R5 Editor’s Message

Putting together Westchester Magazine’s Home & Garden’s premiere Ultimate Home Resouce Guide was a true education; we were certain we had seen the best that the county has to offer. But we were humbled. Westchester certainly has a lot of wonderful professionals, exceptional stores, and reliable services, but so many? Cutting them down to fewer than 400 was about as easy as editing the World Book Encyclopedia.

     The result is in your hands. In these pages, you’ll find listings and descriptions of retailers and professionals in a slew of areas of home design and maintenance. While we’re certainly not dismissive of the big-box stores (who hasn’t picked up a window at Home Depot or linens at Bed, Bath & Beyond?), we decided to focus primarily on the local independent retailers. We’re pretty sure that Best Buy will stay in business even if we don’t direct you there.

    So, you may ask, what criteria did we use for our final picks? In our ongoing coverage of homes and home design in Westchester, we regularly tap into the best of the best. Unlike your neighbor, who may prefer to keep her contractor’s number in the family safe, we’re excited to share our finds. We’ve drawn on the experience and expertise of colleagues and readers. In addition, we’ve contacted professional associations in a variety of fields—such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA)—most of which require a specific level of experience and ongoing education to qualify for membership. Membership is just one more sign that professionals and retailers are committed to keeping abreast of the very latest in their fields—knowledge that benefits you.

    No matter how much research is done, there’s always the boutique kept secret by savvy shoppers or the just-opened store that we don’t yet know about. We’re sure there are quite a few great finds that flew below our radar. If you know of one (or more), we have an assignment for you: share your suggestions by writing to us at editor@wmhomeandgarden.com. Our best sources often are readers in-the-know, who can identify the tile store in their neighborhood that’s a cut above or the architect whose attention to detail surprised even the most cynical spouse.

Because we want to give you all of the resources we can for 2007, we also feature trend articles covering areas from kitchens to design. This way, you’ll be armed with the knowledge of what’s hot this very minute, as well as great places to find what’s in and experts to help integrate it into your own home. We’re sure that 2007 is going to be a very good year; enjoy it in high style.

Dana Asher

Executive Editor