The whole idea of Black Friday is so ingrained in us now that it almost feels like a tradition. If lining up for doorbusters is your thing, by all means, do it. But our idea of a better tradition for the day after Thanksgiving is to spend the day at home with our families, putting up our holiday decor. This year, Lowe’s is breaking with tradition this year by offering Black Friday deals throughout the entire month of November, which includes their holiday decorations.
When it comes to beautiful, one-of-a-kind modern design, the only way you can do better than Blu Dot is Blu Dot on sale. For a few ephemeral weeks each year, they offer all of their punchy, modern designs at 20 percent off. But just like any hope of pre-planning your Halloween costume, it’s all over by October 28th. So to save you a little time, I sifted through the sale for the best finds—take a look. Blu Dot excels at every kind of sofa, but especially sleepers.
The first sign you’re back in the fall grind is that weekends become a much more precious commodity than you remember them being. Despite the returned chaos, there are a few little tasks you can do during the week that will keep the weekend chore list shorter. Each takes less than five minutes; none requires any special tools. We all want to be the person who wipes off soup splatters right after they happen, but who among us is?
Whether you’re moving in with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend, chances are your personal styles aren’t a perfect match…yet. But there’s good news! Mixing and matching styles is actually pretty easy if you follow a few cardinal rules. We went on a shopping and styling spree with Overstock.com to show how two distinct living room styles can become one. Turns out, Overstock.
charset="utf-8" src="https://d30bopbxapq94k.cloudfront.net/js/curalate-widget-client-all-v3.min.js" type="text/javascript"> Just because you have pets or kids, or are, frankly, a total klutz, doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things. The first secret of styling high-traffic areas is durable, easy-to-clean items. The second is that those items can be just as chic as their more delicate counterparts. We refreshed a living room using items completely sourced from Overstock.
Almost every homeowner has a renovation project in mind, but the big question is: When should I do it? Sometimes, it makes sense to save up and put it off. But in certain cases, it would behoove you to do it sooner. These are the medium and big-ticket projects that, yes, will add value when it’s time to resell, but are also improvements you want to enjoy for yourself.
Who says neutral has to mean white or beige? We say it’s 100% possible for a color to work quietly in the background and still be, you know, a color. That’s the whole point of our New Neutrals Project, where we gave some lucky readers a neutral paint makeover. The results are anything but boring and we all learned how much a little bit of color would help. Today we visit Leah, who took on the challenge to transform her condo’s living room into a soothing space.
Neutrals will never go out of style, but lately we’ve been seeing them take on a new sophistication. More and more, we’re seeing classic neutrals show up with deeper tints—shades a little more exciting than ecru or bone—and people are really leaning into those colors that fall somewhere in the middle of two other colors.
Think neutrals can only be white, grey or beige? Not so! It turns out that lots of you are using unexpected shades—like muted pinks, oranges, yellows, and even greens—as stage-setting neutrals in your spaces. Which inspired us to investigate further. In today’s edition of our New Neutrals Project , we visit Melina, a reader who was a little incredulous that adding pigment to a neutral would work out in her favor. Melina, founder of 5th Floor Walkup, lives in a small studio.
I first started using Trello a couple years ago. It’s a project management app (for desktop and mobile), but it’s way more visual and fun to use than any others I’ve seen. Once it got all my work projects together, I quickly realized it could be useful for way more: all my home project planning, to-do lists…really anything I find myself writing down or pinning or bookmarking or emailing to myself or group-texting about. Which is to say, everything. And it’s free!
The award-winning Aladdin on Broadway brings the adventure of Disney’s classic film to a whole new world. (Sorry, too easy!) Which got us thinking…What would Jasmine, Aladdin and all the other characters’ digs look like in real life? With a little help from our library of House Tours we came up with a few ideas… Design Personality: Modern Desert Rustic We start in the desert. Not the Seven Deserts outside Agrabah, but the Mojave Desert in CA.
You’d think holiday travel would be somewhat enjoyable since it’s the last step before the celebrating begins. As we all know, it isn’t. You may have no control over an overpacked flight grid, but putting a little thought into your own self-care will minimize as much of the frazzle as you can. We’ve thought through a few unexpected carry-on items that will ensure you arrive healthy, refreshed, and ready to enjoy the season.
Let’s say you had Cher’s closet from Clueless, but not just for clothes: for all your stuff. Think how much that would change your whole year. Your holiday motif, for example, could become the fully realized dreamscape you imagined if you had an endless amount of storage space, right? This is exactly what Closetbox offers: all the extra storage space you need, plus all the heavy lifting.
Even the littlest gifts can be thoughtful and memorable. Take Tile, the tiny Bluetooth tracker that makes it easy to find everything that matters. It’s a great gift for anyone who ever loses anything (i.e., all of us). You attach it to the thing you’ll misplace (before you misplace it); then when it’s lost, use your phone to either make Tile ring or to locate it in the app. So really, gifting someone a Tile is like gifting them the thing they won’t have to replace later.
We spend about one-third of our lives in bed, but we usually don’t put a lot of thought into how healthy of an environment it is. Avocado Green Mattress set out to change all that when they designed an affordable mattress made from non-toxic, natural, and organic materials. Is going natural at bedtime that important? Yes! Unlike the delightful “new car smell,” “new mattress smell” — aka “off-gassing” — can keep you up at night.
Every year around this time we get super excited. Yes, for pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween, but also because it’s time for Blu Dot’s Annual Sale! From now until October 29 almost every kicky, modern piece in the store is on sale, with the lowest prices of the year. Here are some of our faves from this year’s sale. Hover over the pieces you love to shop them! If you’ve been eyeing any of Blu Dot’s beds, this is the time to crawl into one of your own.
