Today’s subject comes to us thanks to an old upstate friend who just recently bought a home and is quickly scheduling a myriad of projects to keep him busy. Being a chef, most of his attention is pointed directly at the kitchen, appliances and all, and his first idea was to repaint his kitchen cabinet doors before putting on a set of designs; I almost immediately shot down the idea of putting various sorts of proteins on them. Honestly, who wants to see a chicken on a cabinet…when they’re about to eat chicken?

Today's subject comes to us thanks to my cousin's college roommate, who just recently bought a home upstate and sent me a kind e-mail telling me about some projects he was thinking about undertaking. Being a chef, most of his major wants surround the kitchen and his first idea was to repaint his kitchen cabinet doors before putting on a set of designs; we spit-balled and decided that cooking utensils and accessories would make a great theme.

Long Island City art galleries and studios open their doors this Saturday for a week-long festival called the LIC Arts Open.

Each day of the second annual event holds a diverse selection of art events including comedy festivals; kids arts contests; and improvisation, pottery, painting, sculpture and photography shows.

The winter smell of pine permeated the large shed this past weekend as youngsters oohed and ahhed over an artfully crafted train show in Whitestone. But the holiday event — complete with Santa and gingerbread houses — was more than a seasonal festival; it raised money so that sick kids can experience dreamed-of experiences.

For someone who doesn’t identify as an environmentalist, artist David Kennedy Cutler puts his natural resources to good use. His latest creation, an arresting construction of plastic on display at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, is one of 11 works in “Cityscape,” a show focused on surveying the urban environment.

Six hundred students attend P.S. 35 in Hollis, but fortunately none of them were in the building on Veteran’s Day, when a fire broke out, completely destroying a science lab and damaging several classrooms.

The first shovelful of dirt has not even been excavated for the new Glen Oaks Library, yet the branch continues to get design awards.

An ice sculpture of Buddha in a freezer. A 12-foot tower of donated clothes. Bicycles hanging from a wall.

When walking around the massive four-story, 450,000-square-foot factory at Steinway & Sons in Astoria, it’s not hard to be swept up in a feeling of nostalgia for a simpler time when products were made by hand and built to last.

Up until nine months ago, an invaluable work of art that hangs in Elmhurst’s Italian Charities of America building, was used as a coat rack by seniors who regularly visit the facility.