Newsletters

Kathleen Luttschyn

Kathleen is a freelance editor who lives in Chicago. She loves eclectic rooms, traveling with her family, and feeding anyone who steps foot in her house. She theoretically hates clutter, but can’t stop buying books and craft supplies.
    5 (More) Ways to Make Cut Flowers Last
    If you’ve been reading Apartment Therapy for a while, you know we’re big advocates of keeping fresh flowers in your home. Here are a few more tips for making them last, whether they’re freshly picked or a favorite flower that you buy all the time.  Put freshly picked flowers in water immediately and leave them for at least 5 hours before arranging them, a process calling conditioning.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    May 5, 2019
    Homekeeping Hints: How To Clean, Fix & Maintain Tile Floors
    You have a new tile floor, and it’s gleaming and gorgeous. Or maybe you have a 70-year-old checkerboard floor that could use some TLC. Either way, this list of tips can help you maintain your floor for years to come.  This may be common sense, but dirt can easily scratch tile surfaces so it’s important to keep your floor clean by regularly sweeping or vacuuming it. A little preventative manintenance goes a long way. Mop once a week.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    May 5, 2019
    Smart & Simple Homekeeping: Tips for Keeping Carpets Clean
    That pristine wool carpet you just installed looks great. Keep it looking that way for years with these straightforward, easy tips. Vacuum regularly. Loop carpets like Berbers are more delicate and should be vacuumed only with suction. Pile carpets, like Saxony pile and textured pile, can withstand heavier cleaning and should be cleaned with a beater bar. Natural wool has a wax coating that keeps dirt on the surface, making it easy to keep clean by vacuuming. Stain treat immediately.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    May 5, 2019
    How to Polish & Repair Scratched Glass
    There are few more timeless pieces of furniture than a glass table, whether it’s in your dining room or holding down the fort next to your couch. But the beauty of glass is also its downfall—it can get and show scratches way more easily than anyone would like.Luckily, there’s a super easy way to remedy those unsightly marks using items you almost definitely already have at home. While this won’t work for deep gouges, it’s the perfect trick for minor scratches.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Aug 13, 2014
    Smart Tips for People Who Move Frequently
    I’ve lived in my current home for 8 years and I lived in my home before that for 3 years. I don’t like moving and have never had a reason to move frequently – that is, until now. In the next two years, my family will be moving at least twice, and possibly three times. In preparation, I’ve been thinking through ways to make these frequent moves less stressful. I’ve come up with a few ideas, and would really appreciate tips from those of you who have been here before.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jun 11, 2014
    What Do You Love About Your Home?
    When my husband and I first walked through our home, we loved all the light. It was a gray day, but a wall of windows, high ceilings, and skylights made each room seem bright nonetheless. We’ve lived here for 8 years now, and the windows and light still make me happy almost every day. What do you love about your own home? It’s easy to forget the good stuff about your home, especially if you’re also dealing with issues like finicky toilets, outdated paneling, or noisy neighbors.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Feb 24, 2014
    Rose Parade: Fresh Floral Decor
    In the past I wasn’t big on floral prints, gravitating instead toward stripes or geometric prints. Lately, though, I’ve been loving them. I especially like all the beautifully classic rose prints that are popping up — they may be traditional, but they look pretty chic in the right space. A dramatic, gorgeous mix of traditional and modern pieces, featuring The Rug Company’s Persian Rose Garden Rug by Megan Park.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Feb 17, 2014
    Tell Us: What’s Your Biggest Kitchen Design Mistake?
