10 Smart Ways to Improve Your Attention Span
Because staying focused isn't always easy.
Feb 24, 2019
Before and After: A Major Twist on a Plain Jane Cube Shelving Unit
The ubiquitous white cube shelf unit is affordable, attractively minimalist, and endlessly useful, but occasionally it needs a bit of a twist to fit in with the rest of a home’s decor. This particular unit—similar to this one from Target or this one from IKEA—needed some real TLC: I had this six-cube shelving unit in the playroom. It has several scratches on top and stickers on the sides but it was still in good shape.
Feb 24, 2019
7 Cool Alternatives to Your Living Room Side Table
Is it just us, or do all living rooms kind of look the same? It doesn’t matter if they’re large or small, minimalist or maximalist. most living rooms follow the same cookie cutter format. There’s always a cozy couch, maybe an accent chair or two, a few coffee and side tables, and a nice, big television. It’s a bit of a snooze, but what’s the alternative? Turns out, there are plenty of ways to shake up your living room layout.
Feb 24, 2019
15 Outdoor DIY Projects For Summer
Fancy an outdoor rolling bar cart? Or a succulent scrap wood table? How about a shade sail or some wine crate planter boxes? Make the most of the outdoors this summer with one (or more!) of these 15 DIY projects.
Feb 23, 2019
How To Spray Paint Like a Pro
Spray paint is an easy and affordable way to spruce up something you already have or transform a cheap craigslist find. You can spray paint pretty much anything; but a seemingly simple spray paint project can quickly go south if done poorly. Drips, crackling and uneven coverage are all common problems that can be avoided if you take your time and know what you’re doing. Here are some general tips for making your next spray paint project a success.
Feb 23, 2019
Here’s Everything You’ll Want From Joanna Gaines’s Hearth & Hand Easter Collection
Get your Easter list prepped and ready, you’re going to want to head to Target before the holiday comes. Chip and Joanna Gaines’s Hearth & Hand with Magnolia at Target has an Easter collection launching February 24 and you’re going to want every item for sale. The entire collection can help you craft the perfect holiday Instagram.
Feb 23, 2019
How to Make Up to $5,000 a Day By Having Your Home Star in a Movie
You’ve probably seen a good amount of Oscar- and Emmy-worthy homes in your lifetime: “Home Alone,” “The Truman Show,” “Father of the Bride,” “Breaking Bad,” and “This Is Us” just being a small handful of them. But did you ever realize that these houses on screen are people’s actual homes? Many movie-worthy homes are rented out everyday for photoshoots, movies, TV, and music videos by production companies.
Feb 23, 2019
Proof Your Wall Shelves Don’t Have to be Boring
Just because shelves are utilitarian in nature doesn't mean they have to look it.
Feb 23, 2019
6 Things You Should Never Do with Essential Oils at Home
Essential oils, which are essentially (see what we did there?) concentrated plant parts used for aromatherapy, are ultra-trendy for a reason. Not only do they smell good; essential oils can be used around the house to clean, soothe, and set the mood. Having a hard time sleeping at night? Studies show lavender might help. Tummy problems? Grab your peppermint oil. Looking for a non-toxic way to de-germ your countertops?
Feb 23, 2019
Here’s Why Your Credit Score Is Dropping for “No Reason”
You consider yourself responsible with credit: You pay your bills on time and you don’t rack up any major credit card debt. And since you’re looking to apply for a mortgage sometime in the near future, you’ve been actively monitoring your credit. But since you’ve checked last month, your score has gone down. What gives? Why is your score acting so sensitive? Sheesh.
Feb 23, 2019
Don’t Make These 6 Common Cordless Drill Mistakes
If you only own one household tool, it’s probably a cordless drill. They’re pretty essential for even the most basic home improvement projects. But it’s not just a matter of grabbing one and getting to work. Drills may seem straightforward, but there are actually a lot of ways to mess up. Here are some common mistakes to watch out for.
Feb 23, 2019
Universal Finally Revealed the Opening Date for Their Newest Harry Potter Ride and It’s So Soon
It is official! The next ride to hit Universal Orlando’s Wizard World of Harry Potter has been unveiled. For the last year, people have been speculating what exactly would replace the closed Dragon Challenge and many theories have been thrown around. Now, some of those theories have been proven to be true! The next ride to open at Universal will be Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
Feb 23, 2019
Real Estate Rom Com: History Loves Company in Savannah
In honor of love, February, and gorgeous real estate, I put together another Real Estate Rom Com featuring this stunning home on Sotheby’s International Realty. A crowd bustles down Whitaker street, weaving in and out of Forsyth Park. It’s the annual historic house walk and as a winner of the Historic Savannah Foundation Preservation Award, 611 is a must see for any historic house enthusiast.
