apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

After seeing a handful of mirrors in the kitchen, we understand some reservation about the material in such a heavy-use space. Mirrors can show everything, from small smudges to cooking splatters. Which is what intrigued us with the mirror used in this kitchen in the Tarpon Run Southern Living Idea House.

We use Bar Keeper's Friend on the stainless steel surfaces in our home for cleaning and rubbing out scratches. When we last used it, we noticed on the can's label that it's also recommended for tile grout, toilets and baths, chrome, fiberglass, plastic, and rust removal.

We spent a lot of time in the Kitchen over the last four days, whether it was preparing our Thanksgiving meal or foraging for leftovers two days later. Had there been a mirror in there, we might have been able to talk ourselves out of that third slice of pie.

Thanksgiving is upon us. Did you spend all of your money on your menu? Don't despair about decorating the table. Just step outside. These ideas from Donna Hay use nature's decorations to trim a seasonal tabletop.

This sculpture series by New York-based artist Marsha Tosk immediately won us over. A literal interpretation of common terms or phrases, each sculpture is a combination of wit, whimsy and form...

We recently sat down with Alan of Alancraft for the first time since he built a small kitchen cabinet for our apartment. It's been several years, but he's busy as ever creating custom woodwork projects all over Manhattan. He brought us up-to-date on his portfolio, some of which we're sharing here:

Dressing in layers is what gets us through these transitional seasons when it's sunny and warm one day and gray and cold the next. The layered look can serve well in the home, as well. It can provide visual interest, texture, depth, and a sense of abundance.

The ginkgoes around the neighborhood are really showing off right now. Their yellow plumes of leaves are beautiful. They're also showing off in a not-so-pleasant way: their ginkgo fruits at this time of year smell bad. Both traits have ginkgoes on our mind, so let's take a look at the distinctive leaf used in decor.

Move over, "less is more". We're penning another dictum about quantities: "Less for more". Those of you who live in tiny spaces may know what we're talking about here: paying more for smaller, more efficient, or lower-quantity items. The opposite of stocking up. We ran into this on a recent trip to the grocery store for light bulbs...

These dinner parties bridge the years from the early 1800's to present day, so we're taking some pretty big steps here, leaping over a lot from in between. The present day we are, of course, familiar with. And we remember the 80's dinner parties of our parents. Reaching back further, we look to television (Mad Men) and paintings...

We loved the wreath in the window from Lindsey's Where to Wear Your Wreath. Hanging a wreath in a window lets if float a bit, with all eyes on its color and form.

There's a lot to be said for all of these pretty tablescapes, but what we like even more around this time of the year is the mismatched, make-room-for-more jumble of just making it work when you get a large group together for the holidays.

Saturated jewel tones make these tables fit for royalty. The colors are deep and perfectly suitable for the holidays...

Black walls aren't for everyone. In fact, they're probably for very few of us. But what about black woodwork?...