    Arrrrrrggh. My neighbor redid her kitchen last year and is now annoyed that the cupboards in her island are on the side furthest from the oven. Whoever designed my kitchen crammed a big fridge into a too-small space. We had to buy a new fridge last year so that the door would open without banging the counters. Lately, I’ve learned kitchen mistakes are more pervasive than I thought they were.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Dec 10, 2013
    Savvy Seating: Colorful & Eclectic Chairs
    If your current dining space is a bit blah and you find that you keep pinning chairs on Pinterest, try out this clever design idea. You can thrift chairs and paint them, buy a few of the same chair in different colors, or slowly collect gorgeous chairs as you come across them. Midcentury chairs look chic upholstered in a rainbow of colors. From Nuevo Estilo. Clean lines and muted hues make for a gorgeous composition. From Dwell. Jewel-toned stools complement a stunning table.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Sep 16, 2013
    5 Natural DIY Recipes for Cleaning, Polishing & Restoring Wood
    Those beloved-but-worn salad bowls? The slightly scratched teak table you scored at an antique fair? Your 90-year-old wood floors? Make them shiny and new with one of these simple wood cleaning recipes (chances are you can make one with ingredients you already own.) Two common salad dressing ingredients make up the basis of this easy wood polish from Planet Forward. Toymaker Amber Dusick shares the beeswax wood polish recipe she uses on her handmade toys.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Apr 29, 2013
    Jenny Lind Style: Adult-Sized Spindle Beds
    Jenny Lind cribs are a design classic, but elegant spindles look just as good on beds made for adults. As these rooms show, they can range anywhere from traditional to eclectic to surprisingly modern. Designer Phoebe Howard coats a dramatic 4-post version in cream paint. Bright colors and contemporary prints balance a traditional bed in House Beautiful. A bed from the mid-1800s looks chic in a minimalistic room. Via Country Living.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Mar 12, 2013
    5 Tiny Tweaks to Keep Your Bedroom Closet Organized
    A newly reorganized closet is a sight to behold. You’ve cleared the clutter, your belongings look great, and you can check another chore off the list. If you’re like me, however, this feeling lasts a shockingly short time before the clutter creeps back. I just re-cleaned a closet I organized only a few months ago, and I’m determined to keep it nice with this list of easy tips.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Sep 10, 2012
    The Bare Minimum: 10 Absolute Essentials for Every Home
    No two households are the same — it’s part of what make House Tours endlessly entertaining. Still, there are some universal truths to life at home. So whether you’re an avid cook living in an apartment, a raw vegan living in a rural tiny house, or a DIY aficionado living in a bungalow, your home will benefit from having these 10 essentials.Most of the items on this list are practical, but a few lean toward comfort and aethestics. Why not?
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Aug 7, 2012
    Before & After: Family-Friendly Deck
    It started with a splinter. We’d long neglected the worn, ugly deck off our master bedroom. It contained two chaise lounges, a plant, and a sand table for our toddler, but was still bare and underutilized. Then I got a nasty splinter from it — my third in as many days — and I realized we couldn’t ignore it any longer.It wasn’t a rash decision, so much as an acknowledgment that the deck needed repair.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jul 31, 2012
    Space Saving Chic: Tiny Sinks in Tiny Kitchens
    Tiny kitchens present a few challenges, especially when it comes to counter space. After all, it’s hard to make dinner on a counter the size of a cutting board. One solution? Utilize a compact sink to make the most of your space.Rather than looking kid-sized, small sinks are a smart solution that are a natural fit in small kitchens. If your space is truly minuscule, a wet bar sink may also be a viable option.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Apr 9, 2012
    After the Renovation: A Clean-Up Checklist
    There’s been a constant stream of projects around my home lately. They’ve ranged from exciting (new kitchen cabinets) to demoralizing (finding mold in our guest room ceiling), but they’ve all included a fair bit of construction dust. Along the way, I developed this checklist for cleaning up efficiently.If you just finished a major renovation that required moving everything out of your home, you can probably skip a few steps.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jan 10, 2012
    Homemade Cleaners Toolkit: 5 Essentials to Make Your Own
    Last week, I was helping my brother clean out his apartment when he complained about the prices of eco-friendly cleaners. Always looking for converts, I recommended he start making household cleaners himself — it takes very little time and all you need are these five essentials.You can use these five basics to clean almost everything in your home, from fixtures to floors to laundry to the bathroom.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jan 3, 2012
    10 Great Housewarming Gifts for: Empty Nesters
    The chicks have already flown the nest . . . and now, so have their parents. But what to buy for empty nesters who have relocated? Like your friends who moved downtown and now love takeout noodles? Or your Dad, who finally bought that lakeside cabin? Help them celebrate in style with one of these chic, useful housewarming gifts.Luckily, since they probably have all the essentials already, you can have some fun finding unique items they may never think to buy themselves.1.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Aug 11, 2011
    One Simple Trick: How To Keep Sand Out of the House
    It seems like an inevitable part of summer — at some point, sand will get tracked inside. Then it will find its gritty way absolutely everywhere. When a friend recently shared her aunt’s secret for getting sand off everyone before they come inside, I knew I had to try it for myself.Her aunt’s trick is to make pouches out of flannel, fill them with cornstarch, and use them to wipe down sandy legs and hands.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jul 5, 2011
    Test Run: Does Tibet Almond Stick Work on Dark Wood?
