Many high-performing schools, including The College Preparatory School in Oakland, are helping students unwind from the rigors of academics and the pressures of teen life.

The nonprofit prides itself on its services for “the body, mind, and teeth.”

Conscientious homeowners are eschewing grass and going for rock, pebbles, and stone in xeriscaping, which is water conservation disguised as art.

Here’s how some of the area’s hippest home decor purveyors pinpoint local cool — and share what’s hot in home goods.

Simple, beautiful, and functional ceramics and dishware land on East Bay tables and in kitchens.

East Bay woodworkers JP Frary and SapphirePine are among local furniture makers creating functional and beautiful furnishings from wood that would otherwise be castoffs.

STEM educational camps offer summer school without pressure — no homework, no tests.

But the general feeling is still “anything goes.”

East Bay fashion gets freer, bolder, more enduring, and less conforming.

Counselors-in-training programs teach leadership, patience, and hard work.