Chokers, Tommy Hilfiger, Wynona Rider. The ’90s may be back but Kirsten really wanted them to get out – and stay out – of her kitchen. With a little help from her husband, she was able to create a classically cool galley kitchen that won’t be going out of style anytime soon. From Kirsten: When we first looked at this home to buy, I remember thinking that the biggest transformation needed to be the kitchen. It was dark, too enclosed and feeling very 1990s.
Name: Dev Shah Location: Lower East Side/Chinatown area Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: Renting There’s one thing that you won’t find in the apartment of Master of None’s main character Dev: any furniture pieces from IKEA. “It’s just not Dev’s style and I could never image him assembling any furniture,” reveals Amy Williams, the production designer for Netflix’s hit show, which recently came back with ten new episodes for its second season.
I’m starting to think it’s a very sneaky secret that an engagement ring doesn’t have to destroy your wallet to be the perfect companion to a marriage proposal. Because it’s true: you really don’t have to take a hammer to the piggy bank (or your paycheck for the next three years) to find a stunner worthy of “I do.” And to prove it, here’s your very own budget-friendly engagement ring guide. Looking for classic vibes? Vintage options?
Color can change the look of a frame — and the feel of a room. (Here is proof!) But paint isn’t the only way you can alter art, frame-wise, to make a big visual impact. In this post, see how adding, switching, enlarging and more can make your art a bigger statement than it already is.
Half the fun of flipping through the glossy pages of a furniture catalog is fantasizing about the bed, sofa or chair living in your own home. But it can be tough to envision the design in your space when your home’s style doesn’t quite match the impeccably styled look on the page. So abandon the catalog and check out these gorgeous real-life homes. This contemporary dining chair is sleek, shapely, easy-to-clean and most importantly…versatile!
Erin and Tobin had been living with a bathroom that was fairly functional, but cramped — and in desperate need of a modern update. The two creatives decided to tackle the project themselves, but as anyone who has ever taken on a remodel knows, projects can take longer than expected. This “weekend endeavor” turned into a six-week transformation, but the result was well worth the wait!
Before KonMari was a household word, the town of Stars Hollow was busy hoarding coffee mugs, antique china, and novelty egg timers. Today we peel back the layers of framed photos, cozy quilts, and valances-on-drapes-on-sheers to dissect the iconic interiors of your favorite Gilmore Girls interior sets: Lorelei and Rory’s house, Richard and Emily’s mansion, The Dragonfly Inn, Luke’s Diner, and Luke’s apartment. First, we have the home of our favorite Lorelais.
Tara Bellucci, our News & Culture Editor, just moved into a new apartment in Boston’s South End this fall. The space definitely needed updating but, since Tara’s renting, a full on, rip-it-all-out reno just isn’t in the cards. She got permission from her landlord to make a few changes — simple inexpensive updates to make it more livable and inviting. And yes, a whole lot less ugly.
Maybe I’m being a curmudgeon here, but the current cultural pressure to be happy and mindful and Mindfully Happy all. the time. —it’s too much. It seems like feeling any other way is culturally unacceptable, something to feel guilty about. Yet we’re emotional beings and life can be tough. Feeling sad, crabby, or even (gasp) angry is OK sometimes! No, it’s more than OK, it’s necessary. Right?
The new year is finally here and so are the latest trends. And while it’s fun to embrace all of the new cold-weather clothes, it can still be tough to set yourself apart from the rest of the fashion-savvy pack. That’s why it pays to find ways to personalize your wardrobe without sacrificing your style (or budget). With a little time and creativity, you can turn your basic apparel into an exclusive wardrobe that’s unique to you.
If you’re thinking of upgrading your media station, your instinct might tell you to spend your money on a nice new flat screen TV. But if you’re shopping on a budget, or want a more creative solution for your movie-night needs, consider foregoing a television altogether to get a projector instead. Projectors come with a host of surprising benefits, and though you might assume a projector would feel a bit too outdated for your entertainment needs, don’t worry.