When you start living in a small space, you quickly realize the value of furniture that does double duty. Whether it’s just a desk by day/dining table by night or a stuff-storing ottoman, finding just a few multifunctional pieces opens up so much cherished storage and living space. However — and this is important — creating a space that fulfills multiple functions doesn’t mean sacrificing style.
A house or apartment isn’t a home until you’ve entertained in it, even when you’re talking about the smallest of homes. But hosting a dinner or even just cocktails in a new space can be stressful enough — teeny tiny parameters aside. During our recent refresh of the OG Apartment Therapy apartment (which, at just 265 sq. ft., is the poster child of teeny tiny) we thought through a few ways for someone hosting in it could boost their confidence.
There’s a well-known paradox when it comes to wall decor: the smaller the home, the bigger the challenge. When you’re working with a tiny space, choosing the wrong paint color can make everything claustrophobic. Picking too many patterns makes it way too busy. Small spaces are surprisingly full of complications. Some of us have learned this the hard way, but you don’t have to.
You know when you look around and everything’s OK, but you can’t help but feeling a little blah? When you want an exclamation point, but all you see is a period? The exclamation points of home decor are pops of color, and the nice thing about them is that they’re made in single afternoons, not whole weekends. Take these chairs, for example. They were fine, mid-centuryish chairs and already had some nice style going on.
In 2004, Apartment Therapy was born in a teeny tiny apartment in NYC’s Greenwich Village. Maxwell Ryan, our founder and the original Apartment Therapist, lived in a 265-square-foot 1-bedroom, relying on his decorating savvy and small-space know-how to make it work. It was in this tiny home that all our space-saving, zen-inducing, style-savvy solutions for small-space living first came to life. The apartment remains an icon to us, but over a decade later it was in need of a refresh.
Every little bit counts…especially when it comes to kitchens with limited storage space. Some people take it to the extreme with hacks like turning their oven into a bookshelf or storing sweaters in cutlery drawers. Creative as they may be, there are a few less extreme options you may not have thought of yet, that together add up to significant space savings. 1. Maximize cabinet space with stackable shelves. Open your cabinets and take a look.
Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that make the biggest difference. While big changes like a fancy thermostat or new solar panels can have a big impact on your home’s energy efficiency and thus sustainability, there are a few small changes you can easily make today that will add up to significant energy and money savings in the long run. 1. Grow houseplants. Besides literally making your space more green, houseplants have a number of health and energy benefits.
One outdoor space, one pair of outdoor lounge chairs…infinite possibilities for creativity! We asked two style experts to put their distinct personal touches on one patio setup using pieces from Ashley HomeStore, and the results are in. Each created a stylish summer escape and offered their own advice for styling your outdoor “room.” Check out their looks, then choose which one works best with your own style; everyone who votes will be entered to win the setup they voted for!
We’re so used to shopping for furniture room-by-room that it’s hard to think outside the box when it comes to clever ways to create more storage and deciding what to put where. But sometimes, putting furniture in the “wrong” room turns out to be just the right way to get organized. If you’re starting to pre-plan your fall reorganization strategy, this may be just the new way of thinking that makes it all click.
We are leaning way into the joy of trading rain boots for flip-flops and sweaters for tank tops. So into it, that we want to keep those cheerful, flirty vibes going all year long. Structube’s summer collection captures that spirit exactly, with pieces that are airy and nonchalant and won’t break the bank. Here are some of favorite finds… 1. This Pretty-In-Pink Loveseat, $399 Peonies, coral, a summer sunset…nothing says summer like pink.
You know how you feel about that amazing new restaurant you stumbled across last weekend? The one that you really want to tell all your friends about but also secretly want to keep to yourself so you don’t ever end up having to wait two hours for a brunch table once the secret’s out?
Every home should have a happy place. Whether it’s your reading nook, a meditation room, or a little creativity hub, you deserve a spot that’s devoted to keeping you healthy and joyful in your own home. Even if you’re renting, it’s possible to create a happy place that can move along with you and that makes your rental really feel like the home you want.
Prize: A gift card loaded with $500 From: Booking.com Value: $500 Thinking about summer vacay? Let’s make it easy. Booking.com is giving away a $500 gift card to spend either to spruce up your own home for traveling guests or on a dreamy stay in any destination. With over a million places to stay, from apartments to hotels to houseboats, it’s pretty easy to find one that suits your style. Booking.
OK, so maybe I haven’t been renting for my whole adult life… yet. But in the 10ish years since I first became an official leaseholder, I’ve moved 13 times, lived in 11 different rentals, and have been to more open houses than I can count. So, older and hopefully wiser, here are the seven things I wish I had known before signing my first lease. If you do one thing, do this.
For me, the prospect of working with an online decorator has always felt a little like online dating. But what if instead of only suffering an awkward first date, you end up getting paired with a decorator who just doesn’t get your passion for multi-tonal gray-on-gray and six weeks later you wake up to a living room covered in leopard print and crushed velvet?! These are the things that keep me up at night. Thankfully, Havenly has come up with the way to avoid all that.
Have you ever stayed in a hotel and noticed that everything in the bathroom just felt so much better? I’m talking towels the size of bed sheets and softer than silk. Buttery tub mats and bath rugs that your feet melt right into. Bathrobes that would bring a whole new meaning to lazy Sunday. Well it’s high time to bring that luxe treatment to your own bathroom.
