Some of us have to battle an army of external forces just to fall asleep: street noise, roommates, external light. We call these people Sleep Warriors, and sometimes it seems like the world is conspiring against them on their simple quest for eight hours of decent sleep. While these warriors have no control over environmental elements, they can arm themselves with several items within their own bedrooms to help keep out the distractions.
Spring may seem like it’s far away (especially if you live in the groundhog-hibernation zone) but its official start date is March 20. If you’re anxious to get outside after a long winter, we can’t promise good weather, but we can give you easy projects to prep your home so that when warm weather rolls around, you’ll be ready to enjoy it.
No one knows interior design better than interior designers, and no one knows small spaces better than students living in New York (#studioliving), so it makes sense that interior design students really know how to make small spaces sing.
What’s the secret to making a room feel just right? Furniture that works with the size and shape of your space—which, after all, is what determines the right piece. Start thinking about proportion, Goldilocks, and you’ll begin to notice how pieces feel too big, too small, or just right. These three shoppable infographics can help you find furniture to fit any measurement.
What’s the secret to making a room feel just right? Furniture that works with the size and shape of your space—which, after all, is what determines the right piece. Start thinking about proportion, Goldilocks, and you’ll begin to notice how pieces feel too big, too small, or just right. These three shoppable infographics can help you find furniture to fit any measurement.
Make 2019 the year you get the best sleep of your life. Lofty goal, we know, but it starts with one simple choice: the right mattress. If yours has seen better days (and nights), this is the perfect time to upgrade—Walmart is rolling back their already low prices on a huge selection of mattresses over Presidents’ Day weekend.
Few things make a bigger difference in your daily (and nightly) life than a quality mattress. And if you’re thinking about making an upgrade, now’s a great time to do it since Memorial Day mattress sales abound. Whether you want to sleep cooler, get more support, or find just-the-right feel, here’s a quick guide to mattress types from A to ZZZ. This mega-popular mattress style includes high-density polyurethane foam that adapts to your body.
We spend more than a third of our lives in bed, and that time should be as comfortable as possible—not easy when you’re sleeping on a lumpy, saggy or sinking mattress. If you’re yawning and nodding off as you read this, it might be time to reconsider your current sleep situation. And now’s the time to do it since we’re right in the middle of mattress sale season! Here’s how to know if you’re due for an upgrade.
Even if it feels like winter will never end, 2019 is already barreling along, and several of the year’s trends are beginning to crystallize. We’re seeing people work new texture, line, and scale into their spaces in ways that emphasize comfort just as much as style. In short, comfy is in. These three mood boards show some of the themes of what’s trending, and they’re shoppable so you can get the look.
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Prize: $1,000 credit plus one year of VIP service Total Value: $1,020 From: Grove Collaborative We hereby resolve to make 2019 the year of mindfulness: the year we become more intentional in every aspect of our lives, especially our homes. That’s why we’re so excited about Grove Collaborative. This subscription shopping service is a convenient way to stock up on responsible household and personal care brands that you can feel good using—brands we already love, like Mrs.
Every stylish space has some secret ingredient. Think of it as that spice a great dish you can’t really discern but makes the thing sing. In the same way, the rooms in your home have some ineffable energy—a vibe—that makes them more you. It’s the feeling that welcomes you home, whether that welcome looks colorful and energetic or calm and peaceful. The question is, what vibe do you want to cultivate? Let these mood boards lead the way.
Prize: Cricut Maker® + Everything Material Bundle Total Value: $592 From: Cricut® Are you the DIY pro in your circle? You know, the one whose wall art, sewing projects, and custom cards always have friends and family asking, “Can you make me one of those?” Yeah, us too. Consider the Cricut Maker® your new best friend: This slim and sleek machine uses a workshop’s worth of precision tools that can cut just about any pattern from almost any material.
There’s always a moment of surprise when you meet someone whose idea of a classic holiday is the exact opposite of your own. You grow up thinking that everybody puts up a [insert seasonal decoration] around which they drink [insert decadent tipple] and sing [badly—that one is universal]. There are two styles we love for holiday decor: One that’s more classic, and one that’s a bit more modern and colorful.
Do you live in a cool apartment/house/loft? Collect records? Play guitar? We want to give one reader a custom indie-inspired mural! We’re working with a brand known for their legacy of rock ‘n’ roll style. The muralist we’ve selected will reflect that aesthetic with an edgy, deeply cool design that your friends will describe as “badass” and that we think you’ll love living with.
