces such as utility rooms are really desirable features, as they offer practical storage space, freeing up room in living areas like the kitchen and dining room.

However, not all homes are made equal and our recent analysis shows that for the price of an average UK home, the chances of finding a pre-owned property with a purpose-built utility room are just 8%. There are ways for those looking to sell their home to really maximise the space they already have available and create more appealing storage solutions for potential buyers.

Simple DIY jobs such as adding more shelving in the garage or garden shed, or sprucing up your existing pantry, can really appeal to prospective buyers and help sell your house as quickly as possible.

Read this article:
Top five storage additions to make your home more attractive to buyers - Property Reporter

LifestyleHomes and GardensBusinessman Tony Gartland left an impressive legacy including Broad Carr House in Holywell Green now for sale

Tuesday, 20th October 2020, 11:07 am

Broad Carr, Holywell Green

Contact: Fine and Country Halifax, tel: 01422 419890, http://www.fineandcountry.com

Businessman Tony Gartland was a working class boy made good through hard work, intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit.

He passed away this summer at the age of 79 but left an impressive legacy. He built an empire, made a fortune from parking meters and used his talents to buy and turn around failing companies before selling them on as going concerns.

A proud Yorkshireman and fiercely loyal to his home town of Halifax, where he devoted time and money to community work and to its Rugby League club, he would not have considered living anywhere but Calderdale.

That is why he chose to lavish a substantial amount of money on buying and improving Broad Carr House in the village of Holywell Green. Now on the market for 1.75m with Fine and Country, it is an impressive live-work home and one of the areas most outstanding properties.

Mr Gartlands daughter Deborah, says: He bought it 27 years ago and it is a beautiful house. It feels very rural but you can get into Halifax, Huddersfield

and on to the motorway very quickly.

The period property had been a restaurant in the 1970s and the previous owners had converted it back to a home. While it was in good order, Mr Gartland improved on it by adding a portico, an orangery, and garage.

He also had the old coach house converted into offices with an apartment above, and his most recent addition was an octagonal library. His daughter, Kelly Jackson, an interior designer, designed the decor in some of the recently updated rooms,

Deborah Gartland says: The house is imposing but it is very welcoming, warm and inviting home. We are sad to see it go as we have very happy memories of living here. It is such a wonderful place.

Broad Carr House sits in seven acres with gardens, open park land, stables, a wood and a lake. The earliest part of the house dates to the mid 17th century and there are Victorian and Edwardian additions. The hallway has a grand staircase and opens onto three reception rooms.

The property also has an orangery, kitchen pantry, utility room, butlers kitchen, wine store, several store rooms and access to the cellars. On the upper floors are six bedrooms.

Along with the main house, there is a garage, a suite of two offices and a two-bedroom, two bathroom apartment.

Broad Carr House is 1.75m and is for sale with Fine & Country, tel: 01422 419890, http://www.fineandcountry.com

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just 5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

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One of the most outstanding homes in Calderdale is for sale - Yorkshire Post

People who celebrate Halloween are spending more than ever on the holiday in 2020, a year thats been almost all trick and no treat.

Admittedly, the percentage doing the celebrating this year is down 4% (to 58%) in a new National Retail Federation survey, a drop directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. But what theyre spending per person has jumped to an all-time high of over $92, with much of that going to decorations.

In part, its because people are spending a lot more time at home. In part, its because decorating the house for the holiday can make up a little, at least for having to forgo the trick-or-treat tradition this year, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC to its friends) and the Oregon Health Authority.

The big-box stores know this all too well, selling out of 12-foot-tall skeletons and creepy jack-in-the-box clowns that would keep Stephen King awake at night.

But there are ways to create decor even Dracula would approve of for falls second spookiest holiday (behind the absolutely terrifying Election Day), that wont suck your bank account dry in the process.

Of course, carving pumpkins is an option (see our previous column for guidance), but the impact is especially short-term, because once you carve them, you have less than a week before they start to rot.

