Design

Get the season off to a smooth start with these tips.

While it can be tempting to embrace ALL of the prints, less is more when it comes to decorating with these fun fabrics.

Sure, it may take a bit longer to make your bed each morning, but the added oomph is so worth it.

Today marks one hundred years since the German art school Bauhaus opened its doors. While it only remained functioning for 14 years, Bauhaus’s impact on unifying art, craft, and technology through design remains one of the most influential movements to this day—and now, it has its own Google Doodle. When you press play on the Doodle, the animated art show starts rolling to life, complete with objects created by Bauhaus moving in a simple, minimalist fashion.

A good over-the-door organizer can be a game-changer when you aren't working with a ton of storage space.

Is it just us or does minimalism feel so yesterday? Don’t get us wrong: We love a sleek and clean space as much as the next design enthusiast; however, we have to admit that the neutral color palette and lack of funky details feels, well, sterile.

Abandoning this style can help your space feel more modern, personal, and welcoming.

I’m a creature of habit in that I always have to leave my keys in the exact same spot by the front door every time I come home, or else I just know I will forget them when I leave (trust me, it’s happened too many times to count). If you’re looking to streamline—or simply create—an entry organization system, we’re here to help.

It’s fun buying skincare and new lipstick shades, but it’s not fun being avalanched by those bottles each time you open your bathroom cabinet. If you have been trying to keep your products tidy but see them back to their old cluttered mess within a few days, it might be time for some reinforcement. There are a ton of bathroom storage products that will organize your beauty products once and for all.

For the design on this off-the-grid Midwest residence, Midland Architecture’s Greg Dutton opted to stay close to his familial roots. The 650-square-foot home known as The Hut sits in the Ohio Valley on the family’s property, which they’ve owned and worked for the last four decades. To bring the project to fruition, Dutton enlisted the help of his brother Chris, other relatives and a group of friends.

It’s no secret that replacing standard dresser or nightstand knobs with more stylish options can do wonders to transform a piece. But finding the perfect drawer pull—or figuring out how to score a whole set of them without spending too much money—can be a bit of a challenge, especially if time is of the essence and you just want to finish decorating your bedroom, like, now. Luckily, all of these drawer pulls are eligible for two-day shipping (thanks, Prime!

Is it just us, or does buying a bathmat feel like a Catch-22? On the one hand, you need a mat in your bathroom. What’s the alternative? Getting your floor all wet or, even worse, slipping after a relaxing bath or shower? Um, no thank you. But while bathmats are integral to every home, you have to admit they’re not always the most stylish accessories.

It doesn’t matter if you were playing with your American Girl Dolls, doodling in a coloring book, or racing a stylish set of Hot Wheels, one thing’s for sure: A child’s playroom is so, so much more than a room. It’s a place where kids can foster their creativity and, well, be kids. Chances are, you probably have some pretty wonderful memories if you were lucky enough to have your very own childhood playroom.

A good bar setup at home ensures that you’re always ready for happy hour. Luckily, Amazon is brimming with cute and clever bar accessories—many of which are priced for 10n bucks or less. Read ahead for seven items that will transform your bar cart—for cheap. Looking for an easy way to squeeze some fresh lemon or lime into your cocktail? This savvy spritzer has serrated teeth, so you can stick it straight inside a piece of fruit and then spray away.

It’s no secret that streamlining is in right now. Many of us are carefully evaluating everything from our wardrobes to our kitchenware and enjoying feeling lighter as we let unneeded belongings go. And with that, it’s no surprise that we’re more and more drawn to a streamlined look when it comes to furniture and decor, too. Take bed frames and headboards, for example. Gone are the days of tufted, upholstered numbers and in are sleek, simple wooden options, like the ones below.

A sale is just a swipe away!