Between the elaborate feasts, the shopping sprees, and the endless parties, the holiday season can be exhilarating exhausting. That’s why we’re treating ourselves—and the folks on our gift list—to better and more beautiful sleep. They don’t call Lincove “the pillow people” for nothing: The heart of this luxe home brand is a comfy, cloud-like, precisely engineered pillow that just might be our fave for life.
Prize: The Bemz Slipcover of your choice & 4 Maxwell Ryan x Bemz legs Total Value: $499 From: Bemz Slipcovers are the tailored suits of the furniture world, and legs are the fancy shoes. Put them both on and you’ve got one chic sofa that cuts a dash!
Followers of DesignAddictMom Stacey Blake know that she’s never met a color she doesn’t love: The Fayetteville, North Carolina, blogger is all about them, and the brighter the better. Her home is a shrine to the whole Pantone wheel, but it’s also an ode to her family and her style—Stacey designed it herself!
“Where is one place that your cat can sit, but you can’t?” If you believe the answer to an old Highlights magazine joke, it’s your lap. If you own a cat, though, you know that there are dozens of places that your cat can and will sit, everywhere from shelving units and windowsills to the edge of an open drawer and the top of the refrigerator.
We know what you’re thinking right now: This is it, this is the year that you get a head start on the holidays. You’re gonna be finished with your shopping by lunchtime today, you’ll roll into every party with a made-from-scratch dessert, and you’ll even find a way to relax between now and the end of December. But this season never works like that, does it?
Getting your first apartment after college is a big step, and it can be both exciting and terrifying. On the bright side, you don’t have to suffer through a stranger’s Cardi B impression in the communal shower every morning. On the other side, having your own place means that you’re really on your own, you know? You’re adulting now, which means there are power and water bills to pay—and no cafeteria staff to wash your dishes.
Name: Stacey Blake and family Location: Fayetteville, North Carolina Size: 3,000 square feet Years lived in: 8 years There’s color, and then there’s color. Stacey Blake is a master of the latter. She mixes bold and bright oranges, greens, pinks, and more to ecstatic perfection in her Fayetteville, North Carolina, dream home. And we mean dream home: Stacey, who shares her colorful progress online as DesignAddictMom, designed the space herself.
Whether you spend the day chasing emails or toddlers (or both), we’re guessing that your 9–5 can get hectic. A calm morning can make all the difference for the rest of your day, and even though we can hear you laughing right now, “calm morning” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. The trick? A 5–9 routine.
Prize: Samsung SmartThings Hub, Sensors, Outlet and Button Total Value: $199 From: Samsung The good thing about our homes getting smarter is that almost everything we use—security system, doorbell, thermostat, lighting—is one step closer to The Jetsons world we all imagined. The unexpected twist, though, is that all these systems became a lot to manage. We never knew we’d need a system for our systems, but here we are.
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.
It’s fall. That means apple picking, pumpkins, cider, and falling leaves! It probably also means you’re about to be spending a lot of time inside. Now, more than ever, it’s important to set up a cozy space that you love coming home to. This stylish living room takes cues from the season itself and uses key pieces from Raymour & Flanigan to create a space that’s super inviting. Let’s look at the five tips that make it work and how we can use them all year round.
A change of season brings the opportunity to hit refresh on your closet: Even if you’re just swapping out sundresses for lightweight cashmere, this is a great moment to make sure your warm-weather clothes will have a happy hibernation and to move your sweater-weather wardrobe to first position. Show your pieces how much you love them with these three easy steps. Try The Laundress and get 30% off with the code ATREADERS through December 4, 2018, only!
Reuniting with faraway family for the holidays can be wonderful, emotional, and… exhausting. When you’re traveling with little ones, all of that is amplified. Schlepping bags full of toys and gifts-from-the-grandparents through the airport is daunting, but it can be managed! Use this Sago Mini packing list to save space while keeping kids entertained with toys that spark imagination and curiosity. Plus, you can forward this wishlist to Grandma and Grandpa.
Instagram is great for design inspo, but sometimes we forget that all those digital ideas come from the real world. (Remember the real world? It’s so tactile!) It’s time to stop scrolling and start snapping: Which is exactly what Heather Thibodeau—the DIY-ing, color-loving lady behind The Heathered Nest—is doing for her next projects, all inspired by New England.
When Megan Pflug wanted to decamp from New York to the Hudson Valley and live on a property that doubled as a business, running a hotel wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. But Megan, an interior designer, has a great eye for potential, and when she found an upstate New York property that had it, she knew it was a match. The 1962 A-frame lodge needed some love to greet the 21st century in style, but that wasn’t Megan’s biggest obstacle.
