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Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal

Douglas Gilman put a new designer kitchen in his Manhattan apartment last year with entertaining in mind. He placed the sleek marble-accented Dada kitchen, from Italy’s Molteni&C, at the center of the airy 2,800-square-foot home that he created from combining two adjacent units in a former West Village printing house. He figured it would give him easier access to his guests. But the arrival of Covid-19 restrictions has meant much more cooking, and next to no entertaining, and it’s his high-tech German appliances that have come to the rescue, including an induction cooktop that can sense where he places a pan, and a speed oven that combines convection and microwave technology. “My ovens are almost more advanced than my computer,”...

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Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Resort towns rely on visitors as their economic lifeblood, but as the new coronavirus pandemic rages, many are asking nonresidents to stay away. More than 12,000 residents of Cape Cod, Mass., signed a petition this week asking authorities to turn away visitors and nonresident homeowners from the two bridges that are the only roads in to the Boston-area summertime playland. “It’s a stay-at-home order for a reason,” said Beth Hickman of South Yarmouth, who started the petition, in a local talk-radio interview Thursday. “It’s not about going to your second home because it’s a vacation.” From Sedona, Ariz., to the Florida Keys, tourist spots across the country are trying to figure out ways to keep outsiders from bringing the new coronavirus...

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This Shape-Shifting Material Topped Etsy’s 2020 Trend Forecast

Resin is known for its strong, durable properties, which is why you often find it used in industrial settings to make things like garbage cans, glue, car parts, and even kitchen flooring. A coffee table, coaster, or jewelry organizer made out of the stuff is harder to come by, but not for long. According to Etsy’s 2020 trend report, the material is taking over the home.  In the past six months, the e-commerce site has seen a 62 percent increase in searches for resin items. A true shape-shifter, it can be used to make everything from hyperpigmented vessels to floral-covered furniture (sculptor Marcin Rusak sealed clippings in black resin to create fossil-like lamps and partition screens). Bring home some much-needed...

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