We pay special attention to lighting. The glitzy chandelier featured in that historic house tour. Those coastal-inspired pendants along the bar at that airport restaurant. The single Edison bulb that illuminates your favorite hotel’s bedroom. “Lighting is one of the most important parts of a design—both the physical fixtures, as well as the quality of lighting,” says Dan Mazzarini of BHDM Design.

Looking to well, switch, your plain plate and outlet covers for something a little more stylish? It’s one of the easiest ways to update your space in mere minutes with minimal effort. And we’ve got you covered with these eight products, with options to please each member of the family. Oh, and the best part? Everything in this roundup is under $20. Add a stylish dose of on-trend brass to your home with this sleek cover. It won’t even set you back a full five bucks.

Last year, I decided it was time to get new bedroom furniture. Up until then, all of my furniture had been inherited from people I subletted from or friends leaving New York. While all the pieces were fine and functional, together they were creating a disheveled vibe. I craved cohesion. One of the things I was most eager to replace was a IKEA LEKSVIK Semainier dresser. It had five medium-sized drawers and a small hutch on top.

Growing up, we had a few trunks in my house from my mom’s and grandma’s childhood days. They were worn-looking and covered in stickers from summer camp and travels, but they didn’t exactly catch my eye. As I grew older and started decorating my own apartment, I began to spot brass trunks all over Pinterest and fell for them, hard. Unlike the black, weathered trunks we’d had in our basement, these were shiny, glam-looking, and much more my style.

Accent tables can do a lot to make a room feel finished, but for such a small piece of your room, they can end up being surprisingly expensive. Fortunately, one of our favorite online retailers, Amazon, offers an impressive assortment of accent tables that are both super stylish and inexpensive. From a pair of nesting end tables to a two-tiered coffee table, here are some of the best accent tables under $50 on Amazon. The only thing better than a sleek and space-savvy end table is two of them.

It's taking over home design, one line at a time.

Think poufs are overrated? Not so fast. There’s a reason these guys keep popping up in room after room. After all, they’re portable, comfortable, colorful, and stylish… certainly not every piece of decor fits this description. Need a little more convincing? Check out the ways in which 14 different homeowners and renters styled poufs in their spaces. Ah, the classic moroccan pouf.

Am I the only one who wants a complete makeover every time another birthday rolls around? There’s just something about starting a new year that feels like the perfect time to try out a fresh look. My own is coming up next week and I’m already planning to dye my hair a new color and maybe get another ear piercing. And it turns out, IKEA furniture is a fan of the new year, new me mantra too.

Colorful front doors are all the rage right now—just take a quick scroll through Instagram and you’re bound to see dozens. The best part is that you can’t really go wrong shade-wise, so now is the time to be creative. Feeling shy? Try transforming an interior door with a pop of paint and you’ll be amazed at how much brighter your space will look. Feeling a little more bold? Slap a fresh coat of paint on your exterior door to really make a statement.

What is it about minimalism that always makes us a little weak in the knees? It doesn’t matter if it’s one of Philip Johnson’s iconic glass houses or a set from our favorite movie, there’s something about those clean lines, pared-down details and neutral color palette that makes us feel like we’re in a stylish sanctuary.

For as clean and unobtrusive as all-white bedding can be, it’s also a bit, well, boring. So we searched our home tours high and low for eye-catching bedding–that isn’t plain white—to show just what a little color and pattern can do in a bedroom. Here are eight bedrooms that might make you rethink your all-white bedding. A little color goes a long way in an all-white room.

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.

Just because shelves are utilitarian in nature doesn't mean they have to look it.

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.

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.

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.

ICYMI: Living in a small space isn’t all Instagrammable tiny houses or fun D.I.Y. projects from Pinterest. Sure, small spaces offer the unique challenge of maximizing your design chops in a teeny, tiny space, but the truth is it can be really frustrating. Not only do you have to find sneaky ways to make your small space look bigger, but you also have to figure out clever ways to store your stuff without turning it into a cluttered mess. But hitting the refresh button on your small home?