Feb 22, 2019
8 of the Best Places to Live if You Love Movies
Sure, New York has a new film festival every weekend and you’re practically guaranteed to run into a local actor any time step outside. And, of course, there’s the whole city of Los Angeles. But what if you’re a cinephile who doesn’t want to deal with traffic or the MTA? Thankfully, it’s not just the major cities that host all things silver screen.
Feb 22, 2019
Before and After: We Did Not See This Kitchen Paint Job Coming
But we're so glad it happened.
Feb 22, 2019
Are Statement Ceilings the Next Big Design Trend?
Do us a favor and look up at your ceiling. What do you see? Nothing? Yeah, we kind of figured. For years, the ceiling has been the most overlooked, and under-appreciated, part of every room. Sure, you might’ve used some adhesive, glow-in-the-dark stars when you were a kid or added a statement light fixture to the mix, but that’s probably the extent of your ceiling design chops. Or so you thought. Recently, it seems like the design tides are changing.
Feb 22, 2019
The Worst Savings Advice Experts Have Ever Heard
Even if you’ve just started to save for a big purchase like a home or for retirement, you’ve probably already run into plenty of bad advice. Everyone, especially your family, seems to have an opinion on where your hard-earned money should go. But not everyone knows what they’re talking about. (Sorry, Nana!) Luckily, five money experts weigh in on the worst savings advice they’ve ever heard.
Feb 21, 2019
10 Living Room Trends Set to Take the Rest of 2019 by Storm
If the kitchen is the stomach of your home, the living room is definitely its heart. It’s where you can curl up with a book on a lazy Sunday, catch up with some friends over a glass of wine, or spend the entire weekend binge-watching whatever’s on Netflix (hey, we’re not judging). Your living room is such an important part of your home, it’s important to keep it looking its best at all times.
Feb 21, 2019
15 Repurposed, Upcycled, and DIY Storage Ideas
There’s nothing we like better than seeing something creatively repurposed into something else—particularly if that ‘something else’ is storage-related.
Feb 21, 2019
Can You Guess the Best U.S. State Capital to Live In?
It’s likely been awhile since you knew every state capital by heart. Even if you can’t remember every single one—Montana, I’m looking at you—many are probably still the first city that comes to mind when you think of a certain state. But contrary to what you may think, state capitals aren’t just wealthy metro hubs for local politics—a lot of them also offer amenities like quality school systems, an affordable cost of living, and cultural attractions.
Feb 21, 2019
10 Rooms That Prove This Vintage Accessory Can Feel Thoroughly Modern
Who doesn’t love a good record player? They’re functional, stylish, and keep popping up in home tour after home tour. If you’re worried about adding one to your own place without making your houseguests wonder if they’ve been transported back to 1962, fear not. The rooms below prove that these babies can look just as cool now as they did way back when. Placing an antique-inspired record player on a trendy storage cart helps combine past and present.
Feb 21, 2019
The $17 Find That’s Finally Whipped the Kids’ Bathroom Into Shape
Between the gobs of toothpaste, magnetic fishing poles, and the mountain of tiny laundry, if you share a bathroom with children, you know it’s not always the cleanest room in the house. Try as I might to remind my four kids to put everything away—and as valiant as my efforts are to pick up after them—the kids’ bathroom in my house was rarely in good form.
Feb 21, 2019
House Tour: Giulia’s ‘Fantasy Girl’ Formula
Name: GiuliaLocation: Park Slope, BrooklynSize: 900 sqft, one-bdrm co-opYears lived in: 1.5 years Designed to be every ‘girl’s fantasy’ Giulia’s new home is a much more accurate reflection of her taste and preference than her last living situation.Giulia does public relations for Harper’s Magazine and is writing a memoir with recipes due out next year. She is a wonderful host and takes etiquette seriously. I arrived and was greeted with hot apple muffins!
Feb 20, 2019
CHI House Tour: Jessica & Alex’s Simple Modern On a Budget
Name: Jessica, a graphic designer and Alex, a packaging engineerLocation: EvanstonSize: 1920’s 3 Bedroom Condo – (Don’t know the square footage; too lazy to measure)Years lived in: 2 >> Though we have yet to meet in person, we feel like we know Jessica a bit – we “discovered” her colorful Chicago home through her blog and sent her an email asking if she’d be up for sharing it with the Apartment Therapy community, and happily she agreed.
Feb 20, 2019
Boston House Tour: Kyle’s Jamaica Plain Gem
This is from our Boston finalist, Kyle. Comment away!Name: KyleLocation: Jamaica Plain, MASize: 1000 sfOwn/Rent: Own >> I’ve been a serial room-rearranger since I was old enough to wobble. I’m not talking about a few times a year or even once a month. My home can look radically different from week to week. My dog used to get startled when he noticed that he was dozing on a couch that was moving from one side of the room to the other.
