Pioneering auto enthusiasts, including Louis Chevrolet, Ransom Olds and Henry Ford, came to Daytona’s firm sands in the early 1900s to race prototype vehicles beside the ocean. The land speed record was smashed five times by the British millionaire Malcolm Campbell who, in 1935, roared along at 276mph. When high speeds made racing on the sands unsafe, the Daytona International Speedway, an ungainly configuration of concrete and steel, was built three miles west of downtown along International Speedway Boulevard (buses #9A and #9B).

Opened in 1959, it seats 150,000 and hosts several major race meetings each year, starting in early February with the Rolex 24, a 24-hour race for GT prototype sports cars. A week or so later the qualifying races start for the year’s biggest event, the Daytona 500 stock-car race in mid-February. Tickets sell out well in advance (a weekend package from $220; tel 904/253-7223); book accommodation at least six months ahead. Though they can’t capture the excitement of a race, guided van tours (daily except race days 9.30am–5pm, every half-hour; $6) take you around the remarkable curves, whose gradients make this the fastest racetrack in the world.

Immediately outside the Speedway, Daytona USA (daily 9am–7pm; $12) exhibits one of Campbell’s many Bluebirds, the car in which he broke the land speed record at Ormond Beach in 1931, as well as interactive displays on the great races. A mile west, the Klassix Auto Museum at 2909 W International Speedway Blvd (daily 9am–6pm; $8.50) displays pristine examples of every Corvette design from 1953 on, plus vintage motorcycles and a 1938 Woody Wagon that boasts a top speed of 50mph.

For all the excitement that racing generates, the best thing about Daytona is the seemingly limitless beach: 500ft wide at low tide and fading dreamily into the heat haze. Lined with an all-but-endless procession of enormous but surprisingly low-priced motels, oceanfront Atlantic Avenue holds little to lure you away from the water. At the landward end of Main Street Pier, a $3 ride up the candy-striped Space Needle enables you to look down on the surrounding morass of low-rent bars and tattoo parlors. You can’t get to the far end of the pier, though, because Hurricane Floyd knocked out 280ft of it in 1999.

Information by Rough Guides

Why is it that when black and tan are used in conjunction, the look is smashing? There is something very sophisticated, classy, rich about that combination.

Take a sofa that is all light tan in color, add pillows that are black mixed with tan — it doesn’t matter what the pattern is, be it plaid, paisley, geometric, floral — and the combination will lift that sofa up in design caliber.

Let’s do a bedroom in black and tan. A bedspread that is black with tan is very attractive to both male and female tastes. Granted, the motif has a masculine quality to it, but it still is very pleasing to the female eye as well. Couple that bedspread with a white washed, aspen or any light colored wood for the bedroom set, and the bedroom will be picture perfect.

The floor of this room can be either light-colored wood with some rugs in strategic places for stepping on, on cool mornings, or it can be light tan carpet. Here, the plusher the carpet, the better. There is even a carpet available that is all cotton. All cotton carpeting is a bit more pampering to the feet than the normal nylon or wool carpet. Granted, the 100 percent cotton carpet will soil easier than the nylon or wool, but by keeping this carpet in the bare-feet-only bedroom it likely will be easier to maintain than if it were used in other, more traffic oriented areas of the house.

This bedroom should have neutral, cream colored walls and woodwork and neutral, cream-colored window treatments, and — wait — the rod on which the curtains are attached can be a black decorator rod. Or, another choice would be a cornice upholstered in the bedspread material but only if the ceiling is high enough to carry the heavier black color. A chair in the same or coordinating pattern to the bedspread is needed.

Let’s finish this room off with special accessories. Pick lamps that accent the bedspread pattern. Pictures on the walls should do the same. If family pictures are the more prized, then opt for frames that match the wood of the furniture and matte the pictures in black. But if art is the accessory of choice, it would be wise to choose it in the black and tan colors used in the room instead of adding other colors.

Clean, sophisticated, classy — that’s the look you will get with black and tan. It works whether the decor is traditional or contemporary. It is like the basic black dress; it just fits in always.

(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of Mystery of Color.)

Arrange the tiles on a flat surface and see what they look like. If you like what you see, you are ready to paint. Paint the tile with a glossy-oil based paint. You can pre-paint the tiles before they are installed, but allow the paint to cure for at least two weeks before cutting or grouting the tile. This wait period allows the paint to get sufficiently hard so that cutting and grouting will not ruin the paint.

The Italian office furniture is modern and futiristic style, office is white colorful, the Italian office interior inspired style way, detail visit the modern Italian office furniture please visit Safrina.

Choose a style with flecks of a lighter hue to create a sophisticated, smart look, or create an ultra snug space with a textured design and block black. The delicate pattern of flowers, birds and butterflies adds softness to the bold monochrome colour scheme. Tranquil in black by Linda Barker, £30.00 per roll, from Graham & Brown site == http://www.grahambrown.com/

The kitchen I went for a clean, simple look that was practical and wouldn’t date, there are bits of glue and paint from card-making sessions I’ve had with the children over the years, so it’s well-loved, well-used.

The modern and futuristic sofa designed semi bed suitable put in living room or entertainment room with modern home theater. The sofa semi bed design is elegant and multifunction, it for your dream!

Decorating the tree is one of my favourite things, and over the years I’ve picked up some lovely decorations. You might notice the tree hasn’t got any decorations at the bottom - that’s because I discovered one year that my cats had a fun time knocking the baubles off the tree. /uktv