So we that would be Marcia have come up with a few ideas to create some spooky additions to your holiday experience. And for very little money.

Consider them our treat to you. Especially since I plan on eating all the candy wed normally hand out to trick-or-treaters.

Marcia:

If you are a longtime reader, you might remember me saying before that I love Halloween.

I love the season the colors, long sideways shadows, crisp clean air and freaky monsters.

I love the creativity of it all the pumpkins and gourds, homemade decorations and handmade costumes.

In fact, for my September birthday, I was gifted a wiener dog skeleton (Dennis: Dont worry, it was fake) from our granddaughter Noelle. Best present ever!

This skeleton wiener dog was a birthday gift.Marcia Westcott Peck

On Halloween evening, I greet every person at the front door, ask them about their costumes and hand out a full-size candy bar to each and every one of them.

Young, old or in between, if you are dressed up, you get candy from me (Dennis: Is that why Weird Uncle Gary wears a wizard hat and a wrestling singlet every year? Marcia: I cant unsee that!).

Id love it if everyone wore a costume and trick-or-treated. Age makes no difference; its the spirit that counts.

Last year, I came up with the idea to make a giant spider out of a round pittosporum bush in our front garden. I bought foam pipe insulation to make legs, decorated it with orange lights and made eyes out of solar lights.

This year, I decided to use that same idea and make two matching pots that flank our front entry path into spiders. It was a simple, inexpensive project that was easy and fun to do.

I also created spider pumpkins and pots from clippings and divisions I found in the garden. Any excuse to be outside with a shovel and clippers on a sunny fall day is good therapy before we hunker down for the approaching winter.

Plus, the little spider pumpkins have so much personality they make me laugh!

Im sad that because of COVID-19 we will not be greeting people at the door this year, but next year watch out!

There will be flying bats, screaming goblins and Weird Uncle Gary dressed up as Big Foot (Dennis: Anything is better than the wrestling singlet), handing out theater-sized candy.

It will be a Halloween to remember, thats for sure!

Spiders dominate the Pecks' Halloween decorations this year.Marcia Westcott Peck

Heavy-gauge wire for the foam pipe insulation spider legs.Marcia Westcott Peck

This foam pipe insulation has been notched to create potted plant spider legs.Marcia Westcott Peck

You won't even have to gut the pumpkins to make these spiders.Marcia Westcott Peck

Marcia Westcott Peck is a landscape designer (mwplandscape.com or find her on Instagram at @pecklandscape or on Facebook by searching for The Pecks), and Dennis Peck is a former senior editor at The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Read more:
Make these spooky Halloween spiders without spending a fortune: The Pecks - oregonlive.com

Vicky Gibbons of Valhermoso Springs in Morgan County, Ala., wasnt really surprised someone spray-painted Trump on the hood of her car. Its what I would expect from the kind of people Trump has attracted as additions to the Republican Party, Gibbons said Friday. My neighbors are Republican, but they would never do something like this. It would be the fringe or redneck types.

Gibbons allowed a Democratic volunteer to put Biden signs in her yard this week after he asked permission. I told him to go ahead, she said. I had worked with him in (a) campaign. I was manager of the Democratic headquarters in Morgan County in 2008.

They were there for two days, she said of the signs, which also got sprayed the night of the car attack.

The car was parked near the highway where Gibbons' 100-year-old house sits back from the road under big, old trees. Whatever they are, they drip sap in the Fall," she said of the trees, "so the only place I can park I dont have a garage is at the end of my driveway. So, the car was parked that way, nose first. Gibbons imagines the vandals sprayed her Biden signs and then said, Oh, look over here. A nice, white bulletin board.

Gibbons called an auto body shop, and the owner told her to get the car there as soon as possible. The faster you bring it in, the more likely we are to get it off, he said. The shop got the paint off in five or 10 minutes and didnt charge Gibbons. I didnt ask and he didnt say, she said, but I have a feeling he may be a Republican and is ashamed of what somebody did.

