A plea from a local organization to shut your lights off overnight, starting around 11 p.m. The reason is to support some overnight travelers passing through Connecticut this time of year.

For some like Marvlyn Dias, birding has a special place in their heart.

She is visiting a family member all the way from India. Hearing about a conservation push to support migrating birds was music to her ears.

“I know it takes them off their migration path if lights are on,” said Dias speaking about light pollution as birds migrate.

Lights Out Connecticut, a local organization, is seeking people to take a simple pledge to shut off lights during the overnight hours, 11p.m. to 6 a.m. from mid-August to mid-November, so night-time migrators can move uninterrupted.

“We are asking them to shut off their lights, we are not asking people to live in the dark,” said Craig Repasz, a co-chair and co-founder of Lights out Connecticut.

He said light pollution can be extremely disorienting to birds and when it leads to crashes into windows, up to 2 billion birds can die annually.

“If you are just going to save 2 billion birds by shutting off the lights, that’s an easy thing to accomplish.,” said Repasz.

He notes the evening migration often goes unnoticed, but is a spectacular natural phenomenon.

“We could have millions coming over Connecticut during the peak, millions of birds while you’re sleeping,” said Repasz.

He noted if you need light at home, just make sure it isn’t excessive and it’s only covering what you need. He said it’s a small action that makes a big impact.

“Something as easy as this shutting off the lights and making sure the windows don’t reflect the outdoor landscape, you can save a lot,” said Repasz.

Repasz also said the turnoff overnight also has benefits for the environment and the energy savings is good for the electric bill.

While some might be fearful of purchasing an older home on the market, historic properties often possess undeniable character that their newer counterparts lack. The classic architecture, distinctive molding, traditional fireplaces and other quirky yet charming features are what make them so appealing. Yet without the proper touch, these properties don’t always feel like home.

Faced with the difficulty of highlighting the old while simultaneously embracing the new, interior designer Diane Rath, principal designer and owner of The Rath Project, took on a 1920’s classic colonial recently purchased by young homeowners. After moving to Connecticut from New York City with their toddler, this growing family of three felt their home needed the new life and energy they radiated.

Collaborating with her clients, Rath searched for the perfect color palette and furnishings to reflect their youthful energy and style. The main challenge? To revive a home that still had life to live. “We didn’t want to take out any of the original character,” says Rath. “Instead, we wanted to highlight it.”

Den & Office

Relying on the patterned rug and antique art she sourced, Rath added a splash of the couple’s youthful personality to the den without taking away from the colonial feel of the space. “We’re still giving tribute to the past and the oldness of the home, but they’re that new generation,” says Rath. The art she and the homeowners chose embodies that new life.

Because the den connects to a narrow office space, Rath coordinated the rugs in both rooms. “That pop of color that runs down the center of that space really helps elongate it and make it feel bigger than it actually is,” explains Rath.

Kitchen

After remodeling the space to improve functionality, Rath helped the couple refresh their kitchen, again drawing inspiration from what was already there.

“We reworked the space a bit, but picked up that green from the original countertops and brought it throughout. We decided to highlight the color with the green pendant and Cole & Son wallpaper. So really that marble was the jumping off point for all of the other green touches we added,” says Rath.

Living Area

After deciding that this room was going to be the hangout spot for everyone – their friends, kids and kids’ friends included – the homeowners wanted it to be sophisticated and colorful, and they had one specific shade of blue in mind: New York State of Mind by Benjamin Moore. Considering her clients’ wishes, Rath incorporated the color and painted the bookshelf in two different finishes: she went glossy on the shelves themselves and matte on the drywall above the fireplace.

In the corner of that room, Rath kept a round table that was left from the previous owners. “We had someone repaint it and bring that back to life as well. We found some vintage chairs from a local thrift shop and then had them recovered in a really cool plaid fabric,” says Rath.

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Dining Room

Then, Rath tackled the dining room. “That wallpaper, if you look closely, it’s little tiny martini glasses, and I fell in love with that. It felt old; it had this Art Deco vibe,” says Rath. “It felt so elegant, but also whimsical at the same time.”

Even though it’s one of the more formal, traditional spaces in the house, the dining room still has elements of young, fresh energy — not only with the wallpaper choice, but also when it comes to the seating. If you take a closer look, the back side of the chairs is upholstered in a unique velvet jungle print, adding new life to otherwise antique pieces of furniture.

Primary Bedroom

Less feminine than some of the other rooms, the primary bedroom was designed with a blue bed, walnut end tables and black accents throughout. “The blue bed was always something we had in mind in a velvet material. It’s handsome, but it’s luxurious,” says Rath.

Girl’s Bedroom

Using ornate carved wood she found at a local antique center, Rath helped construct a princess bed for the couple’s first daughter. In the other corner of the room, she installed a charming wallpaper.

“It was one of the first things I pulled for the design of the project. Before any of the main spaces, I found this wallpaper. It’s a Schumacher paper and just felt so fun and playful. And they immediately were like, ‘Yes.’ So that paper was the jumping off point for all of the other little elements that came together in that room,” says Rath.

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Gender-Neutral Bedroom

With a baby on the way, Rath’s clients wanted more of a gender-neutral space where they could comfortably grow their family. Through the pop art and colorful carpet, Rath worked to create a playful yet functional bedroom with both a crib for the couple’s soon-to-be child and daybed for an accompanying adult.

Laura Millar (she/her) is the assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home design. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2024, she wrote for NBC’s TODAY.com where she covered everything from entertainment news to product reviews to pop culture updates.

Associated Press

Connecticut Sun (19-6, 10-4 Eastern Conference) at Atlanta Dream (8-17, 3-10 Eastern Conference)

College Park, Georgia; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Atlanta Dream hosts the Connecticut Sun after Rhyne Howard scored 30 points in the Atlanta Dream’s 83-81 victory over the Seattle Storm.

The Dream are 3-10 in Eastern Conference games. Atlanta is third in the Eastern Conference in team defense, giving up 81.2 points while holding opponents to 42.6% shooting.

The Sun have gone 10-4 against Eastern Conference opponents. Connecticut is the best team in the Eastern Conference allowing only 73.6 points per game while holding opponents to 43.7% shooting.

Atlanta is shooting 41.4% from the field this season, 2.3 percentage points lower than the 43.7% Connecticut allows to opponents. Connecticut averages 81.0 points per game, 0.2 fewer than the 81.2 Atlanta gives up to opponents.

The teams play for the fourth time this season. In the last matchup on July 7 the Sun won 80-67 led by 23 points from DeWanna Bonner, while Allisha Gray scored 19 points for the Dream.

TOP PERFORMERS: Gray is averaging 15.6 points for the Dream.

Bonner is averaging 17.2 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Sun.

LAST 10 GAMES: Dream: 2-8, averaging 75.0 points, 35.9 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 6.5 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.5 points per game.

Sun: 6-4, averaging 81.7 points, 33.8 rebounds, 20.5 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.6 points.

INJURIES: Dream: Aerial Powers: out (calf ), Jordin Canada: out (finger), Lorela Cubaj: out (personal).

Sun: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.