There’s no mistaking there’s an artist in residence at the home of Cathy Gerson in Southborough. Resting modestly next to the front door is a side table topped with her signature (somewhat psychedelic) ceramic tiles in eye-catching hues of chartreuse, periwinkle and burgundy. A vertical standing tile mural of what looks to be the taillights of 1950s car flanks the dining area, and an intricately designed tile sink adorns the downstairs bathroom. All works compliments of Gerson, of course.

There is no rule that says that you have to paint your ceiling white. But judging by the way most people stick with white, you’d think it was the law. That’s a shame, because a colorful ceiling can make a big difference in a room.

If you expect this senior citizen who took up decoupage about three years ago to be humble about her craft, then you’ve got the wrong woman.

Standing in her Newton dining room and looking over a table covered with her work — beautifully adorned picture frames, vases, earrings and even a pocketbook — Rita Wolfson says, “I have to tell you, I love everything I do. It’s all gorgeous.”

Her eyes sparkle as she says it. She knows it’s funny, but she’s also dead serious.

You may be familiar with the technique. Wolfson finds eye-catching, colorful pages printed on elegant stock (Museum of Fine Art publications are one of her favorite sources), and she cuts them into little, often angular pieces. Then she glues them into a mosaic onto an existing piece — a picture frame or an old jewelry box, for example. Then they’re shellacked and lacquered.

A present plopped in a glossy, drugstore-bought gift bag is sacrilege. An even bigger sin? The peel-and-stick bow. But the mother of all social gaffes, according to arbiters of good taste, is saying “yes” to the harried salesclerk’s question: Do you want it gift-wrapped?

It’s a weighty proposition. How you answer says so much about who you are: your thoughtfulness, good taste and good upbringing. Or lack thereof. Heck, your reputation (or friendship) hangs in the balance.

Cambridge’s Jason Arledge, a gift-wrapping aficionado, cringes at the thought of department-store wrap jobs. They convey either that the gift-giver can’t wrap, or, heaven forbid, the gift was a last-minute purchase, says Arledge.

 “I can spend $2 on a gift and $20 on wrapping,” he adds. “I think it’s all about presentation.”

The color of your house says a lot about you to the world. But painting the house is a big decision and a big investment. The colors you choose will affect the way you feel about your home and may also impact on the resale value. So you don’t want to make a mistake.

Before you look at the paint chips, consider the style of your home, the tones in the roof, the masonry, the site, and even the colors you’re using inside the house.

Some might say 44-year-old John Arena Jr. is out of his gourd.

 This season, the third-generation farmer has devoted eight acres of his family’s 200-acre spread to planting spoons, penguins, hedgehogs and snakes.

Called “cucurbits” in farm-speak, gourds are what dangle on Arena’s vines. Thirty tons of gourds. Twenty varieties in all with names like egg, swan’s neck, pear, bottle, caveman’s club, Turk’s turban and crown of thorns.