Why would she think the shop owner might be a Republican? Shes lived within 2 miles of her home her entire life, she said, and she knows, Most people in Alabama are Republicans.

I live in a sea of loneliness, she said.

Read this article:
She parked near her Biden yard signs, so they painted Trump on her car - AL.com

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Barry Putzke, Ben Barnes and Jordan Taylor chat over drinks while sitting under a ceiling-mounted heater on Thursday, October 15, at the Bread and Circus patio in Sioux Falls.(Photo: Erin Bormett / Argus Leader)

Patio season isn't over in Sioux Falls at least not until there's a frost on your beer glass.

Restaurants, eateries and bars across Sioux Falls are stocking their patios with space heaters to extend patio season this year. The decisioncomes from demand for more outdoor diningdue to COVID-19 precautions.

While residents have flocked to patios this summer, several eateries are using their outdoor space to accommodate guests without having to close their indoor dining space.

Some die-hards might keep topatios until the snow starts flying, but owners just hope space heaters will extend outdoor dining for about another month as the temperature drops to the 50s and 40s.

Stand-up heaters are set up in expectation of colder weather on Thursday, October 15, on the patio at Remedy Brewing in Sioux Falls.(Photo: Erin Bormett / Argus Leader)

Barrel House:The east-side bar and restaurant keeps its patio open year-round, said owner Mike Fonder. Permanent overhead heaters keep the area warm, and several tables with fireplaces are placed throughout the patio. The features will extend patio season into November for Barrel House, Fonder said.

Bread and Circus: The restaurant installed two 20-foot overhead heaters for its patio space in May. Its owners are also hoping to install temporary walls around its patio to limit the amount of wind in the area.

Carino's: The patio at the Italian restaurant will remain open with three large space heaters and a stone fireplace for as long as able. The area isn't sheltered from wind, though.

Falls Landing: The riverside restaurant installed a few 8-foot tall space heaters around its patio last week after customers suggested the additions. Management hopes to keep the patio open for as long as people want to sit outside.

Icon Lounge: A new space filling what used to be the Icon Lounge will be opening in a few weeks, owners say. The restaurant will use space heaters to extend patio season.

Look's Marketplace: It was difficult for the market and restaurant to find space heaters, due to a national shortage, said partner Beau Vondra. But the restaurant filled its patio with seven space heaters to accommodate customers for as long as they're willing to sit outside.

Mackenzie River: The restaurant and bar has had permanent overhead heaters installed in its patio area since it opened. Manager Austin Whitley believes patio-goers can comfortably use the space through the end of October.

McNally's Irish Pub: The pub's patio would usually be closed by this time of year if it weren't for space heaters warming up customers, said assistant manager Taulant Selamani. The heaters should help customers sit comfortably into 40-degree weather, he said.

Pave: The downtown bar patio has several tables with fire pits and a few space heaters.

Remedy Brewing: The brewing locale has two space heaters filling their patio area and plan to fill the space with more. They're keep space heaters out as long as people are brave enough to weather the snow.

Roam Kitchen and Bar: Space heaters and fire pits allow the restaurant to extend its bar season. Guests flocked to the patio in early spring when the temperatures were rising to the mid-30s, said manager Joe Jirele. The heaters should help extend patio season by about a month.

Vinyl Taco Social Club: A fire pit sits outside the restaurant and four space heaters fill the patio of the Vinyl Social Club. The heaters will help customers withstand the cold into late fall or into the lower 50s, said co-owner Kirk Keupp.

