The Latest: Mar 2016

I don’t know about your home, but at my place, even with an open concept kitchen and a dining table, we always seem to end up in the living room with all the snacks and drinks squeezed on the coffee table. Let’s face it: it’s more casual and comfortable than standing around a kitchen or sitting on a stiff dining chair. These days it’s rare to have both a family and living room, so it’s nice to really put a lot of thought and style into the one you have.

There’s a lot to love about string lights: they’re inexpensive, they’re versatile, and they add a soft, warm glow to any room. If you want to add a bit of a romantic touch to your bedroom, or just shake up your style a little, try out one of these nine creative ways to use those little twinkly lights. Above: Attach a sheer curtain to the ceiling and drape string lights above for a dreamy, romantic DIY canopy. Spotted on Homeedit.

We often talk about tiny houses and small space living as if they’re a new thing, but the truth is that little houses have been around for years (and were, in fact, once the norm for a majority of Americans). Case in point: this 85-year-old home, built by one of his disciples in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose compact 552 square foot floorplan provides plenty of inspiration for the small houses of today.

When you’re decorating, you might feel pressure to add variety to your space by layering in as many different ideas or influences as you can. But, just like a wardrobe template, having a home decor “uniform” actually makes creating a beautiful space even easier. That’s a big lesson that I took away from Kristina & Jason’s Gorgeous, Graphic Australian Home.

The words ‘curio cabinet’ and even ‘display case’ may bring to mind something fusty and old-fashioned. But lately we’ve been starting to see more and more of these in stylish, modern homes. I think the interest in having a few well-placed tchotchkes is a reaction to the uber-minimal aeshetic of a few years past, but glass-front cabinets aren’t just for good looks: they’re also a great way to contain a lot of things without looking messy.

For many years, architecture students at Auburn University’s Rural School have been working to create a home that can be built for only $20,000. That’s less than a lot of people spend on their kitchen remodel. But once the students finished designing the budget-friendly house, getting it built was even harder than they thought. After years of experimenting, the students and their advisors created a one-bedroom house whose materials would only cost $14,000.

Michael Reeves via Dering Hall We all know that mirrors are fantastic for making a space appear larger than it is. It goes like this: available light + reflective surface(s) = much more light = greater sense of space. The problem is that a mirrored wall can sometimes feel vaguely commercial, or even cliche, if the application is off. Here are seven mirrored walls that are anything but, and that pack a big (spatial) punch as well. The lead image is of a Michael Reeves-designed home in London.