People no longer cocoon. They hive. They still hunker down inside their houses with their entertainment centers and commercial-grade appliances. But they bring other bees with them, said Lloyd M. Poe, owner of LifeStyle Builders & Developers in Richmond. Poe spoke at a forecast seminar yesterday presented by the Home Building Association of Richmond at the Holiday Inn-Select. About 350 people attended.

Climb the stairs to Bill McMillan's second floor and step into a whimsical world. Upstairs in McMillan's Midlothian home, the time is always October 1939, the place is a charming stretch of landscape between Baltimore, Md., and York, Pa., and the trains are running.

His-and-her vanities, linen armoires, steam showers and sitting areas are just a few ways bathrooms are gaining stature in home decor. "The bathroom is the final frontier of home decorating. It is the ultimate setting for personal retreat and rejuvenation," says Kim Shaver of Hooker Furniture, an industry leader in bathroom furnishings based in Martinsville, Va.

Weeds never sleep. A disconcerting - but true - thought. Just when you think that it's time to pop on the old slippers and curl up with a good book, they appear. If you don't believe me, take a look at any patch of bare ground in the vegetable garden. It's not so bare.