The words “bullet journaling” usually elicit one of three reactions from people: One: “What’s that?,” Two: “How does anyone have time for that?,” or Three: whatever the dialogue version of the heart-eyes emoji is. A bullet journal, if you’re unfamiliar, is an organizational system that combines your diary, sketchbook, to-do list and more all into one.
Many of us love watching television but hate seeing that giant black rectangle become the visual centerpiece of a room. Creative couple Nicole and Dave put a lot of thought and effort into their beautiful, industrial live/work loft in South Baltimore, so naturally they didn’t want a big, ugly TV getting in the way of their style. So they came up with a pretty fantastic, artful solution for hiding their TV, and they’ve shared with us how they did it!
New co-op owner Kate Moskowitz recently acquired a New York rarity: an apartment with stairs. Her triplex space has great bones but needs an update to become the simple and contemporary space she wants. Kate has $12,000 to bring the space — particularly the kitchen — up to grade. In this series, expert Alex Bandon answers your specific renovation questions.
I know, I know. We too get sick of hearing that [insert anything here] is the new black. But I think we’ve truly found the perfect alternative to the ubiquitous fiddle leaf fig which — although admittedly lovely — is somewhat hard to take care of. If you are looking for a new plant hero to transform your interior, without demanding too much of your time, please allow me introduce you.
This dark half-bath off the kitchen of Sarah & Keith’s home needed a major refresh. It had a good layout in place, but the brown walls made it feel much smaller than its actual size. Sarah and Keith kept the existing configuration and plumbing, and focused on new fixtures and and fresh design plan to give it a brand new look. By brightening up the walls, and sticking with a classic color palette, the bathroom now feels much more spacious.
Sarah and Keith knew it was about time to leave their cramped ’90s kitchen behind. While functional, the space was outdated and closed off. They wanted a space that flowed seamlessly with the rest of the vibrant, contemporary house. They opened up the floor plan, and chose design elements like a neutral wall color and tile, white cabinets and light marble countertops.
Sophia’s 400-square-foot apartment on New York’s Upper West Side was the perfect size for one person. After her husband Leon moved in, the apartment seemed a bit cozy, but they made it work. Then came baby. Three people (and all that baby stuff) in 400 square feet was just too much, so they started looking for a place to buy. They looked, and looked, and looked, but none of the two-bedrooms in their price range were even remotely livable.
In the 50s, General Electric made the fabulous Wonder Kitchen—an entire wall unit with all the appliances built right in. The units came in amazing colors: Canary Yellow, Turquoise Green, Petal Pink, Cadet Blue and Woodbine Brown, all under one stainless steel counter surface. Letitia acquired one of these units, along with other matching cabinets, which were salvaged from another kitchen, and she renovated her dark and gloomy kitchen around this gleaming, wondrous wall unit.
Sarah and Keith had just begun a transformation on the basement space in their house prior to this “before” photo being taken. While previously a functional space, they wanted a basement the whole family could really enjoy together. They wanted a space that was as inspiring to be in as it was lovely to look at. IKEA shelving and some new chalkboard walls were the first step, but something was going to have to be done with the dingy wall-to-wall carpeting.
This “office” space that was shared by Sarah and Keith in their dark, uninspiring basement in their New England Craftsman Colonial didn’t seem to have a clear design or purpose — or you know, much style. But they lightened, brightened and turned this space around! When they removed the carpet and added new hardwoods, a neutral area rug and drapes, the space felt more open and each side had a clear purpose.
I love both blue and black kitchens and all their loveliness and drama, but after seeing 50 million of them over the past couple of years, I start itching for something new to make my eyes happy. So it’s refreshing to see another shade emerge lately as contender for the role of hottest kitchen color. We’re calling it “bruised” green —anything from olive to army to deep forest.
On a peaceful, sidewalk-free street, lined with trees and near a lake, is Matt and Amanda’s 1947 bungalow in the San Rafael hills of Pasadena. It’s not hard to see what attracted the couple to this house, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t need a lot of work. The house had a lot of potential (and light), but not a lot of personality. Matt and Amanda wanted to create a rich, unique Craftsman feel.