    We’ve raved about Tibet Almond Stick before — in fact, I first bought one after Maxwell posted about them in 2006. Until now though, I’ve always used mine on lighter wood, like oak. Yesterday, annoyed at all the scratches that have appeared on my dark finish coffee table, I decided to see if, as promised, the renowned stick could get them out, too . . .The Almond Stick is actually a cotton roll soaked in a “secret family formula.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jun 14, 2011
    A Gallery of Case Study Beds
    The elegant lines of George Nelson’s Case Study bed have ensured its place as a modern classic, with many clean-lined successors also on the market. One big plus of these beds is their versatility — they look sculptural when adorned only with minimal bedding, but are also a good canvas for artsy, bright bedding. As these bedrooms show, as long as you don’t cover up their shape, Case Study beds look good in almost any bedroom.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Mar 31, 2011
    John’s Artful Wicker Park Duplex
    Name: John WorsekLocation: Wicker Park — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 1500 square feetYears lived in: 10 — Owned I photographed John’s house a few days after the blizzard, when side streets were still impassable and beat-up chairs sat in what few parking spaces were available. Five seconds after walking in his Wicker Park duplex, I’d completely forgotten about the weather.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Feb 17, 2011
    Before & After: Multi-purpose Loft Space
    We moved into our home four years ago in a flurry of MA thesis writing and job changes. When we had time, we worked on decorating the bedrooms, living room, and dining area — but we pretty much ignored the loft space at the top of the stairs. We eventually bought a rug and our friend Karen kindly built us pine shelves while staying as a houseguest. Sadly, that was about it until last year, when our home office moved there to make way for a nursery.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Feb 8, 2011
    Lauren’s Collection of Stories
    Name: Lauren YoungLocation: Lakeview — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 1,500 square feetYears lived in: 10 — Owned When guests enter Lauren’s home, they always pause briefly in her gorgeous, richly-hued foyer. Not only to take off coats and say hello, but because the room — the only one in the apartment that’s not neutral — demands it of you.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Jan 18, 2011
    Mary and Tom’s Hip & Historic Haven
    Name: Mary Visconti and Tom CaldwellLocation: the Loop — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 2,000 square feetYears lived in: 4 — Owned As a lifelong Chicagoan, I’ve often been curious about the Manhattan Building, the 1891 landmark that’s the city’s oldest surviving steel frame building. Designed by William Le Baron Jenney, the 16-story historic skyscraper features gorgeous bay windows and a prime view of the Harold Washington Library.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Nov 11, 2010
    It’s Refreshingly Uncomplicated: Color Inspiration from Nancy Meyers’ Movies
    Recently, a phone call to a friend who was in the middle watching It’s Complicated led to a long discussion about the gorgeous houses in Nancy Meyers’ movies. Meyers, who also directed The Holiday and Something’s Gotta Give, is almost as renowned for the production design and set decoration on her movies as she is for the movies themselves.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Oct 28, 2010
    Jaime’s Global Glamour
    Name: JaimeLocation: Wicker Park — Chicago, ILSize: 1400 square feetYears lived in: 3.5 — Owned Jaime, an esthetician at the much-lauded Maxine Salon, is the enviable type of person who’s innately stylish and who seems to get along with just about everyone. Her casually glamorous, jewel-hued Wicker Park home reflects both these aspects of her personality.
    Kathleen Luttschyn
    Oct 19, 2010