Eateries with extended patio season plans still in the works: Crave, Fernson Downtown, WoodGrain,

Eateries not providing heated patios:22Tek Kitchen Cocktails, Falls Overlook Cafe, Granite City, M.B. Haskett, Ode to Food and Drinks, Parker's Bistro, Phillips Avenue Diner, Queen City Bakery, Sickie's Garage, Tinners Public House and The Willows at Willow Run

More: Asmara Bar & Restaurant would bring Ethiopian dishes to East 10th

Read or Share this story: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/business-journal/2020/10/15/sioux-falls-restaurants-heated-patios-mackenzie-river-barrel-house-carinos/3656091001/

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Want to eat outside this fall? Local spots with heated patios have you covered. - Argus Leader

Mr. Sinsteden had his spanking new digs made to order, but even humble lawn-mower huts are becoming remote offices in the pandemic. Call them Sanity Sheds: reprieves just beyond the walls of home.

Between June and Sept. 1, searches for sheds doubled on Wayfair.com compared with the same period in 2019. Custom garden-house builder Hillbrook Collections reports orders up 60% year-to-date, compared with 2019. And in the last six months, NEO Builders in Los Angeles saw 250% more interest in their accessory dwelling units," or ADUs, habitable backyard buildings. (California loosened zoning restrictions on such structures Jan. 1, perhaps precipitating the surge).

Transitioning to WFH has been harsh for many, but humans have toiled at home for centuries. For a long time, we worked where we lived. Im talking about agrarian [ways] and people who lived above the shop," said Daniel H. Pink, who studies human behavior in business and wrote When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing" (Riverhead Books). In the U.S. after WWII, he said, work and family became distinctly different domains. Now tech and, in part, Covid are remerging those worlds. But I think people dont want them together 24 hours a day," Mr. Pink added. So theyre looking for a soft separation between their work life and family life." An unconnected space helps ensure quiet and tucks away the nagging ephemera of office lifeto-do lists, computers, cordswhen youre off the clock.

Syncing your new outbuildings style to your homes exterior look is wise and may entice buyers when you go to sell the place. For what he calls his dollhouse, built in May in St. Petersburg, Fla., designer and home economics expert Joseph Marini opted for hipped roofs to match his brick Georgian-style main house. On the inside, however, he indulged his dcor fantasies with decoratively roped millwork and limewashed built-in desks. I really love Swedish furniture and anything Gustavian, so I tried to mimic that here in a small space I could keep cohesive."

Jill Vukelja retrofitted a heated Victorian-inspired greenhouse near her Georgian-style Greenwich, Conn., house. With three daughters learning remotely, the stay-at-home mom finds refuge there for her quarantine hobby: watercolor painting. Its a mini-escape...even when it rains its nice to just sit there and hear the rain banging on the glass."

In revamping the space, her designer, Marcia Tucker, proposed simple, easy-to-source additions: a hunter green IKEA desk on birch trestle legs, a gray synthetic wicker chair. Ms. Vukelja swapped out leafy greenery for succulents and cactuses that wont wither, die and cause her additional stress.

Upcycling your own otherwise-unused possessions works as well, said Charleston designer J.P. Horton, who just recast an ADU on his mothers property in Charlottesville, Va., into a pottery studio for her. We repurposed a garage-sale rug and antique chairs that were my grandparents and didnt fit in the [main] house," he said.

Perhaps to erase the dingy pasts of existing garden sheds, many designers paint their interiors white. On walls and between the chestnut ceiling beams of her little saltbox outbuilding, a late-1700s structure about 300 feet from her home in Weston, Conn., interior designer Chris Roughan turned to Benjamin Moores Super White. In her new home office, a respite from the chaos of 10-year-old twins and a husband working remotely, she drafted both table and task lamps. The white walls help bounce the light the lamps cast and brighten the space. Thats really important because theres not a lot of downlighting," she said.

While Mr. Marini painted his vaulted ceiling black so it recedes and makes the 10-feet-by-12-feet space feel larger, his interior walls sport a creamy off-white. I really prefer darker, moody rooms," he said. But for a workplace, that starkness keeps you alert and vibrant and bright and aware." After his 74-year-old mother moved into a first-floor bedroom as Covid-19 descended, he also began using the place as a hideout from his now-full house. Under the firelight of a rust-finished candelabra that had no place in the main dwelling, my husband and I sit and have a cocktail around five oclock and talk about the day. It makes a nice separation, almost like going out to a bar."