With low ceilings, white walls and track lighting, Matt and Amanda’s post-war den in their California Craftsman didn’t exactly inspire the soul. As two people working in a hectic and creative field (they’re both actors), they wanted to add loads of personality to their small den, while also creating a retreat. In short, they wanted to banish the boring. Their plan? Transform the blank canvas above into a room with English pub vibes.
When Matt and Amanda first looked at this house, they were able to instantly imagine fixing up all of the rooms — except for the kitchen. It was a dark, dated galley kitchen with a wall smack dab in the middle. Matt writes: “We went back to look at it one last time and I just sat there trying to visualize what the solution could be. When I realized it could be done, I did my best to explain the mess in my head to Amanda and we went for it!
Matt and Amanda knew they wanted to strip this entire bathroom down and create something new that was light and airy — that felt good to be in. As Matt writes: “The two rooms of the house that we had done by contractors were the kitchen and the bathroom. I was too afraid to deal with that much tile and plumbing. We had them gut everything. …We wanted a classic subway or old Italian restaurant vibe in here for some reason.
I adore custom framing but it can be quite expensive, which got me thinking about some alternatives. After all, necessity is the mother of invention, is it not?Turns out a lot of people have had this same thought and have created some lovely options to display artwork sans framing. Check them out! Above: This option from Deko employs wooden trouser hangers to display art. That’s it! And I love it. I found this elegant display idea on Freshome.
As if laundry isn’t hard enough to keep under control, there are those little labels with tiny instructions and inscrutable hieroglyphics that we’re supposed to obey. But, seriously, who has time to sort not only by color and clothing type but by meticulous instructions?!
A lot of tiny houses look a bit like little dollhouses on wheels—peaked roof, petite double-hung windows, a tiny, almost vestigial porch. While these homes are, admittedly, adorable, it’s always nice to see something a little different. Like the Alpha Tiny House, whose designers embraced a more modern aesthetic—and a seamless connection between indoors and out.
I firmly believe that some things are best left out of sight. When someone walks into my kitchen, I definitely don’t want the first thing they see to be a trash can. So stashing that trash bin in a cabinet seemed like a logical, aesthetically pleasing solution. Bonus: Keeping it behind closed doors meant I wouldn’t have to waste (get it?) precious square footage. I’m sad to report, however, that keeping garbage in the cabinet below my sink has proven to be a bad idea.
If you’re lucky enough to have your own, your washer and dryer are probably among your most expensive household appliances. But it’s easy to just crank the laundry through them without giving them much care. They are sophisticated machines, though, that need proper maintenance if you want to keep them working their best and for a long time. This weekend, familiarize yourself with how to properly take care of these very handy workhorses.
At first glance, this space above the bathroom in Brett’s apartment looked like an unfortunate eye sore. But Brett saw this area as more than wasted space. He had a vision, and very specific goals for the small space. And his DIY solution is both attractive and functional. Using 1/2 inch PVC piping from Home Depot and some standard wooden slats, Brett transformed this otherwise useless space into his bedroom!
When Tim Sheehan bought an 1860s Greek Revival home that had been abandoned for six years, the kitchen was crammed into a small room at the end of a hallway. The house was used as a rectory for 80 years, so a full kitchen wasn’t necessary when the home was first constructed. So Tim gutted the back hallway, knocked down a wall that once enclosed the tiny, impractical kitchen and removed sheet rock and a drop ceiling to reveal wood walls painted white.
When Tim purchased his house in 2010, it had been abandoned since 2004, a year before Hurricane Katrina. The windows were left open and the walls were covered with mold. The property was what Tim describes as “marginally livable,” and didn’t even meet the requirements for financing. He would have to pay out of pocket to get a hot water heater installed, the electricity turned on, and have the mold re-mediated in order to secure a mortgage.
Chances are good that you’ve seen rubber flooring in a school, or a commercial building, or at your gym, but we’re here to make the case for why you should consider it as a choice for your home, too. We’ve rounded up plenty of inspiring photos of rubber floors in the home, along with seven things you might not have known about this incredibly durable, hardwearing material. 5. It doesn’t have to have that bumpy texture.
