Name: Karen and Guy Vidal
Location: Silver Lake - Los Angeles, California
Size: 2800 square feet
Years lived in: 10 years

Family is definitely the essence of this modern home. Karen and Guy designed it but the kids have also added their own personality to the space; you can see their unique interests represented in their rooms. Their daughter's room is inspired by her love for all things creative from art to music. In definite contrast is their son's room, packed with figurines, animal posters, and a top bunk filled with stuffed animals.

More

There are sand castles and then there are sand houses. As my daughter, Ursula, has turned five, her imaginative play has suddenly all centered on the home and making it her own. She wanted a play kitchen for Christmas, she has been taking care of her doll by giving her a bed and a clothing shelf in her room, AND she's become super great at cooking and helping to set and clear the table. More

More

I take a strange sense of pride in saving the paint chips from all of the colors on my wall. They're filed in a home folder, and I can always refer to them when I need to. But this little DIY is a brilliant way to take your paint colors with you in the most accurate way---I'm making one ASAP! More

This coming weekend, in conjunction with their exhibit on mid-century modern design, LACMA (The Los Angeles County Museum of Art)` is hosting a symposium that examines this still influential period in design history and why it exploded in California. I got a chance to sit down with curator Wendy Kaplan to learn a little bit about "the perfect storm" of events that gave birth to this fertile period. Here, our conversation. More

Every few years we get absolute cantilever fever: that quickening of the heartbeat and hitch of the breath that occurs when you see something performing an aesthetic feat that should seem impossible, yet is. The only cure: more cantilever furniture to look at! More

Cultural pilgrimages are in the news: the New York Times Magazine recently asked readers to submit photos of their cultural travels and the Smithsonian American Art Museum opened an exhibition titled "Pilgrimage" of Annie Leibovitz's photographs. Unlike Leibovitz' previous work of celebrity portraits, this exhibition focuses on objects, rooms and landscapes of cultural significance to Leibovitz. More

There are plenty of times you'll need to hide small items around your house—like a key for overnight houseguests or a small wad of emergency cash. Unfortunately, there aren't as many unique places to stash them. The next time you're tempted to leave a key under the doormat, try this trick. More

Here's my usual routine at design shows: I start out walking the aisles simply snapping pics of whatever appeals to my own sensibilities, taking it all in. After a few hours, I stop, have a coffee, and replay what I've just seen in my minds eye (and on my memory card!) and let the "stories" float up to the top. There are always a few (sometimes unexpected, often very subtle) throughlines of design trends that show up in multiple collections. More

Childproofing your home can be antithetical to stylish living, especially ugly prefab baby gates to block the stairs. The decorating equivalent to buying a minivan. But these childproofing measures are crucial for the safety of your early crawlers and walkers. More