Think you just don’t have room for an area rug? We’re not so sure. These tiny houses prove that even the smallest of homes can benefit from a bold rug, whether you prefer something plush or are drawn to colorful kilim. Take a peek at these beautiful setups; we guarantee you won’t look at your bare floors the same way again. No room for a coffee table? Try placing a rug in front of the sofa instead. It’ll add extra warmth and encourage guests to plop down as they please.

A highly utilitarian space, bathrooms don’t always receive the same level of decoration as the rest of the home. But I think that’s why the bathrooms in this list all stand out so much; these are functional rooms where you can get your business done, but they’re also stunning spaces where you can unwind, relax, and get away from it all. Let this list of our favorite bathrooms from house tours inspire you to create your own spa-like space at home.

These white kitchens are packed with personality.

Once upon a time, hearing the word “cabin” instantly prompted images of a primitive dwelling that required its occupants to rough it in the absence of modern home staples including electricity, running water and decor. Thanks to the abundance of luxe glamping sites, that outdated notion has been turned completely on its head. The latest eye-catching small space to pop up on our radar is this tiny cabin in a Brazilian forest, which appears just as alluring as it sounds.

This Valentine’s Day I’m celebrating the special kind of love many of us feel for gorgeously decorated homes. I asked my co-editors here at Apartment Therapy to divulge their favorite rooms from house tours have been… of all time. It was a hard task for us all (there have been so many gorgeous tours throughout the years), but we’ve managed to narrow it down to those rooms that make us swoon the most. Today enjoy the picks of some of our favorite living rooms ever.

According to the experts.

There are any number of color “rules” you can follow when you’re picking out your home’s palette. The classic 60-30-10 Rule is a place to start. You can lean on the smart suggestions of a color expert. Those looking to add dark colors in a small space might even want to consult some online guidance. But the six stunning homes in this post prove that you can play around with what some might consider “clashing” color combos and pull it off beautifully.

Psst…you can order ‘em all from the comfort of your couch.

I have a confession to make. I used to be fully committed to and head-over-heels in love with Craigslist, and only Craigslist, when it came to buying secondhand furniture. The deals on there were just too good. That time I scored a Lucite console table for only $25? Gold. The scorched bamboo side table I snagged for free? Yes, please! Ok, I’d used LetGo a couple of times and was always curious about the other resale apps out there, but 99 percent of the time, Craigslist had the goods.

Like all the best trends—velvet furnishings, pastel kitchen appliances, even low-carb diets—animal prints have cycled in and out of style over the years (and centuries). At times they’ve been perceived as luxurious and expensive, at other times tacky, outdated, and even a little scandalous, but they never truly leave the cultural lexicon (most recently, Tom Ford’s 2018 Fall Ready to Wear Collection relied heavily on those wild patterns).

Few things are more exhilarating than moving into your first real home. But as fun as decorating it can be, it’s also easy to make a lot of rookie mistakes. So to help make the process of decorating your first home go a little smoother, we called on a few of our favorite designers to share the mistakes they (and their clients) seem to always make. From awkward furniture arrangements to picking the wrong paint color, these are the decorating mistakes we all make in our first homes.

If we’re being totally honest, a walk down memory lane can be a very cringe-worthy experience. How many pictures have you looked at in total disbelief that you actually left the house with crimped hair, layers of eyeliner, and a hot pink velour sweatsuit? Yeah, not our finest moments. Looking at pictures of your previous living spaces can elicit the same embarrassment.

Here's how to overcome the daunting task of forging distinct areas inside a lofty, wall-less space.

Even the most novice designer understands how easily vibrant colors can make a rather huge impact on their surroundings, and there’s no clearer example of this concept than Magenta, a bright pink tiny home on wheels. Joshua Woodsman of Pin-Up Houses designed the eye-catching residence, which measures a mere 66 square feet and is built atop a flat trailer for those who are perpetually consumed by wanderlust.

If your living room could use a jolt of color, these images are sure to inspire.