It seems like every year, droves of new holiday albums come out—so many that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Sometimes the best Christmas songs are right under our noses, we just have no idea because there’s too much to choose from.
Maybe it’s not that you hate all holiday music; it’s just that you’re sick of hearing the same peppy-on-the-verge-of-cheesy songs with the same message year after year. You’re tired of hearing “Jingle Bell Rock” at every single Christmas party (and really, everywhere you turn) and getting “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” stuck in your head for weeks on end.
Personal and fashion stylist Elim Chu is the cool, nice friend you hope to have because not only is she smart and hip and has amazing style—she will happily share her knowledge and secrets to help everyone around her look and feel great. She’s genuine and warm and approaches styling with the belief that everyone can build a simple and beautiful less-is-more wardrobe.
Is your closet overflowing with outdated sweaters and old jeans that require a month long juice cleanse to get into? Do you really want to clean out your closet and pull some metaphorical weeds that take the form of sherbet Gap polos and asymmetrical halter dresses, but feel like you can’t? Chances are you’re afraid to take anything out of your wardrobe because you’re worried you’ll regret it later.
Anyone else having a rough day? I hope you’re all feeling your feelings in whichever way helps you, being kind and supporting to the people around you who need it, and finding some solace and joy when you can. If a bit of sunshine in the form of adorable floofballs from our House Tours can add a bit of light to your day, well, that’s something. These cuties are here to give you some hope, love, and virtual cuddles. Like, what even just happened? We’ve all been there.
For years, well-intentioned renovators have been painting over wood trim of all kinds. White trim was good, or ever colored trim or even black. But wood trim, of the kind found in so many beautiful old houses, was deemed heavy, old-fashioned. Well, I’m happy to report that the pendulum seems to be swinging back in the other direction. So before you paint over that woodwork, take a look at these beautiful examples of wood trim done right.
Lest we begin this adventure with any misunderstanding about my relationship with early mornings and my alarm clock, allow me to offer this summary: I am the Queen of Snooze Buttons. My husband, parents and college roommates can all attest to this fact. But snoozing my way through the morning isn’t exactly the most productive or, frankly, healthy way to begin the day.
With all the added expenses that come with the holiday season and the time to set your 2017 goals just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get serious about your finances. Here are five money books that are chock-full of wisdom that will help you take your finances to the next level. Whether you want to mend your relationship with money, develop a wealth mindset, or start investing some of your hard-earned cash, there’s a book here for you.
Laurel Kinney’s personal styling business is much more than just the superficial. With a background in social work, she believes “fashion should support you, be an enjoyable creative outlet that makes you feel confident, and the process of shopping for a wardrobe you love shouldn’t be a rule-filled pain, but a fun and easy endeavor with positive results.
There’s nothing like photos to give your home a warm, personal feel, and remind you of the people and the memories most important to you. That’s why we’ve rounded up these twelves ideas for creating photo collages at home. They’re all easy and affordable ways to display (lots and lots of) pictures with style. Love this project, but prefer to buy your own instead?
When Chris and Amber renovated their Brooklyn apartment, transforming their kitchen and adding an extra bedroom for their son, they hadn’t originally planned on redoing their bathroom, too. Then halfway through the remodeling process, they realized that they never, ever wanted to do another remodel — and that if they were going to re-do the bathroom, it was now or never. The original bathroom was, in Chris’ words, “tired and shabby.
Chris and Amber had a problem common to a lot of New York City homeowners: a family that kept growing, and an apartment that stubbornly remained the same size. After the birth of their first son they decided to look for a two-bedroom apartment, but were unable to find anything acceptable in their price range. When the impending arrival of a second baby really raised the stakes, they decided that maybe the solution was to renovate the apartment they already had.