Feb 20, 2019
NY House Tour: Olga’s DIY Like You’ve Never Seen DIY
A showcase for those who transform their residences into homes via innovative interventionName: OlgaLocation: Windsor Terrace, BrooklynSize: 743 sqft. Co-op >>Enter Slideshow! When I walked in, Olga offered me a glass of water from her energy-efficient fridge sitting in the middle of her living room. Her kitchen, at this point, exists as a mere suggestion.Black marker drawings on the floor and walls indicate future appliance and cabinet locations. We were surrounded by lots and lots of boxes.
Feb 20, 2019
House Tour: Bill and Maria’s Cat Playground
Name: Bill and MariaLocation: Carroll Gardens, BrooklynSize: 850 sqft.Lived in: 3 years >> (Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Bill and Maria, founders of Uhuru Design shared their home with the design crowd at last week’s meetup. Not only do Maria and Bill love their two cats, but they happen to be talented designers who have their own company and who make great stuff out of simple materials.
Feb 20, 2019
House Tour: Rachel’s Weatherboard Cottage
Name: Rachel PittsLocation: Footscray, Melbourne, AustraliaSize: 82 square meters [882 square feet]Years lived in: 3 years >> Rachel and Leigh’s home has a really open, genuine and fresh feel to it. One of the first things they did after purchasing their 1900’s weatherboard home, was tearing down the wall in between the kitchen and living room.
Feb 20, 2019
Alecia & Jon’s Luminous Simplicity
Name: Alecia & Jon Zasiebida Location: Near North Side; Chicago, Illinois Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; rented The first thing you see when you enter Alecia and Jon’s apartment is sky. High ceilings and a wall of windows flood the space with openness, peace, and possibility. And the simple beauty that infuses their home only begins there. Alecia is a graphic designer with a love of simple, minimal style.
Feb 20, 2019
Meagen & Mike’s Cherry Hill Victorian Decorated for the Holidays
Name: Meagen and Mike Coburn and dog Dozer Location: Cherry Hill Historic District; Grand Rapids, Michigan Size: 2,800 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; owned I arrived on Meagen and Mike’s street on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in mid-December. The forty-degree weather, mist and visible green grass didn’t feel like Christmas in Michigan.
Feb 20, 2019
Rebecca & Eric’s Global Territory
Name: Rebecca Crall & Eric Neagu (and Bailey) Location: Ravenswood; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 5 years; rented Warmth. It’s the word that best describes the feeling you get the moment you step inside Rebecca and Eric’s Chicago apartment.
Feb 20, 2019
Keila’s Deliciously Colorful DIY Style
Name: Keila Hill Location: Arlington, Virginia Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; renting For Georgia transplant Keila Hill, sprucing up her apartment into a colorful oasis is never more than a paint can away. See how this thrifty gal maximizes impact on a small space.
Feb 20, 2019
Tracy & Kenny’s Retro Modern Richmond Ranch
Name: Kenneth Close and Tracy Wilson Location: Richmond, Virginia Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 2; Owned With toys, turntables, colors that pop, and vintage posters that will make you long for the days of playing Pacman at the arcade, Tracy and Kenny’s 1961 ranch is modern, playful, and kitschy in all the right places. The open floor plan allows for great views from all angles of Tracy and Kenny’s living, dining, and kitchen space, and there is certainly a lot to take in.
Feb 20, 2019
Anna’s Bright & Creative Small Space in San Francisco
Name: Anna Korkobcova Location: Lower Pac Heights — San Francisco, California Size: 420 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented The moment you cross the threshold of Anna’s home, you are greeted as warmly as an old friend. I arrived on her doorstep late and battling a cold, for which she insisted on sending me home with her own tried and true remedy.
Feb 20, 2019
Melissa & Brian’s Mid Century Bohemian with a Twist Home
Name: Melissa and Brian Crochet Location: Franklin, Tennessee Size: 3,400 square feet Years lived in: 7 years Comfortable, welcoming, and stylish, Melissa has masterfully furnished her home on a budget. Rooms that would cost others thousands cost her hundreds. How does she do it? With patience. She has, over the years, scoured the Nashville Flea Market, Goodwill, and Craigslist to make her home a unique and comfortable place to live.
Feb 20, 2019
Ayah’s Bicoastal Craftsman Bungalow
Name: Ayah Wilson Location: Oakland, California Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented To most of us, the process of moving to a new home is a daunting task. Aspects of it are filled with excitement (especially the decorating part!) as well as the unknown (moving rates!).