Remember when shopping was fun? Remember when a trip to the mall was something you’d get excited about, connect with friends over, plan a whole day around? You just might want to revisit that as an adult at Industry City, a new design destination in Brooklyn where you can score a deal on a Saarinen tulip table, grab a vegan banh mi and a beer, and play miniature golf—all in the same place. Really. On a recent afternoon, I headed over to Industry City to see what it had to offer.
Did you know that Apartment Therapy’s founder is also a furniture designer? Last year, as part of his continued collaboration with Interior Define, Maxwell created Ms. Chesterfield, a modern take on the classic Chesterfield sofa. It kept the Chesterfield’s iconic form but replaced some of its stodgy (and uncomfortable!) trappings with more streamlined details. It was a hit. And now the Chesterfield family has grown to include the Ms.
Things no one has ever said about their closet: “Look how clean it is!” “It’s just like shopping in a boutique!” “I’m so organized.” Until now. Leave it to The Laundress, who somehow made laundry day an Instagram opportunity, to unveil a new home storage and organization collection that’s both a small-space lifesaver and the stuff of chic dreams.
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.
There are times when a bedroom refresh needs the whole package: paint, furniture, rugs, everything. But there are other times when a bedroom refresh just needs a little lift in its design. For those cases, a new set of linens that fits into your existing personal style but also adds some new decorating opportunities can go a long way. And that’s why I’m particularly enamored with Brooklinen.
We all have that one friend: the one whose home, whether on Instagram or in person, always looks FLAWLESS. You’ve admired that friend. You’ve envied that friend. But we know the secret to being that friend: accessories. They’re the little pieces that warm up the room with personality, making it feel lived in and complete.
Name: Megan Pflug Site: The Woodhouse Lodge Location: Greenville, NY Size: 6,000 square feet Years lived in: 1 When New York interior designer Megan Pflug set her (impeccable) eye on the nearby Hudson Valley for a property that would double as a home and a business, she and her husband were in the market for an older property—one of the 18th- or 19th-century colonials the area is known for. Or so they thought.
Remember a couple years ago when we didn’t know the word hygge and we filled our time with annoying activities like “having plans”? But then we were reintroduced to the wonderful world of our own cozy home, and now staying in is the new going out. We want to aggressively enable you to cancel your plans and spend more time this fall in a home you love. Call it the carpe sofa movement.
Remember a couple years ago when we didn’t know the word hygge and we filled our time with annoying activities like “having plans”? But then we were reintroduced to the wonderful world of our own cozy home, and now staying in is the new going out. We want to aggressively enable you to cancel your plans and spend more time this fall in a home you love. Call it the carpe sofa movement.
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?
Timothy and Brittany have just moved into a new house with their three-year-old daughter, Melani, and one-year-old son, Cameron. And somehow they’re still smiling at each other. In addition to being full-on #relationshipgoals for the rest of us, they have some brand new #parentinggoals to go with their new living space.
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.
When it comes to controlling clutter, your entryway is the most important part of your house. When you walk in the door, you’re probably carrying all kinds of stuff: purse, keys, mail, etc. Finding a place for it all to go—a place that’s not the floor of your living room—is essential for maintaining a beautiful, peaceful home. One of our favorite solutions for corralling entryway clutter? The console table. Meet your new organizing BFF.
Most of us have two lighting settings: off and on. But how we use our homes isn’t so black-and-white — one person’s meditative bedroom yoga practice might be just as beneficial as another’s high-intensity living room workout, but they definitely don’t look the same. The fanciest homes have lighting designers to address all these nuances, but you can give your home the same benefits using the lights you already have.
Your reading list of books with “What to Expect” in their titles made it sound so easy. Your favorite mommyblogger — and you never expected to have a favorite mommyblogger — has somehow figured everything out. Your friends have reassured you that you’re doing fine, but it didn’t feel fine when you were wiping pureed sweet potatoes off your toddler’s face, off the walls and…wait, it’s on the dog too? “You have no idea.
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.
Planning a wedding is a big undertaking—building your wedding website shouldn’t be. While you’re choosing color schemes and floral arrangements, let someone else handle the details of, well, telling your guests the details. Enter Zola. They make it easy, with one place to plan everything wedding-related — including your wedding website. Start by choosing a (free!
The mattress-in-a-box maestro Tuft & Needle is celebrating its sixth anniversary by giving away one mattress for every day in August. The contest is open through September 1. Then, on September 4, they’ll randomly choose 31 entrants and send them a free mattress—in any size! (Get the full terms and conditions download on their giveaway page.