St. Florian Monastery in Austria (Image credit: flickr user Renate Dodell) cc by-nd 2.0Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA (Image credit: Joseph Sohm) shutterstockFonthill Castle in Doylestown, PA (Image credit: flickr user neverbutterfly) cc by 2.0George Peabody Library in Baltimore, MD (Image credit: Andrea Izzotti) shutterstock If you missed Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast, the dark academia deserves a look.
This summer, when VH1 announced that domestic diva Martha Stewart and rap icon Snoop Dogg were teaming up for a cooking show, we first thought it was a joke, and then quickly had a lot of questions. Near the top is, what would a kitchen shared by them even look like? Well, Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party premiered last week, and I had a chance to ask the production designer, James Pearse Connelly, just how he made one set work for such different personalities.
Rushing, stress and long to-do lists can make the holiday season turn hectic in a snap. From buying gifts, and planning parties to staying on budget and keeping a social life, it’s easy get burned out when you’re trying to do it all. When it feels like you’re working overtime around the clock, do you find yourself feeling stuck? We’re rounded up a few tips you should definitely try during the festive season when you just can’t even.
First of all, shout out to Tanya’s mom for choosing kitchen elements way back in the ’80s that wouldn’t look totally insane to our modern eyes. As smart as her choices were, time waits for no man and since the kitchen was showing its age, Tanya figured she would jump in and help her mom update her space.
April’s guest bathroom wasn’t making a great impression, so she started again from down-to-the-studs scratch. With some seriously impressive DIY skills the final product is a serene and welcoming space. From April: Our hall bath is the bathroom in the house that all of our guests use, whether they be overnight or just dinner guests. The room needed a major upgrade. We completely gutted the space to start with – down to the studs and slab.
Like the ongoing pumpkin spice latte craze, the ugly sweater trend isn’t going anywhere. Chances are, you will get invited to an ironic Christmas sweater party, and you will be socially shamed if you don’t wear something appropriately ugly. If the thought of spending money on an item you’ll only wear once makes your wallet cry, here are 13 DIY ways to ugly-up an inexpensive thrift store sweater. Leave it to Studio DIY to craft the cutest ugly sweater ever.
Laurel Kinney is a personal stylist, and we toured her beautiful Austin home a few years ago. She has five questions you should ask yourself before the year is up so you don’t end up filling your 2018 closet full of clothes you’ll never wear. Laurel writes: Have you ever peered into your closet and had the frustrating feeling that none of your clothes feel right anymore?
Love a clean home but hate actually doing the cleaning part? Same. Sometimes a good “I’m stressed and I need something to distract me” clean can be totally satisfying, but on a daily basis, chores can be hard to keep up with. “The Cleaning Ninja” by Courtenay Hartford, aims to help people who want to keep their home cleaner and get it done faster.
It’s a fact of life that things tend to get dry and crackly in the winter: your skin, your lips, even your wooden furniture. And if you think your apartment feels like a dry, cold, relatively inhospitable place at this time of year, chances are your furniture agrees.
If you think you can’t fit Christmas decorations into your small space—we’re here to show you that you absolutely can. To prove it, we transformed designer Akhira Ismail’s 288-square-foot Brooklyn apartment into a Scandinavian-inspired winter wonderland using ten design tricks for small spaces. Yes, you can have a merry little Christmas, even in the tiniest of apartments. 1. Style a holiday shelfie.
After fifteen years of living in their one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, Deniz and Ramon had plenty of ideas for upgrades they could make to the place. So when they finally embarked on their long dreamed-of renovation, the result was some very dramatic changes indeed. Previously, the apartment, while quite spacious at 1,000 square feet, was broken up into small, choppy spaces. The kitchen, separated from the living and dining areas, had no natural light at all.
Cat Meschia of ctrl + curate is a craft blogger based in Gainesville, Florida where she spends her time creating beautiful things that encourage thoughtful living. Known for her affordable small-space solutions and practical yet artistically-driven designs, Cat shares everything from DIY planters to no-weave wall hangings through simple tutorials and inspiration boards.