Mr. Marini hired an architect to draw a rendering of his outbuilding, then had a seasoned shed builder construct it (total cost: $7,200). But ready-made options are proliferating. Starting at $500 a month, you can lease a glass-walled 8-feet-by-10-feet pod from ootBox, in Columbus, Ohio. A modern Mono Mini cabin from Alberta-based DROP Structures arrives with a sturdy standing-seam exterior and extremely hygge Baltic- birch interior (from $18,900).

To ensure Wi-Fi access, you may need to amplify your homes router with a booster or extender. Other logistical considerations include permits, specific to local jurisdictions. The hoops youll need to vault through will likely increase with every nicety you want to add, from electrical wiring to a plumbed bathroom. Said David Latimer, CEO of Nashvilles New Frontier Design, whose business has jumped 300%-400% year over year, Its the same process for a 5,000-square-foot-house as a 450-square-foot one."

Another virtue of working from a Sanity Shed: The reintroduction of a (beautifully brief) commute. Even a quick stroll through dewy grass offers an energy reset, injecting fresh air in a workday with every coffee refill or bathroom run. Human beings need transitions," said Mr. Pink, who works in a revamped garage a 22-step shuffle from his door. Human attention is precious, and its not infinite. It needs punctuation marks," he said. Without them, our attention becomes an incoherent run-on sentence."

PEAK RETREAT

A guide to kitting out a garden office for maximum comfort and productivity

EVERYONE from Mark Twain to Pink Floyds Roger Waters worked in their garden sheds. To ready your own Sanity Shed for maximum output and minimum headaches, try this design advice from the pros.

Look down. Install a hard-wearing option underfoot. Max Sinsteden selected stained fir for his Westerly, R.I., retreat because he knew his feet would be a little dirtier out there." In St. Petersburg, Fla., designer Joseph Marini chose engineered hardwood that can stand up to being muddy and wet but has a great stained-gray look to it." If youre carpeting, choose durable material like sisal and wool, said interior designer Chris Roughan, in Weston, Conn.

Conscript salvage. To get ample light into his workspace, Mr. Marini reused 1950s French doors from a house hed recently flipped. I thought, What a perfect way to do floor to ceiling windows in here!" Charleston designer J.P. Horton, too, argues for employing castoffs. I dont want it to be a catchall for garage-sale stuff, but its a good place to be creative."

Get green. The number one thing you can do [to improve an outbuilding] thats inexpensive is add plants, which seems trivial, but living things help a lot," said Mr. Horton.

Mind your purpose. Mr. Marini displays his collected horde of antique iron urns and footed vases on his sheds built-in shelving, but he left one wall entirely blank as a giant work board" for organizing notes on projectsadhered with cobalt painters tapeto keep him on task, and it works. Ive really been out here every day."

PRE-FAB PODS

You can hire an architect and builder, or you can nab one of these made-to-order numbers

A trio of transom windows brings light into the Studio Office Shed, clad in engineered wood and a corrosion-resistant metal roof. With redwood pergola and operable window. 8 feet by 12 feet, from $10,899, heartlandsheds.com

Made in Lancaster, Pa., the Sara Folly is fitted with a shapely cedar-shingle roof topped with two copper finials. French doors give it the airy factor of a garden greenhouse. 8 feet by 12 feet, from $9,850, hillbrookcollections.com

Ready to rockin a chair? Consider the turnkey Cottage Kwik Room, built in Waco, Texas, with insulated wood-frame construction, fiber-cement siding and covered porch. 12 feet by 14 feet, from $31,500, kangaroomsystems.com

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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The garden is the new home office, thanks to the sanity shed - Livemint