Happy New Year to all of my fellow Trader Joe’s fans suffering from super-scaly appendages, thanks to this lovely cold front we are experiencing! It might be frigid and dry outside, but GUESS WHAT? You still have to wash copious amounts of dishes. Perhaps even more than usual. And go outside to brave the cold regularly. Yay! I have four words for all of you: Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream.

*Adds to cart*

While some decorating rules of thumb are definitely worth paying attention to, others are made to be broken.

The New Year is here and it’s bringing a whole slew of cool new home ddcor trends with it. According to our friends at Etsy, overly lavish decor is on its way out and more earth-inspired styles, particularly Southwestern motifs like colorful woven textiles and desert-style art, will be taking over our homes instead. So to jumpstart your design endeavors for the New Year, here are eight stylish Southwestern-inspired home decor goods you can order right now on Amazon.

We’re looking to these rooms for major inspo as we make our own spaces a bit more winter friendly.

Whether with color, pattern, shape, or something else, dare to try something new and bold with decor in 2019.

Step aside, straight lines; in 2019, and it’s all about embracing your curves. Over the past few months, we’ve seen design blogs, stylish furniture designers, and cool spaces like the Wing ditch the boxy furniture for hip pieces with rounded edges—and we are so here for it. Don’t get us wrong: We love furniture and accessories of all shapes. However, curvy pieces energize a room in a way their square counterparts can’t.

As we move into 2019, let the stars be your decorating guide.

A room-by-room guide to making the most of your space.

There is nothing quite as luxurious as a stylish bathroom, but sometimes it’s hard to design the small space in a way that makes your eyes pop while simultaneously leaving a lasting impression. There are an infinite number of light fixtures and shower curtains you can choose from, but one way to take your bathroom up a design level is to match your wall tiles to your floor tiles. Does it sound intense? Sure, but have faith and hear me out.

Because anything that makes finding a rug easier is greatly appreciated.

If you compulsively follow #TinyHouse and #TinyLiving on social media or consider yourself a full-fledged follower of the Tiny House Movement, it can be easy to forget that tiny houses aren’t just a social media phenomenon. It can be hard to remember that people actually live in these teeny, tiny spaces. Truth is, it can be a wonderful way to have the house of your dreams—without spending a fortune. Of course, tiny houses aren’t all Instagram likes and easy, breezy living.

It’s time to ditch this classic living room item.

This is how we "play" American Girl Dolls as adults.

Let’s face it: Finding the room to fit all your stuff in a tiny apartment is tough. Fortunately, one of our favorite online retailers, Amazon, offers an impressive assortment of wall-mounted furnishings that are both space-savvy and super functional. To prove our point, we searched Amazon high and low and rounded up seven wall-mounted storage solutions to help you make the most of your small bedroom.

These are the bedroom trends that are seriously past their prime.

Many homeowners know the experience of moving into an outdated space and planning some much-needed renovations. For the 102 women elected to Congress during the 2018 midterm elections (a record, by the way), they may not be able to gut the place but they could influence some major building changes. Now that nearly one in five legislators on Capitol Hill will be a woman, the building needs to prepare for these leaders and their teams.

Because looks are just part of the equation. You gotta be able to drink from it, too.

In case you’re not familiar with the premise of Dollar Tree, here it is: Everything they sell is $1. Wander through the store, and you’ll find everything from dinnerware and kids’ gear to cleaning supplies and home improvement tools—all for a dollar (sometimes you can even get multiples for a buck!). Yes, while some stores with “dollar” in the name have strayed away from selling everything for $1, Dollar Tree has managed to stick with it.

It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. You know, when the color experts at Pantone will be announcing the 2019 Color of the Year, which will likely happen any day now. We’re on the edge of our ultra-violet seats waiting to see what hue it could be. To help ease and abate our anticipation, we called on some of our favorite interior designer friends to find out what shade they could see Pantone choosing as the Color of the Year.