If you’ve ever worked in an architecture firm, you’ll never forget the weirdly satisfying sound that architectural flat files make when they’re opened and closed. Unfortunately for luddites like myself, these beautiful dinosaurs are going the way of the card catalog, as hand drafting becomes increasingly obsolete and storing sets of drawings flat in a drawer is abandoned in favor of rolling them up and leaning them in awkward piles at your desk.
As I read the introductory chapters of Cheryl Mendelson’s Home Comforts, in which she describes the homekeeping styles of her English grandmother in contrast to that of her Italian grandmother, I began to think about how much the way I do things in my own home is part of the heritage passed down to me by the women in my family. I saw that my methods of homekeeping are more cultural than I realized and in a context of passed down, inter-generational wisdom.
Though it would seem like life without a closet in your bedroom is an impossible way to live, it’s more than just possible — it can even look stylish. All these beautiful homes below have something in common: The master bedroom either doesn’t have a built-in closet or doesn’t have nearly sufficient closet space. But, these home dwellers were able to come up with an elegant storage solution anyway.
Fresh, colorful flowers don’t exactly come to mind when you think about foliage in the winter months. But when summer is so far away, there’s no reason to wait to bring some floral happiness in your home and garden again. Many flowering plants bloom in colder months and can handle rough winter weather, and some of them aren’t too far off from your sunny spring and summer favorites.
You may remember Nisha and Tim Stevens’ house in South East London. Having spent most of their budget buying the house, Nisha and Tim had to be creative when it came to decorating. Luckily the couple is pretty handy and they saved a lot of money by renovating most of their old kitchen themselves. Nisha’s Advice: Paint an ugly kitchen worktop with an oil based blackboard paint. Ours was a not-very-nice wood-look laminate which we sanded back and then painted.
Now that Melissa Joan Hart is starring in a Clarissa Explains it All reboot for Nickelodeon, we’re feeling a little nostalgic. If you grew up admiring her funky DIY bedroom and imitating Daria’s sardonic wit (much to your parents’ chagrin), then these iconic TV bedrooms likely inspired your teenage dream room.
Kitchens are the heart of the home, and islands provide kitchens with their heart: a place to gather, additional seating, more counter space, extra storage, and so much more. This collection of islands range from the ubiquitous IKEA STENSORP to DIY pipe and scrapwood versions to luxurious custom models with marble tops and wine fridges — but they all are essential to the function and life of their kitchens. Explore ideas to find an island that speaks to you: Do you have a kitchen island?
Homebuying in New York is one of those things that doesn’t always turn out like you planned. Jamie and Chad had their hearts set on buying a brownstone in Brooklyn, but when it turned out that everyone else had their hearts set on this as well, they wound up with an apartment in Ridgewood, Queens with plenty of space, its own backyard, and a bathroom that was well, interesting.
With end of Daylight Savings near, you’re not the only one anticipating (or rather dreading) the harshest months of the year. Pretty soon, your houseplants will be busy dodging drafts and soaking up every last ray of dwindling sunlight. To give your ferns and fiddle leaf figs a fighting chance at survival, follow these ten tips for winter plant care to get your plants through the worst of it. 1. Move plants away from vents, radiators or drafty windows.
The Apartment Therapy Sofa Squad shopping guide has me dreaming about green velvet chesterfields and tailored mid-century modern sofas—prompting me to give my basic white IKEA couch some serious side-eye. Before tossing any couches to the curb, I set out to find affordable DIY fixes. As it turns out, even if you’re not ready to make the splurge on a brand new sofa, there are several inexpensive solutions that allow your good taste and your wallet to compromise.
Apartment Therapy just wrapped up a makeover of a non-profit café called First Slice in Chicago, giving it its first facelift since opening in 2009. We are so happy that that we were able to give a little design boost to such a hardworking organization – they run the café to help support their outreach programs which feed 600 homeless and hungry Chicagoans each week.
There’s no question, many people are beginning to rethink their consumption, and have been transitioning to more natural ingredients when it comes to food, skincare, and even medicine. If you’ve ever been curious about some of the positive not-so-known properties of some of these common natural items, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a little 101 to get you started on your path to a more natural and holistic lifestyle in the new year.