Where were you when you realized you were too old for crappy furniture? Was it during a dinner party when a guest sat down and the chair collapsed? Or standing in the street as the moving truck drove off and you realized you had zero attachment to anything inside? We all know how to find furniture that’s inexpensive and not really made to last; it’s also easy to find pieces that are lovely and elegant with price tags beyond your wildest dreams.
By August, the sparkle of our spring cleaning efforts can start to fade like even the best spray tan. But the summer is often too hot—and too busy—to tackle a deep clean. Welcome to late-summer cleaning: By looking around your place and identifying a few low-key chores, you can prolong that summer shine without breaking a sweat. Aniko Levai, the blogger behind Place of My Taste, invited us into her home to share some little tasks that won’t ruin the season’s lazy vibes.
Jenni of I Spy DIY is all about rolling up her sleeves and turning that DIY home into a permanent address—and she’s got a whole house to prove it. When she got a tip on a Milwaukee fixer-upper (emphasis on the “fixer”), Jenni had never bought a house before. And this one had a complicated story: Now owned by the city, its buyer would need to pass a proposal process and demonstrate a commitment to the neighborhood.
Name: Jenni Radosevich of I Spy DIY Location: Milwaukee Size: 1,465 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years As the founder of I Spy DIY, Jenni’s superpower is looking at a fabulous accessory or covetable piece of decor and saying, “I can do that.” So it’s little wonder that her entire house was one big do-it-yourself. When Jenni first spied her $24,000, three-bedroom, two-bath abode, it was a fixer-upper with a lot of, um, potential.
There are two parts to every home renovation: There’s the fun part, where showroom salespeople treat you like royalty and Pinterest becomes your part-time job. But there’s also the practical part, which is mostly consumed with creating a budget and paying the bills. As much as we love a mood board, today we’re going to look at determining a project’s budget and financing.
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.
In today’s economy, it’s downright normal to have a home mortgage, some student loans, and even a bit of credit card debt. But what should you be doing to protect yourself and make the most of your money? Sure a small amount of debt is normally fine, but sometimes if you don’t take control of it, it could have control over you. Here’s a well-kept secret: Once you start borrowing money, it can be challenging to dig yourself out of the hole.
There’s no shortage of advice out there for getting a restful night’s sleep, from setting the thermostat just so to banishing screens from the bedroom. But we often overlook a huge factor, not just in a good night’s sleep but in a healthful day too: lighting. The right light does wonders for wellness (just ask your plants), but we’re often bombarded with harsh rays, from the glare of our devices to the unflattering fluorescents at the office.
Vacuums do a simple job, but shopping for them can seem anything but. Do you have pets? What about hardwood? Have you ever thought about carpet pile? The variations can seem confusing—but shop the right way, and you only have to think about them once. We’ve broken down some of the characteristics of your home that’ll help you find the right forever vacuum and make shopping for it a clean sweep.
Our outdoor M.O. takes its cues from the Parisian sidewalk bistros of our dreams: sit, relax, repeat. Whether you’re working with a spacious yard or a tiny balcony, your outdoor space should be as stylish as the indoor space you’ve worked so hard on. That means investing in furniture that you actually want to sit on (read: not those scratchy plastic chaises at the home-improvement store).
Our three favorite words? Pop of color. It’s a phrase that works in just about every space, but it’s especially helpful in the teeniest homes. Here, color can simultaneously define different areas in the home while providing the illusion of depth and light. Case in point: Shaina and Michael’s tiny house. While every inch of their 400 square feet works hard, the MVP may well be their workspace area.
We’re endlessly inspired by the Hommeboys (aka Austin Carrier and Alex Mutter-Rottmayer) and their creative design DIYs. Their Sonoma, CA, home is the definition of #stylegoals, packed to the brim with texture, pattern, and color. Now, that is.
If you’ve ever ended a Fixer Upper binge convinced you can definitely make over your kitchen and shiplap your bedroom this weekend, then you know that renovations are rarely what they seem. Whether you’re calling in contractors or just refreshing paint, there are perennial pitfalls that cost time, money, and frustration. These common mistakes could cost you—or you could read on and avoid them now. (We suggest option B.
Name: Shaina and Michael, and Keiko Location: Stanardsville, VA Size: 400 square feet When Shaina and Michael decided to downsize, they knew the perfect tiny house to call home: the darling property that was originally built to house Shaina’s grandfather’s medical practice! The couple edited their possessions down to the essentials (beloved local art, items with emotional resonance, family heirlooms) and said hello to simpler living.