Feb 20, 2019
Brittany & Brittany’s Bright Wicker Park Apartment
Name: Brittany Skwierczynski and Brittany Purlee Location: Wicker Park — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,070 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Rented Graphic designer Brittany Skwierczynski and photographer Brittany Purlee, art school classmates and friends reunited in Chicago, have collaborated in styling a two bedroom apartment in Wicker Park. This bright, lively space is a direct reflection of both of their creative backgrounds and welcoming personalities.
Feb 20, 2019
Lisa & Adam’s French Country Style in Cobble Hill
Name: Lisa and Adam Location: Cobble Hill; Brooklyn, New York Size: 600 square feet Years lived in: 10 years; Rented Everyone who knows Lisa knows she likes an organized and clean space! So she’s extra challenged in a small pre-war apartment with a husband and a new baby, but she makes it work, and with a very nice feel. There is something about this apartment that all people who visit this charming home love.
Feb 20, 2019
Jen & Andrew’s Colorful Bungalow
Name: Jen Garcia & Andrew Carnwath Location: Richmond, Virginia Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; Owned Jen and Andrew, known also in the Richmond antique trading fold as The Odd Couple, have an eye for the delightfully unusual, and a knack for bringing it all together to create a space that is as curious as it is inviting. Throughout their space, sophisticated furniture and an abundance of curios combine harmoniously against a backdrop of richly colored walls.
Feb 20, 2019
Michelle’s French-Fashioned West Village Atelier
Name: Michelle Lin Greenip Location: West Village, New York Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; Rented Out the window, there’s a tumble of rooftops and a church steeple or two. Inside, a palette plucked from Ladurée, lavender fields, Hermés boxes and champagne labels, with a bit of gilding for good measure. While it’s one part atelier, including an artist’s garret of sorts, it’s the West Village, not the Left Bank.
Feb 20, 2019
Danielle & Patrick’s Warm Modern Home
Name: Danielle Rowe, Patrick Flannery and son Pete. Location: Berkeley
, California Size: 1,380 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented The home that Danielle and Pete share with their son hits all of the right notes: it is modern but maintains a sense of warmth, lived in but not messy, collected but not cluttered.
Feb 20, 2019
Beci & Raph’s Art-Filled Home in Australia
Name: Beci Orpin, Author, Crafter, Designer, Probable Cringer of this introduction, with her talented family Raph, Tyke & Ari Location: Brunswick West, Victoria, Australia Size: 1,290 square feet Years lived in: 7 years; Owned I felt instantly at home stepping into Beci & Raph’s home. Despite being a stranger, Beci left me alone in her front “ex-studio” while she popped down the street for milk.
Feb 20, 2019
Joe & Bonnie’s Light and Lovely Wicker Park Condo
Location: Wicker Park; Chicago, Illinois Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 7 years As a young person living in Chicago, I spent many hours rambling though Wicker Park, an area of the city that used to be synonymous with art and music. The neighborhood, home to historic flats on shady, tree-lined streets, has since been gentrified six ways from Sunday.
Feb 20, 2019
Jeremy & Kim’s Cozy Deco Home
Name: Jeremy and Kim Kasten Location: South Pasadena, California Size: 1,300 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented My dear friend Jeremy Kasten had his previous loft featured on Apartment Therapy almost six years ago. It was a stunningly sexy apartment in the Eastern Columbia building in Downtown Los Angeles. Two and a half years ago, with a baby on the way, he and his lovely wife Kim were forced to find something bigger for their growing family.
Feb 20, 2019
Francina & Joe’s Idyllic Townhouse
Name: Francina and Joe Baldi Location: Frederick, Maryland Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 34 years; Owned Built around 1900, Francina and Joe Baldi’s townhouse has no doubt been through many transformations over the years. The couple have been through a few renovations themselves, but they have been careful to preserve as many of the original features of the house as they could, from the second stair in the kitchen to the thoughtfully embellished door hardware.
Feb 20, 2019
Laura’s Heritage Hill Menagerie
Name: Laura Location: Heritage Hill; Grand Rapids, Michigan Size: 768 square feet Years lived in: 8.5 years; Rented Laura lives in a 102-unit apartment complex in Heritage Hill, the historic district east of Downtown Grand Rapids. Her two-bedroom rental is filled with plants, colors and animals. Guests will discover tiny deer in a winter-themed wreath, wall-mounted heads of a rhino and giraffe, lots of pugs and even a miniature Brachiosaurus roaming among succulents.
Feb 20, 2019
Casey’s Playful Los Angeles House
Name: Casey Anderson Location: Highland Park; Los Angeles, California Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned With a penchant for unconventional activities (read: dodgeball and tap dancing), and an affinity for Spielberg-ian extraterrestrials, it goes without saying that Casey is one rad kindergarten teacher.
Feb 20, 2019